Can a belief be like…
“The night has a more familiar face to me than any mouse outside of Sandmason. Each day I long for it’s return.”
It’s certainly poetic.
If you were the GM, how would you challenge that Belief?
Well this character is actually a character I’m using in a little Mouse Guard thing. (We are going to start a new one in like 20 real days on account of some people joining/leaving.)
See here is the character that currently has that belief:
It’s faded and hard to see but you’ll get the picture.
Here is my mouse:
http://befunkycartoonizer.s3.amazonaws.com/C1267360-1337322112large.jpg
(He is from Sandmason)
Name: Aban
Age: 33
Home: Sandmason
Guard Rank: Guardmouse
Fur Color: Taupe
Cloak Color: Dark Turquoise
Traits: Nocturnal, Quiet
Skills: Fighter 4, Pathfinder 3, Scout 3, Survivalist 2, Weather Watcher 2, Persuader 2, Haggler 3, Sandstorm-Wise 1, Night-Wise 1, Dune-Wise 1.
Gear: A pair of sabers. (Sword.)
Belief: The night has more familiar face to me than any mouse outside of Sandmason. Each day I long for it’s return.
Instinct: Always care for the lives of other mice before my own.
He was kinda my attempt to make a good character. Actually my last character died, so this one is being introduced into the group.
Yeah, that is one of the things that lead me to not want to choose that belief… It’s kinda hard to challenge.
I guess you could try to make the character care more about a mouse outside of Sandmason?
I thought you were game-mastering?
Yeah I was for a long while, but then one of my friends characters died and I thought I’d let him do it for a while… I made a character… and it died on the first mission he threw at us, lol. Though it turns out he doesn’t really like GMing. I made that post, and character when I thought I wasn’t going to be doing it for a while… but now I’m GM again… Anywho the question still stands. Is a belief like that actually a belief?
How would you play to it to earn Fate?
Choosing to stay up when all the other mice sleep? That’s the thing I don’t think is liable mechanics-wise… But I kinda like it for character… I will change it if I need to. I not even using this character yet so I’m in no rush to decide what I want to do with that…
I question it’s legality because in the book it says:
“A Belief is an ethical or moral statement that encompasses how the character views his world.”
I couldn’t really say it’s that could I… or could I? What do you think?
Our point, my friend, is that if you cannot challenge the Belief—if you cannot think of a situation in which standing up for this Belief gets you into trouble—then it is not a good Belief.
I suppose you are right… I guess it’s time for me to think up a new belief for him…
I guess beliefs like:
“It’s not about what you fight, it’s about what you fight for.”
Are also pretty bad beliefs… because you can’t really challenge them.
Oh, you’re funny.
That came out sarcastic, I ment it literally. Like that would actually be a pretty bad belief. Lol
In fact, it is the element of the comics that inspired me to write the game. It is a moral statement, an ideological statement. In fact, it is almost the quintessential Belief. It says, “I fight not for glory, or conquest, but for my ideals.”
In the comic, it serves as a good Belief because it sets Kenzie between Saxon and Liam. Saxon fights because it’s in his blood. He fights to fight—as represented by both his Belief and Instinct. Thus Kenzie has the opportunity to test that Belief whenever Saxon is baited to fight. Liam, on the other hand, is raw and doesn’t know how to fight or what to fight for. He could fall under Saxon’s orbit, or using his Belief, Kenzie can guide him down a more thoughtful path.
Interplay with both characters provides ample opportunity for challenge and reward. And it does this before the GM’s challenges have even been put on the table.
I’d say it’s a good Belief.
I guess I can see that. So if that belief goes well within the context of the other characters. If someone’s always making aggressive choices, it makes sense for someone having a belief like that. Because the way they loop in and intertwine. Some moments may have them conflicting interests, in some moments perhaps both beliefs will have the same answer. I get that… It can’t really be challenged alone in a too meaninful way aside from you offering the character “Join the dark side… We have bunny mounts…” situations, but when it’s conflicting another’s interests, and at least comes up a lot it can be viable.
Hmm, I still haven’t saved Aban though. Perhaps I should flush out his backstory more…
Oh I never really never got to say to you how much I love Mouse Guard. I love this game.