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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 8775008" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Lets say a Patrol Guard of Lockhaven has sent the Mouse Guard on a very important Mail Delivery mission to Appleloft because it is about to be in dire peril.  In the course of one of the obstacles, a player makes a Circle test because their Mentor should be nearby and might be able to help them with their predicament.  This test turns up a failure.  The Twist is that a few mice abruptly spill out of the brush onto the road.  He knows these mice.  They are younglings, would-be tenderpaws taken under the tutelage of the PC's mentor.  They relay a message through tears.  They were ambushed by a creature that is above the PCs Natural Order by 3 (so very, very dangerous...they can't set "kill it" as the stakes in a Fight Conflict) and now the mentor is holed up in a rotted tree stump and is under siege.  He'll starve or be killed without intervention.  The best the PCs could do here is try to drive off the creature in a Chase conflict (still extremely dangerous) or perhaps turn enemy to friend by entering an Argument conflict and winning with little compromise (maybe the creature wants food or wants something else) after a successful Persuader vs Nature test to convince the powerful creature to hear them out.  Regardless, if they don't intervene, the PC's mentor is almost surely to perish (which we can resolve after their mission using a vs test for the Mentor against the creature).We might have several intersecting things here:* The mentor being on the line.* The abandonment of the mission for the sake of the mentor which surely means no Promotions for these PCs (disobeying an order from a Patrol Guard of Lockhaven?) and maybe this is very important for one or more of the other PCs...or for the very PC who has the mentor.* What about the fate of Appleloft?* But what if they somehow actually convince this creature to their cause?  Maybe that will please the Patrol Guard and get them back in the good graces?  Maybe they can use the might of this creature to help Appleloft and ensure a Promotion!* What if one of the PCs is from Appleloft and has Family or Friends there?* Conflicting Goals, Beliefs, Relations over this one failed Circles Test.  Maybe we get some PvP action as a fight or an argument breaks out over what to do?The way paradigmatic GMing and playing sets up decisions is such that PC-defining moves are lurking around the corner of every situation via a player action declared and it turning into a Twist that demands a hard choice and pits PC against PC (or PC against themselves).  So, the game bakes in big, bold moves being made and the incentive structures for earning Fate and Persona and Advancement and the requirement of using Traits against you to get Checks for Player's Turn (downtime) sets up big, bold moves (oftentimes moves that yield test failures and Conditions or Twists as fallout) where players have to have courage to put their mice in peril in order to fuel play and advancement.  "Failing well/adeptly" and "overcoming those (intentional) setbacks" is a huge part of Skilled Play in Mouse Guard.</blockquote>

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