B.R.A.V.O.

{Brief Random Action Venue Organizer}

BRAVO is a simplex roleplaying mechanic for those who prefer less definition and more dramatic roleplaying concepts in their games. It can be adapted to nearly any genre, is fast to use, and has none of that silly need for simulationist concepts of genre consistency or detail that gets in the way of real roleplaying.

The author disavows all responsibility for any injuries to the individual, to your gaming group, your gaming world, your players, your psyches or your minds. Any sexual activity, children, diseases or inactivity that results from playing BRAVO or from using the methods described in BRAVO are totally yours to deal with. You play BRAVO at your own risk and accepting all responsibility for the results.

Any similarities in the mechanics or terms used in BRAVO and other games or works of fiction, are totally coincidental or the result of divine intervention.

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EQUIPMENT:

It is recommended that you have at least one die to play BRAVO. The designer's preference is a D10, but those wishing a smaller scale of graduality can use a smaller die (D8, D6 or D4) and those wishing a higher range of scale can use a D12, D20 or D30. Percentile are not recommended for use with BRAVO.

One die per player is possible, but is not necessary, you can just hand it around. Paper and Pens are also suggested to record character info, with Index cards being considered optimal. (Pencils can be used by those who are indecisive).

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CHARACTER GENERATION:

All Characters are defined by their Name, Attributes, Schticks, Cherries, and Lemons.

Attributes:

Generally there are four Attributes: MIND, BODY, SPIRIT, and WHOOSH. Attributes range with numeric values from 1 to 10 for people. If the GM wants a game with a LOT of Randomness, the Player can roll a 1d10 for each attribute and record the value. If the GM wants less randomness, they should use the BUILD method for characters. If the GM wants no randomness, or complete equality all player characters have a value of 5 in their attributes. If the GM wants to use the Complete Drama System (CDS or "absolute Fiat", the GM will be filling in the values based on whatever the GM wishes them to be based on and the player will be required to accept them.

For brevities sake, and to leave you extra room on character index cards, its best to abbreviate the attributes by the first letter of each word (M B S & W), it also keeps things a mystery to those who have never played BRAVO, and gives you more room to jot down phone numbers for prospective CASTING COUCH auditions

Schticks:

A Schtick is the skill field of the character, and assumes all the skills that the GM will allow (and the player can think of) for that field. Schticks should be simple and descriptive.

Examples: Janitor, Policeman, Cheerleader, Ape Man, Pizza Delivery Dude, Priest, Encyclopedia Salesman, Rocketship Pilot, Marine, Computer Geek, Mime, Militiaman, Mad Scientist, Serial Killer, Roman Gladiator, Knight Errant.

Schticks receive a value ranging from 1-10 representing skill level. Most characters will only have one Schtick, and is assumed to have all equipment and costuming associated with that Schtick, as well as skills and knowledge. In the Random system, a d10 is rolled to determine the Schtick value. In the Equality system it should be automatically a value of 5. In the Complete Drama System the GM decides the Schtick, and assigns an arbitarary number based on their creative dramatic inspiration and the player must accept and play it.

The Build system allows multiple Schticks. If the GM is running an Advanced BRAVO game, it may be decided that all characters have two Schticks that must fit the genre.

A Random Schtick Table could be generated by a GM if they want to have a wide range of Schticks in play that have nothing to do with each other, but one is not included with BRAVO to keep the page count low.

Cherries:

Are nifty things that give the character an advantage when in play (except under the CDS whereas they are simply nifty words on paper to make the player think they have some control over events somehow).

A Cherry might be "Really Sexy" or "Screams Well" or "Really Rich". Cherries should never be associated with Schticks directly or modify Attributes. All cherries are assigned a value of 1-5 by the GM for dice modification. Players can request any Cherry they can think of that is appropriate (except in the CDS system where the GM assigns them as well as values them) and the GM assigns their value.

Cherries have NOTHING to do with whether a character is a Virgin. Virginity is not actually a Cherry but a Lemon under the mechanic, since it draws possibly unwanted sexual attention.

Lemons:

Lemons are bad things about the character that act as a drag on them when in play (except under the CDS system whereas they are simply descriptions on paper to give the GM ideas on how to make a plot that further torments the player into thinking they have some control over events somehow).

A Lemon might be "Drinks Too Much", "Farts Horribly" or "Hates Mimes" (ok, we lied about this last one being a Lemon, it could be a Cherry in many game genres!). Lemons are valued from 1-5 by the GM. Again under CDS the GM can assign any Lemon they wish to the character, but the more annoying ones the better. ("Mute", "Vengeful", "Guilty" and "Angst" can all be fun revenges on players to make them play under the CDS system).

BUILD SYSTEM:

Under the Build System the Player gets a set number of points to assign to Attributes, Schticks, and Cherries. And Can take Lemons to get extra points to put into these. The recommended value is 25 points, but the GM can raise or lower this depending on setting, their mood, the phase of the moon, a coin toss, a random die roll, a lot of bribery from the player or a whim.

Build System characters can take more than one Schtick with their points. The GM may want to limit this in some way, but remember the more they take, the less points they have for each one!

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Sample Character:

Looie Lancer (Random Method)

BODY 6 MIND 3 SPIRT 7 WHOOSH 2

Schtick: Janitor (9)

Cherries: Owns a Nifty Van With a Bed in the Back (3)

Lemons: Overwhelming Lust for Cheerleaders (1)

Not Very Handsome (1)

Answers to Authority: Dean Johnson (1)

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SKILL RESOLUTION:

The GM sets a skill difficulty for a task when it is an unopposed task. The player rolls 1d10, adds all appropriate Schticks, Attributes and Cherry/Lemon effects to the result, and if it exceeds the difficulty they succeed. If the Total before the roll is greater than the difficulty, no roll is needed. (D10 is used in this example, subtract or add to the value if using different dice)

Easy 10

Hard 12

Very Hard 15

Damn Hard 20

Damn Bloody Hard 25

Damn Near Impossible 30

Looie is called by the Dean to clean up after some Frat Boys have drawn obscene pictures on the outside of the College Chapel. They used lots of paint, so the GM decides its a Damn Hard Task. Looie spends several minutes viewing the damage and decides to look things up in his handbook of advanced Janitor Techniques (handed down thru the centuries by enlightened master janitors), so he gets to use both his Janitor 9 and his Mind 3. This gives him 12, and he rolls an 8, for 20 points.

Just failing to remove all the paint. It was close, so the GM grants him some dramatic license, the drawing is severely faded, but is still visible within 3' of the wall.

DRAMATIC FIAT CLAUSE:

If using the CDS system or in a situation the GM declares it Dramatically Important for the roll to succeed or fail, the GM can give a +30 or -30 to any die roll at any time, to ensure dramatic integrity as they deem it. Remember that the GM knows better than the dice, the player, or the script about how things should be resolved, because in a Dramatic system the GM is always right!

CONTESTED ROLLS:

A contested roll is one where two characters are in contest against each other or trying to affect each other. Lets introduce another Example character here for Looie to have a contest with:

Cathy Boom-Boom Jones

BODY 8 MIND 3 SPIRIT 7 WHOOSH 5

Schtick: College Cheerleader (5)

Cherries: Fantastic Looks (3)

Lemons: Jealous Boyfriend :Football Jock (3)

Looie is trying to get a date with Cathy. The GM, unable or unwilling to get competent actors, has them roll for the results after a really bad scene to do so out of desperation to get to the next important scene (the fight) in the plot schedule.

Looie tries a "Nifty Pickup Line" that he heard while cleaning up the mens locker room, thus using his MIND (but cannot apply his janitorial schtick to this scene).

Looie gets MIND 3 + SPIRIT 7. He also must minus from his score for his "Not Very Handsome" Lemon (1). This Gives him 9, and he rolls a 10, for a total of 19! Looie is Looking pretty good here.

Cathy is well aware that this is "Just that weird Janitor" who is always cleaning up in the locker room after she and the other girls have been using the shower. Thus she is using her formidable MIND 3 + SPIRIT 7 and gets to add her Cheerleader Schtick since dating is part of her regular lifestyle as a cheerleader +5. She has a 15, and rolls a 7, for a whopping 22! Looie flops big time. Too bad he forgot to mention he had a Nifty Van with a bed in the back, or he would have had a tie and he'd have had a chance to try a different tactic.

Of course, a GM could take pity on Looie, or might decide it would be more dramatically acceptable for Looie to get the Date with Cathy so her Jealous Boyfriend could storm in on them while in a state of undress in the back of the van and beat Looie to a pulp. In which case the GM could apply the Dramatic Fiat Clause.

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DICELESS BRAVO:

{Sometimes refered to as "Advanced Bravo"}

This is for the GM who feels that all those random things get in the way. They just add up the numbers and the big numbers win. (This is also applied to all Combat). Diceless Dramatic Fiat works a bit differently - the GM doesn't bother to look at numbers, the GM just decides whether it would be dramatically useful to have a task be completed, or a combat won, and states so. ("The Plot calls for you to die heroicly, after a short romantic last scene with the handsome hero, inspiring him to seek vengeance against the villain. You are slowly bleeding to death in the arms of the hero, please keep the romantic scene under three minutes, as that is when you will pass out... go.")

Note that the GM should always make sure, if their own Girlfriend/boyfriend is in the game to give them the advantage in all situations, since favortism can get you lots of benefits later in dating and sex. If you presently have no signicant other, the CASTING COUCH is a keen way of getting one by convincing players that having sex with you will ensure them the best parts in the game and the plot being written so that they have the Dramatic Fiat in their favor.

The desigers of BRAVO do not recommend use of a CASTING COUCH without a Condom, as this could lead to a permanent commitment to a player's involvement in your games and a reduction in one's sex life potentials.

{Anyone who can't deal with diceless Bravo as a player is obviously a BAD ROLEPLAYER, addicted to dice, and should have personal attacks made at them constantly over the Internet via the Newsgroups for such problems. Any GM who can't deal with it should be considered a Luddite, a Gamist, a Wargamer in Disguise and a corruptor of the minds of true gamers. Such a bad GM should be berated publically on the internet to ensure that his CASTING COUCH remains empty at all times.}

CASTING CALL:

In the event that your players turn out not to be competant actors it is recommended that you sack the lot of them and get a new bunch of players by running ads at the local gaming store, local high school theatre department or theatrical agency.

You might also want to get new actors if your attempts at getting one or more of them to the CASTING COUCH have failed, or you found their performance on the couch unsatisfying.

You will need to hold auditions a week before the game to make sure you don't get more bad actors, or worse people who want to get paid for acting. Give them a quick BRAVO game scenario to play out and keep whoever looks good to you in their part, or is willing to give you a date on Saturday night.

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COMBAT:

In combat the GM does not have to assign a value, it works differently, as it is a contested roll, but involve a bit more in the way of plasy to deal with.

Each side in a combat (no matter how many combatants) adds together all applicable numbers.BODY and WHOOSH are added to any Schticks that include combat ability. Armor and Weapons (which also have a number value from 1-10) are also added. Each side rolls a die and adds it to their total. High result wins. In the case of a tie, roll again.

Each of the Loosers of a combat rolls a Very Hard roll with their SPIRIT. If they fail they are Dead, if they succeed they are unconscious but alive (minus 1 from their BODY value permanently to show damage).

Each of the Winners rolls a Hard roll with their BODY. If they fail they are injured (minus 1 from their BODY value permanently to show damage).

Note: As usual in all rolls the Dramatic License Fiat rule can be applied to any combat oriented rolls, even after the rolls had been made. This is because the GM is more powerful than probability or reality and should always be right about what is dramatically acceptable. Players are but pawns and actors and should not be taken seriously (unless they are really good while on the casting couch entertaining the GM's lusts, in which case you might give them a little say in things if they promise to return to the casting couch soon after).

COMBAT EXAMPLE:

Looie is in a fight with a nasty alley cat that has snuck into the Girls Lockerroom. The Cat has BODY 2 WHOOSH 9 SPIRIT 9 Claws (1) {Animals do not have a Schtick but do have Cherries/Lemons} Fear of Water (1) Always Lands on Feet (2) Fur Armor ( 1) Looks Cute (2). Looie is armed with his Pushbroom (Combat value 2).

Looie has Body 6 + Whoosh 2 + Broom 2 + Janitor 9 (since he is using his broom) = 19

The Cat has Body 2 + Whoosh 9 + Claws 1 + Armor 1+ Looks Cute +2* = 15

* Cat gets this because its in a Girls Lockeroom with Girls Present.

Cat Rolls : 10, so total is 25.

Looie Rolls : 7, so total is 26

Looie wins after several tense minutes. Cat has a SPIRIT of 9 and rolls 2, for an 11. This Fails the Very Hard Roll and the Cat is dead. The GM decides this is dramatically unacceptable (The cat is intended as a regular advesary to return next week) and adds 30 to the roll, so the cat is unconscious but not dead.

Looie rolls 4, and has a SPIRIT of 7. This fails his Hard Roll, the Cat took a chunk out of him before it fell, so he looses 1 point of body. Worse, several cheerleaders were present and think that he is horribly cruel to animals, giving him a Bad Reputation With Cheerleaders as an additional Lemon 2 (Gm's additional method to make sure that players do what is dramatically acceptable within setting).

If the GM had Let Looie get the Cheerleader for the date, she could at this time break off the date because of his cruelty to animals, adding to his dispair and defeat. You could then go on to throw more misery on Looie so that you lead up to the climax, either action scene, where he goes to the nearest J-Mart and buys a sem-automatic weapon and goes on a shooting rampage on campus, or the Anti-climax, where Looie commits suicide in a dramatically spectacular manner,

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AWARDING GLITZIES:

Glitzies are awarded by a GM after the game to players who accomplished the following in his opinion:

Best Actor/Actress in a Surviving Role (3)

Best Actor/Actress in a Dying Role (2)

Best Actor/Actress in a Comedy Role (1)**

Most Creative Use of A Character's Abilities* (1)

* Not awarded in a Diceless Game, since this is a lesser role

** Only awarded if the GM actually laughed and it was intended to be funny.

To help with the dramatic concepts of the game and encourage the players, Glitzies winners should be written down and sealed in an envelope. The GM should choose two other players in the group and will announce them, along with the real winner, as the nominees for the Glitzie. A moment of suspense should occur before opening the envelope, with the GM appearing to be surprised at contents of the envelope, and then the contents announced.

A Glitzie can be used in a later game to get a bonus in Character generation to add to any character Value. If the GM is using the Absolute Fiat system, the player can use the fact that they got a Glitzie last game to convince the GM to give them the "Lead Character" in the current game, since they are obviously a high caliber performer.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

If you keeping having combats and getting hurt, won't your character eventually run out of points in Body?

Yes, but that's to be expected. If you didn't it wouldn't be dramatic enough. Think of John Wayne in The Shootist, fighting a body eating cancer and getting in one gunfight after another until the final showdown where he gets shot and Ron Howard has to pick up the gun and do the shooting of the last opponent - far more dramatic. Death is Dramatic. Your GM can help you achieve wonderful heroic death scenes if you cooperate.

The number of people matters too much - there's no room for individual heroism.

That's not a question, that's a statement. Real Heroes don't worry about the odds. Remember the Alamo! Remember the Maine! Remember that the GM is always right!

What does "Whoosh" mean and do?

Whoosh is named after the sound that occurs when you use it. If you've ever watched a really good Hong Kong martial arts film all the characters make whooshing noises when moving very fast. That's What whoosh is all about - sound, speed, breaking the sound barrier, moving in nifty high speed (or on a low budget, not so nifty slow motion).

If you only have a 5 in Spirit you always take body and will always get hurt in combat, why?

Nice attempt to turn a statement into a question. Real heroes have spirit, obviously, and those who don't can die all the sooner in a dramatic fashion. Remember this isn't some silly "realistic" system that demands the GM to take every concept of reality into consideration or need to be able to do basic math - it's the acting that counts!

What About Magic?

If you have room in your special effects budget to cover it, go for it. Otherwise a cheesy card trick or two just doesn't cut it on the big screen. Magic obviously is played as a Schtick, one that produces neat plot twists by the GM when applied (don't let player characters have magic, or it can ruin the game - magic should only be in the hands of real professionals).

What About Psi?

This takes less of a special effects budget, so its easier to do. Again be careful about letting a player character have it, but if you do make it interesting.... Mr. Bester in Babylon Five was a great example of an abusive Psi character, running around implanting false desires, memories, and reading folks minds so he can find out who was thinking about making him do impossible sex acts. Of course, he got dramatically clobbered by the main characters along the way....

Can you play a Vampire?

Oooooh! Angst! Misery! Blood Lust! Wild Passion Scenes! Nudity! Yes, you can play a vampire and I'd love to show you how on my casting couch. Come see me the night before the game and I'll instruct in all the myriad ways to exploit this concept. Bring loose clothing, bring tight clothing, bring some fake teeth - I'll have the candles lit and some goth music playing in the background......

Do Janitors ever get dates with Cheerleaders?

Of course, if they never got dates it would be anti-climactic! What you do is when the player playing the Janitor goes off on the date with the cheerleader, you make sure her jealous boyfriend shows up unexpectedly and beats him to a pulp. He then crawls away, planning a horrible revenge on the football player jealous boyfriend involving cleaning products and sabotaging the gym locker room....

Can I use characters from Feng Shui or Sailor Moon or Over The Edge or Everway in a Bravo Game? What about Unknown Armies?

Certainly, like all dramatic low-mechanics systems, you can certainly use characters from other game mechanics without any real need for modification, since the mechanics are all basically similar enough that it doesn't matter. Or, when it doubt, allow them and use the CDS to ensure balance between the characters.

Think of the possibilities, Sailor Moon transported thru a gate to another world where all the men are horny martial arts using janitors that want to sacrifice her to power the Throckmorton device and change the course of history....to become the 333 archetype before the end of the universe, so they can establish a new universe where all Cheerleaders and Sailor Moon wanna-be's all fall in love with janitors instead of masked men in tuxedos.

Legal Notices & Disclaimers for BRAVO:

BRAVO is a work of satire, and not intended to be used as an actual roleplaying game. Anyone who is foolish enough to think that the above is a workable mechanic, descriptive system or a good way to handle players and game concepts should seriously consider leaving gaming and not letting the door hit them on the way out.

Trademarked characters mentioned in BRAVO are mentioned without intent to challenge the trademarks of the owners but are included for satirical and parody purposes only (and thus fall under acceptable use laws in the United States).

BRAVO is not in any way connected to related to or meant it any way to be associated with the BRAVO television network, which would never stoop to anything as low as this or show films that in any way resembled the dramatic elements spoken about here. Its an acronym that simply appealed to a warped sense of humor.

BRAVO applies all the BAD elements of Diceless, Simplex Mechanic and Dramatist concepts of game design that have been creeping into the game industry in the past few years. Obviously many designers believe that new players are easily put off by all that "math stuff" and have no interest in the concept of "Controlling their own destiny" but should instead be made into really bad ham actors to amuse the GM.

BRAVO may be freely distributed, so long as all the present information and disclaimers are included so that no one makes the mistake of thinking its a real game system. Adding additional jokes, bad lines, silly tables, Angst, Sex Tips, Graphics, Short Stories that ignore the mechanics but achieve "Atmosphere" or sample plots, scripts, settings, or pickup lines is perfectly acceptable.

Anyone who wants to publish BRAVO in a commercial way for any reason, should consider psychiatric care, and contact the author to arrange delivery of a large quantity of American Money in Small denominations so that he can publish REAL game systems and stop writing bad satire ABOUT bad game systems for his own enjoyment.

BRAVO is Copyright 1999 By Joseph Teller (joeteller@mindspring.com) who insists that it was channeled thru him by the Goddess Eris and refined with the assistance of Cindy Shettle and Kiralee McCauley to be less offensive than it could have been.