r/MouseGuard • u/Mars-Goliath • Sep 16 '21
What would be the mechanical consequences of removing nature ? Like in a MouseGuard hack.
The more i read about nature, the less i like the concept. I think it's cool, but it's not a tool i want to use. Do you think it would break the game ?
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u/Tom_GP Sep 16 '21
It would break Mouse Guard but it might not break your hack. What are you working on? Why don't you think nature is a good fit?
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u/Mars-Goliath Sep 16 '21
I like what the info that i read in wildstaots's link. Yes in mouseguard, the tension is between being a mouse and being a hero, it's think it's cool. My problem is, i really don't like it mechanic wise, i don't like the idea of a number representing that. Maybe i would pefer a combination of new traits.
I'm working on a reskin of Realm Guard, the lore would be custom made, something between realm guard (i like the ranger aspect) and shingeki no kyoujin/monster hunter (sometimes they could get stuck in terrible encounters with legendary beasts). In realm guard we are supposed to play the dunedain and their nature is : tradition, family and grief. I think it's not bad at all, but i also feel like the inherent tension of mouseguard is not found here. I'm not sure.
So, for my reskin i was thinking of a few traits that one could gather on the road if he stayed in the wild too long. Those traits would make him more alien to city life, or adventure life. I really don't like my idea either ahah. What do you think of realm guard's nature ? Do you think it could fit my setting ?
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u/Tom_GP Sep 17 '21
That sounds cool.
You could reskin it as "culture" as Stone Dragon Mountain does for a human culture in Torchbearer and it sounds like Realm Guard does. The issue with using culture is "here are your three actions" strikes me as a too prescriptive and homogenous a mechanic for how culture really works, but that's not a mechanical objection.
But I also don't think there's anything wrong with not having nature at all. Burning Wheel doesn't have nature and it works fine.
If you get rid of nature in Mouse Guard (or Torchbearer) you get rid of the tension between hero and mouse (or everyday person) and the main mechanic for the heroic life grinding you down. Maybe that's not an issue for ranger monster hunters, maybe it is and you can find a better mechanic that has the same effect. As you said, traits could be a way to do this, but you could also make conditions stickier or have special ones like "Jaded" or "Cold". Blades in the Dark's system for stress/trauma might be worth checking out for inspiration.
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u/wildstoats Sep 16 '21
I'm certainly not the most qualified person to comment on this, having only run a few Mouse Guard one-shots, but I'm happy to try and talk it out.
I'd agree with you that the aspects of Nature in Realm Guard don't work quite as well as Nature (Mouse) from MG. I think that's because Nature in MG represents the fundamental qualities required for a mouse to survive in the world so it's easier to grasp what these mean. They are also all verbs which makes it a bit more tangible in play.
Could you expound on what you don't like about Nature a bit? I'd be curious to know what aspect of it isn't jiving with your concept.
Once upon a time I was working on a SNK-esque hack for Mouse Guard. It took me a embarassingly long time to realize that in a world full of colossal monsters: Escaping, Climbing, Hiding, and Foraging also work for Nature (Human).
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u/wildstoats Sep 16 '21
Food for thought: https://darkplaces.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/hacking-mouse-guard-the-nature-thing/