Why Mausritter?
The Rotten Pixie Issue 2: An Examination of Swords and Whiskers Roleplaying
Brave Little Mice
The mice peered into the moss-covered entrance of The Great Owl’s nesting box at the top of the tree. The moist air filled with the smell of regurgitated animal carcasses and bird droppings gagged the little heroes. A lit match illuminated a tiny area of the grand nest, but with caution and steadfast determination the mice stepped further into the inky black darkness. As they gripped their needles and button shields, the mice didn’t notice the glowing eyes above them. The owl’s beak slowly grew apart and its wings spread ready to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.
Whenever I pitch Mausritter to potential players we often get the same reaction, “OMG it’s so cute!” Then after a player’s first combat, the reaction is usually “that was so brutal!”
Mausritter is the epitome of old school tabletop roleplaying design; both the great and frustrating. The Into the Odd design made famous by Chris McDowell mixed with Goblin Punch’s unique magic system creates a perfectly fun game that is great for new players. And yet, there is a bit of baggage with its design that can truly punish players for unlucky rolls and those looking for a comprehensive collaborative storytelling game will be out of luck with this. Quickly characters and even quicker deaths are the norm here.
And yet the Sword and Whiskers game shines with delicious and emergent drama its elegant and vulnerable aesthetic. Players never don the guise of fantasy superheroes, nor do they explore a vast world as hardened mercenaries, they’re not even medieval tomb robbing peasants as so many games in the genre showcase. They play mice. Not fantasy mice akin to Martin the Warrior from Redwall, just little (albeit, advanced) mice exploring a world for giants.
When running these games, I’ve noticed an interesting shift in the expectations from players. Ordinarily the Old School Renaissance’s (OSR) catalogue is filled with unforgiving rules and deadly, decisive combat where players take the role of poor, shmucks looking in hostile dungeons for their next big score. So, when a character dies to a pack of hungry gnolls, or a mimic or an instant death trap, it’s met with laughter. But, when I run Mausritter I notice the players are far more protective of their brave little mice.
The genre of the human world from the perspective of mice has always been popular. We could probably point to most of Don Bluth’s catalogue (An American Tail and The Secret of NIMH as the two standouts) as the most impactful for millennials. Red of the YouTube channel Overly Sarcastic Productions breaks the genre down far more eloquently than I ever could, but on an emotional level these mice are designed to be cute, innocent and naive. So of course, we as audiences want to protect these heroes and see their triumphs.
So, when I as the evil GM throw something nefarious at my players’ mice I see them exhibit genuine concern and began to perform the rituals that make the OSR style of play exciting. They fight dirty, they try to negotiate, they take time and care with every obstacle or potential threat. A new level of caution can only come from my players loving their mice.
Brief Interlude
Some exciting crowdfunding
For you OSR and Redwall fans, checkout the upcoming Dark Forest on Kickstarter.
Is there a sweeter combination than eldritch horror and pirates? Didn’t think so. Void Sea just launched and it’s already making waves. (Pun always intended).
And of course, Mausritter Month is coming soon!
Some other fun stuff
Questing Beast did an excellent review of one of our favorite games The Land of Eem! Seriously, if you haven’t checked this game out you should it’s epic.
SilverNightingale made a really cool system agnostic one page hex crawl Valley of the Shimmering God you can access on itch.io.
Maustober Month is beginning!
Check out our new initiative Maustober Month! We’re already seeing some awesome creators coming up with amazing stuff.
A Hanging City of Glass
Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.
-Daniel Burnham
Our upcoming adventure, Devil in the Glass City, is inspired by the real events of The 1893 Columbian World Expedition. At first the idea just seemed kind of funny as an adventure. “What if adventuring mice were exploring a haunted chandelier?” It first came to me when I had a drink at the Chandelier bar in Vegas’ Cosmopolitan.
But the why of it all stumped me for the longest time. I couldn’t really figure out why anyone, mouse or otherwise, would want to go into a chandelier. Until I started a reread of Devil in the Glass City. Daniel Burnham’s vision felt grand and wondrous. A shining beacon of a city and fair for all. His fair was an inspiration to L. Frank Baum cited the “White City” as the influence for his world of Oz.
I’m not a historian and, although my parents were both architects and designers, I have very little understanding of buildings or space. But Burnham’s ambition was fascinating to read about, and it helped figure out that pesky “why.”
What would house mice be attracted to? A giant chandelier. It’s big enough for them to live in, it’s shiny and hangs in the air, free from the terrors of hungry cats. This was Jerome T. Merrywind’s dream and he made it a reality for all mouse kind in the manor. A large dream for a tiny mouse. I like to think Burnham would be proud of little Merrywind’s grand vision. And like Burnham’s “White City,” it of course ends in tragedy… there wouldn’t be an adventure otherwise.
This adventure is my love letter to Mausritter, Chicago history, architecture, and small heroes taking big chances. I hope that we have convinced you to take a look at our exciting backerkit.
We are one month away from Mausritter Month and the launch of Devil in the Glass City. Be sure to follow us on Backerkit for the launch. We can’t wait to share this adventure with you.
-D&N
I can't wait to give Devil in the Glass City a try!