Mouse Run/Shadow Mouse

Mouse Guard Hacks and Expansions
1

Mouse Run Skills:
samurai: close combat (swords, spurs and pistols)
medic: patching up the bullet holes
cop: arrests, patrols, crime scenes and the occasional shoot out
decker: hacking computer systems and extracting information, planting information or controlling systems
detective: following leads, tailing, spotting tails, impersonating, breaking and entering
squatter: surviving on the streets, knowing the best squats and hidden places
shaman: summoning the spirits and ancestors to do your bidding
mage: harnessing the astral plane to cast spells and summon elementals
rocker: performing, attracting attention, looking good, flipping the middle finger to the camera
mercenary: small unit tactics, explosives, long arms and heavy weapons
rigger: controlling and piloting vehicles
street preacher: convincing large groups of people of your crazy ideas with your voice and gesticulations
corper: sounding official, using corpspeak to confound, maneuvering through the corporate environment, climbing that ladder, dressing for success
fast talker: bullshit is a necessary tool for survival
sensei: sounding wise and knowledgeable about Japanese (and pan-asian) traditions, teaching
awakened-wise: your knowledge of the awakened world
street-wise: your knowledge of the pulse of street life
corp-wise: your knowledge of the corporate etiquette

Am I missing anything?

Abilities: Nature, Body, Willpower
Special Abilities: Resources, Circles (because SR sorely lacked these suckers)

Conditions:
Hungry, Angry, Wasted, Injured, Burned Out
Wait til you see what the conditions do now.

Magic:
Will be factors under Mage and Shaman plus weapons for various conflicts

Cyber:
I don’t know exactly how I want to handle this! Suggestions are welcome.

2

How does Nature work in ShadowGuardMouseRun (is it based on race)?

Cyberware - Why not just make 'em traits? Wolfssnout could be Olfactory Receptors!

3

I think I want to play this as awakened mice and weasels and shit in the cyberpunk future, so Nature stands.
Except you can play a Weasel Samurai, of course!

I thought about making cyber traits. But I think we need the character traits to keep the game, um, human.

I think I might trim trait slots down to two, just to make room for the cyber.

So maybe cyber can be…
wait.
What if cyber reduces your nature and starts a new Nature-like stat called Cyber or something?
Shadowrun had those awful Essence rules that I’d love to simulate in this hack.

HMMMM.

4

Cyber seems tricky. It seems like it might need to be a side stat, going alongside Nature somehow. In Shadowrun, Essence was essentially the character’s “humanity” and as they lost essence they moved further away from it and lost touch with it. Nature is more of a measurement of how mouse-like vs. “human” a mouse is, and so having cybernetics affect Nature would be inaccurate. Same going the other way, where more and more machinery in the body makes one more skittish (if they’re a mouse)?

Honestly, finding a way to transplant Emotional Attributes from BW would work, where you gain a Cyber attribute which grows as you get more cybernetics and flub rolls involving them. Then you have an end-point which would define when cyber-psychosis hits. Maybe a separate Nature (Machine/Cyber Nature) which functions alongside Nature but interacts with it somehow.

So, yeah. No real idea. Just thinking out loud here.

5

I swear I’ve seen that in a Rifts books.

6

I, too, like the idea of the Nature companion stat for Cyberware. In that case, magic should be based off Nature in some way, like the relationship between Essence and magic in SR.

7

Perhaps treat cyberware like gear, and each piece of cyberware adds 1 to Cyber. If a character’s Cyber is higher than Nature, that character must seek repairs to recover from conditions instead of the standard way (which would require the addition of another skill to the list?). Moreover, you could impose a penalty to standard recovery checks for characters that have Cyber but not a rating higher than Nature.

You could also incorporate a scale based on what type of cyberware is installed. Perhaps less invasive cyberware only adds 1 to Cyber, whereas extensive cyberware (for rigging/decking, for example) adds more Cyber (depending on how you want to scale it).

If you want cyberware to affect Magic/Shaman, incorporate deductions to the skill (like anti-gear). For example, any Cyber rating is -1D to Magic/Shaman, and a Cyber rating equal to or greater than half Nature rating imposes a -1s penalty to Magic/Shaman (or both if you want to add more scaling).

I suppose you would need to have something to accommodate for taxed Nature and its effects on the Cyber/Nature dynamic… though nothing comes to mind at the moment…

And, just to throw it out there, would a character be allowed to tap Cyber?..

8

Nature should be a battle between mouse and machine. That’s what the cyberpunk genre is about after all.

9

For each point the character reduces his max Nature, his max Cyber rating is increased by one. The total of max Nature plus max Cyber cannot exceed 7.

Max Nature | Max Cyber
7 | 0
6 | 1
5 | 2
4 | 3
3 | 4
2 | 5
1 | 6
0 | 7

Nature increases through advancement. Cyber increases through the purchase and installation of cyberware.
Nature tags: Escaping, Hiding, Climbing
Cyber tags: variable depending on cyberware. Each cyber tag eliminates one Nature tag.

Max Nature counts as a limitation on the number of skill dice that can be used for the Shaman or Mage skills. Thus if max Nature is 4, the player may only roll 4 dice from his Mage skill regardless of its rating.
Nature can be used in line with its tags and can be used to substitute for any skill even when against Nature.
Cyber can only be used when tags are relevant. It cannot be used against itself. You can have a max of four Cyber tags.

Cyberware:
Datajack/Gun Link, Cyber 1 Tag: Machine Interfacing
Cybereyes, Cyber 1, Tag: Seeing
Cyberears, Cyber 1, Tag: Hearing
Cyberspurs, Cyber 1, Tag: Fighting (close combat)
Dermal Plating, Cyber 1, Tag: Fighting (close combat)
Cyber limb, Cyber 1, Tag: Lifting, Running or Fighting (close combat)
Internal deck, Cyber 3, Tag: Decking
Vehicle Control Rig, Cyber 3, Tag: Rigging
Muscle Replacement, Cyber 1, Tag: Lifting, Running or Fighting (close combat)
Wired Reflexes, Cyber 2, Tag: Competing?, Reacting?, Outgunning? (I’m struggling with this one. WR makes you faster. How can we reflect that in MG?)

Thus a Street Samurai would have a Jack/Gun Link, Cybereyes, Cyberspurs, Dermal Plating, Muscle Replacements, and Wired Reflexes for a total Cyber of 7. His Cyber tags would be: Machine Interfacing, Fighting, Lifting and Outgunning. He could use his Cyber 7 in place of a skill or ability when performing an action related to those four tags. His Nature would be 0. He could not tap it or use to Escape, Hide or Climb or in place of any skill.

10

If each Cyber tag eliminates a Nature tag, what happens when you hit Nature 4, Cyber 3? You won’t have any Nature tags left with which to use Nature? What about if you increase to Nature 3, Cyber 4? You won’t have any Nature tags left to eliminate.

In core MG, isn’t it problematic if you stay at Nature 7 for a full session? And if you hit Nature 0, don’t you immediately bounce back to Nature 1 with a new non-mouse trait? By that reasoning, shouldn’t Nature 0, Cyber 7 remove you from play?

11

Oh right. I meant to say that you lose tags at thresholds. Not at each point of cyber.

Cyber 1: 1 tag

Cyber 4: 2 tags

Cyber 6: 3 tags

Cyber 7: +1 tag

Available PC species:
Mouse: Escaping, Hiding, Climbing
Mole: Tunneling, Swimming, Smelling
Weasel: Gloating, Stealing, Clevering

12

This looks sweet, I will plat test it as soon as I can.

What’s the point of Cyber 7 remove a fourth tag when everyone only has three tags?

–Victor

13

Oh yes, I eliminated the fourth descriptors in the animal natures!

So I will fix this, but it needs testing.

14

Heat
Heat is a scale of opposition, how much one mouse in the shadows can tackle on his own.

1 Small drones, trained dogs
2 Mouse, cyber dogs
3 Mole, Weasel, Medium-sized Drone, Mouse on an armored bike, Mouse with Cyber 7
4 Cop car, big drone, Mole or Weasel with Cyber 7
5 Yellow Jacket, a bike gang
6 Panzer, A fuck-ton of cops
7 Dragon, a swarm of Yellow Jackets
8 A unit of panzers

You can capture anything equal to your scale or lower.
You can kill anything one grade higher than you or lower.
You can injure or confuse anything two grades higher than you or lower.
You can run from or attempt to escape anything on the scale.

Weapons and Heat
A grenade is Grade 3 Heat and has no requirements or restrictions.
An MPLMG is Grade 3 Heat and requires Body 5 to carry and use or Cyber 4 with Lifting tag.
An assault cannon is Grade 4 Heat and requires Body 6 to carry and use or Cyber 5 with Lifting tag.
A missile launder is Grade 5 Heat, requires Body 3 (or Cyber 3 with Lifting tag) but can only be fired once and can only be used on vehicles, large critters or large groups.
The Heat of Spurs is equal to the grade of the character to which they are attached
All other weapons are Grade 2 Heat

So a Cyber 7 Mouse with Spurs can tear up a cop car.
A Weasel Bodyguard with a Monowhip can take on a bike gang.

15

The Zones
Inside: Inside the Arcology. Security: 10. Response: Fuckton of Cops.
Downtown: The posh districts where the rich live and play. Security: 8. Response: Yellow Jacket and Squad Car.
The Sprawl: The shopping malls, suburbia. Security: 6. Response: Squad Car.
The Squats: The wasteland where the rest of us live. Security: 4. Response: One cop.
The Tribes: Wilderness inhabited by Native American tribes and critters. Security: 2. Response: ??.

When you’re moving through an area, the GM tests the area’s security against factors generated by the PC’s behavior.
Factors:
Weapons: Shooting, Menacing/Hitting, Carried/Worn, Concealed/Cyber, None
Behavior: Outright Criminal Activity, Behaving Oddly, Acting the Part
Dress: Bleeding/Fucked Up, Dressed Wrong, Dressed the Part

So walking downtown with no weapons, dressed right and acting the part is an Ob 11 test against 8 dice to be detected.
Running down the street, shooting while bleeding in the Sprawl is an Ob 3 against 6 dice to be detected.

If security meets or exceeds the obstacle, it sends a response. The response arrives at an inconvenient time for the players.

16

So, uh, you’ll have something playable in time for 11-11-11, right? :slight_smile:

Is it worth including anything about living accommodations/living conditions? I know in SR it was fun to hit those moments where you could either afford a key piece of gear or rent. But not both. Is it worth risking getting kicked out onto the street? I could almost see a sort of resource cycle, but I wonder if it really adds enough to be worth it.

17

Oh yes! We totally need to do this.
We need Obs 1-10 on the Resources list. And lifestyles and a maintenance cycle. I think you can just set the cycle at monthly in SR. It’s the future after all. You have to pay your bills every month.

I think lifestyles should help you recover from conditions (or hurt you).
So lifestyles:
Homeless Ob 1 — wandering, sleeping on grates (Lifestyle Maint. Failure gives you the Sick condition) You cannot stow any gear. All possessions must be carried (in your shopping cart).
Squatting Ob 2 — sleeping in an abandoned building or scavenged structure (Lifestyle Maint. Failure gives you the Hungry and Angry conditions). You can store a few things here, but there’s not much security.
Sprawl Apt Ob 3 — small, cockroach infested, but at least it has light, water and sometimes heat. (Lifestyle Maint. Failure gives you the Wasted condition). You can store your gear and tools here. Can house two people comfortably.
Sprawl House Ob 4 — It’s not much, and the mortgage is for more than it’s worth, but at least it’s yours (so long as you keep up the payment). (Lifestyle Maint. Failure gives you the Angry condition.) You can store gear, tools and a vehicle or a workshop here. Can house three people comfortably.
Downtown Flat Ob 5 — It’s small, but it’s in easy walking distance of the best restaurant you ever ate at. Plus the security is great! (No special failure). Can house two people comfortably including gear and tools, or one person and a small workshop.
Arcology Apt Ob 6 — You may work every waking minute to afford this, but it’s posh, secure and smells nice. (No special failure). Can house two people comfortably or one person and a small workshop. Has parking space for two vehicles that cannot be repurposed.
Private Mansion (gated/walled) Ob 7 — Guards, security, a swimming pool, a lawn, bedrooms, dining rooms, etc. (Lifestyle Maint Failure gives the Burned Out condition.) Enough space to house many people, a workshop, multiple vehicles.

Two failures in a row gets you evicted, foreclosed or kicked out. Downgrade your lifestyle by one grade.

Feel free to chip in Obs for Resources tests to acquire stuff.

18

Probably never will run exactly this kind of campaign but I love the thinking here and will absolutely carry it with me for any future technology something campaign I will be running. Also gotta love the expression ‘‘If security meets or exceeds the obstacle, it sends a response. The response arrives at an inconvenient time for the players.’’, especially the last part :slight_smile:

And yes, you’re right Luke, definitely some good stuff here for my question about diffuse powers over at the Missions area. I can’t decide though if I shall go with Ob for the area like here or if the area should test against the character(s). Does anyone have any thinking on the two ways to do it?

19

I’ve taken a stab at Res Obs. They seem a little thin, so any help is appreciated
Resources Obstacles
Ob 1— Stuffer Shack Snacks, Streetwear, Pistol, Shuriken, Stims

Ob 2— Sprawl Uniform, Radioshack Deck (1 program), Katana, Shotgun, H&K SMG, Supertaser, Jack/Link

Ob 3— Posh clothing, Assault Rifle, Grenades, Body Armor, Cyberspurs

Ob 4 — Suit, Fuchi Cyberdeck (2 programs), Yamaha Rapier, Ground Surveillance Drone, Monowhip, MPLMG, Dermal Plating

Ob 5— Americar, Harley Scorpion, Aerial Surveillance Drone, Assault Cannon, Missile Launcher, Cyber Eyes, Cyber Ears

Ob 6— Internal Deck Grade 1, Cyber Limb

Ob 7— Combat Drone (MPLMG), Muscle Replacement

Ob 8— Fairlight Cyberdeck (3 programs), Westwind, Vehicle Control Rig, Internal Deck Grade 2, Wired Reflexes

Ob 9— Hughes Stallion, Long Range Combat Drone (Missile Launcher)

Ob 10— FB Eagle, Internal Deck Grade 3

Contraband Uniforms — should depend on security of target
Forged Documents — should depend on security of target
Bribes — should depend on income, security and discipline of target

20

I guess what I’m talking about here is your current Nature (taxed), your actual Nature (the untaxed value) and your maximum possible Nature. In MG, we assume that all characters have a max possible Nature of 7.

If your current Nature drops to zero, your actual Nature is reduced by 1 and your current Nature is refreshed to this value. This doesn’t reduce your max Nature unless your current Nature drops to 0— so both current and actual values are now 0. In MG, this takes you out of the game. In this version, your max Nature is reduced. This grants you access to Cyber. Each point off of your max Nature gives you one point of max Cyber. If max Nature is reduced to zero, you may no longer use your Nature, but you may remain in play as completely cybernetic being.

Max Nature can also be reduced by a failed Injured or Burned Out recovery test. The same way you can lose a point from a stat or skill in this case.

Once max Nature is reduced, it cannot be regained or recovered by any means. However, your value may be reduced, but you don’t lose your tags unless you install cyberware.

If actual and current Nature are 7 at the end of a session, you get into your hovercar with your replicant girlfriend and fly off over verdant fields while the credits (and voiceover) rolls.

When answering Nature questions to start, it will be possible to reduce your max Nature. But I gotta work on that.