Braunstein AAR: Lanosh

Braunstein AAR: Lanosh

It's time. I bit the bullet and ran my first Braunstein, and I would like to tell you how I organized it, how it went, what went well, and what could've gone better.

Premise

Initially, I wanted to run the Brozer scenario, but then I realized that the conventional GURPS games that my friend has been running for a few years already have a detailed city with many conflicting factions, and that's enough. Another advantage is that the game will be set in a familiar setting. The setting in question is D&D in style, so you (and the players) probably know what to expect.

    The premise is the following: Lanosh, a magocratic city, has been shaken by a powerful explosion. The Tower of the Council from where the Council of Seven Archmages rules the city collapses, and one of the archmages (Eliza de Blaze) is found dead. Craftsmen, who were tired of being oppressed for years, decide that it's a good time for a rebellion. In addition, underground catacombs are opened by the explosion, and wererats, ghouls, and other monsters pour out on to the surface, causing more chaos.

This is the so-called "inciting incident" that Brozer talks about. It is required to set things in motion, but may or may not be important to the game - it all depends on the faction goals and actions of the players. In Braunsteins, the narrative is almost entirely player-driven, so you never know what happens. Players may even ignore the inciting incident and do other stuff, but that's fine too, as long as they interact.

Organization

The organizational aspect was the main thing holding me back. This is why it has taken me so long to run the game, even though I've had everything else ready for months. There are three types of Braunsteins. Type I 'Stein requires either a meeting in person or something like a Discord channel. You create different voice (or text) channels, and players communicate freely, asking for the referee to resolve things, when necessary. This way, the game usually takes up only several hours. However, in my case, there are complications. First, Discord is blocked in my country, and even though there are ways to access it, they are unreliable and still prevent voice calls. Second, my country spans 11 (iirc) timezones, so it'd be a scheduling nightmare to play this way. If I were to play in English with players from other countries, it still would be a scheduling nightmare (unless all the players are from the land down under). And my accent is so thick that many people have trouble understanding what I'm saying, so I prefer to avoid torturing people by violating their language. Third, I have a 1-year-old daughter, so having several consecutive hours of free time simply isn't a thing for now.

Thus, Type II Braunstein (a play-by-post one that spans several days or weeks) was the only option for me. However, this too had complications. Where do we play? Discord sounds like a perfect medium, but I already mentioned above that it's not very feasible in my situation. Should I use X/Twitter? It actually is blocked here too, but I am able to use it because... I actually don't know, it just works for some reason. This may be a temporary fluke, so better not rely on it. Thus, I had to use something else. Russia has a sizeable play-by-post RPG community (mostly due to the aforementioned 11 timezones), so I used their forum. I created a "general" room where I posted publically available information that resulted from the actions of the players between the turns, a private room for each player for player-referee communication, and I also created numbered rooms for private interplayer communication. I did allow players to use whatever means they want to communicate with each other, but it seems that all of them decided to use forum posts, so I could read everything.

How do players communicate in-universe? I decided to let players send each other letters, meet in person, and mages also were able to communicate telepathically. This worked rather well, even though sometimes I had to play the role of a mailman.

Since this was a play-by-post game, I had to set strict deadlines. Initially, I wanted to go with two days per turn, but after discussing it with a friend (one of the players), I switched to three and four days. Thus, each week had two turns - from Monday to the end of Wednesday, and from Thursday to the end of Sunday. This allowed players in significantly different timezones to communicate. Each turn represented an in-universe day. In the game info, I said that if the game does not end naturally within 7 turns, I will roll a six-sided die each following turn, and on the result of 1 the game ends. So, everyone knew that the game would be short-lived (well, this is a play-by-post community, they are very much used to short-lived games, but for different reasons).

Faction Assignment

If I understand things correctly, factions are what makes a Braunstein. This part is important, and it may seem intimidating, but this is one of the easiest parts. When you have a setting, you can write up a faction in a couple of minutes. In this game, I decided that I have to write the following for each faction:

1) Short description that is publically available to everyone

2) Personality and abilities of the leader that are only seen by the faction's player

3) Resources of the faction that are only seen by the faction's player

4) Three goals that are only seen by the faction's player

However, there were some questions. How many players do I need? I've never run a Braunstein before, and I had no idea how many players would even be interested in this sort of game. I wasn't even certain that I'll have any interested players at all. I decided to write up 8 factions and have a quorum of 6 players. This seemed to be a fortunate assessment, because I found exactly 7 players. Of course, the more the better, but this is all I got. However, I had enough ideas to accomodate even 20 players, I think.

The short descriptions of all 8 factions were seen by everyone, and I asked the players to tell me about their preferences. I wanted to assign factions randomly, but it'd suck if a player got a faction he really didn't want to play. Thus, most players listed a faction or two they really didn't want to play, and some listed factions that they really wanted to play. Funnily enough, there were no conflicts in this regard - the dice basically decided to go "okay, if they want to play this faction, let them play this faction." And only then I rolled another die to see what faction actually caused the explosion described in the premise. Thus, this was a surprise even to me. I decided to do it this way just because it's more fun to me, and to facilitate replayability. I could run the same scenario again, and it would be very different.

"But Eggplant, you still didn't say what system you were using? Is this a GURPS Braunstein?" No, it isn't. For my first foray into this, I decided to go with something I absolutely abhor - systemless "game." Basically, if a conflict had to be resolved, I'd roll 3d6 under a certain number with situational modifiers that make sense to me. So, GURPS-flavored GM fiat. I decided to keep things very simple because the pool of potential players is small, and if I insist on my beloved crunch, I'll not get the game off the ground.

Factions

So, that's what we've got.

1. The Traditionalists of the Council

Leader: Kalmut Ezal (human, mage).

Public Knowledge: A ruthless traditionalist who believes magic = order. Hates dissent. Captain Tycho Dargus of the Blue Guard is someone Kalmut Ezal can usually rely on, even if Dargus occasionally questions some orders. Kalmut Ezal has the authority to issue arrest warrants and imprison dissenters.

Appearance: A thin, pale 60-year-old man with a shaved head and a permanent smirk. His robes are strict black and gold, embroidered with runes. His fingers are stained with ink from signing arrest warrants, and he carries a polished bone staff (rumored to be made from the remains of an executed rebel, though this is unlikely). His eyes are cold gray, devoid of warmth.

Handout:

"The Tower's explosion was no accident—it was treason. The Council's authority is absolute, and you must find the culprits. Use the Blue Guard, the Academy, and any means necessary to crush resistance. Lanosh's survival depends on obedience."

Goals:

- Crush the artisans' rebellion.

- Remove Loren de Blaze from the Council.

- Obtain the forbidden research of the late Eliza de Blaze. The exact location of the research is unclear - possibly in the Academy archives or somewhere in the catacombs beneath the city.

Resources: Kalmut commands a dozen battle mages skilled in fighting both mundane and magical foes. He is no slouch in magical combat himself, wielding spells like Detect Magic, Fabricate, Transmute Materials, etc.

Additionally, his estate contains a hidden stash of forbidden spell scrolls, including:

- Resurrection (can revive someone who died no more than a day ago).

- Power Word: Death (roll 3d6; if the result is 15 or lower, a single target dies).

- Gate Creation (teleports any number of creatures to a single location).

Each scroll is one-of-a-kind.

2. The Reformists of the Council

Leader: Loren de Blaze (human, mage).

Public Knowledge: A charismatic idealist who wants to share power with the craftsmen. She is the face of the Council's reformation movement - if removed, the push for craftsmen's rights will likely die. Has strong ties to both the Academy (where mages train) and the artisan guilds. Daughter of the late Eliza de Blaze.

Appearance: A stately 40-year-old woman with copper-red hair tied in a practical braid. She wears a dark blue robe, slightly singed at the cuffs from experiments. Around her neck is a necklace - tiny silver scales - hinting at her obsession with "balance."

Handout:

"Eliza's death proves the Council is rotten. Craftsmen deserve a voice, and the magocracy must change. Unite the Academy, negotiate with the guilds, but beware Ezal's fanatics. Lanosh needs reform, not tyranny."

Goals:

- Expose the Council's corruption (Ezal is involved in dangerous experiments - evidence must be found).

- Secure a seat for artisans in the Council.

- Obtain the forbidden research of the late Eliza de Blaze. Loren knows the research involved planar travel. The exact location is unclear - possibly in the Academy archives or the catacombs.

Resources: Loren has influence over Academy students (can organize protests, spy, etc., but overuse is risky). Her key ally is Jerome Dufour, the Academy's rector. She can quickly contact craftsmen through a courier.

Her necklace is not just jewelry - it’s a magical item that hides her from magical detection and boosts magic resistance. She can cast Detect Magic, create illusions, and send telepathic messages to those she knows.

3. The Enchanter Alliance

Leader: Naivara Silverleaf (half-elf sorceress).

Public Knowledge: An arrogant genius obsessed with breakthroughs.

Appearance: A haughty half-elf with pale skin and silver hair. Her eyes faintly glow purple (a side effect of a botched enchantment). She wears a corset of living crystal, and her fingertips are tattooed with tiny runes.

Handout:

"This is bad - the explosion was the enchanters' fault. Under Eliza de Blaze’s orders, you and your colleagues enchanted an item called the 'Cubic Gate' for planar travel between six different planes. Something went wrong during the process, causing the blast. If proof of enchanter involvement surfaces, you’ll spend the rest of your life as a statue or wind in a bottle."

Goals:

- Prevent anyone from uncovering the explosion's true cause - destroy any evidence.

- Gremzi, head of the Order of the Staff, knows too much (his adventurers retrieved components from the catacombs). Eliminate him.

- Exploit the catastrophe and rebellion to seize a Council seat.

Resources: Naivara knows combat spells but isn’t a specialist - she relies on bodyguards. She can afford ~20 mercenaries at once. She can Detect Magic and neutralize magical items (roll 3d6; works on 15 or lower).

Her stash includes:

- 5 magic resistance amulets.

- 5 rings of protection (helps survive battles with minor wounds).

- Explosives.

She is skilled in enchanting and can repair damaged magical items.

4. The Crasftsmen's Rebellion

Leader: Kildrak Holderhek (dwarf).

Public Knowledge: Bitter and pragmatic, he despises mages. Never particularly notable, he became the rebellion’s leader by chance. Formerly a jeweler by trade.

Appearance: A stocky dwarf with broad shoulders and a bushy, rust-red beard braided with iron rings. His nose is broken (from a Blue Guard baton strike), and he has a permanent squint - as if gauging how easily he could break you.

Handout:

"The mages’ incompetence once burned Lanosh - don’t let it happen again (Note to readers: This references a demonic invasion from a couple of years ago). The time for whispers is over."

Goals:

- Kill Kalmut Ezal. Even if expelled from the Council, the archmage won’t back down - harsher measures are needed.

- Secure a Council seat. Loren de Blaze, daughter of the late Eliza de Blaze, supports sharing power with craftsmen - but is that enough?

- Blow up the Academy’s archives and pin it on someone else. The mages need a lesson. Rumor says the enchanters have explosives, but other methods exist. (And enchanters are still mages - trusting them is unwise.)

Resources: The slums and many commoners side with the artisans. They can be used for sabotage, attacks, patrols, spying, etc. - but pushing too hard risks turning the people’s anger against the rebellion.

Also: two anti-magic grenades, stolen from the Blue Guard’s stockpile.

5. The Blue Guard

Leader: Captain Tycho Dargus (human).

Public Knowledge: Stoic and weary, he follows orders but doubts the Council. A master swordsman.

Appearance: A grizzled 50-year-old man with a short crop of gray hair. His blue cloak is worn but clean, his boots scuffed from endless patrols. A stress-induced tic twitches his left eyelid, and his knuckles are tattooed with "DUTY."

Handout:

"Lanosh is on the brink. Keep order - don’t let the Council’s squabbles get people killed. But who do you truly serve: justice or the mages?"

Goals:

- Find and punish the culprit behind the explosion.

- Ensure no Council member or rebel leader dies. Such prominent deaths would escalate the chaos.

- Dissolve the Order of the Staff. Adventurers are unstable, often operating outside the law - more trouble than they’re worth.

Resources:

40 guards available for deployment (more exist but are tied up maintaining order and holding back catacomb monsters).

10 anti-magic specialists (can dispel spells and resist magic).

Emergency powers (curfews, confiscations).

6. The Order of the Staff

Leader: Gremzi (half-orc veteran).

Public Knowledge: Despite being a half-orc in a region raided by mountain orcs, Gremzi commands respect. The authorities - especially the Blue Guard - dislike him. The Order of the Staff is a "legal" adventurers’ guild masquerading as a mercenary company. Gremzi is a formidable fighter, and his adventurers are no slouches.

Appearance: At 55, Gremzi remains in peak physical condition. Scarred and far from handsome, his gray-yellow skin (a trait of his mountain orc blood) contrasts with his tied-back salt-and-pepper hair. He wears his leather armor even off-duty - likely out of nostalgia.

Handout:

"Explosions? Unsealed tunnels? Best week ever! Plunder the Catacombs, sell your blade to the highest bidder, and stir the pot - just don’t get caught in the crossfire."

Goals:

- Find and eradicate the Cult of Korrenus. They’re releasing monsters from the catacombs - but where’s their base?

- Discredit the Blue Guard. Tarnish their reputation with the public - they interfere too much with profit.

- Obtain Eliza de Blaze’s forbidden research. Location unknown: Academy archives or catacombs?

Resources:

20 mercenaries (lockpickers, mages, etc.).

Catacomb maps for covert movement through the city.

7. The Cult of Korrenus

Leader: High Priest Velshar (human fanatic).

Public Knowledge: Korrenus is a god of death, fate, and balance - most priests oversee funerary rites. But some cults fixate on death as "liberation" from life’s suffering. Little is known about this shadowy sect, yet they’re blamed for many woes. Why haven’t they been purged?

Appearance: A gaunt man in black robes, his hood shading sunken eyes. His hands are wrapped in burial cloth, and he carries a cage of tiny skulls (each whispers when he prays). The air around him is 10 degrees colder - or maybe it’s just his aura.

Handout:

"The Tower’s fall was no accident - it was judgment. The Catacombs whisper of doom. Spread the faith, recruit the desperate, and prepare Lanosh for its final fate. The Sleeper will awaken and destroy this city, saving it from life’s torment."

Goals:

- Sacrifice Kalmut Ezal, Loren de Blaze, or both.

- Destroy or cripple the Blue Guard.

- Awaken the Sleeper in the catacombs. Requires Eliza de Blaze’s secret research.

Resources:

10 cultists.

30 wererats and 50 ghouls under Velshar’s control.

Ghouls can infect the living, but controlling them is near-impossible - they can only be nudged toward targets.

What happened?

This is where I'm going to describe what actually happened during the game. If this isn't interesting to you, feel free to skip right to the conclusion. What is written here is not the entire thing and may differ slightly from what actually happened because I had to reconstruct everything from a nonlinear mess of forum posts.

===Day 1===

This was the first day right after the explosion. The cityfolk are in disarray because of the explosion, wererats and ghouls streaming from the catacombs, and craftsmen rebelling. The Council of the Seven gathers, also inviting Naivara, the leader of the enchanters, and captain Tycho Dargus, the leader of the Blue Guard.

Captain Dargus takes the lead and describes the situation and what his guards have uncovered so far (basically nothing). He suggests attaching an escort to each of the councilors. The Council decides that they should visit the half-ruined tower that exploded last night to check for clues. Naivara, of course, knows that she might be in trouble, and asks one of her trusted henchmen to sneak in some explosives to put the blame on the craftsmen (I'm not sure what the connection here is, but the player probably would've provided the justification for this later). She claims that her expertise will be necessary there, thus making sure that she and her enchanters will be there. However, the archmage Ezal insists that he and his personal retinue of warmages go there as well. Loren de Blaze also insists on visiting the tower. With the warmages and Blue Guard around, the enchanter loaded with explosives fails to find an opportunity to plant the explosives. Thus, the Blue Guard finds a square adamantine plate inscribed with runes and lots of amethyst dust all over the place. Naivara knows that amethyst dust is an enchantment catalyst, and so does Ezal. Ezal, however, only knows a the purpose of the adamantine plate - it is inscribed with runes that are supposed to open a gate to the Abyss, but he doesn't know that this is merely a damaged part of the cubic gate.

In the meantime, Loren de Blaze goes to the Academy, meets the rector, goes to the archive, and retrieves her mother's secret writings, where she describes this cubic gate thing. Such items are forbidden by law due to the high potential danger, so she simply takes them home. Well, that's one goal completed for Loren. Easy, wasn't it?

Velshar meets with Loren de Blaze personally, and talks about the denizens of the catacombs, and that he needs her mother's research to be able to control and pacify them (complete lie), and Loren tells him that she isn't sure where the writings are and what they are about, but she'll try to find them (also complete lie).

A little bit later (actually at the same time in real-life time - chronology is... a bit complicated), Loren, Kildrak (the leader of the rebellion), and high priest Velshar contact each other and decide to have an in-person meeting in an inn. Velshar and Kildrak persuade Loren that they had nothing to do with the explosion (they indeed were innocent in that regard), and the three of them speculate about the culprit, suspecting that this is the work of the archmage Ezal. Loren agrees that he should be deposed and the craftsmen should be given a voice, but insists that things should go bloodless and not without definitive proof.

In the meantime, the adventurers of the Order of the Staff conduct a recruiting campaign, search for the cultists' base under the tower (they find nothing), and inspect the catacombs under the headquarters of other factions (they have a map, after all). They find out that they can access the underground facilities of the Blue Guard (prison, vault) through the catacombs, that there is a hidden entrance near the exploded tower (through which they partially saw what was going on there), another hideen entrance near the Enchanters' Guild that was blocked off, and another hidden entrance concealed by an illusion that leads right to the doors of the Academy archive. It seems that the map is very useful.

The cultists also were conducting recruitment in the same place where the adventurers did the same thing, and the Blue Guard decided to patrol this place too. What a coincidence (it really was), so the guards spotted the recruiters, but the recruiters managed to evade them.

===Day 2===

The Council gathers again, but now in the Blue Guard Headquarters, where the found evidence are presented to everyone and then stashed underground. Naivara inspects the adamantine plate, says some mysterious sounding nonsense about it, and refuses to elaborate, retreating into her residence.

Captain Dargus contacts Loren and asks to arrange an in-person meeting with her and Kildrak Holderhek. Captain Dargus tries to persuade Kildrak to avoid escalation of the conflict. Then, tete-a-tete, he talks with Loren and learns about who controls the catacomb monsters and what he wants. Loren also asks Dargus to help find proof of Ezal conducting dangerous experiments.

Loren then goes to her mother's residence and inspects her room, finding more amethysts and congealed raw mana - all catalysts for enchantment.

Kildrak's craftsmen try to hide their activities while crafting as many weapons as they can and mobile barricades that would allow them to block off entrances to their part of the city. The Blue Guard that patrols around that part, notices that something is going on, but not what exactly. Kildrak's people also go to the slums, spread rumors about the archmage Ezal being behind the explosion, and find any info about explosives on the black market (found none) and maps of the catacombs. They do learn that the only people who possess the maps are the Order of the Staff and the cultists.

High priest Velshar contacts the orthodoxal branch of the church of Korrenus (who are more about performing funerary rites than killing people indiscriminately), but gets told to kick rocks. Then, while trying to find more potential warriors in the catacombs, with a lucky roll he finds the Fist - the only surviving high-tier assassin that used to belong to the Assassins' Guild that was busted and destroyed a year ago by a concerted effort of the Blue Guard and the Order of the Staff. The Fist thirsts for vengeance and agrees to perform any service. Velshar goes all-in and tells him to assassinate archmage Ezal.

===Day 3===

Archmage Ezal had his residence warded with magic, so the alarm spell mentally awoke him and notified about the assassin that has entered the territory of his estate. The Fist (a dwarf) sneaks in through the window and activates a magic belt that gives him two extra ghostly arms. With four knives, he assaults the archmage, and a battle ensues. I make rolls and end up with a tie. As a result, the archmage is seriously wounded, but he manages to kill the Fist with his combat spells (at least he thinks he did). Then, the archmage does something cool - he pretends to be dead. He hides in a room with no windows, tells his servants to stay quiet, and the warmages to patrol the area. The assassin's body is hidden in another room.

What is especially cool is that the player also managed to pretend to be dead in the meta sense. The forum has a tracker that publically lists when the player has taken his last turn. Thus, to pretend that there were no new posts, the player edited his last post and notified me personally. Bravo.

The entire city is full of rumors about the archmage's assassination. Loren isn't buying it until she sees the body. Kildrak is elated, but suspicious. Velshar believes that the assassin succeeded. However, captain Tycho Dargus is asked to visit Ezal's manor in person, where he learns the truth. He is told to maintain the facade by the archmage, and also to find out who sent the assassin. The captain recognizes the tattoo on the Fist's writst that marks him as a member of the Assassins' Guild, but is confused, because the guild is no more. He goes to the only other person who may know more about this - Gremzi, the leader of the Order of the Staff. Gremzi doesn't know anything.

In the meantime, the craftsmen complete all their mobile barricades. The Blue Guard is specifically told to look out for suspicious large groups of craftsmen, but Kildrak sends one guy to the slums and thus avoids detection. The guy in the slums spots the recruiting cultists, but ignores them. He finds a member of the thieves' guild and asks him to steal the catacomb maps from the Order of the Staff. The thief rolls well, and the maps are given to Kildrak. Now the craftsmen know as much about the catacombs as the adventurers. Gremzi, however, did notice the missing maps, and from now on, his adventurers were much less effective in the catacombs.

Speaking of adventurers of the Order of the Staff - they were doing some covert recruiting in the slums too, and also had an outing into the catacombs in the northern parts of the city, where they killed some ghouls and wererats much to the dismay of high priest Velshar.

===Day 4===

Captain Dargus decides to lure out the culprit. He sends three letters to archmage Ezal, Naivara, and Loren de Blaze, where he says that due to safety concerns, the evidence were transported to [place A/B/C, respectively]. Undercover guards were placed to observe these spots. Obviously, Ezal and Loren ignore this, because they aren't guilty, but Naivara takes note of this.

Loren meets with Kildrak and tells him about the amethyst dust and all that enchantment stuff. Kildrak is a jeweler, remember? Thus, Kildrak checks his notes and sees that within the last two months or so, enchanters were buying lots of jewelry and amethysts specifically. He gives the list of the buyers to Loren.

High priest Velshar feels uneasy and decides to move his cult's headquarters from under the slums to the catacombs under the temple district. At the same time, the Order of the Staff decides to raid the catacombs under the slums and thus kill a large group of ghouls, a bunch of wererats, and even some cultists. They capture and interrogate one of the cultists, and before dying he says that they are too late, and the headquarters isn't there anymore. The thing is that this group wasn't aware where the headquarters is moving. The cult is severely damaged - the adventurers are a thorn in its side.

===Day 5===

Then all hell breaks loose. The cult decides to release ghouls all over the city, and while they lose some ghouls, more of the infected join the cult's undead forces. In the meantime, the graveyard literally explodes at night and collapses into the top levels of the catacombs. What happened there?

Naivara, who was quite passive before, decides that she has to take care of Gremzi, because he knows too much. This decision was a bit too late, because Gremzi already told everything he knew to Loren de Blaze. Naivara plants a metal cube full of explosives into a fresh grave, then sends Gremzi an anonymous letter, telling him that the evidence is buried there and that he should hurry. An obvious trap, but Gremzi takes the bait... but! Before that he meets with captain Tycho Dargus, telling him about the letter, and asking him to go there with him. But even before that he meets with high priest Velshar, telling him that he's going to go to the graveyard with captain Dargus tonight, asking him to gang up and just kill the captain of the Blue Guard. Velshar agrees, and Gremzi leads the captain into the trap, while not knowing that he's walking into a trap himself. Dargus, however, also talks to Kildrak, and Kildrak sends some armed men with the Blue Guard to help against the possible undead attack. Both the Blue Guard and the Order of the Staff send separate groups behind to prevent possible ambushes. Eventually, they all arrive to the graveyard and... Velshar in a stoke of common sense or luck decides that he's not going to go there personally and just releases some ghouls. A chaotic battle ensues and culminates in the trap going off and the explosion killing almost everyone there. Both Gremzi and captain Tycho Dargus were eliminated. Honestly, this was the most exciting and chaotic part of the game, and I was expecting that four players will be eliminated, but since two of them decided not to attend the explosion personally, only two got eliminated.

In the meantime, the cult moves its headquarters again, this time to the catacombs under the craftsmen district and again encounters adventurers of the Order of the Staff (that is already no more), and takes severe losses. Then, they are surprised by the fact that all entrances to the surface in that disctict are blocked off - the craftsmen barricaded everything thanks to having a map. That was actually a very lucky coincidence.

Speaking of craftsmen. Remember that entrance from the catacombs to the archive doors? Kildrak sends a guy with some black market alchemist first, and burns the thing down. However, due to a bad roll, the guy is caught. Let's says, Loren de Blaze was very upset about this - all her efforts to give craftsmen a Council seat were a waste after this act.

Naivara sends a henchman to see what's going on in that place from the letter where the evidence should be kept secure, and he gets arrested by the Blue Guard.

===Day 6===

Archmage Ezal, still pretending to be dead, sends a messenger to the Blue Guard to see who is leading them now. Now, their leader is lieutenant Hel (an NPC), a sorcereress and a former warmage with a sadistic streak. She is told the truth about Ezal's survival, and is given an order to arrest Kildrak. With a retinue of guards, she goes to the craftsmen district and finds barricades and armed men. She tells this to archmage Ezal, and he tells to publically announce that there is proof of the craftsmen being allied with the catacomb demon cult (yeah, there was a misunderstanding - both Ezal and Loren believed that high priest Velshar was about to set some demons loose, which wasn't true - there wasn't even a single demon in his army) and declare an ultimatum - they give up Kildrak for arrest and trial or get branded demon cultists themselves.

Kildrak knows what to do. The most dwarven thing to do here is to go out in a blaze of glory. He stashes all the remaining alchemist first in his workshop, gets his grandfather's axe and the only antimagic grenade he had, and tells the craftsmen to let the guards in. With these preparations, he kills Hel and three other guards, but dies in the process, and his entire workshop burns down.

While all this is going on, Loren's other plan is coming to fruition. She finds another influential craftsman and gathers the Council, where the current problems are discussed. The craftsmen are offered a Council seat if they give up Kildrak for trial (well, that ain't happening now) and help the Blue Guard and warmages clear out the catacombs. The Council agrees (for the most part), but the most conservative present councilor mentally contacts Ezal and tells him everything. Yes, Ezal was known to be alive, but he wasn't attenting the meeting.

Ezal tells the new-new lietenant that became a head of the Blue Guard to invite Naivara to give testimony, but she refused. An arrest warrant is written.

===Day 7===

Over the last few days, Loren managed to gain high priest Velshar's trust. Thus, she sends him a messenger, saying that she finally found her mother's research, but it is protected by both arcane and divine wards. She could handle the arcane ward, but needs help with the divine ones. (She actually contacted another priest beforehand to place some actual divine wards on some random book). Velshar is invited to her residence, where an ambush consisting of several Blue Guards and warmages awaits him. Velshar is detained and jailed, and his cultist retinue killed.

Naivara hires mercenaries to destroy evidence at the place where the henchman got arrested, but they find the place empty. The undercover guards, however, report to archmage Ezal about this. And then the guards arrest Naivara. Done.

Conclusion

Archmage Kalmut Ezal - 1/3 goals completed (rebellion is crushed)

Archmage Loren de Blaze - 2/3 goals completed (Eliza's research is secured, craftsmen are given a seat)

Naivara Silverleaf - 1/3 goals completed (Gremzi is killed)

Kildrak Holderhek - 1/3 goals completed (Council seat secured, but pinning the archive destruction on someone else failed)

Gremzi - 1/3 goals completed (the cult is eradicated, even though after Gremzi's death)

Captain Tycho Dargus - 2/3 goals completed (culprit is found, even after death, and Order of the Staff is dissolved)

High Priest Velshar - 1/3 goals completed (severe damage to the Blue Guard)

Thus, I believe Archmage Loren de Blaze is the winner, with captain Tycho Dargus being the runner-up due to one of the goals being completed after his death. Well, and he died too, which probably should preclude victory.

That was a blast! I was extremely worried, since I had no idea what I was doing, and I also decided to complicate things further by creating my own scenario instead of running something like Brozer. I also had no idea if 7 players is enough for this to work, but everything went much smoother than expected. Essentially, a Braunstein runs itself - as a referee, I barely had to participate, aside from resolving the turns every three-four days, and sometimes relaying messages between two players.

Things that could've gone better:

1. I think some of the goals given to the players were too difficult. On the other hand, all of them managed to complete at least one goal.

2. One of the players (the one playing Naivara) was complaining that he doesn't understand how things work and how to play, despite starting out very well. I had no idea what to say there, and I feel bad about it. Despite that player's passivity that resulted from this, he managed to significantly influence the game.

3. Man, this would've been much better with more players

4. The "resoultion mechanics" were very arbitrary. I did it this way intentionally, but I think having an actual ruleset would've been better

All in all, that was an excellent experience, and something much better than I expected. If you were thinking about running a Braunstein - go ahead and run one! It's not as scary as it seems. I received some very positive feedback from my players - they loved it, and some even say that it inspired them to run something like this too.

And do not forget that Braunsteins don't have to be stand alone things. Braunstein is a good tool for your "normal" RPGs, where you have to resolve a faction conflict in an ongoing game.

#ThankYouJeffro