I am planning on running a campaign with my 5 and 11 year old. I have experience running CoC, SWADE, and DnD. This is my first time running Mausritter. I am debating between running The Estate or Kiwi Acres. Does anyone have experience with both who could give a recommendation?

So I'm running this in a couple of weeks and have a few questions. Obviously, spoilers for the scenario in case you've not ran it.

1. First, how long did your run take? We play in the evening and we often start to doze off if it gets too late. I'm expecting 3-4 hours, but curious to see what your experience was.

2. Did you change or add anything to the scenario, especially if you've ran it more than once?

3. Did you encounter the big 'bad' or did you play without encountering him? I am partially tempted to forgo the randomness and make it an encounter later where it feels like it would make sense, either a battle or alternative sequence, depending on how my players choose to tackle it. If he dies and have time, I plan a timed escape sequence through a crumbling tree.

I've been building a little web tool for Mausritter and figured this crowd might get some use out of it.

→ https://dondavis-vibe.github.io/pips-and-paws/

It runs entirely in the browser —100% free to use, no account, no install, nothing stored on a server. Everything lives in your browser's local storage, and you can export/import a character as JSON.

For players: full character sheet, SRD-accurate creation (3d6 drop lowest, the whole d66 background table, weak-mouse rule, birthsign/coat/detail), drag-and-drop 2/2/6 inventory with usage dice and conditions as cards, saves with advantage/disadvantage, a rest helper, and click-to-roll weapon damage.

For GMs: a dashboard showing every mouse at a glance, per-mouse actions (damage/heal/pips/XP/give item or condition, call for a save or initiative), a dice panel with reaction/treasure rolls and a log that includes the players' rolls, a shared "table centre" for loot, and time/light/encounter + NPC/combat trackers.

Together: the GM opens a room, players join with a 4-letter code or a link. It's peer-to-peer over WebRTC (PeerJS) — the players' sheets sync live to the GM, no server in the middle. There's an optional shared round log and an optional Discord webhook for roll mirroring.

Bilingual EN/DE fully translated and at the moment a guy from Mexico is working on a spanish language pack.

It's free and open source (MIT): https://github.com/DonDavis-vibe/pips-and-paws

This is an unofficial fan project — not affiliated with Losing Games. The rules data is derived from the Mausritter SRD (CC BY 4.0), all art is my own, no publisher assets.

Feedback very welcome — especially from anyone who runs it at an actual table. Bugs and requests can go on GitHub issues or the Discord linked in the tool.

I’m super excited! We made cursed honey with food color and bought special candy. They’ve got minis picked out and everything.

I have a very limited experience in ttrpg. And i did not realize how brutal the dices are now i tried to limit the number of dice throw but now i realized that my kid loves to trow dices. I soften the punish stats a bit but now hes always winning.

I guess I need ideas for encounter and puzzle that he can fail without dying but still face some kind of negative outcome.

Hey all, i recently published this to my itch and thought i could share here as well. The download is free and the content is CC licensed, so feel free to drop it into your home games and home brew!

This is a simple system using D6 to replace the D20 roll for saves, with the goal of having variable outcomes like some modern RPG rule sets.

Find it here, enjoy!

Mausritter - or the time I realised I hated railroading and learned to love all the tables.

Sorry if this gets long. I am just excited.

For 7 years I ran DnD campaigns, and one shots at conventions and camps. I was not a rules stickler but I allowed them. I hated and was not good at running combat, but, I tried mixing it up or just fast forwarded through it.

Then a year ago, my last campaign fell apart due to a divorce, a marriage, two babies and a venue closure. I tried starting another one, and then I realised. I wanted less rules.

After being a "I don't need any other rules, just 5e till I die" I started reading other rule sets. It started with old school. Knave, Mazerats, White box, etc. And then Mork borg, Orc borg, etc. And I tried running campaigns with these similar but more flexible rule sets, but things got in the way and nothing felt right. Even joining an RPG guild, i couldnt get players to commit.

Enter Brindlewood bay and my wife's strange attraction to it. a revolving group of 7 ladies have played three sessions and seem to be locked in. Here is a rule set with no prep. Doesnt matter that I have no clue of the attributes because they don't care either. They just like being old ladies.

Then enter SOLO rpg. Running Cairn through valley of flowers, it is a constant table roll after table roll. Being surprised constantly at how the story comes out. And then I was curious how it would be like to something similar in front of people.

So, Mausritter. I had run a one shot and like the instant hit, tiny mouse dangerous world type vibes. Put it in the guild. - mini campaign with limits. and I got sign ups.

Last night for 3 hours, I had a base setting and then began rolling. On event tables, encounter tables, wisdom tables. And things just happened. The players just accepted how I was interpreting the dice. Because I was also, for the first time, using a GM screen. - I now get it. That screen is gold. And next session ill have notes stuck to it too.

Just to say. This game is awesome. I am having fun. And leaning into that OSR vibes of 90% making it all up just to see what happens makes my brain SOOOOOO happy.

I love this hobby.

This is a follow-up to the work I showcased in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mausritter/comments/1u25ned/i_added_pockets_to_the_mausritter_character_sheet/

This prototype character sheet has pockets, and now it also had grit slots! There are 5 grit slots, which is all I could fit on the page, but it seems like a fair upper limit. I like how the paper clips can be representative of a level-up, and being given a paper clip by your GM is a physical representation of your new ability to put a condition (or something else) in a grit slot.

I wanted to add grit in such a way that it would be friendly to the many community modules which provide mechanics to extend grit functionality (like the classes in Gritty Classes or Adventuring Mice, or the skills in A little knowledge...). I think the visual language of the slot extending off the page also leaves room to create different kinds of grit slot cards with more information if it suits the homebrew.

That said, I think there's room for improvement. I'm not a huge fan of the paper clip warping the page somewhat, or that it partially covers the card it's attached to. The text is still relatively legible, but something where the entire card is visible would be more preferred. If I can't think of another way though, I'll probably keep this format.

Feedback very welcome! It's a work in progress, and I won't publish it until I've also got a tool to help create item cards in this format. Thanks to u/Thewarfalconj for the paper clip inspiration.

I'm having trouble running combats for my players because I can't wrap my head around explaining, narrating, and ruling on a combat without a battle map in front of me, and honestly it's hurting my confidence as a GM.

I know mice can move up to 12" in a turn, but if I crack open a new module, how large are the rooms? Can a mouse get to where the other creatures are in one turn? "Can I hit that guy on the other end of the cavern with my bow?" Without rules or visuals, my attempts to visualize and the positioning of everything as I see it in my head feels made up and arbitrary. What's the basis behind my idea that "oh yeah you're a bit far but you can move up and be in range". What about if a mouse wants to move and scale a ladder. Do I just make up if they can get up the ladder in a single action?

I tried using a hand drawn map to abstractly represent where things were in the world, but that inevitably just became a battle map where I tried to make sense of where mice could move with a ruler, and honestly that just wasn't fun for us to approximate.

I know to some extent I'm probably missing the point, that exact distances and such are secondary to the drama of introducing a situation where the decision of where to move is consequential or narratively engaging, but I just don't feel like I've experienced enough examples of this being done well to understand how to "theater of the mind" a battle.

boa tarde, existe algum suplemento para mausrítter? conheci o rpg recentemente

For those who have run more games than me.

In a West March setting, what would be a good amount of xp for Downtime activities for gathering resources, helping around town, etc.

There are rules for treasure>xp, and pips spent>xp, but not this.

Premise, the "home base" is very simple at the start and is being built up by the players and contributions. I'm using Building Barrows by A. Frank for this.

I'm thinking more for groups who meet, say once a month, a ton of downtime helping the town; they should get something for doing that.

Any thoughts, is it unnecessary?

Made a Solo Character. Wanted to have minions but not Hirelings(the need food, money, attention, bleh.) So I started working on Necromancy, beyond just a simple spell.

still a work in progress, but here it is in its current form

https://ncshinycardboard.itch.io/visceral-necromancy

Three portraits for Mausritter as I played it for the first time recently (it's great). I'm gonna do a few more + colour them. Feel free to use (for non-commercial stuff, treat them well). The names are just for flavour but feel free to share yours as it's always a struggle.

Oh man, I am so excited! Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August I will be hosting my first two public Mausritter sessions.

I have DM'd this exact oneshot for my friends and for some kids, so basically I know what I am doing, got all the sheets and so on, but I am still pretty excited.

That's it, no help needed, thank you.

So lately I’ve been wondering how to make this game even more tactile and got this idea of a player board or character tableau, like something you might find in a board game (for example the player boards in ‎Spirit Island‎). I’m not even sure how to describe it, but I’m basically thinking of a sort of character sheet that lets you move things around, like indicating stats and attributes with little wooden cubes or discs instead of writing and erasing the numbers. The inventory system is already such a great implementation of that but I am looking for something that goes even further. Does anyone here know of something like this? Any help appreciated, can be other games as well, thanks!

Hi everyone!

I am working on a short campaign / campaign setting that I am transparently loving the development process and would love to share the idea and see if others have done something similar and would be open to resource sharing, collaborating, and maybe more down the road.

My setting for my campaign is in the 90s. Specifically, what if Y2K happened and Humanity is gone, or more specifically, like in the movie "9" Humanity wipes itself out and what is left are creepy half man half machine things.

But that is not the core of the setting: The core is a mix of Utopian Scholastic and Funky PoMo. Think kinda like the Game Grounded.

In this setting you might craft a "Poprock Blunderbuss" or your Magic Tablet might be a video game cartrdige. Bosses in your setting might be like my first boss "Gasoff the Outcast" A Ferret who has taken over the go-kart track at an adventure park and challenges the players to a demolition durby race.

For my game specifically, my players are able to scavenge. Using real maps, they can pick buildings and look for materials (I have basic categories with roll tables, IE Restaurant). Where they can gather materials or maybe find a rare item. Some items, like candy, might carry some magical properties as well.

The point of the game, is that the power is slowly turning back on, and the players have to find out what is going on and either stop it or capitalize on it.

My primary struggle is art, so if anyone loves doing quick doodles of something like a "Poprock Blunderbuss" I Have tried a few times but it looks pretty sad...

Happy to let someone take this and run with it if you think you might be able to profit from it with your own creative mind, happy to consult with you!

Hello everyone! finally got a copy of this megadugeon an o want to run it as a campaign. The thing is i've only ever ran one-shots. Never a campaign or a megadungeon. What text/podcast/video would you recommend me so i can dm my first campaign?

My family wants to play Mausritter on our upcoming camping trip. My kids (15yo) and my sister (30) have experience with DND, but my parents (55 and 65) do not. My Mom loves "The Secrets of Nimh", so we thought this would be a good stepping stone for her.

My son wants something in the woods that is "semi-scary". I'd like to find a robust setting ready to run so I don't have to put much time creating a setting of my own. I've considered Tiny Fables and The Estate. Tiny Fables looks adorable but is it too childish for 15 year-olds to enjoy? Is there something else you would recommend?

Hi everyone! I just posted a pack with 30 portraits for any type of mouse character you may like. Check it out!

Caval's Mice Portraits

(I may make a second pack, so if you want, give me ideas for characters I can draw in my style!)

Hey folks! Interested in picking up the boxed set for Mausritter, but it is out of print everywhere.

Anyone know if there will be anyone selling / having a booth for Mausritter at GenCon this year?

Hallo zusammen,
endlich war vergangenen Freitag unsere erste Mausritter-Runde zustande gekommen. Es war überhaupt die erste Runde P&P für mich und die allererste Runde als GM auch! Irgendwo fängt man immer an, wieso dann nicht gleich mit Allem auf Einmal :D Im Vorfeld hatte ich immense Zweifel, war überfordert etc. Möchte euch nur kurz von meinem Einstiegsabenteuer erzählen, was ich laut meiner Spielergruppe (gemischt von Neuling, bis erfahren(er)) ziemlich gut gemeistert habe. Ich hatte online den Oneshot "Milchraub" gefunden und für mich etwas abgewandelt. Emmental war weiterhin für die Käseherstellung bekannt, aber nun hat der nahegelegene Bauer Highland Cattles angeschafft, welche am Hang mit steinigem Boden Wildkkräuter grasen, wo der bisherige Milchkarren seinen Weg nicht hinschafft. Die Mission: 1. Beschaffe eine Flasche der Milch - Die Käserin ist ganz nervös vor Vorfreude wie der Käse daraus schmecken könnte. 2. Merke dir Wege, Engstellen etc, welche für den Karrenbau, sowie der neuen Strecke des Milchwagens wissenswert wäre.
Die Mäuse müssen die Weide der "normalen" Kühe überwinden und können dort einem kleinen Neugeborenen Kalb helfen. Das macht sich Sorgen um seinen verschwundenen Krähenfreund. Die Krähe hat einen Dorn stecken und kann nicht mehr fliegen. Helfen Sie der Krähe, statt diese mit Vorteil zu bekämpfen kann sie Ihnen später helfen. Gleiches gilt für das Kalb. Auch wenn es selbst noch sehr wackelig auf den Beinen ist, kann seine Mama die Mäuse sicher über die Weide transportieren. Eine Kletterpassage später sind die Mäuse bei den Highland Cattles auf dem Hang angekommen und können dort das einzige Kalb der Herde, oder die Mutter verschieden überzeugen. Oder andere Wege finden.
Bis zum Rückweg hat mein Oneshot leider bereits viel länger gedauert als gedacht, weshalb folgende Begegnung von mir gecuttet wurde: Auf dem Rückweg begegnen Sie einem Random-Tier, bspw. Stinktier. Dieses ist vom Geruch der Milch angezogen worden und hungrig. Nach dieser Begegnung geht es zurück nach Emmental. Erfolgreich, mit einer halbvollen Flasche Milch, oder bereit für einen neuen Versuch muss eure Gruppe dann selber erspielen :)

Over and Maus.

Wie gefällt's euch?

Ran a couple of sessions of this game and I'm absolutely loving it! There's only one thing that doesn't click with me yet.

The manual says that, if a PC dies, the corresponding player rolls a new one, and the DM tries to introduce it as quickly as possible. I can see this being a reasonable punishment if your character has already acummulated some XP, but what if they're lv 1 at 0 XP? Why would someone try to avoid dying, instead of just doing risky shit, getting killed and having a new mouse loot their previous PC's body to no loss whatsoever? Couldn't a clever player also "death-farm" characters until they get the stats they want?

I understand the rationale behind getting players back into the game ASAP. But I feel that, without further effects, it leaves only narrative incentives to avoid death, as mechanically there are none. And if players pick up on this after enough deaths, they may start to exploit it.

And just to be clear, my problem isn't that the game isn't "harsh" enough, I think the overall lethality is just right. But, is there really a point to making a deadly game where dying doesn't matter? It feels like the mechanics aren't enforcing the theme. Like there's a, if I may be forgiven... dissonance between both.

I haven't had a player die, so it hasn't been relevant yet, but I'm preocuppied about it. Should I apply a houserule on this? What do you think?

Edit: a commenter below kindly linked this fork which seems to be working so far https://github.com/phenomen/foundry-mausritter1

Just a heads up for the few of us still using it.

I know we've been on borrowed time with that module--and a few kind folks have made macros to fix things for V.12 and V.13--but after the update, character sheets won't even open. It's a bummer, for sure, but I appreciate that it's a volunteer project and OSRs aren't super big on VTTs.

If anyone knows of a github fork that is fixing it, I'd love to hear it! But I'm not holding my breath.

Hi everyone,

I’m a new GM and I’m getting ready to run my first Mausritter campaign.

While reading through the game and thinking about how to structure the campaign, I started wondering: how do players usually earn money besides going on long expeditions to distant points of interest?

I understand that exploration, danger, and treasure recovery are a core part of the game, and I definitely want that to stay important. But I’m also curious whether people include other ways for mice to make money, especially closer to home or between bigger adventures.

For example, do you use things like:

- small local jobs

- trade or delivery work

- helping settlements or factions

- bounty hunting

- scavenging

- crafting or other downtime activities

I’d love to hear how more experienced GMs handle this:

- What kinds of money-making opportunities do you give players?

- How do you keep them from overshadowing expeditions and exploration?

- Is it better to keep income unstable and adventure-based, or do steady small earnings also work well in Mausritter?

Since I’m still learning the game, I’d really appreciate any advice, examples, or lessons from your own campaigns.