Pathfinder is a fantasy RPG put out by Paizo. Paizo took Dungeons & Dragons Edition 3.5, cleaned up some of the rules that bugged people, and created Pathfinder. Basically, people who love 3.5 and don’t like 4th edition can move to Pathfinder for new content. I think adventures written for 3.5 are easily portable to Pathfinder as well. For all intents and purposes it can be considered D&D 3.75. I had fun during the game session. The DM did a great job, the other players were good, and the story was interesting with a nice twist at the end. But, I didn’t care much for Pathfinder itself. The first game of D&D I ever played (and subsequently the first campaign I played in) used D&D 3.5. That was only a little over a year ago. While, obviously, I fell in love with the hobby, I wasn’t particularly crazy about D&D 3.5. Pathfinder really hasn’t change anything about 3.5 that would improve upon my initial impression.

I have several problems with Pathfinder (and 3.5 in general). First of all, it’s a very rules heavy game. Combat rules are complicated without adding any tactical depth. While Pathfinder has apparently cleaned up some problems from 3.5 like grappling and combat maneuver rules, they still seem too complex. Also, the game seems to expect you to have a near encyclopedic knowledge of spells, potions, and items. I played an Alchemist which was a fun class in concept, but I spent a lot of time looking up the effects of potions and mutagens. I wasn’t the only one looking up things for their character either. When you do look up something, you are presented with a wall of text that you have to wade through in order to figure out how it works. I feel like 4th edition (which is rules heavy, too) does a better job of managing the complexity with concise, standardized stat blocks for items, spells, and abilities. Also, a lot of the rules heavy lifting for PCs is taken care of by the character builder. The 4th edition game I recently ran involved mostly people new to 4th edition and I don’t anyone needed to crack a book. With Pathfinder, several people needed to spend time looking things up. It just seems like you need to keep track of a lot more minutiae in Pathfinder and 3.5 and I don’t care for that.

Also, the combat wasn’t any more tactically compelling than combat in my regular Swords & Wizardry game (an Original D&D clone and very rules light game) but ran longer because of the more complex rules. So, Pathfinder combat ends up being the worst of both worlds for me. It can be long and tedious without the tactical complexity of 4th and without the drama, danger, and speed of S&W combat.

Oh, yeah. One thing that really drives me nuts is critical hits. In Pathfinder and 3.5 when you roll a 20, you have to roll again to “confirm” the critical hit. It really dulls the excitement of rolling a 20 for me if I have to roll again to “confirm” it and just seems complex for the sake of complexity. Drives me bonkers.

While I’ve been knocking Pathfinder for the past few paragraphs, like I said, I still had fun playing. With the right group of people and DM, I’d play Pathfinder again but it wouldn’t be my first (or second) choice for game system. I also really enjoyed my PC. Alchemist is a fun class to play and the concept is fun. I may see if I can find an alchemist class for Swords & Wizardry or make one of my own for fun.

I’m glad I made it out to the Meetup and hope to make it out again soon.

The gathering was more sparsely attended than ones I’ve attended previously.  I’m not sure why that is.  It might be due to the success of the weekly 4^th edition Living Forgotten Realms nights.  Or it was summer.  Or who knows? But, there were enough people there to have  a full five players in my game and enough players for another game running.  Only one of the players had ever played 4^th edition before.  The rest were RPG players with experience in the various other versions of D&D.  This didn’t present too much of a problem since 4^th edition is pretty easy to pick up.  A couple of guys from my gaming group came out to play including my DM which was fun.

First of all, I’ll talk about what I think went well.  I think I did a good job of keeping combat moving and flowing.  One of the biggest problems with 4^th edition in my (and many others) opinion is that combat can get really bogged down.  I enjoy tactical, crunchy combat.  I detest long, tedious combat.  In my experience 4^th edition can easily swing from one to the other especially in the hands of a poor DM and/or indecisive players.  I think I succeeded in keeping the rounds quick and moving along.  I used the initiative tracking method of writing all the PC names on slips of paper and hanging them on the DM screen.  This worked well for me and helped keep things moving.  I also tried to encourage creative thinking and players trying crazy things in combat.  I gave bonuses for stunts and crazy ideas (after the appropriate skill check of course).  I also played somewhat loose with the rules.  For me, fun trumps rules.  And with people new to 4^th edition who are getting used to the new style of combat, I wanted to allow for some leeway on things.

Some things didn’t go quite as well.  The session was very combat heavy and there wasn’t a lot of role playing.  Partially this is due to being a public game with pre-generated characters.  But, I think I could have done more to encourage RP and my RP skills aren’t exactly strong.  RP one of things I struggle with at times in RPGs. Also, tThe session was very railroady.  Again, it was a public game with a limited amount of time and I was running a module.  My ability to encourage players to forge their own paths was very limited.  It was also hotter than hell in the room where we played.  Of course, I had no control over that, but it did make things a little uncomfortable.

One thing I was surprised about was how difficult the first two encounters were for the PCs.  I ran the first two encounters as written in the module.  Rescue at Rivenroar starts with an encounter in a bar and then an encounter in the street with a fire wielding ogre.  These encounters are what drew me to the module in the first place because of interesting elements such as fire and they take place in interesting environments.  In the first encounter, the cleric was dropped a couple of times.  This was due to a unlucky placement of the cleric and some really bad rolls by the players and good rolls by me.  Also, everybody was getting still settled in to their character and 4^th edition combat in general.  In the second encounter with the ogre a pc was actually killed.  Like, killed killed.  That really surprised me.  He was taken down by a massive hit from the ogre.  To keep things moving, I let that player jump back into the game as the PCs twin brother.

I ran the module pretty much as written (except for taking out the skill challenges which didn’t add anything) until the players got to the dungeon.  The dungeon in the module is massive, rather grindy, and many of the rooms are really uninteresting.  It would take multiple sessions to crawl through this dungeon, so I cherry picked and modified two encounters.  I took one encounter and changed the layout a little.  I used some 3D dungeon tiles from the Harrowing Halls to give the encounter some elevation.  The last encounter was with Sinruth, the modules “Big Bad”.  I completely changed the layout of this encounter.  I lowered Sinruth’s AC a little because the players weren’t at level 2.  I think the module assumes that the players are at level 2 when they get to this encounter.  I also gave Sinruth a new power, an invocation to the god Tiamat that shook the room and created pits.  It made things a little more interesting.  These encounters went much more smoothly and the PCs had less trouble with these.

I had help modifying Sinruth and the module from the folks at RPG.net.  Thanks to all the feedback in this thread.

Overall, I think things went well and I hope the players had fun.

I have a really great time playing.   Our group has really seemed to hit a groove.  Everyone has gotten more comfortable with role playing.  A good chunk of the last session was pure role playing and was a blast. Even when my character was not active in the scene, it was hilarious to sit back and watch the others.  Our DM did a great job of having our group confront some our past sins which led to some great story and role play moments.  Really a good time.  For a full write up of our past sessions, check out Paul’s (our DM) website, The Warlock’s Home Brew.  He also has created some great S&W gaming aides and even his own adventure modules, so check out his site.

The last post I wrote on this subject involved the death of my PC, the cleric Arvin Ardmore.  Since then, I’ve rolled up a new character, the Druid Gnarly Blunderbrush.  It’s been fun playing a different character and class who has a different role in the party.  Unfortunately, it’s left our group without a cleric, which due to our group’s penchant for getting, has been a little bit of a problem.  In a couple of levels, Gnarly can cast a healing spell, so that will help a little.

The number of players at the table has grown from five when we started to seven players.  I have played several games of 4th Edition D&D and seven players in that system is really too much due to the nature of combat. Combat just grinds to a halt with that many.  With S&W, it’s not really a problem, since it’s such a rules-lite system and combat is quick and furious.  Seven players has certainly added to the chaos, but it in a good way.  I can tell Paul has to work a little harder bring some order to the table and he does it well.  Seven players has resulted in raucous, slightly chaotic game sessions where we still manage to move the story forward significantly and have an absolute blast while playing.

I honestly think part of it is the game system.  We wouldn’t be having the same experience if were playing 4th ed or 3.x ed.  S&W has allowed us to have a very wild and woolly campaign that doesn’t get bogged down in the rules or combat.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I love 4th edition, but it provides a very different experience from S&W and old school D&D.

Can’t wait to dive back into the fray with our bumbling, debaucherous, slightly crazy adventuring group.

Well, now, my schedule is opening up.  I’m looking forward to getting to game more.  And I’m looking forward to getting back into writing for the blog.  Hopefully, this kicks off what will be a more regular posting schedule for Level 1 Gamer.

Here is some random gaming stuff I have on my radar.  I’ll be writing more about some or all of this very soon:

• My first public game as a DM will be at the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering in June.  I’m going to run the 4th edition module Rescue at Rivenroar (modified for a single session).
• I’ve picked up a few sets of Pirates of the Spanish Main, a fun little collectible tabletop game.  The models are fun and I hope to play it soon.
• I had some money from a recent Ebay auction and picked up some classic D&D books.  I got a 1E Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer Basic/Expert box sets, and the old modules Keep on the Borderlands and Isle of Dread.  Expect my impressions soon.
• I’ll be presenting at the next Gamemasters’ Conference in July.  I’ll be doing a presentation on running a game for new players from the perspective of a new player.
• Had a blast at my regular S&W game last night.  It was great to be back after a break.  Great role playing and the usual shenanigans.
• I plan on going to the Tucson LFR Night again next week.  I may even end up running game if necessary.

I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

One thing I’ve noticed while searching online is that there isn’t a good guide to getting started with Dungeons & Dragons (and the wider world of pen and paper RPGs).  Most of the ones I’ve seen are so basic that they are less useful than the Wikipedia article for D&D.  I’m going to assume you’ve already read the wiki and done some basic research online.  This guide will hopefully help new gamers get beyond the basics and up to speed with the hobby.

- The Wide, Wide World of Pen & Paper RPGs -

While Dungeons & Dragons is the biggest and most well known pen and paper Role Playing Game (RPG), there are many, many others out there.  D&D is really the tip of the iceberg; a gateway to the wider world of PnP RPGs.  There are other RPGs that, like D&D, have a fantasy setting.  There are also RPGs for about every genre you could think of: Super Heroes, Sci-Fi, Horror, Cyberpunk, even Mice with Swords.  If you can think of a genre, especially a geeky one, someone has written an RPG for it.

In my opinion D&D is the best RPG to get started with the hobby, but I encourage you to check out the wider world of RPGs once you are more settled in.

- Edition Clarification -

The current version of D&D is 4th Edition.  It’s called 4th edition, but there are more than four versions of D&D when you count the various updates, spin offs, and clones.  Each edition of D&D has a different rule set (and rule books) from the next, sometimes so different that they are very different games.   They get confusing pretty fast.

If you are just starting out in the hobby, I believe 4th edition is the way to go.  The books are in print.  All the other official versions of D&D are out of print and not as readily available.  The rules are well laid out in the books and internally very consistent.  It’s fairly obvious the game was designed with new players in mind.  There are great tools like the character builder that make the learning curve less steep and make it easier to buy fewer books.  The simplified rules make it easier to Dungeon Master the game.

Fair warning, if you ask three different gamers which is the best version of D&D you’ll likely get four different answers.  The change over from the last edition of D&D (edition 3.5) and 4th edition has sparked a particularly vigorous debate, commonly known as the edition wars.  Like any other geeky debate on the internet, people have strong opinions about it.  I’m sure  a lot of other gamers would disagree with me that  you should start with 4th edition.

One more note on editions: while 4th edition is great for new players and new dungeon masters, if you are being invited into an existing group with experienced gamers, go with whatever edition or game system they are playing.  They’ll be able to teach you what you need to know to get started.  I find that my enjoyment comes more from the people around the table than from whatever edition of D&D (or RPG system) I play.

- What You Need -

Free Stuff
At first you don’t need to spend much money.  There are many D&D resources available for free from Wizards of the Coast (publisher of D&D):

• D&D Character Builder – Free demo allows you to create level 1 – 3 characters.  This is one of the main reasons I like 4th Ed.  It lets you focus on what kind of character you want to build instead of the math.  Also, it gives you access to information from nearly all the character books.  You have to buy a D&D Insider subscription for the full version which gives you access to other tools and online magazines.
• Download the D&D Test Drive – Here you can download quick start rules and two full adventures for free.  This test drive is all you need to get familiar with the rules and try things out if you don’t want to commit any money.

Dice
One thing you should really buy before you start playing is a set of dice.  While RPG gamers are friendly and will share dice if you don’t have any, it is better to have you own.  Dice are designated by the number sides they have.  A six-sided die (the most common die type that pretty much every board game uses) is called a D6.  A 10 sided die is a D10, and so on.

A complete set consists of a D4, a D6, a D8, 2 D10′s, a D12, and a D20.  That is all you need to get started, but once you are hooked, you end up with a lot more.

Books
While you can get away with not buying a single book by using the resources I linked to above, eventually you are going to want to get a few books:

• Player’s Handbook (PHB): This is the only book that a player needs to get started with D&D.  It lays out how the general structure of the game works, how to create a character, background stories for the races, and the combat rules.  There is a PHB 2 and a PHB 3, but those just layout new character options and do not change the core rules defined in the first PHB. If you can find this in a store, it’s a good deal if you do want PHB and PHB 2.
• Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG): This is only necessary if you plan to run a game for other people as a Dungeon Master (DM).  It gives you rules, advice, and resources to DM a game.
• Monster Manual (MM): This is also only necessary if you plan to DM a game at some point.  This book is just a list of monsters that the DM throws up against the players.

And those are the only books you really need to get started.  There are many other books, some for players, some for DMs, but this all you need to get started.  The PHB, DMG, and MM are considered the “core” rule books and most who people play have one or all of these books.  For a cheaper alternative to get all three, get this Core Rulebook Gift Set.

A new Dungeons & Dragons Essentials line is coming out this fall.  One of the products is a boxed Starter Set.  This may be a great place to start once it comes out.

Miniatures

For the most part in D&D, combat takes place on a 1″ grid with miniatures or some other type of marker used to represent players and monsters.  4th edition is especially reliant on miniatures and a grid.  You don’t have to buy a miniature to get started.  Some things people use instead of miniatures include cardboard tokens, chess pieces, LEGO figures, and coins.  If you are going to a public game, it’s easy to borrow a miniature from another player as many people have extra.  If you do want to get your own minis, Wizards of the Coast has a line of Player’s Handbook minis. Your local game store will have minis.  Ebay is also a good place to look as well as sites like www.miniaturemarket.com.

Battle Grid

If you want to DM a game yourself, you’ll need a 1″ grid for combat.  There are many options for combat grids:  Dungeon Tiles put out by WOTC, pricey, not versatile, but very pretty; Chessex vinyl Battlemat, moderately priced, very versatile, very sturdy; Gamemastery Flip-Mat: cheap, very versatile, not as sturdy; Gaming Paper: very cheap, very versatile, disposable.

- Finding a Game -

Finding a game can be a difficult task, especially a long running game with players and a DM that fit your gaming style.  But, you do have a lot of options to get started and to find pickup games that can lead to a longer running game.

• Meetup.com: Search for RPG or D&D.  This is how I got started playing RPGs.  Meetup is a great way to find other gamers and events that are friendly to new gamers.
• Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS): Your local game store is another great place to look.  Many have calendars with events, many of them open to anyone.  Talk to the store clerk.  They can let you know what events are good for new players.
• Attend an official D&D event: There are many events like Living Forgotten Realms,  D&D Encounters, and Worldwide D&D Day that occur at local game stores and are designed  for anyone to jump into a game without any commitment. They are very new player friendly.  LFR and Encounters run weekly.  You have many opportunities to try out D&D with no commitment.

- Online Resources -

There are many online resources available to dive deeper into the hobby and get your questions answered.

Podcasts

There are quite a few RPG podcasts out there.  They are great place to get discussion on the latest news.  Most importantly for a new player, there are podcasts that are recordings of actual game sessions.  These give you a good idea of how an actual game session works before you dive in and actually play.  Here some notable podcasts:

• The Penny Arcade/PvP/Wil Wheaton podcasts (Series 1 and 2, Series 3 ep 1): Wizards of the Coast invited geek celebrities Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins of online comic Penny Arcade, Scott Kurtz of online comic PvP, and Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame to play D&D.  What resulted were three hilarious sessions of D&D.  They are entertaining and very informative for a new player since one of the players is new to D&D.  Series 4 has been recorded and should be out soon.
• Robot Chicken podcasts: After of success of the Penny Arcade podcasts, WOTC invited the writers of the show Robot Chicken to play D&D.  This time they recorded video.  Several of the players are new to D&D, so it’s also a good learning opportunity.

Forums

There are many active RPG forums that are great place to ask questions and start to become a part of the community.  Here are a few that I have found useful:

• The official Dungeons & Dragons forums: great resource for D&D
• EN World: a popular RPG forum with an emphasis on 4th Ed D&D, but has discussion on many other RPGs
• RPG.net: active forum with lots of 4th Ed discussion as well as other RPGs

Blogs

There are many, many D&D and general RPG blogs out there.  Check out my blogroll for a few that I frequent.

- Go Forth and Game ! -

Hopefully this guide has been helpful to you.  Once you are hooked (as I know you will be), come back and tell me about your experiences.

I will try to keep this guide up to date with regular updates as links change and new products become available.

• My week started out with a major geek out when Wil Wheaton posted my comment on the front page of his blog! Wil is doing another Dungeon Delve at the Emerald City Comic Con and wrote a post about it on his blog.  I wrote in the comments that I played in on of his Dungeon Delves.  I wrote about the experience in a blog post: I survived Wil Wheaton’s Dungeon Delve of Doom which I also mentioned in the comment.  He then proceeds to update his blog post with my comment.  Very exciting.  A fun little geeky treat for me.
• I went to Living Forgotten Realms again Thursday at Hat’s Games here in Tucson.  I had a good time.  But, LFR seems to exacerbate some of the problems of D&D 4th Edition.  Namely, role playing gets a short shrift.  Roll playing is the emphasis.  Which, I don’t mind so much.  I find 4th edition combat a compelling game in and of itself and I want to get a better grasp of the rules.  But, I like a healthy dose of story, character, and plot, too.  Still, it was fun and hope to make it out again soon.  Also,  LFR got a new gamer hooked on the hobby.  Someone came in who had never played a pen and paper game and, well, I let his words speak for themselves: “me thinks we hath created a monster.”  Despite 4th edition’s faults, it is very friendly to new players.
• Yesterday, I went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival.  I  guess renaissance festivals could be considered the world’s most popular and mainstream LARPs.  I got my little girl a pink sword and a fairy outfit and I had steak on a stake.  Ren Faire was a success.  I’m actually thinking of going in costume next year.  Somebody help me.
• Tomorrow is the next session in my regular Swords and Wizardry group.  It will be the first time in quite a while that we will have all the players there.  We just took out some goblins and need to learn what happened to the Tomb of the Iron God.  I’ll have to write some more about it soon.

I’m looking forward to PHB3 day this week and I’ll hopefully be playing the first of new D&D Encounters program that Wizards of the Coast is kicking off.  If time permits I’ll be writing all this up.

I like it for several reasons.  It’s a nice way to socialize and meet new people.  The Tucson LFR is averaging about 25 people each Thursday.  Like the monthly Tucson RPG Guild Gatherings, you get to meet and mingle with people outside of your regular gaming group.   It’s really nice for trying out different characters.  You can roll up a new character and try it out, but you won’t be saddled with it for the entire campaign like you would in a traditional campaign.  There’s no commitment.  I’m a busy guy with a full time job, wife, and two small kids.  It’s hard for me to commit to much of anything regularly.  Somehow, I’ve managed to make all my bi-weekly Swords & Wizardy games, but anything outside that is hard for me to make.   I like being able to drop into a game when I feel like it.

Another big thing that LFR has going for it is it’s very friendly to the RPG newcomer like me.  There are generally pre-generated characters available if you are not comfortable with character generation.  Like I said before, it’s a great way to try out characters.  It helped me with learning character generation, because I built a character, took it to LFR, realized some mistakes I made, but wasn’t stuck with those mistakes.  It can also be a way to find a regular game.  I’m sure that there are plenty of folks at LFR events looking for players.

There are some thing I don’t like about it though.  The few modules I’ve played have been rather bland.  The stories have been rather uninteresting and tend to be light on role-playing.  The combats were not particularly well designed.  Also, you can end up with a DM who is unfamiliar with the module they are running, since they may have not had time to prep and they don’t have the control over the story that they would in a home-brew campaign.  Luckily, Thursday, I had a great DM who handled the RP really well and kept the game moving which is important in 4th Edition.  The last time I went, which was some time ago, my DM was not so well prepared, though.  So, the DM’s can be hit and miss.  You don’t really get a sense of an ongoing story or shared world.  At least I haven’t.  Maybe I haven’t played enough to really get that experience though.  Since it is a shared world, you don’t really have any way to affect it in any meaningful way.  One other thing is, you don’t quite have get camaraderie that you get from a regular game with the same group of people which is a big part of what I like about the hobby

Still, the trade offs are worth it to be able to drop in on a game, no muss no fuss.  Check out Living Forgotten Realms some time if you’re a fan of 4th edition.

During the last quarter, WotC will roll out a product line designed for new players. The game’s core is what was being called the “4e Red Box.” The prototype image was styled after the original D&D Red Box, and contains enough for a few players to play (including some tokens and maps), but can also be played solo. What was interesting to me was the “walkthrough” approach to the rules, where the book is designed to come with you to learn the rules as you play. Also neat is that the choices your characters make during the actual game determine what class you are, instead of generating a character first.

The Red Box is supposed to be the clear, introductory, “I’ve never played D&D before and want to learn” set. An emphasis was given by the WotC staffers that the bookstores (since before 4e and well into 3e) have had trouble selling D&D books because it’s not easy to recommend what new players should buy.

This is a very smart move by WOTC.  One of 4th editions greatest strengths is its appeal and accessibility to new gamers.  It’s pretty clear that this was a strong design consideration for 4th edition.  So, explicitly creating products that help ease people into D&D is the way to go.  In fact, it’s long overdue.

I actually think that this should be the primary focus WOTC has for the D&D line.   Having a product that everyone can point to as the entry point for D&D (and by extension RPGs in general) really makes it easier for new folks to join hobby.  And let’s face it, to most people on the outside of the hobby, D&D is the hobby.  Trust me.  They don’t know or understand anything about the multiple editions of D&D or all the other RPGs out there.  I know when I started last year all I knew about was D&D and that was all I wanted to play.  I just wanted to play THE game.  The one I’ve heard about.  Everything else was either confusing or uninteresting to me.

Besides, there are tons of alternative RPGs and previous editions of D&D to appeal to the veteran and hardcore gamers.  Companies like Paizo and retro-clones are doing well to cater to their needs.   Hardcore and veteran players are well taken care.  The market is becoming increasingly fractured any way.   I’m not saying they should be abandoned, but neither should they be the primary focus of D&D.

I think there is a vast untapped reserve of new gamers out there that the 4e Red Box could capitalize upon if it’s well designed.  Namely, there are millions of video gamers out there who are already familiar with many pen paper mechanics.  The first time I played D&D it really scratched the same itch that video gaming does for me.  Furthermore, there are millions of video gamers out there that already pretend to be dwarves and elves and wizards through games like World of Warcraft and Dragon Age.  People just have to fight through the stigma that D&D carries as the GEEKIEST THING YOU CAN DO.  Which is funny, because honestly, what is geekier: playing a game for hours on end shut up in your house or going out and playing a game while socializing with people face to face.  I think there are a lot people out there that crave that social interaction that D&D and RPGs can provide.  This is especially true for us geeks.  D&D is the only RPG that can really capitalize on that.

Well, I’ve rambled enough.  I’m looking forward to checking out the 4e Red Box when it comes out.

One of the most difficult aspects of Mouse Guard is getting your head around the rules of the game.  It’s not that they are complicated.  It has more to do with how the foreign the concepts are to the way they are done in D&D and other similar D20 games.

Structure & Mechanics

The session structure is one of those interesting concepts.  Each session of Mouse Guard is broken up into the GM’s Turn and the Players Turn each taking up about half the session.  The term “turn” is misleading because it’s not a turn in the traditional sense.   The players aren’t twiddling their thumbs during the GM’s turn or vice versa.  It really has more to do with who has more control over the narrative.  The GM’s turn consists of the GM presenting obstacles to the players who attempt to overcome them by rolling tests (think checks in D&D) or participating in conflicts.  The players earn what are called “checks” (not like checks in D&D) during the GM’s turn.  During the Player’s turn, the players spend these “checks” to pursue their own objectives.  They could spend a check to attempt to get rid of negative condition, fashion or procure new equipment, or attempt to accomplish their goal.  From what I understand, the structure makes more sense in practice and flows more naturally than it sounds.  And it’s really just a formalization of what often happens in other RPGs.  In D&D, the party goes in and clears out the dungeon (kind of like the GM’s turn) and then returns to town to heal and spend their loot (kind of like the player’s turn).

The only die used in the game is a D6 and the game uses dice pools.  A dice pool works by rolling a number of dice and then adding up your successes.  In MG, a success is if you roll a 4 or above.  Obstacles have a difficulty rating that specifies the number of successes.  Your skills specify the number dice you roll.  So, for example you are confronted with the task to travel to a town.  It has a difficulty of 4 and your pathfinding skill is 5.  You roll 5 D6′s and if you roll a 4, 5, or 6 on 4 dice then you succeed.  There are also versus rolls where an NPC or PC will roll their skill against your skill instead of rolling against a fixed difficulty.  Pretty simple and elegant.  It’s definitely easy for a newcomer understand.  Easier than the varied dice, modifiers, and types of rolls in D&D that’s for sure.

Another cool mechanic is the character trait.  These are personality or physical traits like Fearless, Young, Tall, or Calm.  They can be used to enhance or more interestingly hinder a dice roll.  This is actually how you earn checks to use during the player’s turn by using a trait to hinder yourself.  It’s one of the many ways that the game emphasizes the flaws of the characters and de-emphasizes the importance of success.  It’s an interesting way to help you create a more rounded character to roleplay.

Conflicts

Conflicts are another concept hard to grasp.  Conflicts operate differently than other tests and operate much differently than conflicts in D&D.  The coolest thing about conflicts is that the rules apply to any type of conflict not just combat.   The rules apply to arguments, chases, journeys, or battles between armies.  The rules are abstracted in such a way that it doesn’t matter.

Conflicts play out like this.  Goals are chosen by each side which determines the result of the conflict.  The goals don’t have to (and often don’t) involve killing the other side even in combat.  Then, you determine your disposition which is essentially your hit points for the conflict (there are no traditional hit points in MG).  Then, each side chooses three actions in secret.  The actions to choose from are Attack, Defend, Maneuver, and Feint.  Each action is revealed in succession where they interact in different ways according to a chart.  Again, the actions are abstract, so an Attack in an argument conflict is a cutting remark or Defend is a rebuttal.  Once either side has lost all points to their disposition then they have lost the conflict.  But, winning and losing aren’t black and white.  If the conflict is close, then the winner must comprise part of their goal.  This is negotiated between the two parties.

Conflicts are a little complicated.  They take some getting used to.  I imagine they run smoothly after a few runthroughs.  I really, really like that they can be used in situations outside of combat.

Failure is an Option

I wanted to highlight one of the coolest aspects of the Mouse Guard RPG that is woven throughout the rules of the game: “Failure is an option.”  In D&D, if you fail a dice roll, you fail at your task or if you lose in combat, your character dies is battle.  In Mouse Guard, failing a test doesn’t necessarily mean that a PC fails to accomplish their goal.  When a PC fails a test, the GM is encouraged to allow the PC to accomplish the goal but impose a condition such as Angry, Tired, or Injured that give penalties or enact a Twist.

A Twist takes the story in a new or unexpected direction.  So, let’s take the let’s take the traveling obstacle from earlier and say that the PC didn’t roll enough successes to pass the test.  The GM can rule that the PC makes it to the town, but they are now imposed with the condition of Tired.  Or the GM can impose a Twist which causes the weather to change for the worse such as a Spring snowstorm.  Weather has a big impact on the world of Mouse Guard.

This encouragement of failure is also evidenced by the comprises when conflicts are close.  Or in the way you earn checks, by hindering your character with the traits.  The system rewards the player for penalizing the character.  Failure ends up being a desired outcome in some cases because it makes the game more interesting.  This is better than the failure of a character bringing the game to crashing halt.

Downsides

There are some downsides to Mouse Guard.  The setting which I talked about in part 1 may turn people off.  While I find it compelling, others may not warm up to the idea of playing a mouse with a sword.  Also, the setting is not as open or versatile as the fantasy world of D&D.  You always play as mice in the Mouse Guard.  I imagine that may not be well suited for a years long campaign like people have in D&D and other RPG systems.  All the moving parts and new concepts may be difficult for many to get handle of at first.  The style of play may turn off some as well.  Mouse Guard lays out a very particular style of play where character and story is emphasized and combat is not.  Also, the way rules are structured, having more than 3 or 4 players seems to be difficult.   So, the player limit could be a problem in some groups.

Conclusion

One thing I haven’t really mentioned is how well the rule books is put together.  The art is fantastic (much of it from the Mouse Guard comic book), the organization is great, and is written in a very readable almost conversational tone.  I read through it in a few days.  It was hard to put down.

Mouse Guard appears to be a great RPG with interesting concepts that could be applied to any RPG.  The design not only encourages role playing, but seems to help players become better at role playing.  It’s also accessible to new or novice role players.  The setting and emphasis on things outside of combat may be more appealing to some female gamers and appropriate for kids as well.  It would serve well as a good first RPG to introduce people to roleplaying especially you want to emphasize roleplaying over combat or rules.

Mouse Guard seems to be well suited to serve as a “break” from other more traditional RPGs.  It’s a game that would a be refreshing change to a group in a long running game of D&D that wants to try something different.  It may even enhance your regular game, because some of the ideas about roleplaying and character development could bleed back into your regular game.

Several people from my Swords & Wizardry group are interested in playing Mouse Guard.  So, we run a game here at some point.  Also, there are interested folks in the Tucson RPG Guild Meetup group.  So, I’m sure I’ll either be playing or running a game of Mouse Guard soon.  I’ll report back when I do.

I want to reiterate that I’ve only been gaming for less than a year.  So, these impressions come from the standpoint of a novice gamer.  Also, I’ve only played various editions of D&D and one session of the D20 Star Wars RPG (not profoundly different from D&D).  Mouse Guard is my first exposure to a game vastly different from D&D.

The Setting

I wanted to talk about the setting first because it really captured my imagination.  When it comes to D&D, I’m generally uninterested in published settings.  For medieval fantasy,  I already know all that is needed: there is magic and there are monsters that need killin’.  Everything else should be made up by the DM and players.   Whereas in Mouse Guard, the setting plays a central role in the game even in the mechanics.

Strangely, I think the setting is simultaneously one of the game’s biggest strengths and one of the game’s biggest weaknesses.    It’s a weakness because on the surface, playing as “mice with swords” doesn’t sound all that cool.  The concept can and probably does turn people away.  It’s a strength because once you learn more about the setting it becomes quite compelling.

The game is set in the Mouse Territories: a network of cities and villages populated by sentient  mice with medieval level technology (the why or how is irrelevant).  The mice struggle to survive against the dangers that animals, the weather, nature, and their own kind present.  This sets up two elements thatI fell help make an RPG compelling and easily accessible to a newcomer: 1) a fantastical world because who wants to play an RPG without some element of the fantastic and 2) a shared frame of reference because RPGs are an exercise in collaborative imagination and storytelling.  When everyone has a similar understanding and mental picture or the world, that collaboration is easier.  With little explanation or back story, anyone coming to the table is going to instantly understand how the dangerous the world is to mouse, even one with a sword.   A rivulet formed by a heavy rain is a raging river to a mouse.  A moose is the size of an AT-AT walker from the Empire Strikes Back and could eat your entire harvest in an afternoon.  Hail the size of boulders, owls the size of airplanes, not to mention the danger of the weasels (who also have technology and culture).  This provides a low bar of entry for someone new to RPGs.

The Mouse Guard itself is an order of honorable mice sworn to protect and serve the Mouse Territories.  Think the Knights of the Round Table or Jedi.  All PCs must be members of the Mouse Guard.  It provides an easy motivation for the PCs since adventures almost always start as missions given to you by the head of the Guard.  Mouse Guard originated as comic book which is still ongoing.  This lends the setting some further weight since the world has been well thought out and explored by the comic book.

Character Creation & Role Playing

I’ve found as a new gamer that role playing is one of the harder things to master.  Combat, tactics, and mechanics come pretty easily to me since I have long history with video games.  Role playing is a different beast.  I feel like I’m floundering around sometimes to create and bring a character to life.  It can be awkward at times.  In all the editions of D&D I’ve played, RP is pretty free form.  When it comes to character generation in D&D, there is little outside of alignment that helps guide you to role play that character in different situations.

Mouse Guard is different.  From the outset, character creation is focused on story and role play rather than stats, skills, classes, or powers.  Three of the most prominent elements on the character sheet are Belief, Goal, & Instinct. Much of the first part of the rule book revolve around these three elements.  Belief is a one line code or ethical stance that embodies the character and is written at character creation.  For example, “A guardmouse never gives up no matter the danger.”  Goal is written at the beginning of each session after the mission orders have been given.  It can relate to the current mission or not.  For example, “I must find evidence that will determine if the grain peddler is a traitor or not.”  Instinct is something that is ingrained in the character that do without thinking.  An example, “Always draw my sword at the first sign of trouble.”  I find these concepts extraordinarily useful.  They provide an easy shorthand for the player to create and then roleplay a character.  It also clearly communicates who that character is to the other players and especially the GM.  There are also spots on the character sheet for other juicy bits of character development like parents, hometown, mentor, and even enemy!

The more mechanical parts of character creation such as stats, skills, and traits flow from character development and provide numerous adventure hooks.  They mainly come from a series of questions about your PCs background and disposition.  When confronted, do you stand your ground and fight or do you run and hide? This affects your Nature stat.  What was your parents’ trade? That’s one of your skills. How do you convince people that you’re right? Choose the skill Deceiver, Orator or Persuader.  It really gets you thinking about who this character is and what makes him tick rather than how much damage he can do with this weapon or that spell.

The rule book, especially the first few chapters, was like a text book for role playing a character.  Much of it could be used in any game system.  It provides sort of a scaffolding on which to build a great character to role play.  I plan to think about and maybe even explicitly write the belief and instinct of the next character I create.  It’s great for the novice role player like me who sometimes struggles with this whole role playing thing.

Next up I conclude my Mouse Guard Impressions by exploring session structure, play mechanics, and conflict resolution.