mouse tails rodent playing game

MOUSEMOUSEMOUSEMOUSE

TAILSTAILSTAILSTAILS Rodent Playing GameRodent Playing GameRodent Playing GameRodent Playing Game

By David BezioBy David BezioBy David BezioBy David Bezio Illustrated with royalty free clip art

David Bezio 2013, Creative Commons

BY-NC-SA Some Rights Reserved

Wynther Knight (order #7651928)

Mouse Mouse Mouse Mouse TailsTailsTailsTails

1111

Introduction

Mouse Tails is a role playing game designed for 1

mice master (MM) and any number of mouse

characters (MC). It is written for a parent who

wishes to introduce his young children to the

joys of role playing games. This book assumes

that the dear reader is already familiar with the

ins and outs of role playing games. I wont waste

a lot of time on the what is and how to and

simply give you the information you need to

know to play, run, and enjoy Mouse Tails.

The Mouses Guide contains all the information a

players needs to know to quickly create their

mouse character and play the game. The Mice

Master section has all the information that the

MM needs to referee and run the game.

Equipment to PlayEquipment to PlayEquipment to PlayEquipment to Play

The Mouse Tails book contains all the rules you

need to play the game; however, you will need a

few additional items. Each MC and the MM will

need 1 six sided die (referred to as D6 from now

on), a pencil, and some note paper. Colored

pencils or crayons will be nice for MC creation.

In addition, each MC will need a character sheet

with which to create and record their character.

A blank character sheet can be found on the last

page of the rules

The Core MechanicThe Core MechanicThe Core MechanicThe Core Mechanic

Mouse Tails uses a single D6 for all die rolls in

the game. This game is designed around the

philosophy that the MC is pro-active. In other

words the MC is the one rolling the dice to do

things, or avoid things happening to them.

When the MC rolls a D6 they will be attempting

an ability roll. Ability rolls must equal or exceed

the rank of the ability being tested. Rolling high

is always good as a roll of 1 is always a failure and

a roll of 6 is always a success. Its as simple as

that.

The MM rarely rolls a die other than the

occasional random roll or to determine any

damage an NPC has suffered.



2222

Mouses Guide

You are a sentient mouse living in our own real

present day world. A sentient mouse is a mouse

who thinks with human-like intelligence. Well,

you think like a human thinks a mouse would

think anyway. But beyond that, you are still

simply a normal mouse. Not a cartoon or

humanoid mouse who wears clothes and drives a

car, just a real every day little mouse. You can

use and manipulate items around you to your

advantage (if you can come up with ways to do

so) but, you dont carry around a bag of tools and

you certainly dont wield a sword.

YouYouYouYour Mouse Characterr Mouse Characterr Mouse Characterr Mouse Character

If you arent the MM you are going to need to

create a MC to play the game. Fortunately this is

as easy as pie and should only take 5 or 10

minutes. Just follow the steps below.

Get a Character SheetGet a Character SheetGet a Character SheetGet a Character Sheet

Before you get started get a copy of the character

sheet on the last page of the rule book. The

character sheet has a mouse picture on it that

you can color. If you like you can make your

own character sheet and draw your own mouse

to color.

Think About Your MCThink About Your MCThink About Your MCThink About Your MC

Before writing anything down on the character

sheet take a few moments to think about the type

of MC you think would be fun to play. What

personality or physical traits will he portray?

Will he be abnormally brave or will he be

cowardly beyond caution? Will he be smart,

slow, have a sense of humor even in the darkest

of times? Perhaps he will be withdrawn or self

absorbed? Is he small, large, fat, or scrawny?

What color is he, brown, black, grey, spotted, or

albino? Take these ideas and write a few lines in

the Description portion of the character sheet.

For ExampleFor ExampleFor ExampleFor Example

I have an idea for a mouse named Frit. Frit is

one of those mice that is reckless, and doesnt

worry about trouble until it is breathing right

down his neck. He is crafty and quick, but not

outstanding in any other way. In fact, he is

rather small and fragile.

Name Your MCName Your MCName Your MCName Your MC

Next you should name your MC. Mice only have

one name, and its usually short and sweet. One

syllable names are common, like Fuzz, Bit, Snick,

Bub, Pec, or Tweek. Still, try to come up with a

name you like that expresses the personality of

your mouse, or at least sounds cool to you.



3333

AbilitiesAbilitiesAbilitiesAbilities Abilities are broad categories that cover all the

things your MC will do in the game. How good

or bad you are at these things will affect how

successful you are when you attempt them, and

will ultimately affect the entire story.

Each MC has 5 abilities, they are: Muscle,

Outwit, Unnoticed, Skitter, and Energy. These

abilities cover a lot of ground, and while some of

the abilities names may be a bit of a

stretchthey spell M.O.U.S.E., and thats cool in

anyones book!

Muscle:Muscle:Muscle:Muscle: Muscle covers all fighting and

physical strength challenges the MC will face.

Outwit:Outwit:Outwit:Outwit: Outwit covers all thinking,

alertness, and perception problems the MC is

confronted with.

Unnoticed:Unnoticed:Unnoticed:Unnoticed: Unnoticed covers all sneaking,

hiding, and stealthy things an MC attempts to

do.

Skitter:Skitter:Skitter:Skitter: Skitter covers all athletic, acrobatic,

or reaction speed challenges the MC must

accomplish.

EnerEnerEnerEnergy:gy:gy:gy: Energy is the stamina, health, and

willpower of the MC.

Ability RanksAbility RanksAbility RanksAbility Ranks

You need to assign a rank to each of these

abilities. The higher the rank (or the lower the

number), the better and more experienced your

mouse is in that area.

There are 5 ranks, each with its own D6 target

number listed, they are: Pinkie, Fuzzy, Crawler,

Hopper, and Adult.

Pinkie (6+):Pinkie (6+):Pinkie (6+):Pinkie (6+): Pinkies are helpless newborn

mice without any fur. Needless to say, if you

are pinkie rank in an ability, you arent very

good at it.

Fuzzy (5+): Fuzzy (5+): Fuzzy (5+): Fuzzy (5+): Fuzzies are just getting their fur,

but are still fairly helpless. Youre not as

pathetic as a Pinkie, but still not very good.

Crawler (4+): Crawler (4+): Crawler (4+): Crawler (4+): Crawlers are still young, but

moving around and gaining experience. You

are learning things but still have a long way to

go.

Hopper (3+):Hopper (3+):Hopper (3+):Hopper (3+): Hoppers are young mice. They

have some real experience. Hoppers are

competent, but not yet great.

Adult (2+):Adult (2+):Adult (2+):Adult (2+): Adults are fully matured mice

that have been surviving in the cruel world

for a while. If you are adult rank in an ability

you are pretty darn proficient at it.

Now that you know what the abilities are and

how they are ranked, you can actually go about

ranking your own MCs abilities. Assign one rank

to each of the abilities. You may only use each

rank one time, so choose your strengths and

weaknesses wisely to portray the type of MC you

want to play.


In following our vision of Frit, we assign his

abilities in the following way:

Muscle:Muscle:Muscle:Muscle: 6+ Pinkie

Outwit:Outwit:Outwit:Outwit: 2+ Adult

Unnoticed:Unnoticed:Unnoticed:Unnoticed: 4+ Crawler

Skitter:Skitter:Skitter:Skitter: 3+ Hopper

Energy:Energy:Energy:Energy: 5+ Fuzzy



4444

LuckLuckLuckLuck

Under abilities you will see boxes labeled luck.

Each and every MC has 5 luck to use per game

session (which should about 2 hours of real time

spent playing the game).

Luck is a mouses single most important resource!

You can use each of your points of luck to

automatically succeed at an ability roll (even if

you already rolled and failed).

Color Your MouseColor Your MouseColor Your MouseColor Your Mouse

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for!

Now that your MC is almost complete you can

finish the final stepcolor your mouse. Using

colored pencils or crayons, color the mouse on

the character sheet to fit the description you

wrote down.

Your mouse character is now ready to play.

Heres mine!

FRITFRITFRITFRIT MMMM OOOO UUUU SSSS EEEE 6+ 2+ 4+ 3+ 5+

Luck: Luck: Luck: Luck:

Doing StuffDoing StuffDoing StuffDoing Stuff

Most of the time, when role playing, you are

simply going to tell the MM what your MC is

doing and he will tell you the results. Sometimes

things wont happen the way you hoped, and the

MM will tell you why. Together you will build

the majority of the story this way without ever

rolling any dice.

Sometimes, however, there is a real question as

to weather a MC can accomplish a task, and what

failure or success will mean to the story. When

this is the case you roll a die to determine success

or failure, and go from there.

Ability RollsAbility RollsAbility RollsAbility Rolls

Whenever a MC tries to do something, or tries to

avoid something happening to him, the MM may

ask for the player to make an ability roll. The

MM will choose the ability that is most

appropriate for the task at hand, and the player

will roll a D6. If the roll is equal to, or greater,

than the number indicated by the abilities rank,

the action is a success. A roll of 1 is always a

failure while a roll of 6 is always a success. The

MM will narrate the results and affects of failures

or successes.


Frit is trapped on the kitchen table by a house

cat. If Frit can jump from the table to the

counter by the sink he can chew a hole through

the screen of the open window and escape. Its a

long jump and the MM feels that that Frit is

going to have to make an ability roll to succeed

since success or failure will have dramatic story

repercussions. The MM decides the ability that

this action tests is skitter, so he asks the player to

make a skitter ability roll. Frits skitter ability is

ranked at hopper (3+), so he rolls a D6 and must

get a 3 or better. Frits player rolls the D6 and

gets a 3, a success! Frit successfully makes the

dramatic leap from the table to the counter. If

Frit had failed, he would have plummeted to the

floor, possibly getting injured, and be forced to

face one hungry cat.



5555

Reactive Ability RollsReactive Ability RollsReactive Ability RollsReactive Ability Rolls

Sometimes the roll the MC will be making will

be a reaction to something that is happening to

him, or something an NPC is trying to do to him.

This is handled the exact same way as any ability

roll.


Frit has just gorged himself out of the Cats dish

and is feeling pretty content. Unfortunately, the

cat is on his way into the room at the moment

and sees the mouse there. The MM asks Frit to

make an outwit ability roll to notice the cat. Frit

fails the roll so the cat sneaks closer before Frit

can do anything. Then the cat pounces on poor

Frit. The MM asks Frit to make a skitter ability

roll to avoid the pouncing cat. If he makes this

roll, he doges out of the way at the last instant, if

not the cat has him and he might possibly be

hurt.

Opposed Ability RollsOpposed Ability RollsOpposed Ability RollsOpposed Ability Rolls

Opposed rolls are called for only when a MC

wants to do something and that action is directly

opposed by another MC. In this case, both MC

make the appropriate ability roll. If one succeeds

and the other doesnt, the successful mouse wins!

If both succeed or both fail the roll, then the one

with the higher ranked ability wins. If both

abilities are the same it is a tie or stalematefor

now. The struggle may possibly continue until

there is a distinct winner.


Frit sees a nice chunk of cheese just sitting there

and plans to take a bite. He is about to do so

when his friend Sophie notices what he is doing.

Sophie has seen a mouse trap before and tries to

quickly grab Frit. Frit thinks Sophie is trying to

get the cheese for herself and tries to grab it and

stuff it in his mouth before she can grab him.

What Sophie is trying to do is more of an

attack type action that requires physical

strength, so she makes a muscle ability roll. Frit

is doing something that requires quickness, so he

makes a skitter ability roll. How the story

proceeds will depend on who wins the roll.

Getting HurtGetting HurtGetting HurtGetting Hurt

The most severe consequence of failing an ability

roll is the possibility of getting hurt (or maybe

even killed). Whenever you fail a roll that the

MM determines would cause your MC some sort

of injury, you must immediately make an energy

ability roll. If you make the roll you manage to

shake off any injury. If you fail the roll you are

hurt, maybe even enough to get killed.

If a MC fails his energy ability roll to determine

damage, roll a D6 and consults the Getting Hurt

Table below to determine what the effects of the

damage are (this is the one time a MC wants to

roll low).

Getting Hurt TableGetting Hurt TableGetting Hurt TableGetting Hurt Table

D6 RollD6 RollD6 RollD6 Roll ResultResultResultResult

1-4 Incapacitated

5-6 Killed



6666

IncapacitatedIncapacitatedIncapacitatedIncapacitated The MC is hurt badly or unconscious. The

mouse can not do anything for the rest of the

scene or encounter except roll around in pain or

lay unconscious.

KilledKilledKilledKilled Sadly, the MC is led by the Great White Mouse

into the Realm of Cheese. The player must

create a new MC and the MM must think of a

way to incorporate the new character into the

story.


Lets go back and say Frit wasnt so lucky in that

leap before. Maybe he rolled a 2 on the D6,

failing the ability roll and plummeted to the

ground. The MM determines that the fall to the

floor is going to cause poor Frit some damage.

Frit must immediately make an energy ability

roll. If Frit succeeds at the roll he is a little hurt,

but shakes it off and can immediately start doing

other things. If he fails the roll he must roll on

the Getting Hurt Table. Well say Frit fails the

energy ability roll and subsequently gets a 3 on

the Getting Hurt Table indicating he is

incapacitated. The MM describes the scene, Frit

falls to the floor with a thud! He is knocked

unconscious and the cat begins to stalk the

helpless mouse. You better hope your friend

Sophie gets here soon!

InitiativeInitiativeInitiativeInitiative

Sometimes there is going to be a question as to

who gets to do something first. This is most

commonly a factor when there is going to be a

confrontation, contest, or fight of some sort.

Most of the time the MM will simply say who

goes first based on the situation and common

sense. If it is not easily apparent, the MM and

each MC should roll a D6. The highest roll goes

first, working your way down to the lowest roll.

If there are more than 1 NPC involved in the

scene, all of the Mice Masters NPCs act on the

same initiative roll.


Frit dives into the garbage can and falls plop on

Dung, the rat! Dung is mad and wants to scratch

at Frit, but Frit wants to run away. Frit and the

MM roll a D6 for initiative since we dont really

know who should get to go first. Dung gets a 4

and Frit gets a 3. Dung gets to go first.

FightingFightingFightingFighting

Most of the opponents of a mouse are much

larger and tougher than them. A MC spends

most of his time trying to simply skitter as far

away as possible from these foes. Still, sometimes

a mouse has to stand up and fight. Fighting is

nothing more than a series of skitter and muscle

ability rolls. Skitter ability rolls to avoid being



7777

hit, bit, or clawed, and muscle ability rolls to hit,

bite, or claw your opponent right back!

Hurting & Getting HurtHurting & Getting HurtHurting & Getting HurtHurting & Getting Hurt in a Fight in a Fight in a Fight in a Fight

When a MC gets hit, he might get hurt just like

with any failed ability roll that might cause

damage (first he makes an energy ability roll,

then, if applicable, he rolls on the Get Hurt

Table).

If a MC succeeds in attacking an opponent, he

automatically hurts his opponent and the MM

must make a roll on their Get Hurt Table. Each

friend or enemy of a mouse has its own Get Hurt

Table to roll on when it is hurt by a mouse (this

is detailed in the Mice Master section of the

rules).


Frit has just landed on top of the rat, Dung, in

the garbage can and they rolled for initiative.

Dung gets to go first and he takes a bite at Frit.

Frit rolls his skitter to avoid the bite and

successfully makes it. Frit is mad at Dung now,

and when he gets his turn he takes a bite at

Dung, rolling a muscle ability roll. His roll is a

success, so he automatically hurts Dung! The

MM rolls on the Get Hurt Table for rats, getting

a result of 1. Unfortunately for Frit, Dung is only

scratched and the fight continues.

These are all the rules a player of a mouse These are all the rules a player of a mouse These are all the rules a player of a mouse These are all the rules a player of a mouse

character needs to kncharacter needs to kncharacter needs to kncharacter needs to know. The rest of the Mouseow. The rest of the Mouseow. The rest of the Mouseow. The rest of the Mouse

Guide is for the Mice Master. Guide is for the Mice Master. Guide is for the Mice Master. Guide is for the Mice Master.

Mice MasterMice MasterMice MasterMice Master

Your Job as Mice MasterYour Job as Mice MasterYour Job as Mice MasterYour Job as Mice Master

The mice master is responsible for controlling

the flow and action, keeping the game from

turning into unorganized chaos while remaining

fair and impartial to all mice.

The most important aspect of being the MM is

the ability to tell a good story and present the

adventure to the players. The MM has to take

what the players decide to do and narrate how it

affects the story. This often involves a lot of

improvisation as players will often do the

unexpected.

The MM must also take on the roles of all the

adventures NPCs. This involves being able to

act differently for each to portray the various

personalities and motivations they posses and

being able to react to what the mice characters

might say or do to them. Getting into the role of

NPCs during the game session can be one of the

most enjoyable parts of being a MM. Dont be

afraid to ham it up. Use different voices, make

lots of facial expressions, yell, whisper, snarl,

caw, or meow if that is what the NPC is doing.

Finally, it is the job of the MM to entertain and

amaze his players. While the MCs are the stars

of the show, the referee is the director!

You are center stage and the players are counting

on you to make each and every game session fun

and memorable. Keep the energy level high,

know the rules, make the NPCs come alive, have

fun, and above all make sure the players all stay

involved, excited, and entertained.



8888

When to Ask for an ARWhen to Ask for an ARWhen to Ask for an ARWhen to Ask for an AR

A MM should be careful to only call for an

ability roll when it is important. Calling for one

every time a mouse tries to do some mundane

task will not only slow the game, but it will

become dull for everyone. This will also ruin the

drama when the players roll the dice for

something that is really important. Die rolls

should be called for when the outcome is going

to have game or story effects or is suitably

challenging.

Secret RollsSecret RollsSecret RollsSecret Rolls Occasionally, the MM will roll in secret for a MC.

There are times when even a failed roll would

give the player knowledge he wouldnt otherwise

have. Its sometimes better for the MM to make

the roll in secret, and only mention it on a

successful result.


The MM asks Frits player to make an outwit

ability roll to notice the hunting owl, and the

player fails, Frit doesnt see anything out of the

ordinary. But the player now knows that there is

something that Frit didnt notice.

Choosing Abilities for ARsChoosing Abilities for ARsChoosing Abilities for ARsChoosing Abilities for ARs

Besides actually determining when to call for an

ability roll, the most important job of the MM is

determining what ability is going to be used for

said roll.

Fortunately for you, the choice is almost always

going to be obvious if you use a little common

sense. To the right are some example actions

listed under the ability that you would most

likely use to resolve them. Use these examples as

a guideline when playing the game.

MuscleMuscleMuscleMuscle Fighting with tooth and claw

Struggling to escape a sticky trap

Trying to break through some thick

brambles

Attempting to roll an apple

A tug of war for a choice piece of food

OutwitOutwitOutwitOutwit Convincing a rat that you belong in his

sewer

Figuring out what a light switch does

Noticing the Hawk circling in the sky

Understanding why the human has placed

those tasty pellets under the sink

UnnoticedUnnoticedUnnoticedUnnoticed Sneaking past a dog sleeping on a porch

Pulling a key from a humans jacket pocket

without then feeling it

Hiding under a tea cup while a cat looks for

you

Quietly chewing through the box the owl

has imprisoned you in.

SkitterSkitterSkitterSkitter Avoiding being snatched by a predator

Dodge out of the way of an attack

Leaping across the kitchen sink

Climbing up the TV cord to the

entertainment center

Outrun a rat to the small opening in the

wall

EnergyEnergyEnergyEnergy Surviving after ingesting those tasty pellets

that you found under the sink

Holding your breath long enough to get out

of the cars Tailpipe

Running all night to get to the field before

the farmer starts plowing

Swimming across a river

Enduring pain and avoiding damage



9999

Working TogetherWorking TogetherWorking TogetherWorking Together

Sometimes two or more mice will be able to

work on a task together to make it easier. If the

MM decides this is possible he should then

determine if the task is automatically successful

with the additional help, or if the MC with the

highest ranked ability gets a +1 bonus to the D6

roll for each additional mouse helping with the

task (remember, a 1 is always a failure as usual).

Narrating ResultsNarrating ResultsNarrating ResultsNarrating Results

Rolling dice is fine and dandy, but it only tells

you if the result is a success or a failure. You, as

MM, are the primary story teller. It is up to you

to describe just what happens and how it

happens.

For ExFor ExFor ExFor Exampleampleampleample

Frit was asked to make an outwit attribute roll to

notice the hunting owl above. The player has

rolled successfully. As GM, you could simply

say, OK, you made it, there is an owl flying

above but, thats pretty dull.

With very little extra effort you could (and

should) say something more like, As you creep

along the forest floor a shadow falls over you and

you feel a chill creep up your tail. You look up

to see a terrifying owl flying above. His eyes are

scanning the wood with cold precision. You can

tell hes huntingprobably for you!

The Random RollThe Random RollThe Random RollThe Random Roll

At times the MM will be at odds how to proceed

with a MCs request or action. This answer may

or may not have story impact. In this case, the

MM should feel free to fall back on a simple

mechanic for making decisions. This mechanic is

simply the random roll. The random roll is

nothing more than rolling a D6 with a 1-3

indicating NO and a 4-5 indicating a YES.


Frit is in the refrigerator after gorging on some

cheese. He knows that he is going to have to

distract that darn cat to get out of the kitchen

without a fight. He attempts an outwit AR to see

if he knows of anything in the fridge that cats

really like. He makes the roll and knows that

cats love milk! Is there milk in the refrigerator?

Thats a good question. The MM decides to make

a random roll and gets a 4, indicating YES, there

is a gallon of milk in the refrigerator. Now, can

Frit succeed at the Muscle attribute roll needed

to tip it over onto the floor?

Mouse Tails SessionsMouse Tails SessionsMouse Tails SessionsMouse Tails Sessions

The Mouse Tails are played in sessions. Each

session is a story (or part of a story) that is

designed to be fit into around 2 hour of playing

time.

Feel free to play game sessions that last longer.

The standard 2 hour session is designed for a

parent playing with his childrenand we all

know how kids can get after sitting still for a

couple hours!



11110000

Example of PlayExample of PlayExample of PlayExample of Play

I could blab until my whiskers pop out but, in

the end, the rules you will have to apply are very

simple. They do require a bit of common sense,

consideration, and improvising on the part of the

MM though. This example of play will go a long

way to showing how the rules are implemented

during a game session. You probably wont be

rolling dice this frequently during actual play,

but its a good way to show how the game

mechanics work.

Dave (the MM), has assembled his wife Noelle

(playing Sophie, a tough field mouse) and his son

Bennie (playing Frit). The mice have entered a

restaurant at night and are feasting on the scraps

of vegetables left on the table when they are

confronted by two scruffy looking grey mice.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: The largest of the grey mice looks

menacingly at you and squeaks, Hey, thats our

grub!

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: We havent eaten all day, Im not in the

mood for this. Sophie says, Finders keepers,

and keeps right on eating.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: I really dont want a fight. Im going to

say, Hey, theres plenty for everyone, lets be

friends. We have enough enemies already,

especially with the cats in the ally on the

warpath.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: The grey mice are both as large as you,

Sophie, so they arent really intimidated but,

when Frit speaks, you can tell that something is

bothering them. Bennie, give me an outwit

ability roll.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: OK (rolls a D6) I got a 3, and my outwit

is at adult rank (2+), so I make it no problem.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Alright, the two mice look at each other

as if considering something, then thy look back

at Frit and say, Your right, there is plenty for

everyone, and more every day. They give

Sophie a dirty look and starting nibbling at the

scraps of potatoes.

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: Hey, wasnt that chipmunk under the

porch going on and on about how much he loved

carrots? Im going to dig in the pile and see if

there is a carrot chunk in here. Maybe if we

bring it out to him hell have more to tell us

about why he fears the shed out back.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: (Dave hasnt really determined exactly

what vegetables are in the pile. He could simply

decide on the spot, but he decides to leave it to

chance and makes a random roll. He gets a 4,

which indicates YES) Sure, Sophie, there is a half

a dirty carrot in the pile.

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: Half! Thats huge! Im going to bring

him the whole thing, his eyes will bug out.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Its bigger than you; Im going to need you

to make a muscle ability roll to drag it off the

table.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: What if I help?

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: OK, if both of you push it wont be a

problem. You roll it off the table and it lands

with a clunk on the floor. The two grey mice



11111111

jump at the sound and dash off the table and

through a crack in one of the floor boards.

(Dave knows the manager has been working on

bills in the office, and the carrot hitting the floor

is a loud enough noise to attract his attention.

The nervous manager will cautiously enter the

kitchen and, seeing the mice on the table, will

grab a broom and try to smack them).

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Geez, whats their problem? Lets fill up

on these vegetables before we roll the carrot

outside, Sophie.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: OK, both of you give me an outwit ability

roll. (Both players roll a D6. Sophie gets a 4

which is a success but, Bennie rolls a 1, an

automatic failure). Sophie, suddenly you notice a

huge human right behind you! His eyes are

staring evilly at you and his teeth are gritted and

he has just lifted a broom high in the air! Frit,

you are looking at the carrot spinning on the

floor and giggling. Sophie, you have one chance

to do something.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Great!

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: Um, I squeak out a warning to Frit and

push him out of the way!

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Well, that was awful nice of you. Frit,

you hear Sophie yell a warning and she gives you

a pushunfortunately you are standing on the

edge of the table! Give me a skitter ability roll.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Thanks for the rescue Sophie. (Bennie

rolls a D6 and gets a 2) Arg! I failed, I only got a

2!

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Sorry Bennie, Frit tumbles off the table

landing with a plot. Please give me an energy

ability roll to see if you are hurt.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: (Bennie rolls a D6 and gets a 2) Oh no,

another 2, its just not my day! I really dont

want to get hurt right now, so Im going to spend

a luck point to automatically succeed at the

energy roll I just took.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: OK, cross off 1 luck box. Frit hits the

floor on all fours and ready to go.

Both of you roll a D6 for initiative so we know

who gets to go first, then well finish the scene

(Dave rolls a D6 for the human manager and gets

a 3. Bennie and Noelle each roll a D6. Frit gets a

5, and Sophie gets a 2. The initiative order is

Frit, the human, then Sophie).

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Frit yells, Run for it, and heads for

that crack the other mice ran into.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Since the human is pretty intent on

Sophie, you can make it to the crack with no

problem. You look back just in time to see the

broom coming down! Sophie, give me a skitter

ability roll to see if you get out of the way.

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: Ugh, I got a 3. Too bad Im only a pinkie

when it comes to skittering.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Smack! You get squashed by the broom!

That hurts, give me an energy ability roll to see

how bad.

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: (Fortunately Sophie has an energy at

hopper rank, so she only needs a 3+.

Unfortunately she rolls a 2) Ouch! I didnt make

it and Im all out of luck points.



11112222

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Thats too bad. Give me a roll on the

Getting Hurt Table please. (Noelle rolls and gets

a 3, which indicates that she is incapacitated)

You are really hurt bad. Everything gets blurry

and then goes dark. Bennie, you see Sophie get

smacked with the broom and then just lay still

on the table. The human manager looks satisfied

as he pokes her a little with the broom handle.

Then he looks in your direction.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Im going to get into the crack fast!

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: You try, but the two grey mice are biting

and pushing you out. Youll have to make a

skitter ability roll to avoid getting bit, and then a

muscle ability roll to fight your way in the crack.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: (Rolls the D6 twice) Well, I made the

skitter roll, so I didnt get bit, but I fail the

muscle roll.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: The grey mice push you out and then

wedge a wad of newspaper into the crack. The

human is creeping toward you with the broom

raised.

Noelle:Noelle:Noelle:Noelle: Um, Frit, remember your friend Sophie?

How about a little rescue action?

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Hey you, youre unconscious! For all Frit

knows your dead.

BennieBennieBennieBennie:::: Well, she might still be alive. Im going

to try and lure the human away and give her

time to revive and hide. Im going to take off as

fast as I can, dodging and weaving to avoid the

broom, and then Im going to try and lose the

human.

Dave:Dave:Dave:Dave: Alright, first Im going to need a skitter

ability roll followed by an outwit ability roll and

then an unnoticed ability roll. Lets see what

happens.

And there you have it. That is just a few minutes

of play, but you can see how the game mechanics

work. You can also see how the MM uses the

results of character actions and die rolls to

narrate and direct the story.

Friends & EnemiesFriends & EnemiesFriends & EnemiesFriends & Enemies

Mice live in their own little world and society

quit apart from humans most of the time. Being

so small, they are often unnoticed by humans

and other animals (especially big ones). Still,

they are not alone and here we will cover some

animals that are friendly to mice, and some that

are predators of mice.

Bats (Friends)Bats (Friends)Bats (Friends)Bats (Friends) Bats are aloof creatures who often talk in riddles.

They think they are better than all grounded

creatures, but arent malicious toward them.

Birds of Prey (Enemies)Birds of Prey (Enemies)Birds of Prey (Enemies)Birds of Prey (Enemies) Birds of prey eat mice. They usually swoop out

of nowhere, snatch a mouse, and fly away with

them. Sometimes they kill and eat them right

away while sometimes they store them for later.

They usually only speak one or two words which

they repeat over and over again.

Cats (Enemies)Cats (Enemies)Cats (Enemies)Cats (Enemies) Cats are the arch enemies of mice, representing

the ultimate evil! Cats love chasing, killing, and

eating mice. They generally stalk their prey,

then pounce on it or play with it before killing it.

Cats speak the language of mice, but only so they

can taunt and torture them, not to discuss the

weather.



11113333

Chipmunks (Friends)Chipmunks (Friends)Chipmunks (Friends)Chipmunks (Friends) Chipmunks are probably the closest friends of

mice, often inviting them into their homes and

helping them when they can. They are fairly sill,

hyper, and a bit dimwitted.

Foxes (Enemies)Foxes (Enemies)Foxes (Enemies)Foxes (Enemies) Foxes are savage killers of mice. They are very

stealthy and snatch, kill, and consume their prey

with evil relish. With blood on their fur, they

quickly look for more mice to consume.

Humans (Enemies)Humans (Enemies)Humans (Enemies)Humans (Enemies) Humans are completely weird and no one is like

another. Some humans will quickly attack a

mouse while others will actually appear afraid of

them. Humans do horde the most food, and they

leave tons of it just laying around for the taking.

Humans also live in homes with lots of extra

living space for mice. As dangerous as humans

are you can almost always find mice living close

by.

Rabbits (Friends)Rabbits (Friends)Rabbits (Friends)Rabbits (Friends) Rabbits are friendly toward mice, even though

they dont actually speak the same language,

communicating in broken phrases and words.

On occasion, Rabbits will give mice rides on

their backs.

Rats (Enemies)Rats (Enemies)Rats (Enemies)Rats (Enemies) Only slightly less feared than cats are rats! What

makes rats so terrible is the fact that they are so

similar to mice in appearance, but so dissimilar in

the way they act. Rats are cruel and disgusting.

They kill for pleasure and will eat mice, or even

other rats. They tend to live together in loveless

packs that spend as much time bickering and

fighting as they do spreading disease, and

hunting mice for food, slaves, or cruel torturous

entertainment.

Squirrels (Friends)Squirrels (Friends)Squirrels (Friends)Squirrels (Friends) Squirrels are silly, nervous, and unpredictable.

They are fairly friendly toward mice most of the

time, but are moody and easily offended.

Snakes (Enemies)Snakes (Enemies)Snakes (Enemies)Snakes (Enemies) Snakes are living nightmares who swallow mice

whole! They are charismatic, mysterious, vain,

and ultimately untrustworthy. They enjoy

tricking and deceiving mice for their own evil

ends.

Freinds & Enemies GFreinds & Enemies GFreinds & Enemies GFreinds & Enemies Get et et et HHHHurt urt urt urt TTTTablablablableeee

Each of the allies and enemies of the mice has

their own Get Hurt Table. The MM will roll on

the tables whenever one of these NPCs gets hurt.

Youll note that a mouse rarely kills these larger

opponents, even when an attack hits its mark.

Grazed:Grazed:Grazed:Grazed: The opponent is merely scratched

and suffers no ill effects other than

annoyance.

Surprised:Surprised:Surprised:Surprised: The opponent is surprised and

can do nothing the next turn, while the MCs

can still act to attack again or take some other

action.

Frightened:Frightened:Frightened:Frightened: The opponent is shocked by the

attack, and just wants to get away from the

mouse (although they may come back later).

Incapacitated:Incapacitated:Incapacitated:Incapacitated: Same as the incapacitated

result on the MCs Get Hurt Table.

Killed:Killed:Killed:Killed: Identical to the killed result on the

MCs Get Hurt Table.



11114444

Enemies & Friends Getting Hurt TableEnemies & Friends Getting Hurt TableEnemies & Friends Getting Hurt TableEnemies & Friends Getting Hurt Table

D6 RollD6 RollD6 RollD6 Roll

1111 2222 3333 4444 5555 6666

BatBatBatBat G F F K K K

BirdBirdBirdBird G G S F F I

CatCatCatCat G G S S F F

ChipmunkChipmunkChipmunkChipmunk G F I K K K

FoxFoxFoxFox G G G S F F

HumanHumanHumanHuman G G G S S F

MouseMouseMouseMouse G S I I K K

RabbitRabbitRabbitRabbit G G S F F I

RatRatRatRat G S F I I K

SquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrel G G S F I K

SnakeSnakeSnakeSnake G G S S S I

GGGG ==== Grazed:Grazed:Grazed:Grazed: The opponent is merely scratched and suffers no ill effects.

SSSS ==== Surprised:Surprised:Surprised:Surprised: Surprised and can do nothing the next turn.

FFFF ==== Frightened:Frightened:Frightened:Frightened: Shocked by the attack and just wants to get away.

IIII ==== Incapacitated:Incapacitated:Incapacitated:Incapacitated: Hurt / unconscious, can do nothing until end of scene.

KKKK ==== Killed:Killed:Killed:Killed: The opponent suffers a mortal wound and is killed.

Mouse Character SheetMouse Character SheetMouse Character SheetMouse Character Sheetssss

Name:Name:Name:Name:

Description:Description:Description:Description:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes:Notes:Notes:Notes:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MMMMuscle 00000000+ + + +

OOOOutwit 00000000++++

UUUUnnoticed 00000000++++

SSSSkitter 00000000++++

EEEEnergy 00000000 ++++

Luck: Luck: Luck: Luck:


mouse tails rodent playing game

Documents