I also found my first Mouse Guard RPG (and the Fall 1152 graphic novel) at Books-a-Million. I found a sale on it on the Books-a-Million online site (about 40% off, IIRC). As much as I wanted to get the rulebook right away, I opted for the sale.
I also found the graphic novel at my local library, so I’ve had it checked out for about 5 weeks now. I’ve been passing it from friend to friend; telling them that they can finish the entire thing in one sitting (probably 1 hour). And depending on their reaction, I tell them “well, if you liked that, how would you like to be a Mouse Guard yourself?”
I haven’t managed to get a game organized yet. I’ve been bombarded by Spring Fever – and I mean all the symptoms: wanting to be outside, doing stuff in the garden, cleaning out the house, getting hit by allergies, and now suffering from sinus infection.
But I digress… if I were to get a game of first-timers together, I’d start with this:
This is not your ordinary roleplaying game. A bad roll of the dice doesn’t mean you fail … it usually just means the game got more interesting. And although I am the “GameMaster”, I am not wholly responsible for “what happens next”. In fact, you – as players – will have a heavier impact on that.
But first … let’s quickly go over the character sheet …
… stuff on Belief, Instinct, and Traits …
… stuff on Nature and Skills …
… stuff on how to earn checks …
Remember how I said you can tell part of the story? That’s what checks are for … stuff on how checks work.
For our first mission, we’ll be using … sample mission stuff
Once we get more familiar with the system, we’ll try making our own characters.
And that’s pretty much it. The sample missions are there to give everyone a chance to “try it out”.
Once you’ve tried it out, the folks here at BurningWheel.org are very interested in hearing how your session went. And a lot of us (including the game designer Luke Crane) are rather active in giving suggestions and inspiration!
Welcome to Mouse Guard.