The Old West Braunstein
Faction play and the grand campaign in a 10-gallon hat
As I've been thinking about faction-based open campaigning, my thoughts have been largely focused on fantasy roleplaying. Fantasy is not the only genre of RPGs though. How do you apply these principles championed by the BrOSR and others on Twitter to non-fantasy RPGs? While reading Jeffro Johnson’s pamphlet “How to Win at D&D,” he mentioned that Boot Hill was originally invisioned as a Western Braunstein-style game. This intrigued me. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the Western genre and I can think of no better place to start discussing Braunsteins and Grand Campaigns in other genres.
What makes the Western such fertile ground for this kind of game? Well, quite simply, the Wild West is a frontier. Specifically, it's a frontier that's being settled in the aftermath of a bloody war that ripped the country asunder. You have business men, soldiers, newly-freed slaves, homesteaders, prospectors, railroads and outlaws on the run all heading into a vast wilderness which is currently occupied by a native population. There's land and resources up for grabs and a lot of grabbing hands going after it. Here we have the seeds of adventure.
You can see this in a lot of the historical conflicts of the era, including the Earp brothers’ conflict with The Cowboys, the Indian Wars, and the Lincoln County Wars. You also see fictional conflicts like this in many Western films. The pieces are all present, so how do we turn this into a game? Here we can borrow from both gaming and cinema. Your level 1 players just stepped off the stage coach or train from back east and find themselves in the local saloon. Give them a map of the territory and a few adjacent territories and let them go wild.
The cool thing about Westerns is that you don't have to do any world building at all if you don't want to. All you need to do is find a period map of the region, do a little bit of research on notable residents, industries, military presence, Indian tribes, etc and port that directly to the table. That said, you can of course build your own approximation of a US territory or state Red Dead-style, but you don't have to at all. The map is already drawn and the details are already there. Another bonus to this approach is the ability to interact with historical figures. This may be my own particular nerdiness, but I love the idea of players being able to ride with the James-Younger Gang, be deputized by Wild Bill Hickok, or gun down Wyatt Earp like no outlaw ever managed to do.
Your players will begin the game as drifters but, much like in a standard fantasy setting, interaction with the various factions will open the doors of opportunity. Bounty hunting could get the players appointed as Marshals, working with the military could result in a commission, prospecting could result in staking a large claim, etc. As a result, your drifters will eventually become Generals, Sheriffs, Mayors, Cattle Barons, etc and then you'll have yourself a good group of patrons for other players or for the same players running low level characters. It really just comes down to a slightly more modern version of what you see in a fantasy Grand Campaign. There might not be any dungeons or anything like that, but there’s plenty of treasure and danger to be found in the wilderness.
In summary, running a Braunstein in a Western setting is far more simple than you might expect. All it takes is a small amount of historical research, the right ruleset, and players who are willing to trade in their swords and helmets for sixguns and Stetsons. In no time at all, you'll be fighting range wars, rustling cattle, and dealing with conflicts between Indians and the Cavalry.