Rebellion, the British comic book, computer game and growing tabletop publishing empire, bought the world’s second oldest TTRPG, Tunnels & Trolls, two years ago.
Now, Rebellion Unplugged, the tabletop arm, has given the alpha rules of Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age their debut at the UK Games Expo. Attendees have had the chance to play and play-test the game.
Rebellion boss Jason Kingsley is a fan of the original Tunnels & Trolls, and Geek Native has been told the CEO has playtested these rules. He’s been involved.
Fans, or the curious, can join Rebellion Unplugged’s newly launched Tunnels & Trolls Game Masters Guild and get a copy of the alpha rules. Joining the newsletter does not automatically receive a copy; it’s a manual process, and Rebellion Unplugged may incorporate feedback from UKGE to make tweaks before their first digital release.
The game is expected to appear at GenCon later this year, and the publisher hopes the rules will be in Beta by then. Geek Native has confirmed that Rebellion will maintain T&T’s current DriveThruRPG presence and make the quickstart/intro to Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age available from the digital retailer too.
How does Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age change or stray from the original Tunnels & Trolls? Rebellion Unplugged is attempting to strike a balance between maintaining the legacy and preserving the core soul of Tunnels & Trolls, while also updating it for modern sensibilities. The game is described as irrelevant irreverent rather than whimsical. If the original T&T was a response to D&D, then T&T: A New Age is a response to modern RPG trends. It’ll be interesting to see exactly which RPG trends Rebellion Unplugged sees worth reflecting in the new project.
Update: Did you see the irrelevant/irreverent typo? Flintlock did. Thanks for the heads up. Fixed!
Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age crowdfunding
A Kickstarter is planned for Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age in the future, and Geek Native has been informed that the current likely date is September.
The fate of the new age of the world’s second-oldest tabletop game is, therefore, in the hands of two popular conventions. If the UK Games Expo goes well for Rebellion Unplugged and Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age, then the chances of the official beta release of the game being at GenCon will increase. If the Beta performs well at GenCon, which takes place at the start of August, that would also be a positive sign, and we can then expect the crowdfunding effort in September.
The follow/alert page for A New Age is live, and that suggests “Coming this Fall”.
Quick Links
- Kickstarter: Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age.
- Newsletter: Tunnels & Trolls Game Masters Guild.
A special thanks to Vortex Verlag for sponsoring Geek Native’s coverage of UK Games Expo. You can meet them at stand 3A-758 and find out about the exciting new Serenissima Obscura crowdfunding campaign.
