Maze and Labyrinth Resources for Dungeon Masters

Most gamers have run into a labyrinth at least once in their gaming life. Usually in pursuit (or in flight from) a minotaur.  I am not averse to minotaurs, but I think that the labyrinth itself if more interesting than the monsters that inhabit its confusing walls.

Sadly, creating a complex maze is quite tedious and I think it limits their appearance in most campaigns.  With that in mind,  I put together a few links that will aid you in maze creation. Some are links to existing maze designs, such as the European hedge mazes that were often the focus of 19th century party games.  The remainder link to software or other resources that aid maze creation.

Labyrinthos.net — The best site I found, as it discusses history and has an excellent collection of images and publications related to labyrinths.  The entire site is excellent, but the images page is most useful to gamers. I thought the native American designs particularly interesting.

MazeMaker 1.0 — A clever java maze creator.  You can create complex mazes with a few keystrokes.  A click of the space bar shows a 3D view of the maze and the you can “walk” through the maze with a first-person view. Be sure to read all the instructions for a full list of options.

Astrolog.org — A links page with  with a technical bent. Several of the links are software related, but others cover design and the psychology of mazes. Also has a section dedicated to running a life-sized maze.  Tips are not really applicable to  a dungeon, but still useful in a corn maze.

The Labyrinth Company — Not really useful for gaming, but this company sells labyrinths for your backyard, which is just cool. They also sell portable “finger labyrinths ” for meditation.   I never found running a maze relaxing, but then again I am usually being chased by some demon or another, so that might be the reason for my stress.

Now that I have given you the tools to easily create mazes, be sure to get your  PCs well and truly lost in one.  If they get frustrated and angry, blame me.  Torturing PCs is one of my favorite past times. I love to hear their howls of anger. 🙂

Out of pity to the players that will suffer from this post, I will put up some techniques for defeating a labyrinth tomorrow.  I have to be fair, after all.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

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trask

Trask is a long-time gamer, world traveler and history buff. He hopes that his scribblings will both inform and advance gaming as a hobby.