Mouse Guard, Anyone?

[Aus_Snow]

Hey, that Hyperborean Mice looks like a fun game. Not quite my thing, but very nice, by the looks of it.

Burning Wheel and its kin, however. . . I am not a fan. Not of the system, nor the layout, nor the particular ways in which they are typically defended, 'marketed' - and uh, 'spun' - online. And I'll just leave it there, methinks.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'm just sayin', MG is neither furries nor Bunnies & Burrows.

I'd say that it's very Watership Down but, yeah, not your typical 'furries' RPG.

 

[maddman75]

There's even support in the game that you are not playing a normal mouse. There's even a stat to support this, Mouse Nature, which reflects how mouse-like you are. If your Mouse Nature gets too low, then the other mice stop interacting with you. You're just too weird. You don't put anything away for later, you laugh in the face of danger, and you might be trying to set up an assembly line. If you're too mousey, though, then that's not good either. At that point you stop doing things like wearing a cloak, using a sword, or having a job even.

The mice of Mouse Guard are not regular mice, nor are they anthropomorphic mice. They are heroes, and not because of how big and tough they are, but because of what they do. All mice must prosper, or all mice will fall. There's no such thing as a small threat. A snake is a dragon. A stream is a torrent. A bear is a tarrasque. And you have nothing but your blade, your wits, and your fellow Guard Mice.

 

[jdrakeh]

There's even support in the game that you are not playing a normal mouse.

Abnormal mice are still mice. Again, you can spin it however you want, but saying that you don't play mice in Mouse Guard is like saying that Miss Frisby and the Rats of NIMH has no rats in it.

 

[theRogueRooster]

I'd hate to see this thread derailed on a matter of semantics, especially considering both camps are essentially correct. Yes, it is true you play mice. But it is also true that the game is not about being mice. The game is about being heroes tasked with keeping the roads safe and the settlements free from harm in a frequently unfriendly and often inhospitable land. The fact that the heroes are mice simply sets the scale for what is considered a threat.

And that to me is one of the strengths of both the game and the comic. It recasts the mundane natural world into something mysterious and dangerous. Even the most innocuous situations appear very different when looking at them from the bottom of the food chain.

Mileage my vary and all that, but I likes it.
-tRR

 

[Novem5er]

... And that to me is one of the strengths of both the game and the comic. It recasts the mundane natural world into something mysterious and dangerous. Even the most innocuous situations appear very different when looking at them from the bottom of the food chain.

Mileage my vary and all that, but I likes it.
-tRR

My attraction to this game (and the comic) is the way it puts Nature back into the spotlight. I grew up back in a time when kids still played outside (between bouts of NES Punchout, and before learning about D&D). I have too many memories to count: running through fern fields, climbing hemlock trees (and those dang, bendy branches!), getting shoes stuck in mud pits, and hiding prostrate under salal berry bushes while playing any number of imaginary games.

While it was all fun and games back in the day, playing in the woods could be quite serious. Sometimes kids got lost, and always someone was getting injured. Somebody in my school even got mauled by a bear. It's tough out there!

So here comes a game where navigating a thicket of brambles is a challenging obstacle. It's a game where falling into a swollen spring creek is actually a danger! It's a game where a good night's rest and a hot meal actually means something.

So you play mice. This just makes the conflict vs. nature that much more interesting. I probably wouldn't be sold on the idea if it weren't for the awesome artwork on lend from the comic of the same name:

It's a book cover that just screams CHARACTER to me

 

[level1gamer]

I'm really enjoying this thread and reading about the actual playthroughs of the game. Several people in my gaming group are interested in Mouse Guard, so I may attempt to run it at some point. I wrote up my impressions of the system on my blog if anyone is interested: www.level1gamer.com

 

[theRogueRooster]

I enjoyed reading your impressions of the game, level1gamer. I hope you get the chance to play it soon.

I've recently put together a ruleset for Fantasy Grounds and will soon introduce a few friends to the world of Mouse Guard using it and Skype. It's a oneshot adventure, but part of my diabolical plan is to casually mention the start up of a full campaign for those who enjoyed the session.

Novem5er, did you get another game in this past weekend? If so, how did it go?

-tRR

 

[Novem5er]

I DID get a game in this last Saturday! I wasn't expecting too, and I hated missing the previous weekend, but we jumped back on the mousewagon and it was a blast.

First, level1gamer, I read your blog and you had a great description of the game. It's cool to see someone else dissect it and get excited about upcoming sessions.

So how did my last session go? I only had 2 players this time b/c our Tenderpaw player had to work that evening. I gave my remaining two the option of playing Super Mario Wii or trying Mouse Guard with just the two of them. They opted to roll some dice!

So, we had the Patrol Leader, Phineaus, and his older companion Gurny. I WAS going to send them on a mission to pour the new Scent along the Scent Border (brewed by the sciencemice of Sprucetuck and poured twice a year by the Guard). The Scent Border is what keeps most of the large predators and prey outside the Territories, so it's an important task.

Unfortunately, without our science-inclined tenderpaw, the group couldn't run the Science obstacle that I had planned for it. Since she had also made a big role to help finish brewing the Scent on the last session, it also seemed a shame that Tinble wouldn't be part of deploying it!

So, I kind of broke the rules of the game. Oops! I basically took something that a player wanted to do, and made it into a mission! Remember that the game is divided into a GM's Turn (the mission) and then a Player's Turn (where the character recover and pursue their own goals).

Last session, Phineas learned of a legendary sword, called Toothcutter, that was lost when the weasels sacked the town of Walnutpeck during the Winter War of 3 years ago. I thought his would be awesome goal for Phineaus to pursue on a Player's Turn... but why not make it a mission for the whole group? The players agreed and we were off.

First, the patrol had to travel the lost trail between Sprucetuck and ruined Walnutpeck. I narrated their overland journey through the snow-covered wilderness (remember that a Spring Snow had set in last session). After the brief narration, I called for an Obstacle 4 Pathfinder test to find the way.

Phineas rolled only 3 successes, FAILING the test. But did this end the mission? Of course not! I did the Mouse Guard thing of throwing at them a Twist.

So I described how they must have gone off course because they arrived at a rushing stream, and there was no bridge where there should have been. I gave them an Obstacle 2 Health test to jump across the river stones and avoid taking a dip in the fresh snow-melt (which would have been bad!). I opened the floor for them to suggest alternative options, but other than trying ANOTHER pathfinder check (which I explained would incur another Twist), they had no ideas.

With some quick checks (and a narrow success on Gurney's part) the two made it across the swollen stream and found Walnutpeck.

I described the entrance as a ruined doorway at the base of a blackened walnut tree, the debris of wrecked mouse civilization all around. They entered carefully, making a torch to light the way, and found the entire town in ruins.

Walnutpeck was a cavern-style town built in a hallow beneath the walnut tree, with little stone houses built amongst the root. The players got a little spooked as I described their first encounter with a mouse skeleton, sprawled along the entrance stairwell as if trying desperately to escape a violent death.

After describing the town, I called for an Obstacle 5 Scout test to find the resting spot of Sven, and his famous weasel-killing sword, Toothcutter. The Scout skill is used for finding things... details, clues, danger, etc. One problem, neither player had put points in the Scout skill!!! Where, oh where was their multi-talented tenderpaw when they needed her!!

Fortunately there are rules for learning new skills! We looked 'em up, applied the rules, and soon enough made our roll. FAIL...!

Well, no duh! They are trying to find one skeleton in the middle of an old battlefield (around a ruined town!). However, this led to the best part of the night!

Instead of the sword, they ran into... a weasel! This weasel was there to scavenge the old battlefield too, and confronted the mice as they rounded a corner. The mice tried to reason with the weasel (we'll help you find stuff if you let us go...) but the beady-eyed weasel was having none of it! He explained he only needed ONE living mouse to be his slave, and the other mouse could be his dinner!

Keep in mind that a weasel is about 4x the size of a mouse... and they have swords! After showing them some art from the comics, my players were pretty freaked out about their chances of survival.

The fight was played out using the conflict rules. Both sides rolled for their starting Disposition (think HP) and then wrote their goals.

Guard Mice: Kill the weasel!
Weasel: Kill 1 mouse and capture the other!

The conflict ensued with both sides secretly choosing 1 of 4 actions (attack, defend, feint, and maneuver) and then comparing them (in 3 action "rounds"). The actions are compared on a simple chart that tells you what to roll and what happens.

For instance, an Attack versus Defend is a "versus test" where both sides roll their appropriate dice and then compare... If the attacker wins, he can subtract his margin of success from the defender's disposition. If the defender wins, not only does the attacker fail, but the defender can REGAIN disposition up their starting total. Pretty neat.

So we went through 2 rounds (of 3 actions each) and it was pretty intense! At the start of the 3rd round (7 action), the mice only had 1 Disposition left and the Weasel only had 2 left. Whoever can knock their opponent's disposition to 0 first WINS and accomplishes their Goal (i.e. killing the other side in this case!).

So for the 7th action, both sides had declared ATTACK! Attack versus Attack means that BOTH sides will lose disposition equal to success rolled. On that same action, the mice and the weasel knocked each other to 0 disposition.

So what happened? According to the rule book, a tie in a Conflict means that BOTH parties succeed at their goal... very dangerous!

So the mice killed the weasel... but the weasel *gulp* killed one of them. We were stunned! It was awesome, but tragic as Gurny (the last to roll) epically gutted the weasel, only to be stabbed through the ribs by the beast's viscous sword!

But I had some heart. Also in the rules, if the winner of a conflict kills an opponent, but looses almost all of his disposition in the processes, then the loser is actually "left for dead". The loser checks off all his Conditions (Hungry, Tired, Angry, Sick, and Injured) and can loose Resources and Circles (money and friends) as everyone thinks he's dead!

Instead of Death, I made Gurney check off all his Conditions. This was great because Gurny's Belief (his in-game philosophy) is that "My body may grow tired and break... but not today!"

I described how the weasel actually was carrying a map on him, describing the town's grain silo as the spot of "Final Victory". Considering that Sven died and lost his sword a the mice's Final Defeat... Phineas reasoned that this could be the place to find the sword.

Mercifully I ended the GM turn there. The player's could now earn their checks to rest up and continue on, or head home. Remember that checks are earned by player's using their Traits to hurt themselves (getting dice penalties for RPing when it hurts you!). Phineas had 2 checks to spend and Gurney had 1.

Phineas spent 1 check to make a much easier Scout check to follow the map. This was AWESOME because in the Player's turn, THEY get to lead the narration. He was successful, so I turned to him and said "Ok, what happens?"

Phineas' player did a great job of narrating his exploration of the grain silo, of finding old weasel and mice skeletons littering the place, and then finding a lone mouse skeleton surrounded by fallen weasel enemies. In the skeleton's grasp was an awesome sword that could only be Toothcutter.

Very cool to see a player take over like that.

Gurny used his check to heal up a bit (ate some bread) and Phineas used his last check to make an easy Pathfinder check to get back to Sprucetuck.

Session done!

It was awesome for being off-the-cuff and only about 2 hours long.

 

[level1gamer]

Novem5er & theRogueRooster thanks. I'm glad you liked it. I'll manage to get a game going sooner or later. I'll post here when I do.

Novem5er thanks for the recap. Sounds like it went really well. Keep the recaps coming. I find them very interesting.