Vox Hound (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Vox Hounds can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Str: 1.1, Con: 1.1, Dex: 1, Lk: 1, IQ: 1.1, Wiz: 1.1, SP: 1, Chr: 1.1.

Height: .6, Weight : .1.25.

Language(s): Vox Hounds speak Canis.

Vox Hounds have the following special qualities.

  • A Vox Hound rolls an extra die 6 when fighting any character that casts a spell on that same round, 2d6 if the spell was cast on the Vox Hound.
  • A Vox Hound has 2 points of natural armor.
  • If a Vox Hound wishes to focus their attacks on a spell caster, she scores all spite damage against that character, adding 1 extra point for each 6 rolled on that round.

Standard Monster Rating: 35.

 

Volozule (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Volozule can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Str: .75, Con: .75, Dex: .75, Lk: 1, IQ: 1.5, Wiz: 1.5, SP: 1 Chr: 1

Height: 1, Weight: 1

Language(s): Volozule speak The Ur Tongue (or its closest equivalent).

Special Qualities: All Volozule possess the following special abilities:

1) Terrain Morale (Built Environments): Once per game session, a Volozule may choose to add 2 points to a die roll for an action taken within a city, and once more per game session, they can add 2 points to a die roll made in a built environment (e.g. building, a ship, or a dungeon carved and shaped by sentient creatures). Yes, these bonuses can be taken on the same roll.
2) A Volozule counts as if their Dexterity was 3 points higher for purposes of spell casting.
3) Volozule automatically begin with the talents, Architect and Engineer.
4) A Volozule can use a magic effect to temporarily alter the architecture of a building. They must spend an entire turn doing so and spend a variable number of points of Wiz.
– They can alter the size of any non-magical window or door, shrinking it to as little as half its normal size or expanding it to twice its normal size, provided this still fits the building in question. This does not open, close, lock, or unlock the door or window in question. It remains as it was before except for the size. The effect lasts 1 turn per level of the Volozule. This costs 1 point of Wiz +1 per inch of range necessary to include the full effect.
– They can move a non-magical window or door up to 1” per level, providing this does not change the room on either side of the porthole in question. If they attempt to move a porthole too far, it moves only as far as it can without leaving the room in question. This does not open, close, lock, or unlock the door or window in question. It remains as it was before, except for its size. The effect lasts 1 turn per level of the Volozule. This costs 2 points of Wiz +1 per inch of range necessary to include the full effect +1 per inch of movement.
– They can build a staircase or an fixed ladder to any window, doorway, or rooftop on a built structure. The maximum height, width, and length of this new feature is equal to 1” per level of the Volozule. It will be made of the same material as the building itself, or at least one that would fit within the overall structure. The effect lasts 1 turn per level of the Volozule. This costs 3 points of Wiz +1 per inch of range necessary to include the full effect +1 inch of width +1 per inch of height +1 more per inch of length on the ground.
Note that all of these changes happen slowly and harmlessly. Living creatures may easily escape any hazards cause by the changes themselves. How they effect tactical combat is another matter.

Standard Monster Rating: 35.

Mucky Loon (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Mucky Loons can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Mucky Loon: Str: .25, Con: .5, Dex: 2, Lk: 1.5, IQ: .75, Wiz: .75, SP: 2, Chr: 1.5.

Height: .2, Weight : .2.

Language(s): Mucky Loons speak Avian. They can understand but not speak, Sylvan.

Mucky Loons have the following special qualities.

  • A Mucky Loon has a natural missile attack in the form of an acidic spit. Each time a Mucky Loon does this, a Mucky Loon spends 1 point of her Wizardry, just as if it had cast a spell. It’s range is equal to 1” per point of the creature’s Constitution. The spit does 1d6 in initial damage +1 per level of the Mucky Loon (subject to the normal effects of armor). Note that Mucky Loons of 2nd level or higher can choose to spend extra Wiz points up to their level to increase the number of 6 sided dice they roll for this damage). So, a 4th level Mucky Loon could theoretically spend 5 Wiz points to generate 4d6+4 in initial damage. As this is acidic damage, it continues to burn for 1 round afterwards per point of the Mucky Loon’s Strength, doing 1 point of damage on each of these rounds. Any one trying to stamp out the acid must make a Luck Save at a target equal to the initial attack roll. Doing so without a rag or water, or something else to help remove the acid inflicts a penalty of -3 on the roll.
  • A Mucky Loon can travel at three times the normal rate of speed.
  • A Mucky Loon can make a special Luck Save to avoid damage versus 1 missile or the damage from general combat. To do so it makes a Luck Save against the total damage it would take from the source of damage. Success reduces the damage taken by the Mucky Loon by 1 point + 1 more for every time its total roll can be divided by the damage in question.

Standard Monster Rating: 20.

Bjornwyrd (Tunnels & Trolls)

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A General narrative about Bjornwyrd can be found here. What follows are stats for the game of Tunnels and Trolls.

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Str: 3, Con: 3, Dex: .75, Lk: 1, IQ: 1.25, Wiz: 1.5, SP: 1 Chr: 2.

Height: .75 (on all fours), Weight: 3

Language(s): A Bjornwyrd can speak Ursine and the Ice Tongue.

A Bjornwyrd has the following special qualities:

  • Bjornwyrd have 10 points of natural armor.
  • When standing on or near snow or ice, a Bjornwyrd standing effectively count their dexterity as double for the purpose of spell prerequisites.

Standard Monster Rating: 75.

Slow-Starter Weapon

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This is a magical weapon designed to grow in power over the course of a battle. In the first round or two of combat, it isn’t that impressive, but in extended fighting, its wielder is likely to become a major force on the battlefield.

D&D

This is an unusual item in that it can take the form of any type of hand-held  weapon, except a projectile missile (though it may take the form of a bow, sling, etc). Once it is taken in hand, it automatically transforms to the immediate preference of the wielder and remains in that form unless she wills it to change. It can be changed once per round, doing so instantly at the will of the user.

On the first round of combat, the weapon is +1 to hit and damage. On the second it is +2; it is +3 on the third, and so on, all the way up to +7 on the seventh round. On round 8, the bonus for the weapon does not change, but it does do an additional d6 in damage on a critical roll. This does not change for the remainder of the combat.

Should combat cease, the weapon loses its benefits at the same pace, first dropping the crit bonus after 1 round without use, then losing a +1 per round until it is down to +1.

Note also that the weapon only works this way if it is used in combat against a real opponent who means to harm them.

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Tunnels and Trolls

This is an unusual item in that it can take the form of any type of hand-held  weapon, except a projectile missile (though it may take the form of a bow, sling, etc). Once it is taken in hand, it automatically transforms to the immediate preference of the wielder and remains in that form unless she wills it to change. It can be changed once per round, doing so instantly at the will of the user.

On the first round of combat, the weapon is normal. On the second it gains 2 adds over and above anything normal for its weapon type; On the 3rd, it adds 4 more total, and so on, all the way up to +20 on the 11th round. On round 12, the adds do not change, but its wielder does do 2 on any spite damage inflicted with the weapon. This does not change for the remainder of the combat.

Should combat cease, the weapon loses its benefits at the same pace, first dropping the spite bonus after 1 round without use, then losing a 2 adds per round until it is down to normal.

Note also that the weapon only works this way if it is used in combat against real opponent who means to harm them.

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Worlds of Hurt

This is an unusual item in that it can take the form of any type of hand-held  weapon, except a projectile missile (though it may take the form of a bow, sling, etc). Once it is taken in hand, it automatically transforms to the immediate preference of the wielder and remains in that form unless she wills it to change. It can be changed once per round, doing so instantly at the will of the user.

On the first round of combat, the weapon is +1 to hit and damage. On the second it is +2; it is +3 on the third, and so on, all the way up to +8 on the eighth round. On the 9th round, the bonus does not change, but the value of the third dice is tripled (instead of doubled) in the event of a critical success on an attack.  This does not change for the remainder of the combat.

Should combat cease, the weapon loses its benefits at the same pace, first dropping the crit bonus after 1 round without use, then losing a +1 per round until it is down to +1.

Note also that the weapon only works this way if it is used in combat against a real opponent who means to harm them.

A Slow-Starting weapon always has the trait of “Stalwart.”

Malaise

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© Daniel S. Wall, July 20, 2026.

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https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTANR5VfV/

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A Trace of Death Lingers by Joyce Maureira

Malaise is an inverse measure of a character’s will to live. The higher their Malaise, the less resilient a character will be. Those with truly high malaise will be quick to grow ill and slow to heal. They will also be remarkably susceptible to attacks from Undead. They will retain all their normal skills and abilities, but a character with a high malaise has one foot in the grave. Until she learns to love life again, a character with high Malaise may be very difficult to keep alive.

The idea here is to create a long-term problem with its own significance in role-play, one that is solvable, but not with a quick healing spell. It plagues characters who have come close to death, or experienced significant loss, been subjected to life-draining attacks, or engaged behavior contrary to their deepest convictions. Any one of these could leave a character with a weakened will to live. It does not undermine their skills and abilities, but it does leave them more fragile. Malaise provides an alternative to the loss of levels or attribute scores and the forcible alignment change of earlier editions of D&D while keeping a sense that these issues create problems not easily resolved within a single game session.

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Malaise at its Core

Squonk painted by Andy Sneed

Acquiring Malaise: Aside from rare instances of special attacks or magical effects imposing it, Malaise is usually acquired through close calls with death, the loss of loved ones, or by actions inconsistent with the established nature of a character. A character fresh off a near-death experience may find that death itself still has a little bit of a hold on them, just as they may long to join a dead spouse or some other loved one. Characters who have acted in a manner significantly inconsistent with their values and goals may find themselves questioning the value of their own life.

Malaise can also be the result of extraordinary attacks one might characterize as life-stealing, such as the bite of a vampire or the nightmares caused by a succubus. These too will weaken a character’s will to live.

Effects of Malaise: The Malaise score of a character is a penalty to any healing done to that character. It is also a vulnerability penalty, adding to the damage done by Undead to that character. A character with 1 point of malaise thus reduces the damage healed from a spell by 1 point and raises her damage from an Undead by 1 as well. A character with 6 points of malaise reduces healing spells by 6 and adds 6 points to any damage caused by Undead. Malaise can have other featurs as well, and at their own discretion, a GM may certain flesh add implications of their own.

Overcoming Malaise: A character must play a full game session with any Malaise earned before attempting to buy it off. After that, a character may buy off malaise at a cost built on a triangular sum at the end of any given game session. If 1 point of Malaise can be bought off at the cost of 1 point of x.p., then 2 may be bought off at a cost of 3 total (1+2=3), and 3 can be bought off at a cost of 6 (1+2+3=6). Thus, Malaise can be bought off slowly at a low cost or rapidly at a high cost. It is up to the player to decide which he prefers.

Certain special abilities or problems may enhance malaise, trigger tactical benefits on the basis of malaise, facilitate rapid overcoming of malaise, or drag out that process. These are rare abilities, and they are prone to high cost. In no case, will an ability ever enable a character to overcome Malaise without going through a full game session with any given Malaise penalty.

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Game-Specific Applications

D&D (1st through 3rd editions): How does one apply the concept to D&D? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Life-Draining Attacks: Any attack which might otherwise cause the permanent draining of a level or a point off a character’s attributes would instead result in 3 points of Malaise. (Alternatively, 1 point of Malaise could be added to the existing effect without taking that effect away.)

Moral Transgressions: Any time a character acts in such a manner as to contradict their alignment, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This can replace the old first edition mechanic of simply changing the character’s alignment. How this decision is made varies. It could be the GM’s call or it could be a decision at the consensus of the players.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Death Magic: It is damage taken in the event of a successful save versus death magic. A failed save would of course make this irrelevant.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural medicine, and it is a chance (multiplied by 5) that the wound will not naturally heal according to the normal rules on any given day.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10% of the difference between the experience needed for their current level and that needed for the next. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given session, a player must spend 30% of that difference. To buy off 3 at the end of a given session, they must spend 60%, and so on.

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Tunnels and Trolls (Deluxe Edition): How does one apply the concept to Tunnels and Trolls? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once she goes below 0 hit point status and 1 more for every 3 continuous rounds spent at 0 hit point status or below. (Note: if the character dies outright, just apply the death rule instead.)

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: The death of a loved one or dear friend, or a significant loss with serious consequences, may incur 1-3 points of Malaise at the discretion of the GM (or alternatively, the consensus of the players present).

Moral Transgressions: If the player running a character and the GM agree that the character has acted in a manner wildly inconsistent with their character and/or the best interest of their stated goals, they acquire 1-5 points of Malaise, depending on the severity of the transgression. This may not happen often, as a player is unlikely to agree to it, but it remains an option.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed). Note that the in event that a character should have been healed to full Constitution, they end up with their Malaise in damage after all.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 10 adventure points. To buy 2 points off at the end of a given game session, a player must spend 30 adventure points. To buy off 3 at the end of a given game session, they must spend 60 adventure points, and so on.

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Worlds of Hurt (My Homebrew): How does one apply the concept to Worlds of Hurt? First we will look at the specific mechanics for acquiring Malaise, the specific effects of Malaise, and finally, the means of overcoming it.

Mechanics for acquiring Malaise: Malaise may be acquired in a variety of ways.

Death: Any character brought back from the dead automatically gets 10 points of Malaise.

Grief: Characters may take on Malaise for the loss of loved ones or for major set backs, as detailed in the rules for social relationships and other relevant portions of the game system.

Deep Wounds: A variety of special attacks cause Malaise as spelled out in the game rules.

Moral Transgressions: Characters may take Malaise for actions contrary to their moral values or memes as spelled out in the relevant sections of the game rules.

Near Death Experiences: A Character acquires 1 point of Malaise once they go down to 0 physical durability or below. They acquire 3 points of Malaise if they spend 1 full round in that status, and 5 points if they spend 2 rounds in that status.

Effects of Malaise: The numeric value of a character’s Malaise provides a variety of different problems for a given character.

Attacks by Undead: It is a bonus to the damage done by Undead to that character.

Healing Magic: It is a penalty to any healing done on the character in question (to a minimum of 1 point healed).

Natural Healing: It is a penalty to any rolls made to assist a character in healing by means of natural means.

Mechanics for overcoming Malaise: To buy off Malaise, a character must first play a full game session with any Malaise they wish to eliminate. After this, they may buy off Malaise in the following manner. To buy off 1 point of Malaise at the end of a given session, a character must spend 1 experience point. To buy off 2 at the end of a given session, they must spend 3. To buy off 3, they must spend 6, and so on.

Bounty Hunter

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How would you make a Bounty Hunter in First Edition D&D?

Well, my old players and I had a pretty simple approach. It woks like this.

Run the character as a Multiclassed Ranger-Assassin. This of course violates the rule that an assassin has to be evil and a Ranger has to be good, but that’s okay. A Bounty Hunter has his own mindset.

As to alignment, the Ninja can be true Neutral or Lawful Evil.

We didn’t really think of this as one character combining two different skill sets. We thought of it as one skill set that simply tracked through the rules system as two different classes.

That’s it.

Ninja (D&D, First Edition)

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How do you make a ninja in first edition D&D?

Well, as I recall, Dragon Magazine published something to that effect a time or two, but my own friends and I found it preferred our own version cobbled together from conventional classes out of the Player’s Handbook. We just had to tweak a few core rules, but the essential concept was simple.

Run the character as a Multiclassed Monk-Assassin. This of course ignores either the rule saying that Monks have to be human or the rule that only other races can be multi-classed. I guess, you could ignore both, but you have to ignore at least one of them to do this. My preference is to say Ninjas have to be human, but that this specific combination is allowed.

We didn’t really think of this as one character combining two different skill sets. We thought of it as one skill set that simply tracked through the rules system as two different classes.

As to alignment, the Ninja can be true Neutral or Lawful Evil.

Any weapons appropriate to ninjas are automatically allowed.

That’s it.