1. To establish the setting (playing mice in a medieval fantasy setting that challenges your existence at every turn). I’d like people to start thinking about how big the world is to a mouse and how dangerous things like rain or ants could be to a mouse.

2. Establish the mindset of a guard (”Send any mouse to the the job and it may or may not be done. Ask the Guard to do the task, even death cannot prevent it from completion”). Thankless heroes who exist outside society, the wild west Gunslinger, the Samurai, the Ranger of Middle Earth.

3. Gather a patrol. Hopefully in steps 1 and 2, the players are participating enough that they are ready to start shooting out ideas for a patrol. “We need need a tired leader”, “Ooh, and a bee trainer”, “And the new recruit with a chip on his shoulder,” etc. I might skip this step and bring character templates to reduce the paperwork aspect of the game.

4. Once the cast has been established (half baked at this point) and characters selected by players. The finishing touches should be added as a group exercise - belief, instinct and traits.

5. Examples of play, akin to the DitV accomplishment or a kicker. Flashbacks to formative experiences for the Guard. Experience with the core mechanics for resolution.

6. A group challenge. Either just before meeting Gwendolyn for assignment or just after leaving Lockhaven as the first obstacle. A morale and team building challenge like chasing a parcel down a stream before it is lost in the rapids.

7. By this point, the players have started their mission but have been playing all along.

I’m going to work offline at trying to incorporate elements from the process you developed for Polaris to work with these goals.

I hope the whole “games as both diagnostic and prescriptive” makes sense, at least - does it?