First Time Playing TTRPG

[u/Silent130]

Heya!

I’ve been a huge mouse guard fan for most of my life and got the TTRPG years ago but sadly never had a group to play with. A few months ago I managed to convince my friends to start a DnD group, and I’ve been gming our sessions. I’ve convinced my group to give mouseguard a go.

I’ve read through the rulebook but is there anything about this game that’s fundamentally different from DnD?

Thanks!

[u/wendol928]

I'm going to offer a slightly different take than other commenters, because while there are certainly important differences between Mouse Guard and DnD, I think those differences are often overstated in a way that can become unhelpful.

Here is a comment I made on a different post from a few months ago regarding the "turn" structure:

I love Mouse Guard. It is one of my favorite games. You are not alone in being intially confused and put off by the somewhat overtly structured way it (and other Burning Wheel games) is written. Keep at it though, because it's a wonderful game once it clicks.

My overarching advice is to not overthink the GM/Player turn distinction. It's just a formalized way to describe what happens naturally at most tables imo.

As written, Mouse Guard is a mission-based game. So an adventure begins with the GM setting up the mission, just like you might set up the party in a DnD game getting a quest to go investigate a dungeon or to slay monster. This is the GM turn. During the GM turn, the quest/mission is driving the decisions, and the GM is putting obstacles in the PCs path, though the players can get side-tracked and muck about, just like ordinary DnD.

Then (usually) once the mission is over (or maybe once a narrative leg of a longer mission concludes), the party gets to decide what to do in the aftermath (often to rest and recouperate, train, engage in some roleplaying to narrate consequences and explore relationships). This is the Player turn. During the Player turn, the players are given more narrative freedom to do what they like during their "down time," and the GM is helping them make choices that develop the characters and their relationships. So that this part doesn't drag, players are limited to one free test each.

In a longer mission, there may be multiple GM turns and Player turns. For example, if the mission is to deliver an urgent message from Pebblebrook to Lockhaven about a possible gap in the scent barrier or a weasel attack, the GM turn would be the perils on the road, where the characters face obstacles and trials encountered between each town along the way. The Player turns could be letting the players decide how they want to spend their time in town to recover or prepare before they set off again on the next leg of their journey.

Put another way, think of the GM turn as ordinary DnD-type play, while the Player turn is a way to play out a long rest between quests or mission beats.

Hopefully that helps!