This is part 5 in an ongoing series of play reports. Get started with part 1.

Welcome back, fellow guard mice! I know it’s been a while since we last checked in, but last week my group was finally able to get back together and polish off our latest mission. Some things went well, some things didn’t, and I decided I’ve still got a lot to learn about running a successful Mouse Guard game. So, let’s get into it!

As you may recall, the patrol had been sent to the town of Dawnrock to locate and apprehend an insurgent who was agitating against the guard. This mouse was traveling with a group of actors, who themselves might be involved in the plot. After the patrol arrived in Dawnrock and located the actors, two of the Guard members tried to convince the actors they were disillusioned with the Guard, and wanted to join up with the cause. Honeymeade; the actor in question; saw an opportunity here, and told the two patrol members to take some of her fellow actors with them, and steal weapons from the town militia. On their way back into town, the patrol ambushed the two insurgents, easily overpowering them. This is where our last session began.

Our patrol mice had two options at this point; they could either return immediately to the actors and attempt to apprehend them, or they could try and convince the local deputy to let them borrow the militia’s weapons, and hopefully lull the actors into a false sense of security. The characters were nervous about an out-and-out fight with the entire troupe, so they opted to try and talk to the deputy instead. It didn’t occur to them they could also ask the deputy to get the militia to help, but that’s a lesson learned!

Jurisdictional Conflict

Unfortunately for our heroes, the deputy wasn’t in a trusting mood. Mechanically, the players rolled poorly to persuade her to help them, and in the fiction it was explained that since the patrol were all tired and angry, they were a might bit more rude and condescending than they out to have been. The patrol now had to return empty-handed to the actors, and wing it.

The actors were naturally suspicious when the patrol returned, and the character’s attempts to convince them the two who had come with the patrol to secure the weapons had gotten drunk fell flat, as well. The entire group was rolling fairly poorly this session! With that last failing roll, fighting was the only option. While Honeymeade and Willow (the troupe’s matriarch) tried to make their escape, the remaining actors surrounded the patrol. It was time for a conflict!

Of course, these are actors trained to pretend like they’re fighting, not actually fight. At best, some of them might know how to brawl. While the troupe got the jump on the characters initially, by the time it rolled around to the final action of the first round, the fight was over. The actors had battered and bruised the patrol a bit, but nothing serious — so according to the rules, a minor compromise was in order. I decided that in the scuffle, Honeymeade and Willow had slipped away, and now the patrol would have to track them down. After an excellent hunter test, the characters caught up with the fugitives, and we wrapped the session.

This was a quick game for us — my wife and I were just coming back from a family emergency, and one of our other players had been up for almost twenty four hours. Because of this, it wasn’t my best session ever. Even still, everyone had fun, but I came the realization that I’ve been running Mouse Guard wrong in a couple of ways.

Lessons Learned

Here’s the rub — the characters haven’t taken or needed a player turn for this entire mission. Since the whole flow of Mouse Guard is based on the GM inflicting conditions on the GM turn, and the players earning checks to spend to recover (and do other things) on their turn, the fact that we haven’t had one is a serious issue. Before our next game, I need to really hammer out a flow of tests and consequences, so I can see the player turns coming.

Now, I said just now that the players haven’t needed a player turn. This is a two-fold issue; they aren’t getting conditions often enough, and; they don’t feel like they need to do anything on their own to accomplish their goals. I think the solution to the first problem is for me to start giving them challenges they aren’t good at overcoming — I’ll have to study the character sheets for these. The second problem might be solved by making sure their goals align well with the fiction, and are important enough to the characters that they need/want to get them accomplished.

And that’s the mission. I’ve got some work ahead of me before the next session. We are really enjoying Mouse Guard, and I want to make sure I’m running the game as it should be. I hope you’re enjoying the play reports, and as always, any feedback is appreciated. Cheers!