After the 4th human filled out the survey, pushing us towards gritty, simple, and narrative, we'll be playing a modified version of mausritter! Basically moving towards a PF2 action resolution system and making our mice slightly more durable so they aren't rerolling characters several times in our 2 hour intro session (more details at the end of this post). I had a backup idea to run one of my favorite old school modules, Winter's Daughter, but I fleshed things out enough that we'll be going with mice trying to heist some theatre concessions!
Candy Heist
 |
From Mouse Guard |
There is only one hope left. When crowds of humans stream into the building, there's a place where humans hand other humans bits of food! Concessions, basically.
Our ravenous rodents will have about 6 hours of prep time to explore the tunnels and potentially gather allies and equipment before concessions open. 2 hours later (30 minutes of House Open, an hour of show, then another round of concessions during intermission), all the food and trash will be all locked up.
Ways they could get the food:
- Heist into the concessions stand itself!
- Find some humans with lots of food and take it!
- Scavenge scattered smaller trash bins throughout the theatre (1:6 chance they have trash early on, up to 3:6 later on - xd6 rations, where x is the number rolled)
- Scavenge the dumpster before it's locked up (others are there too...)
- Steal a key to either the concessions stand or the dumpster and come back when there are no more humans
I'm sure there could be others! But that's enough to get us started.
Prep Time - The Twisting Tunnels
The plan is to give them a little map with a bunch of fun places to explore! There will be several factions (some more friendly than the others), potential treasures to find, alliances to make, enemies to piss off, etc. We'll get more into the details in the "Exploring the Tunnels" section below!
Structurally, we'll be keeping to 10 minute turns pretty religiously, probably using the map as a point crawl. We'll be using the Angry GMs tension pool for this phase (but normal random encounters once people arrive.
IRL, we've got 2 real time hours, so we'll have to keep it quick! I'm not going to tell them "you have 6 hours", so if things are taking too long I might just cut to the heist itself. There's also a world where they try to do the heist in this period, before people show up.
The Heist!
We're overall keeping this pretty fiction first (with BitD style failures as complications), but it's helpful to define a few fictional details.
Opposition
- Blue-Haired Concessions Human (easily startled, thinks mice are cute)
- Might throw things at Mice if startled (D2)
- Will try to trap Mic eunder a cup with forethought (then transfer to a cardboard box, then take outside to release by the river -- too far away to find their way back, likely after the show)
- Had 3 keys on a carabiner - External Master Key (inc. Dumpster), BO, Concessions Stand
- Deep-Voiced House Manager (hates vermin, will actively search)
- Will try to hit mice with a broom or similar (D3)
- If he screams, you might have the Mice make a Will save due to the deep reverberations or be Frightened
- Has 2 keys on a carabiner - External Master (Front Doors and Dumpster), Internal Master (all doors, BO, Concessions)
- Other Humans will likely be similar, D2 for a minor complication D3 for a major one. Humans don't roll, their attacks are a consequence of Mice failing checks.
- In Front of House, there are 2 people working to start (those above), and 8 more later on (3 in the BO, 5 ushers/HMs).
- In the Theatre, there are 4 people working to start, up to a dozen by showtime.
- By house open, there are a dozen customers. By curtain, there are hundreds.
- A fun complication could be a service dog chasing after the Mice for a bit (D3)
- Ants will also be competing!
- If a fight breaks out, AC 10, each 1 damage kills one (it spills over if fictionally reasonable). Attack bonus is their number (up to +6, then they start attacking in groups), their damage is half their number (up to +3). This means a dozen ants is 2 groups to start.
- They will go for Trash Bins by default, and only go for an actual Heist if the Mice leave them an opening
- They will have a few scouts earlier on, and then several dozen scattered throughout the theatre by house open.
- Other Factions will mostly be confined to their territory unless the Mice try to change that!
- Monsters like Redtail the Hawk, Old One Eye, and the Centipedes might attack at other points.
Equipment
- Keys are on carabiners on belt loops. Probably DC 15 STR to remove safely. The whole key set is heavy enough to likely require a check to move quickly, but an individual key can go into inventory (2 slots per) if there's enough time to remove them.
- Bags of Nuts take up 2 slots and are 2 rations. If a single ration is found, it's likely an unfinished bag of nuts.
- Candy Bars take up 2 slots each in a backpack (they're fun-sized), and are very nutrient dense (4 rations), so are a great score!
- Popcorn Bags are too big to pack, but pretty light, so DC 10 STR to move quickly. Likely to attract notice on the way back, but lots of food (8 rations). Storing individual popcorn yields 1 ration per slot.
Scavenging Food
- Theatre Bins are empty before House Open. Afterwards, the chance of finding useful rations increases over time:
- House open: 1:6 chance of food
- Curtain: 2:6 chance of food
- Intermission: 3:6 chance of food
- If the Mice find food, they find a number of rations equal to the die roll. Each bin can only be searched once, and it takes 1 turn.
- If there is more than one ration present, there are also a dozen ants competing for it. The Mice might even look for where there are ants present to try to find food! This takes time (1-2 turns), but is pretty easy.
- There are humans nearby during house open or intermission (but not always between those, probably a 2:6 chance of one coming back)
- The Dumpster outside will seldom have humans near it.
- There are 2 dozen ants here all night. If there's a fight that the Mice flee, they'll get reinforcements.
- By Intermission, 3 Rats are here as well, as they've caught on
- It has the same chances of food as the Theatre Bins, but after every 10 searches (by anyone!) the chances reduce by 1 step (each search takes 1 turn).
- The Crowd will certainly have food in pockets, and may leave some lying around.
- Finding Snacks guarded by humans takes 10 minutes, but is easy to do. Roll 1d6 to see what kind: 1-2 Half a bag of nuts. 3-4 Bag of nuts. 5-6 Candy bar.
- Stealing from Humans is likely a DC 15 DEX check without a good plan.
- Watching Counters to see if humans put snacks down takes an additional 10 minutes. Roll 1d6: 1-2 Nothing. 3-4 Half a bag of nuts. 5 Bag of nuts. 6 1/2 a Candy bar (1 slot, 2 rations).
- Working Together does not improve the odds of finding things, but Mice can likely find ways to support each other. Splitting Up lets each Mouse potentially find their own snacks, but they won't be able to help each other as much. Pairs might be optimal?
The party needs to get to 20 rations to feed their village in the short term. They would really like to get higher though - 50 would set them up medium term as well. The theoretical maximum (with one trip) is 12 candy bars (3 each) for 48 rations, plus 4 bags of popcorn for another 32 rations (80 rations total). Likely, it'll be less than that. Multiple trips is possible, but time consuming (and risks complications with factions, unless the Mice negotiate safe passage).
Exploring the Tunnels
We'll be using 10 minute turns, a point crawl map, and the tension pool. 6 total hours! (possibly cut short because we have 2 total hours of IRL play time haha)
If the players get in over their heads, they can return home, spend an hour, and eat a ration to restore their Attributes to full.
 |
| Point Crawl Map |
Factions
Rats! Look down on mice, eat them when things are lean, but ultimately just trying to get by.
- Stats: STR +4, DEX +2, WIL +2, 1 HP, AC 12, dmg 2.
- Leader: Vic the Ripper (Reckless, Inventor, Buried Compassion, 5 HP)
- Goal: (other than survive) Control Old One Eye
- Lair:
- Situation: A young upstart (Vitch, Bully, Cruel, Coward) is gathering support for a coup
- Treasure: Rusty Nail (Magic blade, Frightened on crit), lots of tech (wind up cars and sound machines and such)
Ants! Competition for the food, but could potentially work together. At war with the Spiders, keeping back the Centipede menace.
- Stats: Minions! 1 HP each, attack is # ants, dmg is 1/2 # ants. AC 10.
- Leader: The Queen of Crumb and Chitin
- Goal: Win the Spider War! By burning their webs, arming/armoring their soldiers, or similar.
- Lair:
- Situation: The war has meant their supply lines are cut off, and they need massive amounts of food to feed their armies.
- Treasure: Knock spell tablet
Spiders! The Ants are their food (among other insects), but they could feed for months on even one mouse...
- Stats: STR +2, DEX +5, WIL +3, AC 15, 2 HP, dmg 2 (damages DEX). Webs!
- Leader: The Spider Queen (Chittering, Condescending, Sly, 6 HP)
- Goal: Feed the baby spiderlings, make them strong.
- Lair:
- Situation: Holding the Questing Mouse. Trying to decide if they should eat him to take his power or use him in the War against the Ants or Centipedes.
- Treasure: Fear spell tablet
Centipedes! Malicious bastards. No reasoning with them, attack on sight. WANT to wander and devour.
- Stats: STR +3, DEX +4, WIL +2, AC 14, 3 HP, dmg 2 (damages DEX).
- Leader: The Longest Boiiiiii (Vicious, Hungry). +5 STR, 10 HP, dmg 3.
- Goal: Feeeeeeed! They want to wander and devour, and they can't be reasoned with.
Faeries! The mice don't strictly know that the faeries are there, but they do know there's a weird area with lots of illusions and hallucinations.
- Stats: STR +3, DEX +5, WIL +5, AC 15, 3 HP, dmg 2 (silver), +1 spell.
- Leader: The Faerie Queen (playful, callous, ethereal)
- Goal: Take the stage! Weave a glamour powerful enough for the humans watching not to notice how small she is
- Treasure: Silver Sewing Needle (can repair gear on crit), invisibility and shrink spell tablets
And that's just the full factions!
Individuals
The Questing Mouse (Proper, Honorable, Weary) - The greatest hero the clan has ever known, on an epic quest whose goal is unknown. The map will list his last known location - near the Ants.
- Stats: STR +6, DEX +4, WIL +4, AC 16, 10 HP, dmg 3 (magic)
- Goal: Put the Ghost in the Theatre to rest!
- Finding Him: He is being held by the Spiders. Clues: 1. Spider webs on the scene, but old and cut up. 2. Asking the Ants! (Requires negotiating with the Ant Queen). 3. Most people outside the Clan know that he did battle with the Ghost on multiple occasions, and that the Ghost is usually near Spider territory.
- Treasure: Magic sword (1H, D3) and Armor (Helm - 1 body slot - +2 AC). If the mice help him, he will fight where they ask him! If he is too hurt, he will lend them his gear. If he dies, he will bequeath it to them.
Ghost in the Theatre (Moaning, Furious, Distractable) - The trapped spirit who has been haunting these halls since the theatre was built, their name lost to time
- Stats: STR +2, DEX +3, WIL +3, AC 13, 5 HP*, dmg 2**
- *Only harmed by silver/magic
- **Magic damage, damages will, on crit or at 0 HP, DC 12 WIL or possessed!
- Incorporeal: can float through walls/floor, and disappear/reappear elsewhere
- Goal: Escape this mortal coil :/
- Unfinished Business: Died building the theatre the day they were going to propose
- Treasure: Ghost Beetle spell tablet (can carry an extra 6 bulk of stuff, basically - super helpful for getting lots of food back!), human engagement ring
Old One Eye (Ravenous, Aggressive) - the biggest, meanest rat of all! So large some think he must have eaten a cat.
- Stats: STR +6, DEX +3, WIL +1, AC 15, 10 HP, dmg 3
- Goal: Feeeeeeed!!!
- Weakness: Mindless. Keen instincts, but easy to trick.
- Treasure: Grow spell tablet in his lair (he cast this when he was a normal rat, and it misfired such that it got stuck on, taking his mind to power it - finding it and casting it at Tier 3 could make him normal again)
Redtail the Hawk (Cunning, Swift, Rude) - lives in the theatre rafters. Has never successfully been chased out.
- Stats: STR +4, DEX +5, WIL +2, AC 15, 5 HP, dmg 3
- Goal: Protect his territory (she's the only one who gets to steal food from humans!!)
- Weakness: Magpie tendencies (wants shinies for her nest)
- Treasure: Fireball spell tablet, lots of valuable shinies
Mechanics Changes?
Mausritter is just perfect for this thematically. The thing is, though, I really like the unified d20 roll high core mechanic (especially the PF2 degrees of success). There' s just a ton of upsides, and I think my players will be more familiar with that culturally. Mausritter is also very deadly RAW, which makes sense for small little mice, but doesn't feel amazing for an intro one-shot for new players who've never played TTRPGs before.
So! If we use Mausritter as a base, we set flat damage for weapons instead of dice. Attack rolls have the following degrees of success (using PF2s +/-10):
- Critical Success Deal twice the weapons damage
- Success Deal the weapons damage
- Failure If its a melee attack, deal 1 damage
- Critical Failure Mark 1 weapon usage
Weapons will either deal 2 damage for light (1H) weapons, or 3 for heavy (2H) weapons. STR/DEX can both be used for 1H light weapons, STR is required for Heavy Melee, DEX for Heavy Ranged.
Characters will have 5 HP (hit protection). Any further damage goes to Strength. If Strength goes to 0, they die.
PCS have +5/+3/+1 to their 3 stats (I'm making pregens).
AC is 10 + Dex, armor gives +2.
Spells
When casting magic, they get to choose its Tier, which marks how powerful it is! The DC is 8 + 2x Tier, (so DC 10/12/14/16/18/20) and casting has the following degrees of success:
- Critical Success Cast the spell
- Success Cast the spell, but mark 1 usage
- Failure Cast the spell, but mark [Tier] usage
- Critical Failure Fail to cast, mark [Tier] usage, and take [Tier] Will damage
Fireball: deals [Tier] damage. Heal: heals [Tier] STR. Magic Missile: deals [Tier+1] damage. Easy ish recharge (drop 30 feet then touch in 10 minutes). Knock: open a door whose open DC is the casting DC or less. Grease: [Tier] sections of floor. Darkness/Invisibility: lasts for [Tier] Turns.
Equipment
Characters will start with limited gear - 3 slots worth of preset gear (I'll be offering 8 possible mice for the 4 players), as well as 1 random item and 1 more piece of adventuring gear of their choice.
There are 19 blank 1-slot items in the equipment page, plus 4 2-slots. In addition to torches/lanterns/rations, that might include:
- Thread, spool
- Chain, 6"
- Wire, spool
- Fishhook
- Net
- Pole, 6" (2 slots)
- Soap
- Shovel
- Wooden spikes
- Gluestick (2 slots)
- Marbles, handful
- Mirror
- Whistle
- Instrument
- Set of loaded dice
- Jar of Honey
- Quill & Ink
- Treasure Map (leads to Faerie queen's lair)
No comments:
Post a Comment