MICRO-MAZE 01:

THE GARDEN OF
MAD ALCHEMY

A COMPLETE MAZE BASED

ADVENTURE FOR 1 PLAYER

CREATED BY:
DAVE WOODRUM
 MICRO MAZE 01:
THE GARDEN OF MAD ALCHEMY
A Micro-Maze Adventure For 1 Player

Written/Designed By: Dave Woodrum

Copyright 2017, Fishwife Games

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION PAGE 3
ITEMS NEEDED PAGE 3
CREATING A HERO PAGE 4

PLAYING THE GAME PAGE 4

GOAL OF THE GAME PAGE 4

MOVING THROUGH THE MAZE PAGE 5

INTERACTING WITH MAZE SYMBOLS PAGES 6-9
WINNING THE GAME PAGE 10
MAZE MAP PAGE 11

HERO SHEET PAGE 12

FINAL THOUGHTS PAGE 13

PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION
Oh no! The peasants of the village have caught a most terri-
ble plague and nearly everyone is suffering! The herbalists
claim that they can concoct a cure but only if they can get
ahold of several mage wort plants. It is rumored that this
mystical plant grows only in the eerie, danger filled alchemist
garden. This overgrown, maze like place is full of bizarre
magic, terrible hazards, and creatures most foul! As one of
the few still healthy, only you have the courage and strength
to journey into this mysterious, labyrinth like place and re-
cover the mage wort plants that the villagers so desperately
need! Will you do it?

The Garden of Mad Alchemy is the first installment of an ongoing series of micro-maze adventures from
Fishwife Games. Inspired by the home crafted rules set that brought you Exiles of the Wicked Maze, this
adventure and more to come features single player, solo play action that is driven by a symbol filled
maze, simplified rules, and a random roll chart.
This product is a complete game on its own. Your imagination is the only thing required other than ac-
cess to a printer, a pencil, and some six sided dice. A perfect game for when you don’t have a lot of
time, can’t get a full gaming group together, or have a power outage.

Ready to learn the rules? Good! Then start reading!

BEFORE YOU PLAY:

Before you play this Micro Maze adventure you will need to make sure you have the extra needed items
required to play and that you also have a new hero to play. These steps are explained below.

ITEMS NEEDED:
Dice: You will need a regular pair of six sided dice.

Pencil: You will need a pencil to draw your way

through the maze and keep track of your hero's life
points, gear, and collected mage wort plants.

Printed Sheets: Each time you play you will need a

fresh printed copy of the Maze Map and the Hero
Sheet. These sheets are located at the end of the rules.

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CREATING A HERO:
Before you can start playing the game, you must create
your hero. Grab the Hero Sheet and do the following:
1. Name Your Hero: This can be anything you wish, but
fantasy or "old world" names are most popular for this
maze's setting. Record the name in the hero notes section of
the hero sheet.

2. Life Points: Every hero starts with a maximum of 100

Life Points. These points are reduced as the hero takes
damage from enemy attacks or failing to get around haz-
ards. If the life points ever drop to 0 or lower the hero per-
ishes and the game ends. Record 100 in the new hero's life
points section of the hero notes.

3. Mage Wort Plants: The hero starts out with 0 Mage Wort
Plants in their possession. Each time the hero makes their
way to a mage wort plant on the maze they add an addition
1 point to their mage wort plants total. Record 0 in the new
hero's mage wort plants section of the hero notes.

4. Carried Gear: There's three types of Carried Gear:

Weapon, Armor, and Tool. Weapons, armor, and tools are
randomly found at the Gear symbols on the maze map. The
hero may only carry one of each type (weapon, armor, or
tool) at any given time. As such, if a hero is already carry-
ing a weapon and finds a new weapon, they must choose
whether to keep their current weapon or drop it in favor of
the new one. The hero starts out with no weapons, armor,
or tools. As such, do not record anything at this time in this
section of the hero notes.

PLAYING THE GAME:

This section teaches you how to play this micro-maze adventure. You will learn about the goals required
to beat the game first, then you will learn how to move through the maze and interact with maze sym-
bols. Finally, you will briefly learn about winning the game.

GOAL OF THE GAME:

In order to win this maze game your hero will need to do the following two things:
1. Work their way from the Maze Entrance at the top maze (on the Maze Map page) to the Maze Exit
without losing all their Life Points. Along the way the hero will interact with any symbols they cross,
including Enemies, Hazards, Gear, Elixir Fruit, Portals, and Mage Wort Plants.

2. Collect 20 Mage Wort Plants before the hero leaves the garden maze. This is done by visiting differ-
ent mage wort plant symbols on the maze. Each time one is visited, the symbol is X'd out and an addi-
tion mage wort plant is added to total recorded count on the Hero Sheet.

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MOVING THROUGH THE MAZE:
In order to accomplish the goals, your hero must move about in the maze. To do this you will need to
draw the hero's way through the maze with a pencil, interacting with the various symbols as you come
across them. As indicated in the Goal of the Game, the hero must collect 20 mage wort plants and reach
the ext. The exit is at the lower right hand corner of the maze while the entrance is at the upper left hand
corner. There are mage wort plants scattered throughout the maze.
With most mazes, the mission is pretty simple. Start drawing at the beginning, or entrance, of the maze
and work your way to the end, or exit. The task of having to collect 20 mage worts along the way,
changes that, requiring your hero to run about through the maze as they try to gather up the plants
needed to reach that additional goal. Your hero will also want to seek out exilir fruit and/or gear items
along the way. This will help them heal back lost life points or deal with other maze symbols more ef-
fectively.
On a final note, some symbols require that you "X" them out when you are finished with dealing with
them. These will be further explained in shortly as you learn about symbols. When you travel back and
forth you will come across symbols that you have X'd out in the maze. Ignore these areas as you have
already dealt with that particular symbol (aka encounter, hazard, etc.) and thus you can move on.
Now that you understand how to draw your hero's way through the maze with a pencil it is time to learn
about the symbols in the maze.

ARE YOU READY FOR

MORE MAZE ACTION?
THEN BE AN EXILE!!!
Exiles of the Wicked Maze is a fun, one player maze exploration game.
Though a bit more advanced than the Micro-Maze Adventures, Exiles is
never the less the grandpappy that started this whole Fishwife Games
maze craze. Now that you’ve had your chance to wander about our
mazes a bit, why not pick up the game that started it all?

You can get a copy of Exiles of the Wicked Maze at RPGNow.com!

PAGE 5
INTERACTING WITH MAZE SYMBOLS:
As discussed before, there are a variety of different symbols on the maze sheet. Some of these symbols
are helpful, while others are harmful. Most symbols are "X'd" out once you have encountered them,
while others, notably the portals, may be used over and over again. The following notes explain each
symbol and what to do when you encounter them.
When learning about the different symbols, please refer to Map Symbols Key that is located in the lower
right hand portion of the Hero Sheet page. This key shows a graphical image of each symbol along with
an identifying name.

Maze Entrace: This is where you will start the game at. The symbol looks like an arched doorway with
a red arrow leading out of it. Start in the direction that the arrow is pointing. Though you will use the en-
trance symbol only once, you do not have to "X" it out.

Elixir Fruit: These magical fruits help heal lost life points. If you encounter a fruit and wish to use it
then roll the dice. The resulting number on the roll is the amount of points that you can add back to your
life points. Note: You may not have more than 100 life points at any time. If the amount that the fruit
provides would bring your current life point score to an amount greater than 100 then any additional
healing benefit is ignored.

Here's an example of how using elixir fruit works: The hero currently has 45 life points and encounters
an elixir fruit. They decide to eat the fruit in hopes of gaining lost life points. The player rolls the dice,
which roll up an 8 total. The player adds 8 points to the hero's current life points, bringing the total back
up to 53.

If you use an elixir fruit that you encounter, you will then X out (draw an X over the symbol) that one
elixir fruit symbol that you encountered in the maze.
Elixir fruit is one of the symbols in the micro maze adventure that is considered to be "passive", mean-
ing that you do not have to use it. If your hero's life points are at max or pretty high, you might wish to
"move around" the elixir fruit, saving it for later. You can do this by either drawing around the fruit or
by circling it instead of Xing it out.

Special Note: There is a special tool type gear item called a Healer's Amulet. This item causes the
amount rolled for each elixir fruit to double as long as the amulet stays in the character's possession.
You will learn more about this in the section carried gear.

Enemy: There are a number of vicious foes and foul critters in the garden maze. These entities wish
your hero harm and are thus considered to be "enemies". The enemy symbol is considered to be an
"aggressive" symbol, thus meaning that the hero must interact with the symbol until the enemy is de-
feated.

The hero defeats an enemy by beating them in a fight. The following rules explain how to determine
what kind of enemy you encounter and how to fight them.

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First, the player should consult the Enemy Chart located on the hero sheet page. Once the chart has been
located the player will roll the dice to determine what enemy has been encountered. For example, a dice
roll of 7 means that the encountered enemy is a "spiny gecko". Now that the player knows what type of
enemy the hero is fighting, it is time to begin the battle.
In order to do this, the player will roll the dice for the hero in hopes of having a roll that is equal to or
greater than the enemy's Fight score. If the hero's roll is equal to or greater than the fight score then the
enemy is beaten. If the roll is lower, however, the hero takes an amount of damage to their life points
equal to the enemy's Wound score. For example, if the hero takes damage from a giant slug, who's
wound score is 8, the hero will lose 8 life points.
The hero must continue to roll against the enemy's fight score until they roll an amount equal to or
greater than the fight score in order to beat the enemy. Each time they roll lower than that amount they
continue to take damage to their life points equal to the enemy's wound score. If the hero's life points
each 0 or lower then the hero is slain in combat and the hero loses the game, ending the adventure in the
maze.
Note: If the hero's player manages to roll equal to or greater than the fight score on the first roll then the
hero instantly beats the enemy and does not take any wound damage.

Here's an example of combat versus an enemy: The hero encounters a Mutant Hornet with a fight score
of 8 and a wound score of 5. The player rolls the dice against the fight score and comes up with a 7. One
point too low. The hero loses 5 points to their current life score of 100, bringing the life score down to
95. The player rolls again.. a 3! Still too low. The life score is now 90. The player rolls again, this time a
10! The mutant hornet is defeated and the player can X out the encountered enemy symbol.

As stated above, once an enemy is defeated the player will take their pencil and X out that particular en-
countered enemy symbol on the map. This doesn't prevent the hero from having to face the fiends at
other enemy symbols, but it does allow them to ignore the prior enemy symbol should they find their
selves moving through the same section of the maze again.

Special Note: Weapons and Armor are types of carried gear that can help the hero when they battle ene-
mies. Weapons add points to the hero's rolls against the fight score, making it easier to defeat encoun-
tered enemies. Armor reduces the amount of damage to the hero's life points each time the enemy
wounds the hero. You will learn more about weapons and armor in the section on carried gear.

Gear: The Gear symbol represents the various forms of carried gear that the hero can find in the maze.
There are three types of gear in this particular adventure: Weapons, Armor, and Tools. A hero character
can carry 1 of each type of gear at any time and no more. As such, if a hero is carrying a dagger and
finds a club at a gear symbol, they will need to "drop" the dagger if they wish to now own the club. The
same works for armor or any tool that the hero finds and wishes to swap for. Once the hero drops a
weapon, armor, or tool, it is lost forever and they cannot simply go back to where they dropped the item
at and recover it. Items have mysterious ways of going missing in the maze...

Each of the gear items found in this maze adventure are explained in the notes below. The hero must be
actively carrying the gear item in order to use it and thus gain its benefits.

Dagger- This small Weapon adds a +1 to the player's rolls when rolling against an enemy's fight score.

Club- This primitive Weapon adds a +2 to the player's rolls when rolling against an enemy's fight score.

Sword- This masterful Weapon adds a +3 to the player's rolls when rolling against an enemy's fight
score.

PAGE 7
Mage Robe- This form of Armor reduces 1 point of Wound damage from any form of hazard wound
damage and from any form of enemy damage. This counts for each time the hero receives any form of
wound damage.

Leather Brigandine- This form of Armor reduces 2 points of Wound damage from any form of hazard
wound damage and from any form of enemy damage. This counts for each time the hero receives any
form of wound damage.

Scale Tunic- This form of Armor reduces 3 points of Wound damage from any form of hazard wound
damage and from any form of enemy damage. This counts for each time the hero receives any form of
wound damage.

Bronze Chestplate- This form of Armor reduces 4 points of Wound damage from any form of hazard
wound damage and from any form of enemy damage. This counts for each time the hero receives any
form of wound damage.

Crystal Ball- This Tool allows the hero to have some degree of choice when going through a portal.
Then the hero goes through a portal the player rolls the dice three times, rerolling any time that the roll is
equal to the number of the portal that the hero has went through or equal to another rolled choice. The
player is then allowed to chose which one of the three different randomly rolled exits they prefer the
hero to exit from.

Healer's Amulet- This Tool multiplies the amount of healing that the hero gets from consuming an elixir
fruit. The player first rolls as normal for the elixir fruit's healing value and then multiplies that roll by 3.

Featherwalk Boots- This Tool adds a +2 to the rolls that the player makes against a hazard's trouble
score, allowing the hero to have a greater chance of avoiding damage from a hazard.

Thief Ring- This Tool adds a +3 to the rolls that the player makes against a hazard's trouble score, allow-
ing the hero to have a greater chance of avoiding damage from a hazard.

Hazard: The hazard symbol represents traps and environmental dangers in the maze. This symbol is
considered an "aggressive" symbol, thus meaning that when a hero comes across one that they have to
interact with it in order to move past the symbol.
When a hero encounters a hazard, they must try to "overcome" the hazard or otherwise they will take
damage from it. However, unlike an enemy, each hazard causes damage only once.

Here's how an encounter with a hazard symbol works: When the character crosses paths with a hazard
symbol the player will first roll the dice to determine the hazard encountered. For example, if the player
rolls a 5, the character has encountered the delirium orchid, a large flower with a fragrance that causes
vomiting and hallucinations. In order to avoid the effects of the hazard the hero must beat the hazard's
Trouble score. The hero overcomes this score when the player rolls an amount equal to or greater than
the Trouble score. In other words, in order to overcome the delirium orchid, the player would have to
roll equal to or greater than its trouble score of 8.
If the player has a roll equal to or greater then the hero is not damaged by the hazard and is able to move
on. If the player rolls less than the trouble score, however, then the hero takes damage to their Life
Points equal to the hazard's Wound score. Unlike enemy encounters, however, the player does not have
to continue rolling until the hero succeeds against the hazard. This is why, if you will notice, the wound
scores of hazards tend to be much greater than that of enemies.

PAGE 8
Once the hero has finished dealing with a hazard, the player will X out the particular hazard symbol that
the hero has encountered, allowing the hero to move on through the maze.

Special Note: Remember that armor type gear can help reduce wound damage that a hazard causes. Also
keep in mind that a couple of tools can help increase the player's rolls against the hazard Trouble score.

Mage Wort: Scattered throughout the garden maze are a number of mage wort plants. As stated in the
adventure goals, the hero must collect 20 of these plants total and make it to the exit before they can win
the game. Each mage wort symbol in the maze is worth 1 mage wort plant. The designer of this micro
maze adventure has been kind enough to place more than twenty of plants in the maze to make things a
wee bit easier for the hero. Regardless, your hero will need 20, but no more than 20, if they hope to win
the adventure.
Whenever the hero comes across a mage wort plant symbol in the maze, the player adds 1 point to their
total collected mage wort plants on the hero sheet. Then the player Xs out that particular mage wort
symbol.

Portal: The garden maze is filled with eleven different magic portals, numbered 2 to 12. Entering one of
these magic portals will randomly take the hero to another location in the maze. The portal symbol is
considered to be a "passive" symbol, meaning that the hero does not have to use this symbol if they do
not want to.
When the player decides to have the hero try their luck with a magic portal, the player has the hero
"enter" the portal symbol close to them and then the player rolls the dice. If the number of the dice roll is
the same number as the portal that the hero just entered, the player rolls again. If the number is different
then the hero "exits" the numbered portal that corresponds with the number rolled. For example, if the
hero enters portal 4 and the player rolls a 7, the hero will exit from portal 7.
Once a hero has exited from a particular portal, they may not use that particular portal as an entry until
they have entered through another portal. As such, if the hero exits out of portal 7, they cannot immedi-
ately turn back around and go back into portal 7 in hopes of randomly ending up somewhere more pref-
erable. However, if the hero uses another portal later on, then they will be able to return to a prior exited
portal and use it as an entry again.
Special Note: There is a tool in the game called a Crystal Ball. Possession of this will allow you to
choose from three different rolls as your preferred exit.

Maze Exit: This is where you end the game at. The symbol looks like an arched doorway with a red ar-
row leading into it. If you have 20 mage wort plants in your possession you will win the game once you
have reached the maze exit symbol. Though you will use the exit symbol only once, you do not have to
"X" it out.

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WINNING THE GAME:
"The villagers were about to give up all hope until suddenly their hero emerged from the edge of the
strange garden maze. Though battered and bruised, the sack full of freshly picked mage wort plants
gave hope that many a life could be saved. Healers tended to the hero's wounds while the local herbal-
ists got to work on preparing a cure for the plague. Within a week or so the village was rid of the foul
illness, and tales of hero's courage and efforts traveled throughout the land."

Congratulations! If you have managed to complete the goals of the adventure you have won the game!
At this point the adventure is over and your hero can go on to become a well respected member of the
village and possibly even an advisor to a powerful ruler. The possibilities of the hero's future story are
left to your own imagination.

This micro maze adventure, as with many more to come, is intended to be a "one shot" adventure. As
such, it is not part of an ongoing saga for a particular hero. However, due to the random rolls and such,
the game does have a degree of replay worth, and you might find it interesting to explore the alchemist
maze again and again.

If you wish to do things a bit different, or add a bit more challenge to future explorations of the garden
maze, then the designer has provided a few optional goals and rules. Feel free to use 1 or more of these
as you wish in future visits to the maze:

Reversed Entrance/Exit: This optional rule simply reverses the entrance and exit. As such, the hero
will enter the maze through the normal exit and exit through the normal entrance.

No Portals: This rule shuts down the portals. Quite simply, they do not work and as such the crystal ball
has become a worthless tool (thus the player may reroll on a gear symbol if they receive such).

All Mage Wort Needed: This optional goal requires that all of the mage wort available in the maze is
collected, not just 20 plants.

Headhunter: This additional variant goal requires that the hero fight and defeat one of each of the dif-
ferent 11 types of enemies in the maze. The player will want to keep track of the different enemies en-
countered and defeated on a separate piece of paper.

Bare Handed Bruiser: This optional rule requires that the hero does not use a weapon at any time.

Sick Of Eating Fruit: This optional rule places a limit of 5 uses of elixir fruit for the hero. Once the
hero has consumed 5 different elixir fruits they cannot consume any more.

PAGE 10
 MICRO MAZE 01:
The Garden of Mad Alchemy
MAZE MAP

PAGE 11
 MICRO MAZE 01:
The Garden of Mad Alchemy
HERO SHEET
ENEMY CHART: HAZARD CHART:
DICE ENEMY TYPE: FIGHT: WOUND: DICE HAZARD TYPE: TROUBLE: WOUND:
ROLL: ROLL:
2 Moldy Skeleton 8 7 2 Wasp Nest 6 16
3 Fungal Brute 10 9 3 Toxic Ivy 7 10
4 Hulker Toad 10 10 4 Whip Roots 9 8
5 Mutant Hornet 9 5 5 Delirium Orchid 8 20
6 Spiny Gecko 8 7 6 Spore Cloud 7 17
7 Mad Dryad 8 8 7 Vamp Fog 9 22
8 Bloom Shambler 9 9 8 Fanged Lichens 5 12
9 Giant Slug 8 9 9 Carno-Vine 6 13
10 Acid Spider 10 8 10 Sludge Pit 7 8
11 Dragon Tick 7 6 11 Blistering Mildew 5 18
12 Forest Hag 11 8 12 Wheeze Mold 8 12
GEAR CHART: ELIXIR FRUIT:
Roll the dice. Add the dice roll back to
DICE GEAR (TYPE): BENEFITS:
your Life Points (maximum of 100).
ROLL:
2 Dagger (Weapon) +1 to Rolls vs Enemy Fight PORTALS:
3 Club (Weapon) +2 to Rolls vs Enemy Fight Whenever you enter a portal roll the
dice. The dice roll is the numbered por-
4 Sword (Weapon) +3 to Rolls vs Enemy Fight tal that you exit from. (You may not im-
5 Mage Robe (Armor) Reduces 1 Point From All Sources of mediately enter back into a portal that
Wound Damage to Life Points you just exited out of)
6 Leather Brigandine (Armor) Reduces 2 Points From All Sources
of Wound Damage to Life Points
7 Scale Tunic (Armor) Reduces 3 Points From All Sources
of Wound Damage to Life Points
8 Bronze Chestplate (Armor) Reduces 4 Points From All Sources
of Wound Damage to Life Points
9 Crystal Ball (Tool) Roll 3 Times for Portal Exit, Exit
Through Preferred Roll
10 Healer's Amulet (Tool) Multiplies Healing Value of Con-
sumed Elixir Fruit x 3
11 Featherwalk Boots (Tool) +2 to Rolls vs Hazard Trouble
12 Thief Ring (Tool) +3 to Rolls vs Hazard Trouble

HERO NOTES:
NAME:___________________ LIFE POINTS:__________
MAGE WORT PLANTS:__________

CARRIED GEAR:
WEAPON:__________________________
ARMOR:___________________________
TOOL:______________________________

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 FINAL THOUGHTS
While it is a bit odd for a game designer to reflect upon the creation of a project at the end of the game,
there are a number of reasons for me to do so at the end of this one. The entry of the Micro Maze Ad-
ventures line into Fishwife Games is a bit special, and it has a bit of history behind it. Also, the future of
additional Micro Maze installments will be in part dependent on feedback from customers, so this needs
to be addressed.
It is also important that I take the time to address the position of the Micro Maze Adventures in relation
to another planned maze based series, Maze Slayer. After the response I received from Fishwife Games’
initial maze symbol game, Exiles of the Wicked Maze, I realized that I might be on to something. I re-
ceived quite a bit of positive feedback from the gaming community, and it also was made to my atten-
tion that there was a desire for more maze based games in a variety of different genres and settings.
Though a small part of me at the time wanted to try scaling the rules back a bit, the rest of my drive was
towards creating an ongoing gaming system that would allow a single player to experience multiple ad-
ventures as the same hero. That became the basis of the yet to be released (but still well into production)
Maze Slayer series.

Still, there were requests for me to do more with the pre-existing Exiles of the Wicked Maze game and
line, as well as folks seeking settings other than fantasy. Plus, I continued to have this ongoing interest
as to whether I could somehow streamline the symbol maze gaming format into something that I could
quickly build upon for multiple games. And besides, after having Fishwife Games in existence for a
number of years and still only one official actual game (versus supplements) released from us, it was
time to actually work on getting more games released.
Micro Maze 01: The Garden of Mad Alchemy was created as a test, to see if this would work. While it is
my hopes and intentions to release something other than a fantasy based maze game, I knew that a fan-
tasy element would be an easy test setting to start with. This would allow me to transition into this new
format of games. However, unlike Exiles of the Wicked Maze and the unfinished Maze Slayer, the
player driven protagonist of this new adventure would be entering the maze voluntarily, rather than by
force or by circumstance.

I’m personally pleased with the results and I’m actively taking a look at other settings and scenarios for
future Micro Maze installments. In addition, I’m looking at how I can further refine the rules to make
them more printer friendly. As of right now I have over 60 possible future micro maze adventures, span-
ning over at least a dozen different genres. These adventure settings include pirate era, post apocalypse,
modern and retro crime, military/mercenary, science fiction, American western, British highwaymen ad-
ventures, rock and roll fused fantasy, and horror. I even have plans for one or two maze based simula-
tions where the player takes on the role of a stray animal. The mazes in some of these adventures will be
representative of a literal maze, labyrinth, or catacomb. In others, however, the maze will be the in game
equivalent to winding alleyways and streets, rocky canyons, twisting forests, or even a series of daily
headaches and obstacles.
In order to keep the momentum going, however, I’m going to need at least a few sales, and most impor-
tantly, customer feedback. Don’t be afraid to tell me what you don’t like as well as what you do. See a
different direction? Let me know and I might be steer the design towards that in the future. Have an idea
for a particular adventure or setting? Let’s talk. Though ideas, concerns, and comments can be sent to
my email ( fishwifegames@gmail.com ), it may be more preferable to openly discuss this in a social me-
dia setting. This allows others to give their own input to your ideas or suggestions as well. Fishwife
Games is on Facebook, and I welcome you to offer correspondence there concerning this adventure and
the future of the Micro-Maze Adventure line.

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