Woot! I just ran an impromptu game for some of my D&D friends! And they liked it! They had fun making their characters, and liked the fairly simple "Deliver the Mail" mission, especially when I threw in the weasels. And they want to keep playing more, so I might spin the whole thing into a campaign about a renewed weasel attack in the south of the Territories. Awesome.
One thing: how often should I let players make checks? When my players found out how advancement worked, they wanted to make Oratory and Persuade checks all the time when they were in town. It seems like there's no reason not to try to make as many skill checks as possible. How do you handle this?
Slightly longer answer: Don't let them make checks for stupid trivial things, or alternatively, things that don't relate to the Mission or their personal Goal.
In the strictest sense - they make checks during the GM's turn when you call for them, once per mouse on the PC's turn as allowed (plus any earned from the 'using traits against yourself' rules), and that's it.
In the strictest sense - they make checks during the GM's turn when you call for them, once per mouse on the PC's turn as allowed (plus any earned from the 'using traits against yourself' rules), and that's it.
Yeah, but I feel like a dick when I say, for example, "This town is less friendly to the Guard", and then don't allow an Oratory check to try to appeal to them.
I'll try appealing to their sense of non-gaming the system in future sessions, I guess.
Also: if they're in a friendly town, I should let them alleviate Hungry and Tired automatically, right?
I think unless the town is very, very friendly, they can only alleviate hungry and tired if they've got a friend or notable ally in the town to give them food and somewhere to sleep. Otherwise they still have to make a check to find or pay for food, drink, and shelter because even friendly mice will probably want payment for their goods.
Really though, I'd say it's up to you, if you think the guard are highly regarded enough in a town that they are provided for free of charge, which I don't think would be terribly uncommon considering the services guard mice provide, then by all means let them alleviate those statuses.
You might even have them get food and shelter for free, only to have the town then reveal that they were hoping the guard mice would do a favor for them in return for their generosity. Do the mice then try to repay the town for their kindness, or do they decide that their original mission can't wait and maybe alienate the town's citizens a bit?
In the strictest sense - they make checks during the GM's turn when you call for them, once per mouse on the PC's turn as allowed (plus any earned from the 'using traits against yourself' rules), and that's it.
Yeah, but I feel like a dick when I say, for example, "This town is less friendly to the Guard", and then don't allow an Oratory check to try to appeal to them.
If it's the PC's turn, you can just say "Ok that's your one free check."
If it's the GM's turn and they are genuinely trying to convince the town to do something mission related, you should call for the Oration check then... this is fuzzy without having all the details, but like 'mallow said it's a judgment call. Remember that the GM's turn is all about the challenges and situations you throw at them and the mission at hand. In D&D if you roll into a town the players can orate all day and try to start a fishing business or some shit, but in MG you are on a fucking mission you can fish on your own time (AKA PC turn). Impress a sense of duty.
You might want to talk to them before your next session and basically give them Arcanis' perspective on things, it might cut down on your need to police the issue if you can get them to understand.
El SkidThe frozen white northRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
So, Mouse Guard looks pretty cool. I'd be interested in seeing the character creation process in action- if anyone familiar with the system has time to walk me through it (likely have to be via PM?), that'd be great!
Belief: Mice should use the skills they possess for the greater good of all mice.
Instinct: Step into the way of danger if it could help others.
Colour of Fur: Deep red
Colour of Cloak: Forest Green
The Mouse Guard character creator for those who don't own the book.
Before you Begin
Make a cool character that you like and that compliments your patrol well. This is not a game about min-maxing.
That said, there are some skills that someone in the patrol should have. You can find these by looking at which skills are used in conflicts.
So how do conflicts work?
Very generically: it's paper/scissors/rocks, best out of three. Except that instead you have "hitpoints" in the form of Disposition, and you go until one side runs out. For example, you fight a snake. Your team decides the actions will be DEFEND, then MANEUVER, then ATTACK.
The first mouse goes and rolls his Nature for the DEFEND action. The second mouse goes and rolls for the MANEUVER action. The third mouse goes and rolls his Fighter for the ATTACK action, etc. Each of these are opposed tests based on what the snake responds with, just like in paper/scissors/rocks. The winner knocks off some of the opponents Disposition or maybe adds to their own(that's what a successful DEFEND does), and you keep going until someone wins.
Note that because of how this works, not every mouse needs to be an amazing swordsman to contribute to a fight. In fact that would make your patrol kind of redundant and weaker overall.
See the list below to learn which conflicts use what skills.
Pay special attention to bolded stuff because it is fucking crucial. Other forms of emphasis for less crucial but necessary stuff.
Skills the party will need for verbal conflicts Persuader, Deceiver helps too. Orator less so, for convincing crowds.
Skills the party will need for Combat Fighter for attacks and feints, decent Nature for Defends & Maneuvers. If you are fighting an animal, Hunter can sub in for Fighter and Loremouse can sub in for Nature.
Skills the party will need for Journeys and Chases Pathfinder, Scout, and WeatherWatcher all help with the "where the fuck are we?"
Answer this series of questions and any player who has the book can fill out the corresponding stats into a sheet for you.
Concept
1.) Write down some ideas about the kind of mouse you want to play. Use these to inform your decisions below, and whoever finalizes your character sheet will keep them in mind too.
2.) What is your mouse's name? What were his or her parent's names? What were there professions, and what trade did you practice before joining the Guard? What color is your fur?
Guard Rank
A four mouse patrol will usually have one member of each rank. Guard Rank determines your base Will and Health stats and gives a general idea of starting age.
Answer these three questions about your mouse's behavior. They will impact your Nature. Nature is what it sounds like - your mouse's connection to or transcendence of his or her baser self. A mouse's Nature is related to escaping, climbing, hiding and foraging. You will use it for checks for those rolls, but also for Defend and Maneuver actions in combat, as well as to roll extra dice when you spend a Persona Point to tap your Nature. Having a high Nature makes it difficult to learn new skills and may preclude you from picking up certain traits like Brave and Fearless.
Do you save for winter even if it means going without something now? Or do you use what you have when you need it?
When confronted, do you stand your ground and fight or do you run and hide?
Do you fear owls, weasels and wolves?
Where are you from?
Your starting town will grant you one skill and one trait as well as a place you might have some friends. Choose a town, then one each of the skill and trait options listed for that town. You should start a scratch paper, list the skill you took and put one check next to it. More on this to follow.
Copperwood
One of the oldest cities and home to one of the two mines in the Territories.
Skills: Smith, Haggler
Traits: Independent
Elmoss
A once prosperous city, known for its medicinal moss.
Skills: Carpenter, Harvester
Traits: Alert
Ivydale
Renowned for its bakers and bread.
Skills: Harvester, Baker
Traits: Hard Worker
Lockhaven
The home of the Mouse Guard.
Skills: Weaver, Armorer
Traits: Generous, Guard’s Honor
Port Sumac
A busy little port town between Darkwater and Rustleaf.
Skills: Boatcrafter, Weather Watcher
Traits: Tough, Weather Sense
Shaleburrow
A simple town known for its delicious drinks!
Skills: Mason, Harvester, Miller
Traits: Open-Minded
Sprucetuck
Known for its scientists, medicine and scent concoctions.
Skills: Scientist, Loremouse
Traits: Inquisitive, Rational
Life Experience
This section determines your skills. Most of the questions and points here are based on your guard rank, so make sure you pick from the right lists with the right points and such.
For Skills and Wises you will spend checks in the lists below on the choices which interest you, and each skill will start the game at a rank of [number of checks +1]. For example, if you end up with 2 checks in Carpenter you will start with a skill of Carpenter 3. Traits are always gained at a rank equal to checks, which will mean rank 1 in almost all cases for a new character.
Pick an area in which you’re naturally talented. Tenderpaws check two; all others check one.
What was your parents’ trade? Tenderpaws check two; all others check one.
Apiarist
Archivist
Armorer
Baker
Boatcrafter
Brewer
Carpenter
Cartographer
Glazier
Harvester
Insectrist
Miller
Potter
Smith
Stonemason
Weaver
How do you convince people that you’re right or to do what you need? Patrol leaders check two; all others check one.
Deceiver
Orator
Persuader
Who was your mentor and what was his or her trade? Recruits are distributed among the various tradesmice in Lockhaven to act as apprentices. Determine who your senior artisan was and check a skill from this list to denote their trade.
Apiarist
Archivist
Armorer
Baker
Brewer
Carpenter
Cartographer
Glazier
Harvester
Insectrist
Miller
Potter
Smith
Stonemason
Weaver
Once they complete two seasons of apprenticeship, the each tenderpaw is assigned to a mentor in a guard patrol. Who was your mentor and what did they stress when training you? Tenderpaws and patrol leaders choose two; all others choose one:
Wises! These are the equivalent of 'Knowledge skills' to use a D&D term. They are used to assist your own actions, lending you an extra die on pertinent checks, or tested in their own rights to learn something.
Make a number of checks based on your rank: tenderpaw 1, guardmouse 2, patrol guard 3, patrol leader 4.
The wises list is large and very open ended - the book lists 5-10 per letter of the alphabet. Here are some samples:
A specific animal.
A specific season.
A specific terrain or time of day.
A specific town or plant or natural occurrence.
Resources
Resources represents both your mouse's wealth and also general resourcefulness. The higher your Resources, the more likely you will be to be able to come up with the coin to buy something you need or to improvise MacGuyver style with what you've got.
Answer these questions which will impact your Resources. Similarly to Nature, some of these questions will also preclude you from certain traits.
In winter, do you still practice a trade like weaving, smithing or pottery for the Guard?
Are your parents smiths, politicians, merchants or apiarists?
Do you like to buy gifts for yourself and your friends?
Are you thrifty?
Have you ever been in debt? Or are you generally bad with money?
Do you always pack carefully for a journey, ensuring you have everything you need?
Circles
Circles represents your mouse's connections. As above, making certain choices may preclude you from taking certain feats.
Is your mouse gregarious? Does he have lots of friends? Does he make friends easily?
Do you have strong ties to the Guard? Perhaps a family tradition or allies within the Guard?
Has your character accomplished some great task in the Guard? Does he already have a reputation?
Does your character have powerful enemies in the Territories?
Has your character been convicted of a crime?
Is your character a loner, tough and cool?
Traits
Traits help define your mouse. They are used in two ways - you can use them to help yourself or to hurt yourself, but gain some benefit at a later time.
Understanding Traits
Helping yourself
Level 1 checks give you a +1dice to a related roll once per session.
example: "I use my Brave 1 trait and charge the snake, earning +1dice on my roll!"
Level 2 checks give you +1dice to all pertinent rolls!
Level 3 checks let you re-roll all dice of 3 or lower ("cowards") on a relevant test, once per session.
Hurting yourself
You can use a check to hurt yourself in three ways: Impede, Hurt, or Break Tie. Impede means you take a voluntary -1D on a roll and earn one "check". Hurt means you choose to give the opponent +2D on his roll and you earn two "checks". Break Tie means that if there is a tie on an opposed test, you can break the tie in the opponent's favor and earn two "checks".
example: "The snake's Attack and my Defense were tied - but my character is Fat! He was a bit slow, so I'll break the tie in the snake's favor in exchange for two "checks".
What do I do with these "checks"?
Basically you can use them to buy actions. If you're reading this, you don't own the game book so here's a quick primer on sessions and turns:
Each session is one GM's turn followed by one player's turn. It's very structured. During the GM's turn, the players have to deal with whatever harrowing crises are thrown their way in the form of tests("make a pathfinder check or your ass is LOST! etc) or conflicts (Argument, Haggle, Speech, Journey, Chase, Fight, or War). During the Player's turn, each mouse has one free check with which he can try to recover from his travails (Hungry, Tired, Angry, Injured, Sick) and such. Each check you earn by Hurting yourself with traits can be used to buy additional actions in the next Player's Turn - for yourself or a friend.
In a pinch, you can spend two checks to make a Quick Recovery during the GM's turn.
You can spend three checks to boost one of your traits one level for the rest of the session. "Ten more snakes!? I'd better Boost my Brave1 to Brave2!"
You can spend two or four checks to give yourself another use of a level 1 or level 3 trait, respectively. "Oh, just three more snakes? I'll just spend two checks to give myself one more use of Brave1, then."
I may start an FAQ if needed :P
Every mouse chooses one of these.
Traits are very open ended and this list is not comprehensive. If you want to introduce something new just ask your GM.
Bigpaw
Bitter
Bodyguard
Bold
Brave
Calm
Clever
Compassionate
Cunning
Curious
Deep Ear
Defender
Determined
Driven
Early Riser
Extrovert
Fat
Fearful
Fearless
Fiery
Generous
Graceful
Guard’s Honor
Innocent
Jaded
Leader
Longtail
Lost
Natural
Bearings
Nimble
Nocturnal
Oldfur
Quick-Witted
Quiet
Scarred
Sharp-Eyed
Sharptooth
Short
Skeptical
Skinny
Stoic
Stubborn
Suspicious
Tall
Thoughtful
Tough
Weather Sense
Wise
Wolf’s Snout
Young
Tenderpaws also get a bonus trait from this list.
Bigpaw
Brave
Calm
Clever
Compassionate
Curious
Deep Ear
Defender
Determined
Early Riser
Extrovert
Fearful
Fearless
Fiery
Generous
Graceful
Longtail
Lost
Natural
Bearings
Nimble
Quick-Witted
Quiet
Scarred
Sharptooth
Short
Skeptical
Skinny
Stubborn
Suspicious
Tall
Tough
Wolf’s Snout
Create a short character story each for a friend and an enemy that your mouse has made. Be sure to include a name, a home, what they do, and why you are friends/enemies.
Belief
A Belief is an overarching ethical or moral stance.
I really can't do this any better - or close to as good as - the book, and this is really important.
You get to decide what your character believes. You get to tell everyone at the table what you’re interested in and what you want to explore in the game. Beliefs can be about the Guard, your parents, your friend, your enemy, the Winter War, peace or a particular moral code.
“I believe the Guard is good†is not a strong enough Belief. A better Belief says, “The mice of the Territories must know that the Guard is good and must be supported.†It has a little more oomph to it.
Think about what drives your character. What is his higher purpose? Try to distill that higher purpose into a slogan or statement of belief.
Consider a trademark action, statement or reaction that your character does. If we were reading about your character in a comic book, we’d expect him to do this thing when he got into trouble. Once you’ve thought of an action, turn it into a statement that includes always, if/then or never.
An Instinct must be a thought, action or process the character can accomplish rather quickly.
Here's a demented thought: you could use the Mouse Guard rules to run a Dwarf Fortress RPG, where the party represented a group of dwarves who set out into the wilderness to found a new settlement.
Obviously, you'd replace mice with dwarves, and weasels could be goblins or undead elephants or whatever, but the whole "gathering resources for your settlement to survive the winter" theme would fit well, I think.
delroland on
EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Not to say that wouldn't be fun, but there is too much compromise built into the rules of MG for it to resemble DF too accurately
I think there should be a non-C CG DF game, wherein you could draw the FORTRESS FLOODED (MAGMA) card, laugh heartily, then start anew. :P
fake edit: A million ideas exploded in my head as soon as I wrote that.... the Mining Deck, the Immigrants Deck, the Events Deck.... >rubs hands< maybe in a week or two...
fadingathedges draws the Useless Fucking Peasant card from the Immigrant Deck.
INNS plays the Useless Fucking Peasant card on the Gladiatorial Goblin Pit!
Your dorfs gain amusement from the visceral and predictably one-sided carnage.
Wait, I guess that implies it's a cooperative game, like when you give a friend control of your units in an RTS. Err, which doesn't sound half as bad as I thought it would...
You'd have to find a good way of simulating - even clumsily - the randomness of the surroundings and the free-form nature of construction, though.
Zetetic Elench on
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INeedNoSaltwith blood on my teethRegistered Userregular
My brains sketched a couple rough models. The one I'm favoring atm is like this:
Each player represents the foreman of a different fortress, and the first player to reach XYZ dimdums value first (or who's fort survives the longest) is the winner.
This is all very rough, but here is what I'm seeing~
Play space:
-An area for resources - either tokens or tracking on paper. Thinking Food, Booze, Stone/Raw materials, maybe some others. In addition to these, special resource cards might be present if drawn from assorted decks. I.E., Mining Deck might give you a gem card or something.
-A row of locations, probably drawn from the mining and or crafts deck. Possibly "empty room" drawable from Mining, and a second card can be used to give it a purpose. Maybe a locations deck, drawn once per empty room to purpose it?
-A row of 'heroic dwarves' or something, drawn from the dwarves deck. (more on this below) Possibly determines # actions per turn?
-A column of splayed Workforce Stacks for each segment of the workforce. Craftsman stack, Miners stack, Farmers, Hunter/Gatherers, Military, etc. This represents your fort's main population (ie when they all die you lose) and also your work capacity.
DWARF DECK Common cards will each be a skill (Mining, Farming, etc) that you can choose to play into the appropriate Workforce Stack or play onto a heroic dwarf to grant them that skill. Rarer cards will be Heroes themselves, Nobles, and utterly useless jobs. EVENTS DECK lolz abound. example cards: "Wrong Lever", "Elven Traders", "Too Deep, Too Greedily", "Miasma", "Goblin Invasion", "Party at the Granite Table" etc etc. MINING DECK Generates resources and empty or purposed locations. WORKFORCE DECK Each card calls out a workforce and result. i.e. "your farmers farm, gain X food" "your craftsmen craft, lose X stone/raw goods and gain gold or something" ITEM DECK special items related to Fey Moods etc, possible equipment for heroes
Engraving deck? Location deck?
I have lots more scattered ideas but you get the idea of where I'm going. This is the MG thread, but I fully intend to start a thread on this in the next week or two. It might be a cooperative game design thread, and it might be a GAME ON if I got really ambitious :P In any case input will be appreciated once that thread is up.
My brains sketched a couple rough models. The one I'm favoring atm is like this:
Each player represents the foreman of a different fortress, and the first player to reach XYZ dimdums value first (or who's fort survives the longest) is the winner.
This is all very rough, but here is what I'm seeing~
Play space:
-An area for resources - either tokens or tracking on paper. Thinking Food, Booze, Stone/Raw materials, maybe some others. In addition to these, special resource cards might be present if drawn from assorted decks. I.E., Mining Deck might give you a gem card or something.
-A row of locations, probably drawn from the mining and or crafts deck. Possibly "empty room" drawable from Mining, and a second card can be used to give it a purpose. Maybe a locations deck, drawn once per empty room to purpose it?
-A row of 'heroic dwarves' or something, drawn from the dwarves deck. (more on this below) Possibly determines # actions per turn?
-A column of splayed Workforce Stacks for each segment of the workforce. Craftsman stack, Miners stack, Farmers, Hunter/Gatherers, Military, etc. This represents your fort's main population (ie when they all die you lose) and also your work capacity.
DWARF DECK Common cards will each be a skill (Mining, Farming, etc) that you can choose to play into the appropriate Workforce Stack or play onto a heroic dwarf to grant them that skill. Rarer cards will be Heroes themselves, Nobles, and utterly useless jobs. EVENTS DECK lolz abound. example cards: "Wrong Lever", "Elven Traders", "Too Deep, Too Greedily", "Miasma", "Goblin Invasion", "Party at the Granite Table" etc etc. MINING DECK Generates resources and empty or purposed locations. WORKFORCE DECK Each card calls out a workforce and result. i.e. "your farmers farm, gain X food" "your craftsmen craft, lose X stone/raw goods and gain gold or something" ITEM DECK special items related to Fey Moods etc, possible equipment for heroes
Engraving deck? Location deck?
I have lots more scattered ideas but you get the idea of where I'm going. This is the MG thread, but I fully intend to start a thread on this in the next week or two. It might be a cooperative game design thread, and it might be a GAME ON if I got really ambitious :P In any case input will be appreciated once that thread is up.
Might I suggest you do this WoW-style? The game could either be played competitively, where each player has their own fortress and tries to bring ruin to their opponents' fortresses, or it could be played cooperatively, where all players share one super-fortress and play against a universal event deck or against a GM.
delroland on
EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Posts
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Someone go buy one and have story time over the internet. You must do voices.
Should this come to pass, that would make this the best of all possible worlds.
OOC / Interest On
LFG
We laughed, we cried, we screenshat.
You both have mouse guard avatars and Spring 1149 in your game titles.
One thing: how often should I let players make checks? When my players found out how advancement worked, they wanted to make Oratory and Persuade checks all the time when they were in town. It seems like there's no reason not to try to make as many skill checks as possible. How do you handle this?
I'll try appealing to their sense of non-gaming the system in future sessions, I guess.
Also: if they're in a friendly town, I should let them alleviate Hungry and Tired automatically, right?
Really though, I'd say it's up to you, if you think the guard are highly regarded enough in a town that they are provided for free of charge, which I don't think would be terribly uncommon considering the services guard mice provide, then by all means let them alleviate those statuses.
You might even have them get food and shelter for free, only to have the town then reveal that they were hoping the guard mice would do a favor for them in return for their generosity. Do the mice then try to repay the town for their kindness, or do they decide that their original mission can't wait and maybe alienate the town's citizens a bit?
If it's the PC's turn, you can just say "Ok that's your one free check."
If it's the GM's turn and they are genuinely trying to convince the town to do something mission related, you should call for the Oration check then... this is fuzzy without having all the details, but like 'mallow said it's a judgment call. Remember that the GM's turn is all about the challenges and situations you throw at them and the mission at hand. In D&D if you roll into a town the players can orate all day and try to start a fishing business or some shit, but in MG you are on a fucking mission you can fish on your own time (AKA PC turn). Impress a sense of duty.
You might want to talk to them before your next session and basically give them Arcanis' perspective on things, it might cut down on your need to police the issue if you can get them to understand.
Basic Concept: Self-sacrificing Fighter-type mouse
Belief: Mice should use the skills they possess for the greater good of all mice.
Instinct: Step into the way of danger if it could help others.
Colour of Fur: Deep red
Colour of Cloak: Forest Green
Before you Begin
That said, there are some skills that someone in the patrol should have. You can find these by looking at which skills are used in conflicts.
So how do conflicts work?
The first mouse goes and rolls his Nature for the DEFEND action. The second mouse goes and rolls for the MANEUVER action. The third mouse goes and rolls his Fighter for the ATTACK action, etc. Each of these are opposed tests based on what the snake responds with, just like in paper/scissors/rocks. The winner knocks off some of the opponents Disposition or maybe adds to their own(that's what a successful DEFEND does), and you keep going until someone wins.
Note that because of how this works, not every mouse needs to be an amazing swordsman to contribute to a fight. In fact that would make your patrol kind of redundant and weaker overall.
See the list below to learn which conflicts use what skills.
Pay special attention to bolded stuff because it is fucking crucial. Other forms of emphasis for less crucial but necessary stuff.
Skills the party will need for verbal conflicts
Persuader, Deceiver helps too. Orator less so, for convincing crowds.
Skills the party will need for Combat
Fighter for attacks and feints, decent Nature for Defends & Maneuvers. If you are fighting an animal, Hunter can sub in for Fighter and Loremouse can sub in for Nature.
Skills the party will need for Journeys and Chases
Pathfinder, Scout, and WeatherWatcher all help with the "where the fuck are we?"
Answer this series of questions and any player who has the book can fill out the corresponding stats into a sheet for you.
Concept
2.) What is your mouse's name? What were his or her parent's names? What were there professions, and what trade did you practice before joining the Guard? What color is your fur?
Guard Rank
Nature
Do you save for winter even if it means going without something now? Or do you use what you have when you need it?
When confronted, do you stand your ground and fight or do you run and hide?
Do you fear owls, weasels and wolves?
Where are you from?
Barkstone
A busy working-class town.
Skills: Carpenter, Potter, Glazier
Traits: Steady Paw
Copperwood
One of the oldest cities and home to one of the two mines in the Territories.
Skills: Smith, Haggler
Traits: Independent
Elmoss
A once prosperous city, known for its medicinal moss.
Skills: Carpenter, Harvester
Traits: Alert
Ivydale
Renowned for its bakers and bread.
Skills: Harvester, Baker
Traits: Hard Worker
Lockhaven
The home of the Mouse Guard.
Skills: Weaver, Armorer
Traits: Generous, Guard’s Honor
Port Sumac
A busy little port town between Darkwater and Rustleaf.
Skills: Boatcrafter, Weather Watcher
Traits: Tough, Weather Sense
Shaleburrow
A simple town known for its delicious drinks!
Skills: Mason, Harvester, Miller
Traits: Open-Minded
Sprucetuck
Known for its scientists, medicine and scent concoctions.
Skills: Scientist, Loremouse
Traits: Inquisitive, Rational
Life Experience
For Skills and Wises you will spend checks in the lists below on the choices which interest you, and each skill will start the game at a rank of [number of checks +1]. For example, if you end up with 2 checks in Carpenter you will start with a skill of Carpenter 3. Traits are always gained at a rank equal to checks, which will mean rank 1 in almost all cases for a new character.
Pick an area in which you’re naturally talented.
Tenderpaws check two; all others check one.
Apiarist
Archivist
Armorer
Baker
Boatcrafter
Brewer
Carpenter
Cartographer
Cook
Deceiver
Fighter
Glazier
Haggler
Harvester
Healer
Hunter
Insectrist
Instructor
Laborer
Loremouse
Militarist
Miller
Orator
Pathfinder
Persuader
Potter
Scientist
Scout
Smith
Stonemason
Survivalist
WeatherWatcher
Weaver
What was your parents’ trade?
Tenderpaws check two; all others check one.
Archivist
Armorer
Baker
Boatcrafter
Brewer
Carpenter
Cartographer
Glazier
Harvester
Insectrist
Miller
Potter
Smith
Stonemason
Weaver
How do you convince people that you’re right or to do what you need?
Patrol leaders check two; all others check one.
Orator
Persuader
Who was your mentor and what was his or her trade?
Recruits are distributed among the various tradesmice in Lockhaven to act as apprentices. Determine who your senior artisan was and check a skill from this list to denote their trade.
Archivist
Armorer
Baker
Brewer
Carpenter
Cartographer
Glazier
Harvester
Insectrist
Miller
Potter
Smith
Stonemason
Weaver
Once they complete two seasons of apprenticeship, the each tenderpaw is assigned to a mentor in a guard patrol. Who was your mentor and what did they stress when training you?
Tenderpaws and patrol leaders choose two; all others choose one:
Healer
Hunter
Instructor
Pathfinder
Scout
Survivalist
WeatherWatcher
Patrol Experience
Make a number of checks according to your rank: tenderpaw 3, guardmouse 6, patrol guard 8, patrol leader 9.
Healer
Hunter
Instructor
Pathfinder
Scout
Survivalist
WeatherWatcher
Tenderpaws may consider Laborer part of the above list.
Guardmice may consider Haggler part of the above list.
Patrol guard may consider Cook part of the above list.
Patrol leaders consider Persuader and Loremouse part of the above list.
What's your specialty?
Pick one and take a check! No two characters in the patrol can have the same specialty.
Healer
Hunter
Instructor
Pathfinder
Scout
Survivalist
WeatherWatcher
Wises!
These are the equivalent of 'Knowledge skills' to use a D&D term. They are used to assist your own actions, lending you an extra die on pertinent checks, or tested in their own rights to learn something.
Make a number of checks based on your rank: tenderpaw 1, guardmouse 2, patrol guard 3, patrol leader 4.
A specific animal.
A specific season.
A specific terrain or time of day.
A specific town or plant or natural occurrence.
Resources
Answer these questions which will impact your Resources. Similarly to Nature, some of these questions will also preclude you from certain traits.
In winter, do you still practice a trade like weaving, smithing or pottery for the Guard?
Are your parents smiths, politicians, merchants or apiarists?
Do you like to buy gifts for yourself and your friends?
Are you thrifty?
Have you ever been in debt? Or are you generally bad with money?
Do you always pack carefully for a journey, ensuring you have everything you need?
Circles
Is your mouse gregarious? Does he have lots of friends? Does he make friends easily?
Do you have strong ties to the Guard? Perhaps a family tradition or allies within the Guard?
Has your character accomplished some great task in the Guard? Does he already have a reputation?
Does your character have powerful enemies in the Territories?
Has your character been convicted of a crime?
Is your character a loner, tough and cool?
Traits
Understanding Traits
Level 1 checks give you a +1dice to a related roll once per session.
example: "I use my Brave 1 trait and charge the snake, earning +1dice on my roll!"
Level 2 checks give you +1dice to all pertinent rolls!
Level 3 checks let you re-roll all dice of 3 or lower ("cowards") on a relevant test, once per session.
Hurting yourself
You can use a check to hurt yourself in three ways: Impede, Hurt, or Break Tie.
Impede means you take a voluntary -1D on a roll and earn one "check".
Hurt means you choose to give the opponent +2D on his roll and you earn two "checks".
Break Tie means that if there is a tie on an opposed test, you can break the tie in the opponent's favor and earn two "checks".
example: "The snake's Attack and my Defense were tied - but my character is Fat! He was a bit slow, so I'll break the tie in the snake's favor in exchange for two "checks".
What do I do with these "checks"?
Basically you can use them to buy actions. If you're reading this, you don't own the game book so here's a quick primer on sessions and turns:
Each session is one GM's turn followed by one player's turn. It's very structured. During the GM's turn, the players have to deal with whatever harrowing crises are thrown their way in the form of tests("make a pathfinder check or your ass is LOST! etc) or conflicts (Argument, Haggle, Speech, Journey, Chase, Fight, or War). During the Player's turn, each mouse has one free check with which he can try to recover from his travails (Hungry, Tired, Angry, Injured, Sick) and such. Each check you earn by Hurting yourself with traits can be used to buy additional actions in the next Player's Turn - for yourself or a friend.
In a pinch, you can spend two checks to make a Quick Recovery during the GM's turn.
You can spend three checks to boost one of your traits one level for the rest of the session.
"Ten more snakes!? I'd better Boost my Brave1 to Brave2!"
You can spend two or four checks to give yourself another use of a level 1 or level 3 trait, respectively.
"Oh, just three more snakes? I'll just spend two checks to give myself one more use of Brave1, then."
I may start an FAQ if needed :P
Every mouse chooses one of these.
Bigpaw
Bitter
Bodyguard
Bold
Brave
Calm
Clever
Compassionate
Cunning
Curious
Deep Ear
Defender
Determined
Driven
Early Riser
Extrovert
Fat
Fearful
Fearless
Fiery
Generous
Graceful
Guard’s Honor
Innocent
Jaded
Leader
Longtail
Lost
Natural
Bearings
Nimble
Nocturnal
Oldfur
Quick-Witted
Quiet
Scarred
Sharp-Eyed
Sharptooth
Short
Skeptical
Skinny
Stoic
Stubborn
Suspicious
Tall
Thoughtful
Tough
Weather Sense
Wise
Wolf’s Snout
Young
Tenderpaws also get a bonus trait from this list.
Brave
Calm
Clever
Compassionate
Curious
Deep Ear
Defender
Determined
Early Riser
Extrovert
Fearful
Fearless
Fiery
Generous
Graceful
Longtail
Lost
Natural
Bearings
Nimble
Quick-Witted
Quiet
Scarred
Sharptooth
Short
Skeptical
Skinny
Stubborn
Suspicious
Tall
Tough
Wolf’s Snout
Patrol Leaders get a bonus trait from this list.
Bodyguard
Brave
Calm
Clever
Compassionate
Cunning
Curious
Defender
Driven
Early Riser
Fearful
Fearless
Jaded
Leader
Natural
Bearings
Nocturnal
Oldfur
Quiet
Scarred
Sharp-Eyed
Skeptical
Skinny
Stoic
Thoughtful
Tough
Weather Sense
Wise
Friend & Enemy
Belief
I really can't do this any better - or close to as good as - the book, and this is really important.
Instinct
Obviously, you'd replace mice with dwarves, and weasels could be goblins or undead elephants or whatever, but the whole "gathering resources for your settlement to survive the winter" theme would fit well, I think.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
I think there should be a non-C CG DF game, wherein you could draw the FORTRESS FLOODED (MAGMA) card, laugh heartily, then start anew. :P
fake edit: A million ideas exploded in my head as soon as I wrote that.... the Mining Deck, the Immigrants Deck, the Events Deck.... >rubs hands< maybe in a week or two...
Wait, I guess that implies it's a cooperative game, like when you give a friend control of your units in an RTS. Err, which doesn't sound half as bad as I thought it would...
You'd have to find a good way of simulating - even clumsily - the randomness of the surroundings and the free-form nature of construction, though.
I can live with that.
Each player represents the foreman of a different fortress, and the first player to reach XYZ dimdums value first (or who's fort survives the longest) is the winner.
This is all very rough, but here is what I'm seeing~
-An area for resources - either tokens or tracking on paper. Thinking Food, Booze, Stone/Raw materials, maybe some others. In addition to these, special resource cards might be present if drawn from assorted decks. I.E., Mining Deck might give you a gem card or something.
-A row of locations, probably drawn from the mining and or crafts deck. Possibly "empty room" drawable from Mining, and a second card can be used to give it a purpose. Maybe a locations deck, drawn once per empty room to purpose it?
-A row of 'heroic dwarves' or something, drawn from the dwarves deck. (more on this below) Possibly determines # actions per turn?
-A column of splayed Workforce Stacks for each segment of the workforce. Craftsman stack, Miners stack, Farmers, Hunter/Gatherers, Military, etc. This represents your fort's main population (ie when they all die you lose) and also your work capacity.
DWARF DECK Common cards will each be a skill (Mining, Farming, etc) that you can choose to play into the appropriate Workforce Stack or play onto a heroic dwarf to grant them that skill. Rarer cards will be Heroes themselves, Nobles, and utterly useless jobs.
EVENTS DECK lolz abound. example cards: "Wrong Lever", "Elven Traders", "Too Deep, Too Greedily", "Miasma", "Goblin Invasion", "Party at the Granite Table" etc etc.
MINING DECK Generates resources and empty or purposed locations.
WORKFORCE DECK Each card calls out a workforce and result. i.e. "your farmers farm, gain X food" "your craftsmen craft, lose X stone/raw goods and gain gold or something"
ITEM DECK special items related to Fey Moods etc, possible equipment for heroes
Engraving deck? Location deck?
I have lots more scattered ideas but you get the idea of where I'm going. This is the MG thread, but I fully intend to start a thread on this in the next week or two. It might be a cooperative game design thread, and it might be a GAME ON if I got really ambitious :P In any case input will be appreciated once that thread is up.
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=28299.0
Might I suggest you do this WoW-style? The game could either be played competitively, where each player has their own fortress and tries to bring ruin to their opponents' fortresses, or it could be played cooperatively, where all players share one super-fortress and play against a universal event deck or against a GM.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23