I have GM’d 3 games so far, and I love this game. I am new to GM’ing and I am worried that I am not giving my players tangible rewards. The book only focus’d on Fate and Persona, so that is all I have given my players. Does anyone have some interesting suggestions for loot / things players would think of as loot?
Most of the rewards in Mouse Guard are intangible; it’s about how the characters change over time. That being said, there’s a place for helpful gear. (For examples, see Gear for Conflicts, starting on page 117.) Have the players been using their turn to craft items for their upcoming missions? Also, have you all had a winter session? Going through that together might give you a better feel for how to approach things in the future.
- They all have crafted one weapon.
- no winter session yet
I worry that my group is going to want teh +2 sword of slashing or something. I was hoping to give them something cooler, along the lines of killing a weasel bandit and finding a sack of gold that increases everyones resoures by 3 successes. Things like that.
It’s interesting to me that they’ve each crafted a weapon–that’s something that has come up only rarely in my games. I’d keep this stuff in the hands of the players as much as possible. Try foreshadowing a mission where there’s a critical piece of gear (e.g. a boat or snowshoes) needed to approach the obstacle and see how they respond.
That being said, something like the Black Axe could be the heart of an entire campaign. It might not even be any better than a regular axe in a conflict, but it carries a lot of import. I wouldn’t introduce things like that carelessly.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Mouse Guard just isn’t about that kind of material reward.
I’m with Deliverator.
I don’t think MG is a game that supports D&D style treasures and weapons. It took my players (and myself!) a little adjustment into the “feel” of MG and how character development works and feels. It’s different than other games for sure. But it’s also rewarding in ways they aren’t.
Offer your players exciting story hooks to possibly explore that tie in with their BIGs.
Mouse Guard rewards have nothing to do with crafting/finding/buying stuff. This game is about characters. Characters are never about stuff. It’s about the choises they make and how this choises change them.
I guess I also didn’t explain this point too well either: players really seem to enjoy seeing their characters “grow” over a series of adventures. For example, if you start with a tenderpaw in a spring mission and then play him through a series of adventures culminating with a winter session in Lockhaven (“level up”!), he will have grown as a character. His friends and enemies will have been fleshed out. His character flaws will be haunting him and challenging him. The outcomes of successful and unsuccessful missions will have changed who he is as a mouse.
It’s a very rewarding and interestingly deep experience. Enjoy!