The Changing of the Guard (Mouse Guard)

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

Nyet, three total.

Okay, I'm clearly not making this clear. Ingrid already rolled 6d6. That's—wait, that's—

——————————————

Oh. Oh my gosh. I am a stupid bad mouse.

Ingrid did not include aid rolls in her test. I completely missed that. I apologize—it was late when I read the post and I've been getting it wrong ever since. I've been misreading her post this entire time. Allow me to amend my earlier summary: Ingrid has five successes from the aid of her fellow mice. Also, sorry, Mooshy, I meant Johnnycat (they were considering trying to boost their roll). For some reason I got you two mixed up.

Ingrid fires an arrow, forcing the raven off-course. It tumbles toward the patrol at an angle. Baron tackles Ingrid just in time to avoid the flailing talons.

The raven pulls up to avoid the armed mice, flapping frantically to keep from smacking into the ground. It flies up onto the stump, where it screeches at the patrol.

Success—Disposition increases to 7 for the mice!

Robin is now up for a Maneuver, countering the raven's Defend. Roll either your Nature or your Loremouse. Up to two mice can offer helping dice (feel free to let them roll the dice for you—I actually like that you guys have been doing that).

Raven Defend (WEAPON: WHEELING WINGS): 8d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 3, 3) + (1) = 30 That's 5 Successes.

If you beat the raven by at least 1, you can choose to Impede (-1d6 to the raven's next action). If you beat the raven by at least 2, you can choose to Impede or Gain Position (+2d6 to your next action). If you beat the raven by at least 3, you can choose to Impede and Gain Position, or Disarm (eliminate one weapon of the raven's, like its Wheeling Wings that give it +1d6 to Defend or Maneuver, or its Poking Beak that gives it +1d6 to Feint).

If you lose, it will instead increase Disposition by the margin of victory.

The raven begins to noisily flap upwards, trying to get out of the reach of the mice's attacks.

Tapping my Brave trait to add another D6.

Bravery: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Robin Maneuvers in combat!: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 3, 4) = 17

"Oh no you don't! Ingrid, Dain, give me a boost! I think I can get up to its neck!" the young tendermouse shouts.

Dain closes up to help Robin.
"Be careful, mind its wings."
Help dice: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Ingrid offers her hands to Robin to boost her up: "Careful, now"

Help dice: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Robin soars into the air and grabs onto the raven's left wing on the downflap! She's almost in reach of the neck. The raven squawks and struggles to flap, but its flight is hampered by the little mouse's imbalance. It fails to gain altitude, and is in fact struggling to keep from losing it.

Success! The raven is Hampered (-1 on its next die roll) and gains no Disposition.

Finally, Baron is up, and must use his Fighter or Hunter as he counters the raven's Maneuver with an Attack!

The raven begins flying in clumsy spirals, trying both to slow its descent and shake Robin off. Robin finds herself struggling not to be thrown off—and separated from the rest of her patrol!

Raven Maneuver (WEAPON: WHEELING WINGS): 8d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 4, 2, 2, 2, 6, 6) + (1) = 27 That's just three successes. This is a Versus test—If your Attack beats that, you get to reduce the Raven's Disposition by -1 for every point you exceed its roll of 3.

Okay, that's not something I can use my Nature on, right? Since it's not really "in a mouse's nature"?

So I have 2 points in Fighter...I have Steady Paws (1) which I would also want to use...that brings me to 3d6 right? Since nobody can aid me with a roll?

Hope I'm doing this right: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 4) = 15

And the raven gets a -1 on top of that?

Oh, sorry, you're right. It loses one of its skill dice (weapons and hamperings and stuff are counted at the same time, so the wings are unaffected). So that's actually only 2 Successes.

Robin, Baron is making this Maneuver. It's all you can do not to be sent flying! You can offer your assistance, though. We'll let one of those rolls of yours serve as a Helping Die.

Baron hops forward, calculating the falling trajectory. Dain, Ingrid, help me hold this Halberd vertical! As he reaches the spot where he thinks the bird will touch down he holds his Halberd vertical, driving the butt end into the dirt. I am sorry, Great Bird. I hope you survive this, truly I do.

Goal is to position the spike so the bird falls right on top of it. Fight: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 4, 5) = 19

Robin, Baron is making this Maneuver. It's all you can do not to be sent flying! You can offer your assistance, though. We'll let one of those rolls of yours serve as a Helping Die.

Got it, my mistake

Go team!!! Those are 5 successes already! I'll let Ingrid do the honors on the last one.

"Just hold on Robin!" says Ingrid as she moves to Barons side and knocks another arrow. She takes aim, careful not to actually strike the Raven, instead hoping to push it further out of the sky to Barons halberd.

Helping: 1d6 ⇒ 1

The raven dives down, but Ingrid's aim is just slightly off and nicks the bird's belly. Startled, the raven puts on a last desperate burst of speed, adrenaline allowing it to surge away from Baron with no more than a light but painful scrape along its belly. The raven thuds lightly into a nearby spruce, then lands on the ground, momentarily disoriented. Robin, just as dizzy, still clings to the wing.

Success! The raven is reduced to 8/11 Disposition.

Both teams continue to have more than 0 Disposition, so we enter ROUND TWO.

Dain, choose three actions again in your preferred order, and which teammates will take them. This time, you must choose yourself for the first action (no mouse can go twice before everyone's gone at least once).

Robin! Are you okay? Baron is beyond concerned for the tenderpaw. His whole goal in life is to protect his patrol mates!!

"Uuugghghghh," is all Robin can manage, groaning as she clings on. "Wha? Is it defeated? Do you surrender, bird?" she asks, weakly.

I will tell what I want to do, and I hope you can help me "tie it down" to the mechanics.
- First action: I want Dain to use his Nature(Mouse) to hide, together with the mail, taking it out of the raven's reach. Is it Maneuver?
- Second, Robin do a Maneuver again.
- Finally, Baron attacks again.

Generally, the action types are abstractions based around your ultimate intention (you decide the exact particulars of how you achieve that intention after rolling). In this case, that sounds like a Maneuver or Defend. I would generally try to save flavoring for after, though. Especially with Maneuvers, since different degrees of success can change what you can accomplish drastically.

Ok, let's go with a defend, trying to keep the mail away from the crow.

Attack: 8d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 1, 5, 6, 1, 3, 4) = 28 Four successes. This is a strict versus test—Dain can use either Loremouse or Nature to oppose its Attack with his Defend. For every point above 4, you gain one point of Disposition. For every point by which you fall short, you lose one point of Disposition. As always, up to two mice can aid.

Seeing Dain running off with the mailbag, the raven brings its wings back and starts hopping over towards the mouse, lunging for him and his brightly-colored treasure.

I will use Nature
Dain scurries around, trying to avoid the bird's attack.
Nature: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 1) = 5
:S

Hey bird brain! Over here! Helping with...MANIPULATOR, HAHA! helperz: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Light bulb just went off when you explained that you ROLL DICE FIRST then narrate story after. Is that right? It seems to be working. I'm mildly impressed with the narrative we are able to form with the system.

That's about right. Some narration before rolling is fine, but a lot of the time it's better to know the outcome first.

Ingrid fires yet another arrow at the Raven, this time attempting to distract it away from Dain.

Helping: 1d6 ⇒ 1

One success. The raven wins, costing the patrol four Disposition. You're down to 3/7.

The raven pauses, hearing Baron's taunt, then continues hopping after Dain—still with Robin in tow. It leaps in front of Dain, cutting him off!

Feint (WEAPON: Poking Beak): 8d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 6, 5, 3, 5, 3, 5) + (2) = 35

Alright, normally Ingrid would now oppose with her Maneuver, but that's 5 Successes. When Feint goes up against Maneuver, it's independent—both sides get to roll against Obstacle zero. That means that no matter what you guys do, you'll be taking -5 to your Disposition, which reduces you to zero. You lose.

Now's where we reach the final important aspect of a Conflict: The Compromise. Because you guys took a few points off the raven's Disposition, you get a Minor Compromise. I'll explain how that works below.

Also, Ingrid can still roll her Loremouse or Nature to Maneuver before the conflict is over. It won't let you win or anything, but she can do it.

Why would she do it? Well, first, it would be a chance to use Beginner's Luck to advance her Loremouse.

Alternatively, there's Beginner's Luck (which is what lets you actually learn new skills). This means you use your Will (for mental tests) or Health (for physical ones). In this case, you can choose either depending on how you roleplay it.

When using Beginner's Luck, the total dice you get to roll (counting teamwork, wises, gear, etc) is halved.

But second, since the results don't matter, it would be a prime time to try playing a trait against herself. How does that work? Pick one of your traits you think might sabotage your efforts here, and invoke that to Impede your roll. This imposes a -1d6 on the roll.

Doing this earns you one Check, which, come the Player's Turn, can come in handy.

"Come back here, you stupid bird!" the tenderpaw shouts at the bird's retreating backside, shaking her fist at it impotently.

She turns around to the other mice. "We can't let it escape with that mail bag. This way! I saw a nest while I was riding around on that bird's back, I can lead us there!"

Without waiting for a reply, the eager young mouse turns and is off!

The patrol follows the eager Robin, coming to the base of a gnarled old snag. The group can see a scraggly mass of twigs up near the top of the dead tree.

Raven's Nest (rough impression).

Beginner's Luck: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9

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Ingrid speaks in a hushed tone once they are at the base of the tree. "It'd be an arduous climb to get up to the nest. What do you think, Dain?" she's distracted a bit, updating the patrols maps with the location of the nest. Even if they couldn't get the mail back, it would be important to catalogue the creature. Perhaps the guard would later send someone to deal with the problem. "We certainly can't smoke it out without risking the mail itself..." she adds thoughtfully.

Dain ponders...
"It is our mission to deliver the mail, but we are not requiered to die in the process. But a mission is a mission, and this, the first of the year, is a very important one."
He looks up.
"We should as least try, but without taking excessive risks."

Robin hops from foot to foot, eager to race up the tree's bark, to retrieve the mailbag and glory. "Can I go after it now, sir? Oh please oh please oh please?"

Dain smiles.
"Be careful!"

"Okay!" the young mouse shouts, whirling around. Rubbing her paws together, she looks up the trunk of the tree, at the next. Approaching the tree, the tenderpaw easily finds some handholds, and scampers her way up.

Do I need a roll for this?

Climbing the tree is an Obstacle 4 Nature test.

If I use the rope from my gear to secure me first, can I get a benefit on the roll?

Also:

Skills: Fighter 2, Pathfinder 2, Scout 2, Laborer 2, Carpenter 2, Weather Watcher 2, Smith 2, Orator 2, Cartographer 2, Survivalist 2, Scout 2
Traits: Fearless (1), Steady Paw (1), Generous (1)
Gear: Spear, knitting needles, mason's tools and rope

I've used Fearless and Steady Paw in the last battle with the bird, so I can't use those until this "session" ends, right?

Do any of my skills apply to climbing trees? Pathfinder maybe?

My 4 nature dice: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 4) = 11

Right, each trait can only be used positively once per session. And yes, that tool use will give you a +1D advantage.

Nature is the skill to use here—climbing is encapsulated within mouse nature. Scout would be the second-best option, I believe, though I'd have to get my book to double-check (I'm in town right now).

Having checked, yeah, Nature is the correct skill. Waiting for the extra +1d6, and to see if anyone aids.

1d6 ⇒ 4

Robin scampers up the tree and makes it to the top with surprising ease. She looks back down at the rest of the patrol as she is triumphantly tying the last knot, securing the rope to a small branch.

Her foot slips.

The rest of the patrol watch as the tenderpaw falls and lands—on her feet—upon a lower branch. Robin feels a small break in her ankle as she lands, and she falls off again—

—and manages to grab ahold of the rope. She hangs there for a moment, then weakly scurries back up to her perch.

She hears the raven rustling about in the nest. It doesn't seem to have noticed her. Climbing up and peeking over the edge, she sees a veritable hoard of "treasures" kept here—a broken sword, an old bucket, a very strange suit of armor that looks sized for a mouse three times her size and extremely tall, and much more. The mailbag lies atop the pile. The raven seems to be settling down to rest now, its back to the bag.

Failure: You successfully make it to the top, but you take on the Injured condition. This imposes a -1d6 penalty to Nature, Will, Health and skill tests. This condition can potentially be recovered from in the Player's Turn.

Anybody who climbs up the rope Robin provided can be the one to attempt the next obstacle, to be clear. This is a Scout test.

Ingrid climbs up as quietly as possible.

What's the next obstacle.

Well, I'll be a weasal's nursemaid! The little tenderpaw did it Whispers Baron. Ingrid, will you hold this? He hands her his Halberd. Then draws his dagger and places it betwixt his teeth like in the pirate shadow-puppet shows they used to play back in Elmoss. Then paw over paw, he hoists his weight up the rope...
Edit: Ack! Ninja'd me Ingrid! I hand the Halberd to Dain instead. haha

The next obstacle is stealing the mailbag from the raven. It is a Scout test.

Dain gets the Halberd

Ingrid creeps forward, careful of where she is stepping along the way. She signals the rest of the mice to be prepared in case things go wrong.

Scout: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7

Raven's Nature Opposing: 8d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 6, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1) = 34

Alright, so you have to beat a 5. Let's see if teamwork, traits and/or anything else can pull this around. Don't be afraid to tap your Nature or spend Persona/Fate Points here.

I can tap my nature for another d6, and then use a fate point to roll another d6 since I rolled that 6 earlier, yeah?

Tapping Nature allows you to add your Nature to the roll—so that's 6d6 more, but at the expense of a Persona point. The downside is that although this fits inside your mouse nature (Hiding) it will still tax your Nature score if you fail.

You can also spend a Persona point to just get +1d6 to the roll, which is probably what you're thinking of.

You have Fate points exactly right (though remember, if you roll more 6s after tapping nature or from teamwork, you get to reroll those, too).

Nature: 6d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 6, 3, 6, 3) = 27

Y'know what, let's throw that fate point in

Fate point: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 4, 1) = 11

It starts to drizzel again, masking Ingrids scent and hiding her paw-steps. She easily manuevers across the ravens nest with the weather on her side.

And I can do 1d6 helping, right?
1d6 ⇒ 6