[DF] Mazes, Labyrinths, etc.

[cltchrn]

I'm running a play-by-post Dungeon Fantasy game, and one of my groups will soon encounter a maze. I created a flowchart/table to simplify. I thought I'd share. Feel free to tweak, critique, etc. :)

THE MAZE
Whether the walls be cut-stone, dirt, corn, or some manner of shrubbery, they are nigh impenetrable. Cut-stone is expensive to move with Shape Earth; dirt may be somehow magically treated to resist attempts to bypass it; corn or shrubberies may be likewise treated, poisonous to the touch (see It Stings, It Burns under Dire and Terrible Monsters from Pyramid #3/76: Dungeon Fantasy IV for one idea); or perhaps the walls are semi-sentient and attack anyone who attempts to break through them (see ibid.). These walls are about 12-feet high, at least 1-yard thick, and quite damage resistant (handwavium as above, if necessary). There must be some sort of ceiling to prevent flying folk from sneaking a peek and spoiling the fun. This is easy if the maze is indoors. If outdoors, similar magically treated something looms overhead, making it impossible to see over the walls without risking serious injury (or just plain impossible because handwavium). To simplify (and avoid the need for a map), the maze is treated as an endless succession of Junctions with a predetermined number of Correct Choices required to successfully escape the maze.

Junction Type (1d)
1-5 – Fork. Choose from two options. Roll Choice (below) normally.
6 – Crossroads. Choose from three options. Roll Choice at -1.

The Choice (3d)
At a junction, roll 3d with a target of 10 or less (at -1 if you hit a Crossroads). If you succeed, roll for the next Junction Type. Keep track of your total number of successes. Once you've reached the GM's predetermined number, you've made it out of the maze! If you fail, the GM will roll secretly on the Wrong Turn Table (also known as "Bad Disc Jockey," below). Critical success (3 or 4) also means you find a clue, giving a +1 on the next Choice roll. Critical failure (17+) gives a -1 on the next roll in addition to the result on the table. Luck* may be used as usual to improve rolls; total the number of available uses for the whole group. Serendipity* allows one automatic success per level (must be declared before rolling). A successful use of Intuition* grants an automatic success as well, but note that it may be used only once per character with the advantage (also must be used before rolling).

Wrong Turn Table (3d)
3-7 – Trap/Hazard. You stumble into a trap: poison darts, pitfalls, etc. This is dangerous, but may only affect the group leader, depending on the particular hazard. (See It's a Trap! from Pyramid #3/60: Dungeon Fantasy III for some ideas. You may want to create another table with a handful of pre-made traps.)
8-12 – Dead End. This is harmless, but you have to turn around. Roll the higher of IQ or Cartography to remember how to get back. Those with Eidetic Memory roll at +5. If someone has Photographic Memory, this succeeds automatically! Failure means you got lost: roll on this table again!
13-18 – Encounter. You found a monster, either wandering the maze or put there just for you. If the monster is sneaky, this may be a surprise attack. (I suggest making a table for this as well, using Dungeons and Monsters 1 & 2 to generate encounters.)

* Note: I use the Game Time enhancement for these traits when running a play-by-post.