A break down of my missions

Mouse Guard Missions
1

Hi all,
I’ve been having a hecka good time with Mouse Guard with my friends. I’ve got about 8 players who have played at least one complete mission. So each mission has a different grouping of mice. So far the story has come together pretty nice and I’ve heard my players say a couple of times “That’s cool that you tied that in.” All that said, I just wanted to share the missions I’ve made and possibly get some feedback.

Here you go
Mission 1: Jillian and the cure.
Description: Escort Jillian the scientist and her cure from Lockhaven to Sprucetuck. Beware of the hawk!

1: The River (ob 3 survivalist, pathfinder, or boatcrafter)
P: See 2
F: Condition- Angry or hungry

2: The Hawk! (Fight or chase, players choice Roll 7 +2DM, +1DA, +1sA for fight)
P: Scare off/kill hawk (whatever players goal was) see 3
F:Twist- Hawk takes Jillian and compound recipe (but not actual compound)

3: Out of the Hawk into the Rain (Weather watcher vs 6 or Health check ob 3)
P: Arrive in Sprucetuck
F: Condition- Sick

Player’s turn
ARTHA

My Game
Characters:
Malachi (Patrol Leader with a kill all that stands before us approach to life)
Eli (A young guardmouse scientist who prefers to find alternative means to accomplish an end)
Zeratul (A determined patrol guard who believes in the value of all things)

The patrol received the mission from Gwendolyn.
When confronted by the River they all had some way to help, unfortunately they failed and Malachi’s player happily took on the angry condition.

When confronted with the Hawk Malachi’s player stepped up as the leader and said they were going to fight. This did not go so well for them because they lost and Jillian was taken. Fortunately one of the patrol was holding the actual compound.

The rain was beaten by Malachi’s weather watcher check and so they avoided getting sick.

In the players turn Malachi kept his angry condition and decided to fight each of his patrol mates (He had an extra check and this was the players first game so they wanted to spar.)

Eli stepped up in a huge way and used his check to rewrite the recipe for the compound. He failed, which just meant that it took longer than he wanted and a few mice died from the disease before they could be treated.

Zeratul had to leave early so he did not get to use his check.

None of the mice tried to go save Jillian. I use this later in a big way. Jillian’s Dad is the mayor of Barkstone and her fiance is a vengeful bugger. :slight_smile:

Enjoy,
Jasper

2

This is basically the mission from the book
Mission 2: Deliver the Mail
Description: Deliver important documents from Lockhaven, Ivydale, Elmoss, Sprucetuck, and Dorgrift to Gilpledge.

1: Spring Wilderness (ob 3 Health, survivalist or pathfinder,)
P: See 2
F: Twist- The Raven! Fight conflict Roll 5 (young Raven) +1DM, +1sF
P: Depending on compromise (make sure the raven steals something, even a non essential item, like a weapon)
F: Twist: Track Down the Mail! (Hunter vs 5 check, and Scout vs 5 check)
P: Retrieve mail see 2
F: Condition- Tired if they failed one check, injured if they failed both.

2: Calm down a father. A Father (Martin) wants to set out to retrieve a family heirloom from Walnutpeck. The Guard must dissuade him. Conflict roll 4.
P: Martin stays (But depending on compromise the guard might have to go get the item.)
F: Martin sets out in the morning and is sure to die.

Players turn
ARTHA

My Game:
Characters:
Tehachapi (basically Repacheep from Narnia but female and fond of a good drink) Played by my wife, that’s right, I have the best wife in the world!
Robin (I allowed my wife to take one NPC mouse with her on the mission, just to better her chances at success) That’s right, I’m the best husband in the world! :slight_smile:

Tehachapi failed the pathfinder check and ran into the Raven. The Raven confronted Tehachapi and Robin between Elmoss and Sprucetuck and ended up stealing Robin’s weapon but nothing else. In the skirmish Tehachapi cut the young raven across the eye. Tehachapi arrived in Gilpledge without further incident. She was able to calm down the father perfectly. No checks were earned so Tehachapi used her one check to return to Lockhaven. All done nice and tidy.

Another group of mice run into the young raven later and see the fallout of Tehachapi’s skirmish with the bird.

Much fun,
Jasper

3

These are great breakdowns, Jasper. Glad to see you all are enjoying the game.

4

Thank you wanderer!

5

Description: Set in the Spring, Gwendolyn needs to make sure the scent barrier near sprucetuck is up to snuff. In addition, the patrol leaders mentor has gone missing and he is the local professional on the scent boarder. Find Corbin, repair the barrier.

1: Find Corbin (Hunter vs 4)
P: Find Corbin in a nest attempting to patch a cut over the young ravens eye. Bonus: If the patrol offers to help heal the raven, Corbin will enthusiastically help with the barrier. See 2.
F: Twist- The players took too long to find Corbin and he is now on his way back to Sprucetuck. The patrol must convince him to help. (Persuader vs 4)
P: See 2
F: Condition- Angry or hungry/thirsty

2: Repair the barrier. (Complex check 2 ob 3 checks scientist, pathfinder or any relevant skill) If the players got the bonus they get +2D to both of these checks.
P: The team finds the barrier and applies the concoction. End GM turn by saying "As you place the last layer of the smelly concoction down and wipe the sweat off your forehead you notice a weasel crossing over the barrier from the Territories side to the weasel side!
F: Condition- Tired (otherwise, same as pass)

Players turn
ARTHA

My game
Characters:
Malachi & Zeratul (Eli remained in Sprucetuck to continue helping with the distribution of the cure. aka his player wasn’t able to make it)

Zeratul carried the weight of the group on this one. He completed the hunters check and offered to help heal the raven.

With the bonuses that Zeratul earned the team easily blew threw the barrier challenge. My players got all riled up when I told them about the weasel.

Before the players used their check in the players turn Corbin, the patrols guide, announced that he would not chase the weasel into enemy territory instead he would report their findings to Gwendolyn. Zeratul used his check to start a chase conflict with the weasel and failed. I threw in a twist, they were lost! Malachi tried to get them back to Sprucetuck but failed so I gave him the tired condition.

We ended the session with the patrol lost and tired in enemy territory trying to make their way back to Sprucetuck.

This mission was really short! If you are struggling with a similar problem, I found a useful post on the forum and my games have gotten a lot better (longer) ever since:
http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?9497-Can-I-do-without-the-GM-Turn-Player-Turn-format

Now I use the two-challenges, players-turn, two challenges, players turn format.

Other notes about this mission: The players could have potentially stolen any of the items in the ravens nest including the weapon the raven stole from Robin in the previous game and a map the the raven stole from the weasel.

I named the weasel Jaden the spy and because of Zeratuls belief had him pass right by the mice and say “Don’t you dare follow me, it would be a useless pursuit!” In my game the weasel had just retrieved his map from the raven and was returning to Walnutpeck.

Happy creating,
Jasper

6

Description: This would be a hard mission to just throw on your players, it would take some arranging. Out past the scent barrier, near Walnutpeck, the guard gets lost after chasing a weasel. They fail in their attempts to return to Sprucetuck for safety. On their way they see Corbin flying in their direction on the back of the young Raven (Brandon). Corbin spots them and tells them that the circumstances have changed. On his way to speak with Gwendolyn Corbin spoke with Brandon. The raven had a map of the territories in his nest and the weasel stole it! The patrol must go to Walnutpeck and recover the map. Corbin will fly with Brandon to Lockhaven at once.

1: Hunter or hunted? (vs 4) Jaden got backup and went to hunt some mice.
P: See 2 and get +2D to first action in conflict
F:See 2 and weasels get +2d to first action in conflict

2: Fight! Conflict (6= 5+1 for teamwork +1 bonus for sword when applicable) Weasel Goal: Kill mice
Possible compromises include: One weasel escapes, Condition-Tired or injured, One mouse dies ect. After compromise, see 3.

Players turn

3: What is happening in Walnut Peck? (Scout vs 4 if the weasels are not actively looking for the mice vs 5 if they are.)
P: The patrol see the weasels arguing inside what used to be a tavern. And that one of them has the map. See 4
F: Condition-Sick (The mice have to lay low and still on the ground for way to long) see 4.

4: Flash Flood in Walnut Peck! Conflict with three teams: mice, weather, and weasels. Weather goal: Destroy everything, Weasel goal: survive the flood, Mouse goal: Whatever they want but they may want to include getting the map!
Possible compromises: Map is destroyed, a few weasels get away and get a really good look at the mice, a mouse dies, conditions for everyone ect. See Players turn

Players turn
ARTHA

My game
Characters: Malachi and Zeratul

The Weasels got the upper hand against Malachi and Zeratul, but the mice came out on top. For a compromise we decided that both weasels had to die (Jaden! I took a break from naming my bad guys after this conflict), Malachi would be injured, and one of the weasels would live just long enough to mock the mice and challenge them to go to Walnut Peck.

For the first players turn Malachi tried to recover from one of his many ailments. I can’t remember which and I can’t remember if he succeeded. Zeratul led the way to Walnut Peck with his check, and succeeded. If he had not, I would have just given him a condition.

The patrol succeeded in scouting out Walnut Peck. Which set the stage nicely for the flash flood. I told the players that the town looked like an old western town with two rows of buildings and a road between them. The players positioned themselves on top of some buildings and waited for what they thought would be an ambush.

Then the flood came. The mice did fairly well against the storm, the weasels did not. Very epic scene. Ended up with the map being destroyed, some weasels dieing, Zeratul almost drowning and at least one weasel surviving and being able to identify the mice. Zeratul took the injured condition.

I let the players know that there was a small armory in one of the buildings. All the weapons and armor had a symbol marked into them.

To end it all, the players returned to Sprucetuck, alleviated some conditions, and tried to get some new equipment.

Make it fun, make it count,
Jasper

7

Description: Gwendolyn send word to the patrol that the symbol tht has been identified on a shipment of weasel weapons and armor has also been identified in Copperwood. The patrol is sent to Copperwood to investigate under the guise of transporting goods for the Musfire celebration. Transporting the goods is an important duty but the patrol must gain some information about the symbol and an organization that might be connected to it called “The Guild.”

1: Summer Heat. (ob 3 Health check or weather watcher) Travel get hard when the sun’s beating down on you.
P: See two. Note: if the patrol is getting to Ivydale from the south, be sure to mention that they notice a large flock of birds in a clearing the trail goes through.
F: Condition- Sick

2: Bertha the Porcupine (Complex verses test 3 checks, roll 6 vs loremouse, scientist, pathfinder ect) she’s standing in the way. Get her to move.
P: See 3
F: Condition-angry or injured

Players turn

3: Birds! Fight conflict roll 5. Bird goal: steal as much of the grain as possible.
Compromise options: Birds steal everything/nothing/most/little, few birds die, conditions, new enemies (grain merchant), ect.

4: Find someone who knows about The Guild. (Circles ob 3)
P: Find the Merchant
F: Twist- The merchant finds the players and knows that they have been looking for him.

Players turn
ARTHA

My game
Characters: Malachi, Eli, Zeratul and
Jotlonu (New character. Crafty type who plays with insects and carries a mallet. Believes that the good for all mice must take precedence over the good for a few mice. Zeratul is his mentor and decides he is ready to go on this important mission)

Only Jotlonu failed the health test against the heat. But most of the patrol already had a condition or two.

The Patrol really wanted to fight Bertha, but had to find another means of getting her off the road. They failed all attempts to move her and collected some more conditions.

The players used their turn to try and prepare the cart for a bird ambush. I liked their ingenuity but they were having a bad day of rolling and everything failed to provide them any advantage. Eli gathered herbs while the rest of the group prepped the cart.

Against the birds Malachi refused to take part in any goal that was not “Kill as many birds as possible” so we split the group into two and let him hack away at the invading birds while the rest of the group tried to defend the cart. This proved to be an ineffective tactic and the cart lost almost half of it’s grain, Malachi killed three birds, and the lead merchant lost respect for the Guard because of Malachi’s actions.

The Patrol showed up in Ivydale and finally succeeded at something. They found the merchant who was know to share information about The Guild.

For the last players turn, Eli mixed the herbs he had found and essentially made an energy drink. Malachi Tried to haggle with the merchant for a better Halberd (Since Malachi was the one who had successfully found the merchant and he has a pretty low circles rating we decided that his quest for a new piece of equipment was what led him by chance to the merchant.) Jotlonu and Zeratul tried to recover from their conditions.

For me, this mission was one of my least favorite. It felt very linear. I think I was beginning to feel that there was no point in putting interesting stuff into twists because the team has to fail to “unlock” that twist. All in all, it just felt very dry and an uncreative for me.

On the plus side, despite my perception of the mission structure, the group seemed to have a lot of fun.

Next mission: A hit is put out on Malachi’s head!