SCOTT MALTHOUSE

‘Lo, behold the great labyrinth. Dare you

venture into its vicious but glorious heart?

ECHOES OF
THE

LABYRINTH
A ROLE PLAYING GAME FOR FRIENDS
AND ACQUAINTANCES
 Designed by Scott Malthouse
Inspired by Ken St. Andre
Art in the public domain

ECHOES OF
THE

LABYRINTH
A ROLE PLAYING GAME FOR FRIENDS
AND ACQUAINTANCES
IT CALLS YOUR
NAME
The heart of the labyrinth
calls out your name. Your very
soul yearns to cross the liminal
threshold and delve deep,
seeking the promised treasures
of ancient times. The
labyrinth is a trickster, a living
monument god who thrives on
the lost and lonely.

Echoes of the Labyrinth is a

roleplaying game of minimal
proportions. One participant
becomes the Heart of the
Labyrinth, or Heart. They
play the characters and
monsters within the monument
god’s walls - kind and savage
alike. They set the traps, craft
the puzzles and adjudicate the
rules. The other players are
Yearning Delvers - those who
have answered the soul call of
the Labyrinth. They be
warriors, scoundrels and
sorcerers.
PLAYING THE GAME
SKILL ROLLS WONDROUS SUCCESS
When a Yearning Delver If you roll a double you have
attempts an action that could scored a wondrous success. Add
fail with consequences, make a them up and roll again,
Skill Roll. Roll 2d6 plus the totalling everything.
relevant ability score, adding
any relevant class bonus and DIRE FAILURE
kin ability. The total must If you roll a 1 and a 2, you have
meet or exceed the difficulty score a dire failure. This is
set to succeed. These are: Easy always a fail, even if it would
15, Fine 20, Tough 25, Severe ordinarily be a success. The
30, and Extreme 35. Heart may also decide on a
dire consequence, such as the
character dropping their
weapon.
 COMBAT battle, where combatants are
Combat is played in rounds. moving around the battlefield
All combatants on each side causing damage and dodging
roll 2d6+ weapon bonus + blows. Once all damage has
Combat Points. Each side adds been taken, the new round
all of their totals together to starts.
get the Combat Total.
SPELLS IN COMBAT
Compare the Combat Total If a character is casting a spell,
from each side, the highest they cannot contribute to the
succeeds. The losing side takes overall Combat Total. Spells
the difference in damage to always resolve before the rest
HP, splitting the points as they of combat.
wish across all involved. This
simulates a few minutes of
 COMBAT STUNTS FOES OF THE
At the beginning of a combat LABYRINTH
round, each character can Enemies have a Foe Rating
attempt a Combat Stunt to (FR). This is a number that
gain some kind of advantage. represents how adept they are
in combat. The FR acts as their
Stunts come in the form of HP. Divide it by 2 to get their
Skills Rolls. The Heart Combat Points. In combat they
determines the effect if they roll 2d6 + Combat Points.
succeed depending on the
stunt. Throwing sand in an For example, a Lurking
enemy’s face could halve their Centipede could have FR20,
Combat Total, for instance. meaning it has 20HP and rolls
2d6+10 in combat. You can give
However, there should be foes armour, spells and special
consequences for failing a abilities if you wish.
Combat Stunt. For example, if
you were to miss throwing sand
into the enemy’s eyes, you’re
now caught off guard and get
only half your combat points
towards the combat.
YEARNING DELVERS
CREATING A YEARNING Roll 3d6 and total up for each
DELVER ability score.
A yearning delver has the
following ability scores: Combat Points: Work out your
Might: a measure of physical Combat Points by adding up
strength. every point over 10 you have in
Finesse: a measure of dexterity Might, Finesse and Luck.
and quick movement.
Intellect: a measure of Hit Points: Hit Points (HP)
knowledge. determine how many blows
Charm: a measure of affability your delver can take before
and beauty. dying. Add your Might ability
Luck: a measure of fortune. score to your class HP bonus to
Wyrd: a measure of magical get your total HP. Delvers heal
effectiveness. at 1HP per hour.
 CLASSES Starting Gear: A medium and
Every player selects a class when light weapon, medium armour 3
creating a new character. torches, tent, bedroll, chalk, 3
days rations
WARRIOR
You’re a battle-hardened slayer. Roll 1d6 for your background:
You’re the first into the fray and 1. Dishevelled squire
the last to leave. 2. Frostborn gladiator
+8HP bonus / Add 1d6 to your 3. Lonely buccaneer
Combat Rolls / You can use all 4. Evangelical war priest
weapons and armour 5. Desert barbarian
6. Tribal soldier
 SCOUNDREL Starting Gear: 1 light weapon,
You’re a lurker and slinker, magnifying glass, tent, ink and
dabbling in the arts of thievery quill, light armour, 3 days rations
and espionage. You can’t be
trusted. Roll 1d6 for your background:
+6HP bonus / When attempting 1. Noble dabbler
a skill roll for stealth, moving 2. Mystical lecturer
quietly, picking locks & pockets 3. Tree hermit
and finding traps, add 1d6 to the 4. Apothecary
roll / You cannot use heavy 5. Night sorcerer
weapons or heavy armour. 6. Jungle shaman

Starting Gear: 1 light weapon, SELECT YOUR KIN

light armour, 3 torches, tent, Each delver has a kin - a race to
bedroll, lockpicks, 3 days rations which they belong. These offer
bonuses to ability scores and
Roll 1d6 for your background: traits to aid you in the labyrinth.
1. Blackshin burglar
2. Nightborne assassin Human: No bonuses [Adaptive:
3. Flamboyant vigilante may re-roll any failed SKILL
4. Pirate smuggler ROLLS and take the highest.]
5. Crime goon
6. Treasure hunter Gnome: +2 Finesse, +1 Intellect
[Silent feet: You make little
SORCERER noise when walking in the
You can control the wyrd of the undergrowth. +2 to Skill Rolls
world, turning its ethereal when attempting to be stealthy in
golden threads into magical a forest or grassland.]
spells. You’re not a fighter, but
you’re powerful. Dwarf: +2 Might, +1 Luck
+4HP bonus / You can cast [Hardy: Add 2 extra points to
SPELLS / You can only use armour you are wearing.]
light weapons and light armour
Elf: +2 Intellect, +1 Wyrd
[Wyrd-born: Gain a +2 to Skill
Rolls when attempting to
understand the properties of a
magical artefact.]

Pixie: +2 Charm, +1 Wyrd

[Whimsical: Gain a +2 to Skill
Rolls when trying to persuade.]

EQUIPMENT
Within the labyrinth there are
many stalls, ethereal merchants
and scallywags who hawk their
wares. There is a 1 in 6 chance
that one of these will be a
Wyrd-broker, a seller of magical
equipment with special abilities.

WEAPONS
Weapons offer a bonus to a
delver’s combat total. Lt - light,
Md - medium, Hv - heavy

Melee
1. Dagger/ +1 / 1gp / Lt
2. Flail / +2 / 4gp / Lt
3. Sword / +3 / 10gp / Md
4. Axe / +4 / 40gp / Md
5. Hammer / +5/ 90gp / Hv
Ranged ITEMS
1. Sling/ +1 / 1gp / Lt 1. Backpack / 1gp
2. Shuriken / +2 / 4gp / Lt 2. Quill & ink / 1gp
3. Bow / +3 / 10gp / Md 3. Book / 1gp
4. Longbow / +4 / 40gp / 4. Yarn / 1gp
Md 5. Chalks / 1gp
5. Crossbow / +5/ 90gp / Hv 6. Torch / 1gp
7. Wineskin / 1gp
ARMOUR 8. 10ft pole / 2gp
Armour reduces damage to HP. 9. 1-person tent / 2gp
1. Cloth shirt/ 1pt / 1gp / Lt 10. Travelling outfit / 3gp
2. Leather jerkin / 2pt/ 15gp 11. Lockpicks / 3gp
/ Lt 12. Lantern & oil / 4gp
3. Chain shirt / 3pt / 40gp / 13. 4- person tent / 4gp
Md 14. Horse barding / 4gp
4. Plate / 5pt / 80gp / Hv 15. Aristocratic outfit/ 7gp
5. Shield / 1pt / 4gp/ Lt
 SPELLS allies equal to your Intellect
Through the endless wyrd those score, split across everyone who
who are attune with the esoteric is being healed (4)
signals of the universe can pick atEnchant: Give one weapon a +10
its golden threads and weave bonus for 1d6 rounds (5)
spells. Sorcerers are able to Boost: Give one target a +10 to
perform such marvels. At any Skill Roll (5)
character creation, a sorcerer Sleep: You put one enemy to
may choose three spells from the sleep for 1d3 rounds (4)
Wyrdbook. Every two levels they Freeze: You immobilise an
may select a new spell to learn. enemy for 1d6 rounds. They are
unable to move or attack (5)
Casting spells: To cast a spell, a Feast: Conjure a meal big enough
sorcerer must make a Fine Skill for four people (1)
Roll on Intellect. If they
succeed, they must reduce their GAINING EXPERIENCE
Wyrd the number of points The deeper into the labyrinth a
outlined on each spell. If they Yearning Delver gets, the more
ever reach Wyrd 0, they fall experienced they become. They
unconscious. Wyrd replenishes at can gain experience (xp) for
1 point every hour. If they fail, treasure they get, monsters they
the spell doesn’t resolve and fight and how deep they venture.
points are spent. ● 1gp = 1xp
● 10 FR monster = 10xp
WYRDBOOK ● Lv1 1 skill roll x 10 = 10xp
Fire: Do damage equal to your
Intellect score to an opponent When a delver has gained
(5) 1000xp x their current level,
Teleport: Appear up to 20ft they increase a level.
away from where you were (3) ● Increase two ability scores
Fly: Gain flight for 5 minutes (3) by 1, up to 20 max.
Water: You create two gallons of ● Increase HP by 1d6+ new
drinking water (1) lvl
Heal: You heal yourself and your
EXAMPLE OF PLAY H: Within the torchlit room you
Moff the dwarf warrior and spy three coal goblins (FR 10),
Illithe the elven sorcerer are each with a pickaxe. They spot
delving into the first level of the you and charge with a shriek.
labyrinth. H = Heart of the
Labyrinth, M = Moff, I = Illithe. I: I’m going to unleash a fire
spell onto one of the goblins.
H: You find yourself at a wooden [She rolls 2d6 + Wyrd (15)]. A
double door. A stone arm extends 23! Success. I do 14 damage
outwards, palm sideways. because of my Intellect score.

I: I’m going to inspect it to see H: The goblin ignites and turns

whether I can determine if there to dust. Now it’s the main
are any magical elements to this combat. [H rolls for the two
hand. remaining goblins. Each has 2d6
+ 5, so H rolls 4d6 +10 in total,
H: Make a Wyrd Skill Roll and getting a combat total of 24]
add your Wyrd-born trait. You
need a 20. M: I swing at them with my axe.
[Moff rolls 2d6 + his 8 combat
I: [Rolls 2d6 + Wyrd (15) + trait points + 4 for his axe +1d6 for
(2)] I got a 24! his warrior ability, getting a total
of 19].
H: You can now see the threads
of the wyrd wrapping around the H: The goblins strike at you,
hand. Interacting with it will doing 5 damage [24-19] [Moff
cause a magical effect. reduces this damage by his 2
points of armour, doing 3 damage
M: I’m going to shake it. to his HP. He chooses to take all
the damage, rather than splitting
H: The hand reciprocates your with Illithe].
friendly shake. The door rumbles
open.
H: The goblins split up, coming The goblins get a total of 16 - the
at both of you, swinging their players win by 17 points]. Illithe
picks madly. manages to jam her dagger into
the goblin’s neck, killing it
I: Fire seemed to work well, I’ll outright. Moff strikes deep into
remove one of the torches from the other’s chest, leaving it
the wall and attempt to blind the bleeding and dazed.
goblin as a Combat Stunt.

H: Great. Make a Skill Roll on

Finesse. You need 20.

I: [Rolls 2d6 + Finesse (10)] I

got a 20- just!

H: You fling the torch in the

goblin’s eyes, momentarily
blinding it. He won’t receive his
combat points this round.

I: Ok, I draw my dagger and go

in for the attack [rolls 2d6 +
combat points + 1 for dagger =
13]

M: I’m going to continue to press

the attack. [Rolls a total of 20,
giving the players a total of 33].

H: [Rolls for the goblins again,

but only 2d6 without combat
points for the blinded goblin.
CREATURES OF THE LABYRINTH
Ant, Giant Finesse Skill Roll or turn to
FR24 (2d+12) stone.
Special: If the giant ant deal
damage, anyone damage must Cavern Crawler
make a Tough Might Skill FR18 (2d+9)
Roll. If they fail, they are Special: Ranged attacks are
poisoned, taking 1d3 damage halved against the cavern
every round for 1d6 rounds. crawler.

Basilisk Dog-headed Warrior

FR40 (2d+20) FR22 (2d+11)
Armour: 2 Armour: 1
Special: If the Basilisk rolls Special: For every other
doubles, one random opponent dog-headed warrior in combat,
it can see must make a Tough this one gains +1 combat
points.
Elephant Sorcerer
FR30 (2d+15)
Special: Casts Enchant when
rolling doubles.

Fearmonger
FR36 (2d+18)
Armour: 2
Special: The first time an
opponent sees the fearmonger,
they must make a Tough
Intellect Skill Roll or have to
run away from it for 1d3 rounds.

Goblin
FR12 (2d+6)
Special: None

Hellfiend
FR50 (2d+25)
Special: Casts fire when rolling
doubles, doing 25 damage.

Imp
FR10 (2d+5)
Special: Casts teleport when
rolling doubles.

Jewelspider
FR60 (2d+30)
Armour: 5
Special: When dead, the
jewelspider is worth 4000gp.
Killer Shadow Ogre
FR28 (2d+14) FR40 (2d+20)
Special: Becomes completely Armour: 2
invisible in darkness. Opponents Special: When the ogre rolls
cannot include their combat doubles, one opponent is
points while invisible. knocked away from the fight,
taking 1d6 damage and unable to
Lionman participate in the next round of
FR17 (2d+9) combat.
Armour: 2
Special: When it rolls a double, Polyp
the Lionman roars. Opponents FR46 (2d+23)
who fail a Fine Intellect Skill Armour: 1
Roll halve their compat points Special: When the polyp dies, it
this round. splits into two smaller polyps of
FR20 each at full health.
Mastodon
FR38 (2d+19) Quogg
Armour: 5 FR8 (2d+4)
Special: When Mastodon deals Special: When the quogg dies it
damage, opponents who fail a explodes into a cloud of poison
Tough Finesse or Luck Skill gas. Everyone in melee range
Roll fall to the ground, taking must succeed an Easy Finesse
1d6 extra damage. Skill Roll or take 2 damage.

Nymph Rat, Giant

FR20 (2d+10) FR18 (2d+9)
Special: When the nymph rolls a Special: If the giant rat deals
double, one opponent it can see damage, opponents must succeed
must make a Fine Charm Skill an Easy Might Skill Roll or
Roll. If they fail, they drop their become diseased. They have -2 to
weapons and become infatuated Might for 1d3 rounds.
with the nymph for 1 round.
Snail, Giant
FR26 (2d+13)
Armour: 4
Special: When the giant snail
rolls a double, one target must
succeed a Fine Finesse Skills
Roll or become stuck in slime
and unable to move for 1d3
rounds.
Vampire
Sphynx FR34 (2d+17)
FR46 (2d+23) Armour: 1
Armour: 15 Special: When the vampire rolls
Special: Answering a riddle from doubles, one target must make a
the sphynx lowers its armour by Severe Might or Finesse Skill
5. Roll or have 1d6 Might drained.

T-Rex Wight
FR56 (2d+28) FR40 (2d+20)
Armour: 4 Special: When the wight rolls
Special: When the T-rex rolls doubles, it touches an opponent.
doubles, it add 2d6 to its combat They automatically reduce their
total. Intellect by 1d6.

Ultradragon Zombie
FR80 (2d+40) FR15 (2d+7)
Armour: 8 Special: If the zombie deals
Special: Ultradragon may cast damage, those who are damaged
any spell when it rolls doubles. must make a Fine Luck or
Non-magical weapons do half Finesse Skills Roll. If they fail,
damage. their Intellect and Charm are
reduced by 1.
 THE LABYRINTH
PLAYING IN THE labyrinth, there are rumours
LABYRINTH that there are hundreds, if not
Games of Echoes of the thousands, but right at the
Labyrinth take place within the bottom, in the very heart of the
great labyrinth, which is also a maze lies the greatest treasure
hungry, soul-eating god. The of all. Not that anyone really
labyrinth isn’t just a series of knows what that is.
corridors and rooms - it has its
own environments, climates, As a Heart, it’s up to you to
cities and even countries decide what your labyrinth
within. The further one delves, looks like and who inhabits it.
the stranger things become. Don’t limit your imagination -
there are places in the
Nobody knows how many labyrinth that have their own
levels there are to the sun and moon, castles, rolling
deserts and more. There is no Drood Dwarves
logic in the labyrinth, and the Wearing 4ft caps and dressed in
grip on reality becomes ever red and gold, drood dwarves are
looser as the descent progresses. fanatical evangelists,
This section has some ideas for worshipping
you to run with in your games.

The Machine Rats

A group of giant rats have been
given sentience by the elephant
sorcerer Olig Mantherey, created
to serves his needs. The rats have
begun tinkering with iron and
brass, crafting clockwork spiders
(FR10) to fetch them food while
their wait upon Olig.

Karthorian Snail Riders

Dog-headed spear warriors of the
Karthorian underwastes lead
nomadic lives, moving around
the wastes with their frog
venom-tipped weapons. Their
preferred mode of transport is
giant snails fed of flirren weed to
speed them up. The snail riders
speak in a secret tongue revealed
only when wearing the quartz
skulls around their necks.
the skeleton of a two-headed Snake City
ogre that glows in the moonlight. Unsurprisingly, a city run and
Every seven years they make a populated entirely by snakes. In
brew of its marrow and serve it inthe centre of the city is the Jade
their Blighted Hall. One tankard Egg, in which it is prophesied the
of the brew increases Might by 10 purple snake Elekeka will hatch
for one day. and bring all the snakes to the
surface. If threatened, snakes join
The Speaking Forest together to become a writhing
The forest of Aavanych, soldier (FR24) of human size.
inhabited by the mindshatter
gnomes (FR20), speaks to all Omash the Devourer
who enter it, revealing a single A self-proclaimed god, Omash is
secret about itself. This often a ball of teeth and fury, sitting on
includes hidden treasure, but his throne of hands in the
finding it is always a deadly Steaming Citadel. He plots
venture. If angered, the Speaking against the labyrinth, but the
Forest attacks with all the flora Knights of Theonon are always
and fauna at its disposal. there to stem his tide of chaos
with their shrieking blades.
Dream Bears
On occasion, anyone venturing Sugar Honey Assassins
into the Hidehorn Mountains A group of cheery pixies who
will be visited in their sleep by smell like apricot, the Sugar
three dream bears whose voices Honey Assassins are among the
are like chiming bells. If the most deadly and devious in the
dreamer accepts them, they enter game. Their leader is Baby
their soul, increasing their Shnoop, a violent fiend wanted
Charm by 10. Once the dreamer on multiple levels of the
leaves the mountain, the bears labyrinth for unspeakable crimes,
depart, taking a shard of soul including torture and genocide.
with them, reducing their Charm
by 1 permanently.
Castle Crowcellar The Phasing Tavern
Within the many rooms of Castle The landlord, a dwarf called
Crowcellar resides Amelia, the Oopooch, of the Phasing Tavern
vampire queen of Astavia. Her always wakes up in a new
abode is held aloft by two titanic location. Created from the bones
crows. Her ex-lover, a werewolf of an ultradragon, the tavern
called Estrin, has been shackled teleports to a random location
in the dungeons for 200 years. each morning. Apparently they
Her raccoon-headed accountant serve the best gnome tear mead in
Brial is her only company as they the universe.
fly through the grim skies, crows
screaming as they travel. Patch Warbler
One of the many legends of the
The Endmurgle labyrinth, Patch Warbler is a
When a delver dies, their soul is wandering elf whose song makes
absorbed by a tentacled blob trees sentient. Their lilac eyes,
called the endmurgle, an organic widebrim hat and sparkling smile
processing plant that converts are known throughout much of
souls into nourishment for the the labyrinth. Patch has many
labyrinth. Scaffolding surrounds lovers, all of whom become
the creature, with goblin obsessed with them. They ride a
caretakers rushing around, green tiger call Marmot and
checking over 1000 vital signs to wields the intellect-draining
make sure the endmurgle is in blade Mindsipper.
top shape. Once every 10 years,
the endmurgle must submerge The Crossveil
into a yellow soup to release the Sometimes entering through a
souls. When this happens, it door in the labyrinth will lead
projects a psychic aura for 100 one into the crossveil, a black
miles that causes illusions of a void overseen by the great
rampaging horde of undead, an jewelspider Hellesh. Only
event that has come to be known completing her quest will allow
as the Soulspur. exit from this place.
CHARACTER SHEET ECHOES OF THE
LABYRINTH

Name: Lvl. Background:

Class: Kin:

MGT HP

FIN ARMOUR

INT COMBAT POINTS

CHA

LK SPELLS

WYR

EQUIPMENT

License: Attribution 4.0 International

(CC BY 4.0)