[Session 4] A Pawful of Dollars...

Our fourth session saw all of the Players together once again.  Walter was sorely missed last session and it was so good having his Player back with us.  This session was probably the most freeform game we have had yet, as it broke with the traditional GM turn/Player turn structure quite extensively.

So many of the sessions have broken that structure that we as a group have set up our own structure.  We have a Prelude, which is usually at the start of the game and involves the setup of the story, and the PCs doing what PCs do.  It is like an impromptu Player turn only they do not need to spend Checks to make rolls - however, I am picky about what kinds of rolls they can attempt, and we as a table decide if a roll is allowed or if it must wait until a check can be spent during the Player turn proper.  The Prelude is sort of the compromise between the tight GM/Player turn structure of Mouse Guard and the freeform structure of pretty much every other RPG in existence.  We've found it works really well.  Throughout the Prelude, I gently guide the characters towards the obstacles that will encompass the GM turn, and once it arrives the game progresses more or less as it should.

We began the game with a recap of the prior session.  

I let the Players know that my plan was to fast-forward three days to the Patrol arriving at Port Sumac.  I gave them the option of playing through the journey, or going with my plan.  If they went with my plan, I would give them each a single skill test (pass or fail) that they may assign to any Skill they had - to represent them each having done something over the 3 days.  They unanimously decided to go with my plan.

The Patrol smelled Port Sumac before they saw it, the fishy stench reminding Millicent of home and causing the others' eyes to water.  As they approached, the path turned into a boardwalk of elevated walkways spanning between each and every building that made up the town.  Each building was set upon stilts and pylons, and below where the water lapped the land, were rocks and the waste of a fishing industry, complete with scavenging blowflies and crawdads. 

As the Patrol walked to the Guardhouse (the location set aside in every Guard affiliated town where mail is dropped off and picked up), Millicent warned the others about the press-gangs and stressed the importance of Brand not venturing off alone.  Ever.

After having gathered the outgoing mail and sorted the incoming mail, the Patrol tidied up the Guardhouse and decided to pay Millicent's parents a visit.  On the way, Millicent explained that her parents were insectrists who kept the warehouses pest free by breeding and training hunting beetles.  Their love of insects seems to give an indication of where Millicent may have gotten her love of insects as well.

They arrived and the Patrol met Millicent's parents, Gill and Ilsa.  And while it is clear they are happy to see their daughter, it is equally clear that things are not going so well.  The cupboards are bear and the woodstove empty.  Millicent may not have grown up in the lap of luxury, but her parents were never dirt poor.

Gill does his best to handwave the situation, but Ilsa lets Millicent and the others know that the town has reached a bad place.  All three merchant barons have been pressing the townsfolk harder than usual, to the point where no mouse can even make a basic living.  There has always been protection money that needed to be paid, but now it is bold-faced extortion - with each gang extorting protection money against each of the rival gangs.  And with Frances away all of the time working at the docks, they can barely scrape by.  The news saddens Millicent, especially since she knows her younger brother Frances has taken up with one of the merchant princes' gangs.

The Patrol decides to take Gill and Ilsa out for supper, and then does some shopping at the market, asking if they may store the food at Millicent's parent's place as the Guardhouse has no storage for foodstuffs.  A thinly disguised plan to restock Gill and Ilsa's cupboards, but a plan that works.

The Patrol heads back to the Guardhouse to consider their next actions.

That evening Merchant Baron Dominic arrives with a gift of cognac for the Guard.  He more or less lets himself in and makes a showy display of power and authority which immediately sets the Patrol on edge.  He alludes to the Guard assisting him in taking over the town for himself and the wealth that could be had doing so; but never comes right out and says it.  Brand makes a bold statement against his words, and is belittled.  Finn demands that he leave, and the Baron does so.

The Patrol decides to sleep in shifts.  At midnight, another of the Merchant Barons arrives, pounding on the door and demanding entrance.  It is during Brand's watch and he reluctantly allows the Baron mouse entrance after waking the others.  Maximilian is this one's name and he minces no words.  He knows Dominic has been here and he knows Sebastian will show up at some point too - each entreating for an alliance or aide.  Maximilian cuts to the chase and solicits that the Guard kill the two other Barons for him; much like when an out of control predator is spotted in the Territories.  These other two are out of control and need to be put down.

Both Walter and Brand rebuke his words, and again Finn demands that he leave.  Which he does.

Millicent lets the others know that her decision is to convince her parents to leave Port Sumac for good, and to convince her brother to leave his ganging ways.  Walter and Brand suggest that Frances be convinced to join the Guard, and Millicent agrees, so long as the final outcome is that he and her parents depart.

That was quite a Prelude!  But it really needed to be done.  Now the Patrol has some clearly defined options.  They can stick to Millicent's plan, or succumb to the temptation of greed and get involved with the Merchant Barons' schemes.

GM Turn

Goals
The Patrol sets their goals. 

1. Obstacle (Mice)
The first obstacle is convincing Millicent's parents to pack up everything they own and leave the town they have called home for 2 seasons.  This is a straightforward opposed test - Millicent's Persuade vs. Gill's Will of 4 and Ilsa's Will of 4.  Two tests and she must succeed against both.

Millicent pleads her case and makes her argument.  And both Rolls succeed!

2. Obstacle (Mice)
The second obstacle is to convince her younger brother Frances - now known by his ganger tag Tanglefur.  This will be a full on Conflict - as the Patrol needs to go to one of the seedier bars where Tanglefur hangs out with his gang.  They will be surrounded and the possibility of things getting out of hand is very real.  So the Patrol needs to be alert and aware.

When they finally meet up with Tanglefur, Millicent and Brand do most of the talking.  Millicent takes the concerned - but pissed - older sibling approach, and Brand takes the optimistic peer approach.  All backed by Finn's authoritative presence and Walter's 'this is how siblings back one another' example.  All and all it works - and they beat Frances with a minor Compromise:  Which amounts to him deciding to seriously consider joining the Guard after he helps his parents relocate.

A happy ending in Port Sumac, Millicent and the Patrol have taken care of her family as best as can be expected.  From here, they decide to continue on to the next stop on their mail route.

NPCs

Gill (Millicent’s Father)
Will	4	Resources	2
Health	3	Circles	4
Nature (  mouse  )	4	Escaping, Hiding, Climbing, Foraging
Skills:  Insectrist 5, Loremouse 3, Beetle-wise 4, Hometown-wise 3
Traits:  Innocent 2
Gear:  Beetles of all kinds

Ilsa
Will	4	Resources	1
Health	4	Circles	3
Nature (  mouse  )	2	Escaping, Hiding, Climbing, Foraging
Skills:  Insectrist 5, Loremouse 3, Weather Watcher 3, Beetle-wise 4, Weather-wise 3
Traits:  Innocent 2
Gear:  Beetles of all kinds, a cricket

Frances, aka Tanglefur (Millicent’s brother)
Will	2	Resources	3
Health	5	Circles	6
Nature (  mouse  )	4	Escaping, Hiding, Climbing, Foraging
Skills:  Fighter 4, Scout 4, Deceiver 3, Gang-wise 3
Traits:  Young 1, Clever 1
Gear:  knife, arson’s kit

Port Sumac Ganger
Will	2	Resources	3
Health	5	Circles	6
Nature (  mouse  )	4	Escaping, Hiding, Climbing, Foraging
Skills:  Fighter 4, Scout 4, Deceiver 3, Gang-wise 3
Traits:  Jaded 1, Driven 1
Gear:  knife, Staff