Beyond the dark entrance to the ancient pagan temple, the Team will observe that stonemasons have attempted to change the ancient tribal deities into Christian Saints and added other decorations to reinforce the conversion of a sacred site into a Christian one. However, in more recent times, vandals have desecrated these modifications with hammer and chisel. Elsewhere there are daubed images of Demons and Death in red paint. (If they check it is blood!) A sloping passage leads down into the interior vastness of the Mountain.

• For GMs using IN Game Mechanics the following mechanism could be approximated by using D666 and a set of tables. However if you have a Fate Deck handy...

  The Maze is formed by drawing cards from a complete and freshly shuffled spare Fate Deck. The D/M draws the Tarot card and looks at it before laying it face down adjacent to the card the Team is currently exploring. Use tokens or miniature figures to represent where the various members of the Team are in the Maze. The cards will indicate not only the physical nature of the maze but also its inhabitants. This system, by extension, can be used to randomly simulate any Maze and Monsters session (!) that a D/M might require:

• a corridor will continue in a straight line provided that the Suit remains constant. The value or 'pips' of the Minor Arcana gives the distance of the corridor measured in hundreds of yards/metres (It's a big maze!)
• a change of Suit indicates a chamber with a choice of path. One exit plus additional exits equal to the absolute numerical difference between the two cards (See Table below) giving 2, 3 or 4 exits. In general Wands move straight on, Pentacles follow the Left Hand Path, Cups the Right and Swords go down! But placement by the D/M is always optional. In the latter case place the Sword at a remote point on the play area and use two markers to identify the downward link between the Sword and its point of origin. (Dice with identical face values perform the task admirably!)
• an Ace indicates a mundane trap of fiendish complexity but is placed face down just like any other piece of unexplored corridor. Until the Team choses to enter...

  Use the four Elemental Gates of Doom of Ardath Bey; failing anything devious of your own devising!) [Wands=Fire, Pentacles =Earth, Cups = Water, Swords = Air]

• Court cards indicate a chamber with an encounter, as indicated in the Table below. The D/M retains these in their hand until a piece of corridor/chamber is obtained i.e. Minor Arcana card. The Court cards are then laid face down across 'blocking' this Minor Arcana Card which is itself kept face down until the Team decides to enter. Multiple Court Cards are allowed to cohabit the same chamber and may join Forces!
• Major Arcana represent 19 Maddened Mundane individuals inhabiting the Maze after having been driven insane by possession of 'Buda' Shedim. It is a Hard Task to tell the difference between a Zombie and a Maddened Mundane. The Team should render them unconscious rather than kill them. Individual Body Hits = individual value of the Major Arcana. If these Mundane characters are subsequently recovered and brought out of the Maze without further harm then the total value of Major Arcana recovered divided by 10 is split as a bonus reward to the Team members surviving the ordeal. This represents a potential 21 Action gifts or two Game points and a single Action gift (IN: 1-21 Bonus Character Points divided appropriately.)
• The Fool indicates that the Team has emerged from the Maze in some untoward location, having found an Esoteric shortcut to somewhere else! If they are Lucky they are in the same Reality. If they are Very Lucky they are still in the same Campaign!! If they are Exceptionally Lucky they are still in Ethiopia.
• The World indicates that they have found their way to the heart of the Maze and the Temple of Sutekh. This chamber is defended by Zara, Pernel, Nephthilia in Evil Enchantress Mode and whatever Court Cards have been left unused in the Fate Deck. Optionally Zara may summon his Undead Court located in all the various unexplored chambers. These will converge upon the Temple at the rate of one pip per Round. Thus the average Wight will take nine rounds to ascend through the Nine of Swords to the level above.

. .

Encounters in the Hall of the Mountain King Minor Arcana Suit (Numerical Value) Hierarchy (Annoyance Value) Wands (1) Pentacles (2) Cups (3) Swords (4) Page (11) -1 Diff. Skeleton Animals Poltergeists Ghouls Demonlings of Death Cavalier (12) -2 Diff. Skeleton Fighters Apparitions Zombies Imps of Death Queen (13) -3 Diff. Skeleton Mage Banshee Ghast Nephthilia the Dark King (14) -4 Diff. Skeleton King Wight Ogre Pernel

• For D/M's using TA™ the Encounters are abstracted to standard Adversary mechanics. Thus the Page of Wands could be a single Skeleton Mountain Lion D(11), A(11), V(11), E(11) but being Necromantic requires another 11 points of Esoteric damage before it will stop its attack. Note all skill use against it suffers a -1 penalty and all damage is similarly reduced!
• For GMs using IN Rules the following should be fiendishly prepared in advance on cards or pieces of scrap paper in order to speed up the Team's Doom!

  Skeleton Animal(s) can be considered as Undead familiars (Corporeal Player's Guide p. 48) reduced to skeletal form but still animate due to their glowing red eyes! 11 bats, 6 snakes, 3 dogs, 2 wolves, 1 bear or equivalent.

  Skeleton Fighter(s) the traditional 'skelly' treat as a combination of 12 Corporeal Forces i.e. 12x1 Force (Str: 3, Agl: 1) 10kg weaklings or one Goliath with Str: 24, Agl: 24 or ideally something in-between! These Undead are not intelligent and possess no Skills using brute strength, agility and ignorance to wield whatever weapons and armour the GM chooses to equip them with!

  Skeleton Mage a Necromancer with 13 Forces to spend but well past their sell by date! May command a skeletal bodyguard comprised of unused Forces. Assuming there are 6 Forces left a Mage will intelligently control: a single 6 Force Fighter or 2x3, 3x2 or finally 6 rather pathetic single Forcers. The Mage may not spend Character Points on normal Skills only Songs! Their bodyguard is not capable of performing Songs or possessing Skills!

  Skeleton King as Skeleton Mage above but may possess Skills as well: Weapons (Var.), Dodge, Tactics, Survival, etc. His bodyguard inherit the Skills of their King. The Skeleton King will be armed with Enchanted Weaponry.

  

  Banshee A Singing Ghost with an insubstantial and silent chorus! Extrapolate from Skeleton Mage above using lesser Ghosts as a retinue. Beware of unskilled Poltergeists throwing poisoned daggers! Optionally Banshees may Summon Spirits from the Ethereal with an especial affinity for Nightmare Elements! (Revelations II: The Marches pp 108-9)

  Wight A 14 Force King of the Far Marches. The Wight could be one of Beleth's Headhaunter Captains on undercover duty. or merely a 10 Force Nightmare Element and 4 attendant background one Force Figments.

  

  Ghoul(s) Even more stupid than a Zombie, if such a thing is possible! These are either 11 shambling corpses (Str: 3, Agl: 1) with no Skills, Numinous Corpus or any other Song for that matter. Or one walking super corpse Str: 47, Agl: 1 with no Skills or Songs.

  Zombie(s) to a total of 12 Forces as specified by the IN Rules and can be as complex a set of characters as the GM requires!

  Ghast a Super Zombie with up to 13 Forces and capable of much more than just Numinous Corpus!

  Ogre More than just a Ghast with Spells, Skills and entourage the Ogre King has a purpose to Life! Kill the Team!

  

  Demonlings (Revelations II: The Marches pp 71,72) These are a motley crew on a day release scheme from the Bone Citadel. If they perform well they may not have to go back! Failure is not an option!!

  Imps of Death Either Hu'i, Du'i and Lu'i, if they have survived the encounter at the Tisisat Falls, or a fresh crew to a total of 12 Forces.