Living Urf Newsletter #2
January 2025
Upcoming (Confirmed) Gamedays
Windsor (OD&D): Every Wednesday, 8pm to 10pm Eastern
Urf Prime (D&D+): January 16th and 30th, 8pm to 10pm Eastern. Session Braunsteins TBD.
Zone-0 (Cyberpunk Braunstein): 24/7 through January, weekly turn orders due 2359 every Wednesday night. Look out for the online adventurers’ session.
…and stay alert for Crom’s #BroXT Braunstein challenges!
Recap: Brozeros Braunstein
Our esteemed captain of TNB, Crom, ran a western-themed Brozer variant to cap the year and open his Norazona campaign (weird west Boot Hill). Ten players took part with their newly yeehaw’d factions. I’ll link the available After Action Reports here:
I also asked for a concise “What did I learn in Brozeros today?” and shall append those here. Added emphases are my own.
“The principles of Speed, Surprise, and Violence of action apply to social conflicts just as handily as they do to physical combat” - Night Danger
“Speed. Surprise. Excessive violence. Proactive interaction (do not rely on goons). Not much can stand against a hail of bullets.” - Snufkin
“It reinforced the need to be proactive. With the limited time of Brozeros, communication needed to be concise and actions executed without hesitation. The long game doesn't apply, especially when you're thrown into a shootout.” - Angry Steak
“Be polite. Plan for chaos. Be proactive. Once I became more reactive I lost track of everything and crashed out. The last move was a hail mary to take control back.” - FolderBloat
“I learned that I really ought to have a severe bias for action. I believe as a player, any time spent not striving for convergence and conflict passively resulted in increased diffusion. Take more risks. Sometimes I hesitated, sensing a trap. So what? The trap will be fun, so let’s see what happens. Less talky, more fighting.” - Joshinyu
“Orders can be a double edged sword. Spend too much time obsessing over them and you can miss out on important action going on around you. However, a good order can turn the tide of the game in ways you could never anticipate. Always keep your orders concise and realize that there is a possibility that they will be obsolete seconds after submitting.” - FutureFanfare
“Be focused. You aren't going to be able to be part of all the action going on around you, and that's okay.” - StDewd
And, finally, Crom had two more pieces of advice that deserve a little extra coverage:
Understand OODA. Faster OODA cycle + better OO makes for more leverage. Other players are the best source of information (even if it’s unreliable).
Bad decisions are way more fun than no decisions.
The central pillar of my gaming philosophy is this: you should never have to wait on me to play my turn. This is why I can’t stand playing with… almost anyone. You would think no-stakes pickup games would move quickly, but the once-a-year IPslop gamer treats every turn like it’s the most important he has ever played as well as the first he’s ever played; I can’t stand it. “bad decisions are way more fun than no decisions” is a close-held maxim.
To the first point, the OODA Loop, or Boyd Cycle, is a formulation of the decision-making process: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. When you engage in the process intentionally, you can develop your ability to make effective, informed decisions more rapidly.
In this line of work (Braunsteins), you often have two lines of decisions to make in parallel: short-term and long-term. Long-term decisions are the objectives you aim to meet, the alliances you build, and the orders you submit for the turn. Short-term decisions involve the dynamic scenarios you get tangled up in, the reactive responses to other players’ schemes, and the player-vs-player roleplaying that defines the style. They are both in constant flux as the game state changes and feed into each other.
Every business school or war college graduate has a personal OODA loop training seminar they want to sell you, so I won't add to the scholarship. Suffice to say that this is a skill you should refine to improve all of your gaming and, especially, your Steining.
Gaming Scenario
While on holiday, I learned a little bit about Vietnamese history and the 70 years of Total Nonstop Braunstein making up their early dynastic history. Here is a simple setup to get your Oriental Adventures-stein fix:
The People’s Empire has been freed from the yoke of foreign control but now the first Emperor and his heir, the Youngest Son, have been assassinated. Beings of the heavens and Urf alike have interest in deciding the next wearer of the crown.
Queen Mother - Highest-ranking of the deceased emperor’s five wives and mother of the Eldest Son and Middlest Son. She is still of child-bearing age and highly esteemed by the people.
Eldest Son - Early 20s, became a monk when passed over as Heir. He is devout, educated, and genteel.
Middlest Son - Teenager, spoiled momma’s boy.
General - Hero of the Empire, renowned and beloved for his loyalty to the Emperor and his defense of the people.
Court Eunuch - The late Emperor’s top advisor, administrator, and secret-keeper.
Lama - Spiritual leader of the Empire’s ethnic branch of Religion, his enlightenment allows him to see and speak directly to heavenly beings when in their presence.
Putana - A demoness, an evil hag, a bad mother, pestilence, plague; she interferes in the urfly realm to sow strife. May appear to the unenlightened as a beautiful young mother if she chooses.
Mukasura - A demon who simply enjoys spoiling the plots of men and other demons. He may choose to appear as a wild boar to the unenlightened.
Jatasura - A brutish, stupid, and lustful demon who pursues both heavenly and urfly females. If he appears to the unenlightened, it is as a twice-mansized, deep purple-skinned, tusked man with four arms.
Here you have two types of characters: humans and demons. While it is unlikely a demon would worry about claiming the throne themselves, they take great pleasure in inducing and satisfying sinful behaviors. They are always at war amongst themselves, barring brief alliances of convenience. This role is a kingmaker and a second layer of Braunstein. The clever referee will use their orders to shape the social battlefield for the human characters and the clever player will strike deals to gain demoniac boons.
By the end of the play period, one player should be crowned as the new Emperor of the People (and perhaps declare a new patron god of the dynasty). I would only break out the demons if you have 2 or more players for that tier to avoid playing with oneself in the clubhouse.
After re-establishing dynastic rule of the Empire, you should follow up with a campaign like the Mighty Urf Empires (being run currently by Rdubs) to create a multipolar setting.
Coming Up
February's newsletter will see the first publication of club bylaws. Get excite. We'll hold a brief period for discussion amongst members before ratification.
We will continue to push the Braunvelope and grow our roster of referees to the best of our abilities. Until next time, happy new year and may God bless us all.