DriveThruRPG.com
Narrow Results
$ to $















Back
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats $4.99
Average Rating:4.8 / 5
Ratings Reviews Total
280 28
42 3
14 0
1 0
4 0
Maze Rats
Click to view
You must be logged in to rate this
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Zachary [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/03/2024 18:17:46

Thanks to Questing Beast for the latest update to the pdf of Maze Rats. I am a blind player, and the pdf file is now screen reader accessible. Game is fast and lots of cool random tables. Probably best suited to a one shot or short form campaign.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Chad [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/22/2024 12:16:14

This is a great system to use in a pinch, but the real value I've gotten from this game over the years lies in its excellent set of tables!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Artem [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/14/2024 19:42:39

Huge fan of this! Easy layout, slick and streamlined mechanics. Love the make your own spells section. GM advice in the back is very thoughtful and hugely inspiring. Very excited to try running! As a newcomer to OSR style games this really makes the low rule approach simple and accessible and very inviting. Super rad, thank you!!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Jeff [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/14/2024 17:25:11

Fantastic little game. My favorite osr compatible system



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Alex W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/13/2023 12:15:47

Maze Rats is top. My first RPG expereince back in the early 80's was Tunnels & Trolls and I've had a soft spot for it ever since, and this has prejudiced me in favour of short and simple rules.

Maze Rats is really short, and digest size to boot when printed out. Character creation is a breeze, literally a 5 minute job and the game is chock full of all sorts of random tables to flesh out the game world. The randomness even runs the magic system where magic using characters get one spell per day of a randomly determined title, and then decide what it does during play. I love this.

The other thing I love, and which is a surprise in Maze Rats seeing as the author's other game, Knave, is an OSR game, is that it isn't D20 based. Rolling a single die, 20 sided or otherwise, has always felt too swingy for me with exactly the same odds of rolling a 1 as a 20 or a 13 or whatever. Maze Rats uses 2D6 giving results a pleasing bell curve. The default target number is high encouraging players to be creative and play dirty in order to get advantage and a more realistic chance of success in their actions.

Short. Lots of randomness. Minimalist character sheet. Crazy magic. Not D20. Everything about Maze Rats is a winner.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Sarah B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/03/2023 20:45:34

This product is INCREDIBLE for the tables alone. As a GM who has struggled to come up with my own NPCs, locations, dungeons, adventures etc., these tables are EXACTLY what I've been missing my whole life. They provide all the prompts I could ever need to generate endless amounts of cool NPCs, monsters, locations, dungeons etc. And it's so succinct - just what you need and nothing more. Plus, the layout is such that you can easily roll 2d6 to get random results for each list. Great layout, great resource. GAME CHANGER! Thanks Ben!!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Hans S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/06/2022 08:51:15

The system is simple, but exceptional. Ben's creativity and desire to make something playable is commendable. Get this if you're new to the "OSR" or looking for a great gateway to TTRPGs.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Darcy [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/05/2022 21:43:11

Super fun and easy - perfect for a quick game thrown together at the last minute. The spells are a revelation and one of, if not the best, spell casting systems around



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Adam D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/15/2021 09:15:43

Maze Rats has become my go-to for introducing new people to RPGs. From middle-schoolers up to roudy group of adults on a Friday game night, this system stands up, gets out of the way, and paves a path for memoriable adventures. Inside you'll find some of the best advice around for new referee/game masters including procedural generators for dungeons, cities, wilderness settings, NPCs, unique monsters and interesting spells. Many of the resources offered here will be useful even in systems other than Maze Rats. Well-worth the price of admission!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Christian M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 04/05/2021 02:36:14

Alright, there are a couple of cool things about Maze Rats. But here's one I'll mention - if you are a solo player, you should get this for the fun tables, even if you don't intend to play. There are so many awesome random generation tables that with any sort of oracle you should be ready to go with a fun adventure. I've been playing Maze Rats alone with the 'Maze Rat' solo play companion, and it's been great fun.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Richard H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/27/2021 15:21:51

Maze Rats is great for a quick game and even better when half your group didn't show to game night. It's simple, clean, and has everything you need to get into the meat of the action in a few minutes. Personally, I like more guts to my games so I lean towards Knave but having Maze Rats in my back pocket is great. Aside from it being a great pick-up game it's also a great solo game, Parts Per Million has a nice two page PDF to help you through any rough spots but Maze Rats already has so much in the game for generating adventures it's hardly needed. It's $3, just buy it and revel in the simple joy that is Maze Rats.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/02/2021 05:42:31

An Endzeitgeist.com review

Okay, so Maze Rats is a rules-lite, condensed version of the OSR-style of gaming; the system is more akin to games like Into the Odd than e.g. AD&D; depending on which pdf you consult, you’ll have pdfs of 12 or 14 pages – why? The 14-page version is intended for booklet-printing! Nice! The game comes with a character sheet in an extra-pdf; the sheet is included in the booklet-version as well.

This review was requested as a prioritized review by my patreon supporters.

You start the game by choosing one of 6 ability distributions (or rolling a d6 and consulting the table): There are three ability scores: Strength, Dexterity and Will. You will always end up with +2 in one ability score, +1 in another, and +0 in the third. As an alternative, you can roll 1d6 for each score: On a 1-2, you have +0, on a 3-4 you have +1, and on a 5-6 you have a +2.

Each PC begins with 4 maximum health, and 4 current health. Each level attained nets +2 maximum health. PCs recover 1 health when eating a meal and resting; 24 hours of rest recover all health. Medicine restores 1 health but only once per day. 0 health = death.

Each PC also gets one starting feature: +1 to all attacks, a single spell slot (usable once per day), or one of 4 paths: Briarborn (tracking, wilderness stuff), fingersmith (theft, thief stuff), roofrunner (acrobatic stuff), shadow jack (stealthy/infiltration stuff); in the danger rolls for the respective chosen path, you roll with advantage on danger rolls.

Wait, what? Yeah, well, I skipped ahead to character creation. The core mechanism of the game is that, when there is danger/chance of failure, etc., roll 2d6; on a success (10 or higher), danger is averted. You add Strength, Dexterity and Will bonuses to suitable danger rolls. Opposed danger rolls between characters call for the higher result. If a roll has advantage, 3 dice are rolled instead, dropping the worst.

The pdf offers a list of starting items, combat gear, and offers a table for appearance descriptors, physical details, backgrounds, clothing, personality, mannerism (all one-word lists).

The game knows 7 levels and has a brief table with XPs and the table lists benefits; you can choose each level, and either get an ability bonus or can pick a feature, so no class-corset and one meaningful choice per level attained.

Initiative works in a simple manner: You roll 1d in the game’s parlance (the game only uses d6s, but I’m using 1d6 instead for clarity), and the higher side goes first; the entire side. Yes, this means that you have a chance each round for two consecutive turns for the entire party, or the entire opposition. Ouch! Each round, a character can move 30 ft. and take one action. Casting spells, attacking, drinking potions, etc. – all actions. Ambushes make you go first and yield advantage on all rolls during the first round, with the leader of the opposition getting a Will danger roll to avoid it. Combat works thus: Characters have a base armor rating of 6; light armor nets +1, and so does a shield; heavy armor nets +2. Characters in heavy armor can’t gain advantage on Dexterity danger rolls or surprise attack rolls. Heavy weapons require two hands and inflict +1 damage. Attacking works via the core mechanic: You roll 2d6 and add the attack bonus applicable (sourced from your ability scores); you can’t attack with a ranged weapon in melee. The attacker’s total is compared to the defender’s armor rating; if it’s MORE than the armor rating, the attack hits and deals damage equal to the difference between the armor rating and the result. A result of double sixes is a critical hit and doubles damage. If a hit character has a shield, they may choose to sacrifice it to absorb all damage.

The system comes with a simple NPC-reaction chart, and encumbrance is also interesting: Belts can hold two properly-sized items; backpacks can hold what a backpack can hold, but it takes 1d6 rounds to retrieve something from it. Magic is pretty free-form: You roll 2d6, one die indicating row, one indicating column: We have essentially physical effects, physical elements, physical forms, and the same for ethereal effects, elements, forms. The magic system requires some degree of GM skill regarding improvisation, and RAW lacks any meaningful PC control – “Magic, do what thou wilt!” Whether that’s a bug or a feature for you depends on your tastes. The pdf also provides a brief mutation, insanity and omens/magical catastrophe list.

The monster rules are simple and work pretty much analogue to the character rules, but with +4 being the highest bonus critters can have. You can roll quickly on a base to determine aerial, terrestrial or aquatic animals, then add monster features, traits, abilities, tactics, personality and weaknesses. These all are pretty much one-word baselines.

The pdf has such one-word tables for civilized NPC professions, underworld NPCs, wilderness NPCs, a list of female and male names, upper and lower class surnames, assets and liabilities as well as NPC goals, misfortunes and missions. Add methods, appearances, physical details, clothing, personalities, mannerisms, secrets, reputations, hobbies, relationships, divine domains, and a brief carousing table.

Treasure and equipment follow a similar approach: Basic prices are given for item categories, and then, we have category-style lists, like “Tool Items”, “Miscellaneous Items”, etc. These one-word tables are also used as a baseline for city-creation, wilderness-creation and dungeon-creation. The pdf does include a brief play-example, and offers some beginner’s advice for GMing/creating the respective environments, etc.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to a no-frills two-column b/w-standard sans art. (It should be noted that one page contains 4 columns.) This is a very dense game. The pdf has no bookmarks, but doesn’t absolutely require them at this length.

Ben Milton’s “Maze Rats” is probably one of the best “teach to play roleplaying” games I’ve seen in quite a while; it is easy to grasp, concise in its presentation, and manages to actually squeeze some meaningful choice out of its rules lite, simple and elegant chassis. Indeed, pretty much everything on the player-side is very elegant; on the GM-side of things, the relatively free-form magic would have perhaps warranted some guidance, but that’s about the worst thing I can say about this game. Maze Rats triumphantly succeeds at what it sets out to do, and personally, I prefer it over the author’s other rules-light game Knave, though that is primarily a matter of taste. There is but one thing that kinda annoyed me: You can’t copy text, and you can’t search the pdf; I am no layout artist, but that stuff bothers; since I run lots of different systems, being able to parse together my own cheat-sheets its really helpful.

That being said, for a paltry $3, you get one damn elegant ultra-rules-lite game. This is geared for one-shots and very short-campaigns (as evidenced by the swift XP/level-progression), but man does it handle its subject matter well!

Now, as a person, I like more choice and build diversity in my game, I prefer campaigns, and I’m not a fan of the free-form magic, but as a reviewer, I do see the value of a system of this simplicity and smooth elegance, and what is a bug for me might well be a feature for you. As a reviewer, my preferences should not unduly influence the verdict, and frankly, I can’t help but admire how condensed, precise and elegant this little piece of RPG-design is.

As such, my final verdict will be 5 stars + seal of approval. If you’re looking for an easy to teach ultra-lite setting-agnostic fantasy RPG, then this will be what you definitely want to try out.

Oh, and there is one other benefit for fellows like yours truly, even if the book, in the long run, is not your cup of tea: If you or your Maze Rats players at one point want more choices and means to differentiate characters mechanically from each other, then the mechanics of this game will make it easy to adapt to Best Left Buried, easily one of my favorite games. Heck, I’d teach people to play with this game, then graduate them to BLB, but that’s just me.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Sebastián G. M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/13/2020 19:54:31

Maze Rats is an elegant and minimalistic OSR that aims to create fast and very narrative characters and adventures. Mechanics are simple enough to don't bog down play and tables make for very colorful characters and situations.

One interesting point is that characters are mainly defined by the equipement they get, being a classless game. For example, one of my players received a shovel, lamp, big sac and other stuff, so decided to be a tomb robber. The other one received three shackles, so slaver. If you have imaginative players, this game is pure gold.

More people should value (and play!) Maze Rats as a game on its own, and not just because of the amazing random tables it brings.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by terence a. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/15/2020 11:00:36

Worth it for the tables alone at full asking price. Being able to print it out as a booklet makes it even better and the format is pure Mithral.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Maze Rats
Publisher: Questing Beast Games
by Anthony M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/02/2019 20:35:01

I played Maze Rats with my 9 year old with zero preperation. We usually play Heo Kids, but we wanted something a bit deeper. The random tables of Maze Rats allowed for quick world building. The trasure tables allowed us to 'sweep and clean' the basement of an random in and find a nice mixture of stuff. The monster tables allowed us to pull a suprising foe together which fit the scene well. And of course the random spell creation made for a truely unique magic. Colletively this gives Maze rates a deadly, high-magic fantazy world with it's own feel. We had so much fun! (And no minatures were needed!)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
pixel_trans.gif
Displaying 1 to 15 (of 31 reviews) Result Pages:  1  2  3  [Next >>] 
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif Back pixel_trans.gif
0 items
 Gift Certificates