Of Mice and Men

[Gnomemaster]

Has anyone made a roleplaying game out of mice, badgers, squirrels and rabbits like in Redwall or Mouse Guard. If not: Dibs.

[SA]

I'm not aware of one, but I'd sure as hell play one if I found it.

[SDragon]

It's a bit closer to Don Bluth films (An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, etc.), but GURPS used to have a supplement called Bunnies & Burrows. I imagine some adaptations, maybe even a fantasy addition or two, and you'd have something similar to what you're looking for.

[Atlantis]

that sounds awesome

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Wow and I guessed you call it M&M?

And in place of dragons, you could use owls as the all-powerful flying monster!

[SDragon]

You can still find a digital version of GURPS B&B at http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-6060 for about eight USD. Apparently, it was a GURPS translation of an older game, which was based on Watership Down.

It's wonderful for a more RP oriented game, as you can't hack-n-slash your way out of a wolf encounter quite as easily as you could in, say, D&D.

[Gnomemaster]

OK well this is what I have so far

Species of the Game

Mouse
'¢   Immune to venom
Hedgehog
'¢   Immune to venom
'¢   Spines deal a little bit of damage
Squirrel
'¢   High Dex
'¢   Uses Dex for climbing instead of Str
Shrew
'¢   Small sized
Rat
'¢   Not harmed by disease

Monsters
Owls
Hawks
Snakes
Badgers
Wolverines
Otters
Rabbits and Hares
Frogs and Toads
Lizards

[SA]

And stoats.  Don't forget the almighty stoat.

While we're on the subject, how evil are you imagining the "villainous races" will be?  That is, the rats, stoats, weasels and such.

In the series they're a bunch of pretty evil bastards, and I was wondering whether they're viable player races. (In terms of sheer power I reckon they would be, but would it be at all in the Redwall spirit?)

And you had better make those badgers totally schweet.

[LordVreeg]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_and_Burrows

I played this when it first came out, humorously enough.  The world was under thre thrall of 'Watership Down', and it should not have surprised me that this came out.  I was 10 or 11 years old then, so my memery is a little foggy.  The 'classes' were based on the different personalities of the rabbits of the novel, so there were seers, and storytellers, and leaders, and innovators, a warriors...The 'thousand' the enemies are described in the rulebook well, if i remember.
The rabbit culture and beliefs made for an interesting story, but a limited one.

[sparkletwist]

Oh, I remember that one. :D

I never actually got a chance to play it, which is a shame, because it seemed like a lot of fun, especially if you stretched things a bit and gave the animals a bit more "anthropomorphic" abilities.

There would be plenty of opportunities for adventuring, though, if only to find ways to deal with things that want to eat you!

[SDragon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_and_Burrows

I played this when it first came out, humorously enough.  The world was under thre thrall of 'Watership Down', and it should not have surprised me that this came out.  I was 10 or 11 years old then, so my memery is a little foggy.  The 'classes' were based on the different personalities of the rabbits of the novel, so there were seers, and storytellers, and leaders, and innovators, a warriors...The 'thousand' the enemies are described in the rulebook well, if i remember.
The rabbit culture and beliefs made for an interesting story, but a limited one.

I wonder why nobody mentioned that game earlier in the thread ;)


Actually, the issue of B&B brings up a question I have:

Is this system going to be Redwall specific, or will it be flexible to cover more anthropormorphic xenofiction, such as Don Bluth films, The Wind in the Willows, etc.? Personally, I'd love to see it as the latter.

Also, it seems like you're going with something d20 based. Is this the case, or are you going to have some other system, possibly even one that's completely new?

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Playing Mr. Toad with a rapier would rock.

[Eclipse]

Cool idea!

How would you handle humans, horses, and other massive creatures. Cut them out, or just stat them as being colossal?

[the_taken]

Cool idea!

How would you handle humans, horses, and other massive creatures. Cut them out, or just stat them as being colossal?

I advise not to stat them at all. Just have them appear as story effects or never at all, and if they do appear, treat them as gods in a game that doesn't use the book "Deities and Demigods". Incredible, but simply a plot device. Like God from Monty Python's The Holy Grail.

[SDragon]

Having just finished reading Redwall (inspired to do so by this thread, of course), I have one thing to ask:

OK well this is what I have so far

Species of the Game

Mouse
'¢   Immune to venom
Hedgehog
'¢   Immune to venom
'¢   Spines deal a little bit of damage
Squirrel
'¢   High Dex
'¢   Uses Dex for climbing instead of Str
Shrew
'¢   Small sized
Rat
'¢   Not harmed by disease

Monsters
Owls
Hawks
Snakes
Badgers
Wolverines
Otters
Rabbits and Hares
Frogs and Toads
Lizards

Worm no mention Sparra?!