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Trollbabe
Trollbabe is a role-playing game by Ron Edwards, creator of Sorcerer and Elfs, and founder of Adept Press. It features art by some of the great talents in the role-playing industry Veronica V. Jones, Ben Morgan, Rod Anderson, Jeff Diamond, and James V. West.
What's a trollbabe?
Let's start with size. We're talking 6'6" at the least, with a build to match - a trollbabe is a big woman, no little aerobicized butts allowed. All trollbabes are strong, easily the match of the strongest humans, and ranging up from there. They can run all day and heft weapons and pull bows that would wear out a human in moments. Trollbabes have primarily-human facial features, and most lack the characteristic trollish body hair and posture. Their trollishness is most obvious in their horns, which range from short goaty pointy horns to big curling sheepy horns that include a ridge over their brows. Big hair is also common; think 80s rock-and-roll.
Why play Trollbabe?
Because a trollbabe is neither troll nor human - she is functionally apart, yet tied into the fates and interactions of both peoples. Trolls - big, shaggy, horned, grotesque, people-eating monsters - and humans - plain old humans - simply don't get along, and their conflicts are escalating. The trollbabe may be perceived as an automatic friend or an automatic foe by both humans and trolls, yet her perspective is not identical with either one.s. Her presence cannot help but destabilize the status quo in any particular situation, which makes for an interesting life. Ultimately, she may also become the means of resolution.
What's a trollbabe?
Let's start with size. We're talking 6'6" at the least, with a build to match - a trollbabe is a big woman, no little aerobicized butts allowed. All trollbabes are strong, easily the match of the strongest humans, and ranging up from there. They can run all day and heft weapons and pull bows that would wear out a human in moments. Trollbabes have primarily-human facial features, and most lack the characteristic trollish body hair and posture. Their trollishness is most obvious in their horns, which range from short goaty pointy horns to big curling sheepy horns that include a ridge over their brows. Big hair is also common; think 80s rock-and-roll.
Why play Trollbabe?
Because a trollbabe is neither troll nor human - she is functionally apart, yet tied into the fates and interactions of both peoples. Trolls - big, shaggy, horned, grotesque, people-eating monsters - and humans - plain old humans - simply don't get along, and their conflicts are escalating. The trollbabe may be perceived as an automatic friend or an automatic foe by both humans and trolls, yet her perspective is not identical with either one.s. Her presence cannot help but destabilize the status quo in any particular situation, which makes for an interesting life. Ultimately, she may also become the means of resolution.
- GenresRole Playing GamesGames
47 pages
First published January 1, 2002
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 28, 2017
Trollbabe has been on my to-read list for a long time. It is cited by so many other designers as a major inspiration, so I was delighted to finally get a print copy and study it.
Although the game was being playtested in 2002, I have the 2009 edition, which has undergone some substantial revisions, as I understand it.
As usual, this review is of the text itself and not the game as played, since I have not played it. When I talk about the game and the design, I am referring to my understanding of the game as it is written rather than as it is played.
This is a thoughtful presentation of a brilliant game. There is nothing extraneous or unnecessary in the text; nor is there anything left out. Everything is laid out in an optimal order, each section building on the information that came before with a minimal need to ask the reader accept one idea while another is explained so that you can understand the first idea, which is a common need in explaining RPG rules. Edwards gives not only the rules, but explains how the rules work through play, giving the players clear ways to play the rules so that everything works optimally. The writing is solid and the examples are brief and clear. This is a model text for RPG rule presentation.
The content of the game is even more exciting than the presentation. The game, unsurprisingly, embodies the theoretical position of Story Now, which Edwards has championed for over 15 years now. The game prohibits the creation of a prefigured plot through which the characters run. Instead, the game gives the GM the tools to create a situation into which the Trollbabe players can engage with. Instead of relying on the players to be interested in the plot, the GM creates NPCs who are invested in the stakes of the situation and who view the Trollbabes as either threats to or aids in the future that hangs by a thread. They are either trying to recruit or manipulate the Trollbabes if they think she could help them bring about a favorable turn of events, or they are trying to misdirect or harm her if they think her presence will foul up their plans. The game then gives the GMs the tools to pace the scenes that unfold. While there is a lot of innovative rules in the game, the real genius as far as I’m concerned comes in the 8th chapter, “Endings.” Here, Edwards lays out how to turn any progress within the story into a basic three act arc. The beauty of the system is that it doesn’t depend on any specific actions by the Trollbabes. To do so would violate the basic tenets of the game, giving players absolute freedom to pursue the things that interest them and react in any way they please. The Trollbabe player is free to focus solely on playing their Trollbabe without every worrying about the “plot.” Instead, the movement of the acts is determined by the attitude of the NPCs! At the start of the game, things are unstable, and the NPCs involved in the stakes are in a low-level state of agitation. Once the Trollbabe has become entangled with the stakes (either by her own actions or by the perceptions of the NPCs), the involved NPCs reach a state of excitement, and their actions become riskier. That’s the second act. How do you know when you reach that third act? Simple: the NPCs reach a state of desperation believing that everything is on the line. Desperate action must be taken. It’s such a simple method, and allows the GM to know how to approach the problem to affect the pacing of the game through the state of the NPCs. Brilliant.
His focus on Scale is equally brilliant, and such an elegant solution to understanding the realm of influence available to the Trollbabes while simultaneously allowing progress narratively between adventures. Scale lets everyone know how big the stakes can be at any given time, and they can build to something truly epic over the course of a number of adventures.
The only odd feature of the text is something endemic to game design, which is that the designer is often designing against other games or gaming habits. In this case, Edwards clearly had many annoying experiences with players who ran games by committee, deciding what would happen in a scene before it began and countering each other for the sake of the “story.” Everything in the game is designed to let the players play without consultation or approval. If that play is not something you have encountered, Edwards’ repeated insistences take on the ring of a man with something of an obsession.
Oh, one last awesomeness I have to point out! The narrative use of items for rerolling and the mechanical purpose of relationships are beautiful! As soon as I read it, I wanted to take the game to the table and see it played out in a scene. Positively exciting.
I highly recommend the text if you, like me, are interested in the way RPGs work and the history of modern RPG developments.
Although the game was being playtested in 2002, I have the 2009 edition, which has undergone some substantial revisions, as I understand it.
As usual, this review is of the text itself and not the game as played, since I have not played it. When I talk about the game and the design, I am referring to my understanding of the game as it is written rather than as it is played.
This is a thoughtful presentation of a brilliant game. There is nothing extraneous or unnecessary in the text; nor is there anything left out. Everything is laid out in an optimal order, each section building on the information that came before with a minimal need to ask the reader accept one idea while another is explained so that you can understand the first idea, which is a common need in explaining RPG rules. Edwards gives not only the rules, but explains how the rules work through play, giving the players clear ways to play the rules so that everything works optimally. The writing is solid and the examples are brief and clear. This is a model text for RPG rule presentation.
The content of the game is even more exciting than the presentation. The game, unsurprisingly, embodies the theoretical position of Story Now, which Edwards has championed for over 15 years now. The game prohibits the creation of a prefigured plot through which the characters run. Instead, the game gives the GM the tools to create a situation into which the Trollbabe players can engage with. Instead of relying on the players to be interested in the plot, the GM creates NPCs who are invested in the stakes of the situation and who view the Trollbabes as either threats to or aids in the future that hangs by a thread. They are either trying to recruit or manipulate the Trollbabes if they think she could help them bring about a favorable turn of events, or they are trying to misdirect or harm her if they think her presence will foul up their plans. The game then gives the GMs the tools to pace the scenes that unfold. While there is a lot of innovative rules in the game, the real genius as far as I’m concerned comes in the 8th chapter, “Endings.” Here, Edwards lays out how to turn any progress within the story into a basic three act arc. The beauty of the system is that it doesn’t depend on any specific actions by the Trollbabes. To do so would violate the basic tenets of the game, giving players absolute freedom to pursue the things that interest them and react in any way they please. The Trollbabe player is free to focus solely on playing their Trollbabe without every worrying about the “plot.” Instead, the movement of the acts is determined by the attitude of the NPCs! At the start of the game, things are unstable, and the NPCs involved in the stakes are in a low-level state of agitation. Once the Trollbabe has become entangled with the stakes (either by her own actions or by the perceptions of the NPCs), the involved NPCs reach a state of excitement, and their actions become riskier. That’s the second act. How do you know when you reach that third act? Simple: the NPCs reach a state of desperation believing that everything is on the line. Desperate action must be taken. It’s such a simple method, and allows the GM to know how to approach the problem to affect the pacing of the game through the state of the NPCs. Brilliant.
His focus on Scale is equally brilliant, and such an elegant solution to understanding the realm of influence available to the Trollbabes while simultaneously allowing progress narratively between adventures. Scale lets everyone know how big the stakes can be at any given time, and they can build to something truly epic over the course of a number of adventures.
The only odd feature of the text is something endemic to game design, which is that the designer is often designing against other games or gaming habits. In this case, Edwards clearly had many annoying experiences with players who ran games by committee, deciding what would happen in a scene before it began and countering each other for the sake of the “story.” Everything in the game is designed to let the players play without consultation or approval. If that play is not something you have encountered, Edwards’ repeated insistences take on the ring of a man with something of an obsession.
Oh, one last awesomeness I have to point out! The narrative use of items for rerolling and the mechanical purpose of relationships are beautiful! As soon as I read it, I wanted to take the game to the table and see it played out in a scene. Positively exciting.
I highly recommend the text if you, like me, are interested in the way RPGs work and the history of modern RPG developments.
October 10, 2019
I have heard this book recommended in RPG design circles for a while, mostly for its scale mechanics. Other notable features include a single number character creation with over-under rolling resolution. There are also narrative-dependent re-roll mechanics.
Really, the book is less than 50 pages, illustrated, including index. Pick it up and read it yourself. Even if you don't ever play it directly, you may well find something you enjoy enough to employ at your own game table.
Really, the book is less than 50 pages, illustrated, including index. Pick it up and read it yourself. Even if you don't ever play it directly, you may well find something you enjoy enough to employ at your own game table.
June 17, 2020
A must-read, groundbreaking RPG that has inspired many others.
The best conflict resolution mechanics ever, with over the top characters that change the world, for the better or the worse. Great scaling mechanic give a sense of real growth and impact.
Absolutely recommended. Disclaimer: I read the 2nd edition in Italian.
The best conflict resolution mechanics ever, with over the top characters that change the world, for the better or the worse. Great scaling mechanic give a sense of real growth and impact.
Absolutely recommended. Disclaimer: I read the 2nd edition in Italian.
September 7, 2016
Interesting little system. I'm not blown away enough to run out and run a game, but I wouldn't be adverse to playing it at all.
The book itself has way too much over-analysis of it's own system that doesn't seem to enable better understanding or play IMHO.
The book itself has way too much over-analysis of it's own system that doesn't seem to enable better understanding or play IMHO.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews