Line #60 TabletopGame/MiceAndMystics


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mice-mystics-350x350_9095.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: "Living in the walls lurk things that aren't nice,\
3	That nobody knows of except for the mice."]]
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5	In the [[TheGoodKingdom Kingdom of Men]], [[TheGoodKing King Andon]] ruled with justice and compassion, until the arrival of [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Vanestra]], the mysterious queen of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Darkhlend]]. Before long, the king fell sick with an [[SoapOperaDisease unidentifiable and incurable illness]]. A cadre of [[LaResistance loyalists to the king]] gathered and plotted to drive Vanestra from the land: [[WarriorPrince Collin the prince]], [[WizardClassic Maginos the mystic]], [[TheBigGuy Nez the tinkerer]], and [[WhiteMage Tilda the healer]]. [[YouAllMeetInACell But, before they could put their plan into action, Vanestra's men promptly threw them all into jail.]]
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7	At the suggestion of [[LovableRogue Filch the thief]], they escaped from prison -- [[EmergencyTransformation by turning themselves]] [[NiceMice into mice]]. And, [[ItOnlyWorksOnce though the transformation cannot be reversed]], they must now find a way to defeat Vanestra once and for all.
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9	''Mice and Mystics'' is a cooperative [[AmeritrashGames American-style]] {{Adventure Board Game\|s}} with a few role-playing elements. It was published by Plaid Hat Games in 2012, and it was followed up by two expansions, ''Heart of Glorm'' and ''Downwood Tales'', as well as two downloadable chapters, "The Ghost of Castle Andon" and "Cat's Cradle." You can learn more about the game and how to play it [[http://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/mice-and-mystics here.]]
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11	----
12	!! ''Mice and Mystics'' and its expansions provide examples of:
13	* ActionGirl: Lily, Neré, Ditty, and Tilda, though each of them have different abilities.
14	* AdiposeRex: King Shalop the frog in the ''Downwood Tales'' expansion.
15	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Vanestra's hair, which Maginos uses to turn the heroes into mice.
16	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:Collin gets two -- one when Andon [[PassingTheTorch makes him king]], and one when he defeats Shalop.]]
17	* TheBigGuy: Besides a background as a blacksmith and having the most physically imposing body (even as a mouse), Nez has the most hit points and offensive MediaNotes/{{dice}}. Additionally, he can also gain an ability that allows him to [[OneHitPolykill attack multiple enemies with one blow.]]
18	* BittersweetEnding: ''Sorrow and Remembrance'': [[spoiler:The king is saved and Vanestra is defeated, but the castle is in ruins, and the heroes are stuck in the form of mice.]]
19	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: One effect of Glorm's MagicMusic.
20	* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] -- [[spoiler: in ''Heart of Glorm'', Glorm is defeated by dosing him with a LovePotion.]]
21	* CaptainObvious: Everything Tilda says in the first game. ''Everything.''
22	* CatsAreMean: Unsurprisingly. However, [[spoiler: with a little catnip, the heroes may be able to convince Brodie the house-cat into a deal.]]
23	** Played straight in ''Heart of Glorm'', since [[spoiler: Glorm has reanimated Brodie into one of his undead minions.]]
24	* ComicBookTime: The games have been published over two years, and it can take 15-20 hours to play through a single storybook. Despite this, the events of the first two books take up around two in-story weeks, excluding the introduction of the first story.
25	* ComingOfAgeStory: For Collin; made especially evident in ''Downwood Tales''.
26	* DamageTyping: Most damage is dealt in "wounds", but some monsters and effects deal "poisoned wounds" that can only be removed by effects that specifically target poison.
27	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Obviously, [[LovableRogue Filch]], but Nez is also hinted to have one.
28	* DarkerAndEdgier: While still fairly family-friendly, ''Downwood Tales'' is a tad more descriptive in the battle scenes.
29	* EekAMouse: Even though the cook, Miz Maggie, is sympathetic to the heroes' cause, she will react this way until they can get her attention and explain their situation.
30	* EmergencyTransformation: What kicks off the plot of the first story. [[spoiler: The heroes also turn King Andon into a mouse to slip him out of the castle.]]
31	* EvilGloating: [[spoiler: Glorm to his former owner, Maginos.]]
32	* ExactWords: [[spoiler: So WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve, Vanestra must spend an hour in her true form as a spider. How are the heroes going to time their two-front attack when Vanestra's at her weakest? By [[LoopholeAbuse pushing the clock hands to twelve.]]]]
33	* FramingDevice: The events in the game are framed as stories told to a mouseling named Tip.
34	* FunetikAksent: Nez, various {{Non Player Character}}s, and the Pack-Rat Peddler.
35	* GreatBigBookOfEverything: One quest in ''Sorrow and Remembrance'' focuses upon finding one.
36	* HarmfulToTouch: [[spoiler: Without the Ring of Remembrance, the Sorrow Blade is this.]]
37	* HeadbuttingHeroes: Filch and Nez frequently have this dynamic. By ''Heart of Glorm,'' though, they've moved to FireForgedFriends.
38	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler: In one chapter, Captain Vurst switches sides every time he is defeated, which can lead to a situation resembling this.]]
39	* TheHero: [[WisePrince Collin]] -- the story centers around his family, and he is the main perspective character of ''Sorrow and Remembrance.''
40	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Towards the end of ''Sorrow and Remembrance'', Captain Vurst is last seen protecting the heroes' exit route.]]
41	** A card also allows a mouse to do this for his or her teammate.
42	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Filch might want to wimp out of a fight or [[spoiler: beg to become human again]], but he ultimately pulls through for the team.
43	* KillEnemiesToOpen: Players can only Explore to enter a new map tile after all enemies on their current map tile have been defeated, no matter whether the exploration involves opening a barrier, escaping DownTheDrain, or just walking farther down a tunnel.
44	* TheLancer: Filch's LovableRogue and LovableCoward tendencies make him a foil to the upstanding, heroic Collin.
45	* MassTransformation: Maginos transformed the heroes into mice as a last-ditch attempt at escaping imprisonment.
46	* MouseWorld: But of course. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] to a certain extent, though, [[CivilizedAnimal since the animals living in the kingdom can usually fend for themselves]] without needing to scavenge much, if anything, from humans. The city of Barksburg, for example, is pretty self-sufficient.
47	* NonHealthDamage: Roaches can deal wounds but prefer to steal heroes' cheese tokens, which are used to purchase and use special abilities. Greedy Roaches transfer those tokens to the game clock, advancing the countdown towards defeat.
48	* PayEvilUntoEvil: The mice thoroughly reject this viewpoint.
49	--> '''Tilda:''' It is evil to inflict pain in response to feeling pain, for if pain is so unbearable how could any creature of conscience wish to spread it?
50	* PlotCoupon: Oftentimes, chapter quests focus upon finding, obtaining, or using one.
51	** SwordOfPlotAdvancement: [[spoiler: The Sorrow Blade.]]
52	* PlotTailoredToTheParty: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] -- the scenario will sometimes specify that a certain character must be a member of the party, especially for certain plot-critical events within the game.
53	* PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Especially if [[spoiler: your quest takes you through the Crystal Tunnels.]]
54	* PunnyName: Nextor, a [[ShapedLikeItself neighboring kingdom]] of elves, and Darklhend, from where Vanestra comes. Also, Vanestra's right-hand rat Captain Vurst and Glorm the glow-worm[[note]]Say "glow-worm" quickly, slurring the w.[[/note]]
55	* {{Railroading}}: Limited, but present to some extent. While the course of an individual chapter can change, the overall progression from chapter to chapter does not. Subverted in ''Downwood Tales''; the outcome of the story usually remains the same, but the players can take multiple different paths to get there.
56	* RaceAgainstTheClock: A "cheese wheel" fills during encounters with enemies, and is meant to keep the players moving.
57	* RandomDrop: Members of your party can search for random items in the areas they explore.
58	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Linera, the mayor of the nearby mouse city of Barksburg. Even when her own citizens are entranced into criminal acts, she keeps her head.
59	%%* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Hesster the snake.
60	* RollAndMove: Player characters and most [=NPCs=] each roll a die on their turn to determine how many spaces they can move. [=PCs=] add their base Move to that number and have free rein of the map region, whereas [=NPCs=] don't and move according to specific rules.
61	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Collin is usually mixing it up on the front line, and his father was apparently [[WarriorPrince quite the badass when he was younger.]]
62	* RPGElements: A few, such as [[CharacterClassSystem character classes]], hit points, [[CharacterLevel leveling up with new skills]], and [[RandomDrop item hunting.]]
63	* ScrewYouElves: It's implied that the Kingdom Of Men has had this kind of relationship with a neighboring kingdom of elves.
64	* ShapeshifterModeLock: [[spoiler: Vanestra's stuck in her spider form, for an hour after midnight. This, of course, is the key to defeating her.]]
65	* SixthRanger: Lily [[spoiler: and Captain Vurst]]. ''Heart of Glorm'' has [[NatureHero Neré]], and ''Downwood Tales'' adds Jakobe, [[TheBard Ditty]], and [[LightningBruiser Ansel.]]
66	* TheSmartGuy: Maginos has the most mystical knowledge of the mice.
67	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Tilda is at first the only female on the team, and is the WhiteMage to boot.
68	* TransformationHorror: Averted for the heroes' [[spoiler: and the king's]] transformation, but [[spoiler: Vanestra's is something else.]]
69	* UnknownCharacter: [[spoiler: The woman who gave King Andon the Ring of Remembrance. Who was she? What was her relationship to the king? Was her spirit present inside the ring, and therefore responsible for defeating Vanestra? The story never makes it clear.]]
70	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Except for the ShapeshifterModeLock described above, [[spoiler: Vanestra can do this to herself and others. She also apparently ruled over a whole race of "changelings" who could also do this.]]
71	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not an actual mouse, but Collin [[spoiler: and King Andon]] allude to the knotty problem of finding someone to rule the kingdom, now that the prince, most of the king's staff, and [[spoiler: the king himself]] have all been turned into mice.
72	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Glorm lost his true love in the destruction of the castle, and let out all of the grief in the Crystal Tunnels. The magical nature of these crystals gave him [[CharmPerson the power to charm living creatures]] and [[{{Necromancer}} reanimate dead ones.]]
73	* YouAllMeetInAnInn: In ''Downwood Tales'', the characters meet Ansel and Ditty at a tavern.
74	* YouDirtyRat: Many of the more troublesome {{Mooks}} sent after heroes have been transformed into these, and they are mostly enemies -- except for [[spoiler: Captain Vurst]], who does a HeelFaceTurn.

Context TabletopGame / MiceAndMystics