The "Winning Secrets" to having a D&D Campaign with Wargaming

Introduction

For years, perhaps decades, a certain refrain has echoed through the halls of the Dungeons and Dragons and tabletop RPG world: “D&D is a wargame.” The claim is correct, though seldom understood. D&D is indeed a wargame, yet in practice its players will rarely engage in any genuine wargame unless Braunstein principles are brought to bear.

A Braunstein is a game mode in which “there are multiple independent actors operating in (potential) conflict under a fog of war” (Credit: Griff Morgan and Jeffro Johnson). The game mode itself was first tried by David Wesely back in the dark old days before his game inspired Gygax and Arneson to create D&D. 

All of that, however, lies in the past. What concerns us here is the present and future of Real D&D play. More precisely, how you, yes you, may employ the Braunstein approach to run campaigns that keep your players engaged and playing actual games, including wargame battles, at your real or virtual tabletop.

The BROSR has been experimenting with the Braunstein form for about three or four years now. A great deal of real and digital ink has been spilled about the Braunstein form by the BROSR and by Jeffro Johnson, its chief architect and interpreter, that Jeffro, myself (BDubs1776), and Rule of Thule have written an entire book called "Winning Secrets" on the subject.

But this work is not concerned with the recent history of the BROSR. Even since the book was written, new ideas have arisen that carry Braunstein play to a still higher form.

The new concepts in question are called Docketing (originally created by myself [BDubs1776]), GOSS (originally created by Doomstone Crom), and SEEN (originally created by DM Serious). To understand these concepts you will need to completely change the way you imagine a D&D campaign. 

Stop conceptualizing D&D in the conventional manner of four best friends getting together with their adventure party to tackle a series of challenges presented by their Forever DM pal. Start conceptualizing D&D as a Braunstein where those four Player Characters (PCs) may level into domains with competing and opposite interests. When the Paladin gains a Holy Empire and the Thief takes over a thieves guild, those characters will necessarily work at odds. Braunstein play helps you play and adjudicate this competition.

You may say “I don’t like PVP” or “my PC always cooperates with the other PCs”. But, if you refuse to pursue the interests of your PC simply because it will bring him into conflict with another PC, you are not Roleplaying. 

Recently in my campaign of UMBROS, based on my free module set in the primeval world of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Hollow Earth” setting, there was a massive wargame that resulted directly from Real D&D (meaning Braunstein) play. You can download a FREE PDF COPY of UMBROS here. I will describe how that happened and how I adjudicated it, how co-DMs ran it, and how the Players played it. But first, I need to explain these esoteric terms. To initiate you into the greatness of BROSR thought.

Docketing

Let’s start with Docketing. When you run a Real Braunstein style D&D campaign, players will begin to work at odds. Sometimes this happens naturally. Other times the DM deliberately constructs the campaign world, as I did, with high level faction leaders run by real players who begin play already at odds.

They will often “send out armies, agents, or schemes that inevitably collide with one another in Convergence. Resolving these conflicts instantly at the main table (or over private message) often reduces them to a coin flip or a single die roll, draining away the very drama that makes Braunstein style play exciting. Docketing is the referee’s remedy: a way to log these clashes so they can be played out later as a full wargame, skirmish, or role-played confrontation. By docketing, the referee preserves momentum at the campaign level while ensuring that no faction’s or PC’s moves are trivialized. 

To do this the Referee creates a sort of Scenario Sheet based on the Downtime Orders (or in Session results) he receives. It will list the Faction, the troops and officers involved, the date in the game world when the actual Wargame Battle is to happen, and any special stipulations for the Wargame Battle.

Then, not only can the Referee or a Co-Referee oversee the Wargame Battle; the Battle itself can have any person play any side of the conflict! The actual Players of those Factions or PCs or whatever do NOT need to be the one(s) who show up to play out the scenario.

The penalty to the original Players in this case could be you simply having their forces quagmired in some way until such time that the Battle is played out.

Lastly, you are not required to only Docket battles due to Downtime Orders. You, as the Referee, can choose to Docket a battle decided upon due to Session Play or actions during a [...] Session Braunstein. You also do not need to Docket wargame battles, only. You can Docket skirmish fights or even roleplay style meetings between PCs or Faction leaders. As you explore and use Docketing, more ways of using it than even I imagined will occur to you!” (UMBROS page 69)

If you are a tabletop gamer with red blood in your veins, this will all sound very exciting. But, real Braunstein Style D&D play had a major problem of the Fog of War part of the Braunstein being so thick that no one even knew enough of what was going on around the game world to react to it.

GOSS

To pierce the fog of war without drowning the game in complex subsystems, Doomstone Crom introduced a brilliant method called GOSS. I described it in UMBROS as follows:

“Rather than relying on difficult sub-systems like those found in other Fantasy Adventure Games

produced recently, GOSS focuses on a simple resolution method of one dice roll for each major

action taken. All the Referee needs to do is gather all the Downtime Orders or even in Session Orders the various PCs and Faction Leaders take then make a single check for each [action then create a campaign news report for that action].” (UMBROS page 72)

For the UMBROS approach to GOSS you roll an eight sided die for each action a PC or Faction Leader (or whatever) takes in your game world. Then report the actions into a news channel on your discord server (or verbally if you’re playing in person) for each game world turn. Here are the possible results which will inform the DM’s news report:

    1 Public Knowledge

    2 to 3 Target’s Secret

    4 to 5 False Rumor

    6 to 7 Hidden Action

    8 Deception and Framing

“I need not elaborate on how every roll can create the possibility of exciting Convergences.

The Referee will need to use his best judgement to avoid absurdity with GOSS. A massive army

marching outside the city’s gates can’t be a Hidden Action. An assassination attempt which is played out and rolled with the best possible result for the assassin shouldn’t become Public Knowledge. And Players successfully Spying from the Rules as Written should be able to see through False Rumors or Deception and Framing. Yet, with GOSS, the Referee has a powerful tool to assure his Braunstein style campaign simmers with excitement and occasionally explodes with action; whether his players are trying to hide from each other or not!” (UMBROS page 73)

The GOSS method seemed revolutionary at the time I wrote UMBROS. But it has two problems which every real DM will contend with:

1. The DM will need to be very creative very frequently with his GOSS generated news reports.

2. There may be less player buy in since the DM will be creating much of the world and news.

Both of these problems are addressed with SEEN.

SEEN

Created by DM Serious for his Drakonheim campaign in 2025, SEEN is an incredible, and deceptively simple, evolution of GOSS. With SEEN you run GOSS as normal, but instead of the DM writing the news report, the Player is tasked with doing so. Additionally, to help prevent the Player from “turtling” to avoid conflict: the action the Player took does not truly occur until it is SEEN.

A small change, no? Yet this small change produces remarkable results.

First, the DM is no longer the sole arbiter of the world’s narrative when it comes to inventing engaging or “fair” news stories.

Second, players who are tasked with writing news reports about their own actions develop far greater investment in the game world. They begin to relish opportunities for psyops when they are given results such as “False Rumor” or “Deception and Framing.”

Soon players begin to consider their actions carefully, knowing that whatever they attempt may eventually be SEEN.

Most importantly, when GOSS and SEEN operate in tandem, the result is transformative. A game changer. A gameworld changer.

And I have a simple scenario from a real UMBROS Braunstein campaign to prove it.

The Battle of the Three Armies

I serve as the Referee who adjudicates the downtime orders in an ongoing UMBROS campaign.

Back in February, Ferigno the Green Dragon sent me a Downtime Order declaring that he would infiltrate the vault of Dwarf Lord Cointhrall and poison the dwarves’ water supply. GOSS determined that Ferigno did not get away with this without being SEEN. When I informed Ferigno that he had been discovered during his operation, he fled the vault, his Dragon Fear ability scattering nearly all of the dwarves present and preventing them from mounting a serious attack.

However, the GOSS roll for the event came up “False Rumor.” Because of this, I allowed Cointhrall to compose the SEEN post describing what the world would hear about the incident. He provided the following report which implied Ferigno had be severely injured:

“Ferigno was driven out of his surprise attack on Goldhall by the staunch dwarven defenders. Several witnesses attest that blood poured from a massive gash along the dragon’s flank. Three great cheers for Cointhrall as he addressed his sons, his enchanted blade still smoking with the green beast’s black blood. “Let it be known that once Ferigno drove us from our halls, but never again! The King has returned to his throne, and it’ll take more than that to remove him!” Many oaths of vengeance for the trespass into the dwarves’ hallowed halls follow, promising to finish off Ferigno once and for all!”

During the week of 03/10/2026, I received the following orders (paraphrased):

• Ferigno the Green dragon ordered that he and his vineling horde would fly south towards the wizard tower owned by Tootch the Archmage. He would cross over the Dawnlands to get there.

• Cointhrall the Dwarven Lord ordered he would be marching like 100 dwarves out into the center of the Dawnlands to meet up with Hibobu the Merchant’s army. They’d then proceed to Ferigno’s lair and attack Ferigno.

• Hibobu the Merchant would take his thag riders and his elite guard to meet with Cointhrall in the center of the Dawnlands. He’d then march with Cointhrall on Ferigno’s lair and attack Ferigno.

I suspect Hibobu chose to join Cointhrall in this venture because he believed Ferigno had been badly wounded, thanks to the previous SEEN report.

When I reviewed the incoming orders it quickly became clear that a mass combat wargame battle was inevitable. Based on travel speeds, I determined that Ferigno would encounter the allied forces of Cointhrall and Hibobu in the center of the Dawnlands. That is where the battle would occur.

Accordingly, I created a Docket with the following summary:

“Ferigno, while flying south from the Glarewood towards the Purple Hills, came across a group of dwarves from Cointhrall's vault. They were mustering at this location with Hibobu and some of his contingent. Ferigno begins battle on ground being lazy as he was becoming bored and tired of waiting on his "infantry" who are so much slower than him. Ferigno should have limited time to prep 4 battle as, due to his frustration with his infantry's slow pace, he was pondering a nap. He's not fully surprised but he did not see the other army coming from far off.”

I provided Orders of Battle with one army being Ferigno and about 70 vinelings. The other army being Cointhrall, about 100 dwarves, 2 ballistae, Hibobu and his “Shiny Gaurd” of elite fighters and 10 Elite Thag Riders. Thags are like giant dinosaur bull things that are used as draft and war mounts in UMBROS.

I had the following Special Instructions: “Ferigno values his vinelings but he will not lose his life for them. Will flee if takes half HP damage. Hibobu is a Thief/Merchant so he will hide if he takes any damage or is targeted with missile attacks.”

I circulated the Docket among players in the UMBROS Discord server, as well as a few other servers, with the instruction that the wargame battle would require a Referee to run it. I did not volunteer for the role.

Around 03/08/26 the battle was played out. The players representing Ferigno, Cointhrall, and Hibobu recruited a Referee who goes by the Discord name Luko Lionheart. Keep in mind it is not necessary for the Players who sent the Downtime Orders (and normally play those faction leaders) to be the ones to play out the wargame battle itself. We can assume the threat of having their forces quagmired inspired them to move quickly to recruit Luko to Referee.

After the game, Luko sent me the results on 03/09/2026, including a round by round breakdown of orders and outcomes, along with the final troop losses.

I rolled GOSS to determine how news of the event would spread and received “Public Knowledge.” So I composed a report for the UMBROS News Network channel. I chose not to assign a SEEN post to any player in this case, since it made more sense for me to condense the lengthy battle report Luko provided.

The UMBROS News Network carried the following account:

“Across the domains of Umbros word spreads of a mighty clash in the Dawnlands. Ferigno the Green Dragon met Cointhrall, Dwarf Lord of Goldhold, in open battle and the field ran red before the day was done. Both rulers marched with large hosts. The Gem Sons of Goldhold came ready with engines and axes to bring down the ancient wyrm. Ferigno answered with ranks of vinelings eager to bind and crush their foes beneath living vines and brambles. 

A third power was present as well. Hibbobu marched from the south with disciplined footmen, and powerful thag riders; joining his strength with the dwarves as their forces advanced north to meet the dragon. 

Ferigno was the first to act. Though the dragon is often accused of indolence he moved with sudden purpose, twisting through the sky while dwarf ballistae hurled bolts toward him. His clumsy flight maneuverability did not allow him to essentially teleport across the field like so many lesser game systems. Thank you 1e! He instead picked up speed towards the Dwarven ranks. 

On the ground the battle unfolded in violent strokes. Thag riders burst from cover and thundered toward the vineling left flank. Hibbobu's footmen pushed forward to strengthen the dwarven formation while the Stonegard prepared their charge.

When the thags crashed into the vinelings the slaughter was immediate. Tusks tore through vines and brambles and dozens of the plant creatures fell beneath the assault while the thags bellowed to the curved skies. At the same moment the Stonegard surged forward and smashed another host of vinelings into ruin.

For a brief moment the field rang with dwarf victory cries.

Then Ferigno arrived.

The dragon closed the distance in a single terrible rush and loosed a torrent of burning acid across the field. Lord Cointhrall and the warriors beside him were engulfed in the corrosive storm and fell where they stood. Shock rippled through the dwarven ranks as word spread that their lord had been slain. The line faltered and began a hard fighting withdrawal. Even the dwarf ballistae crews abandoned their engines in the chaos.

Seeing the field broken Ferigno turned his wings northward, content to leave the shattered vinelings to whatever fate awaited them. Yet before the dragon could escape the dwarf hero known as F4 seized Cointhrall's Dragonslayer sword. With grim resolve he bound the blade to a ballista bolt and drew back the great engine for one desperate shot.

The field fell silent.

F4 released the bolt.

It screamed through the air toward the retreating wyrm and missed its mark.

Ferigno's laughter echoed across the Dawnlands as he vanished into the northern sky, satisfied that at last his ancient enemy Lord Cointhrall lay dead upon the field. The survivors of the battle scattered, and the tale of the three armies now travels from hall to hall throughout Umbros.”

Conclusion

Whether their PCs were first level dungeon delvers venturing forth under DM Dunder Moose, faction leaders participating in the occasional Braunstein session with DM Gelatinous Rube, or simply men submitting downtime orders to me, the players were astonished and excited by what this event might mean for UMBROS.

None of it would have been possible without Docketing. It would not have come together without GOSS. And it would scarcely have mattered to anyone beyond the immediate participants without SEEN.

Together these methods of running a REAL D&D campaign have produced something rare: a Braunstein style fantasy world that lives, moves, and rewards those bold enough to adventure within it.

Will you try it or will you keep playing in conventional (meaning boring) D&D games?

Your D&D Players are Terrible (BROmerican Championship Final!

Introduction

Your D&D and TTRPG players are, on the whole, simply terrible. Let us count the ways:

1. Obsessed with Individual Initiative so they can control each step of their boring PC's dumb actions (when they deem to put their smartphone down for their turn)

2. Approach D&D as a videogame loot and XP treadmill so don't even roleplay beyond excising their middle school era power fantasies.

3. Crunch Doritos too loudly. 

4. Whine when you rule against them.

5. Scared of their shadow in such a way they demand the DM dispel all Fog of War with their 20 questions.

6. Powergame in a way that flattens the game; having them "win" in the most boring way possible.

7. Don't read. The rulebook. The foundational fiction of Gygax's DMG Appendix N. Your texts to schedule the next session. They don't read!

It's honestly exhausting. When you review the truth of the above list you wonder how TTRPGs and D&D could have lasted as a game/hobby for over 40 years. Perhaps it was simply terrible birds of a feather flocking together. Or simply inertia of geeks continuing to do what they've always done. Or perhaps you, the DM, are just as terrible as them? 3

Perhaps you were but are trying to improve. If you're reading this blog and following the #BROSR, #BROXT, and the BROmerican Championship Tournament; you are definitely trying to improve your DMing. I thank you for being here and I thank you for trying to improve the hobby by looking in the mirror with how you can run a better, Real D&D campaign.

But your players are likely bucking up against you. They're whining your more Old School Game is too lethal. Or they'd rather just keep playing 5e than try something different (better) like 1e. Or they're pixel-complaining each of your Rulings as you struggle to run a better game.

Or, like Scutifer Mike's player in his AAR entry in the FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND of the BROmerican Championship Tournament, your player's would rather just play Get-Along-Gang TTRPGs with no stakes.

Or, like Obsessor in his AAR entry this week, you have a player who is so intent on "Winning" he's lost the plot on what Braunstein play is all about. Of what roleplaying is all about. 

So, as you can see, you're not alone! All who strive for greatness are pulled down by those around them. Worst is when it's your friends! How can you possibly run a Real D&D game if your own D&D Friends don't even want it? You need to check out both BROmerican Championship Contendors' blogs this week; to find out. Both Obsessor and Scutifer Mike will show you how to keep your cool and cold like ol' Job.

Championship Matchup

Obsessor (3) vs Scutifer Mike (5)

It's all come down to this. The better of these two After Action Reports (AAR) will become the BROmerican Champion and Title Holder. 

We will start with Obsessor's AAR which is titled "Convergence at Frog Temple". The other Bookers loved this session report. Robert "The Heel" Stephens said it "shows how easily anyone can run a Braunstein and that they don't have to put alot of time to prep for it". Very true. While reading this report it seems like much of the prep went towards putting a bunch of junk terrain features on Obsessor's table that PCs could navigate around during their long form PVP combat.

It also seemed like Obsessor's attention was needed in addressing his less than elite player who created the "powergamey" flying druid(s?) faction. Obsessor said "I pushed [the player] for justification [of] flying swords [which] are one of the strongest options available". Sadly when you let your players create all the Braunstein factions themselves, you'll probably need to argue with one or more of them to not be terrible.

As we discussed in my last blog and on the Dunder Moose Podcast, having ELITE players who know Appendix N, much of this can be avoided.

Even so, Booker Dunder Moose said Obsessor's AAR "knocked it out of the PARK! Put on an absolute clinic for the outsiders. Fun to read. Cutting edge with the 'goals aren't necessary' push". I mostly agree.

Obsessor didn't come to his Braunstein setup and prep with goals but he did let his players create them prior to the game so, I guess, he could score them to determine a winner. When I say that Braunstein's should have NO GOALS I mean it just that way. Players don't need to outline their goals in their character (faction?) generation. Much of Obsessor's "Setup" section of his AAR is given to analyzing if the Players made good pre-game goals for themselves.

Meanwhile, I still don't know what Chaz's goal is for the #BROXER "Type 2" Braunstein that is kicking off in 3 days!

Anyway, Obsessor goes on to describe how the four factions of his four Braunsteiners got into a big schmoz in a temple environment. If you want to see how an expert DM like Obsessor handles less than elite (read: terrible) players: Note how he allowed the other Players to take missile shots a the goofy powergamer "Cloud" dude who wanted to fly around and hide in clouds the entire Braunstein (ZZZZZZZZZ!)

Glad that guy LOST. Check out the AAR ASAP to see who won and how they did it!

Now let's analyze Scutifer Mike's AAR which is titled "We Burn Bright. They Burn Out". It starts strong by stating clearly "the BroXT have once again demonstrated that only they can handle anything beyond the superficial tabletop experience". So true!

Scutifer Mike quickly goes into his "Motherslop" AAR lamenting how, upon trying to run his own Type 2 Braunstein, he was immediately "met with resistance from a conventional player [who requested I] homebrew rules for ship building/upgrading [then deluged me with] Mother-May-I questions!"

What a disaster. Booker Bob Stephens said "CCP Scuti is correct about how players need correction when complaining and deserve less" and Booker Moose said "Scuti [is] really channeling Jeffro with the adherence to world over the gamers". 

Read this session report if you want to understand how CCP Scuti kept his cool with his terrible player and, after bringing in the BROXT Superstars, was able to get his Braunstein on track. It's hilarious and helpful.

But which of these men delivered the best AAR report this week? Booker Bob Stephens and Booker Moose said... Obsessor!

Well that seems to wrap it up right? Two votes for Obsessor of the three Bookers for the BROXT and the BROmerican Championship tournament. 

So congratulations are in order for...

WAIT. I'm the Head Booker! Know your role and shut your mouth. I deem SCUTIFER MIKE  the winner of the BROmerican Championship Tournament.

For me, Obsessor's AAR made a major error in being overly long but, worse, overly long with COMBAT DETAILS! This didn't come off like a Braunstein to me. It came off like a boardgame which I recently dumped on during my Dundercast! 

Obsessor had some great thoughts but the "outsiders" Moose thinks may come to Braunstein play thanks to this AAR would have been run off by all the detailed explanation of combat. Did Obsessor Braunsteiners ever even talk to eachother? Or did they just fight? This seems more like what Jeffro believed the Battle Braunstein would be (and wasn't) than what we now know a Braunstein is. 

Scutifer Mike, on the other hand, kept his AAR pithy and got to the hits. He explained why his findings were important, analyzed them, was funny, and "went home". Obsessor had a 4 star match but Scutifer Mike brought a 4.5 star performance.

Also, Scutifer Mike wired me some CCP CASH DIRECTLY TO MY ACCOUNT. HAHAHA it was me Obsessor, it was me all along! Authority Figure BDubs runs the BROXT how he sees fit. Maybe if you get out your checkbook you'll get a rematch with CCP MIKE for BROasian Belt!

Until then, congrats to Mike for a fine performance during this tournament. I expect a workhorse champion and more Chipotle Bucks coming in right away. Booker Moose, eat your heart out. Because you're not getting another Burrito Bowl!

Braunstein is the Talk of the Town (BROmerican Championship Tournament Round 3)

Introduction

BROZER is the talk of the town... again!

If you blinked, you might have missed it. I went onto the "This is Dunder Moose" podcast this week for a very serious and important interview where I realized something very incredible indeed. Normal gamers are extremely interested in running Braunsteins. Finally! The chat was wild with questions asking things like "this type of game sounds incredible, how could I possibly run this?" The answer from myself, Dunderrizz, and the other Christian Gentlemen in the chat: "Just read/run BROZER". 

Wow!

When I went onto the Alexander Macris's "Arbiter of Spreadsheets" podcast some months back basically no one in the chat cared about running Braunsteins. As a customer base concerned primarily with Conventional Style D&D (read: fake, broke and dumb D&D) they had little interest in running or playing in Real D&D (read: Braunstein style D&D). So, the chat was so barren of requests for advice, despite my promise at the start of the show to help them "Braunstein their Campaign", Macris had to resort to asking me to turn the Minecraft Movie into a Braunstein!

What a shameful indictment on the state of Conventional D&D customers. I am unable to call them "Conventional D&D Players" as I find it unlikely they have D&D campaigns at all.

The takeaway is what I predicted years back. Conventional D&D is dead on the vine. The OSR is over as a gaming group. They are barely hanging on as a group of whales throwing cash to their e-friends like Macris (who is a good guy and does deserve it so

RIP to my brother in Christ, brother.

go give him money). They are barely hanging on as a group of simps throwing cash at erstwhile TTRPG e-girls who push warmed over BROSR talking points or who sell warmed over OSR retroclones whose only redeeming quality is ripping off myself or Jeffro's most public ideas like 1:1 Jeffrogaxian Time or Braunstein play. Stop simping!

H4zbro D&D, on the other hand, will never die as a product. While its players may be banned from approaching school zones, they still haunt various basements RPing as gendergoblins saving the kingdom from patriarchy, fascism, and personal hygiene; H4zbro D&D is now a "lifestyle brand" for degenerates whose lifestyle would shock and disgust their grandparents. The OSR, no longer a group of people playing actual games, is left joining the h4zbro gender brigade and pretending they're still the cool kids slumming it with weirdos. One imagines them dusting off and donning their black trench coat from their high school days.

Then you have the BROSR and the BROXT. What sets us apart from the H4zbro Crew, besides proper hygiene, striking good looks and social skills, is we ACTUALLY PLAY GAMES.

What keeps the BROXT playing games is... the Total Nonstop Braunstein. And, thanks to BROZER, people are starting to notice.

The Dundermoose chat, and the online discussion lately, is no longer full of angry weirdos. The friction is gone. It's been replaced by curiosity. Regular men see other regular men having fun and we can tell them about the FREE module we made to go have the same kind of fun.

BROZER owns the conceptual space. "Just go play BROZER" is a killshot the gendergoblins are unable to dodge. They may continue to scream in protest but no one cares any longer.

This week the BROmerican Tournament for After Action Reports (AAR) has BROXT Superstars applying the lessons from Jeffro's BROZER essays. We see these men playing and analyzing Braunsteins that use Type I, Type II, and Type III this week! Jeffro's brilliance of defining the various approaches to Braunsteining is thus cemented. Regular gamers now realize this and can say #ThankYouJeffro for this easy shorthand.

They can thank the BROXT for pushing the envelope and, when all who are reading this are playing TOTAL NONSTOP BRAUNSTEIN this time next year, you can come back and reply to this blog with "Thank you, BROXT".

You're welcome.

Matchups

Obsessor (3) vs Hoot Owl (10)

With only two matches this week I tapped the other BROXT Bookers, Dunder Moose and Bob "The Heel" Stephens for thoughts on the matchups. We all agreed that this matchup had the weakest two of the four entries. The Bookers said things like "have them both lose, somehow", "just make it a Fatal Four Way and they are eliminated", or "Hi I'm Dundermoose and you can bribe me with Ch1potle".

I said, nah nah! While I agree that Obsessor and Hoot Owl didn't step up to the level of Josh and Scutifer Mike in their matchup, I think both of these men gave a nice mid card match for THE PEOPLE. I will not gaga them out of their contest or DQ them from a proper winner being named.

Hoot decided, this week, to give us a blast from the long lost past; analyzing his involvement in and old 1e AD&D style Tournament Module. One of the Living Urf Gaming Club DMs decided to run a bespoke adventure for 3 different parties and see who scored the most. This proves the BROXT is remaking the Lake Geneva culture that Gary and Co took for granted.

Hoot's blog, titled "A lost part of the Hobby Revived!" is marred with giving too much step by step information on exactly what the party did, the contents of each room, the tactics they used. What this entry needs is more information on the mindset of the players and why they made this or that choice. How this Tournament approach changed or impacted how they were playing D&D. Dundermoose said he liked "the ending and [how it upholds] the Clubhouse ethic". Here's a bit of that ending:

"It was a fun evening and the pressure of not only trying to complete all the goals, but also explore the dungeon and find as much loot in 3 hours was a great challenge and I totally understand now why this was such a common thing at Gaming Conventions in the first decade of the Hobby. It really does push you to the limit of your abilities as a gamer[.]"

Running a tournament like at OG GenCon (before the degenerates and girlgamers ruined it) may not seem like a Braunstein to you, but you could easily do something like this and roll the results back into your ongoing D&D Campaign. Hoot hints at this DM intended to do just that but some more elaboration or contemplation about that would have gained Hoot at least half a star, in my book.

Obsessor comes to us this week with an AAR intriguingly titled "King For A Day". In this he too gives us a blast from the past, but this time the BROSR past of "Always On" style TYPE III play.

Obsessor regails with his tale of running a Legacy BROSR Style Patron. It's very cool hearing how Obsessor justifies or analyzes the decisions he makes to annoy and gadfly the PCS; or work with them as best he can get away with as his Patron "Selwyn". Anyone who ran a BROSR Patron from 2020 to around 2023 can relate to most of the thoughts in this blog. I advise all to take a look at this as the best AAR of Patron Play ever delivered; since so few were ever made! BROXT somehow charting new ground even when using older mustier BROSR methods. His conclusion is a banger:

"What really sticks out to me is the bittersweet tragedy of Selwyn’s rise and fall. This was such an impactful arc for me because I really did care. I wasn’t just playing a part, I “got into character”, I was there, I was him, he was I. There may be bias in this report, as I’m sure the players would tell you, but how can I help it? I feel it. Selwyn dared to step beyond his narrow walls, dared to make his vision real, dared to REACH for greatness! And he was VILIFIED for it! For daring! For trying! For willing!"

How can you not want to try and do a Type III Braunstein or play a Faction Leader in same after reading that? The BROXT are better theater kids than the theater kids; all thanks to the Braunstein!

Despite Obsessor's AAR not being perfect, I give it the victory over Hoot. We celebrate Hoot Owl shocking the world to get this far but he'll need to lift hard and come back for the next challenge if he hopes to hold gold in the BROXT. Can Obsessor go the distance?

Winner: Obsessor

Joshua (1) vs Scutifer Mike (5)

This matchup is obviously the Main Event this week. The Bookers were split on their decision of who won this but of the 3 judges, one of these gentlemen got two votes. So there will be NO DQ. One will be eliminated and one will go on to face Obsessor next week!

We'll start with Scutifer Mike who shows up with his blog titled "I Have Such Sights To Show You". Bob "The Heel" Stephens says "China Mike had an excellent report [that is] a great example on how Total Nonstop Braunstein (TNB) can work to encourage PVP". I agree completely. Mike explains his frustration with "two conventional players at my table who try at every opportunity to drag the others into 'main character/spotlight play'" and goes on to explain how TNB style PVP can help fix this awful situation. Dunder Moose said he loved "the moment [in the blog] when [Scutifer Mike's] Getalong Gang of PCs who took all the NPCs for granted started to panic because of Patron moves!"

This element of panic was so common when I ran Dubzaron I had PCs who ragequit because I would hide which Faction leaders were NPCs and which were Player Controlled Patrons!

Scutifer Mike's blog not only has great ideas and gives fantastic advice, but it's fun to read. You really should check it out. Dundermoose voted it the better of the two blogs this week!

You should also check out Joshua's entry "Total Nonstop Braunstein - Know Your Role". Joshua is now proven as the second funniest blogger in the BROXT after myself. If you don't laugh reading this AAR about him playing as a 1e Ranger in the Bloodfall campaign, you have no sense of humor at all. Bob "The Heel" Stephens agrees that "the mad sh-t talking [on the AAR] was great".

I played in this session and much of the actual gaming analysis is about my Paladin play and my grade hit for not living up 100% to the Paladin ethos. I used a scheming plan rather than honor or boldness to which the DM gave me an S (for Superior) rather than E (for Excellent). Joshua has this to say:

"I have to say it was a very fair grade. It was a very creative plan and a great idea just when we needed it. But Paladins are held to a different standard than most classes and really should avoid such sneaky and underhanded plays, even if they are effective and needed. I am sure the player who played the Paladin agrees with me. I am confident in this because I know he is well versed in Appendix N and how alignment in 1e works."

I agree! BROXT proving that we earn a Superior grade over the OSR and 6e gendergoblins in that we use class grading and DON'T WHINE when it doesn't go our way.

Joshua goes on to explain why he agrees with our fantastic DM's grade by quoting from Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions"; proving that the BROXT is well read in the establishing fiction for Real D&D. If you haven't read "3H3L" I am certain your D&D Campaign or Play is terrible.

Both Bookers mentioned this quote and appreciating it. It is one reason that Bob "The Heel" Stephens voted Joshua the better of these two blogs this week.

So that leaves me as the tiebreaker, doesn't it?

I loved both of these AARs. As you can see above: I have nothing negative to say about either! Knowing exactly what Joshua was talking about, as I had played in that session and dealt with that issue THIS WEEK, made me truly enjoy the read. That said, Alignment Analysis is a slightly more well tread blog subject, losing Joshua a quarter star.

So, Scutifer Mike was the better AAR this week. He takes me back to a time when I was running Dubzaron and when Patrons were a new and shiny concept. The shock and fear from the PCs about Patrons was always palpable. It's one of the primary reasons the Braunstein form has taken off. We had caught lightning in a bottle with Patrons (now called Faction Leaders or similar) and seeing Scutifer Mike's PCs reactions was so much fun.

"All [the PCs'] hubris went out the window when they realized that these other players wouldn’t pull any punches, and all of a sudden, the Contessa crew grasped that they were NOT the main characters of the game. They’ve always known the other crews were out there, but they never had to deal with them before."

Obessor will need to deal with Scutifer Mike next week because, while Joshua's AAR dogwalked Hoot Owl and Obsessor this week, he was 1v1 with China Mike who shanghaied him out of nowhere.

Joshua will lift gold in the BROXT one day. But not this day. Like Bron Breakker, he's the future of this industry!

Good luck to Scutifer Mike and Obessor in the final round!

Winner: Scutifer Mike

Conclusion

Thanks for reading and check this blog around this time next week to see who wins the FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND of the prestigious BROMERICAN TOURNAMENT.

Rise of the Total NonStop Braunstein (BROmerican Championship Tournament Round 2)

Introduction

The Total NonStop Braunstein (TNB) is on the rise. 

Who has it this week?

Ever since the release of BROZER, you’re seeing session Braunsteins everywhere in every type of game. You even see grifters and retrocloners selling them. It’s a sensation!

Thanks to the Living Urf Gaming Club and the BROXT, you’re even seeing the TNB start to form. A vague idea I had long ago which many Legacy BROSR oldheads chattered against, the young guns of the BROXT took up the charge to make my dream a reality. 

The best After Action Reports (AAR) this week talk about the TNB or have the writers being PCs in what are essentially TNBs; session Braunsteins derived from REAL long form TTRPG campaigns. 

Each day we get closer to total gaming enlightenment with the TNB. Read this week’s AARs with that in mind and see if you can see the light on the horizon. I can!

Matchups

Obsessor (3) vs DM Rump (6)

A very big matchup that I decided to give to Dundermoose to judge. I’ll just put his thoughts from twitter whole cloth below:

[Obsessor’s AAR is a] very fun to read after I got through the list of people involved.  Can't be helped, one needs to set the table, but my brain hates lists.  Obsessor's writing captures the bold moves and crazy reversals that occurred, and conveys the breathlessness of the loss of control Braunsteins feel like to  play in.  All the while he is explaining the rulesets that he used for combat, and how he handled the edge cases that the scenario demanded.  Map movement/Discord communication protocols, and ShadowDark, plus, BROZER scaling with just a dash of AD&D 1e hero vs monsters of less than 1HD goodness.  

     I was learning not only about how _Obsessor_ approaches play, but also what he took from playing in Actual Braunstein and Banania with Wesely himself.  He talks about his decisions and how they worked out and contrasts them with how Wesely runs Banania and why Wesely's approach was probably superior.  This represents well the BROSR/BROXT ethos of blogging receipts, using mass combat, and especially, using Braunstein-Like sessions and mechanics in combination with an ongoing campaign, and how that changes the session fundamentally from "do anything, slice of time, pregen characters" to "these PCs and NPCs matter and session players will have to deal with the aftermath of this!"

He's going to be tough to beat.  Read it for yourself here.

Is Rump bad at Braunsteins?  Yes.  Yes he is.  Is it fun to read about?  Can we learn from his poor performances?  Also yes.  We sure can.  In Rump's entry we do not just get one AAR, but an overview of Braunstein-like play seen from many vantages.  How did he almost not suck in DiplomacyByX?  What was it like screwing the pooch in Livingstone?  And then a heartwarming origin story about how he found his way from the thin, meaningless gruel of conventional D&D that YOU probably enjoy, to the enlightened, invigorating, anything-is-possible, don't look away for a heartbeat vista that is BROSR play.  And he launches us from this history into the most Bro thing imaginable:  A setup for his next campaign incorporating BROZER and all of the dynamics he has learned to date!  BroXTzer! A modified Type III (don't look UnderCurat0r!  You'll get flashbacks!) Can he pull it off?  Will you be invited? Maybe?

Read for yourself here.

Lots to like in both of these, and some things best looked away from in each.

Ultimately, the winner of this round is @0bsessor1 .

While both were fun to read, Obsessor's was more focused.  I learned more from his, especially due to his unfair advantage of having played Braunstein and Banania with Wesely and being able to contrast approaches.  While both represented the spirit of BROSR/BROXT play, Obsessor put a finer point on a subject they both championed, combining Braunstein play with ongoing campaigns instead of myriad system hopping one-shots.

Rump landed some great points, and I'm still smilling about "Griffrogaxian time..."

But read the final paragraph from Obsessor's post:

"A final note: if you do a game arising from events in a campaign, it is possible that one character will have many more cards up their sleaves due to clever preparation. This is FINE. In this case, Moleman didn’t even have to call on the Basilisk or the undead priesthood, but he might have had to if things had gone differently. In the end, as ref you have to honour preceding victories even if it gives one side an advantage. Braunsteins are not about balance. You play the cards you’re dealt – or the ones you steal."

Chef's kiss good!

Winner: Obsessor

Scutifer Mike (5) vs Angry Steak (4)

I had to take over and be the Booker for the remainder of Scutifer Mike’s run in this BROmerican tournament. I gave his last matchup to Booker DunderMoose to judge and was sad to find my co-booker was BRIBED with a burrito to sherpa Scuti through the last round. I apologize to Datsun who was ROBBED but the show must go on.

Scutifer’s AAR this week has a title I’m bound to love: “Don’t Over Prep. Really.” But then he goes on to talking about how he “rolled up a subsector” or some nonsense. Seems he’s stuck on this “Motherslop” retro-clone of Traveller or whatever. I’ll never look into it, ever. 

He corrects course quickly by explaining how he generated a recent session of content on the fly, including ships, encounters and even planets. This is good stuff, despite being a short blog post.

Based on this reading I’d say Scutifer Mike knows how to channel the deep magic of low-prep GMing in a way some may not. Is it practice or something more? 

The BROSR was deep into Appendix A a couple years back. That’s the random dungeon generator at the back of the 1e DMG. Myself and my co-DMs of Dubzaron even theorized we could take turns generating my megadungeon of Muppetlantis if we ONLY used Appendix A. This was a flop. Not because it was never fun, but as a Player and GM I’ve come to realize a fully Appendix A dungeon has many issues. Too little treasure (so no reason to go inside), no theme or internal consistency to encounters or Lairs or whatever, no way to use the map to find ways around because you KNOW it’s totally random; so there’s no reason for players to try using logic or planning in ways that involve 3d contemplation.

This DOES NOT mean that one should become a Prep Addict. It means Appendix A and Low-Prep GMing must needs lean on the deep magic of how you interact and almost commune with your best present players’ best ideas on the go to generate a world and dungeon that makes sense to Pulp Fantasy and Sci-Fi literature. 

Scuti did that in this session.

Angry Steak’s AAR, on the other hand, outlines what happens when Low Prep doesn’t work because the Players give the poor GM NOTHING TO WORK WITH. 

“We fumbled the ball. There was a miscommunication on who was running the show (lack of leadership/calls), what resources were available, and other details. This was not helped by my own rolling of an Elf in the "session where we kill the elves."

I was in this session so this is not me beclowning the Bloodfall PCs lightly. I fumbled the ball as well!

What isn’t a fumble is Steak’s AAR entitled "Dealing with Disapointment". He so succinctly explains why the session didn’t work, what mistakes the PCs made, and how various BROSR techniques could have saved the day if we’d have simply trusted in them. Honestly, Steak’s thoughts on all this are in an Alignment Language so clear to BROSR members and so opaque for outsiders, it becomes shocking how much ACTUALLY PLAYING D&D (rather than just talking about it on stupid youtube shows all day) makes a guy like Steak an Elite D&D player.

Sadly, I can nary reward Steak a W for a session report from a session myself and the other players so thoroughly failed in. His Cleric Kirk’s death in downtime was a triumph of the Total Nonstop Braunstein form but Session 19 to follow up on the event was a failure. Thus, with Scuti also having deep and useful BROSR thoughts in his AAR, Steak must fall with Kirk; this time, out of the BROmerican Tournament. Congratulations to the one and only Scuti Mike! Please stand up please stand up.

Winner: Scutifer Mike

Hoot-Owl (10) vs Parker Duncan (2)

I gave this matchup to Robert “The Heel” Stephens to judge and will simply let him speak on what he thinks. Hoot-Owl’s AAR was entitled “Player Report from Bunkerstein 1945” and Parker’s was called “Crushing the Head of the Snake”. 

You may not like what Robert Stephens has to say about these AAR or the winner. But accept it:

Winner is Hoot Owl.

He talked about how Josh's method of forcing players to ‘move’ between voice chats helped make the game better and how the DM ran a solo game simultaneously to see how long the session would last. This involved the allied forces invading Berlin whilst the players were in the bunkers below the city.

Was good length but most was just a recap of the game.

Parker's was basically all recap. He incorporated stuff from AD&D to supplement the pitfalls of ShadowD-ke, specifically with assassination table.(Good) He gave his players grades at the end but he didn't use them to affect training times bc players didn't like that idea. He should just play AD&D and disregard his players' opinions on grading. It will force them to play better.

I bigly agree with Robert “The Heel” Stephens on forcing the Player Grades. C’mon Parker! Players deserve less! But Hoot deserves this W.

Winner in a Major Upset: Hoot Owl

Joshua (1) vs Merinus (9) vs Dragons Beyond (Wildcard)

This is a Triple Threat match between the highest rated competitor (Joshua), Merinus of the 9 rating, and a Wildcard Participant I tossed into the deep end last week when Jey decided to bag out. Merinus V Dragons Beyond was a TIE so they progressed to this round. 

Dragons_Beyond comes to the ring offering a detailed breakdown of how he prepped and ran a Boot Hill session for some Living Urf club members. It’s titled “Shoot ‘em Up: a 1st edition Boot Hill Campaign” DB describes how he used AI to do MEGA PREP. I dislike AI and I dislike PrepAddiction (it’s a scourge!) so DB will need to really step it up to get past Merinus and Joshua this round.

Thankfully he faithfully breaks down how he ran a more Conventional Style TTRPG version of a Boot Hill session (rather than the TNB style many BROXT believe Boot Hill works best with). It’s my understanding Boot Hill is a more barebones game book. So seeing how DB used Wilder Survival and the like to make his session sing is good advice for aspiring Boot Hill GMs. If you’re wondering “how do I even GM this game?”, DB has you covered. My advice for Dragons_Beyond going forward is to note the times players were excited or enjoyed something (or hated it!). Noting this in an AAR helps the reader get why this or that approach or GMing call or idea worked or didn’t for the session’s enjoyment or not. If you love Boot Hill and know how to get into the Living Urf Gaming Club, you owe it to yourself to jump in on this campaign. With some of the BROXT members playing, it’s going to go Total Nonstop Braunstein sooner or later. Can you afford to miss it?

Next to the ring is Merinus who again impresses with his pulpy storyfied breakdown of one of his PC’s session experience. The blog is titled “Merinus’s Adventures in Living Urf”. I’ll skip describing that as this isn’t a writer’s corner. You can truly see that Merinus is “a recovering storygamer with years of conventional play under [his] belt”. The BROXT can bring in and fix theater kids; as Merinus’s evolution shows. 

The AAR is actually a few AARs of his experience being a game hopper in the Living Urf Gaming Club. He played in Albroion, The Sword in the Stein, and some “Midnight Chainmail”. Merinus is truly dedicated to becoming a real gamer, not a dirty theater kid!

“This is the strength of having a gaming club: you don’t get the opportunity to get lost in the theorycrafting.”

YES! In a world where retrocloners will ask for money for games they designed and never played, this is well said from Merinus!

I couldn’t possibly break down all his break downs here. I don’t have the time or energy! 

But Merinus’ little comments like this are GOLD. When speaking about “Sword in the Stein” he says the following about playing in a session Braunstein:

“The idea is the faster you establish your character in a Braunstein, the better. You want everyone to think about you in some capacity because that means they will seek you out to interact. You want to be loud enough to be an important character in everyone else's story, whether you are a villain or an ally. You want them to interact with you.” 

So true. While the opponents of the BROXT try to besmirch the Braunstein form as “just a parlor game”, they essentially reveal to us they are socially maladjusted an unable to make themselves “an important character” in anyone else’s story. Certainly not in the story of the BROSR’s ascension to the throne! 

You owe it to yourself to read Merinus’s thoughts on his Living Urf experience. And, while I can’t rightly recommend any fiction written after 1980, Merinus’s theater kid story-posts are less offensive than some doorstop slop from a George RR Martin sort. 

Last we come to Joshua. What can I even say about his AAR entitled “Total Nonstop Swordstein”? He already said it all himself. This AAR goes on and on and on and on.

And on.

Joshua feels the need to give every last detail on the “Sword in the Stein” session Braunstein he was also a part of. He has a litany of tips on how to run and play in a Braunstein. He makes a million professional wrestling style jokes (with memes!) crowning himself not only the winner of the “Sword in the Stein” but the winner of THIS COMPETITION! 

On and on it goes like a Will Ospreay match up against Swerve Strickland. He has to do EVERY move. Every flippy dip. Every finger gun to the sky with aura farming. 

Unfortunately for all of us… just like Will Ospreay; Joshua really is THAT GOOD. 

This session report AAR blows every single one I read this week out of the water. Joshua really does understand the Total Nonstop Braunstein and he proves, in this session report, he may be the currently active BROXT or even BROSR member out there right now who understands the session Braunstein the best. And it's fun reading what he has to say about it!

I can’t pretend Joshua didn’t mop up Merinus and Dragons_Beyond this week. Both of them may have won vs some of the other competitors I read. But against Joshua it was a squash. 

You must read this AAR. 

With that said, I would like to use this space to discuss a problem I’ve already touched upon with the Session Braunstein form. Last week I advised everyone to stop with all the themed one-shot session Braunsteins and focus on ones that tie back into real ongoing campaigns. 

The DM of the “SwordStein”, Hieronymous, does this since this Session Braunstein does in fact come from his ongoing “Knight Errant” campaign. While I can’t recommend you buy yet another retroclone, it is nice to see a retrocloner who actually runs and plays his product. What a concept!

However, I am worried about the Board Gameification of the Braunstein form. Long ago, before the BROXT, Jeffro advised running “Battle Braunstein” without goals or scoring. I disagreed and ran the Fishstein with Goals and Scoring. I learned Goals and Scoring suck. As Jeffro says “just play your role” and like Stone Cold might add “shut your mouth”.

The goals in the Swordstein Joshua shows us in the AAR seem decent enough. But he then proceeds to describe how he speedran them. While this might just be him bragging or to entertain the reader, I wonder if that’s what is being seen during this session Braunsteins. 

To me it sounded as if in some ways the Spacestein in particular was designed with overlapping goals where players might have just gotten together and compared checklists to see if their Game Board goals aligned. “Do you have a Jack of Diamonds?” “No go fish!” 

As such, it occurs to me that all this goal and scoring design may actually be more damaging to real Braunstein roleplay than even Jeffro realized back in the day. As these session Braunsteins are getting more and more popular and being played almost weekly, I see signs of some of the charm of REAL ROLEPLAY may be slipping away to goal grinding. 

With respect to these GMs and players, I will admit I am not playing in any of these. I haven’t had the time. The BROXT has lapped me in the Session Braunstein experience. But they’ve not lapped me in perceiving where problems might arise in real D&D and Total Nonstop Braunstein.

So, as I asked last time for them to direct more efforts towards running 1e and long campaign derived Braunsteins, I now encourage them to give NO GOALS to see what happens. You’re not a board game designer. You are a Dungeon Master. Act like it.

Can you Braunstein without a net? If you’re BROXT I bet you can!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading and check this blog around this time next week to see who wins Round Two of the prestigious BROMERICAN TOURNAMENT.