[Mouse Guard] Luke gave us the first copy as a wedding gift!

[Stormborn]

Could you give us a Table of Contents? How much of the Mouse Guard world is fleshed out in the book that we just get hints of in the books?

 

[jenskot]

It does a pretty good job of describing the Mouse Guard world. It includes a map, break down of the basic history, stats for the main characters, details on the territories in the world, the threats, and the seasons. It also includes information not available in the comics. Since the game has to include info on how you become a Mouse Guard and all the options available to you, the comic book creator had to fill in many blanks that the comics didn't cover. My understanding is that some of this material will also inspire future comics! It's pretty thorough and does a great job of interspersing these information with the game's rules from what I can tell.

I'll try to break down the table of contents in a meaningful way as some of the chapter titles may not be immediately obvious.

- Foreword (from the comic creator)

- It Revolves on This (what this game is, what is an RPG, how to use the book, what the comics are, the basic mechanic)

- The Mouse Guard (history of the Mouse Guard, details on Lockhaven, the Mouse Guard oath, duties of the Mouse Guard, example Mouse Guard character, breakdown of the character sheet, stats for the main characters)

- It’s What We Fight For (character personalities, beliefs, goals, instincts, and how the come into play)

- The Mission (how you play a typical session, breakdown down missions, how to design a mission, what the GM does, what the players do, introducing obstacles, overcoming obstacles, rewards, sample mission)

- Resolution (basic rules, how to use the system, conflict mechanics, teamwork)

- Seasons (essentially rules for creating situations, how weather effects life and missions, it lays out what play looks like through an entire year in the fiction)

- The Territories (details territories, major towns and cities, location, structure, size, government, trades, imports/exports, lesser known towns and settlements, with plenty of art, how to create your own territories, obstacles and threats to the territories, details on areas outside the territories, Darkheather and the Wild Country)

- Denizens of the Mouse Territories (lots of stats for characters in the comics, lots of sample NPCs, details on the Weasels, Weasel allies, livestock, wild animals, communication and culture, natural order, and a pretty graph showcases the size of most of the animals relative to each other)

- Abilities and Skills (list of abilities and skills, how they work, how to advance your character through play, learning new skills)

- Traits (how to play and evolve traits)

- Sample Missions (12 sample character templates for quick play, 3 sample missions/adventures, how to continue these adventures, how to modify the character templates)

- Recruitment (how to create custom characters, it uses a series of questions to evolve who your character is from where you were born, to who your parents are, who you apprenticed under)

- Index (very well laid out, easy to use, and detailed, 6 pages)

- Reference (general citing)

I hope that helps!

Rock,
John

 

[Stormborn]

I hope that helps!

Rock,
John

Thanks! I have been interested in this game ever since I first heard about it. I know nothing about the Burning Wheel system,but I look forward to trying this out.

 

[jdrakeh]

For example, if you don't like the D6 die pool, beliefs, instincts, traits... those are all still there. So I would definitely say it is more than branding. But the game is much more accessible. Hope that helps!

Yes, but if it drops the Fight and DoW sub-systems for a single, unified, conflict mechanic that revolves around a set list of moves and counter-moves. . . that doesn't sound very much like Burning Wheel at all (which I think is a good thing, mind you).

In that regard, Mouse Guard sounds like it retains the character creation bits of BW but slots in new mechanics for combat/conflict. . . . making it something other than BW (a truly new system inspired by BW triumphs and pitfalls, perhaps, but a new system nonetheless).

 

[Punnuendo]

Quick update. Still no word on when this comes out but apparently pre-orders for the book are up with some sort of immediate pdf download and comic bundle (not sure if the comic is pdf or an additional printed book)]IPR :: Preorders :: Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game [Print+PDF] [Preorder]. Some people on RPG.net mention the pdf comes with character sheets and sample characters. I don't have it so I can't confirm.

Someone found the full wrap around cover: Image:Mgrpg.PNG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia you can check out the mouse I mentioned in the full plate!

Awesome. I might just have to do that.

 

[Mister Doug]

Combat is essentially a game of rock/paper/scissor in that you have 4 actions (attack, defend, feint, and maneuver) to choose from whose effectiveness depends on what your opponent chose. Much, much more simple than the Fight and Duel of Wits mechanics in Burning Wheel. And there is now 1 system that handles all types of conflicts. Most of the rules for combat are included on the back of the character sheet.

I love the maneuver action. It lets you spend successes for effects like disarms. And if you have many successes, you can buy multiple effects. Simple but lets you be creative.

Wow. Just that simplification just might address one of the biggest issues I have with BW....

 

[Mallus]

OK... the cover illustration is the most adorable thing I've seen in months, and I've been meaning to try Burning Wheel for some time now, thanks to recommendations here and from a friend of my wife's who's been to some nerdnyc meet-ups.

I do believe I'm sold.