Being in the Main the Mouth of Olde House Rules

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Bunnies of Braunstein!

Watership Down is an excellent book and a pretty fine animated production as well.  Needless to say, we trot this out at Easter as our nod to the whole bunny thing (we're both quite partial), and this year is no exception.  Only now, as an Easter Egg for you, dear readers, we offer a Barons of Braunstein conversion...

Bunnies of Braunstein!  Here goes: 

THE RABBIT

First, each character is a rabbit.  This means no armor, weaponry, and/or equipment, etc.  They can fight with a bite and two claws and move normally (assume 20' per round) in combat.

Also assume rabbits can bolt up to 240' per round for a single round, spending 1 LUCK per round thereafter.

Otherwise, they can hide and/or jump (5') and attempt any similar acts of stealth as befits their wily species.  Digging (1' per round in extreme cases) might also be possible in soft earth and allows them to take shelter against the elements, which can be deadly when so exposed (and this is explained below as a rules variant).

Rabbit battles can be rough!

Finally, rabbits have LUCK as per the rulebook and are assumed to understand a "common" tongue of their kind.  They also have an individual background which may include specific knowledge, perhaps an extra (animal) language or knowledge of herbs, and knowledge of the various books helps greatly.     

Assume no carrying capacity beyond what a character might hold in their mouths, like a small carrot, etc.

Optionally, some rabbits are sensitive and prone to visions of future events.  This must be included in the character's background, costs 1-3 LUCK (per the judge) to have, and are limited to but a single vision per day excepting those granted by the judge (and at no additional cost) to advance the story, etc.

THE GAME

Rabbits are subject to the various elements and are especially vulnerable to extreme cold, spending 1 LUCK per day and being unable to heal when exposed as per the conditions at hand.

Furthermore, they must feed for at least 3-4 uninterrupted hours a day or else suffer the above injury, and the judge should limit available food or introduce predators to make this process that much more difficult.  In the absence of money, food is the currency of the chronicle and must be constantly sought...

Manmade traps are a
constant threat to animals...

Judge will undoubtedly need to flesh this out and may incorporate elements of religion (Lord Frith), etc.

THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD 

Natural or manmade (human) traps are a constant threat, and this includes poisons left by men to eliminate pests.  Otherwise, rabbitkind will confront many other animals, some of them hostile to them, including domesticated cats, dogs and a variety of hungry wild animals.  Obviously, the judge should assume that all animals, including birds and reptiles, are intelligent and capable of real communication if their language is known: 

   TYPE          LUCK          MOVE          DAMAGE/BONUS
   Cat           7-10           10'        bite, claws (+1)
   Dog           9-15           20'        bite, claws (+2)        
   Fox           6-10           15'        bite, claws (+1)
   Hawk          6-15         10'/30'      beak, claws (+2)
   Man          50-100          50'        special, weaponry (--)
   Seagull       5-10         10'/30'      beak (+0)         
   Squirrel      5-10           20'        bite, claws (+0)
   Wolf          9-15           20'        bite, claws (+2) 

Humans employ firearms per the basic rules.  However, the judge might set their rabbit adventures in the real Middle Ages in keeping with its historical pretext.  Imagine a one-off session where the rabbits must flee a warren now devastated by the Battle of Hastings or a similar event, set in the English countryside of course!

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