'Ere Now, Wot's All This Then?

The first Braunstein was held in the basement of Dave Arneson's dad in 1967.  Hosted by David Wesley, it bridged the gap between the old style of Kreigspiel wargame and the modern day RPGs.  After decades of neglect, we are reclaiming this fascinating style of play.  Learning as we go, experimenting, and discovering new methods with each iteration, the pugnacious corner of the RPG community known as the BROSR has run several such games in concert with tabletop RPGs.  Rise of the Orc Lords represents the latest attempt to integrate different modes of play into a seamless whole.

In this game, each of the twelve participants takes on the role of an orcish warchief summoned to war by the local dark lord.  On the surface level of the game, and the stated victory conditions, are to gather up as many resources as possible in support of the Dread Lord.  Whichever player amasses the most points will be declared the Warlord and will serve as the Dread Lord's major domo and military commander in the coming crusade against the forces of Law and Light.

The rules explicated within the pages of this blog represent only the most surficial level of the game.  The real magic happens between players.  They are free to chat and discuss plans and make alliances - and betray them - away from the game. Indeed, several aspects of the game almost demand an alliance to have any hope of success.   No one chief is likely to sack Carnatium by himself, but a coalition of three or four can share the load and share the spoils.  But can they keep them?

Given the wide-open nature of the game, the opportunity rises for players to set their own victory conditions.  Instead of serving the dark lord, one player may decide that his chief's goal is to use the chaos of the moment to settle an old score.  Rather than seeking to lead the Dread Lord's army, he may set his eye towards eliminating a rival chief, and bend his focus toward that end.  Or perhaps he intends to amass a vast fortune and then race off the map before the end of the game to escape the Dread Lord's iron fist.  It's up to the players to decide, and they don't even need to explain their actions to the DM!

This game has been designed with a careful eye towards a structured approach to play.  All of the backroom dealing can result in an impenetrable fog of war effect that makes planning and informed decision making impossible.  With Rise of the Orc Lords the use of a map and army counters provides real, concrete, and actionable data that players can use to judge the current state of the game, deduce their rivals' intentions, and make meaningful choices. 

The use of D&D-specific terminology such as Hit Dice, spellcasters, and so forth, also allows an additional level of gameplay.  Should the DM of a related D&D campaign find himself with players on hand who want to visit the realms of the Dread Lord and engage in the usual sort of PC shenanigans, the transition should be seamless.  Through careful play and attention, outside players can take a hand in events by making their way into these lands, and engaging in a raid or two on their own.  The dark lord will likely take a dim view of such things and banish the strangers back to their own campaign, but only after the damage has been done.

This is an oddly welcoming sort of game - one that encourages a bit of gaming-vandalism in the pursuit of open play and genuine camaraderie - but one that has been sadly neglected over the years.  It's time to find out what happens when you build your Braunstein on a more concrete structure.