The Masters of the Sky

*Cringes*
The Minotaur in Greek mythology lived in a maze. He was defeated the same way Greek heroes defeat everything. His half-sister fell in love with Theseus and told him how to kill it, then Theseus went and banged some other chick instead. The idea that the minotaur was defeated by the maze is a more common video-game belief, along with the idea that there is a plural of "Pegasus", and that you can apply the term "vampire" to anything that drinks blood. Actually, DnD has pretty accurate representations of most of these things (besides Pegasus, which it doesn't address).

No, that's how the minotaur was killed. By that point he was already beaten, and the problem was not with him, but King Minos.

Minos asked the gods for a sign (I can't remember what for) and Posiden gave him a beutiful white bull from the sea. He was supposed to sacrifice it to the gods, but he substituted another bull, and out of anger Posiden made Minos' wife fall for the bull, and nine months later came the minotaur who wreaked havoc on Crete. Minos was concerned, and hired the great inventor Daedalus (father of Icarus) to find a way to stop the minotaur. Daedalus came up with the Labyrinth. They lured the minotaur in, and he was never able to find his way out again. Thus, he had no immunity to mazes.

In the myth you're thinking of, Minos struck a treaty with the king of Athenes to get several young boys and several young girls every odd number of years (seven I think). Minos would feed these youngsters to the minotaur, because he actually loved it like a son. Theseus killing the minotaur didn't stop the minotaur so much as it stopped King Minos. It may have been killed by Theseus, but it was beaten years, and I'll venture to say decades before then by Daedalus.

As I understand it, Minos was never trapped. He stays in the maze on the condition that every seven years he's given a sacrifice (which is where Theseus comes in. He volunteers to be a sacrifice).

Well, actually, you're right. Minos was never trapped in the Labyrinth! Then again, he was the king, not the minotaur...

But anyway, I don't think so, but I've never seen it explicitly stated. However, I don't think that is the case looking it up (which is actually really hard to do considering how everything is super simplified, most of which saying everything about Theseus and nothing about the minotaur). I find a bunch of details such as "The labyrinth was such a complicated construction that no one could ever find the way out alive," and "Minos had trapped the creature in a specially constructed labyrinth" that seem to have the implication that he couldn't get out.

Heres some stuff I found:
http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-theseus-and-minotaur/
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-hunger-games/study-guide/section11/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-hunger-games/study-guide/section11/


Also, if the minotaur could easily find it's way through the labyrinth, then what was the point in having it be a confusing maze at all?

So that no one else could find their way out maybe? Last time I checked it's nest was in the center of the maze and it stalked and killed people far from the center, so it would be safe to assume it had a better than average understanding of the place.

Sorry. My memory for names sucks. =P
But yeah, more or less what Orga said. I always understood it that the maze was just one more way to kill the sacrifices that were sent to him.
Then again, it may vary in the telling. I know Homer briefly covers the subject, and there's at least one other telling of it.

Um, Orga, it was one minotaur. I don't think it was having any babies, or any nests to lay it's eggs in.
And I don't think it gave nearly that much information. All the sources I found just said that it killed them in the maze, no attention to detail where. I always thought of it wandering around aimlessly, maybe being able to find the humans by smelling them.

Although it is very clear in the story of Daedalus and Icarus that the Labyrinth was a way to stop the Minotaur.

A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring.
-,,,- Berk

Gorramit people, why are we discussing Greek mythos in DND?

Because it's awesome.

And Orga, let me alter my previous statement from eggs to offspring.

Zak wrote:

Gorramit people, why are we discussing Greek mythos in DND?

Becaaaauuuuuuse the DM hasn't said anything and we're killing time?
Also, Nik, he was correct, Nest would be the right word. While it implies a place to raise offspring, thaaaaats not actually necessary for it to be considered such.

Im just finding this hilarious.
Mmkay, Goran reaches out his arcanic senses aaaaaand...... Realises there is no door!
Hiro reaches out aswell and gains a SHITTON OF INFORMATION. He realises that the whole room is actually a teleportation circle, with the wheel giving destination.
Zak, your religion gets you nowhere sorry buddy.
Before Hiro can stop Latra, she spins the wheel and everyone's vision suddenly goes blurry.
Everyone roll spot

Oh look! It's not a door! Let me go get my surprised face!
No, seriously. It needs a little dusting off, because I am not often as surprised as I am now, by this revelation. Shit's unexpected, dude. Totally couldn't have called that not being a door. Or, in fact, that it was a portal of some description. It was like, the last thing I would have expected! Man, I sure am perplexed by this turn of events!
No... no pun intended. Since Latra is busy turning the wheel and all.

Eleilla is all down with the whole wheel turning thing, since she is a down to business kind of person, and I die a little inside. =P

Spot(+12):

Trollface carried out 1 launched of one d20 :

19

How about a nineteen? Does a nineteen work for yah?

Spot:+3

Hiro carried out 1 launched of one d20 :

15

New rule, perhaps...No touching the ominous possibly-magical artifact until the mage-scholar has taken a look at it? Or the decomposed sorcerer guy? Any takers?

Agreed. It sure is a shame no-one was like "we should have people take a look at this thing before we go fiddling with it", right? =P

Actually I'm pretty sure we just teleported, and that means I solved the puzzle

Thunderscreamer carried out 1 launched of one d20 :

16

Spot +4

No, see, we Teleported, yes, but it could have been possible to control WHERE to. Or, given that its a dungeon, that teleporting wheel thing could've been a trap to teleport us into the den of a dragon...Ect. Really, any number of things could've happened is the problem. Just 'cause we teleported doesn't mean we teleported to someplace good.

If nothing else, it would have been useful to get into battle formation before teleporting. Also, search the room a little. I wanted to eat the gems, and gain fire resistance. =P

Or, we could be in an identical room on the other end of the teleport. Seriously, it teleported all of us, there has to be a legitimate reason for doing so, and the one that makes sense to me would be it is essentially seeming like a room that moves from place to place.

...
For the rest of the game, Eleilla will remain at least twenty feet away from Latra at all times. =P

Door, portal, teleportation machine, same damn thing. You go through them to get different places.

Spot

Sir Orgadude of Awesomton carried out 1 launched of one d20 :

17

+3

Nik, this is a D&D dungeon. Traps can be so convoluted that you activate them, go forward several rooms, and THEN die due to a horde of kittens.
Plus, the DM laughed. The DM. Laughed. Or at the very least found it hilarious. You really dont get many signs worse than that.

Well Mr T, design wise setting off a trap that kills you several rooms later (even by kittens) at least makes sense. I'm just saying there has to be some reason for it to teleport everyone in the room, and that reason should determine weather or not stuff happens like the crystals Dylan wanted to eat do or do not come with us.

There weren't any crystals. I was making a reference. =P

But I stand by my original statement. At the very least, getting combat-ready would have been wise before setting it off. With the team spread out, if we appear in a room full of enemies, we are easy pickings.
Or rather, the two spellcasters and the guy with eleven hitpoints are easy pickings. I can tumble my way to safety. And, you know. Clerics are awesome combat machines, so Zak will be fine. Maybe if Hiro can get initiative and pull a summon he'll be okay too. =P