Introducing #BROXER

“Total Nonstop Braunstein isn’t possible.”

“Total Nonstop Braunstein is lame.”

“The #BroXT can’t play a game that good! They aren’t ready!”

TOO BAD.

BROZER

Late in 2024, the #BroSR released their love letter to the hobby, the culmination of the work this incredible decentralized group of #Elite gamers had spent over the last four years. Jeffro’s engagement with the Rules As Written of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons revealed how 1:1 time takes the spotlight off of the party and Patron play released the world from the grip of the DM Storynazi. But the true synthesis to create “#RealDND” was when the Braunstein mindset was brought in. Jeffro’s legendary Always-On month of Patron Braunstein showed the hobby that players CAN NOT BE MORE ENGAGED than when they are operating in Braunstein conditions. It also demonstrated that there is nothing you can do to burn out a DM faster than telling them they are responsible for organizing games on a daily basis for a month amidst their own family and work obligations. And after the experience of patrons flattening PC play in several Bro games, the focus on the Braunstein came into center stage. 2024’s Summer of Stein catapulted Braunstein into popular RPG discussion, where you even have people on OSR Reddit pages attributing the Bros warmly with credit for bringing the idea into the limelight. #ThankYouJeffro!

The best minds in RPGs were asked to contribute to an ambitious project: a “module” that provides the world the blueprint for how to run their own Braunstein-style game. BROZER: Island of War and Winter. In the unlikely deadline of only a month, in October of 2024 the project was completed. 14 factions, inspired by #AppendixN literature, in conflict operating under a fog of war. Essays that describe the proper mindset on how to approach the game. And the best advice you can give: Just Run The Game.

Just Run The Game

It’s hard to say if the world was ready for BROZER. The reality is that our corner of the hobby was the prime audience to receive this gift. But unfortunately, too many people who read it said “I don’t get it.” “How do I run it?” “What am I supposed to do?” Many people refused to take the jump unless they could have every question answered. And after all those questions were answered, they had a dozen more questions, a dozen reasons why they simply could not run a Braunstein like BROZER. At a time like this, you would hope to rely on the strength of your community, to send the cavalry in support of a crowning achievement, credited not to individual people but to the BrOSR AS A WHOLE. Would you believe that it was at this crucial juncture that the strength of the Bros failed? BROZER contributors began to question the core tenets of Bro play such as AD&D RAW, 1:1 time, and Braunstein campaigns, at a time when they should have been rejoicing in a victory lap!

Those who felt strongest about BROZER sought a way to move forward in an environment where it became less clear about who your allies really were. Maybe it was time to recruit new blood. Maybe the Vanguard was turning into the Old Guard, and their days were beginning to be numbered. A Twitterwide search was made for those who were actually, genuinely interested in running BROZER and exploring BrOSR plays and how Braunstein plays into it.v

Enter the #BroXT

The #BroXT was assembled by Bookers Bdubs, Dunder Moose, and Dirty Rob, consisting of primarily unknowns. Smaller accounts, younger guys who had never played with the Bros before but were actively seeking out the #WinningSecrets. Challenges became the norm: Create a Braunstein Faction in a tweet. Run or play in BROZER and write an AAR. Read an #AppendixN story and discuss how it can improve your D&D game. Run a battle from a Bro’s ongoing campaign and send them the results. Develop your own Braunstein Faction using BROZER methods. Take your DM to task by playing your best and writing your own AARs on your PC’s experience. The #BroXT was formed at the very start of 2025, and its members have cut their teeth on countless hours of games, both as DMs and players, across systems, and engaging with Braunstein in ways that made Booker Dunder Moose come to the conclusion that we are in our second Summer of Stein. It’s undisputed that nobody on the planet has done more for the art of Braunstein than the #BroXT. J, Obsessor, bluehosscat, and if I may dare to include myself in that group, have been responsible for multiple Braunstein games each, many as standalone sessions, many as the part of an ongoing campaign. Guys have been experimenting with other systems, like Merinus with ShadowDark, Scutifer Mike with Mothership, and don’t you dare ignore Hoot Owl’s bona fides as Midnight Chainmail Champion.

But did we get lost in the sauce? In the recent #BROmerican tournament, BookerDubs called us out for missing the message. Yes, our games were great. We were playing better and more relevant games despite having less experience than anyone. But we were wasting our talents playing OSR retroclones and thespian-fever-dream one shot Braunsteins that resemble board games more than D&D. Where was the ongoing campaign play Braunsteins? And where was AD&D, the thing that started the entire BrOSR movement years ago?

I spent some time considering all of this and I reread BROZER straight through for the first time since December. I had referenced it often in various projects, but something became strikingly obvious when I dug back into it.

Total Nonstop Braunstein

When you look at some of the faction descriptions in BROZER, when you read the essays, you realize that BROZER’s true potential is NOT in a one-shot. You realize that it was NEVER INTENDED to be a one-shot. It explicitly states that it should be dropped into your campaign world or should be the starting point for a campaign. Sure, it’s fun as a one-shot, but has anyone truly given BROZER what it deserves? What happens when you develop a game where you try to take every lesson the Bros have learned and incorporate it into one big campaign?

#BROXER

• 1:1 timekeeping

• Patron Play

• Multiple DMs

• Open Tables

• Zero Prep

• Proper pacing

• AD&D RAW

• Convergence over Solitaire

• DMs protecting the milieu

• Public posts that allow anyone to follow the game

This is #BROXER. I opened up invitations to an online game of BROZER where patron orders would be taken weekly, but sessions can be run by players. Anyone is welcome to play via drop in. Anyone trusted is allowed to DM whenever people want to play, and by using zero-prep principles we can keep people playing whenever they would like. Factions must rely on other factions or PCs to further their plans.

#BroXT members were guaranteed a spot, some big names were welcomed to act as headliners and to show the way. A few unknowns have been taken in to test their mettle. The game can continue to grow as factions rise and fall, and players can always create PCs and try to grow them to their own factions one day.

The game kicks off Monday, August 18th, when the action will start to play out and session play can begin.

What are we doing that hasn’t been done before?

Nothing.

Bros have run games like this. Bros are running games like this now. So what is special about this game? This game is ours. This is the #BroXT’s opportunity to show the legacy Bros that the movement is alive and well. We are going to put together a campaign across every level, accommodating every style of play: play by post, session play, wargame. This will be TOTAL INVOLVEMENT of the #BroXT-as-clubhouse. Every #BroXT member is an owner of the campaign. And we get to do all of this paying respect to those who brought this wonderful style of games that we tried and decided we could never put down.

#ThankYouBrOSR

#ThankYouJeffro

P.S. Follow #BROXER and #BROXERSessions to keep up with what’s happening. In the week before play has even begun, the madness is already afoot. Get in on a BROXER Session. No #BroXT membership card required. No AD&D experience expected. This is your invitation to improve your games. Just. Play. The. Game. Let’s do this together.