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I remember around like 2010 stumbling on Mouse Guard at a comic convention and absolutely devouring the first two volumes of the comic. There was an RPG that won a bunch of awards, and Fox had even greenlit a movie.

I randomly remembered its existence today and after some googling, the movie appears to have canceled two weeks before it would have gone into production as a result of the Fox/Disney sale. However, the creator of the graphic novel and even a lot of the RPG fans are continuing to act as if it hasn't 10 years since volume 2 of the graphic novel released.

Did the whole series get canceled? Is the writer just pulling a GRRM and not releasing the next part? Hard to blame Disney for canceling a movie based on a book series that hasn't released anything substantial since 2009.

Anyone on Dakka familiar enough with the property that they know more about what happened to this series?

I don't know a lot about it but I have seen the comics in my local shop and there are more than 2 volumes. I want to say there are 5? Named after the years they take place in.

 Lance845 wrote:
I don't know a lot about it but I have seen the comics in my local shop and there are more than 2 volumes. I want to say there are 5? Named after the years they take place in.

Going back through the website it looks like there are 3. Fall 1152, Winter 1152, and The Black Axe which is a prequel. Then there are 4 short story compilations that all have guest artists called "Legends of the guard".

Maybe I'm being too critical, I never really counted the short story compilations as entries.

So revising that timeline a bit, We had volume 3 in 2013, and the last of the short story compilations in 2015. So that's 5 years now with no new entries and 10 years since the main plot progressed.

I suppose looking it that way, it's still conceivable that the author is working the next volume. though its concerning the lack of discussion about it on his twitter.


Side note, did anyone ever play the RPG? Was it good?

I have the RPG but haven't had a chance to play it yet. I have heard a lot of good things about it though... which is why I have it I guess XD

EDIT: Wrong system!

It's based on Burning Wheel. I have heard good things about it but never played it.

I hadn't ever heard of Mouse Guard - but sadly my only exposure to it was seeing a YouTube video of "movies canceled in 2019" or some such. So that's not a good start...

Looked neat, but yeah I guess it's been canned? I have no idea about the IP, comics, etc.

 Elbows wrote:
I hadn't ever heard of Mouse Guard - but sadly my only exposure to it was seeing a YouTube video of "movies canceled in 2019" or some such. So that's not a good start...

Looked neat, but yeah I guess it's been canned? I have no idea about the IP, comics, etc.

I honestly don't think the movie had a good chance at success. It was a very strange property. "Dungeons and Dragons, but Mice" is a cool elevator pitch. But part of its charm is that it remains family-friendly while tackling some oddly dark concepts. I imagine the studio making the film probably would have ended up with something way too sanitized to keep the charm.

I really hope the comics come back at some point. I really want spring to come. The end of the Winter volume hinted at all the predators coming out of hibernation.

Mouse Guard would make a better TV series than movie, but they'd probably make it a bit more kiddy than it's supposed to be.

It's less dungeons and dragons but mice and more game of thrones but mice. It's cartoony drawings sort of betray it's brutality. The mice are a full on medieval society with snakes and cats being like dragons and the Mouse Guard sort of like the Nights Watch.

 Lance845 wrote:
It's less dungeons and dragons but mice and more game of thrones but mice. It's cartoony drawings sort of betray it's brutality. The mice are a full on medieval society with snakes and cats being like dragons and the Mouse Guard sort of like the Nights Watch.

I always felt that the weasels were pretty clearly supposed to be drow, and the tunnels the underdark which is why I got dnd vibes. But I will admit I didn't watch/read Game of Thrones back when I first discovered mouse guard. Your comparison I think fits better.

I have the original but it took so long between releases I actually forgot about it until this thread.

Burning Wheel can be summed up in a single adverb: NEEDLESSLY. The sentence “Burning Wheel is needlessly _____,” where you fill in the blank, is pretty likely to be an accurate review. The issue isn’t whether Burning Wheel is good or bad but rather that getting to the point where you can even find out for yourself is more effort than its worth.

Mouse Guard uses a pared down version of Burning Wheel, which is certainly an advantage for Burning Wheel. But it’s still a burden on Mouse Guard. Nonetheless, the MG RPG book is a treasure trove of background information that can be used to roleplay the setting with any rule set you please (even Burning Wheel). I have attempted to play the game as packaged and it’s not terrible by any means, just inconvenient.

 Manchu wrote:
Burning Wheel can be summed up in a single adverb: NEEDLESSLY. The sentence “Burning Wheel is needlessly _____,” where you fill in the blank, is pretty likely to be an accurate review. The issue isn’t whether Burning Wheel is good or bad but rather that getting to the point where you can even find out for yourself is more effort than its worth.

Mouse Guard uses a pared down version of Burning Wheel, which is certainly an advantage for Burning Wheel. But it’s still a burden on Mouse Guard. Nonetheless, the MG RPG book is a treasure trove of background information that can be used to roleplay the setting with any rule set you please (even Burning Wheel). I have attempted to play the game as packaged and it’s not terrible by any means, just inconvenient.

hmm, interesting. I always see it being pitched as a good starter RPG for kids. Is it one of those that is tough on a GM but easy for players?

I'd recently learned that the boardgame Mice and Mystics (very mouseguard-ish, though not the same universe) got picked up as a potential movie.

Who knows if it'll get made, but it's interesting that these previously niche titles (Mouseguard and M&M) are getting studio attention. Could be very cool.