BRODUM From Here

The Roadmap

From here—since I have outlined what the scenario is, who is involved, and what everyone wants—there is not much left to do but to put the scenario down in the form of a manual.

If you want an idea of what the final form will be, look at BROZER and UMBROS.

If you want something more, here’s the draft outline:

1. Introduction

   1. Space Opera

      1. Properly defining it as a specific iteration of Knightly Romance by way of Horse Opera (melodramatic Westerns) and Planetary Romance (i.e. Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars and Venus books) before E.E. Smith’s Lensman gave us the form we are familiar with now.

      2. Reminding the reader that “Romance”, in literature and Fine Art, has a very specific meaning that has nothing to do with love stories.

      3. Continuing forward to the present, focusing on Yoshiki Tanaka’s Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and (under Yoshinobu Nishizaki) Space Battleship Yamato as the successors to the spirit that E.E. Smith bestowed by taking what Burroughs laid down and scaling it up.

   2. Adventure Gaming

      1. There is no difference between “Science Fiction” and “Fantasy" so there is no need to avoid using The Game That Matters—Dungeons & Dragons—as the primary ruleset.

      2. As a courtesy, Traveller is supported as it holds an analogous position in Space Gaming that D&D holds overall.

   3. Braunstein

      1. Here I would like to use what was published in BROZER and UMBROS to explain the concept. The various Types would be moved to a later part.

   4. BRODUM

      1. How To Start A War

         1. This is a Braunstein scenario intended to launch a long-term campaign, played in the Total Non-Stop Braunstein manner.

         2. The setting material here, and the players presented, are meant to be sufficient to not only resolve the scenario but to continue on into the long-form campaign that results from it.

         3. This scenario, therefore, is designed to all but guarantee that a war results as the direct and immediate consequence; what various are the details of that war.

2. Two Empires And Two Desires

   1. This is the scenario presentation section.

   2. The scenario briefing—with map referenced, including in the back matter—shows that the Sassinid Kingdom is between the Byzantine Empire and the Tang Dynasty. There is an attempt to resolve the dispute of who controls what diplomatically, which is done by an arranged marriage between one of the two Imperial princes to the Sassinid king’s daughter. Outside parties intervene, things do not go as planned, and the empires go to war as a consequence.

   3. Each Major Faction, with its three notable players, is presented. Then the three Minor Players as the wild cards. If you’ve been following along, you know what goes here already.

   4. Braunstein Forms. The stuff I would like to reproduce from BROZER and UMBROS on the forms of Braunstein and especially on Total Non-Stop goes here.

3. The War That Follows

   1. GOSS and SEEN, two forms of managing information flows in a campaign, are presented here because they become relevant after the initial scenario’s resolution. One is on the Referee (GOSS), the other on players (SEEN), and together they not only contribute to the Fog of War but also to players being the drivers of campaign resolution.

   2. As some forms of the war scenario are easily predicted, those obvious ones will be mentioned and explored here.

4. The Back Matter

   1. Map of the Star System (in relative terms)

      1. This includes distances measured in weeks between solar systems, for convenience of use with Traveller.

   2. Map of the Sassinid’s homeworld solar system

      1. Includes relevant information for in-system transits.

   3. Playable statistics for all Major and Minor Players.

      1. In addition to artwork, also includes any minions or notable items or other resources at that individual’s disposal such as a battleship or a giant robot.

      2. Stat blocks for new gear will be included, as required.

5. Conclusion

   1. Closing remarks

   2. Mission Statement regarding the distribution of BRODUM

   3. Acknowledgements¹

When? When it’s done. A raw manuscript, when complete, will be made available for Paid Subscribers for the purpose of testing. A final version will be given to them first, then made available generally, in PDF and (via POD, at-cost) in print.

But yeah, after this article you won’t hear about BRODUM again until testing time.

1. Yes, including “Credit Griff Morgan”.