Awesome editions to have. My kids are really into D&D and these books are super helpful and fun. They are easy to follow and very user friendly. Great stories. - Jennyonfire

The artwork is stunning, beautiful, and hilarious. The story is easy to follow as are the maps. It would probably be really fun in practice. - library_witch713

Death Maze is a adventure for the world's most popular role playing game (D&D, I can say it). While I haven't brought it to the table yet, a review of it looks to be a good one-shot or add-on to an existing campaign that I think could be a lot of fun for my players. For the DM, all the tools are here to run the adventure: tips on how to balance; large and small maps; encounter information and stats. I look forward to bring these to my gaming group. - smcgurr

Upon a quick read, the storylines and character backstories appear well thought out and fun. I look forward to using this book soon in a future campaign. - shrrawat

Both "Assault on the Spider Necromancer's Lair" and "Death Maze" are excellent adventure modules for an experienced DM/Storyteller. The plot hooks, maps and encounters are given with a good amount of detail and there is a lot of room for flexibility on the DM's part. There are interesting mechanics built into the environment of the dungeons which allow for difficulty scaling. The author notes that they prefer very difficult encounters, so take heed and be ready to adjust for your playgroup's preference. However, since the adventures are system-agnostic, it's imperative that the DM have a very strong grasp of the whichever RP system they're using. There are no damage values or monster stat-blocks, so the flow of combat and the balance of the dungeon overall will be heavily influenced by the system used and number of players in the group. I would recommend these modules mainly to experienced DMs because it can be very difficult to run an adventure with many unknowns. Though any DM who is looking for something to spur their imagination can draw inspiration from these adventures.

You can buy the paperback edition for Death Maze here: 2023 Death Maze Deluxe Edition Paperback

Review of Death Maze - 3 Book + DM screen Deluxe Edition © 2021

Product review from Rolling Boxcars (Christian Blake's responses are in yellow. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view a full response from Christian Blake)

Note to readers: Death Maze Deluxe Edition (2023) paperback is finally available for purchase on Amazon!

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Death Maze
{Deluxe Edition}

Author: Christian Blake
Publisher: Glendor’s RPG Adventures
Page Count: 46 (it's actually 64 pages total from all three books)
Available Formats: out of print
Print – $20

A game designer’s creativity knows no bounds. That’s the case with so many small, independent publishers today. The increased accessibility of digital distribution and print on demand continues to make it possible for so many. Christian Blake of Glendor’s RPG Adventures is one such small independent publisher; he’s taken a different path. His products are available in two versions—Standard and Deluxe.

Note: a review copy was provided by the author to Rolling Boxcars for this article. If you have an item you’d like Rolling Boxcars to review, please visit our Product Review Request page.

Death Maze is a fantasy adventure for 4 to 6 players and is level and system agnostic. The adventure’s narrative does not conform to a specific game’s rules. All system language is generic, including monster stats—falling outside the scope of any game’s implied or open gaming license. Level agnostic simply means the scenario has a mechanism in place, allowing it to be scalable. A second booklet is included (at least in the Deluxe Edition), allowing Gamemasters to scale up the encounter difficulty based on the average party level, from level 1 to 20.

A powerful wizard created the Death Maze to serve as an elaborate trap to ensnare unwary travelers for his sadistic amusement. Later he uses it to banish formidable foes, eliminating them as a threat to his power. The exact location of the maze is unclear; even the warlock no longer knows precisely. Although the warlock can still access the maze and banish adversary there, every day at a random time and location, a portal opens and remains open until some unsuspecting person or creature falls through. The scenario begins with the players falling through one of the portals, finding themselves underground. They must not only survive but find their way out, or they’ll be trapped inside the maze forever.

The Standard Edition is available from Amazon in both print and Kindle versions. The Deluxe Edition is, however, only available directly from the publisher or through authorized retail locations. The publisher has noted that the Deluxe Edition, with the extra material (Combat and Art booklets), is an incentive for customers to purchase from their favorite local game store. The Deluxe Edition comes with a detached cover and three booklets “Narrative,” “Combat,” and “Art and Maps.”

The Contents

The Narrative – This booklet consists of twenty semi-gloss pages including, the cover. The adventure is laid out in a single column of text over top of a large watermark. Location entries are identified simply as “Area #1, Area #2, etc.” The layout’s design does nothing to draw a reader’s attention to these entries—blending in with the surrounding copy. They also lack monster stat blocks, requiring Gamemasters to refer to the “Combat” booklet.

As far as fantasy adventures go, the Death Maze feels run-of-the-mill. We’ve seen this theme done over and over at various scales—characters trapped in a maze-like cave system looking for a way out. The adventure is a no-holds-barred and pretty challenging for a party of 1st level characters in any fantasy game system. Take, for example, the first encounter is with a pair of Nagi (the author’s version of Naga, I assume), one of whom is trying to charm the characters with its “Nagi Song” spell. If successful, a party could easily succumb to the second Nagi, hiding, waiting to pick off enthralled characters.

The treasure characters find appears, at first blush, to be balanced. It’s only after reading the adventure in full that you realize there is a fair amount of magical gear and weapons. If the scenario is scaled up for a high-level party, this isn’t all that unbalanced. Low-level parties might quickly become very powerful with enchanted weapons. Then again, low-level parties may need whatever help they can get.

In the end, the unimaginative layout with its single-column format, no art, and distracting watermark makes reading the adventure a chore. Neither the adventure’s premise nor presentation inspires me. Having to reference a second booklet for basic information is annoying but manageable.

Re: "No art" - The artwork is in the Artwork & Maps booklet, and it contains nothing but artwork throughout the entire 24 pages of the book.

Re: Watermark – This is probably the most interesting aspect of your review! I don't think you understand what a watermark is. You interpret the product logo as a watermark. In a physical product, a watermark is within the paper itself, typically requiring the reader to hold the paper to the light to see it. In a digital product (which is not what you reviewed), it is an overlaid image (often hidden entirely, with 0% transparency until printed) that prevents printing without the copyright being displayed (and often making it impossible to read). The product’s logo (the dwarf) doesn’t prevent copying/scanning whatsoever. How could it? You interpret it as some kind of offense. It’s a logo.

Combat – This booklet consists of sixteen pages (matte stock this time), including the cover. The booklet has basic monster stat blocks, including most of the necessary information to scale up the encounters. Entries include only part of the necessary information. Unlike most monster stat blocks, there are no physical descriptions of the creatures nor any accompanying artwork. Any description provided is in the “Narrative.” Stat blocks contain only some of the basic mechanical details (i.e., Armor Class and to hit bonus), primary attack methods, and any special abilities. To find other key information like hit points, experience points, average base damage, and further details, Gamemasters need to refer to other tables located on pages one and two.

Re: "nor any accompanying artwork" - The artwork is in the Artwork & Maps booklet, and it contains nothing but artwork throughout the entire 24 pages of the book.

What does scaling do? Scaling up the encounter increases the “to hit” bonus and the number of hit points per creature in the encounter. Conversely, the experience point reward increases proportionally as well. Depending on the average party level and the type of encounter, there are also escalating passive abilities that some of the Maze’s inhabitants will possess.

I find the idea of a full-ranging scalable adventure innovative and exciting, but its implementation in the Death Maze is clunky and inefficient. There are several reasons for this:

1. Advice on how to use this booklet is in the “Narrative,” which right away forces the reader to flip back and forth between the two booklets.
2. With the “Narrative” lacking even the basic creature stats, one must reference this booklet, increasing the amount of table space needed.
3. Stat blocks themselves are not all-inclusive and do not contain all the necessary information to support scaling, resulting in Gamemasters having to reference multiple tables on multiple pages.
4. Two  terms (sub class and Tier) are used interchangeably, which is initially confusing until one catching on that they’re the same thing.

As I said, I was excited for the flexibility it potentially offers Gamemasters, but in reality, I am left scratching my head and frustrated when I try to look up stuff and scale it up. I feel the systemless nature of the product only exacerbates this further.

Re: "I am left scratching my head and frustrated when I try to look up stuff and scale it up" - I get it. Some people struggle with tables and charts. The digital version through Amazon doesn't contain any charts whatsoever. For those that want a simple adventure without charts and tables (and without scalability), I highly recommend the PDF/Digital version through Amazon where everything is contained in one book. The deluxe version of Death Maze (along with Assault on the Spider Necromancer's Lair) are the first of their kind and they are designed with game collectors in mind. They are the first RPG dungeons that include a dedicated combat book that allows for scaling the adventure from level 1 to level 20.

Detached Cover and Artwork and Maps – The detached cover provided a full color, keyed map of the Death Maze. It could also double as a GM Screen in a pinch. The Art and Maps booklet is exclusive to the Deluxe Edition, features a larger map of each location within the Maze interspersed with a few full-page full-color art panels.

Each location’s map includes the available artwork of the Maze’s inhabitants, but the artwork doesn’t necessarily correspond to the correct map location. For example, the Nagi is illustrated on page 8 with the map for location 4b, not location 1, where the Nagi is located. Each page also includes a smaller but still obnoxious watermark.

Re: "the artwork doesn’t necessarily correspond to the correct map location" – The full-page, commissioned art images do correspond with the location while the cartoon images do not. I originally organized the cartoons to match the map location, but ultimately decided against that layout. If I was a GM/DM managing the game and wanted to show the players an enlarged map of one of the rooms (which is the primary purpose of the artwork supplement), I wouldn’t want the cartoon to spoil the surprise within the room. Thus, they are scrambled to allow for use of the enlarged maps during play without revealing too much to the players relating to the present encounter.

Regarding the quality of the artwork itself, the illustrations accompanying the maps are uncredited, cartoon-like, and give a sense of whimsy that does not necessarily fit with the adventure itself. The full-page panels are full credited to their respective artists, of which there are six. The style and composition of each are a mixed bag—I’ll just leave it at that.

Re: "cartoon-like, and give a sense of whimsy that does not necessarily fit with the adventure itself."– One thing I find a little annoying with modern day roleplaying is the seriousness of it. The gravity that people play RPGs these days is similarly reflected in the artwork. I decided to hire a cartoon artist as a light-hearted way of viewing the encounters. Yes, the encounters (as you correctly surmised) are quite deadly in nature and will challenge characters of almost any level, but that doesn’t have to translate to “no fun or laughter allowed”. Even the most gruesome horror movies find a way to make people laugh. The cartoons also provide another element that is lacking in modern RPG artwork: it is enjoyable to kids. Ask any ten-year old to peruse the artwork supplement and he/she will be more fascinated by the cartoons than anything else. That’s also why I created stickers out of the cartoons and included them within the packaging, to make it fun for kids.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Death Maze to our readers. A creative Gamemaster can fix the cookie-cutter theme of the adventure, but it’s just not worth the effort when you factor in all the other issues. It’s all those other issues that make it a “no-go” for me. It comes down to the clunkiness of the “Combat” booklet’s utility and scalable combat system and the amateurish, non-user-friendly layout of the “Narrative” booklet. The final deal-breaker is the publisher’s stance on digital access—which, by way of the watermark, should clearly telegraph his stance. But if it’s not clear, one only needs to look at the back of the “Narrative’s” cover, which clearly states you cannot create digital assets to use. Thus, it is not twenty-first-century VTT accessible. Be mindful and stay clear, or you’ll get trapped in the Death Maze too.

~ Modoc

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Christian Blake's full response:

Thank you for the detailed analysis of Death Maze! You genuinely took the time to thoroughly review the product. I sincerely appreciate your time and effort. Although I’d like to say your analysis missed the mark on a number of points, I realize your perspective is from the modern, digital play style of tabletop gaming.

My response to some of your thoughts:

PDF/digital vs print – I grew up in the 70’s, and what interested me about gaming was the physical, hands-on aspect of the products themselves (similar to comic books). They’re collectible. In fact, every inch of my office wallspace is covered with gaming products from the 70’s (TSR, Avalon Hill, F.G.U, SPI, Fasa, Flying Buffalo, Task Force Games, Steve Jackson, etc.) I can honestly say there isn’t one PDF displayed anywhere in my office. I designed the deluxe edition based on what intrigued me to play/collect games during my childhood and as a throwback to that era. Gaming products from that time period included 3 or more books because cramming the technical/combat data in with the narrative was basically impossible. For me, those multiple books made the products all the more collectible, and enjoyable. In fact, I’d rather sell 500 copies of a high quality print product over the course of a year than a million PDF files. But that’s just where I’m at in life. I didn’t produce the deluxe edition for mass digital distribution to sit on hard drives throughout the world, nor did I produce it with profit in mind. I created it for people who prefer to collect tangible, original gaming products. I expect growth to be slow, but eventually I'll establish a base of enthusiasts who appreciate quality products, much like people who prefer actual vinyl over digital files (such as MP3s).

Scaling – The scaling is functional as-is and is the first of its kind. As there are hundreds of copies in circulation now, I’ll guarantee someone will produce a similar work as my combat book in attempt to do the same thing. The whole intent of the combat supplement is to allow for the use of any interesting mob/monster at any level. For example, in the D&D universe, a zombie has a CR of ¼. How boring is that? That means a zombie can only be used in a very limited span of a character’s career. That’s just silly. Every monster should be scalable. There should be no limitation in their use/application whatsoever. The stats in the combat book will work with any encounter. It’s universal, and is not limited to the encounters in Death Maze. It could be used for any adventure with any type of adversary.

Artwork/monster stats/maps – Throughout your review, it is evident that you prefer all content to be contained within one book. While that perspective definitely coincides with digital products, the deluxe version is not a digital product, and the content is presented by three different physical books plus an 11x17 color map. It’s like reviewing three separate cars (red, blue and green) and saying, “I wish they were a single yellow bus”. One of the reasons for the three-book design is to allow for modification. The artwork book stands as-is and will never be changed. However, the supplement B&W books relating to combat and narrative can be altered for future editions, which was a deliberate part of the design. (I realize the reasoning behind the design doesn’t matter much to a reviewer/reader, I just thought you should know one of the reasons why I chose such a layout.)

Stat blocks themselves are not all-inclusive... – Everything you need is in the combat book's charts. Example: if you want a level 15 giant bat (Tier I), here are the stats:
Average Health: 226 
Average Damage per Attack: 75
AC: 15
To Hit Bonus: +8
XP Value: 12,333

– That took me about 45 seconds to look up. Any special abilities/attacks are also listed.

If you wanted a level 5 version (Tier I) of the same giant bat, here are the stats:

Average Health: 76
Average Damage per Attack: 25
AC: 13
To Hit Bonus: +6
XP Value: 1,133

–  Again, that took around 30-45 seconds to get that information. Every encounter can be scaled from level 1 to level 20. The charts have all the information you need (you do have to turn the pages to get the information!). A DM/GM should be fully prepared to run the game prior to starting the adventure. He/she should have already decided what level each encounter is going to be and should have established a set of notes accordingly. If the DM/GM is properly prepared, there's no need to flip through the pages in the combat book during gameplay.

There is no other product available that allows a DM/GM to alter the level of an adversary from 1 to 20.

Semi-gloss or matte – This was done deliberately. I didn’t know whether I preferred semi-gloss or matte printing, so I chose both. Although the semi-gloss is more expensive to print, I feel the matte is much more enjoyable to hold/read for the B&W booklets. Although you didn’t really comment on the two types of paper, you did mention it.

“Two terms (sub class and Tier) are used interchangeably, which is initially confusing until one catching on that they’re the same thing.” – Actually, they aren’t the same thing. And that’s (obviously) a legitimate complaint. I’ll clarify them in the revised edition of the combat book. The three sub tiers (I, II and III) are just a way to fine tune the monster's xp, health and average damage. The revised edition of the combat book for Death Maze and Assault on the Spider Necromancer's Lair will no longer feature the tiered version of fine tuning each level. Instead of 3 variants of a Level 18 monster, there will just be a Level 18 monster. Once the 1st edition combat supplements sell out, they will be replaced by the revised combat edition.

Re: Narrative book – “In the end, the unimaginative layout with its single-column format, no art, and distracting watermark makes reading the adventure a chore.” “They also lack monster stat blocks, requiring Gamemasters to refer to the “Combat” booklet.” – That’s an interesting perspective on the narrative! In my mind, a narrative should be clear of clutter or anything distracting whatsoever. I want clean reading, like any paperback novel, which is another reason the artwork is in the artwork booklet and not in the narrative booklet. As far as the background logo, I didn’t feel it was distracting to the reader (and I gave it considerable thought before going to print). In regards to lacking stat blocks, that’s why the combat book exists. To include 20 levels of stats beside the narrative would be impossible and messy (imagine stuffing 20 stat blocks from the MM beside every encounter description!). If a GM/DM wants to use my combat info, then it’s available in the combat charts. Flip a few pages, get the appropriate stats of any monster ranging from a level 1 version to a level 20 version. If they prefer their own combat info, then he/she can fabricate their own stats to use alongside the narrative.

Re: Artwork, “The style and composition of each are a mixed bag—I’ll just leave it at that.” – Yes, the artwork is eclectic, and done on purpose. Rather than hire a single artist to produce a consistent style throughout, I hired a different artist for every encounter and provided each with a simple sketch and allowed their imagination to do the rest. I made almost zero edits during their creative process (the only changes I requested were related to framing and not content). I wanted their interpretation, not mine. In fact, I altered two of the encounters to coincide with the artists' rendition. As everybody has a unique imagination and way of viewing the world, I wanted the artwork to reflect the same. The product is a collective work: an American writer, a map maker from Argentina, and illustrators from Russia, Pakistan, Philippines, Ukraine, and Turkey. If you really look at some of the pieces the artwork - the minor details, you'll see the artist's culture blended into the art (take a close look at the female warrior soldiering on while the rats rip apart her legs. That image was created by a female Russian artist.) Almost every encounter in this adventure has commissioned artwork to match the scene.

Please don’t interpret this response as an attack on your review. I am extremely grateful for the time you invested into my product. Your input will definitely assist in the design/organization of future works.

Thanks again, and God bless you and your family!

-Christian Blake

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Review of Death Maze - Deluxe Edition (click here to return to the main page of Glendor's RPG Adventures.com)

Product review from Rolling Boxcars (click here to see the original post at their website)