Once upon a time there was only Dungeons and Dragons. A chap called Ken St. Andre decided that D&D was a tad complex and required funny dice that were pretty expensive, so he set out to create his own roleplaying game with simple rules that used six-sided dice. This came to be known as Tunnels and Trolls, the second ever RPG.
Now in it's 7.5th edition, Tunnels and Trolls hasn't enjoyed the limelight like its Gygaxian cousin, but it has developed an enthusiastic group of followers who contribute to the game, including myself.
Essentially Tunnels and Trolls is a fantasy roleplaying game doused in humour. There are currently 3 main character types (Warrior, Wizard and Rogue) and a handful of specialists (Paragon, Ranger, Mages etc). Playable kindred, or races, are Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Leprechauns and Hobbs, but there are many, many other kindred that can be playable as a PC at the Gamemaster's discresion (Dragon, anyone?).
Tunnels and Trolls was the first game to use a universal saving roll system, that easily allowed characters to do all kinds of cool things in combat. Combat itself is simple - the side with the highest hit total wins the combat. There's a bit more to it than that but that's essentially what it is.
Edition-wise, Tunnels and Trolls has had a pretty wierd history. Second edition followed pretty much straight after first, being a cleaner version of the previous ruleset. Third fit somewhere between but I'd like to see you try and get your hands on it and the next major edition was Fourth, which introduced a few tropes that we see now. Fifth edition is the preference for many players, as it is seen as the core Tunnels and Trolls ruleset, but players built on this with houserules and released the Mythical Sixth Edition, which was essentially a fan effort. Ken then released 7th edition, which added a few new rules and special character types and soon after dropped 7.5, which is the current version. Many people, including myself, play a houseruled version of 5th edition where rules from 7.5 are incorporated, but all editions are somewhat backwards compatable.
Tunnels and Trolls is known for being a game that can be played solo, with a large catalogue of solitaire adventures which are still going strong. It is also perfect for play-by-email and play-by-post if you can't get a group together.
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