Scenario Core

When it comes to actually playing Mecha Mice you need to base your game around a core adventure,  a mission, an objective, something that must be done or overcome. The following table is provided to give you a starting place when coming up with a scenario. I plan to extend and expand on this tiny (mouse-sized?) table. Remember to come back, there will be more.

Roll 1D6:

1. Large animal
2. Supplies running low
3. Natural disaster
4. Persistent predator
5. Crime
6. Politics 

The Draydem Scouts

The Draydem scouts is a goup for young mice who find learning of lists difficult and thus are not suited to learning a trade that requires such education. The members of this group instead focus on self-improvement, with speed and agility being foremost. They carry messages as rapidly as possible across Searbay for all manner of reasons.

In the early days of their training to are sent into the wild parts of Searbay island to seek for berries, nuts and other wild foods which are brought back to the store houses. This is not especially  dangerous work, although the squirrels can be a danger if they think some mouse is stealing their horde of nuts. The hawks and eagles that fly over present the main danger to a mouse in the wilds, but that danger is a part of training. It’s during this training that they say the scouts develop their third eye.

“One for the grass, one for the trees, and one for the sky.”

When times are difficult and food hard to come by, the scouts venture to mainland in search of food. This tends to only happen in the very worst of years as the commune works very hard to remain self-sufficient. Such expeditions are strictly carried out in small working parties each with a member of the Mecha Corp along to offer protection. This is extremely dangerous work and members of the Draydem scouts are honored for taking part.

Many young mice that have passed through the scouts have gone on to join the Mecha Corp or Carlyle police when they come of age. Those that don’t take that route often go onto the other more physical careers such as farming, mining and boating.

Nettle-stem, Apothecary

Nettle-stem the apothecary made a number of astounding discoveries during his lifetime, but the most useful to an island nation was the “drowning-brew”. This elixir could be administered to a mouse that had drowned, and if administered quickly enough would bring the mouse coughing and spluttering back to life.

As with many discoveries this too was an accident. It was an experimental burn ointment that he mistakenly carried to a drowning incident. A frantic young mouse had grabbed the flask from his hand and administered it to the algae collector who had fallen from his boat.

When the dead boatman jumped up gasping for breath, many mice ran away afraid, but Nettle-stem danced for joy and started composing the ingredients poem as he walked back to his workshop. That poem is taught to all academically minded mice as part of their schooling, and the brew is produced on a regular basis and the freshest batch sealed and kept close at all water activities.

Black-face Wire Works

Black-stone

The Black-face wire works in Carlyle is one of the larger manufactory buildings in the city. The output of the enterprise is a vital constituent in many of the electronic devices produced in the city. However it's primary reason for existing is to provide the delicate wiring needed for the construction of the Power Suits for the Mech Core.

The building runs from the top of a hill to its base in an odd long thin building. The red-dirt and the black-stone go into the building at the top. Wire comes out of the doors at the bottom.  Thirty mice work inside the building  as many again work outside constantly shifting the red-dirt and black-stone from the docks up to the top of the hill.

Those inside always emerge from a work shift with faces blackened by dust and sometimes burned, and a season never passes without some poor mouse being lost to accident within the walls.

The pounding of hammers during the working times acts as signal to the nearby school mice that they must learn hard and fast and that they can only rest when the hammers stop.

Wolf rock

Power indicator

Yellow-flower jumped the branch and landed in the grass beyond. He kept low as he ran through the grass, the green blades whiplashed across the glass dome of his helmet and he pushed onwards as fast as he could.

There was a deep bass grunt from behind, Yellow-flower didn't dare a look. He knew what it was, and he knew the wolf was close. It had been close all through the chase. He dived left round a small sapling, then right round an upthrust rock.. Yellow-flower tried to concentrate only on running, but when his suit beeped in his ear his eyes flicked to the power-paw next to his chin. Two pads of the display were red. Two power cells drained. Only one pad was flashing pure green, the others were draining fast. He dared not think about what it would mean if the suit lost power here so far from home with a wolf on his tail.

How far was it now, how far to the water? He had no idea, Butterfly-sky had the map, but Butteryfly-sky was gone, most likely dead. Was he even heading the right way? Just keep running, that was his only hope.

The grass started to thin, Yellow-flower could run faster. The pounding of the wolfs feet was there right behind him. The thinner grass could mean he was nearing the slope down to the water. The next power pad winked from green to red. No! Hope was dying as he neared safety.

Then he was out of the grass and the water was there below him only two throws away. He jinked left aware that in the open he couldn't out run the wolf. The monster's jaws snapped on empty air to his right, far too close. He needed a break, something to open the gap or he was dead before he reached the water.

A large rock loomed suddenly in front of Yellow-flower. Grasping his Power-staff he leapt for the rock, smashed into the surface only his power suit making it survivable, and with every ounce of strength jumped straight back towards the open mouth of the wolf.

Too quick for the wolf to react Yellow-flower rammed the staff up it's nose tumbled over its head and crashed to the ground behind it. The power-paw beeped as another indicator flashed to red. He didn't look at it. In an instant he was on his feet and running for the water.

Behind he heard the wolfs snarl turn into a yowl of pain as the power staff discharged. He leaped into the air to hit the water as far out as possible and plopped down at least a wolfs length from the shore. When he bobbed back to the surface already swimming for the island of Searbay he dared a glance back, to see the wolf prowling the shoreline and looking right at him.

Another beep drew hit attention back to the power display. Only one pad had any green left it it. Well, he thought, one problem at a time, and concentrated on swimming smoothly to make the power last.

Searbay Island

The island of Searbay is pretty big. It's no dot on the surface of the water. Its coast has beaches and coves, and even cliffs. In general the island rises towards it's center but there is not a single noticable peak as the landscape of the island undulates.

There are woods, scrub, grass and rocky areas. Much of the woodland is deciduous, although some of the rocky areas have various sorts of pines. These areas are generally avoided by most mice as the squirrels tend to urinate on any mice that roam beneath those trees.

The island sits in a huge natural bay and has a healthy amount of water between it and the mainland beyond. The waters are often rough and rarely freeze even in the coldest of winters. There are stories told of a winter where the waters froze and bears crossed to the island. They are dark stories and many refuse to tell them.

The mainland is more mysterious and more dangerous than the island. Many mice never leave the island and of those that do, many don't return. Entire Paws of the Mecha Core have disappeared, they were seen reaching the mainland beach and climbing to the grass beyond, never to be seen again.

The beaches of the mainland front green rocky hills and the tops of trees can be seen beyond. The Corp maintains a map of the land beyond but it is considered unreliable.

The beginning of the Carlyle Cops

The cops in Carlyle were formed before the Mecha Corp was ever even conceived, they are the senior service. Their origin is remembered in oral lore and is always tied to the name of Sandy-hole. Sandy-hole was one of the original enlightened ones, those that brought the first communes into being, and it was his decree that formed the first police force.

The communes early days were filled with strife, both that caused by the thousand enemies and that wrought by mice used to self sufficiency and going-it-alone. The adjustment to communal life was hard. For in all of mousekind's history no family had ever helped another, the words of the enlightened were difficult to believe, and so Sandy-hole formed a sacred brotherhood of mice to settle disputes for the betterment of the commune.

The brotherhood's members had to give up their family and act as mediators and yes, even pacifiers when mouse could not agree with mouse. If a mouse could not accept the commune's agreement the brotherhood had the duty of finding them a new homestead and escorting them from the island.

In time, as the generations passed and communal life on Searbay came naturally to its inhabitants, the brotherhood's role changed to that of watch-keeper. Now they are known as the police (or sometimes cops) and they patrol the streets keeping trouble to a minimum, helping those in need, and standing ever ready to protect the city.