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Labyrinth LordIntroductionSection 1: IntroductionAlexandra the Elf lashes out with her sword again, but thegoblins keep getting closer. The dark pit looms behind her,the crevasse that had only moments earlier consumed hercompanion. She turns and makes a desperate leap toward thepit, hoping to land safely on the other side with the characters played by the players, but the LabyrinthLord decides on their actions, personalities, and motivations.No one in this game „wins.‰ Characters do sometimes die;this is a fact of the game, but it does not indicate failure or„losing‰ in the sense that someone loses at, say, a card game.One can measure „success‰ in this game in many ways, suchas achieving treasure, levels of experience, or powerfulmagical items. However, the one common measure of successthat everyone should strive for is to have fun. Everyone canwin at this game, because everyone can have fun playing it.So while a character may die, or riches may be lost, it is thegame play itself that matters. Winning is in being able tosuspend disbelief long enough to be immersed in a fantasyworld.You are about to enter an entirely new world. Unlike board orcard games that have highly structured play options and littleflexibility, most of the action in Labyrinth Lord takes place inyour imagination. There are no limits!Labyrinth Lord is a roleplaying game. When you play a roleplaying game it is like acting in a play. You take on the role ofan alter ego, and progress through an interactive story. But ina role playing game, there is no script or predeterminedending. You get to determine your fate, while seeking fame,wealth, and power by conquering foes, gathering treasure, andaccumulating levels of experience!AdventuringMany adventures the characters undertake will take place inmonster-filled labyrinths, in the wilderness, or in a town.Labyrinths may be large or small, but they are usuallyunderground locations that are mapped and have the contentsdetermined and described by the Labyrinth Lord. While theLabyrinth Lord may design these areas, published pre-madelabyrinths or other areas might be used. The Labyrinth Lordhas the hardest job of all, because he must be prepared aheadof time to inform the players of what lies ahead and how theresults of their choices unfold.YouÊve taken the first step on your adventure, but you are stilla 0 level human. DonÊt despair, because you become 1st levelwhen you create your first character, and progress from there.Gaining a level is a special occasion, because it incrementallymarks your success as your alter ego. Each time a charactergains a level, he becomes more powerful and capable oftaking on the dangers of deeper and more exciting labyrinthlevels. Alexandra fails to clear the pit, and plummets within! Shefeels the cold, slimy walls of stone slide against her, and beginsto tumble and glide along the curved wall as she slips into thedarkness. She falls a great distance before coming to asudden, squishy halt. A gasp escapes her as she realizes theslide is stopped by the corpse of her companion, Niles thehalfling. He is impaled on a wall of spikes with his mouth stillopen, as if to scream a warning or produce a shriek ofsurprise.How to PlayAlthough all of the people who sit down to play LabyrinthLord are „players‰ in the traditional sense, they are not allreferred to as „players‰ in this gameÊs terminology. One gameparticipant is referred to as the „Labyrinth Lord,‰ for whichthis game is named. This person is the moderator of thegame, and is the person who should understand the rulesbetter than any other participant. The other participants arecalled „players,‰ and they take on the role of a character (or,rarely, more than one character). Characters played by playersare referred to as player characters (PCs). The players act inthe role of their characters in the setting or world designedand presented by the Labyrinth Lord. Characters each have aclass, which might be thought of as a profession, and the classwill dictate what sorts of capabilities characters have.DiceLabyrinth Lord primarily uses six different kinds of dice todetermine the results of actions and situations, but these samedice might be used to generate numbers of varying ranges.These different dice and the terms employed to use anddescribe them are detailed below.Dice and NotationDice rolls are described with expressions such as „3d4 3,‰which means „roll three four-sided dice, sum them, and add3‰ (resulting in a number between 6 and 15). The first numbertells you how many dice to roll (adding the results together).The Labyrinth Lord is the final arbitrator of rules and rulesdecisions. He guides the progress of the game, and plays theroles of monsters and non-player characters (NPCs). Nonplayer characters are characters that share many similarities4

Labyrinth LordIntroductiontravel into the top-most level of a labyrinth, they are in thelevel closest to the surface of the earth. If the labyrinth hasmultiple levels, the next level down is the second level, thenthe third, and so on. The deeper the labyrinth level, thegreater the dangers that await the characters.The number immediately after the „d‰ tells you the type of dieto use (sometimes this is not a „real‰ die, see below). Anynumber after that indicates a quantity that is added,subtracted, or multiplied with the result. Labyrinth Lord usesthe following die notations:Notationd2d3d4d6d8d10d12d20d% or d00One term that is frequently used is adventure. An adventure isoften used to describe one play session. It may also be used inreference to a full scenario that may take several play sessionsto finish. Many published adventures will use the termadventure and module interchangeably. When manyadventures are strung together, often with the same charactersin play, this is referred to as a campaign.MeaningA result of 1 to 2 is obtained by rolling 1d6.A result of 1-3 1, and 4-6 2.A result of 1 to 3 is obtained by rolling 1d6.A result of 1-2 1, 3-4 2, and 5-6 3.Four sided dieSix sided dieEight sided dieTen sided die, a „0‰ indicates a result of 10Twelve sided dieTwenty sided diePercentile dice (a number between 1 and 100is generated by rolling two different ten-sideddice. One (designated before rolling) is thetens digit. The other is the ones digit. Two 0srepresent 100.)Experience points (XP) are used to measure the progress ofcharacters. These points are assigned based on how powerfulmonsters that have been defeated are, and on how muchtreasure is found. As more experience points are gained,characters go up in level. As characters go up in level, onething that changes is their number of hit points (hp).Characters gain more hp as they advance in levels, and thisallows them to suffer greater damage and survive. Charactersmost often take damage from monsters while engaged in anencounter. An encounter is a situation in which the PCs andmonsters or NPCs are interacting. Time and movement aremeasured differently during encounters, and this will becovered in depth later.TermsSome important terms have been described already, and morewill be described later, but to avoid confusion a few moreclarifications are in order. Whenever the term „LabyrinthLord‰ is presented in italics (Labyrinth Lord), it is referring tothe name of this game. When the term is presented withoutitalics, it is referring to the game moderator discussedpreviously.If you are confused about what some of the terms used so farmean, many terms are explained as they are presented in latersections of this book.Common AbbreviationsAnother important concept is to understand different usage ofthe term levels. There are four instances when the term levelsmight be used. One instance is when we are discussing levelsof experience for characters, or class level. Characters begin at1st level in a particular class. As they accumulate experiencepoints through fighting monsters and gaining wealth, they willreach higher levels (2nd level, 3rd level, and so on). With eachlevel comes more hit points and additional class capabilities(discussed later). While we are talking about characters,another term that might be used is spell level. Characters whocan cast spells will have access to more spells and spellsreferred to as being of a higher level as the characters increasein class level. For instance, some spells are 1st level spells, andsome are 2nd level, and so on. Spell levels do not directlycorrespond to class levels; they are only a relative measure ofthe power of spells.Below are some of the most common abbreviations that willbe found in this book or Labyrinth Lord supplemental er way in which the term „level‰ is used is whendiscussing the level of a monster. This corresponds directlywith how many hit dice monsters have. For instance, a 2 hitdie (2 HD) monster might be thought of as a 2nd levelmonster. This is a direct measure of how many hit points amonster will have, and how challenging an opponent it is.Finally, the term „level‰ will be used in the context of labyrinthlevel. The primary adventuring locations in Labyrinth Lord arelabyrinths, or underground mazes, that are filled with manymonsters, treasures, and treacherous secrets. A labyrinth levelcould be thought of as a floor of a building. When characters5Attack ValueHit pointsStructural hit pointsHit dice (or hit die)Armor classExperience pointsPlayer characterNon-player characterCopper piecesSilver piecesElectrum piecesGold piecesPlatinum piecesTreasure Hoard ClassLabyrinth Lord

Labyrinth LordCharactersSection 2: Characterscharacter class. Be sure to record your Armor Class (AC) onthe character sheet based on the type of armor you choose.Record your Attack Values (AV) (page 60) and Saving Throws(page 55) appropriate to your class and level.Creating a Character: An OverviewTo create a character, start with a fresh character sheet. Youcan copy the one provided in this book, download and printone from www.labyrinthlord.com, or reproduce it by hand ona piece of paper. The next step is to roll 3d6 for each ability,in the same order that they are listed on the character sheet.There are a few other optional methods for this step that areprovided at the Labyrinth LordÊs discretion. One method is toroll 4d6 for each ability, discarding the lowest roll and addingup the three remaining dice normally. Another method is toroll five separate sets of abilities as if rolling up five separatecharacters, and then choose the set of abilities that mostclosely matches the kind of character you want to play.Finally, donÊt forget to give your character a name! Also,create a little description of what your character looks like, hisor her personality, and maybe even a brief note about thecharacterÊs background.Character AbilitiesCharacter Abilities must be determined by rolling randomly.Roll 3d6 for each of the abilities. The Labyrinth Lord mayallow you to roll abilities in any order, or in order as listedhere.Strength (STR) measures a characterÊs muscle and physicalpower. This ability is especially important for fighters,dwarves, elves, and halflings because it helps them prevail incombat. High or low STR affects a characterÊs ability to hitand cause damage in combat, and the chances of a characterforcing open a door.Score34-56-89-1213-1516-1718Strength TableModifier to hit, damage, andforcing doors*-3-2-10 1 2 3*All hits will do a minimum of 1 hit point of damageDexterity (DEX) measures hand-eye coordination, agility,reflexes, and balance. This ability is the most important onefor thieves and halflings.Score34-56-89-1213-1516-1718Next, choose a class. Notice that there are prime requisites foreach class, since some classes will require minimum scores forsome abilities. If abilities are not quite high enough for theclass you would like to play, see Choosing a Class for someoptions. Roll hit points using the appropriate die for yourclass, and record the value on your character sheet. Fill in andmake a note on your sheet of any additional abilities providedby your class.Dexterity TableMissileArmor ClassAttackModifierModifier* 3-3 2-2 1-100-1 1-2 2-3 3OptionalInitiativeModifier**-2-1-10 1 1 2*These modifiers only apply to hit, not to damage.**These adjustments are applied if the optional individualinitiative rules are used.All characters start with 3d8x10 gold pieces (gp). Consult theweapon and equipment lists, and use your starting money topurchase all armor, weapons and gear appropriate for your6

Labyrinth LordCharactersConstitution (CON) represents a characterÊs health andstamina. A Constitution bonus increases a characterÊs hitpoints, so the ability is important for all classes.Score34-56-89-1213-1516-1718Constitution TableHit Point ModifierScoreper Hit Die*3-34-5-26-8-19-12013-15 116-17 218 3The classes discussed in the next portion of this section haveability prime requisites. The table below details the effect ascore in a prime requisite has on experience points earned bycharacters.Intelligence (INT) determines how well a character learns,remembers, and reasons. This ability is important for magicusers and elves.Ability Prime Requisite TableScoreExperience Adjustment3-5-10%6-8-5%9-12013-15 5%16-18 10%Intelligence TableAdditionalLanguagesLanguage Proficiency0Unable to read orwrite, broken speech0Unable to read orwrite0Partial ability to write0Able to read and write 1Able to read and write 2Able to read and write 3Able to read and write4-56-89-1213-1516-1718Choosing a ClassOnce abilities have been determined, each player must choosea class. Each class will have a prime requisite, and someclasses have a requirement of a minimum ability score. If theprime requisite ability is high enough, the character willreceive a bonus to experience. Sometimes, a player willchoose a certain class and the character does not have aprime requisite high enough to receive the experience bonus.In these cases, 2 ability points may be sacrificed from oneability to raise one prime requisite ability 1 point. This may bedone more than once, but no ability can be lowered below 9.There are certain restrictions on how to raise or lower abilities.No ability may be lowered if it is also a prime requisite for theclass, even if there are a few points to spare above theminimum required score. Dexterity can only be raised, neverlowered. Constitution and Charisma are the only abilities thatmay not be modified in any way.Wisdom (WIS) describes a characterÊs willpower, commonsense, perception, and intuition. While Intelligence representsoneÊs ability to analyze information, Wisdom represents beingin tune with and aware of oneÊs surroundings. Wisdom is themost important ability for 45678910Ability Prime Requisites*A char

Labyrinth Lord is not new or innovative. This game exists solely as an attempt to help breathe back life into old-school fantasy . IÊll kill that chief and save the local village, only to fall in a battle to trolls later. But it doesnÊt matter. As long as we have this game and our sense of wonder, the adventures never end. .