Mertwig's Maze

Mertwig's Maze is a board game set in the Forgotten Realms setting. Play occurs in the Kingdom of Mertwig, a location invented for the game, in north Faerûn's Vast region.

"Wise and beloved King Mertwig lays dying. His only children, a twin boy and girl, were stolen by gypsies long ago when they were still babies. Mertwig, desperate that his kingdom not fall into evil hands, announces a contest: Anyone who can present to him a Royal Treasure and a Royal Birthmark will be named heir!

But treasures (not to mention birthmarks) are not exactly easy to find. And after a would-be Royal Heir tracks them both down, he (or she) must present them to King Mertwig - and that requires braving the dangers of Mertwig's Maze!

The Mertwig's Maze game is a lighthearted fantasy boardgame from Tom Wham, designer of numerous games published in Dragon magazine, including the classic Snit Smashing and Snit's Revenge. In the Mertwig's Maze game, you are the would-be heir to Mertwig's throne! Can you complete your quest, get past the Mystic Musk Ox in Mertwig's Maze, and reach the finish before the other players? More importantly, can you claim the throne before Mertwig passes on and the kingdom falls into the clutches of evil?"

History
Mertwig's Maze was designed by Tom Wham, with editing by Steve Winter, cover art and interior illustrations by Wham, gameboard art by David C. Sutherland III, and graphic coordination by Stephanie Tabat. It was published by TSR, Inc. in 1988, though was originally fully-developed and play-tested by Wham for another game company, Gary Gygax's start up New Infinities Productions. New Infinities folded before the game could be released and Wham eventually reached out to TSR through friends in the company, managing to sell Jim Ward on it under the caveat that it be somehow tied to Dungeons & Dragons, leading to Mertwig's rework as a Forgotten Realms product. Prior to his contract with New Infinities Productions, Tom Wham had designed an early iteration of the game while he was still an employee at TSR in 1983, under the working title The Dungeon.

Later in 1991, Tom Wham wrote an article titled "More To The Maze" for issue 57 of the Polyhedron Newszine. In this article he provided errata for Mertwig's Maze, a whole new encounter titled "The Tallest Tree In the Forest", and detailed the development history of the board game.

The "Tallest Tree In The Forest" expansion was later uploaded online by Tom Wham to his | personal website, alongside a sketch someone at TSR did atop an excerpt of an official map of the Realms to illustrate for him where exactly the Kingdom of Mertwig was located in the Vast.

Contents

 * 1 large paper game map
 * 8 smaller paper game maps
 * 190 event cards
 * 100 diecut, full-color counters
 * 1 cardstock storage folder
 * 1 rules booklet

Characters

 * Characters Named in Book: Marlduk • Mertwig • Mystic musk ox • Philippa • Purp • Rastogar Purp • Samot
 * Characters Only in Cards: Anarquax • Asmodeus • Avanthod • Cromyn • Darldan • Darshad • Evylsmot • Fasfyngre • Marldyk • Nudnick the Furd • Owlswil • Petrovich • Skalan • Socnoc • Thegwif • Theowulf • Thykskul • Ywdmyr

Creatures

 * bear • bear, cave • blue dragon • dog • dwarf • elephant • elf • fairy • ghost • giant • giant snake • gorilla • gryphon • halfling • harpy • lion • mummy • muskox • ogre • orc • snake • sphinx • troll • unicorn • vampire bat

Magic

 * Items: Fredgear's magic wand • Garath's shield • ring of invisibility • wand of Polyplox
 * Potions: bottle of courage • potion of healing
 * Spells: charm monster • fear • fireball • heal • invisibility • lightning bolt • magic bolt • protection from evil • scare the dead • sleep • teleport

Locations

 * Buildings & Structures: Last Pyramid in the Sand • Mertwig's Maze • Purple Castle • Royal Palace of Mertwig
 * Landmarks: Rhygn burial mounds • Caves of Congor • Collossus of Maurg
 * Region: Vast
 * Valleys: Mertwig Valley • Mystic Vale
 * Hlintar • Kurth • River Vesper
 * Hlintar • Kurth • River Vesper

Organizations

 * Rhygn

Miscellaneous

 * Armor & Clothing: breastplate • helmet • kite shield
 * Classes: assassin • barbarian • cleric • druid • fighter • paladin • thief • wizard
 * Gemstones: diamond • emerald • pearl • ruby • star sapphire
 * Materials & Substances: gold • limestone • mithril
 * Plants: clover
 * Weapons: arrow • battleaxe • bolt • bow • broadsword • club • crossbow • dagger • mace • short sword • sling • smoke bomb • staff