The Mouse Guard

Once play begins, the GM controls the mentor rank. Gwendolyn trusts her with independent
characters. The student’s relationship with his and difficult missions.
mentor will grow and change. The mentor will
watch his student’s progress and judge whether
he learned the lessons set before him during
Cloak Color
training. A guardmouse’s cloak is granted to him after
he has completed his apprenticeship under his
Mentors will freely give advice, but they
mentor. It is presented at his formal induction
will only actively help their student if the
ceremony by his mentor. The mentor always
student’s life is threatened or the fate of a city or
chooses the color for his graduating apprentice.
the Territories themselves are at stake. A mentor
The color represents how the mentor views his
will never undertake his student’s duties for him.
former student’s disposition and personality.
The student must prove his worth to the Guard!

Guard Rank Belief

A Belief is an ethical or moral statement that
There are five ranks within the Mouse Guard:
encompasses how the character views his world.
tenderpaw, guardmouse, patrol guard, patrol
It is also a way for the player to explore part of
leader and guard captain.
the Mouse Guard world.
Tenderpaws are fresh recruits. Guardmice are
In the very first issue of the comic, Kenzie tells
the foot soldiers of the Guard. Patrol guards are
Lieam his Belief, taken from one of the Guard’s
veteran guardmice responsible for complicated
mottoes: “It matters not what you fight, but
or independent missions. Patrol leaders are
what you fight for.” This statement informs all
patrol guard who have demonstrated that they
of Kenzie’s decisions. He is fighting for a higher
can think independently and guide other mice.
purpose—not glory or personal success—but
Guard captains are powerful mice appointed to
for the honor of the Guard and the safety of the
the highest rank in the Guard due to their long-
Territories.
standing commitment and exemplary service.
Sadie: A guardmouse needs to be able to think
Sadie is a high-ranking and well-regarded with her head and act with her heart.
patrol guard. She’s been in the Guard for a
number of years and has steadily advanced in

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 You write a Belief for your character.
Beliefs should speak to some higher
purpose. They shouldn’t be goals you
can accomplish; they’re ideals you live up to.
Playing your character’s Belief is one
way to get rewarded in the game. If
you’re not playing your character’s
Belief, and subsequently not getting rewarded,
you should change it. Beliefs can be changed at
the beginning or end of a session. Writing a
Belief and earning rewards is detailed in It’s
What We Fight For.
Goal
Each character has a Goal—a task, mission or
vow that he is trying to complete.
I will discover why Conrad’s communications
from Calogero have stopped.
That’s Sadie’s Goal for her first mission. A Goal
can be accomplished in one session of play. This
means that most Goals change every session.
You write a new Goal for the session based on
the mission handed down from the GM for this
session and based on the developments in the
previous session.
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Accomplishing your Goal earns a
reward. You want to be rewarded at
the end of every session, so make sure
you accomplish what you set out to do!
Writing a Goal and earning rewards is detailed
in It’s What We Fight For.
Instinct
An Instinct in this game is a habit or reaction.
It’s something that the character always does. If
someone were describing your character, they’d
probably mention this about him.
Never delay when on a mission.
If you play your character’s Instinct—
if you act out the trigger and condition
written there—then you are rewarded.
Instincts are also discussed in this chapter and
in It’s What We Fight For.
Inherent Abilities
A Mouse Guard character has five inherent
abilities—Nature, Will, Health, Resources and
Circles. All mice share these same five abilities.
Nature
Nature stands for the mouse’s natural qualities
and tendencies. It represents what he was born
to do, what helps him survive in the wild and
cruel world.