Summary: An enjoyable and well written adventure for Monsters! Monsters! and compatible rule sets.

I must say at the outset that I really enjoy the solo adventures put out by Tavernmasters. (I have no connection with them!) While a solo can never be quite the same as live interaction with other players, the Tavernmasters products do a good job of creating a sense of atmosphere and variety.

This solo is compatible with the Monsters! Monsters! rules and other rulesets using the same core principles. A few things stood out for on my first play-through (no spoilers - I hope! As I want to encourage people to try it).

Unlike some earlier generation solos, bad choices don't necessarily lead to instant character destruction. This is a good thing as it helps keep the player "in the game" and mitigates the effects of bad luck.

The suggested range of character statistics is realistic bearing in mind the difficulty of the game. (With luck, I think you might squeak by with a slightly less powerful character than the maxima suggested. Take that as a challenge, if you will.)

The main action is described in what I would call a "realistic" fashion. In other words the narrative proceeds logically step by step based on the player's choices rather than being a series of loosely connected events. This creates a sense of participating in a proper story, and to my mind adds to the appeal of the solo.

A lot of thought has gone into flavour text; the narrative is much more than a list of instructions relating to game mechanics. This helps draw the player into the game, I feel. Also, you won't (necessarily) be fighting things in every other paragraph. There are other challenges to be faced. (However, see below on random events.)

Some book-keeping is required at certain points; in fact there are two things to keep track of. This isn't very onerous, but it is an essential part of the solo. A form is provided at the back of the book, but I found it just as easy to keep my own records on a scrap of paper.

There are various types of random event which may occur. These can have a significant impact on the game; for one of my characters this ultimately made the difference between success and failure.

The solo has a "push your luck" element which can be highly significant in terms of the course of play. Without giving away too much, you will only earn the bigger rewards by taking risks. And there is a neat little rule which means that the level of risk escalates as the game continues.

Finally on replayability. If your character doesn't make it to the end (various ways this can happen!) obviously you can try again and reflect on your mistakes. Even if your character is successful, you'll almost certainly find that due to the structure of the solo there will be things you haven't fully explored or the possibility of improving on past successes. This adds to replay value. I've tried it twice so far - once moderately successful, the next time falling victim to bad luck and bad judgement - and there are still more things to explore. (As an aside, the game felt completely different on each occasion due to the impact of the random events.)

I'd certainly recommend this as a slightly unusual solo with lots of good ideas - with some minor tweaks it could probably even be run by a GM as a short adventure for a couple of players.

I have just had my first run through this using a level 2 warrior with all attributes in his mid twenties. Managed to soak up plenty of the atmosphere of the adventure without getting very far into the meat of the story.

I did manage to escape with my life, but very little else, which causes a lot of problems if your powers all come from magic items that you were (notice use of past tense) carrying.

Looking forward to trying this out again but, next time, with a character that has more natural abilities.

I can fully recommend this, even after only about 40 minutes of play time.

Enjoyable solo rescue (or assassination) mission in an asylum. Supports multiple plays, as exploration can uncover useful items/safer routes; there are a number of possible endings. Well illustrated.

A couple of possible corrections/improvements: entry 28, exit to 68, not 168; entry 212, it makes more sense for success to allow you an attempt to open the door (at entry 36).

Highly recommended.

Okay, so I helped to edit some parts of this edition of Trollszine and you may say that makes me a less than objective reviewer. You may be correct, however, my input was minimal compared to many others and I think their efforts are deserving of praise. This sort of publication by fans, for fans may occasionally lack polish, though I would say that is the exception in the case of Trollszine and not the rule, but for me it shouts out the joy that playing this game can bring. I hope Dan Prentice and Bill Pitcher will continue to drive this project forwards and I for one will be doing all I can to help. Now, to specifics. Every edition of Trollszine opens my eyes to the different ways Tunnels & Trolls can be used as a basis for any one individual's gaming preferences. In number 12 it was surely Rich Burley's review of the T&T supers supplement, The Power Trip. For whatever reason, I've always shied away from this sort of game and never wanted to even look at it but now I am beginning to realise that this was a mistake. I was particularly taken with the example characters he included. Look out for a Power Trip solo from yours truly in 2022 perhaps! I also loved Dorothy McComb's take on clerics in T&T and will certainly be looking to add some elements of it to my own game. If these were my favourite pieces that doesn't do down the contributions from others from Charles Schultz's mini-solo to Todd Peterson's GM adventure and Andy Holmes' second tutorial on how to paint miniatures; I almost feel like I could do a decent job of this now. If you love Tunnels and Trolls in particular or fantasy roleplay in general, Trollszine 12 will certainly have something for you.

A great, fun little solo. If you're looking for a small adventure with a bit of a creepy vibe, this is a great choice. The sense of danger is carried throughout. Also has inventive use of T&T mechanics to keep things interesting.

In addition to the strengths the other reviews mentioned, I enjoyed this solo for encouraging rogueishness. I don't usually play rogue type characters, so I especially enjoyed the flavor and the mechanics of the solo that encouraged taking a daring, sly, and brash approach to the game. This was a lot of fun and well worth some playthroughs.

Take a new(ish) character straight through and have a seafaring, swashbuckling, hobb-provisioned good time. Watch out for the Cultists, though: they mean business.

Devotion to Duty is a great solo to use to start a character. It's got real challenge and enough ways out to feel like an accomplishment wihtout being frustrating. It does a nice job of setting up a new character for adventuring. Most importantly, it's fun!

Like every Tavernmaster Games product I've seen, it's beautifully put together with nice production value and is clear and easy to play through. My only nit to pick is that if you get lucky with TAROs in your rolling, your brand new character might need to run a different beginning solo to get started.

You won't go wrong picking this solo up to start a new adventure.

I had the pleasure today to play Banquet in Stringwater for the first time. What a treat. This adventure by Jason Mills of Tavernmaster Games is 127 pages of text (644 paragraphs). It is nicely illustrated, includes many player choices and the fun is dialed up to 11. Suitable for any character level and type (though magic use is limited). If I had to identify one complaint, it would be that the AP rewards at the end are a bit generous. But that's a nice problem to have. I look forward to playing this rolicky-good-time adventure again.

A most enjoyable solitaire! The paragraph links worked moderately well, though a few were off by a page and required a little scrolling. The story was simple but engaging. Some of the combat elements were very creative (at least, I'd not seen them before), and made for a unique experience. My only (minor) complaint is that the first playthrough was too short. I guess I managed to walk straight to the exit.

Well worth it! Would enjoy seeing more like this one. -TA

Another awesome addition to the growing Library of T&T solo's! Engaging Gothic-horror theme, great pen and ink illustrations throughout, lots of replayability and a challenging final villain. PDF is hyper-linked and I have played it through a few times without issue. Paper copy looks great though on table top if you prefer to go old school. highly recomended!

Lively solo adventure. The background information is given economically, and then you are plunged into a haunted wood scenario full of familiar elements such as headless horsemen, werewolves, spirits and zombies, but mixed up in a refreshing way. Plenty of replay value; one play with a stronger character capable of defeating the horseman in combat would be entertaining. Links seem to work.

Recommended.

Sid Orpin is a talented adventure writer. I have recently returned to T&T and this is a little diamond of an adventure - great attention to detail. Something different from endless wandering monsters and sudden deaths.

Great T&T adventure. Excellent quality and a fun adventure.

Useful. Gives a good example and helps show what is and can be, thank you for this.