MazeWorld is designed as a play-by-chat tabletop RPG where bots handle dice and random generation. It's not only okay but highly encouraged to keep an internet browser with wiki pages open while playing and running a session. This wiki is your rulebook.
* [[GM Guide 1: How to build a new player's sheet]]
* [[GM Guide 2: How to travel in the Mazes]]
== Know yourself ==
* The combat and health system lend themselves to graphic and
* Extremely immoral acts, such as the possibility of [[hunting|butcherbutchering]] a lot of creatures, including humans and other sapients. (Note that doing so is explicitly a crime under [[Standard Law]] and most independent communities)
* Racism and discrimination, even if it's the fantastic kind (speciesism), are central to the themes of the world (human-youkai conflict, differences between humans, halflings and youkai, etc.)
* Adult and sexual themes. Strip clubs, sex workers, prostitution, and generally permissive sexual behavior are common in the Mazes, particularly in [[Demonic]] and [[Syndicate]] towns.
In particular, one area of contention I, the author, would like to take about is the depiction of children in the Mazes. By design, they are not depicted, no character seen in the game is under the age of 18, and there are no facilities specifically dedicated to the catering and education of children. Obviously, they have to exist, no-one is born a fully-formed adult, however, I personally choose not to depict these elements in the world, specifically to allow the other, potentially contentious elements of the world (violence, immoral acts, discrimination, sex/adult themes) to exist.
I recognize this is part of my personal biases as the author and that it may seem irrational or arbitrary. Like in a Grand Theft Auto game, children are only inferred but never seen. Unlike a GTA game, my reasons are personal, not practical (such as trying to avoid an AO rating). That does not mean I don't believe you can tell a good story involving children in an otherwise adult and violent world (people who know me will tell you I am a fan of Yakuza, and would recommend Yakuza 1/Yakuza Kiwami(Ryu ga Gotoku), where arguably one of the most important characters is a kid girl), it simply means I'm uncomfortable with the ''possibility'' of involving them. If you, as a GM or as a player, would like to write children and underaged characters in your stories, do so at your own risk and under your own responsibility. I do not endorse them.
== Table rules ==
'''Recommended:''' MzW is a high-damage model game, where one-shot kills are absolutely possible. I think the game offers a fair amount of opportunities and methods to avoid overly dangerous threats until the players are ready for them. However, sometimes there is no avoiding a deadly fate. MazeWorld has historically run on the principle of permadeath, owing to its roots as a heavily roguelike-inspired project, until it became more of a fully-fledged game. Sometimes, death may not occur, but the circumstances resulted in a character losing limbs, in such a way that continuing their adventures would become very unlikely, to the point they may as well be retired.
I generally ask players how deadly they want the game to be by offering a sort of "difficulty level" selectorfew options, intended to tailor players to different playstyles:* '''Hard modePermadeath''': This is how the game was originally designed. One life, permanent death. Treat the game as a roguelike.
* '''Three lives''': The player character can die up to three times until death becomes permanent. How you want to explain this ability to come back from the dead is up to you - examples below.
** A [[Scientific Community|a science team]] has created backup clone bodies for you, and figured out a way to preserve your consciousness after death, but could not make more than two additional bodies.
** You have a special deal with [[Heaven]] or [[Hell]] (your soul is their property, you're an agent, etc.) that prevents you from completely dying even after your body's vital functions have been terminated.
** [[Hebizuka Jinkou|The Administrator]] did it.
* '''Infinite lives''': Same principle as three lives, but there are effectively no limits to the number of times you can come back.
* '''Hero mode''': The player character can't die; anything that would have caused lethal damage instead causes just enough to be a heavy setback but not actual death. The character eventually wakes up again. An option for players who want to explore and have cinematic adventures but do not want death to hinder them.
If you go for a three-lives or infinite-lives approach, I recommend the following:
Learning the identity of the target can be an investigative task, requiring the PCs to search for clues, make use of their resources or publicly-known information, talk to people, and potentially get in danger just for trying to pry.
Tracking the target down and getting to him can involve [[stealth]] and [[combat mode|combat]], where you will actually face an armed group of enemies trying to protect the target; not to mention the target could also be well-armed and ready for a fight by themselves.
Don't forget the transitional scenes; the parts where you have to travel from location to location, which exposes you to the dangers of the [[UA]]. It may be tempting to offer skips, but don't neglect the potential of meeting people and finding useful loot on the way to the target; perhaps one of the characters is hurting for supplies (low on ammo, no meds...), perhaps the target is involved with a [[raider gangs|gang]] living in the UA, which could be an opportunity for your players to extract useful information... There are many possibilities!
** The local [[town hall|mayor]] or [[InterSec Chief]] is in cahoots with the robbers, allowing it to happen (perhaps even orchestrating it or commissioning it). They might have a grudge against you, or they're trying to remove you so your shop emplacement can be sold to someone else.
= Additional resources =* [[GM Guide Appendix 1: How to build a new player's sheet|Appendix 1: How to build a new player's sheet]]* [[GM Guide Appendix 2: How to travel in the Mazes|Appendix 2: How to travel in the Mazes]] [[Category:Getting startedGM guide]]