You can see details about the new Mouse Guard RPG hack I’m writing for a local gaming store’s monthly indie games night on my wiki.
The Correctors were created out of a session of Vincent Baker’s In a Wicked Age… and Emily Care Boss’s Sign in Stranger. They are the police force of an alien species — the Molarians — which does not understand the notion of abstract organizations. Correctors are expected to be self-selected by the innate vocational sense common to Molarians, but some ignore this sense, or lie about what it told them.
The Correctors do very guardmousely things: they patrol and keep safe the safe paths through the world-forest Yzlax, protect travelers, deliver mail, etc. However, the title refers to the Correctors’ practice of torture.
Correctors torture wrongdoers rather than killing them, believing that the state of abject terror and pain the victim is reduced to results in a psychological regression to the terror, fear, and brutality of Molarian infancy and childhood. In this state, the wrongdoer is believed to be more pliable, and able to take on serious moral lessons.
The child-woman-demon-spirit Aurya leads the Correctors from Starchalice, one of the few places in the world where people can see stars. She is able to communicate with more-experienced leaders of patrols by using the forest’s rudimentary neural architecture. Aurya actually believes the act of correcting victims is evil, and is trying to engineer this out of the society from within.
I’d be happy to include information here from the wiki, or reproduce it in whole. Not sure what the etiquette for this is.
Thanks! Well, I haven’t run the session yet (and I’ll only be running one), but Nature is one thing I’m particularly concerned that I get right. Does this nature seem gameable to you (or anyone else)?
To me (and I think of games in relation to the characters effecting the status quo) that really depends on what the story is going to be about. Your description BEGS for the players to get caught up in Aurya’s attempt at reform and people who abuse their power…but that’s just me.
Hi Rob. I’m having trouble squaring this childhood with Molarian Nature, which you’ve defined as “Cooperating, Creating, Escaping, Hoarding.” You’ve described a pretty fucked up childhood for such nice folk.
James: Molarian childhood is extremely fucked-up. My notion is that most Molarians are pretty good folks (except to their babies), and that being a Corrector requires people to act in ways antithetical to their natures (outside of parenting, that is).
I created a wiki page that’s full of spoilers for the game that’s coming up tomorrow night. Please only read if you are not planning on playing.
Commentary welcome. Given the characters, is this too weak? Too strong? Too boring? The basic idea is that the PCs will be guarding a group of settlers who get washed out by a flash flood, then are plucked up by First of the Last corpse-stealers (kinda like weasels).
By the way, the characters are (links are PDF):
Leader Fonchol, an old scout who was himself corrected. He believes in correction, and its restorative effect on the soul.
Speaker Kido, a hunter with a criminal past who has, in the past, gone too far in the commission of his duties.
Written Shutta, a master worldspeaker, and the third child to survive the litter she came from. She believes that in modern society, surplus Molarian children can and should be raised to viability.
Zah Strosin, a paragon of Correctors who is always right and proper, and joined the Correctors without the vocational drive that draws most Molarians to them.
Firstling Vanka, an enthusiastic trainee who is an excellent fighter, quite friendly, and believes fervently in the Corrector calling.