“Family, friends and mentors will feed the character if he calls on them” (page 127).
“You can get a good night’s rest from the generosity of your friend, your parents, Gwendolyn” (page 128).
This is explicit, i.e. a mouse can’t alleviate Hungry/Thirsty and Tired by eating and sleeping at another mouse’s parents’ house, correct?
It’s explicit that they can eliminate those two by hanging with relationships.
Sounds explicit to me!
But they all can have a sleepover at Gwendolyn’s.
I think we’re all thinking the same way … but for the sake of being really explicit…
a mouse can’t AUTOMATICALLY alleviate Hungry/Thirsty and Tired by eating and sleeping at another mouse’s parents’ house … they have to spend recovery checks as usual.
Correct. A mouse can only skip the recovery tests due to the generosity of his or her own relationship. In the Mouse Territories, life is hard. There’s not enough to go around.
Though common sense should apply of course. If a patrol just returned from a long and perilous journey taking many seasons, publicly saving the entire Territories from certain doom, the mice at whatever house they end up are unlikely to say “Check please” before offering a loaf of bread. 
Maybe in your campaign.
Your mileage may vary. I just don’t think the fabric of the game will unravel if I toss people a warm meal and a blanket after they’ve saved the kingdom…
Hardcore literal interpretation of rules can just lead to sillyness. For example, unless I missed something, by a literal interpretation of the rules if I’m tired and hungry at the end of a mission and the next mission’s intro is “The remainder of the season ends quietly. Three months later, Gwendoline sends you a message” I’m still tired and hungry. Presumably I ate and slept during those three months, so what happened yesterday that messed me up to exactly the same point again?
Of course, the munchkins who want to max up their opportunities to succeed / fail at tests will want every chance to do so. These are the crazy ones who would dare reject Gwen’s freebie slumber parties.
So … I suspect Celenawe is a munchkin!
Ennui. Seriously, I’ve had players carry a nagging condition throughout the entire year. It’s part of the game. Being a Guardmouse is hard.
Don’t prioritize your fiction over the rules, or vice versa.
Ennui. Seriously, I’ve had players carry a nagging condition throughout the entire year. It’s part of the game. Being a Guardmouse is hard.
Don’t prioritize your fiction over the rules, or vice versa.
I’m with Daniel on this one. Life for the Guard is hard.
And to me, it’s silly to think that cheering millions great the mice returning from the depths of the wilderness, haggard and broken.
No one cares, seriously. The Guard aren’t heroes by default. They’re only heroes to those who directly benefit from their actions. To everyone else, they’re cops, meddlers, foreigners…
-L
Sheesh, I’m not talking about throngs of well-wishers streaming garlands and building shrines to the patrol. I’m talking about a single family or innkeeper offering a meal and a spot near the fire for an evening or two. If mouse society is so hardened that saving a town from a flood or giant turtle doesn’t provoke a single family in that town to offer you a tiny bit of consideration without you going out of your way to convince them, its frankly not worth saving. In that case the goals of the Guard aren’t noble, they are stupid. How would the Guard even recruit in such an environment: If all the citizens had so much borderline-contempt for them that gratitude is unthinkable, who would offer a child for training or volunteer?
You’re right. Disband the Guard!
Dude, relax. I’m just saying that the rules are there for a reason and can and should be favorably interpreted to support the setting.
-L
Umm… Yeah… Sorry… I’m fighting with some frustrating code segments at work so I think I’m expressing a bit more agitated then I should be.
No problem. I sympathize!
Don’t forget that these conditions can have deeper meanings as well. Sleeping in your friends parents bed may alleviate physical tiredness, but maybe this tired feeling is deeper than physical, a mental exhaustion because of the hardships you’ve endured, etc. The same goes for anger, and sickness and injury could theoretically last a long time (or be cured instantly by taking the scar or limp or whatever). I don’t really see hunger as being something that would last a long time, and it’s the first to be cured if you have more than one condition, so giving that out as a freebie when your friend goes to mum and pop seems to work.
Of course, this is only my opinion, and I have only just bought the game recently, but the final arbiter in this game is the GM, and their idea of what is fun for them and their players.
PS- Hello, people of the forums!
I would take the long view on this, if it nots something you want to focus on in your game then why not let the mice benefit from a free feed at their family home, if the condition of the guards really matter to your story then make them spend a check. Its one of those cases that depends on where you want the spotlight in your campaign to fall at that moment. I intend to have my players out in the wilderness a lot, a long way from home so its not like they can nip home of a night time to get some food and a kip.