Page 45 Review by Stephen
MOUSE GUARD is such an enormous three-digit seller here that I can't think why we resisted the original version of the role playing game for so long, especially since the series' creator David Petersen actually role-plays himself and would therefore be able to gauge the quality of any such adaptation. It seems some of his early adventures may have partially inspired elements in the comics, particularly the fully realised world itself. And now that I have this 320-page hardcover in front of me, illustrated throughout with some lovely scenes of pastoral tranquillity and danger, I feel such a clot. Here's Petersen:
"Luke Crane was masterfully able to take the things about MOUSE GUARD that are important at its core, and mould his Burning Wheel roleplaying system around them. His fresh techniques cast off the idea of characters driven by statistics and lucky rolls of the dice, and focus on true character building."
I have absolutely no idea what to tell you about this because I haven't a clue about what's important to role playing but it really does look brilliant. The 'Denizens of the Territories' chapter was fascinating. Mystifying, but fascinating. There are Apiarists ("SKILLS: Apiarist 5, Loremouse 3, Queen-Bee-wise 4" - what does it mean?!), Archivists ("TRAITS: Nocturnal 1"), Beetle Wranglers ("CIRCLES: 4" - are circles good? I can't remember my ZERO GIRL; was it squares that were bad?), Brewers (I'm sticking with them), Charlatans (I think I am one of them!), Muscles (don't have many of them), Naturalists (I'm not one of them), Politicians (I'm considering it) and what I'd have thought was all your standard fare clearly defined in tables of stats.
Then there are the Weasels and other wild animals like Bullfrogs, Crabs, Crows, Great Horned Owls, Newts, Snakes (various), Porcupines and, err, Wolverines. Maybe that was inevitable. Anyway, they all have their own traits and I imagine you'll stumble on them from time to time in your micely manoeuvres. It's exactly the same size as the MOUSE GUARD volumes and printed on quality cream paper that's been given an aged effect with some exceptional design work completely absent from books like the MARVEL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.
