Over the past several months, I have remained active writing content for Prevail. I know that very few audience here are also following or supporting Prevail, but I do write public-tier posts. During the past months, I wrote the following series of topical posts.
All the links are public. There is no paywall for any of these. I just want to share with the community and invite feedback or comments.
Each post follows a template describing for GMs how to include these problems in missions or sessions. There is a subheading for related duties, mission assignments, story prompts, and seasonal considerations. The desire is for GMs to draw these into ongoing campaigns and design missions to include problems like these in sessions.
I wrote this partly as a response to questions I have seen in other platforms, but also I have seen many missions designed with a focus on animal encounters and affairs of mice.
Shortages
While the Guard are under no obligation to resolve shortages for the settlements, yet they often are requested to assist. And, helping support the settlements fits the oath to help all mice thrive.
Problems in the Territories: Shortages
Droughts
A drought is far more closely related to seasonal weather than the actions of mice and animals; however, poor planning, unexpected animal behaviors, and ill-minded mice can create impacts similar to droughts. The Guard do not have many resources or engineering to redirect water sources or cause weather patterns to alter, but players have tools available for resolving drought conditions.
Problems in the Territories: Droughts
Famine
A famine is more likely a seasonal planning and administration failure more than a failure of produce. Certainly droughts can impact a later harvest, but the wilderness is large, and mice are small. Having a small scope of impact and a natural inclination to hoard, mice easily fall short of needs.
Problems in the Territories: Famine
Epidemic
Epidemic is a good showcase for fear to shoot through a community and impacts so many more mice than random acts of violence, animal encounters, and wilderness obstacles. Weather events are able to cover a larger region, but rarely cause the length of impact which is carried by epidemic.
Problems in the Territories: Epidemic
Pestilence
Pestilence is more like an animal encounter with critters so small that it must be dealt with more like epidemic. That is partly how to create a frightening and irritating impact on mission efforts.
Problems in the Territories: Pestilence
So, please enjoy. I’ll be working on another series of topical posts, but first will be a few non-series posts in the next few months. The follow-up series will emphasize politics in the Territories. I hope everyone expresses interest in bringing the political world of Mouse Guard to life.