Background

Mazes & Minotaurs is based on an RPGNet column by Paul "Mithras" Elliott which asked, "What if the first RPG had been inspired by Greek myth and movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, rather than Tolkienesque fantasy?" The brief description in the column was fleshed out by Olivier Legrand into a full-fledged game which is both a functional (if somewhat bare-bones) "old school" RPG and an alternate-history joke (the "Foreword to the 2006 Edition" by Paul Elliott discusses how RPGs have evolved since he created M&M in 1972).

I first downloaded M&M in 2006, after reading Sergio Mascarenhas' review, but I didn't get around to reading it until a few months ago. Since the "2006 notes" scattered throughout the book (in blue text) refer to the contents of various supplements, I went back to the website to see if any of them had actually been written. I was surprised to find not only a number of supplements, but also a complete Revised Edition, ostensibly released in 1987. Since nobody had reviewed the new rules, I decided to give it a go. There are four books in the set – Book I: Players Manual (50 pages), Book II: Maze Masters Guide (50 pages), Book III: Creature Compendium (127 pages), and Book IV: M&M Companion (44 pages), a collection of optional rules. I'll be reviewing Books I, II and IV; I've only skimmed Book III due to its length and subject matter, but the basic rules for creature abilities are in Book II. I'll also be making comparisons to the previous edition as I go along.

Book I: Players Manual

Characters

Character creation in M&M is about as simple as it gets: choose class, roll for attributes and age, calculate secondary stats, note equipment and money, and decide on name, appearance and other details. Players are encouraged to choose a patron deity for their character for role-playing purposes, and the most common deities for each class are discussed.

The attributes in M&M are Might, Skill, Wits, Luck and Grace (i.e. charisma). (I miss the original's use of Faith instead of Will; the latter may be broader and more conventional, but Faith is a better fit for the game's milieu, in my opinion.) To generate these, roll 2d6+6 (the original rules used 4d6, drop lowest) and assign as desired. The scores are used to derive modifiers (as per the d20 system, except that the median range is 9-12), which are then added together in various combinations to obtain combat scores (Melee, Missile, Initiative, Defense and Hits), "saving rolls" (Athletic Prowess, Danger Evasion, Mystic Fortitude, and Physical Vigor) and Personal Charisma. Most of these are the sum of three different modifiers, up from two in the original rules. I think I prefer the original rules; some of the formulae in the new rules feel like a stretch.

The character classes are easily the coolest part of M&M, in my opinion – not for their creativity, but for their simplicity. There are twelve classes here, increased from the six-plus-one in the original rules by including most of the classes that previously appeared in supplements. Each class has two primary attributes (up from one in the original), which must be the character's two highest scores. Classes are categorized as warriors, magicians or specialists.

Warriors: Amazon, Barbarian, Centaur, Noble, Spearman
Magicians: Elementalist, Lyrist, Nymph, Priest, Sorcerer
Specialists: Hunter, Thief

All warrior classes except the Noble are gender-specific (female barbarians and centaurs are noncombatants). The other classes, with the obvious exception of the Nymph, are open to either sex.

Each class has a Basic Hits value (12 for warriors, 10 for specialists, 8 for magicians), gains increases to various scores with each level, and has a standard set of starting equipment and randomized starting wealth. Magicians, of course, have access to various types of magic (defined in a later section). Warriors and specialists select a "Weapon of Choice" from a predefined list, with which they get to roll two dice for attacks and choose the better of the two rolls, and each also gains two special class abilities. For example, Amazons add their Skill mod to damage with bows, and their Grace mod to melee Defense. (Incidentally, Amazons don't get the latter bonus when surprised or wearing a breastplate, which seemed to imply that their, ahem, "charms" must be visible for them to gain this benefit. However, Barbarians, Centaurs and Thieves have parallel abilities with the same restrictions, though based on different attributes, so I guess it just means they don't gain the bonus while armored.)

In the first edition, warriors gained only a single ability, but with fewer limitations: Amazons added their Skill mod to missile damage, Barbarians added their Might mod to melee damage, Spearmen added their Skill mod to melee Defense, and Nobles gained +1d6 to an attribute of their choice. I suppose most people will appreciate the addition of more special features, but I liked the fact that each class's shtick could be summed up in a few words.

As I've indicated, I prefer the original character creation rules over the revised version in several respects. It's not that the new rules are broken, however; in most cases it's a matter of personal taste. There are a few changes I consider definite improvements, most notably the addition of Athletic Prowess and Physical Vigor and the ability to increase attributes with level.

To demonstrate the character creation process, I'll make a sorceress. I roll for stats and get 11, 9, 13, 16, 10, 11. I rolled a lot of 1s, and my attributes add up to less than 75, which means I get to reroll them. This time I do much better: 15, 9, 14, 14, 16, 14. I can also choose to lower one attribute by 1 or 2 points to raise another by the same amount. I'll drop one of the 14s to 13 and raise another to 15 to give me more variety (and increase my total modifiers by 1). As a sorceress, I have to place my two highest scores in Wits and Will, so I end up with:

Might: 9 (0)
Skill: 13 (+1)
Wits: 15 (+2)
Luck: 14 (+1)
Will: 16 (+2)
Grace: 15 (+2)

The next step is to determine name, gender and age. I've already decided on a female character, so I Google "female Greek names" for inspiration. It's hard to find one with a suitably dark and mysterious ring to it which doesn't already belong to a mythical personage, but on the second page my eye is caught by "Melantha", meaning "dark flower". Perfect. I roll for age (2d6+15) and get 25. (If my sorcerer was male, I'd roll 2d6+25; sorcery comes more easily to women.)

Now I calculate secondary stats, like so:

Melee = Might (0) + Skill (+1) + Luck (+1) = +2
Missile = Skill (+1) + Wits (+2) + Luck (+1) = +4
Initiative = 10 + Skill (+1) + Wits (+2) = 13
Defense = 12 + Luck (+1) + armor (none) = 13
Hits = Basic Hits (8) + Might (0) = 8

Athletic Prowess = Might (0) + Skill (+1) + Luck (+1) = +2
Danger Evasion = Wits (+2) + Will (+2) + Luck (+1) = +5
Mystic Fortitude = Will (+2) + Grace (+2) + Luck (+1) = +5
Physical Vigor = Might (0) + Will (+2) + Luck (+1) = +3
Personal Charisma = Will (+2) + Grace (+2) + Luck (+1) = +5

(This brings to light something I hadn't noticed before: the Danger Evasion score, which roughly equates to a Reflex save, has no physical component. If I were house-ruling this, I'd replace the Will mod with the Skill mod.)

As a magician, Melantha has some additional scores:

Psychic Gift = Wits (+2) + Will (+2) = +4
Mystic Strength = 12 + Psychic Gift = 16
Starting Power = 4 + Will (+2) = 6

Finally, I select a patron deity (Athena seems appropriate) and determine equipment; a sorceress gets a dagger, staff or wand and 3d6x10 silver pieces. A dagger costs more, so I'll take that as my freebie and roll 140 sp for my starting wealth, which I use to buy a staff (5 sp), a sling and stones (6+2 sp) and a mule to ride on (1 gc = 100 sp), leaving me with 29 sp for later use. (For some reason, slingstones are sold in batches of 10, but if you get a sling as part of your starting equipment it comes with 12 stones.)

The Characters chapter ends with rules for character advancement and encumbrance. Characters gain Glory, Experience or Wisdom points depending on whether they're warriors, specialists or magicians; different types of points are earned by different activities. Advancement proceeds through six levels, each of which has different titles according to character type – for example, a warrior begins as a "Local Hero" at level 1 and works his way up to becoming a "Legendary Hero" at level 6. Each level gain results in an increase in Hits, Power points (for magicians only), Luck and one other score of the player's choice (though the choices may be limited by class). Of course, secondary stats are increased accordingly.

The encumbrance rules are simple, assigning each piece of standard equipment a number from 0 to 3 based on its weight and bulk. These are added to a base of 10, which is the encumbrance value of a character's own body, and if the total is higher than their Might score, they suffer a reduction in movement. Unfortunately, adding your own body weight creates a glitch: a character with a Might of less than 10 (such as Melantha) will be encumbered even if they're not carrying anything!

Combat

Battle rounds are divided into four phases: decision, missile, movement and melee. Missile and melee attacks are resolved in order of initiative, which is fixed. (In the previous version, initiative was a bonus added to a roll of 1d10, and I don't care for the change.) There's a slight organizational flaw here: although missile attacks occur before melee in the round, the rules for missile combat come after those for melee attacks, weapons, injury and healing, and special melee tactics (but before unarmed combat). An attack roll is 1d20 plus the Missile or Melee modifier, compared to the opponent's Effective Defense Class. Breastplates, shields and helmets each add 2 to EDC.

In the original rules, all weapons did 1d6 Hits of damage; this has been amended so that daggers do only 1d3 Hits except on a sneak attack. (Staves and wands apparently don't count as weapons, which makes me wonder why any sorcerer would choose one of those items over a dagger.) The rules for reach in the previous edition (in short, having a longer weapon than your opponent gave you a bonus to hit) have been dropped, replaced by the vague statement that a spear's length "may give certain advantages or disadvantages in a variety of special combat situations." It's a shame, because I thought the rule was a good way of handling weapon reach.

Damage is dealt with by a simple Hits system; when your Hits are reduced to zero or less you make a Physical Vigor roll to determine if you're dead, unconscious or still on your feet. (In the latter cases, one more Hit will kill you.) There are also rules to cover permanent injuries if your Hits are reduced to 2 or less. Healing is slow without magical assistance; after each week of rest you must make a Physical Vigor roll to see if you even regain any Hits.

Special situations such as surprise, facing, charging, two-weapon fighting, shield walls, parrying, mounted combat and sneak attacks are also covered in this section. (The retreat rules state that you can only disengage from melee if none of your opponents have successfully attacked you that round. However, this makes it very difficult to retreat when you most need to, i.e. when you find yourself being hammered by a superior foe. Fortunately this is an easy rule to ignore.)

Magic

This chapter details five "Realms" of magic, corresponding to the five magician classes, but each of them follows the same basic rules. Each "Realm" has six powers of increasing Magnitude, which cost a number of Power points equal to their Magnitude to use. (Previously, all powers cost 1d6 power points per use, but characters gained only one power per level, in increasing order of Magnitude. Now, all powers are available from the start.) Each magician class recovers powers points in a different way. All magicians have a "magical talent" bonus equal to the sum of their primary attribute modifiers – which influences the range, duration and so forth of magic powers – and a Mystic Strength score equal to 12 plus the talent bonus, which is the target number of a Mystic Fortitude roll to resist the magic. Magic use takes a full round in battle, and takes effect after the Melee phase.

Priests receive "divine prodigies", which are various boons such as healing or visions; some of these have varying effects depending on the priest's patron deity. Elementalists must choose two of the four elements, each of which gives access to three powers (as opposed to the usual six). Nymphs have a variety of powers called "nature's gifts", some of which vary according to the type of nymph (dryad, naiad, oread, etc.). Lyrists can perform songs which bolster allies or neutralize enemies, just as bards do in D&D. Sorcerers cast spells to confuse or control others (in D&D terms, they're enchanters). All uses of level to determine range, duration and so forth in the original rules have been replaced by the use of the magical talent and Mystic Strength scores.

Adventuring

This chapter covers travel, including descriptions of different kinds of ships and rules for navigation, weather and drowning. These are followed by the usual array of situational rules including feats of strength, climbing, perception, stealth, riding and foraging. Most of these involve a saving roll against a fixed target number – Athletic Prowess for climbing and swimming, Physical Vigor to avoid drowning or starvation, Danger Evasion for perception and stealth, and so forth. The exception is feats of strength, which use 1d10 instead of 1d20 and require you to roll under your Might mod.

The chapter closes with a section on dealing with NPCs, including rules for reputation and followers. This is where Personal Charisma comes into play, and it should be pretty familiar to any D&D veteran. There's an NPC Reactions table to roll 2d10 on, and different classes get to add their level as a reputation bonus in different circumstances. Morale checks for followers involve rolling below a Leadership score on 1d10. The final page of the chapter (before the closing editor's notes) briefly covers character advancement, which is dealt with more fully in the Maze Master's Guide as you might expect.

Book II: Maze Masters Guide

Mythic Lore

The first section of this chapter gives brief coverage to the 12 Olympian deities, which were named but not described in the Players Manual. This is basic stuff, and not much here will be new to anyone with a passing knowledge of Greek mythology. The next section describes the default setting of M&M, the fictional world of Mythika. The hex-based world map and one-sentence description of various regions are basically unchanged from the original M&M rules, but the revised edition also relates the mythic and recent history of Mythika and lists the various languages used therein.

As befits the theme of the game, Mythika is cluttered with copies of various historical cultures, in a manner reminiscent of Robert E. Howard's Hyboria, though less extensive. The world map is centered on the Middle Sea and the Land of the Three Cities; imagine a rough sketch of the Mediterranean region, sans Italy. In various directions lie other lands, including Egyptian and Arab-themed kingdoms, the frozen barbarian lands of Hyperborea, the home of the centaurs, an Amazon queendom, and remnants from the lost kingdom of Atlantis. The sections on Cosmogony and Mythic History are ripped straight from Greek mythology, while the Recent History is mostly a catalogue of various wars.

Creatures

This chapter covers the basic rules for describing creatures, which remain mostly unchanged from the first edition. Creatures are divided into Folks, Beasts, Monsters, Spirits and Animates, which are mainly descriptive labels although they do have some game effects. All have simplified stats comprising Size, Ferocity, Cunning and Mystique. The latter three have numerical ratings (ranging from 0 to +3) which are combined to form various other scores, but the stat blocks in Book III: Creature Compendium list the descriptive terms for each level without their corresponding numbers. This is the biggest flaw, as it requires you to either memorize the terms or constantly refer back to them. It isn't intuitively obvious that "Crafty" is better than "Clever" or that "Weird" is less potent than "Eldritch".

After the basic traits are described, we get formulae for using them to calculate combat scores (Initiative, Melee, Defense Class, and Hits Total; Missile attacks require a special ability) and saving rolls (Detection, Evasion and Mystic Fortitude), then rules on the effects of Size on combat. Next are several pages listing special abilities, followed by examples of how to build new creatures or customize old ones. Finally, rules are provided for calculating Glory, Wisdom and Experience awards for vanquishing creatures.

Game Mastering

This chapter describes the most common types of M&M adventures, which are Monster Hunts, Artefact Quests and Heroic Wars. Locations such as Mysterious Islands and the Underworld are also described, and a series of tables for random generation of islands, temples and city states is provided. The level of detail and number of options for these are quite extensive. Finally, there are tables for random plot generation using the formula "The adventurers are asked by (A) to venture through (B) in order to (C) but (D)."

Mythic Items

These are divided into seven categories: Magical Armament, Potions and Consumables, Staves and Wands, Rings and Amulets, Garments and Accessories, Miscellaneous Items and Unique Artifacts. Most of these have names in the pattern "X of Y" (where Y is often the name of a deity) and provide simple bonuses of one sort or another in various circumstances. Some have restrictions on who can use them, in the form of class or minimum ability requirements. There aren't many that directly mimic spell abilities, as is the norm for magic items in D&D. There are also no price lists or rules for creating them – mythic items are meant to be found or bestowed, not bought or fabricated. There are rules for identifying them, though.

Book IV: M&M Companion

This is a book of optional rules, a parallel, I suppose, to Unearthed Arcana.

Character Options

The first set of rules covers "background talents", which are roughly equivalent to non-weapon proficiencies in AD&D. Each starting character picks two from a class-defined list; for example, an Amazon can choose among Armorer, Beastmaster, Equestrian, Healer, Mountaineer and Wrestler. There are 15 altogether, and most of them allow the player to roll two d20s and keep the better roll in certain situations.

Next are two alternate soldier classes (the Archer and the Cavalryman), followed by rules for noble heritage, allowing a Noble to randomly determine his second primary attribute and the divine ancestor from whom he gained his heritage. "Heroic Development" provides rules for advancing ability scores beyond 20.

Divine Agents

This chapter gives rules for becoming an agent of a god. This is not a new class, but rather a "template" that any class can take. There are various forms of divine boons which can be gained; each god provides different benefits and has different restrictions and expectations of his or her agents.

Combat Options

This covers techniques such as bashing (trying to knock an opponent down), disarming, mounted archery and net fighting. Next is a section on "Homeric Combat", aka critical hits and fumbles, complete with random tables for both melee and missile combat. A page of rules on chariots closes out the chapter.

Magic Options

This is the highlight of the M&M Companion, in my opinion. Here we get two new choices for Elementalists, light and darkness (though the latter is for NPCs only) and a new class, the Shapeshifter (greatly toned down from the original version).

Religious Options

This chapter begins with rules for NPC Acolytes and for ritual sacrifices, a method to regain Power points more quickly than normal. Next are descriptions of the Non-Olympian cults of Cybele, Dionysos and Mithras, and the Druids of the barbarian tribes.

Miscellaneous Options

First off are rules for traps, both indoor and outdoor. There's nothing fancy here; just stats for the old standards like pitfalls, poisoned needles, fire traps and so forth. These rules are for the specialist classes; only Thieves can disarm indoor traps and only Hunters can disarm outdoor ones.

The next section is on Influencing NPCs, and covers intimidation, persuasion and seduction. Each has its own formula for calculating the appropriate influence modifier, in place of Personal Charisma. This is followed by rules for taming beasts and monsters by three different methods: Craft, Force and Charm (the last option being open only to Nymphs).

Finally there are a couple of columns devoted to Expert NPCs, comprising navigators, physicians, sages and philosophers. These last have an unusual resistance to magic of all types owing to their skeptical nature.

Appendix: Warfare Rules

I'm not the best person to judge mass combat rules, but these strike me as simple yet robust. Mind you, there are no miniatures or terrain maps involved, so hard-core wargaming fans probably won't be pleased. However, as abstract resolution systems go, this one seems to cover all the necessary bases while keeping things simple (but not simplistic).

Every unit has a Combat Factor (CF) derived by a formula which includes the base creature's Ferocity, equipment, special abilities and size. The numerical size of a troop is multiplied by the CF of its units to find its total Strength. A battle round represents one hour of combat and is divided into phases. In the Strategical Phase, you decide which troops to commit and calculate "battle modifiers" which take into account relative Strength, morale, positioning and fatigue. Next is the Tactical Phase, in which each side decides how much they will risk. The sum of the Tactical Risk for both sides is the Massacre Factor (MF). In the Resolution Phase, opposed rolls of 1d20 + battle modifier determine the winner of the round, and the losses on both sides are then determined using the MF.

The last three phases are the Heroic Phase (in which PC actions are resolved), the Morale Phase, and optionally the Retreat Phase. There are rules for boosting your troops' morale before battle via oratory, as well as for the effects of good and bad omens on morale, which is a great genre-appropriate touch. There's also a paragraph on adjusting the rules for siege warfare. In case you're wondering, naval warfare is not addressed.

Evaluation

Style

The original Mazes & Minotaurs rules were illustrated in black & white with what looked like clip-art: mostly static images of people and monsters in various poses, in the style of artwork you might see decorating a Grecian urn. They worked well in evoking the feel of the game, and the often witty captions prevented them from being totally dull. The revised rules include most of the original artwork, but add a number of new sketches in slightly different styles, and beautiful full-color cover art by Luigi Castellani. Furthermore, the Creature Compendium has a multitude of new pictures by many different artists; almost every creature is illustrated. Apart from the covers, none of the art really wowed me – but many of the pieces are quite good, none of them are really awful, and all of them are in tune with the subject matter.

Aside from the artwork and a Grecian-style square spiral border, the appearance is very Spartan (pun intended) – two columns of text in a sans serif font, with tables bordered by solid black lines. As in the original version, there are blocks of blue text at the end of each section, commenting on the "history" of the game. Many of these (especially in Book III) include excerpted quotes from letters and articles printed in "Griffin" magazine. The PDF is fully bookmarked, always a good thing. The writing is clear and entertaining, and while there are a number of minor grammatical errors, very few of them interfere with comprehension. (I've already sent a list of errata to the author, and he has uploaded corrected versions. The new versions credit me as proofreader; however, I was not otherwise involved in any way in the creation of the game.) I do have one small complaint about the choppiness of the text, especially in the descriptions of the magical powers; in many cases, each sentence is a separate paragraph!

Compared to professional publications, M&M would rate as merely average in style, but for a free, homegrown work it's quite impressive. Bearing this in mind, I've given it a Style rating of 4.

Support

For a free, niche game, M&M has a surprising amount of support. There's a fairly active Yahoo group, many supplements on the website as noted, and more hopefully on the way. The first issue of the "Minotaur Quarterly" was released just a couple of months ago, with nautically-themed adventures and other articles – including the "long-awaited" appearance of the Mariner, a specialist class which has been alluded to ever since the first edition but never published before. There's also been talk of developing a Norse spin-off entitled Vikings & Valkyries.

Biases and Comparisons

I like the d20 System a lot. It's not that I think it's a perfect system, or even the best, but none of its "flaws" are game-breakers for me. However, I've never liked the AD&D rules. I could list all the things that are wrong with them, but since this isn't an AD&D gripefest, I'll stick to the two that are most relevant to comparison with M&M: convoluted and inconsistent rules, and straitjacketed character creation. M&M avoids the first problem by using a standard resolution mechanic (with a few minor exceptions as noted above). As for the second, it might seem that the cookie-cutter classes would limit variety, but most of the details are left up to the player. M&M doesn't have a list of skills, advantages and disadvantages to choose from; it keeps character design simple and to the point. Arguably, the same is true of Basic D&D, but M&M allows its characters more freedom. A sorcerer doesn't get a sword to start with, but there's nothing that says he can't buy and use one if he wants to. On the other hand, there's not much incentive for him to do so since most weapons do the same damage anyway.

Since it's written as both an affectionate parody of D&D and a playable game, M&M invites comparison to Hackmaster. However, the similarities end there. Whereas Hackmaster is AD&D turned up to 11, M&M is more like a streamlined version of Basic D&D (complete with race-as-class). I have no interest in playing Hackmaster (I don't mean that as an insult; it's just not my cup of tea), but I'd love to play in an M&M game, and I'd even consider running a one-off game of it if I could come up with a good adventure and a few interested players. (Though I'd probably stick to the original character creation rules, and cherry-pick the best parts of the revised edition.)

Conclusion

There's no question that M&M has graduated from a joke game to a serious contender in the niche game market. Mind you, this was true even before the revised rules were released, but the new edition pulls together pieces that were scattered across several supplements, organizes them into a coherent package, and smoothes off the rough edges. While I may prefer some aspects of the original character creation rules, in all other respects the revised rules are a great step forward. There's always been a shortage of RPGs designed to emulate classical mythology; M&M could be the game that fills that void.