Urban Brawl, Search Fu failed me Options

[Wiggles Von Beer...]

I'm just wondering if there are any strict interpretations of what Urban Brawl actually is. The core book describes it as "a game that’s part war, part football, part large-scale urban renewal," and I'm having a difficult time coming up with what it might actually be.

Does it take place in a stadium? Are their only two teams per match? Is it a capture the flag type game, or is the point to injure, maim, and kill the other team until they can't continue?

[Stahlseele]

No Stadium, one or two hours before the match starts, a part of a city is picked and closed off and evacuated.
And then there are two teams, usually on the opposing ends of the chosen field of play.
somewhere there's a ball dropped, and both teams race to get it.
and then they have to get it into the other teams goal-zone.
and then there is war about the ball

[Medicineman]

my Google Fu in English is not so good. I found only this on the First Page of Google
http://www.intercom.net/user/logan1/ubl.htm

JahtaHey
Medicineman

[Wiggles Von Beer...]

Awesome, I actually didn't think to search Google. Just Dumpshock.

[CanRay]

Bah, Urban Brawl is for children and punks!

Desert Wars! Now there's a sport!

GO BLACK DEVILS!

[Dumori]

CanRay you know that if my Merc game competes in Desert Wars the Black Devils will likely get a pasting. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[CanRay]

Depends on the fight type. The Black Devils are great in concentrated areas (Ruined Cities, Dense Forests, Mountains, and so on), and not so good in open field. They're Light Infantry.

[raggedhalo]

Get thee to Shadowbeat (SR1 sourcebook), which contains an entire section on Urban Brawl. It's basically American Football with LMGs.

[crazyconscript]

I think i remember reading somewhere that it evolved out of some megacorps making use of gang warfare to make some quick bucks by selling coverage on the black market, and employing the gangs to stage their fights in areas that were in need of some "urban renewal" so the mega could walk in and make the place into what they wanted it to be. It ended being extremely popular and evolved into an actual sport after that.

[Nath]

I think i remember reading somewhere that it evolved out of some megacorps making use of gang warfare to make some quick bucks by selling coverage on the black market, and employing the gangs to stage their fights in areas that were in need of some "urban renewal" so the mega could walk in and make the place into what they wanted it to be. It ended being extremely popular and evolved into an actual sport after that.

Shadowbeat features that. It says Urban Brawl evolved from Jeux de Guerre de Ville ("Urban Wargame") played in the 2020ies in France. French gangs used to play this, and people at the Javert corporation (not a mega, as far as I know) noticed first that it kept the gangs occupied in the neighborhoods they tried to reclaim, and later that half their employees were betting on the results. That's when they started broadcasting it.

IMO, specific game roles as in US football or rugby, and the use of firearms is not very consistent with this alleged origin. On the other hand, the soccer sized and shaped ball is. Drawing inspiration on the existing French banlieues subculture, the Jeux de Guerre de Ville should rather have put an emphasis on hand to hand combat and melee weapons, with Yamakasi-type movements (see Parkour for enlightenment).

[sinthalix]

I haven't seen anyone mention it, but it's also in 7314: A Killing Glare (2nd ed. module).

I ran my group through it, and they loved it!

[Snow_Fox]

You beat me to it in mentioning the adventure that also listsit and might be easier to find than the excellent Shadowbeat SB.

It ius two teams in brightly colored armor in a squared off area of ruins, the area is choosen only al ittle bit before an event to prevent cheating by either side-imagine two corps decending on a strip of the barrens and tellnig people ,"here's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 100, get out."
'but"
"Here's the (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 100 I offered before and the business end of my Predator, get the frak out"
"ok"

It's like a capture the flag type deal with a squad trying to defend their ball and get the other sides (I htink it's been a while since I read the rules) with the medic being the only 'safe' person. I put safe in quotes because "gee was he behind that wall I knocked down too?" can happen.

[Nath]

To put it another way, it's sorta Unreal Tournament played live in capture-the-flag mode (or any other similar game, especially those that feratures flashy futuristic 3D character models and team roles). Except that when Shadowbeat and Killing Glare were written, the genre barely existed, halfway between the release of Wolfenstein and Doom.

[Medicineman]

I allways wondered why it's called Urban BRAWL ?? It should be labelled Urban Shootout !
It Would've been whay cooler if the Players had only Melee Weapons or maybe only a 6 Shot Revolver with no spare Ammo !!

with an Urban Dance
Medicineman

[sds]

Right after getting Shadowbeat (which is great!), the link that Medicineman provided is superb. A very good description of most everything from Shadowbeat. In addition the old adventure A Killing Glare includes a couple of Urban Brawlers (Punch & Judy), as well as the Urbn Brawl rules - also for DMZ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[MYST1C]

I allways wondered why it's called Urban BRAWL ??

I think it's interesting that way back Shadowbeat named the Urban Brawl world association as "Internationaler Stadtkriegs Sport Verein"* (ISSV) located in Berlin. "Stadtkrieg" is what UB is usually called in German SR books but it in fact translates to English as "Urban War"! Then again, any literal translation of "brawl" would've sounded dumb (Handgemenge? Rauferei?).

BTW, there's also a less lethal (and thus less popular) indoor variant called "Arena Brawl" that's played with gel rounds and blunt melee weapons.

* Proper German spelling would be "Internationaler Stadtkriegs-Sportverein" or "International Stadtkriegssportverein".

[MYST1C]

To put it another way, it's sorta Unreal Tournament played live in capture-the-flag mode

IMO UT2k3/UT2k4's Bombing Run game mode would be more appropriate...

[Warlordtheft]

Punch and Judy, ahh, I remember that as well as the fragged up situation I was in once.

I once was in game a decade ago (I remeber a little) where I as the mage was in an urban brawl game. (Note mages aren't usuallly in the game). SInce we knew the johnson had no incentiveto let us live we all tried to escape. Astral is off limits and deckers were of course a non-issue. No drones either. From what I remeber the goal was to get the ball back to your side. There were 8 players (1 being the medic). Normally everyone is using gel rounds. In the adventure they went with live ammo for max carnage. There was also an outrider who could not handle the ball but was on a bike. That is about all I remember.

Oh yeah, that and dropping down on the ball carrier and shapshifting into an elephant in the process. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[CanRay]

Ah the ol' Ele-punt Manouver. That's a classic!

[Omar]

Is there a page like that which details Desert Wars?

Edit: Also, with Urban Brawl, do they use Gel rounds or live ammo? I didnt see anything that specified gel in that page.

I imagine it would be something like a typical Halo game with shadowrunners... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Warlordtheft]

Is there a page like that which details Desert Wars?

Edit: Also, with Urban Brawl, do they use Gel rounds or live ammo? I didnt see anything that specified gel in that page.

I imagine it would be something like a typical Halo game with shadowrunners... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Gel rounds as I recall was mentioned in the Punch and Judy adventure (maybe shadow beat)....at least for the syndicated, corp run ones in UCAS. Though I imagine some use real ammo (like in Azantlan or the games that are run in feral cities).

[MYST1C]

Edit: Also, with Urban Brawl, do they use Gel rounds or live ammo? I didnt see anything that specified gel in that page.

Urban Brawl: live rounds. Arena Brawl: gel rounds.

[Red-ROM]

the original game of football was between two towns. there was a stuffed pigsbladder and the goal was to get the "ball" to the center of the opposing town, that was it for rules and many people were seriously injured. "urban brawl" seems to be bringing us full circle (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ork.gif)

[TBRMInsanity]

From what I've read the official leagues use gel rounds and the "minor" leagues (read as gangs fighting to get noticed) use real ammo. Urban Brawl is a blood sport non the less and people die in both leagues regularly. This is why it is banned in a lot of countries world wide.