So I'd already posted this over at NWARPG.org (fun site for any RP enthusiasts in the NWA area). But I figured I'd re-post it here for the folks that wouldn't see it there. The game we played is an awesome indy RPG called Mouse Guard. It's based on the Burning Wheel RPG system, which I really enjoy. The version of the system used in Mouse Guard is sort of "Burning Wheel Lite", and is a very sleek and well made game.
Mouse Guard Session 1
The session started out with Gwendolyn calling the Guardmice into her study. When they arrived they found her looking over a large map of the territories that was filled with various markers indicating Guard patrols and missions that were currently out in the field. She welcomed them with a smile and warm greetings and informed them that she needed them to deliver some mail. The players represented a fairly disparate group who had not worked together before and the oldest member of the party (Patrol Guard Alaphondar, know to most as Al) was at an age where frequent missions were a thing of the past. But the Guard was very busy at the moment and Gwendolyn needed to call upon all able-bodied mice in order to accomplish all that needed to be done, even simple mail runs. So with words of encouragement and wishes for safe travel she handed off the mail bag and sent the patrol on its way.
The patrol consisted of Patrol Guard Bran, a somewhat reclusive and solitary explorer who was more used to going on solo scouting missions than going out with a patrol; Patrol Guard Al, the above mentioned greyfur who had settled into a comfortable life in Lockhaven, teaching tenderpaws and spending time with other veteran mice; and Penelope, a bold and brash young Guardmouse who won't let anything stand in her way of being the best Guardmouse she could be and who was always ready for a fight.
They each gathered up their supplies and headed off on the mission. Their route would take them first to Elmoss, Bran's home city, then to Sprucetuck, home to Al, then on to Dorigift, and finally to Gilpledge. The only area where any trouble was expected was the route between Dorigift and Gilpledge; an area where the trails were not quite so clearly marked and blazed.
The patrol encountered no problems on the first leg of their journey, arriving in Elmoss after a few days and quickly delivering the mail for that city. After helping the postmaster, a grizzled old mouse named Gurney, to pass out the letters and packages, Bran visited an old friend and fellow map enthusiast, Jasper the cartographer, and then they all received a good home cooked meal with Bran's family and had a good nights sleep. Bright and early the next morning they set off for Sprucetuck, making it almost to within sight of the city before encountering the first challenge of their adventure. Penelope spotted a blur of red fur out of the corner of her eye as they were walking by a small stream near the city that had been greatly swollen by the spring thaw. Quickly becoming alert she warned the others that she had seen something and began a careful visual search of the nearby area.
She had almost written off what she had seen as just her imagination when a shrill scream carried to the patrol's ears and they saw a very young mouse child fall from the bank into the rushing currents of the stream. Without hesitation Penelope leapt forward and dived in to save the child. Bran moved almost as quickly and went to the bank to attempt to help them both out of the stream when they came down to where he was. The current proved stronger than anticipated and while Penelope was able to reach and grab the child she was too tired to get close enough to shore for Bran to grab them. So with a grumble about young mice and such Al leapt into action as quickly as his old paws would carry him.
Rushing downstream ahead of the floating pair he found a branch to hold on to and leaned out over the stream, extending his walking staff out even further. He managed to catch Penelope and with the help of the swiftly arriving Bran pulled the water logged mice back to the shore. After helping to comfort and dry off the young mouse Al softly admonished Penelope for being so brash and Bran grumbled about his own ineffectualness in the rescue attempt. The patrol carried the little one, whose name they found out was Lilly, in to Sprucetuck and returned her to her mother Dalia. She was very very thankful to the Guard and the patrol in particular and was very upset and worried about where they had found her baby Lilly at.
After she thanks them profusely and left them to take care of the child another young mouse, this one a few years older approached the Guardmice. He had obviously been selected by a nearby group of mouse children as their spokesperson and told the players that he thought the Guard were amazing and he wanted to be one when he grew up. He then asked them what was the most important part of being a Guardmouse. All three mice answered with different things, the overlong and wordy answers of Bran and Al going completely over the young mouse's head. But he was able to latch on to Penelope's advice to simply “Be brave.” Hands raised over his head in triumph he ran back to his friends and they scurried off chanting their new mantra “Be Brave! Be Brave!” Then the patrol delivered the mail to Finn, the postmaster in Sprucetuck, and they proceeded to get another good meal and a nights rest.
The trip from Sprucetuck to Dorigift was easy and calm and they dropped off the small amount of mail for that city with no real problems. A small spring rainstorm did tire them out but it was only a minor inconvenience. On the way to Gilpledge with the last of the mail Bran's path finding abilities failed him and they ended up starting to bed down for the night in a hollow tree trunk that was also inhabited by a startled raven. The bird's attention was quickly riveted on the mail bag that Penelope carried and a conflict ensued. Penelope once again leapt forward into the danger and boldly defended the mail and her patrol mates. Al followed his instincts and stayed back, offering suggestions and verbal support where he could, and Bran attempted to use his bow to create a distraction to assist Penelope in her attempt to slay the attacking raven. The battle was close and hard fought with both sides finally accomplishing their goals. The raven snatched the mail bag away, only to be brought down by an arrow from Bran as it fled.
The Guardmice quickly gathered up all the mail they could find, packing it back into the bag from where it had scattered when the raven landed. They settled in for the night with even more caution and the next day arrived in Gilpledge. Being a small town the mayor was in charge of things like distributing the mail and since he was very busy the patrol helped him to accomplish this task. As they did two mice stood out to them in the crowd. One, a middle aged, well dressed mouse in the clothing of a merchant or well off craftsman; the other a pretty young female mouse who seemed at first very excited about the arrival of the mail. The merchant studied the Guardmice, not really seeming to care about or pay attention to the mail. The young ladymouse was absolutely riveted as each name was called and each letter and package distributed. But as the stack grew smaller and smaller without her name being called her face fell lower and lower. At the end she fled quickly from the meeting hall, tears streaming down her face.
Bran attempted to catch her and find out what was wrong but he was accosted by the well dressed mouse, who identified himself as Martin, a well to do carpenter. He was overly excited but once Al calmed him down he explained that his daughter was scheduled to be married soon and how it would mean the world to her if he could include her grandmother's old rocking chair, a family heirloom, in her dowry. The problem was that the chair was still in the abandoned city of Walnutpeck, a city that fell during the Weasel Wars a few years ago. He told the patrol that he had been about to go himself to retrieve it, but now that the Guard were here they would surely help him on his quest.
At first the patrol members felt that their other duties were more pressing and that they couldn't spare the time; but Martin was quite convincing. Not to mention that he was arguing mostly with Bran, a mouse not used to such social situations; which led to them agreeing to help Martin to retrieve the heirloom. This agreement left Bran stunned, Al annoyed, and Penelope sullen. Martin hurried off to his home to prepare for the journey and the Guardmice went to the local tavern to collect themselves and discuss the situation. After much conversation Al hit on the idea of trying to find someone else from the guard to help the poor man out, because frankly Al was certainly too old for this type of thing. With a stroke of luck they were able to find a pair of Guardmice who were on their way back from a scouting mission out at the Scent Border, and Al pulled rank to get them to take over the mission of helping Martin.
The next morning as they set off they encountered the young ladymouse they had seen leaving the meeting hall in tears yesterday. She had what seemed to be all of her belongings on her back and was striding determinately and solitarily out of town. The Guardmice stopped her and questioned her as to what she was doing and where she was going. With a determined look and voice she told them her name was Loretta and explained that her fiance had traveled to far off Darkwater last spring looking for work, and should have sent her a letter telling her of his situation there and whether or not she should come to meet him. When she had not received a letter the previous day she had despaired and decided she couldn't wait any longer, so she was heading to Darkwater now and nothing would keep her from her beloved any longer.
The patrol quickly convinced her to travel with them and began to escort her back to Lockhaven. On the way back they went back by the hollow tree where the raven had attacked them and were able to find a few pieces of mail they had missed before, including the letter to Loretta. Unbeknownst to them they also encountered a small weasel patrol that had come pursuing the same raven in order to exact revenge on it for earlier conflicts with the bird. The weasels saw the mice and decided to ambush them that evening. As the mice sat around their fire the weasels leapt out and tried to seize them. Thanks to some quick thinking and cleverness on Al's part, the patrol and Loretta managed to escape the weasels, but they lost a good amount of their supplies as they fled. When they finally arrived back in Lockhaven they were tired, hungry, angry, and injured. The simple mail run had turned into quite an adventure. After being debriefed by Gwendolyn they all enjoyed a delicious meal cooked by Al and then collapsed into their own beds ready to rest and recuperate.
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