I've put together an article about Braunstein from talking to David Wesely at GenCon 2005 and 2007. He's the guy that ran it 40 years ago.
Have you heard of Braunstein? It was the game Dave Arneson played in before he made Blackmoor. It was basically the first roleplaying game, the direct ancestor of D&D and all the games we play now. Read on:
<a href="http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/104/braunstein-the-roots-of-roleplaying-games/"><b>Braunstein: the Roots of Roleplaying Games</b></a>
I think it's pretty fascinating stuff, not just as gaming history but more because what happened at the game says somethings about the way games are now -- all the way from D&D to indie games. And it's pretty interesting to see that Dave Arneson was a bad-ass player well before he was a bad-ass GM.
By the sound of it, not only the first RPG but nearly the first LARP.
Interesting catch. Certainly Braunstein involved characters out for themselves in a way you don't see in the majority of rpgs, which tend more towards a team-play model.
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Storyteller 100% Tactician 92% Butt-kicker 75% Specialist 75% Power gamer 58% Casual gamer 50% Method Actor 42%- Seems accurate!
Blackmoor was very much "characters in an uneasy alliance" play experience. EDIT: And as far as Braunstein, don't forget that all these folks were dedicated "Diplomacy" players.
And yeah, Dave is a SUPER bad-ass player.
You'd never know it talking to him out of context. Sweetest guy in the world.
And then at the gaming table, he suddenly eats your spleen.
__________________ Problems with your gaming group/GM/player(s)?
Sit down and have an intelligent, adult discussion with them to achieve a reasonable compromise.
And when that fails, kill them and take their stuff.
Years ago, Dave was involved in the playtest of a SF boardgame. "Bug Eyed Monsters from Outer Space (They Want Our Women)", I believe.
I remember it involved monsters trying to steal human women. That much I do know.
Dave noticed that the aliens lost huge amounts of points for killing a human female.
He also noticed that the only thing an alien could do to a human with a gun, was kill it.
SO...
He gave all the weapons to the women, had them form a skirmish line, and retreat in good order out of the town, protecting all the men behind the line as they retreated. The women had lousy combat abilities, but it didn't matter... killing any of them would cost the aliens the game.
The publisher changed the rules.
__________________ Problems with your gaming group/GM/player(s)?
Sit down and have an intelligent, adult discussion with them to achieve a reasonable compromise.
And when that fails, kill them and take their stuff.
I'm hoping folks will seize the day and come to <a href="http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/105/braunstein-at-gencon/">Braunstein at GenCon</a>. That's where I'm going to be
Major Wesely has just <a href="http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/104/braunstein-the-roots-of-roleplaying-games/#comment-12263">replied to the article</a>, so you can get more straight from the source.
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