Oxford-based publisher Rebellion Unplugged has launched a massive Kickstarter campaign for Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age, a complete modernisation of the historic tabletop franchise. Launched in mid-March 2026, the project has already smashed its initial funding target, securing over £72,000 from backers eager to return to the subterranean dangers of the Trollmark.
As the tabletop industry continues to see successful revivals of legacy properties, Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age aims to bridge the gap between old-school lethality and modern narrative design. The creative team boasts heavy hitters, including game editor Filip Hartelius and designers Scott Malthouse, Chris Bissette, and Gareth Hanrahan, ensuring a robust foundation for this new era.
Exploding Dice and Dynamic Combat
The system is built to be fast, intuitive, and accessible, requiring only paper, pencils, and a handful of standard six-sided dice. Characters are built quickly by blending hard attributes with narrative tags like mottos and past accomplishments.
Action resolution relies on d6 dice pools, where players roll a number of dice equal to their relevant attribute. Every result of 4 or higher counts as a “hit”, and matching results explode, allowing players to roll additional dice and rapidly expand their pool. Combat eschews gridded maps in favour of dynamic, theatre-of-the-mind encounters driven by flexible tags (such as Cursed or Knackered) and tactical Threat mechanics.
Surviving the Trollmark
The setting drops players into a world rebuilding from absolute devastation. Hundreds of years ago, the sun vanished, waking the Trolls who subsequently crushed civilisation beneath the rock. Now, the sun has returned, the Trolls have turned back to stone, and heroes are needed to chart the ruins and reclaim lost magicks.
The campaign is funding four primary books:
- Core Rulebook: The complete rules, featuring 12 different Kindred and Folk to play, from toadkin to vampires.
- Hazar, City of a Thousand Guilds: A detailed sourcebook exploring the bustling Mapmaker’s City, serving as a hub for adventuring parties.
- Cavern of the Petrified Throne: An introductory campaign written by Gareth Hanrahan, sending players into a collapsed village built atop a petrified troll king.
- The Wailing City: A dedicated solo sidequest written by Scott Malthouse, allowing lone players to navigate an open city-sprawl where every decision shapes survival.
For groups wanting to test the mechanics before committing, Rebellion Unplugged has released a comprehensive preview. You can download the Tunnels & Trolls: A New Age Beta Quickstart Rules right now to review the system and start generating heroes.
Reward Tiers
The campaign offers a wide array of entry points, ranging from digital-only pledges to luxurious collector’s bundles featuring exclusive 3D-printed dice towers.
- Pledge £30: Digital Core Rulebook. A PDF copy of the Core Rulebook.
- Pledge £50: Core Rulebook. The standard hardback edition of the Core Rulebook, plus the PDF.
- Pledge £70: Digital Bundle. PDF copies of the Core Rulebook, City Book, Campaign Book, and the Solo Sidequest.
- Pledge £120: Print Book Bundle. Physical and digital copies of the Core Rulebook, City Book, Campaign Book, and the Solo Sidequest.
- Pledge £155: Big Print Bundle. All four physical books and PDFs, plus a custom dice set, dice tray, cloth map, and character sheet pad.
- Pledge £170: Deluxe Print Book Bundle. Deluxe foil-stamped versions of the three core books in a clamshell case, plus the standard Solo Sidequest, PDFs, and character pad.
- Pledge £199: Deluxe Big Print Bundle. All physical deluxe books, the solo adventure, and all the premium accessories from the Big Print Bundle.
- Pledge £220: GM Bundle. Standard physical books, PDFs, and a massive array of Game Master tools, including a GM Screen, Storytelling Kit, two dice sets, and initiative coins.
- Pledge £270: Deluxe GM Bundle. Everything in the GM Bundle, but with the Core, City, and Campaign books upgraded to their Deluxe clamshell editions.
- Pledge £350: Ultimate Collector’s Bundle. Everything in the Deluxe GM Bundle, plus the exclusive 24cm tall Yawning Troll Dice Tower created by Astounding Props.
The project is all-or-nothing and will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Tuesday, April 14th, 2026. Delivery is estimated for May 2027.
