Under the Garden

Summary Situated under the roots of an old oak tree

lies the peaceful settlement of Rootvale. Life
The foraging team has gone missing during what should wasn’t always easy but food was always
have been a routine trip to gather food from the garden a readily available thanks to the garden a scurry
scurry or two outside of the peaceful settlement of or two outside of town. Today is a grim day as
Rootvale. The party is the scouting team whose task is to the foraging team that brings Rootvale its
find out what happened to the missing mice and bring plentiful food supply has gone missing. A
them home if possible. town meeting has been called and the
The adventure begins in Rootvale and takes the party to Aldermouse is addressing the crowd, “A highly
a rat settlement under the garden where something capable team has been assembled to find the
sinister lurks. The party must investigate, find the missing missing mice and bring them home if at all
mice, and bring them home. possible, or else bring home news so that the
families may have closure. Allow me to
Using this Adventure introduce our scouting team…”

"Under the Garden" is a Mausritter adventure for a party

of four level 1 mice and can be played through within a At this point, each player may introduce their character
few hours. Although it is written for Mausritter, it can be and what they look like.
adapted for use in other "sword-and-whiskers" type game After everyone has had a turn introducing their mouse,
system in which the players all play mice. the crowd applauds, the meeting is adjourned, and the
The main text is divided into five distinct scenes, each attendees shuffle out. After the last of the public has left,
covering a major story beat and/or location. Clues, if there the Aldermouse tells the party that the foraging team was
are any to be found, are separated by scene but are not last seen making a trip to the garden outside of town but
location-specific so that the Game Master (GM) may drop never returned and that they should have taken their
such clues organically no matter where the party is during usual route.
the adventure. The Aldermouse may give the party a deadline to
investigate and return to ensure that they aren't made to
look bad in the public eye. Another team of mice going
Text meant to be read out loud are in boxes missing wouldn't look good, after all.
like this. You may want to flavor it differently
or rewrite the text entirely to better fit your
campaign. Feel free to do so with the gist of Preparations
the written text in mind. The party may wish to prepare for the adventure by
purchasing items that they may need. Allow them to tell
you what they feel they need and purchase such items

Adventure Hooks while they are in Rootvale.

This adventure works well as a stand-alone one-shot or

may be used as an adventure within a larger campaign. If
The Garden
you intend to include this adventure in a campaign, all that On their way to the garden, the party may see a human,
is required is that the party are a party of mice. giant in stature, walking around the yard and must sneak
If you want to plant seeds in advance, you may wish to past them with a DEX Save to proceed. Should the human
introduce mice from the foraging team before they went see them, the human will attempt to sweep them away
missing or the existence of a cult whose primary members from the garden with a broom. A luck roll may be
are rats. appropriate here to determine how far they are swept
away and how much time is lost before finally making it to
the garden.

The Town Meeting Rows of leaf and stalk stand as tall as trees.
The adventure begins during a town meeting where the Some leaves nibbled, some holes dug under
party is standing ready to be introduced by the town the roots, and bits of vegetables collected in
leader, the Aldermouse. Work with the players to establish the little grass baskets that you recognize
whether the party is local to Rootvale and whether or not from Rootvale, some of them overturned with
they know each other prior to this adventure. their contents spilling out onto the soil.
 Locations:
Clues
The Tail and Dagger Tavern: A busy tavern near the
Upon investigation, the party may come across wiry rat fur entrance tunnel of Hollowden, The Tail and Dagger
stuck to one or some of the grass baskets, scattered foot serves as a convenient meeting spot for rats of all kinds
prints made from mice and rats that indicate panic or regardless of social class or wealth.
chasing, drag marks in the dirt that may imply forceful The Undercolony: The lower levels of the city are
abduction, all of which leading to a hole in a far corner of known as the Undercolony where the poor, flea-ridden,
the garden bed. and unfortunate make their homes. Paths lined with
An injured mouse may be found. They might be hiding beggars and thieves hiding in dark alleys are
nearby, or perhaps they might be seen rushing out of the commonplace here.
hole, having narrowly escaped whatever fate the rest of The Upper City: The upper levels of the city are where
the foraging team must be facing. The mouse will offer the wealthy and powerful live. Rarely do the rats of the
little information other than rats had come and abducted Upper City venture down to the Undercolony, but they
the foraging team and that they were forced down the may descend to the mid levels to hear stories around
hole in the far corner of the garden bed. the Tail and Dagger.
Here is a bullet-pointed list of clues the party may find in
the garden. You may make up your own clues or change Clues
the clues given here if you wish, keeping in mind that the
mice were abducted by rats and taken down an Wandering the city of Hollowden, the party will find clues
inconspicuous hole. as to the location of the missing mice. Some of these clues
may be gleaned from NPC interactions while others may
be physical clues that they may come across. No matter
Clues the type of clue they find, it should lead them to a hidden
or out-of-the-way temple in the city.
Rat fur stuck to the grass baskets
Below are some of the clues that they may find. Feel free
Mouse and rat foot prints
to add other possible clues or change the clues listed here
Drag marks in the dirt
to better suit the situation:
An injured mouse

The City Underground Clues

Descending into the hole leads the party through a tunnel. Rats wearing matching green and purple cloaks
While traversing the tunnel, the party may encounter Mouse tracks on the ground where it's less busy
some Rats (Rulebook, p24) each wielding a d6 cleaver. The Rats whispering or complaining about mice
rats in the tunnels are not necessarily hostile and may be A suspicious rat that tries to lure one of the party away
reasoned with. At the end of the tunnel, the party finds
themselves in the underground rat city of Hollowden.
The Temple
Hollowden Following the clues leads the party to a hidden or out-of-
the-way temple in Hollowden, whichever makes the most
sense for the situation. There, they find rats in green and
Doorways and windows dot the hard clay purple cloaks shuffling in, forcing a mouse into the temple
walls, dimly lighting the rough pathways with them. Two Rats (Rulebook, p24) may be standing
where rats walk and talk with each other, guard at the entrance each wielding a d6 cleaver.
climbing or descending steps that have been Getting past the guards, the party sees the rats
carved out from the earth. Crude lettering worshiping a large scroll snake, sacrificing captured mice
label some of the doorways as "tavern", to it one by one. If the party failed to sneak past the
"general shop", "tailor", and other common human on their way to the garden, 1 mouse has already
businesses. The tavern, bustling with rats of been sacrificed.
all kinds, is by far the busiest of these.

An altar sits in the center of the room.

While many of the rats of Hollowden may find the party of Scattered around the altar, are cages, each
mice strange, most are friendly enough and would treat containing a terrified mouse from Rootvale.
the party as they would any rat stranger. The following are
With heads bowed, green and purpled
some locations within Hollowden. Allow the party to
hooded rats gather around the altar, one of
them removing a mouse from their cage and
explore the city and look for clues as they will and feel free
forcing them to the slab as the ground
to add other possible locations in the rat city that they may
beneath stirs.
find clues in.
The party may try to intervene here, in which case, allow
them to and reward their efforts by having the uncaged Other Endings
mouse go free. Otherwise, the mouse on the slab will be
The players may come up with unexpected solutions to
eaten. Either way, a scroll snake (Rulebook, p24) with the
problems throughout the adventure and perhaps none of
fear spell (Rulebook p13) emerges from the ground and
the possible endings written here may suit the party's
initiates combat while the rats flee.
actions. If this happens, it's okay. The party's actions may
The party must save the captive mice before the snake make some endings impossible but open up new
eats them. Give the NPC mice an initiative roll and have possibilities and it may be appropriate to use and expand
them run away during their turns, if they're too close to on what are now possible endings. Use your logic to write
the snake, the snake may prioritize consuming the mouse a new ending or better yet, let the players decide on the
over fighting the party. ending that they want to achieve.
Defeating the scroll snake yields a snake fang sword
(Rulebook, p39) and a fear spell if the party chooses to
harvest these things from the defeated snake. Sample NPCs
Some sample NPCs are listed here separated by location
Return to Rootvale for your convenience. You may feel free to use any of
these NPCs or make up your own.
Making it out of the temple and out of Hollowden with the
surviving captives should be a simple task. While leaving Rootvale
the temple, the party may encounter a couple of Rats but
any of the rats involved in the abductions would likely not Sample NPCs that may be found in Rootvale:
want to fight the party after they've taken down the snake
that they were worshiping. Clover Grey
Occupation: Aldermouse
Appearance: A tall and slender mouse with a brown coat
Once the party returns to Rootvale, there are several and white paws; Always has a stern look on her face
possible endings: Attitude: Takes her job very seriously although the stress
If any of the foraging mice survived and were may be getting to her just a bit; Some say she has no
freed, the party is rewarded and celebrated as heroes sense of humor
when they return to Rootvale. The family and/or friends of Goal: To get re-elected in the upcoming election
any mice that were killed or left behind approaches the Purpose: To begin the adventure and give the party the
party in grief. They may ask where the missing mouse is, quest this adventure is centered on
what happened to them, or if the party brought home the
body.
If none of the foraging mice survived, the party
arrives to mice desperate for news of their loved ones. Ernest Graham
Grief is the dominant emotion here as it dons on the Occupation: Shopkeeper
citizens of Rootvale that the missing mice will never return. Appearance: A short and stocky mouse with a patchy
While the Aldermouse is disappointed by the news, they gray and black coat
do not blame the party and will wordlessly reward the Attitude: Friendly and always happy to make a sale or
party the minimum amount due. crack a joke
If the foraging mice survived but none were Goal: To make pips
freed, the party arrives to mice desperate for news of Purpose: To sell the party items that they may need or
their loved ones just as if none of the mice survived. Grief want
is the dominant emotion here as it dons on the citizens of
Rootvale that the missing mice may never return. If the
party lets it slip that the missing mice are still alive, the
Laurel Seeder
Aldermouse will not pay the party and instead hire a new
scouting team to complete the job that the party didn't Occupation: Housewife, Mother
finish. If the party tries again, half (rounded down) of the Appearance: A short mouse with a white coat
captive mice have been eaten and the scroll snake is Attitude: Always nervous or worried
larger now. Goal: To see her husband come home safely
Purpose: To end the adventure on either a happy or sad
note depending on what the party does
The Garden Credits and
Sample NPCs that may be found in the garden:
Acknowledgement
Clive White "Under the Garden" is an independent production by
Occupation: Forager Renasdoodles and is not affiliated with Losing Games. It is
Appearance: A small, frail mouse with a grey coat and published under the Mausritter Third Party License.
white belly
Attitude: Nervous and almost always afraid; Always Mausritter is copyright Losing Games.
seems to speak as if he's out of breath
Goal: To go home to Rootvale Cover art by Renasdoodles.
Purpose: To give the party a clue while in the garden as to
what happened to the missing mice

Hollowden
Sample NPCs that may be found in Hollowden:

Gil Barker
Occupation: Barkeeper
Appearance: A large, jolly rat with a black coat and a
round white belly
Attitude: Loud and friendly and likes a good laugh
Goal: To make pips
Purpose: To give the party a clue or some rumors

Jasper Grit
Occupation: Cultist
Appearance: A skinny gray rat with a notched ear
Attitude: Sneaky and quick to anger; Speaks as if
whispering loudly
Goal: To abduct mice to be sacrificed to the snake he
worships
Purpose: To potentially lead the party to the temple

Willow Strife
Occupation: Housewife, Mother
Appearance: An overweight rat with a white coat and
gray paws
Attitude: Spoiled and bored; Talks down to anyone below
her station and is quick to dismiss the poor
Goal: To hear stories of adventures on the surface
Purpose: To give the party unreliable rumors that may
lead to someone with more information