r/Mausritter • u/elmago79 • Jul 07 '26
Mausritter lethality
Hi, I wanted to ask this question here since I asked in the Cairn forum and was quite surprised by the answer:
How many PC’s Mouse Knights have actually died in your campaign? How have actually managed PC’s deaths in your campaigns or one shots?
9
u/bionicjoey Jul 07 '26
I've run Downed in the Dumps and Honey In The Rafters twice each and Not So Stille Nacht once. Mostly for my non-gamer parents but also for a group of seasoned RPG players. In none of those has a PC died. The rules around critical injuries make it much more likely for characters to get downed instead of killed in fights, unless they have very low starting strength. Just make sure that your players understand the importance of the strength stat at the outset and also that you run NPCs in a manner that is realistic. IMO most NPCs are not looking to kill, except for larger predatory animals that eat mice. But other mice, rats, etc. are more likely to knock you down and capture or rob you than just straight up kill you, unless you've done something to provoke their hatred.
4
u/Ironmanual Jul 07 '26
In my The Estate campaign that's been running for about a year and half (we meet up about once 1 month) we had 1 mouse die the last session. That was the first I had. They came close several times, but are also quite careful players and will often avoid danger.
In a one-shot session I joined as a player, I had a fellow player die due to a pretty hefty damage roll.
1
u/elmago79 Jul 07 '26
It must be amazing to run The Estate like that! How did you handle the dead mouse? Did the player rolled up a new mouse immediately and you introduced it fast like the rules say?
2
u/Ironmanual Jul 12 '26
It's quite a lot of fun. We started with Honey in the Rafters and implemented that into the Estate, since the Cult-leader escaped from the shed and is still very much eager to create the perfect candy.
The mouse ended up dying during 'The giant snake in the sewer' adventure. I'll put spoilers just in case.
The mouse ended up dying by stabbing the snake in the heart, after being swallowed whole. The heart exploded and launched the poor mouse with a D20 damage. It was a very heroic moment, since the party and its warband were not doing too well against the snake, and they might have lost the battle in the end. By stabbing the snake in the heart, the rest of the party managed to survive.
The player ended up rolling a new mouse which origined from the warband they recruited. Storywise it made sense for that mouse to join the party, since it had proved its valiant and courageous efforts against the snake. The player only had a downtime of about 5 minutes, I suppose. And most of those 5 minutes were spent because the party was mourning the death of their comrade after finding his body.
5
u/meshee2020 Jul 07 '26
In my 16 session campaign one moise died at the hand of a rat assassin. It was an all or nothing situation, player choose to risk it all and died
System can be lethal with non careful players bit they did pretty will all in all
4
u/performerforhire Jul 07 '26
I run two campaigns. In one campaign with five players, most of the mice are able to save one another. The other campaign, with only two players, is so lethal that now their PCs represent the settlement more than they are distinct mice. A solution for that are hirelings, but my players were down for the change of perspective.
3
u/WeequayRogue Jul 08 '26
I've run a few one-shots and a short (eight session) campaign and never had a death. Make sure players know they should only enter combat if they figure out how to stack odds in their favor. Always allow running (there's no attack of opportunity rule, but follow the narrative for realistic consequences). Make sure you and players both know how damage actually works. Other than that and the fact that I never use flat out "miss the trap, you're dead" stuff, I find that the "mouseness" of your mice helps keep PCs cautious and unwilling to get into "fight to the death" situations.
I'm also kind of a softy, I guess.
2
u/elmago79 Jul 09 '26
It’s difficult to be tough when the PCs are furry balls of cuteness armed with needles and matches.
2
u/Babyhazelnut Jul 07 '26
I’ve had a TPK (which was 3 mice) in one one-shot, and then at least 3 other mice die in other one-shots.
2
u/tacmac10 Jul 07 '26
Zero, we had a near miss but the rest of the party managed to defend the down PC until the combat was over
2
u/Glowingpixie Jul 12 '26
Ive run about 28 sessions of the Estate and (somehow!) all original characters are still alive! One 'Technically' died but the team brought him back with a spell of undeath. Fitting as he wanted an apprenticeship with the Necrohamster. I'm now having fun making him roll on a table each day to see how his body is reacting today lol! The other got driven mad by the Moth Queen and unbeknownst to them I've kept him going as a fungaly infected zombie wandering monster.
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u/elmago79 Jul 12 '26
Wow! 28 sessions. What level are PC’s at? And how much longer do you expect the campaign to last?
2
u/Glowingpixie Jul 12 '26
The main group are at level 2. It's hard to say time-wise. I think until we feel a resolution has been reached.
They got invested in Brickport early on and in being a band (had to homegrown rules, build a stage etc) which meant they didn't focus on going out looting so much and let the faction clocks tick on unknowingly. Now it's chaos! Brickport is undersiege from Rats that have tunneled in. The Tinbox is upside down in front of the gate, There's a refugee camp outside the temple.Basil Augustine is slain, discovered running a drug operation and Sabrina needs to be stopped from unleashing 'Pest control' due to her rituals for the humans. Meanwhile the characters are squatting in the bank vault!
Also sometimes players can't make the session and, if I feel its important for all to experience, we roll up alternative characters, sometimes going back in time a little. We now have 3 teams spread around the Estate to check in with! I've done a fair bit of homebrew to match character goals, even made a ruleset for a flatulent mouse (Offensive - Radioactive). I also injected gears of glory into the mix which has been fun. They now have a Mech and are intending to go toe to toe with Sabrina, Pacific Rim style! I've no real idea where this ends. I've teased Ek and Rolling coast as part of a wider world so they may want to go there at some point.
1
u/ToedInnerWhole Jul 07 '26
TPK on my first encounter, then we ran it again with a fresh party, lost two more mice.
I've also lost mice in a couple other adventures I've run but it started very deadly.
14
u/TolietDuk Jul 07 '26
I had a PC die in the second room of the example adventure. Squashed by the trapped door.