Mouse heroes to fight! – RPG “Mausritter” review

I reached for the Mausritter textbook with a feeling that it would be worth starting my adventure with being a Game Master with a simpler title that fits my preferences. Mausritter turned out to be a very interesting choice in this respect, because mice are the main characters of the stories told here.

Notebook or textbook?

The entirety of the written rules to guide and take part in the game is placed on 48 pages of a notebook-like textbook in a paperback. It is divided into a part for the person conducting the game and for the participant, so all involved receive a set of information on how to prepare. As for the graphics and the quality of materials, it looks correct, but not outstanding. The pages look like photocopies, and in combination with the creator’s own graphics, they signal that we are holding fanzine in our hands, not a game manual. Fortunately, the drawings inside save this project a bit, as it pleasantly allows us to feel the atmosphere of fantasy with mice and other smaller animals in the lead roles.

The internet sometimes (won’t) help

Admittedly, the main advantage of Mausritter is the fact that the author has provided a lot of tips, whether it is to create a character or the world itself. At the beginning of the publication, the creator also presented a list of titles from which he drew inspiration or copied some ideas, so those who like Mausritter can also look for these RPGs. The first pages of the notebook are a brief explanation of what a role-playing game is and what is needed to conduct a session. Unfortunately, here is also a small minus – it was suggested to download a set of cards and help from the website drivetrurpg.com, which I tried to do, but with each attempt something broke there and as a result I was not able to use the portal.

Character creation

In this game, creating your own mouse is extremely easy, as it only requires a few moments with the dice. The rodent has three attributes: physical strength with endurance, dexterity with speed and agility, and willpower with charisma. To find each of them, we throw 3d6 and make a few calculations. The endurance points and the initial currency are determined by throwing one d6 (their combination allows us to reach the professional experience possessed by the mouse), and details such as the sign of the zodiac, the color of the coat or one other detail of the appearance are randomly selected based on the table provided. At the start, each mouse gets torches, provisions, one freely chosen weapon and two items related to the profession. Characters can evolve during the game, but players also need to remember about standard behaviors such as healing or resting.

Mr. kitty was a baron and was not in a crib

Wiliams does not dwell on his hints and advice for the Game Master. He even writes directly that not everything in his game is 100% determined and imposed, because he wants the players to come up with various ideas and solutions themselves. On the one hand, it is pleasantly developing for the already learner practitioners, but it may be a little discouraging for less adventurous beginners. Despite the aforementioned element, the creator has included a lot of sample elements to be used during the game. He explained exactly how to build the world and suggested what it might contain. A list of creatures has also been prepared, which fits perfectly with the idea of ​​mice as heroes, because they are not big dragons, but e.g. snakes, spiders, owl witches or rats. To further enrich the plot, he also suggested rumors that could be spread, or parties, that is, groups of influences beyond the control of mouse participants with fixed goals. The manual even includes an example of a sandbox map and a specific adventure in Podpieńek.

Surprisingly much content on very few pages

Despite its small volume, Mausritter turned out to have enough clues to conduct a meaningful session. Mice are graceful heroes who can be just as brave and brave as humans or other races. For me – a beginner MG – the mere reading of the rules and keeping an eye on them during the game was quite difficult, but for people with more experience it will certainly be easy. With this publication you can create a whole lot of pleasant and surprising adventures for children, teenagers and adults.