Hello there. I’ve started my MG 2e RPG read. I’ve fallen in love with the setting, but I really didn’t like the GM’s “The Mission” part of the game.
It reads like a rushed sequence of railroads: Mice run through a pre-determined and pre-calculated sequence of encounters with a very specific number of checks, then find a place to rest where they’re allowed only a short respite before hitting the road again.
I’ve first thought that it was going to be an easy thing to just rip that part off, before I realised that the entire game seems balanced on the fact mice have arbitrarily few checks. Screw this, and I’ll also screw with the “checks” economy and overflow opportunities to call Bonds/Instincts/Goals as well.
So: Can I and it actually won’t break the game? Should I just find another game?
Downtime isn’t revolutionary, even if you follow this strict formula.
I don’t think players should be fighting for the narrative control with the GM. I don’t think GMs should be in control of most scenes in a traditional game either.
I feel like the game pushes me a solution to a problem I already know how to solve, and I can solve it better.
Maybe it’s not for you, and that’s fine! But you’re doing the game a disservice to call it “a rushed sequence of railroads.”