The Walking Eye crew has a sit-down with the illustrious Luke Crane to discuss his games and gaming habits. We cover a fair bit of ground: a bit of rules theory, production strategy and the “unique challenges” that come with working with a licensed franchise. All in all this interview was a total blast and we look forward to a chance to do it again!

Relevant Links

• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic
• Burning Empires
• David Petersen
• Independent Insurgency Interview with Luke
• The Blossoms Are Falling
• Chris Moeller
• Dictionary of Mu
• Blood Stained Stars
• Iron Empires
• Archaia Press
• Clinton R Nixon
• Realm Guard
• Black Flag
• Burning THAC0
• UberCon
• Gotham Girls Roller Derby
• Adobe InDesign
• Quark
• Weapons of the Gods
• Name of the Rose
• Vincent Baker
• kill puppies for satan
• Ron Edwards

Crunchy Bits!

• 1 Hour
• Intro music is from “The Ballad of Ivory Lass”,  Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse

Podcast: |

Brandon, Dan, CJ, and Kevin talk about our very enjoyable experience with Mouse Guard by Luke Crane and David Peterson. Be warned, we’re all pretty die-hard Burning Wheel fanboys, so there’s a fair amount of gushing in this review. We break down the basic structure of the game, how it differs from previous Burning games, and discuss it’s feasability for new players. Stay tuned, coming up next is our interview with Luke Crane!

Relevant Links

• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic
• Burning Empires
• Macbeth Trait:  Macbeth is doomed. His doom is, in fact, foretold and inescapable. The player is encouraged to write his doom into one of his Beliefs. It always ends in his death. Please be as gory and descriptive as possible. The trick is to ensnare other people in his doom. Each character who changes a Belief to fall in line with Macbeth’s doom earns Macbeth one persona point. As he nears his fate, Macbeth’s options dwindle. Once the climax of his story has been reached—it’s time to confront his wife, the enemy has returned from abroad, etc.—Macbeth may only use actions in the Duel of Wits, Psychic Duel, Firefight or even the Infection mechanics once each. After he’s played that action into his doom, he may not use that action again—ever. If he should survive his fate, which is unlikely, Macbeth should count himself quite unlucky, as he’ll now live out the rest of his days dwelling on the horrors he’s committed, waiting for some other young Macbeth to happen upon him and push him toward his grisly end.
• In A Wicked Age
• Dogs in the Vineyard

Crunchy Bits!

• Intro music is from ,  Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse

Podcast: |

The bright and beautiful days of summer come and go in the Mouse Territories, and our Patrol finds itself in a warm and dry Autumn.  It seems as if it’s going to be a relatively quiet year when a tenderpaw brings dire news from Sprucetuck. The great city of sciencemice is besieged by ants! Our heroes rush to the city’s aid, and one brave Guardmouse makes the ultimate sacrifice!

Roles

• Kevin is the GM.
• Dan plays Conner Greenleaf.
  • Rank: Guard Mouse.
  • Belief: Bold action is the way of the Guard
  • Instinct: Check the weather every time we stop.
  • Goal: Retrieve the formula for the Scent Boarder at all costs.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 5 Weather-Watcher 5
  • Traits: Tough II
• CJ plays Thom.
  • Rank: Tenderpaw.
  • Belief : I’m ready to be a GuardMouse, and this is my chance to prove it to Tander!
  • Instinct:Meet the enemy Head-On.
  • Goal: I will prove that I can stand up to my weight in ants.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 4 Cartographer 3
  • Traits: Independent I, Sharp Eyed I, Short I
• Brandon Plays Tander Fizzcup
  • Rank: Patrol Leader
  • Belief : Our strength comes from the bonds of fellowship amongst the Guard; not the individual.
  • Instinct: Never let a young one go alone.
  • Goal: I will fall before I fail Sprucetuck.
  • Highest Skills: Healer 6 Survivalist 4
  • Traits: Rational I, Old Fur I, Leader I
• Jen plays Josephine Wanderwing
  • Rank: Patrol Guard
  • Belief: Knowledge is Power. There is always time to research.
  • Instinct: Trust but verify.
  • Goal: Find out why the ants are acting so strangely.
  • Highest Skills: Pathfinder 6 Survivalist 5
  • Traits: Inquisitive I Curious I

Relevant Links

• Kevin’s GM sheet
• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic

Crunchy Bits!

Session 4 Broken down into smaller chunks:

• Mouse Guard Session 4 Part B 1 Hour

• Intro music is from ,  Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse

Podcast: |

CJ, Jen, Dan, and Brandon now have a dozen outcast bandit widows and children to deal with.  Jonathan, Daewn’s fiance knows of friends and family back in Copperwood and humbly asks the Guardmice to escort the outcasts there. Along the way the simmering resentment from the recently widowed mice comes to a boil!

Roles

• Kevin is the GM.
• Dan plays Conner Greenleaf.
  • Rank: Guard Mouse.
  • Belief: Bold action is the way of the Guard
  • Instinct: Check the weather every time we stop.
  • Goal: Convince the Outcast mothers to give their children to the Guard.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 5 Weather-Watcher 5
  • Traits: Tough II
• CJ plays Thom.
  • Rank: Tenderpaw.
  • Belief : I’m ready to be a GuardMouse, and this is my chance to prove it to Tander!
  • Instinct:Meet the enemy Head-On.
  • Goal: I feel responsible for what happened to these people, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 4 Cartographer 3
  • Traits: Independent I, Sharp Eyed I, Short I
• Brandon Plays Tander Fizzcup
  • Rank: Patrol Leader
  • Belief : Our strength comes from the bonds of fellowship amongst the Guard; not the individual.
  • Instinct: Never let a young one go alone.
  • Goal: It is too late to teach Conner, but Thom must learn the law may be black and white, but a Guardsmouse can and if possible, should look for the gray.
  • Highest Skills: Healer 6 Survivalist 4
  • Traits: Rational I, Old Fur I, Leader I
• Jen plays Josephine Wanderwing
  • Rank: Patrol Guard
  • Belief: Knowledge is Power. There is always time to research.
  • Instinct: Trust but verify.
  • Goal: Find a home for the Outcasts.
  • Highest Skills: Pathfinder 6 Survivalist 5
  • Traits: Inquisitive I Curious I

Relevant Links

• Kevin’s GM sheet
• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic

Crunchy Bits!

Session 3 Broken down into smaller chunks:

• Intro music is from ,  Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse
• Paul Tevis: Have Games Will Travel

Podcast: |

CJ, Jen, Dan, and Brandon set out from Lockhaven with their first mission of the season:  Deliver the mail to Wildseed, Darkwater, Port Sumac, and finally Wolfpointe. Things go fairly well for the Patrol, but near the end some challenging ethical decisions spring up.

Roles

• Kevin is the GM.
• Dan plays Conner Greenleaf.
  • Rank: Guard Mouse.
  • Belief: Bold action is the way of the Guard
  • Instinct: Check the weather every time we stop.
  • Goal: Mail delivery is boring, I will find a suitable challenge for a Guard Mouse.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 5 Weather-Watcher 5
  • Traits: Tough II
• CJ plays Thom.
  • Rank: Tenderpaw.
  • Belief : I’m ready to be a GuardMouse, and this is my chance to prove it to Tander!
  • Instinct:Meet the enemy Head-On.
  • Goal: Be the first to map a path between Wildseed and Darkwater
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 4 Cartographer 3
  • Traits: Independent I, Sharp Eyed I, Short I
• Brandon Plays Tander Fizzcup
  • Rank: Patrol Leader
  • Belief : Our strength comes from the bonds of fellowship amongst the Guard; not the individual.
  • Instinct: Never let a young one go alone.
  • Goal: Tend the sick and wounded at every town along the way.
  • Highest Skills: Healer 6 Survivalist 4
  • Traits: Rational I, Old Fur I, Leader I
• Jen plays Josephine Wanderwing
  • Rank: Patrol Guard
  • Belief: Knowledge is Power. There is always time to research.
  • Instinct: Trust but verify.
  • Goal: Collect the wisdom gathered during the Winter at each town.
  • Highest Skills: Pathfinder 6 Survivalist 5
  • Traits: Inquisitive I Curious I

Relevant Links

• Kevin’s GM sheet
• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic
• Buzz
• Sumac Tree

Crunchy Bits!

Session 2 Broken down into smaller chunks:

• Intro music is from ,  Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse

Podcast: |

I distinctly remember sending out an email to Dan, CJ, Brandon, and Jen a bit before Christmas that after reading the Luke Crane and David Peterson’s Mouse Guard PDF, we needed to bump it into the schedule as soon as possible. “As soon as possible” ended up being May, but we were no less eager to delve into the world of David Peterson’s seminal comic. This first session covers character creation, a fairly brisk and entertaining process.

Roles

• Kevin is the GM.
• Dan plays Conner Greenleaf.
  • Rank: Guard Mouse.
  • Belief: Bold action is the way of the Guard
  • Instinct: Check the weather every time we stop.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 5 Weather-Watcher 5
  • Traits: Tough II
• CJ plays Thom.
  • Rank: Tenderpaw.
  • Belief : I’m ready to be a GuardMouse, and this is my chance to prove it to Tander!
  • Instinct:Meet the enemy Head-On.
  • Highest Skills: Fighter 4 Cartographer 3
  • Traits: Independent I, Sharp Eyed I, Short I
• Brandon Plays Tander Fizzcup
  • Rank: Patrol Leader
  • Belief : Our strength comes from the bonds of fellowship amongst the Guard; not the individual.
  • Instinct: Never let a young one go alone.
  • Highest Skills: Healer 6 Survivalist 4
  • Traits: Rational I, Old Fur I, Leader I
• Jen plays Josephine Wanderwing
  • Rank: Patrol Guard
  • Belief: Knowledge is Power. There is always time to research.
  • Instinct: Trust but verify.
  • Highest Skills: Pathfinder 6 Survivalist 5
  • Traits: Inquisitive I Curious I

Relevant Links

• Mouse Guard/Burning Wheel
• Mouse Guard Comic
• Dogs in the Vineyard
• Pai Mai
• Secret of Nimh
• Champions

Crunchy Bits!

By popular demand, Session 1 Broken down into smaller chunks:

• Intro music is from , Lyrics by David Petersen Music & Performance by Jesse Glenn
• Outro Music is from “The Plouescal Races” by Gaelic Storm.

Bumpers and Promos

• Spooky Outhouse
• The Great Debate

Podcast: |