I was wondering the other day what sort of mounts the MG would use. I thought about using bunnies but surely they would be too big, unless they were young bunnies.
Then I thought about the larger variety of beetles (Stag Beetles maybe) - imagine an MouseGuard mounted upon a Stag Beetle (a photoshop opportunity methinks).
[As a small side note, I actually have mice as pets - try them, they are all completely mental, and very easy to keep. Just make sure the lids to their cages cannot be opened by them. We had an escapee for 3 weeks before being returned to the fold.]
Any ideas?
You mean something like http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16918&cat=0&newproduct?
“too big” made me envision a mouse-sized howdah atop a porcupine (offensive formations) or a tortoise (defensive formations).
Hare riders are actually part of the comic continuum:
…but I like the idea of other mount possibilities.
For naval/flight, a duck is certainly the way to go.
I myself, would like to have a Kangaroo Rat mount. Hippity-hoppity… or even a regular rat ala Mouse Knight.
Best,
The Bane
I have since looked through the book again and found the stuff on insects kept for food and mounts (ie - crickets, beetles, bees, etc.) and I think it would come down to where the GM (& players) have set the game. There is distinctly different flora and fauna in the U.S. to that found in Europe and the U.K., but then again, it is a game and they could be mixed.
“…a mouse-sized howdah atop a porcupine (offensive formations) or a tortoise (defensive formations).” Cool! What a great idea. These would be ideal for a caravan-like escort mission.
" …a Kangaroo Rat mount. Hippity-hoppity… ". I think this is reminiscent of the Gelflings riding the Farstriders, in ‘The Dark Crystal’.
How about the different types of lizards as mounts! Or even birds! But, maybe I am verging into the ridiculous now.
Thanks everyone who replied.
At a certain point you lose the part where Mouse Guard is about mice (specifically, mice who guard) confronting the threats to their society, and it becomes a game about inventing clever ways to use various animals. That’s fine I guess, but it’s a very different game.
If you want to add different mounts while still playing Mouse Guard, I strongly suggest a couple of limitations.
-
Pick a small number of additional domesticated animals. Small like “Hares,” not small like “Hares and ducks and rats and pigeons and porcupines and beavers.”
-
Pick them all and decide how they are trained and employed, who employs them, and what’s necessary to do so BEFORE play. Domesticating a new breed of animal takes generations, and since many of the animals discussed here live longer than mice do, that means even more generations of mice.
Also, this thread probably belongs in Hacks if we’re going to discuss rules, or in Lockhaven otherwise.
Zabieru: In regards to the whole training of other animals, yes it would require time, and as you say - “…since many of the animals discussed here live longer than mice do, that means even more generations of mice.” But, the age of the Player Mice is measured in years, with the oldest being in their fifties. If this is the case, then they definately have the time to do so. It would also require new skills, as per ‘Hare-Trainer’, ‘Porcupine-Driver’, etc. Am I just be nit-picking (sorry if I am)?
Also, my wife mentioned the 2 Disney “Rescuers” films. How about a Dragon-fly powered motor boat (‘Evinrude’) - verging on the ridiculous I know, but worth a mention I think. And why has no-one else mentioned these films? Is there some sort of mass-mental block going on here, or are we just not to mention them 
(too horrible to contemplate).
I’d say no one’s mentioned it because David Petersen didn’t base the Mouse Guard comics on Disney-style ideas. However, with a really high Insectrist test, I suppose a dragonfly could be convinced to help out. I’d put a dragonfly in the same category as ants (Ob 4) + “one” of them + “control” = Ob 7. Or you might count it in the same category as a cricket (Ob 1 base) or beetle (Ob 2 base). Up to the GM. Even then, the Ob might be raised because dragonflies aren’t naturally inclined to propel mice in leaf boats over the water.
That seems to be proportional to other animals, though. For instance, weasels in the wild live three years or so, but in Mouse Guard they seem to live something like the same span as a mouse. So we can assume that “year” means something different and that the life of a mouse relative to that of a moose or porcupine remains about the same as it is in our world.
And I’m not talking about the time it takes to break and train a horse (not a horse person, but one or two years?). I’m talking about the time it took to domesticate horses (not an archeozoologist, but several hundred to two thousand years).
I don’t think a Disney/Rube Goldberg feel suits Mouse Guard. I’m not likely to ever play with anything beyond hares, myself. I was giving some advice on how to incorporate mounts while maintaining a Mouse Guard feel. If you don’t like that feel and want to make your game more Disney, that’s your choice. In that case, you should ignore my advice entirely.
In the comic they ride hares. I also found this:
The bottom two look like there can be some great possibilities there.
Personally…I like the idea of a tribe of mice riding a kiwi bird…No idea why…maybe it’s all the joust I played in highschool.
Zabieru : Sorry if I offended, I didn’t mean to, I’m not trying to annoy deliberately. It’s just that I find the whole idea of a mouse riding another animal rather interesting. The mental pictures gained from thinking about the idea just seems to strike a cord with me, I don’t know why (I tend to have a lot of time to think about all sorts of things in my job). Also, it is highly unlikely I would run a Disney-esque game either, I was just wondering about the idea of ‘power boats’ and seagull airlines!
In regard to the age of mice in MG, I was thinking about having their age marked in Seasons, not years. This seems to be about right to me, especially when Seasons are so important to them.
Mootaku : Like the link. “…a tribe of mice riding a kiwi bird…”, hmm, interesting! (P.S. - What’s “Joust”?)
No offense taken, I just wanted to be clear about the premise behind my advice. To elaborate further: Do whatever you’d like. I’m not likely to be able to provide input on ideas that don’t excite me, but that shouldn’t stop you from going forward with them if they excite you.
Well, I think I will throw in my two cents, for what-it-is-worth. I like the idea, on the premise that the Mouse Guard “world” is rather large and intelligent mice would, in my opinion, figure out to traverse it rather rapidly if at all possible. I have seen the picture with the hares, and though this might become canon or even canon of a one time affair, I tend to hedge myself from incorporating it into anything I might run. The argument about taking a very long time to domesticate them is valid, but I would see other types of mice being more cooperative. IE, my example of Kangroo-Mice. This is what I will probably press on with and refrain, personally, from birds, hares, and such.
Hope to see the Hack continue,
Best,
The Bane
I agree, the more ridiculous mounts are after all ‘ridiculous’, but still fun to think about, and as I mentioned - the mental images conjured up by some of them are definately interesting.
And as you say ‘The Bane’, they are after all intelligent mice, and intelligent mice would find ways to traverse the large wilderness quickly and (hopefully) safely. I get the impression that ‘officially’ (as per ‘Fall 1152’) the reason they have only domesticated bees and beetles so far is because they have only just begun utilizing their surroundings. And, as the images of the other issues (as per ‘Winter 1152’) seem to show, the mice of The Territories have begun to diversify. It definately shows they are looking at their surroundings with different eyes to me, exploitative some might say!
Also The age of the mice isn’t the age of REAL life mice… In the book it clearly states to give your character a birthday every Winter. 4 seasons are 4 seasons… If the age of your mice can go past the age of 36 and you advance the age of your mouse every winter (suggested) then…According to the game the lifespan of a mouse is 144+ seasons. In my experience…pet mice barely make it a year.
I also believe the book states that it is the cannon of the comic. David Peterson decided to give them mounts after the RPG book was written, so in the cannon they have mounts.
Personally I plan to add mounts into an adventure ONLY if it needs to be there. I like the bluejay pic I linked and want to incorporate that they must take flight to reach…something. But the plan will be that it will be a one shot or VERY rare occasion…If the guard could fly everywhere…Escorting or delivering messages is no adventure…It’s just RPing a day in the life of a mailman. The mounts have to serve a purpose other than “get there faster” imo. Or else the dangers of the trail are GREATLY diminished.
But like I said…I love the mount idea and plan on incorporating it once I can frame it within an adventure that SPECIFICALLY calls for it just this one time…
I just wanted to throw in with the fact that the hare mounts aren’t trained. They’re an intelligent race who are trading a service for goods.
Can anyone think of a flying mount to be tamed with insectrist? I have a player who wants to use that in game. I’m thinking maybe a locust.
You’d need a bunch of locusts.