Trying to set the Ob for Barkstone Rebellion

Mouse Guard Missions
1

So I’m trying to set up the mission: “The grain peddler (“Hood”) and the cartographer (“Mathellyn”) have been exposed as traitors. Mathellyn’s shop is apparently a meeting place for rebels who call themselves “The Axe.” A secret tunnel leading down and to the north has been discovered beneath a desk in the cartographer’s private office; it is obviously a way out of Barkstone, used by rebels and traitors to pass secrets, secure weapons and gather force somewhere beyond the town gates.
The traitors have already said that the troops begin marching at dawn for the siege upon Lockhaven.”
I was thinking of setting the mission as: You must get to Lockhaven before the army does.
However… I’m wondering if the mission should be to interrogate the traitors further. Who is behind the uprising? Who in Barkstone knows about it? Everyone? Robin’s parents live in Barkstone… Are they in on it?

My previous session suffered a little from giving the players too many tests and/or choices, and I’m trying to find the most logical “next step.” Of course, with no Gwendolyn in the field, I’m still a little uncomfortable giving the players “orders” as to how to proceed.

Any thoughts? I could use some help…

Thanks!

2

What’s the sketch of the whole mission?

3

So it’s like the first comic? Except a little different.

4

That’s kinda where I’m running into trouble, really; I don’t know what it should be.
I feel like I could go several ways with it. The patrol IS in possession of the map, but I’m not sure that should necessarily mean the rebellion is quashed.
The most obvious start would probably be a Pathfinder test to get back to Lockhaven before the army. Twist for failure thoughts: Weather, rain-flash flood. Mice, Robin’s mother and/or father have tried to follow Robin for some reason and have put themselves in harms’ way, possibly captured by the army or a scouting party. Wilderness, a rockslide or tree falling traps one of the characters, forcing a Laborer test; failure=injured. Animal, the snake they failed to encounter in the first mission (I admit, this will probably work best from a planning standpoint).

5

This is what I’ve written up thus far:

Mission:
The grain peddler (“Hood”) and the cartographer (“Mathellyn”) have been exposed as traitors. Mathellyn’s shop is apparently a meeting place for rebels who call themselves “The Axe.” A secret tunnel leading down and to the north has been discovered beneath a desk in the cartographer’s private office; it is obviously a way out of Barkstone, used by rebels and traitors to pass secrets, secure weapons and gather force somewhere beyond the town gates.
“The traitors have already said that the troops begin marching at dawn from their rendezvous point a day’s march out of Barkstone for the siege upon Lockhaven. It is imperative that Lockhaven be warned. You must get ahead of the army.”
Write Mission Goals:
One of the characters should have the goal of “I will get around the army and warn Lockhaven” or something similar.
Suggest other goals that the characters might have, stressing that they do not have to be directly related to the success of the mission, although it helps: Advance a skill. Prove a point about your character.

GM’s Turn:
“Once you’re out of Barkstone, you need to find the quickest --and lowest-profile-- path to head off the army which has gathered a day’s march toward Lockhaven. Avoiding stragglers and moving undercover while simultaneously watching for signs that you are on the right track with the army conscripts are all essential to the considerable task ahead of you. If you can do it successfully, you then should be able to use more established paths to speed upon Lockhaven with the information they need. You need to make a Pathfinder Test.”
The Pathfinder Test is vs. the Axe Pathfinder (Pathfinder 5 + Terrain-wise 4 + Natural Bearings (Trait 2) = 7D).
Twist: If the test is failed, the entire patrol will suffer the Tired Condition, and the testing player will, in his/her haste, fall and break their ankle. They will suffer the Injured Condition as well. REMEMBER: In a conflict, all of the unique conditions of the mice on a team hurt the team disposition.
Success: If the test is successful, try one of the following obstacles:

Family Troubles (mouse):
After Robin visited his parents in Barkstone, his father Kem got wind of the uprising from an overenthusiastic rebel in the alley outside his window. He’d suspected something amiss for some time, but now had proof of what the issue was, and it was worse than he could ever have feared. Not wanting to trust the issue with the Barkstone authorities, he decided to seek out his son and has been on his trail ever since.
This should challenge Robin’s belief: “I will embody the true ideals of the Guard.” His father is Tired and Hungry and obviously must be taken to safety; bringing him to Lockhaven would slow the patrol down and jeopardize the mission. Bringing him back to Barkstone, while fulfilling his Belief, would place him in harm’s way and possibly put his Mission Goal in jeopardy.
“In order to escort Kem back to Barkstone, an Ob5 Pathfinder test must be made.”
Twist: The mouse successfully escorts Kem back to Barkstone, but suffers the Tired and Angry Conditions.
Regardless of success or failure, the escorting mouse will be behind schedule by 2 days. Remember, spending the night in Barkstone offers several opportunities to recover from conditions.

Death From Above (Animal):
On the way back to Lockhaven, the mice will be hunted by a barred owl. It will only back off once it has snatched up one of the mice and brought it back to its nest.
This is a full-blown Fight Animal conflict. The owl’s goal is:
“I will get at least one mouse for dinner tonight.”

Player’s Turn:
Once two of the obstacles have been dealt with, the players will reach Lockhaven. After reporting to Gwendolyn (and returning the map…? Or will they keep it?) they can spend checks to recover from conditions, perform tests and engage in conflicts. Keep in mind that an army is scheduled to arrive within 3 days; some tests may have to be altered to reflect the fortress being mobilized for battle.
At this point the players should be offered the choice of continuing this scenario in a third session or starting a new campaign with new characters.

6

It’s a good start and there are a lot of cool ideas here. Some notes:

  1. Only give conditions to mice who help in the Pathfinder test.
  2. If you apply conditions, they get their intent. That means they get to Lockhaven with the info. You can’t take away that win and hit them with an owl. If you want to use that obstacle before they reach Lockhaven, I would use it as a twist on a failed pathfinder test. Either that or change the nature of the first obstacle to something like getting out of Barkstone without being seen.
  3. I wouldn’t apply two conditions for one test.
7

So I’ve made some revisions. Feedback would be really appreciated! Thanks all!

Mission 2: Grain Peddler pt. 2, 5.19.12

Weather: Fall. Cool, cloudy skies with light drizzle.

Mission:
The grain peddler (“Hood”) and the cartographer (“Mathellyn”) have been exposed as traitors. Mathellyn’s shop is apparently a meeting place for rebels who call themselves “The Axe.” A secret tunnel leading down and to the north has been discovered beneath a desk in the cartographer’s private office; it is obviously a way out of Barkstone, used by rebels and traitors to pass secrets, secure weapons and gather force somewhere beyond the town gates.
“The traitors have already said that the troops begin marching at dawn from their rendezvous point a day’s march out of Barkstone for the siege upon Lockhaven. It is imperative that Lockhaven be warned. You must get ahead of the army.”

Write Mission Goals:
One of the characters should have the goal of “I will get around the army and warn Lockhaven” or something similar. Suggest other goals that the characters might have, stressing that they do not have to be directly related to the success of the mission, although it helps: Advance a skill. Prove a point about your character.

GM’s Turn:
“Once you’re out of Barkstone, you need to find the quickest --and lowest-profile-- path to head off the army which has gathered a day’s march toward Lockhaven. Avoiding stragglers and moving undercover while simultaneously watching for signs that you are on the right track with the army conscripts are all essential to the considerable task ahead of you. If you can do it successfully, you then should be able to use more established paths to speed upon Lockhaven with the information they need. You need to make a Pathfinder Test.”
The Pathfinder Test is vs. the Axe Pathfinder (Pathfinder 5 + Terrain-wise 4 + Natural Bearings (Trait 2) = 7D).

Success: Go to Family Troubles.
Twist: On the way back to Lockhaven, the mice will be hunted by a barred owl. It will only back off once it has snatched up one of the mice and brought it back to its nest.
Barred Owl Nature 7
Predator, Flying, Camouflage
Barred Owl Weapons
Powerful Wings: +2D to Maneuver in the forest.
Tearing Beak: +1s to successful Attack.
Grasping Talons: +1D to Attack.
This is a full-blown Fight Animal conflict. The owl’s goal is:
“I will get at least one mouse for dinner tonight.”

Family Troubles (mouse):
After Robin visited his parents in Barkstone, his father Kem got wind of the uprising from an overenthusiastic rebel in the alley outside his window. He’d suspected something amiss for some time, but now had proof of what the issue was, and it was worse than he could ever have feared. Not wanting to trust the issue with the Barkstone authorities, he decided to seek out his son and has been on his trail ever since.
This should challenge Robin’s belief: “I will embody the true ideals of the Guard.” His father has pushed his body to the limit trying to find and catch up to the patrol and is now Sick; he obviously must be taken to safety. Bringing him to Lockhaven would slow the patrol down and jeopardize the mission. Bringing him back to Barkstone, while fulfilling his Belief, would place Robin in harm’s way and possibly put his Mission Goal in jeopardy. Kem also needs to be fed and given some rest before he can make any further progress.
“Kem is in no shape to go any further. He has overstretched his body’s limits and is beyond tired; he is walking with a bad limp, he’s running a fever and is obviously Sick. An Ob3 Healer test must be passed in order for him to be able to make any journey.”

Twist: Twist: The mouse successfully nurses Kem back to health (His limp remains; it’s not an injury, it’s a symptom of his extreme exertion finding his son), but the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Call for a Journey Conflict.

Fall Weather: 5
Cold, Wind, Rain, Stormy Weather
Fall’s Goal:
“I will punish these arrogant mice and delay them from getting home.”

Regardless of success or failure on the Healer test, the older mouse will slow down progress to Lockhaven; part of the patrol bringing him back to Barkstone is the only way the mice will be able to get to Lockhaven in time to warn of the impending attack. Should the mice bring him back to Barkstone, it will be a journey without incident.

Player’s Turn:
Once two of the obstacles have been dealt with, the players will reach Lockhaven. After reporting to Gwendolyn (and returning the map…? Or will they keep it?) they can spend checks to recover from conditions, perform tests and engage in conflicts. Keep in mind that an army is scheduled to arrive within 3 days; some tests may have to be altered to reflect the fortress being mobilized for battle.
At this point the players should be offered the choice of continuing this scenario in a third session (WAR!) or starting a new campaign with new characters.