Go read the original at https://kidminotaur.com/braunstein-resources-7c8dc63751b3
His article continues with how to try and run the game as Wesely did at GenCon 2005
It’s likely that if you’re reading this, you already have some knowledge of Braunstein’s significance in the development of role playing games. But check out my list of Braunstein resources and Ben Robbins’s post if you want to read more.
Braunstein does not have a published ruleset; the book published by Olde House Rules utilizes the name with permission, but it is a completely new D&D-style game that bears little to no resemblance to David Wesely’s games. At Arnecon 2023, David Wesely informed me that he is collaborating with the producers of the documentary The Secrets of Blackmoor to release a book written by Braunstein. But if you’re prepared to put in a little effort, there are enough materials and resources available in the interim for you to manage the game on your own. I try to fill in the blanks below with what I know from playing with Wesely at Arnecon 2023. This paper is entirely unofficial. I’m not an expert on how things should or should not be done; this is just suggestions based on what I’ve seen.
Since you’re not Wesely, you must acknowledge that you will never be able to run it precisely the same way if you choose to do this. The original Braunstein games cannot be played out in their original setting. Recall that those meetings took place before to D&D, video games, Magic: The Gathering, and everything else that has influenced our conception of what games can be. You cannot approach these games with the same mentality that Wesely and his team did in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Neither can you nor your players. Furthermore, not all of the game mechanics, rules, and setting details that Wesely employs are player-facing, so until Wesely eventually publishes some regulations, you will have to exercise some discretion.
This is an ongoing project. I haven’t personally operated a Braunstein yet. Please contact me at klintron on Discord or klintfinley@gmail.com if you have any comments.
What you’ll require
Ben Robbins uploaded the handouts and materials used for the Braunstein games at GenCon 2005.
Braunstein I - The World's first RPG (sort of)
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Player Info Handouts used at Gencon08
Copyright (C) 2008 David A. Wesely
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Student A
Background: Yuu are a highly patriotic and loyal subject of your king and country (Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia). You have been dismayed to find that the dangerous ideas of the French revolution are widely repeated by the students and faculty of the University. The Chancellor and the Mayor both refuse to listen to your warnings about the NBB, a radical pro-French student movement. Only the Landwehr major seems to hate revolutionaries as much as you do, but he is lazy and inept, and does not treat you with respect. You have gathered a band of students who will stand with you against the NBB; when asked what you call yourselves you will say "We are Prussians. Our honor needs no other name." And as leader of the fencing team, you can (and have) defended your honor on the dueling ground many times. Recent events: Last night you were insulted by Student B, the head of the pro-French NBB. When you challenged him to a duel, he replied "I accept: Beer steins at two paces!" and emptied his beer on your head! Your friends stepped in, the fight spread, and the Landwehr arrested everyone. You start in jail, with many of your fellow students. The Landwehr took away your sword. Your objectives; 1) Get you and your friends out of jail. 2) Have as many of the NBB students kept in jail/hanged/shot as possible 3) Force student B to fight a proper duel with you (and Defeat him) 4) Save Braunstein from the French Army, which is rumored to be approaching
Student B
Background: Yuu are the son of the Baron of Braunstein, who sent you to the University "to get book-learnin' and a duelin' scar". At the University you have learned that your country, the Kingdom of Prussia, is a repressive tyranny and your father is a minor and unthinking link in the chains that bind the people: But the day is coming when the people pf Prussia will follow the example of the French and overthrow their masters! You have assumed the leadership of the NBB (Napoleone Buonaparte Bund, named for the French revolutionary general) a student organization that plans for that day. The NBB is ready when the moment comes to cover the town with posters and grafitti urging the masses to revolt! You proudly procalim your disdain for the old order by wearing the long hair and revolutionary clothing of your French idols, Marat and Carnot. Your view of other player characters: The University Chancellor, Mayor, Landwehr commander and other leaders of Braunstein are, like your father the Baron, all witting or unwitting agents of repression, though most can be bribed to look the other way. Only the Banker seems to take you seriously, but that may only be because of the hefty allowance you father provides you through his bank. Aside from your friends in the NBB, the other students in the University are divided between the forces of Repression (like Student A) who your group refers to as the 'Dogs' and the forces of stupidy, who your group refers to as the 'Sheep'. Of course, "while watching out for dogs, one must try to lead, or even awaken, the sheep". Recent events; Rumors are circulatingt the French will be at war with Prussia very soon. Last night you were set upon by Student A and his 'dogs' in a tavern in the town; then the Landwehr arrived (obviously not a coincidence) and you were dragged off to jail. You are, of course unarmed, but you still have your money, and a beer stein, though you have lost your red liberty cap. Your objectives; 1) Get you and your friends out of jail. 2) Have Student A and his 'dogs' kept in jail/punished for attacking you 3) Recruit more students into the NBB 4) Welcome the French when they liberate Braunstein
Student C
You are not a student. You are ACTUALLY a Captain of French Cavalry
and technically a SPY. The veteran of many battles, a master horseman
and swordsman, victorious in countless duels, your handsome face is
only slightly scarred and your long moustache and sidelocks proclaim
to all who see you that you are that epitome of martial prowess at
whose feet the women, not merely of France, but of all Europe would
throw themselves gladly, an HUSSAR!
Recent events;
Your Regiment was sent ahead of the invading French Army of the Rhine to
see if the bridge at Braunstein can be captured intact. Last night, your
squadron camped just off the map at B. Being fluent in German (from an
earlier campaign in Austria) you rode ahead and slipped into town in
disguise, to scout out the defenses before making a surprise attack at
dawn. You found the town virtually unguarded, only a few local Landwehr
(militia) loafing about in the central square, and a lone sentry at each
of the city gates. Unfortunately for your plans, you were caught up in a
student riot that broke out in the tavern where you stopped for a drink.
Alarm bells were rung, more Landwehr appeared in force and arrested
everyone. You are now in jail, with all the other "students" arrested.
You were a little worried that your distinctive haircut and moustache
might give you away in daylight, but you see that several other students
have even more unusual hairstyles and exaggerated Revolutionary costumes.
One of them seems to have lost the red liberty cap, which you have found.
Your uniform, horse and sword are in the empty warehouse behind tavern2.
Your objectives;
1) Do not get shot as a spy (you are out of uniform, remember?)
2) Get out of jail
3) Get your horse and sword and uniform
4) Get back to your unit with good intelligence about the town defenses
in time to either help it capture the town or prevent it being wiped
out trying to take the town if it is impossible.
Student D
You are a rather average student here at Braunstein University (commonly referred to as BSU or just 'BS'). You can "attend lectures on Philosophy, History, Mathemetics, Theology, Modern and Ancient Languages, Medicine and Law, from some of the finest minds in Prussia. But the best part of being a student at BS is the opportunity to meet and intract with other students from all over Europe. For the University is a meeting place of minds, and the holder of a degree from Braunstein University is sure to be a man who is well grounded in knowledge and well rounded in experience" - according to the BSU student handbook. And then there is Dueling (you have watched a lot of them) and gambling (learned lessons in die rolling) and drinking and drinking and other activities leading to a BS from BS or as they say in the Math department "BS-squared". Recent events: While engaged in some interaction with other students in Tavern 2 last night, Student A and his bullies started mixing it up with the crazies from the NBB. You were just minding your own business when some townie poured beer on you, so you hit him with a chair, and the next thing you know, some Landwehr goons are dragging everybody off to jail. You start in jail with no money and a hangover. Your objectives; 1) Get out of jail 2) Do not get thrown out of the University 3) Get some other student punished for the riot, not you. 4) Get a drink (it will make your head feel so much better)
E: The Chancellor of Braunstein University
You have the happy task of leading one of the great universities of Europe As you say in the Student Handbook, students "attend lectures on Philosophy, History, Mathemetics, Theology, Modern and Ancient Languages, Medicine and Law, from some of the finest minds in Prussia. But the best part of being a student at BS is the opportunity to meet and intract with other students from all over Europe. For the University is a meeting place of minds, and the holder of a degree from Braunstein University is sure to be a man who is well grounded in knowledge and well rounded in experience". Your high purpose is not always appreciated. Some people, like Student A, see your devotion to academic freedom as encouraging dangerous ideas and subversive movements in teh student body. Others, like Student B claim you are too autoritarian and restrictive; he seems bent on breaking every rule of good behavior, and if he were not the son of the Baron opf Braunstein, you would probably have sent him packing alrady. His father is coming to see you about him soon, and you do not look forward to the meeting. Other students are better behaved and you hardly know their names, but you are sure that all are benfitting from their time at Braunstein University. Recent Events There was a disturbance in the town last night, the Landwehr was called out, and as usual, the Major of the Landwehr seems to have arrested all the students he could find. The Mayor wants to see you, and doubtless will claim it was the students who started the trouble, not the townies. The townspeople outnumber the students by 5 to 1, but somehow it is never the stronger side who start the fights. You start up at the University and can decide whether to go to see the mayor or tell him to come see you. Your objectives: 1) Get your students out of jail 2) Get the guilty parties (townspeople if possible) punished 3) Avoid having the students banned from town 4) Avoid having the faculty banned from town 5) Avoid having to pay any fines with University money
F: The Mayor
Being the Mayor of Braunstein has its good side and its bad side. You are quite well paid, what with getting a cut of the tolls on the bridge and the canal and a little something under the table for one thing and another. And it was easy to get elected, with the banker and the tavern owners backing you on election day. On the other hand, there are these constant annoyances. There are these plans to fix up the city walls - you have a tax that supports it of course, but none of your predecessors saw a need to really spend it on walls that could not possibly stand up to a modern siege gun anyhow, and none of you have ever just left the money sit around doing nothing... but now you get a letter saying that as War with France may start at any time, the walls may be inspected in the near future. Maybe you can squeeze a loan out of the banker. And then there are the students. They spend a lot of money in the taverns, and the University buys all its food and supplies here too, so they are good for business. But you have all this tension between the students and the townspeople. There are a lot of really annoying students, a mix of snotty aristocrats and dirty revolutionaries with stray hotheads thrown in. But a lot of the problems come from the townspeople, who respond to the bad manners, vulgar display of wealth, and snobbery by overcharging, bad service, or lifting wallets and even ganging up on students that wander off into dark alleys. Order is hard to maintain, when the local Landwehr that are supposed to uphold the law, are the brothers or cousins of the townspeople doing the crimes. And the leader of the Landwehr is the worst of the lot. If he had his way, the students would be banned from the city and there would be no trade with University. Of course, the Chancellor is an old fool too, who can't control the students. Recent Events: The Landwehr were called out last night, and you have summoned the leader to your office to find out what happened. The jail is packed with students, and you fear that he has overreacted in dealing with a minor disturbance. The University Chancellor wants to meet with you "to discuss the events of last night". The Banker and the two tavern owners want to see you too. It looks like a bad morning. Your objectives: 1) Satisfy the Banker (you need that loan) 2) Satisfy the tavern owners (you need those votes) 3) Avoid having the faculty banned from town 4) Avoid having the students banned from town 5) Get the guilty parties punished
G: The Landwehr Commander
You are the Major commanding the Battalion of Prussian Landwehr raised in
Braunstein. While you saw service in the Bavarian war 12 years ago, and
"have smelled the powder smoke" your men are local townspeople who have
only seen two years of training with the peacetime Army and then been sent
home to your unit. They can march really well, and thanks to your holding
frequent inspections, they look like first class soldiers. You have very
little ammunition, so they only fire their weapons (and get them dirty)
on the King's Birthday salute. They have three missions
1) In war, they will be called up to join the main Army or defend Braunstein.
2) In peacetime, some of them provide the constables and night watch that
maintain law and order in Braunstein and guard the jail; the rest are
local farmers or ordinary townspeople, shopkeepers, craftsmen and so on,
who drill in the city square every Sunday afternoon.
3) In the event of an emergency, like a fire, you can call out some or all
of them for service by ringing different signals with the church bells.
One company of the eight in the battalion is on standby for this duty
every night, in rotation.
Your insistance on hard training and night alerts has made you unpopular
with the men, you know that they will save lives it in the next war.
You are quite popular with the Banker and other property owners, having
stopped several fires from getting out of hand. in the year you have
been in command.
The faculty and students of the University greatly dislike you, and the
feeling is mutual; the students are a mix of snotty aristocrats and dirty
revolutionaries, with drunken troublemakers thrown in. You and your men
agree on this: It would be best for law and order, if all students were
banned from the town and any student caught sneaking in was given a good
beating, thrown in the river and told to swim home.
Unfortunately, the Mayor and Tavern owners, do not agree with you, and
will not let you keep the students out. They make a lot of money off
the students, and when there is trouble, they expect you to sort it out.
However, popularity is unimportant, as you are appointed by the Army and
as long as you do your duty and follow orders you have nothing to fear.
Recent Events:
Last night the students started a riot in Tavern 2. Your sergeant quickly
rang the bells for the company on alert, and when they had mustered in the
square, you led them in to break up the riot, and then sent them on a sweep
through the town to round up as many of the student scum as you could catch
Many of them seem to have headed over to Tavern 1, where your men rounded
them up, but not without quite a struggle. After successfully dealing with
the students, your boys celebrated the victory in both taverns, consuming
a lot of free beer. At dawn you held a formation so the taverns could
close, gave a stirring speech and dismissed your badly hung-over men for
the day, except for the few now on duty at the jail and the usual sentries.
The jail is now packed with students and you expect the Mayor will make an
example of them, or at least of their leaders. You note with satisfaction
that several of the most outrageously-dressed radical students, notably
Student B (who you have had your eye on) are among them.
The Mayor wants a report on last night, and has summoned you to his office:
you will start there. It looks like a great morning.
Your objectives:
1) Get the students punished: Notably Student B
2) Get some reward for your men: a nice speech by the mayor, maybe money
3) Get all students banned from town from now on
H: The Jaeger Commander
You are the Colonel of the 1st Prussian Jaeger Battalion, one of the most
elite units of the Prussian Army. Your men are all volunteers, recruited
from the sons of gamekeepers on the estates of Prussian nobles; several
are from your estate. You are all crack shots, and are armed with the
world's finest military rifles, at a time when almost all soldiers are
armed only with smoothbore muskets. Unlike other units of the Prussian
Army, where discipline is enforced with the lash, any Jaeger who breaks
your strict rules is simply transferred out to another unit. The Jaegers
are used for special missions that require discpline, skill, stealth and
woodcraft. like putting down bandits in peacetime, or operating behind
the enemy army in wartime. You are unswervingly loyal to his Prussian
Majesty, Wilhelm IV, and zealous in serving him.
Recent Events:
France has declared war against Prussia, in its usual way, by starting
an invasion. Your Jagers have been dispatched to Braunstein, where a
key bridge over the Braunwasser River is located, with orders to prevent
the French from crossing there, or at least to delay them until you can
be reinforced by enough regular Prussian troops to stop them. The town
is reported to have a local Landwehr battalion that is well above average
(for Landwehr, which is not saying much) led by an experienced and hard
driving Major. The town also has old city walls that probably would not
last long in a modern siege, but might serve against a raiding force with
no heavy artillery. The north end of the bridge across the river is
dominated by the walls of Braunstein University, a medieval castle that
held out for six months of siege in the THirty Years war - 150 years ago.
Your battalion has made a long march, and stopped for a short break in a
woods just off the map at A. You have ridden on ahead to meet with the
local leaders and direct the defense. You will start just crossing the
bridge, which is a very sturdy structure, and has a small guard tower
and gate at the south end where it crosses the canal before entering the
town. The sentry at the gate fails to salute you, you see he is asleep
on his feet.
Your objectives:
1) ABSOLUTELY: Keep the French south of the river
Damage to the University is unimportant.
2) NICE TO HAVE: Keep the French out of the town if you can
Damage to the town is unimportant.
3) Do not take excessive casualties:
Your men are very hard to replace.
4) Kill a lot of Frenchmen (while avoiding number 3)
I: Tavern Owner
You are the owner of tavern 2, and do a lot of business with the students and faculty of Braunstein University. They can be a real pain sometimes, but they have more money to spend than the townspeople, so you put up with them. The Mayor has done a good job of keeping business good and taxes down, so you give out free drinks to his supporters in every election. The owner of Tavern 1 discourages students from using his place, so he gets most of the local business, which suits you both fine. The Banker is not one of your customers, but the University Chancellor and faculty and the Mayor will often drop in for a few. You also make money from illegal gambling in the abandoned warehouse behind your tavern, but the fix is in with the Mayor and nobody is complaining, are they? Recent events: Your tavern is where the fighting between students started last night. You suffered a lot of damage before the Landwehr came in and broke things up - and a lot of damege while they did it too! After the students were hauled away, you gave out free drinks to all the Landwehr guys and this party got a little wild too, until the Landwehr Major called all his men outside for a good talking to. You figure you lost about 1000 marks in damage and beer not paid for last night, and want someone to pay for it. You have gone to see the Mayor. Your objectives: 1) Avoid having the students banned from town 2) Avoid having the faculty banned from town 3) Get 1000 marks for your damage (or more if you can) 4) Get along with the Mayor 5) Get along with the Landwehr Major
J: Banker
You are the biggest banker in Braunstein. All of the important people in the area (i.e, in the game) do their banking business with you, the richest being the Baron of Braunstein, followed by the Mayor (who has saved up a remarkable amount of money given his modest official salary) and then the owner of tavern 2 (something suspicious about his wealth, too. He does so much better than the owner of tavern 1). Student B has an account which is supported by monthly transfers of 1000 Marks from his father, the Baron of Braunstein, and is usually spent pretty soon, but you keep carrying him to the next month, as his dad is good for it. You have also been reporting this to his father, who has asked you to keep an eye on the boy. The Lahdwehr major has only a modest account, which gets a small increase every month, and seems to be rather frugal, and so is the Chancellor of the University. The University also does its banking with you, and currently has about 250,000 marks on deposit. You are personally almost as rich as the Baron, but you are careful not to let anyone know that. Normally your bank assets would be held in the form of paper drafts on other banks, but with runors of War in the air you have been converting everything you can to gold and silver, so there is presently about a ton of coins in your vault. There is a secret tunnel from under your bank to the river that opens out under the surface. Your ancestors once saved the family fortune by hauling the gold out that way, and you fear that you may have to do the same. You have been a supporter of the current Mayor, who has been good for business and is a big depositor. You also owe a debt of gratitude to the Landwehr Major, who prevented a fire in the house next door from spreading into yours last winter, even though he is a thick-headed martinet, who makes life miserable for your relatives in the Landwehr. You try to get along with all of your depositors, holding frequent dinners and dances to whic they are invited. You are the best dancer in the town, a patron of the local string quartet, and frquently will purchase paintings from student artists, for use as holiday gifts. Your last Christmas Ball was the talk of the district: Even the Baron attended. Recent events: A carrier pigeon with a coded message from your banking representative in Paris arrived this morning. The French are invading and an army is supposed to be on its way to Braunstein. Of course, you aren't supposed to get coded messages from Paris; people might misunderstand that, but they are so useful in business. Your objectives: 1) Save your gold 2) Save your bank 3) Stay on good terms with the Baron 4) Stay on good terms with the Mayor 5) Stay on good terms with the Landwehr Major
K: Tavern Owner
You are the owner of tavern 1. You do some business with the faculty of Braunstein University, but very little with the students. While they have more money to spend than the townspeople, they are often disruptive and you refuse put up with them. This keeps most of them out, and that makes your tavern much more popular with the townspeople and the faculty. The owner of Tavern 2 encourages students to use his place, so he gets most of the student business, which suits you both fine. The Banker is one of your customers, and the Mayor will often drop in for a few. The Mayor has done a good job of keeping business good and taxes down, so you give out free drinks to his supporters in every election. Recent events: Last night a few students came into your tavern, but they were behaving themselves, so you left them alone. After a while, there was some kind of trouble out in the square; when you opened the door to see what was going on, a squad of Landwehr burst in and started beating the students. Some townspeople joined in, and the fight spread. More Landwehr arrived, and while the students were dragged outside, the Landwehr demanded free drinks (which you refused). Things then got out of hand, as the Landwehr helped themselves and started bereaking things. You retreated upstairs and the Landwehr partied until they were called outside for a formation just before dawn, when you barred the door behind them. You estimate that you lost about 800 marks in damage and beer not paid for last night, and want someone to pay for it. You have gone to see the Mayor. Your objectives: 1) Avoid having the faculty banned from town 2) Get 800 marks for your damage (or more if you can) 3) Get along with the Mayor 4) Get along with the Landwehr Major
L: The Baron of Braunstein
You are the Baron of Braunstein, a title that gets you some farmland and a country house and a hunting lodge, and an tidy income of about 50,000 per year, which lets you send your son to the University and spend most of the year "huntin' and chasin' wimmin". Your ancestors granted independant charters to the Town of Braunstein and Braunstein University, so you have no real authority over them, but as a noble you have a lot of social influence. An invitation to one of your hunts or a ball at the estate will have them eating out of your hand. Even the Banker, who is rich as Midas, will fawn all over you just for going to one of his parties. Handy fellow the Banker: he's been keeping an eye on the boy (Student B) for you, and what he says is disturbing. Seems the lad has been getting in with the wrong crowd. Time to go down there and have a word with the Chancellor, before he gets thrown out. Fool kid. Young and reckless, just like you were. Wonder if he's been in as many duels as I was at his age. Ought to send him off to the Army, be good for him... Recent Events (reduced cast) You have decided to go down to see the Chancellor about your boy (Student B). You start at the University, trying to find him. Your objectives: 1) Get your boy (Student B) out of trouble 2) Others may arise during the game
a basic understanding of the environments. Similarly, it could be helpful to read a little about real-life banana republics (the political-economic term, not the clothing retailer) before running Banania. If you are unfamiliar with Prussian history or the Napoleonic Wars, you should at least spend some time becoming familiar with them on Wikipedia before running Braunstein I.
