CarpeGuitarrem is right; death is not accidental in MG. It must be part of a stated goal in a conflict. That is helpful to players who want to invest in their character over a period before finding something worth dying for (or risking death for).
Yes, the world is dangerous for a mouse.
There are two short gimmicks I have used which help players get into thinking like a mouse. I’ll keep these brief, but you can PM for clarifying details.
Mouse Ball
In this gimmick, players should offer answers that have a mouse perspective. Ask players to give short answers about what the world around them is like. Consider topics such as:
- What sort of things would cause fear for a mouse? (‘everything’ or ‘anything’ are not valid answers)
- What sort of duties might Guard mice be called to fulfill?
- What are favorite foods of the Mice Territories?
- What sorts of predators prowl the Territories?
It is intended to get players listening to each other as well as reducing self-censorship. It ought to give players a sense of the world they are playing in as well as provide suggestions to GM how they want the world to feel.
It can be short enough to run a minute or two before a game session or could be engaged for longer brainstorms about a multi-session running campaign.
Epic Journey
In this gimmick, players should narrate their own patrol through challenges, failures, and successes. Ask players to give a number of sentences telling of the patrol facing an obstacle, what skills or wises are critical, and how it turns out.
This is a bit more complex, but is played without dice or goals. The GM provides a season and a mission. One player takes over thinking of their own belief and instinct; they pick an obstacle from Weather, Wilderness, or Animal. That player tells how the obstacle challenges the patrol and how the patrol chooses to face it; they tell what skills or wises their patrol uses. They decide without dice if it was a pass or fail and tell how that turns out. Another player picks up the story with a new obstacle.
During Epic Journey, players don’t choose from Mice obstacles–it is about their own mice and patrol mates rather than other mice of the Territories. Also, there are no goals, dice, or Player Turn. A GM may choose to use rewards related to Belief and Instinct if desired.
It will take longer to run through. It is intended to get players thinking about stories; it should also help illustrate how the skills and wises face obstacles as well as how the patrol works as a team. It ought to give players a chance to display their Belief and Instinct as well as provide a GM with clues about how to challenge and trigger Belief and Instinct.