Friday, May 31, 2013
But this post is not about the graphic novel, it is about the RPG, pen and paper game. For those not familiar, a pen and paper game is a storytelling type of game played mostly with dice and written down statistics. In these games the players work together to tell an epic tale or overcome some monstrous challenge. Sometimes it is slaying dragons or navigating terrible demonic dungeons. Other times it is about sneaking your way into the Courtesan's Ball and convincing everyone you are simply one of them. Either way this is all done with imagination, dice, pencils, and paper. One player usually plays as the storyteller, you may have heard them referred to as dungeon master(DM) or game master(GM), setting the rules and creating the world as well as the challenges. The other players all act as characters in the world created for the game, they try to beat the monsters and survive the dangerous dungeons. The Mouse Guard RPG is not much different, except that the monsters are snakes or turtles and the cities and towns are all built inside trees or stumps.
My first experience with the Mouse Guard RPG was probably 2 or 3 years ago but all I did was read the rulebook and plot an adventure. Just last week I actually got to play! Being the only one to own the rulebook it fell to me to take on the role of storyteller. I gathered a group of four friends and gave them some premade characters so we could dive right in. Right off the bat this game felt very different from other pen and paper games. Most of them focus on stats and beating the challenges ahead of you. Mouse Guard focused on moving forward at all times and keeping the pace interesting.
What I mean is that the game takes failure into account and actively allows for that failure to move the action forward. This may not sound like a big deal to most people but to a veteran tabletop player this makes a difference. Normally, when a player rolls poorly or fails at a task the action halts while all of the players have to find a way to overcome the current challenge. In Mouse Guard, when you fail the storyteller gets to add a twist to the plot or make a compromise with the player, like making their character weaker for a time or even adding a permanent injury. The game even requires characters to get a certain number of failures in a given expertise in order to improve on it!
This makes the game move so much smoother. It lets things roll from one thing to the next without any hesitation and without much thought. It lets players feel the weight of their failures and the significance of their successes without stopping the action. This makes for an incredibly fluid experience, and one that is encouraging to players.
The other big thing that stood out about this game was the addition of a Player’s Turn and a GM’s Turn. It is a loose structure but that loose structure makes it very easy to know who is supposed to be talking when. This is a HUGE benefit to both the players and the GM as it allows for discussion without bickering. Whoever is on point and taking action can ask for help from their teammates but it is ultimately up to them.
The game includes a lot of similar components found in other game systems but introduces a lot of nuance that really lets the story move forward. Because of this players are much more willing to just let things happen rather than scrounge around for a way to fix their mistakes. I find this system is very friendly to new players and to improvisation. So if you are looking to just spend an hour or two in another world its just the thing for you. Some players who really like challenges may not enjoy this game in the same way, it does give options for challenges but it is much more about character and party growth than it is about winning.
Overall, I loved the experience and hope to return to this world and introduce more people to it. I urge you, if you want to experience a light and yet very enjoyable tabletop RPG this is a great place to start.
