Mazes and Minotaurs?

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:21 am

Anyone ever hear of it? Anyone know about its claim of being the first RPG?
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri May 29, 2009 10:36 am

I've heard of it... and no -- it's not actually the first RPG. It was released a few years ago around 2006.

The idea behind it is 'what-if' a game like D&D was created using inspiration from the Greek age of Heroes and mythology instead of Tolkien and other staples of fantasy.

The game is designed to be a very playable old-school type of game and also serves as a tribute (in it's own way). Here's a link to some more information on the origins of the game:
http://storygame.free.fr/how.html

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dachda · Post by **dachda** » Fri May 29, 2009 3:45 pm

Check their website out at: http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/revised.html

Claiming to be the "first" is a joke, carried thru the forewords of the books. But the game itself is not a joke and from reveiws I've read is a great old-schoolish game based on the premise of adventuring in ancient Greece, with some egypt, amazonia, and hyberborea thrown into the mix. The game is free and the "1987 version" is like AD&D1e, so has a players manual, a mazmaster's book and a creature compendium book. Like the original unearthed arcana, they also have a companion book with new optional rules. Also free at the website is a 211 page adventure, maps of the world of Mythika, the first four issues of Minotaur Quarterly a fan magazine, and some other goodies.

Overall it looks quite polished and profesional, as much as any of the retro old school games that are increasing in popularity.
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Fri May 29, 2009 3:54 pm

Another clone, but one that only does what it says it does -- that is, it does not try to be "everything."
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri May 29, 2009 3:59 pm

And... this has to be stated... it *is* among the first of the 'retro old school' movements. To be honest, my early inspiration for D&D was things like the Odyssey and Greek Mythology. This would have appealed to me probably more than regular AD&D did when I got into the hobby (if even possible).

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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:18 pm

Yeah, I was wondering about its claims. Being a "joke" would explain how they could be first, but in their credits give homage to people that didn't even become known until after 1977.

I agree the material looks real good, and that 211 page mega module seems written with "modern" sensibilities rather than what I would expect to see from 1987 or 1972.
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Lord Dynel · Post by **Lord Dynel** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:21 pm

There are just too many clones IMHO. If I want to play old school for just about anything except the LBBs, I can find the books rather cheap. I know free and revised can be better than old, costs money, and non-revised, but I don't know - I'd rather have the original, I think.

Sorry for the rant, guys.

That being said, Mazes and Minotaurs does a good job capturing that Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans feel for a rpg. If that's how you like your fantasy, it will not disappoint.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:30 pm

Lord Dynel wrote:
There are just too many clones IMHO. If I want to play old school for just about anything except the LBBs, I can find the books rather cheap. I know free and revised can be better than old, costs money, and non-revised, but I don't know - I'd rather have the original, I think.

Sorry for the rant, guys.

That being said, Mazes and Minotaurs does a good job capturing that Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans feel for a rpg. If that's how you like your fantasy, it will not disappoint.

Well, the MAIN purpose of the clones is to support new product. If you want nicely written and cleaned up presentation then you may want to buy the clones. For example I would much rather read through Swords and Wizardry rather than all the book supplements.

I would also say the same for OSRIC verses 1E. However since I still have my 1E books I haven't bought a print version of OSRIC. Its pretty obvious when reading the PDF that the layout and clarity of rules is significantly better.
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:43 pm

I too have mixed feelings about the retro-clones.

I like my retro-clones to have something that stands out for them.

OSRIC, Swords & Wizardry, and even Labyrinth Lord don't really do it for me. Though to be fair Labyrinth Lord is the one of the three I'm likely to pick up because of the reference to a favored D&D era of mine.

I can respect Basic Fantasy RPG because the approach taken to create it though and Jason Vey's "Spellcraft & Swordplay" because of the variants and ideas it brings to the stuff I already own. I equally respect Mazes & Minotaurs but I would be raving over the stuff if the retro old school movement be a lot more toned down.

The fact that all these people have the time and energy to do this sort of thing is to be commended though!

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Lord Dynel · Post by **Lord Dynel** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:07 am

Treebore wrote:
Well, the MAIN purpose of the clones is to support new product. If you want nicely written and cleaned up presentation then you may want to buy the clones. For example I would much rather read through Swords and Wizardry rather than all the book supplements.

I would also say the same for OSRIC verses 1E. However since I still have my 1E books I haven't bought a print version of OSRIC. Its pretty obvious when reading the PDF that the layout and clarity of rules is significantly better.

Yeah, I know, Tree. I really wan;t meaning any disrespect to the clones or anyone who like them. The best thing that comes from teh existence of the clones, IMHO, is the new modules and such that are released.

But that's the thing - if you have your 1e books, then would you really use OSRIC, for example? I;m sure there are some that do, but if I wanted to play a 1e-like game, I'd probably just play 1e. That's just me, though.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sat May 30, 2009 12:33 am

Lord Dynel wrote:
Yeah, I know, Tree. I really wan;t meaning any disrespect to the clones or anyone who like them. The best thing that comes from teh existence of the clones, IMHO, is the new modules and such that are released.

But that's the thing - if you have your 1e books, then would you really use OSRIC, for example? I;m sure there are some that do, but if I wanted to play a 1e-like game, I'd probably just play 1e. That's just me, though.

I wasn't taking offense, I just don't know how much you pay attention to the clones, so I was just making sure you were aware of the big reason they were done.

Your right, if I want to play 1E, and I will hopefully being doing so in a month or two, I'll use my books.
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