The way in is through the bottom left-hand corner of level 1. There is a second way out, if the players find it.
The maps are colour-coded:
The corridors, avenues and rooms are unlit, and the floors generally strewn with rocks. Around lairs, the floors might be tidier and there might even be some lighting. It depends how intelligent the inhabitants of the lairs are, and how willing they are to let other people know they're there. Wandering monsters have learnt to avoid well-lit places where the floors are tidy.
Local colour: This is a stone maze. Make sure that the descriptions of rooms and avenues frequently include supporting stone columns. These stone columns can be used to provide cover (assume made his saving throw means dodged behind a column in time). In well-lit areas, the columns cast deep shadows, making it difficult to spot people sneaking around.
Also, make sure that the descriptions of the rooms often include humanoid statues of various sizes. Some are giant-sized and far too heavy to lift. Some are human-sized, a fact which ought to make player characters pause for thought. Some are small and portable, and some of these will be valuable. A few of the statues, large and small, will have some sort of magical properties, and the humans-sized statues are sometimes a clue that there is something around which petrifies people, but most statues are just statues.
Lairs: although, in principle, any lair could be the home of any monster, there are some common-sense restrictions. Where the lair is behind packed rubble, the resident monster must be something which isn't troubled by packed rubble - snakes and spiders could slither or crawl through the gaps, and intangible monsters such as shadows and vampires could simply pass through rubble. Where the lair is in the corner of a room, the resident monster is probably something cowering away in the corner - perhaps a small band of orcs. Where the lair is in the middle of a room, it indicates that the resident monster thinks it can take care of itself and doesn't care who knows it's there - perhaps a band of adventurers, or a troll nest.
Traps: Essentially, there are three sorts of traps.
The first sort is immediately deadly. There should be a few of these, but not too many. Logic dictates that if a trap is deadly enough to kill player characters on the spot, it is also deadly enough to kill monsters. Thus, traps which are immediately deadly will usually have unguarded treasure nearby. However much fun it may be to kill hack-and-slay characters on the spot, one does not wish them to stumble across too many unguarded treasures.
The second sort of trap is disabling. Most traps should be of this type. I particularly like delayed-effect traps. For example: The player characters see yet another large statue, not obviously different from any of several other statues they have seen today. However, gradually, it dawns on them that the glow in the statue's eyes is not the reflection of torchlight but something more eerie. Roll saving throws vs magic for everyone present, but at this point nothing happens to those who fail. Ten minutes later, or (even better) at the start of the next melee, those who failed their saving throws are affected by fumble or hold person.
The third type is tricky, sometimes beneficial and sometimes unpleasant. For ideas, consult tables of random magical effects such as may be found here or here. There should not be too many of this type of trap. A very few should always be beneficial. For example, if the players manage to find their way to the one and only trap on level one, they deserve some sort of reward.
One-way walls are not exactly traps (although, to the unwary, they can be deadly).
On the "black" side of the wall, the OWW looks more or less like a wall (those able to detect secret doors have their usual chance of spotting something unusual). It also acts like a wall in all the usual ways, including being solid and un-walk-through-able. There is no non-magical way of opening the OWW from this side. A knock spell will make the OWW vanish for the duration of the spell. While the OWW is vanished, people (and monsters) can walk through the place where it was.
On the "orange" side of the wall, the OWW is invisible (those able to detect secret doors have their usual chance of spotting something unusual). The OWW will vanish automatically when approached from this side. While the OWW is vanished, people (and monsters) can walk through the place where it was. The OWW will remain vanished for as long as anyone is looking at the place where it was. When people stop looking, it reappears.
The OWW on level one is relatively benign - its purpose is to ward low-level adventurers away from the dangerous parts of the maze while giving high-level adventurers a quick way out. There are OWWs on lower levels of the maze which are much less benign, and parties without a knock spell (or some other way out of a locked room) could be in serious trouble.
There are many more levels, but these should be enough to be going on with.
I have included encounter tables for wandering monsters. If you feel that the player characters are finding things too predictable, please feel free to amend them, using the information below as a guideline to preserving local colour.
Standard rules (i.e. anything in the book, plus any house rules you have) apply, with the following addition:
The stone used in constructing the maze is semi-magical, and extends in other directions as well as the usual three. In particular, it extends into the ethereal plane (if you have one).
You cannot walk through walls by turning ethereal. (However, passwall works normally.)
Teleporting into, out of or within the maze is dangerous. The teleport spell itself still works - what has changed is that the stone of the maze makes it difficult to visualise the destination, so the chance of ending up high, low or in entirely the wrong place is very much increased.
There are essentially four groups of monsters in the first dozen or so levels of the maze:
The plot changes on lower levels of the maze, but those levels will not be written up for some time yet.
It is cold out there in the wilderness. It is all that much warmer in the top few levels of the maze, but at least it is sheltered from the wind.
For this reason, some of the more intelligent wilderness monsters have moved into the maze and made their home there.
In due course, I shall write up a specific encounter table. Until then, use the Wilderness Encounter Table, but rolling 2d6+4 rather than 2d10.
These monsters will generally not know their way about the maze very well. Since they have not been here long themselves, they will not co-operate with (or trust) other monsters.
These monsters can be found anywhere in the maze, but are most common on levels 1 to 6 inclusive.
As noted earlier, the stone of the maze is semi-magical, and it tends to attract stone monsters. From around level 6 onwards, include gargoyles amongst the possible wandering monsters. Also, make sure that the descriptions of the rooms often include statues. A few of the statues will have some sort of magical properties, or be a clue that there is something around which petrifies people, but most of them are just statues.
Medusas are not encountered as wandering monsters up to and including level 13, but including one or two as lair monsters is fine, and recommended.
Groups of super-gargoyles are also not encountered as wandering monsters up to and including level 12, but can be from level 13 onwards. Including two or three groups of them as lair monsters is fine, and also recommended. So is including one super-gargoyle as leader of a pack of normal gargoyles.
Super-gargoyles are specific to this maze:
Intelligence: Low (5-7)
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Number appearing: 2-12
Armour class: 4
Movement: 9, Fl 15 (C)
Hit dice: 6+6
No. of attacks: 4
Damage/attack: 1-6/1-6/1-12*/1-8
Special attacks: *Petrification (see below)
Special defences: +2 or better weapon to hit
Magic resistance: Nil
Size: M (6' tall)
The petrification ability of super-gargoyles works in just the same way as that of a cockatrice. Only the bite attack can petrify (not the claw/claw/horn attacks).
Stone giants are unlikely (as the confines of the maze make chucking rocks about difficult) but possible. Stone golems are possible too, but more likely after level 13 than before.
The Army of General Afschrlyyjlvrmllo
About five or six years ago, an Yjsbson Army unit commanded by Brigadier Afschrlyyjlvrmllo munitied. Unusually, the generals of the Yjsbson Army sided with the mutineers.
The Brigadier, known as Afschrlyyjlvrmllo the Haughty, is certainly not a nice person. He epitomises the callous aristocratic officer who regards the troops under his command as expendable pawns. However, most of his senior officers are not much different, so this was not the reason that they ruled against him.
You should not need much background about the mutiny - it is over and done with. Briefly, the story is this: Afschrlyyjlvrmllo is not a strict disciplinarian. He is used to commanding elite units, in which succeeding in missions is important and adherence to rules is not. Finding himself in command of a mixed unit of elite and normal troops, he allowed the elite troops their usual leniency but required strict discipline from the normal troops. This is, in point of fact, the correct thing to do, but the normal troops saw it as favourism and mutinied. Afschrlyyjlvrmllo had the leaders of the mutiny publicly tortured and executed (public torture might be considered extreme, but as I have said, Afschrlyyjlvrmllo is not a nice person) and got on with his mission, and after concluding the mission successfully was most surprised to find himself up in front of a court-martial charged with murder.
The truth is that Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's senior officers were scared of him. Afschrlyyjlvrmllo is both extremely competent as an officer and indomitable as an individual. Although he does, in principle, know the meaning of the word defeat, he understands it as something which only applies to other people. He knows every trick in the book of dirty warfare, and has added several appendices of his own to it.
After the court-martial convicted him of murder, Afschrlyyjlvrmllo escaped with those few of his unit which remained loyal to him (the most experienced soldiers of the elite unit, plus some junior officers who knew merits of his case, plus some NCOs who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time), and took refuge in the maze.
The Yjsbson Army has neither the resources nor the will to pursue Afschrlyyjlvrmllo. There is the perennial threat of the southern provinces seceding from the Empire, so most of the army is in the south, not the north. Those army units which are in the north are there to protect the capital, Yjsbso, from barbarians and wilderness monsters (and they do not do it all that well - the wilderness seems to get closer to Yjsbso year by year). And the idea of taking on Afschrlyyjlvrmllo (known to be a thoughtful strategist, a cunning tactician, a courageous warrior and a vicious and vindictive bastard) on what is now his home ground (the maze), particularly when he has a dozen or more of the most skilled warriors in the Yjsbson Army on his side, is not one which the leaders of the Yjsbson Army want to think about for too long. They hope, instead, that the monsters of the maze will do the job for them.
The converse is not true. Afschrlyyjlvrmllo sees himself as, metaphorically, boxed into a corner from which the only way out is up. He has already promoted himself to General. He plans, when the time is right, to declare himself Emperor. To this end, he is raising an army.
Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's current headquarters is on level 12 of the maze.
Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite troops (the ones who accompanied him on his flight from Yjsbso to the maze) are usually busy exploring the deeper levels of the maze.
Level 12 is full of soldiers, mostly low-to-medium-level fighters, who have joined Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's army since that time.
It is Afschrlyyjlvrmllo who, through contacts outside the maze, is funding the transportation of adventurers to the tavern. This serves a threefold purpose:
Rjspldhmba has a reasonable idea of Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's plans, does not approve of them, and may take some action to thwart them if they appear to be succeeding. Rjspldhmba did not get to be a name-level wizard by doing things hazardous to his health, so his efforts to thwart Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's plans will take the form of advising player characters where to go and what to do, rather than the form of personal action.
[AD&D-Specific] Afschrlyyjlvrmllo "the Haughty", human male, Str 12 Dex 18 Con 17 Int 15 Wis 18 Cha 5 Align NE Hp 104. Height 5'9". Weight 177 lb. Age fifty-ish, but still in perfect health. Fighter, level 16. Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's favourite weapon, on the rare occasions when he himself enters melee combat, is a +4 defender longsword. Afschrlyyjlvrmllo has a number of other magical items, appropriate to his level, including (most usefully) a ring of human influence.
[AD&D-Specific] Abcyyjlvrmlljju "the Modest", human female, Str 16 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 18 Cha 11 Align NE Hp 61. Priestess, level 9. Abcyyjlvrmlljju is Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's sister. Although not in the Yjsbson Army and not involved with the mutiny or the subsequent court-martial, she accompanied her brother when he fled to the maze. Abcyyjlvrmlljju has a number of magical items, including a girdle of frost giant strength.
In normal circumstances, most of Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's senior officers and NCOs will be exploring the deeper levels of the maze. However, if Afschrlyyjlvrmllo has reason to expect an attack on his headquarters, they will be there too, ready and waiting.
[AD&D-Specific] Ekxo, human male, Str 18/10 Dex 18 Con 11 Int 18 Wis 13 Cha 13 Align NE Hp 79. Age late twenties. Fighter, level 11. Ekxo was a lieutenant in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite unit, being the officer in charge of morale (and thereby partly to blame for the mutiny). He is somewhat effeminate, and as a result often gets landed with "soft" jobs such as morale. Ekxo has a number of magical items, most notably a golden-coloured star sapphire talisman which allows him to cast spells from the schools of illusion and transmutation as a 4th-level wizard and which gives him alter self and sense shifting as permanently-active spell effects. Ekxo believes that this talisman is attuned to him and could not be used by anyone else; the truth is that anyone with 17 or higher dexterity and 17 or higher intelligence could use it.
[AD&D-Specific] Uffrjjthpwyjga, human female, Str 18/98 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 9 Wis 11 Cha 13 Align NE Hp 86. Age early thirties. Fighter, level 17. Uffrjjthpwyjga, an NCO in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite unit, was and remains their strongest and most able warrior. Uffrjjthpwyjga is a most disgusting person. While some (particularly necromancers) work hard at being perverted, to Uffrjjthpwyjga it comes naturally. In combat, which she loves, Uffrjjthpwyjga uses a +5 bastardsword. Uffrjjthpwyjga has a number of other magical items, most notably a ring which allows her to cast 22 dice of violent invocation spells (fireball, lightning bolt, cone of cold, possibly others) per day, at most one spell (of up to 10 dice) per round. This ring could be used by anyone of evil alignment who enjoys hurting others.
[AD&D-Specific] Ibdxjngrjjpjjknu, human male, Str 21 Dex 16 Con 15 Int 12 Wis 16 Cha 12 Align NE Hp 78. Fighter, level 11. Ibdxjngrjjpjjknu was a minor NCO in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite unit whose duties included supervising camp-sites. Ibdxjngrjjpjjknu has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of his level, but nothing non-standard. His supernatural strength is a recent development which would take too long to explain here.
[AD&D-Specific] Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra, human female, Str 13 Dex 15 Con 12 Int 17 Wis 6 Cha 18 Align NE HP 44. Age thirtyish. Bard, level 8. Enchantress, level 11. Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra was a charioteer in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite unit who unexpectedly turned out to have magical talent. Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra has a number of magical items, including eyes of charming, and a peculiar talisman which doubles the number of spells of levels 1 to 4 inclusive which she can memorise and allows her two permanently-active spell effects per spell level up to 4th. This talisman could be used by any dual-classed or multi-classed bard/wizard. Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra's permanently-active spell effects include cantrip and friends.
[AD&D-Specific] Okrnjjthzsbwjjllyo, human male, Str 16 Dex 17 Con 17 Int 14 Wis 16 Cha 13 Align NE Hp 104. Fighter, level 12. Okrnjjthzsbwjjllyo, like Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra, was a charioteer in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's elite unit, but Okrnjjthzsbwjjllyo's main duties were as a tracker. Okrnjjthzsbwjjllyo has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of his level, but nothing non-standard. A permanent illusion has been cast on him such that his skin looks like tree-bark.
[AD&D-Specific] Wlpxi "the Elaborate", human male, Str 17 Dex 11 Con 13 Int 14 Wis 19 Cha 10 Align NE Hp 74. Age fifty-something. Fighter, level 7. Priest, level 12. Wlpxi was a non-combatant clerk in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's unit, his main interest being military history. He is a priest of an otherwise-forgotten military cult. Wlpxi has a number of magical items, appropriate to a cleric of his level, but nothing non-standard.
[AD&D-Specific] Umbjjcka "the Enigmatic", human male, Str 12 Dex 5 Con 13 Int 16 Wis 16 Cha 14 Align CE Hp 48. Priest, level 11. At the time of the mutiny, Umbjjcka was hiding out as he was wanted for heresy. Picking a position as a common soldier under Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's command was an accidental additional misfortune. Umbjjcka has a number of magical items, appropriate to a cleric of his level, but nothing non-standard.
[AD&D-Specific] Wnzsjje "the Fair", human female, Str 12 Dex 7 Con 11 Int 12 Wis 12 Cha 11 Align N Hp 53. Fighter, level 7. Wnzsjje worked as a non-combatant clerk in the Quartermaster's Stores, her outside interest being horses. She is now Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's Quartermaster, and rarely leaves his headquarters. Wnzsjje has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of her level, but nothing non-standard. As Quartermaster, she also has access to any number of more powerful items.
[AD&D-Specific] Urgrnjjba, human female, Str 18/35 Dex 15 Con 15 Int 13 Wis 13 Cha 18 Align NE Hp 75. Fighter, level 10. Urgrnjjba was a common soldier under Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's command, popular with her comrades but not outstanding in any way. She surprised her comrades by refusing to support the mutiny. Urgrnjjba has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of her level, but nothing non-standard. Urgrnjjba is fond of flowery perfumes.
[AD&D-Specific] Ufvbjju "the Extravagant", human female, Str 19 Dex 19 Con 12 Int 9 Wis 16 Cha 17 Align NE Hp 62. Priestess, level 9. Fighter, level 11. Ufvbjju was one of the non-combatant cooks in Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's unit, specialising in extravagant banquets for officers' celebrations. She remained loyal to Afschrlyyjlvrmllo out of exaggerated respect for the upper classes. She is a priestess of a deity of extravagance, and her spell powers include wizard spells from the school of illusion. Ufvbjju has a number of magical items, appropriate to a character of her level, including a costume mask which, when worn, doubles the range, area of effect or duration (caster chooses which) of any illusion spells of levels 1 to 5 inclusive cast by the wearer. This mask could be used by any cleric whose granted spell powers include wizard spells from the school of illusion.
[AD&D-Specific] Appnsjje "the Elegant", human female, Str 17 Dex 13 Con 17 Int 15 Wis 11 Cha 18 Align NG Hp 85. Fighter, level 8. At the time of the mutiny, Appnsjje was an apprentice cook, serving under Ufvbjju. Opposing the mutiny seemed like a good idea at the time, but she now realises that it was an awful mistake. Appnsjje has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of her level, but nothing non-standard. She likes elegant clothing, hates the nasty smelly maze, and would return to Yjsbso if she could.
[AD&D-Specific] Ivfrya "the Lively", human female, Str 14 Dex 18 Con 10 Int 10 Wis 16 Cha 17 Align CE Hp 76. Fighter, level 11. Ivfrya was a prisoner-of-war, not part of Afschrlyyjlvrmllo's unit at all. She comes from a seafaring culture, and could reasonably be considered a pirate. She had no particular loyalty to Afschrlyyjlvrmllo but thought her chances of survival slim if she sided with the mutineers. Ivfrya has a number of magical items, appropriate to a warrior of her level, but nothing non-standard.
[AD&D-Specific] Uxkfxdhmlljju "the Subtle", half-elf female, Str 16 Dex 16 Con 10 Int 16 Wis 15 Cha 9 Align NE Hp 57. Fighter, level 9. Cleric, level 9. Transmuter, level 10. Uxkfxdhmlljju was a civilian tracker employed by Afschrlyyjlvrmllo, who was not entirely sure of Okrnjjthzsbwjjllyo's tracking talents. Like Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra, Uxkfxdhmlljju turned out to have magical talents. Uxkfxdhmlljju is a priestess of a depravity cult and is nearly as disgusting as Uffrjjthpwyjga, although in entirely different ways. Uxkfxdhmlljju has a number of magical items, appropriate to a character of her level, and a peculiar talisman, similar to Ujjcqbbxrpgqpxstrfra's, which doubles the number of spells of levels 1 to 4 inclusive which she can memorise and allows her two permanently-active spell effects per spell level up to 4th. This talisman could be used by any dual-classed or multi-classed priest/wizard. Uxkfxdhmlljju's permanently-active spell effects include change self and invisibility.
Include as many oozes, slimes, gelatinous cubes and other gooey things as you like. Also, include enough carrion crawlers and other clean-up monsters to make sure that anything left lying around is not left lying around for too long. Keep your dungeon tidy!