Mouse Guard, Anyone?

[Novem5er]

Hey all,

I've been running 4e in a steady campaign for almost a year now, and it's been a pretty good run. After next session, I'm planning on taking a break from 4e and trying out the new Mouse Guard RPG.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Guard-Roleplaying-Game-Crane/dp/1932386882"]Amazon.com: Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game (9781932386882): Luke Crane, David Petersen: Books[/ame]


I saw the book at Books-A-Million last week and just had to pick it up (thank you Christmas gift cards!). I had briefly seen the Mouse Guard comics (on which the RPG is based), but I bought the book on the merit of the art, presentation, and the idea alone. I did flip through the rules some beforehand, and it looked pretty good. It seemed "rules lite" and RP strong... which is kind of what I'm looking for.

After I brought home the book, I did a little research and was surprised to see that MG RPG won the Origins award for Best RPG! Wow! I'd never even seen it before that day in BAM. Even funnier since I'm planning to stop 4e for a bit and put on my mouse ears.

Now, we like 4e a lot and we're actually in a really great Eberron campaign with a lot of character development and great pulp-style plots. I'm just getting a little burned out... and the truth is, I love our characters and story, but I'm at the point where I DREAD starting combat. This is not a diss on 4e; we've just reached a point in our game where our character interactions with each other and the world are MUCH more satisfying than actually rolling combat dice.

Mouse Guard seems to be designed along the lines we're leaning towards. We will play 4e again (in fact another players wants to start running sessions!)... but for now, I'm very curious about all things Mousy.

Point of this thread:

Has anyone had any experience with Mouse Guard RPG? Comments, concerns, pit-falls, jubilation?

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Playing a mouse isn't my cup of tea, but I've heard good things about the Burning Wheel system.

 

[Daern]

I have a similar interest in the system but I am not keen on the mouse part, especially since i have never read the comics. I Burning Wheel just as good?

 

[Crothian]

I found the setting and mouse part very interesting, but the system for us was the issue.

 

[kaomera]

I have a similar interest in the system but I am not keen on the mouse part, especially since i have never read the comics. I Burning Wheel just as good?

Mouse Guard and Burning Wheel are both really awesome, IMO. I've had great fun running MG for a couple of friends; the "Mice with Swords" thing creates a kind of simplicity that is more (elegant) than just a "basic" version of BW, and I think that the rules really do the source material justice. I'd take a look at both the game and the comics if you get the chance, they're just plain fun.

Burning Wheel I've had some trouble with, but I've kept beating my head against it because it's just so damned cool. I think I've actually learned a lot about how BW really works by running MG. There's really a lot to Burning Wheel, even though it fits in such a neat package. All of the rules mesh together very finely, and they don't really handle some of the preconceptions and habits that I brought to the game when I first tried it... I suppose it's a case of old dog / new tricks. Actually, I think if you read the rules (maybe a few times) and actually play it the way it says to play it you should be ok.

 

[Novem5er]

I was unfamiliar with the Burning Wheel system before I bought Mouse Guard, and I've read since that MG uses a simplified version of Burning Wheel. Several reviewers online said that they'd had previous bad experience with Burning Wheel, but that they found that MG had actually improved upon the system.

The hardest part of playing Mouse Guard is going to be getting used to the structure. For those not yet in the know, Mouse Guard separates the game session into two "turns": the GM's turn, and the Player's turn.

These are not turns like D&D turns (a 6 second snap of action). The "turns" are actually 1-2 hour mini-sessions.

GM's turn: The GM sends the players out on a mission for the Guard (or continues a previous, longer mission). The GM places obstacles in front of the patrol, who must use their skills and abilities to overcome the obstacles (weather, wilderness, animals, and other mice) and complete the mission.

Players earn different rewards through RPing, succeeding (and failing) skill/ability checks, and completing (or not completing) their goals. By RPing their character traits when its disadvantageous to their characters, players earn a special reward called "checks".

Player's turn: When the mission is ended (or a long rest during an extended mission) the GM hands the reins over to the players. Players now take turns spending the "checks" they earned in the GM turn to make skill/ability checks to drive the narrative. This is a mix of cooperative RP between the players and the GM, with a few skill checks to determine general outcomes. Players use the Player's Turn to recover from ailments/injuries, to make or find items or aid, or to work on personal goals outside the mission.


Basically, the GM drives the narrative of the game during his/her turn, but reacts to the players' goals/ideas during the Player's turn. The players do just the opposite.

Since character advancement is achieved by succeeding (and failing) on skill/ability checks, there are fewer dice rolls called for than in D&D. For example, in my 4e Eberron campaign, if players wanted to search for an NPC's house, break in, steal something and get out.... we're talking micromanaging a dozen plus smaller actions with accompanying dice rolls. In Mouse Guard, this would all be accomplished with a single Scout roll, and the rest would be narration.

Mouse Guard isn't a game about pass/fail... it's about "succeed as intended or suffer a twist".

It will be definitely a new experience for my 4e group. It will either really engage us, or it will revitalize our interest in 4e. I'll post what happens!

 

[jdrakeh]

I found the setting and mouse part very interesting, but the system for us was the issue.

Same here. I opted for Frank Sronce's Hyperborean Mice, instead.

 

[level1gamer]

I became very interested in Mouse Guard recently. I'm about halfway through the rule book. I was ambivalent about the mouse with swords thing at first. But, as I learn more about the setting, I find it very compelling. I want to pick up the comics, now.
And the rule set is very diffferent from D&D (any edition) and is quite refreshing. I hope to play it soon.

 

[Mean DM]

If you don't want to be mice, but the idea of playing a Dunedain in the Fourth Age of Middle Earth scratches your itch, there is a great MG hack out there called Realm Guard. It has the same structure of MG, but with a few modifications to make it human centric. I'd give the link, but the site appears to be temporarily down at the moment. Having played MG, it think the the system in eminently adaptable to more traditional play. This said, i have to admit that the MG sings when you get into the role of mice with cloak and sharp pointy things. And it was certainly no harder to get into the mood than playing, say, an Orc.

 

[Aurumvorax]

Some people have trouble adapting to Burning Wheel because it requires equal participation between player and GM. The players have just as much pull in the flow of events as the GM does dictating them. The basic concept of Mouse Guard is

Step 1: GM describes problem

Step 2: Players dictate actions, steps to action, solution, result, and denouement.

Repeat. If you're GM'ing, understand that the players drive the story, not you. Your job is to create the situation and practically everything else is up to the players. If you're playing, understand that the game hinges on your action and inaction. During character creation, you come up with an extensive list of allies, your parents, friends, and even your enemies all of whom you can decide to call upon or encounter. If you're not proactive then the game literally grinds to a halt because the GM's job isn't to go "Moving on, you arrive at so-and-so three days later..."

As an actual role-playing game, it's a blast. I'm a fan of the comic and while it's not required I suggest you read up on it. The society of the Guard is extremely conservative, something I liked as well given that comic book writers tend towards the leftist side. Your characters are basically the definition of lawful; everything you do is for benefit of mousekind at the expense of all else and that requires placing restrictions on personal freedom. Without spoiling anything, the first part of the series is about a civil war arising because one mouse believes it's more efficient to unite the towns under a single banner than be subservient to the Guard and rely on their protection.

Enjoy the game and go into it with an open mind. The thought of being a "mouse-with-a-sword" might throw some people off but delivering mail and maintaining the scent barrier usually leads to a web of conspiracies or epic fights with snakes.