That’s Mysteries with a captital “M”.
I just read through both of the graphic novels, and most of the RPG. I have also been perusing the forums etc.
Part of what makes MG so appealing to me is that the world is mostly unknown. It is full of Mystery.
Who built the ruins under Lockhaven?
What is the nature of Mouse religion/spirituality?
What lies beyond the edges of the map?
What is Weasel society like?
Why are there no felines? (I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of a bobcat somewhere)
What happened in the War?
How sentient/sapient are other animal species? Are their Natures just too different from Mouse Nature to allow communication and comprehansion?
I have ideas for answers to some of these. Some I expect David Peterson will illuminate as the comic unfolds. Some I expect will always be Mysteries.
I am glad of this. I have grown heartilly sick of gaming worlds where everything can be known by buying the right splatbook. Nothing is worse than having your players declare “I go to Location X and obtain Item of Power Y” 'cause they read in a sourcebook. I also dislike having to constantly say “I know that’s what the book says, but in my game …”
The MG mechanics seem to encourage making everything up as you go along. Who are the prominent mice in Thornhaven? The results of the players’ Circles tests there will help you find out. What happened to the Grain Merchant? Did the players succeed or fail that Scouting test to find him? I am very grateful to Luke for using the first issue or so as the basis for a sample scenario. It demonstrated very well that the comic was only one possible way the Mission could have turned out. There seems a definite sandbox tendancy to MG, even during the GM’s turn.
Things in MG don’t need to be known until they need to be known. When they do need to be known it seems the game mechanics provide at least some help in knowing what things should be like.
The idea of leaving most of the canvas blank and filling it in as you go, along with intentionally adversarial GM and Players turns, and some of teh other MG mechanics are a real shift away from the D&D “Map the whole world, kill it and take its treasure” style of gaming.