Wild Animals: A Trench Raider Quest
- Thread starter Balaur
- Start date
- Original Historic
- Location
- Brisbane
"Guten Tag" Brown says in a dubious accent as you enter the mess hall, your kit packed for the march tomorrow.
"Guten Tag to you too." You answer. You've been letting him do most of the talking in German in public. A diversion, muddying the waters. If they suspect anything, they'll go for the pacifist first, not a man who's killed more Germans than he has fingers.
Every soldier of B company has gathered in a semi-circle around Billy Hughes. You drift into the back of the group. Your stomach is rumbling; you don't need another into battle speech, you need a decent meal.
"As you all know, shortly before we were cycled out of the front, men of the 61st Battalion launched a night raid on German positions. It was successful, killing dozens of Germans at the price of only three dead. Private Richard Bolton, killed in action. Private Grey, died of wounds."
Died of falling into a bloody hole in the ground, more like.
And it was your fault those men died, too. If you'd just convinced Bruce to turn back and get Grey help rather than pushing him forwards, no-one would have died that died, and you wouldn't have been wounded.
"And Corporal Bruce Black, also died of wounds. He was fatally wounded in hand-to-hand combat with the Germans after killing an enemy machine gunner. Corporal Jackie Smith, also wounded in the same fight, and Lance-Corporal Lewis Thornton killed the remaining Germans in the sap and tried to take him to safety through no-man's land. Alas, they were too late. Black's last request was to be taken home-to the battalion trenches!"
A few men cheer at that. Most don't.
"Both of them have been awarded the Military Medal. I have cited Bruce for the Victoria Cross for his actions in ensuring the escape of the rest of the raiding party, ensuring that the other wounded could reach safety quickly enough for most of them to survive their injuries. A part of those trenches will remain forever England."
"Not England. Australia." O'Reilly, one of the platoon Lewis gunners, says.
"Here's an idea!" someone, you can't hear who, shouts. "We take an aussie flag and we fly it up over their trenches. Make those trenches forever Australia!"
"Not the trenches. The ridge. We're with third division, and third division is assaulting Messines ridge head-on." Someone else answers.
"And the men who fought alongside side Bruce will carry it!" Billy Hughes says.
God. Damn. It.
*
For the Battle of Messines, you'll be carrying your combat load with little customization-this is a set piece operation after being rearmed and retrained, not a raid. However, you can still pick if you want to be a bomber or a bayonet-man in terms of weapons carried.
[]: Bomber: Entrenching Tool, 10X Hand Bombs(12 weight + supplies and other gear)
[]: Bayonet-Man: SMLE, Bayonet(nothing says you can't "lose" it), Entrenching Tool, 6X Ammo, 2X Hand Bombs(16 weight + supplies and other gear)
"Guten Tag to you too." You answer. You've been letting him do most of the talking in German in public. A diversion, muddying the waters. If they suspect anything, they'll go for the pacifist first, not a man who's killed more Germans than he has fingers.
Every soldier of B company has gathered in a semi-circle around Billy Hughes. You drift into the back of the group. Your stomach is rumbling; you don't need another into battle speech, you need a decent meal.
"As you all know, shortly before we were cycled out of the front, men of the 61st Battalion launched a night raid on German positions. It was successful, killing dozens of Germans at the price of only three dead. Private Richard Bolton, killed in action. Private Grey, died of wounds."
Died of falling into a bloody hole in the ground, more like.
And it was your fault those men died, too. If you'd just convinced Bruce to turn back and get Grey help rather than pushing him forwards, no-one would have died that died, and you wouldn't have been wounded.
"And Corporal Bruce Black, also died of wounds. He was fatally wounded in hand-to-hand combat with the Germans after killing an enemy machine gunner. Corporal Jackie Smith, also wounded in the same fight, and Lance-Corporal Lewis Thornton killed the remaining Germans in the sap and tried to take him to safety through no-man's land. Alas, they were too late. Black's last request was to be taken home-to the battalion trenches!"
A few men cheer at that. Most don't.
"Both of them have been awarded the Military Medal. I have cited Bruce for the Victoria Cross for his actions in ensuring the escape of the rest of the raiding party, ensuring that the other wounded could reach safety quickly enough for most of them to survive their injuries. A part of those trenches will remain forever England."
"Not England. Australia." O'Reilly, one of the platoon Lewis gunners, says.
"Here's an idea!" someone, you can't hear who, shouts. "We take an aussie flag and we fly it up over their trenches. Make those trenches forever Australia!"
"Not the trenches. The ridge. We're with third division, and third division is assaulting Messines ridge head-on." Someone else answers.
"And the men who fought alongside side Bruce will carry it!" Billy Hughes says.
God. Damn. It.
*
For the Battle of Messines, you'll be carrying your combat load with little customization-this is a set piece operation after being rearmed and retrained, not a raid. However, you can still pick if you want to be a bomber or a bayonet-man in terms of weapons carried.
[]: Bomber: Entrenching Tool, 10X Hand Bombs(12 weight + supplies and other gear)
[]: Bayonet-Man: SMLE, Bayonet(nothing says you can't "lose" it), Entrenching Tool, 6X Ammo, 2X Hand Bombs(16 weight + supplies and other gear)
[X]: Bomber: Entrenching Tool, 10X Hand Bombs(12 weight + supplies and other gear)
Plugstreet Wood
- Location
- Brisbane
Character profiles for the Battle of Messines:
Fox
Wolf
Dove
Hawk
The weight of your equipment digs into your shoulders as you trudge through Ploegsteert Wood on the way to the start line. It's well named to call it a wood rather than a forest. The trees are all dead, stripped of vegetation by shelling or by the churning of mud annihilating their roots. It is the final stage of the devastation of the front line. As you approached, you had seen first the French countryside, green and verdant, then the occasional crater, then torn and tossed ground, and finally the nightmare maze of mud, wire and trenches that formed the frontline. Now, all that is visible is the skeleton forest, looming out of the full-moon gloom, and marching backs ahead of you. You stay alert anyway, listening for the scream of shells. The Germans will know what is coming, and will be doing everything possible to disrupt the attack.
"Pity we're going out at night. Would have liked to be able to see what I'm shooting at." Lewis mutters ahead of you. "That's what the bombs are for." Smith mutters. Most of your section are armed as bombers; hand to hand weapons-sharpened entrenching tools lifted off the French for you and Smith and knobkerries for the rest- and as many grenades as possible are the order of the day. Only Thornton and a few of Smith's boys carry rifles. Your job is to assault strongpoints while the rest of the platoon puts down covering fire with rifles and Lewis Guns.
Something whines overhead, distinct from the distance crump and boom of artillery fire.
"You hear that?" you ask, your eyes snapping to look for the impact. The expected gout of fire, smashed wood and mud never comes.
"Dud." Smith mutters. Then a second shell, and a third, comes screaming in, also only bursting with a faint pop.
Either they've gotten a very bad batch of shells or…
You take a sniff and there's something off about the muddy, musty scent of the forest.
it smells of mouldy hay.
Oh, shit.
A shell goes crumping down into the mud, and when it pops and Guten Junge starts barking furiously, you know instantly what you're dealing with.
"Gas!" you scream. "Gas!"
You react instantly, the hard drilling letting you panic in the most efficient way possible, pulling the gas mask into place as fast as you can. All around, others are scrambling for their masks as the gas seeps in, thin and invisible in the faint light. Brown gets his own mask and the mask he made for his dog on in moments; Jackie Smith seems to get a mouthful before his own mask is on, while Thornton's has a strap break, forcing him to hold it against his face. One of the bombers jerks sideways, hacking, as fumbles with the mask. It's probably already too late. He's screaming that he can't see, falling to the ground, almost sobbing, while Lieutenant Hughes stomps down the line, trying to check the seals on everyone's gas masks. Between the night, the gas and the fog already obscuring your mask lenses, you can't see jack shit.
What do you do? Pick any that apply.
[]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[]: Help the gassed man get his mask on. That might give him a chance of surviving before he gets too much into his lungs.
What do you urge Hughes to do?
[]: Try and get out of the cloud as fast as possible. Push Yourself, taking exhaustion and thirst, and potentially get lost in the dark woods, but you'll escape the gas.
[]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
Fox
Lance-Corporal John Mayes, the "Fox of the Trenches."
23, Barossa Valley, Vineyard worker.
Real name: Johannes Zimmerman.
Fortitude: 8 Vigilance: 11 Proficiency: 10
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium), Bolt-Action Rifle(Enemy), Bayonet(Melee), Entrenching Tool(Melee), Hand Grenade(Close), Guard, Prepare Position, Fleet-Footed, Diplomacy, Stealth, Eagle-Eyed, Readiness, Interrogate, Trapper, Escape Artist, Drive.
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Steel Helmet, Entrenching Tool, Gas Hood, Canteens X2, First Aid Kit X1, Rations X1, Hand Bombs X10.
Weight: 23/strength 16(Load 7). Capacity: 20/23
Movement: 800/400/200
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 0 Thirst: 0
Leverage: 1 over the Wolf.
[X]: Silver Tongued: You speak fluent German(with a rather noticeable accent, but still…)
[X] Get Away Clean: You don't have to be fastest to hit the deck when the bullets start flying. Just faster than the rest(Never hit by random fire if you're Evading and the other members of your unit aren't.)
[X] Silent Killer: Kill enemies with assassinations instantly, no rolls.
23, Barossa Valley, Vineyard worker.
Real name: Johannes Zimmerman.
Fortitude: 8 Vigilance: 11 Proficiency: 10
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium), Bolt-Action Rifle(Enemy), Bayonet(Melee), Entrenching Tool(Melee), Hand Grenade(Close), Guard, Prepare Position, Fleet-Footed, Diplomacy, Stealth, Eagle-Eyed, Readiness, Interrogate, Trapper, Escape Artist, Drive.
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Steel Helmet, Entrenching Tool, Gas Hood, Canteens X2, First Aid Kit X1, Rations X1, Hand Bombs X10.
Weight: 23/strength 16(Load 7). Capacity: 20/23
Movement: 800/400/200
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 0 Thirst: 0
Leverage: 1 over the Wolf.
[X]: Silver Tongued: You speak fluent German(with a rather noticeable accent, but still…)
[X] Get Away Clean: You don't have to be fastest to hit the deck when the bullets start flying. Just faster than the rest(Never hit by random fire if you're Evading and the other members of your unit aren't.)
[X] Silent Killer: Kill enemies with assassinations instantly, no rolls.
Wolf
Lance-Corporal Jackie Smith, "Jackie the ripper"
20, Cairns, Meat Packer.
There's varying accounts of when he first killed, each more lurid(and fake) than the last…
Fortitude: 12 Vigilance: 6 Proficiency: 9
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Close, Medium), Melee(Bayonet), Melee(Entrenching Tool), Melee(Trench Knife), Hand Grenade, Silent Killer, Guard, Prepare Position, Bloodlust, Stealth.
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Trench Knife, Entrenching Tool, Gas Hood, X10 Hand Bombs, X1 First Aid Kit, X2 Canteens, X1 Rations.
Weight: 22(Strength 24, Load 0). Capacity: 19/23.
Move: 1000m/500m/250m
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 3 Thirst: 0
Leverage: none yet.
Packmates: Whenever the wolf uses leverage to make someone do what he wants, that person becomes part of his pack and can get leverage whenever they back up his threats.
Wolf's Claw: +1 ongoing damage.
Persistent Predator: Ignore 1 injury per turn in Melee.
Wolf's Teeth: Dual wielding!
NPC Packmates-Privates Richard Horpe, John Jackson, Donald Reagan, Henry Burton, and Tony Gilliard.
Fortitude: 7 Vigilance: 7 Proficiency: 7
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium), Melee(Bayonet), Melee(Trench Mace), Hand Grenade, Guard, Prepare Position, Stealth.
Gear: Fatigues, Steel Helmet, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Trench Mace, Gas Hood, 2X Canteens, X1 First Aid Kit, X1 Rations.
Horpe, Jackson and Reagan have an SMLE, 4X ammo and 2X Hand Bombs. Burton and Gilliard have 10X Hand Bombs.
Weight: 23(Strength 14-Load 9). Capacity-20/23.
Move: 800m/400m/200m
20, Cairns, Meat Packer.
There's varying accounts of when he first killed, each more lurid(and fake) than the last…
Fortitude: 12 Vigilance: 6 Proficiency: 9
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Close, Medium), Melee(Bayonet), Melee(Entrenching Tool), Melee(Trench Knife), Hand Grenade, Silent Killer, Guard, Prepare Position, Bloodlust, Stealth.
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Trench Knife, Entrenching Tool, Gas Hood, X10 Hand Bombs, X1 First Aid Kit, X2 Canteens, X1 Rations.
Weight: 22(Strength 24, Load 0). Capacity: 19/23.
Move: 1000m/500m/250m
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 3 Thirst: 0
Leverage: none yet.
Packmates: Whenever the wolf uses leverage to make someone do what he wants, that person becomes part of his pack and can get leverage whenever they back up his threats.
Wolf's Claw: +1 ongoing damage.
Persistent Predator: Ignore 1 injury per turn in Melee.
Wolf's Teeth: Dual wielding!
NPC Packmates-Privates Richard Horpe, John Jackson, Donald Reagan, Henry Burton, and Tony Gilliard.
Fortitude: 7 Vigilance: 7 Proficiency: 7
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium), Melee(Bayonet), Melee(Trench Mace), Hand Grenade, Guard, Prepare Position, Stealth.
Gear: Fatigues, Steel Helmet, Footwear, Load Belt, Haversack, Trench Mace, Gas Hood, 2X Canteens, X1 First Aid Kit, X1 Rations.
Horpe, Jackson and Reagan have an SMLE, 4X ammo and 2X Hand Bombs. Burton and Gilliard have 10X Hand Bombs.
Weight: 23(Strength 14-Load 9). Capacity-20/23.
Move: 800m/400m/200m
Dove
Jackie Brown.
18, Townsville, Medical Student.
Fortitude: 11 Vigilance: 11 Proficiency: 5
Skills: Guard, Prepare Position, Basic Medical, Diplomacy, Stealth, Trauma Care, Local Language(German)
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Steel Helmet, Haversack, 2X Gas Hoods, 4X Canteens, 1X Rations, 6X First Aid Kits, Medical Bag, Whistle.
Weight: 24(Strength 22), Capacity: 20/23
Move-900/450/225
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 0 Thirst: 0
Leverage: none yet.
Carry On: Only counts bodies as 5 + equipment.
Stabilize: Auto-success dealing with ongoing damage.
Stand Back: can opt out of Melee combat.
Below Notice: Will be ignored by enemies unless you draw attention to yourself.
Guten Junge the Dog:
Fortitude: 9 Vigilance: 9 Proficiency: -
Skills: Observation, Guard, Aquatic, Bloodlust, Melee(Teeth), Fleet Footed, Stealth.
Known Tricks: Heel, Guard, Fetch, Go Home, Find.
18, Townsville, Medical Student.
Fortitude: 11 Vigilance: 11 Proficiency: 5
Skills: Guard, Prepare Position, Basic Medical, Diplomacy, Stealth, Trauma Care, Local Language(German)
Gear: Fatigues, Footwear, Load Belt, Steel Helmet, Haversack, 2X Gas Hoods, 4X Canteens, 1X Rations, 6X First Aid Kits, Medical Bag, Whistle.
Weight: 24(Strength 22), Capacity: 20/23
Move-900/450/225
Doubt: 0 Injury: 0 Hunger: 0 Exhaustion: 0 Thirst: 0
Leverage: none yet.
Carry On: Only counts bodies as 5 + equipment.
Stabilize: Auto-success dealing with ongoing damage.
Stand Back: can opt out of Melee combat.
Below Notice: Will be ignored by enemies unless you draw attention to yourself.
Guten Junge the Dog:
Fortitude: 9 Vigilance: 9 Proficiency: -
Skills: Observation, Guard, Aquatic, Bloodlust, Melee(Teeth), Fleet Footed, Stealth.
Known Tricks: Heel, Guard, Fetch, Go Home, Find.
Hawk
Lance-Corporal Lewis Thornton.
24, Brisbane, Law Student.
Fortitude: 8 Vigilance: 13 Proficiency: 16
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium, Long), Eagle-Eyed, Guard, Prepare Position, Stealth.
Gear: Camouflage Fatigues, Footwear, Haversack(3), Load Belt, Gas Hood(2), SMLE with Scope(5), 2X Canteens, 1X First Aid Kit, 1X Rations. 6X Spare Ammo.
Weight: 19/Strength 16, Capacity: 19/23
Move: 8: 900/450/225
Perks:
Prize Rules: He doesn't have bounties, instead trying to rack up kills.
Second Try: Can make a follow up shot even if he misses.
24, Brisbane, Law Student.
Fortitude: 8 Vigilance: 13 Proficiency: 16
Skills: Bolt-Action Rifle(Medium, Long), Eagle-Eyed, Guard, Prepare Position, Stealth.
Gear: Camouflage Fatigues, Footwear, Haversack(3), Load Belt, Gas Hood(2), SMLE with Scope(5), 2X Canteens, 1X First Aid Kit, 1X Rations. 6X Spare Ammo.
Weight: 19/Strength 16, Capacity: 19/23
Move: 8: 900/450/225
Perks:
Prize Rules: He doesn't have bounties, instead trying to rack up kills.
Second Try: Can make a follow up shot even if he misses.
The weight of your equipment digs into your shoulders as you trudge through Ploegsteert Wood on the way to the start line. It's well named to call it a wood rather than a forest. The trees are all dead, stripped of vegetation by shelling or by the churning of mud annihilating their roots. It is the final stage of the devastation of the front line. As you approached, you had seen first the French countryside, green and verdant, then the occasional crater, then torn and tossed ground, and finally the nightmare maze of mud, wire and trenches that formed the frontline. Now, all that is visible is the skeleton forest, looming out of the full-moon gloom, and marching backs ahead of you. You stay alert anyway, listening for the scream of shells. The Germans will know what is coming, and will be doing everything possible to disrupt the attack.
"Pity we're going out at night. Would have liked to be able to see what I'm shooting at." Lewis mutters ahead of you. "That's what the bombs are for." Smith mutters. Most of your section are armed as bombers; hand to hand weapons-sharpened entrenching tools lifted off the French for you and Smith and knobkerries for the rest- and as many grenades as possible are the order of the day. Only Thornton and a few of Smith's boys carry rifles. Your job is to assault strongpoints while the rest of the platoon puts down covering fire with rifles and Lewis Guns.
Something whines overhead, distinct from the distance crump and boom of artillery fire.
"You hear that?" you ask, your eyes snapping to look for the impact. The expected gout of fire, smashed wood and mud never comes.
"Dud." Smith mutters. Then a second shell, and a third, comes screaming in, also only bursting with a faint pop.
Either they've gotten a very bad batch of shells or…
You take a sniff and there's something off about the muddy, musty scent of the forest.
it smells of mouldy hay.
Oh, shit.
A shell goes crumping down into the mud, and when it pops and Guten Junge starts barking furiously, you know instantly what you're dealing with.
"Gas!" you scream. "Gas!"
Your roll(skilled) vs. Phosgene gas
5 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 6 - 2 – 4
Jackie Smith's roll:
4 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 3 – 6
Nope.
Jackie Brown's Roll:
6 - 4 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 6 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 3 – 6
Success.
Lewis Thornton's Roll:
5 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 3 - 6 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 2 - 4 – 4
Success but FUBARed-gas mask only protects him this round.
Smith's Bomb section:
1 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 3 - 3 - 5
3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 6 - 6 - 4 - 5 - 5
1 - 5 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 5 - 2 - 4 - 3
6 - 6 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 4 - 2
1 - 3 - 3 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 4
Two successes; three failures.
Shock checks:
Gassed Bombers(Burton, Gilliard and Reagan):
1 - 5 - 5 - 1 - 4 - 5 - 5
3 - 2 - 6 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 5
5 - 2 - 6 - 3 - 1 - 6 – 4.
One success, two failures.
Jackie Smith:
5 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 - 6 – 6
Easy success.
5 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 6 - 2 – 4
Jackie Smith's roll:
4 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 3 – 6
Nope.
Jackie Brown's Roll:
6 - 4 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 6 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 3 – 6
Success.
Lewis Thornton's Roll:
5 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 3 - 6 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 2 - 4 – 4
Success but FUBARed-gas mask only protects him this round.
Smith's Bomb section:
1 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 3 - 3 - 5
3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 5 - 6 - 6 - 4 - 5 - 5
1 - 5 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 5 - 2 - 4 - 3
6 - 6 - 2 - 2 - 5 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 4 - 2
1 - 3 - 3 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 4
Two successes; three failures.
Shock checks:
Gassed Bombers(Burton, Gilliard and Reagan):
1 - 5 - 5 - 1 - 4 - 5 - 5
3 - 2 - 6 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 5
5 - 2 - 6 - 3 - 1 - 6 – 4.
One success, two failures.
Jackie Smith:
5 - 3 - 6 - 2 - 3 - 6 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 - 6 – 6
Easy success.
You react instantly, the hard drilling letting you panic in the most efficient way possible, pulling the gas mask into place as fast as you can. All around, others are scrambling for their masks as the gas seeps in, thin and invisible in the faint light. Brown gets his own mask and the mask he made for his dog on in moments; Jackie Smith seems to get a mouthful before his own mask is on, while Thornton's has a strap break, forcing him to hold it against his face. One of the bombers jerks sideways, hacking, as fumbles with the mask. It's probably already too late. He's screaming that he can't see, falling to the ground, almost sobbing, while Lieutenant Hughes stomps down the line, trying to check the seals on everyone's gas masks. Between the night, the gas and the fog already obscuring your mask lenses, you can't see jack shit.
What do you do? Pick any that apply.
[]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[]: Help the gassed man get his mask on. That might give him a chance of surviving before he gets too much into his lungs.
What do you urge Hughes to do?
[]: Try and get out of the cloud as fast as possible. Push Yourself, taking exhaustion and thirst, and potentially get lost in the dark woods, but you'll escape the gas.
[]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
TimEd
Meteor maker
you are consigning one person to death by taking their mask (low chance, but hey) and you want to stay in the same spot till it blows over? Mutiny material right there. At the least, that dead person will panic and might hurt more people or give away position.
The only way we can choose to move carefully is if we masked up from the dead guy.
Any other route we're going to lose two guys...and if we run while masked you're just asking for losing even more to the low visibility movement damaging masks.
The guy who got hit is already dead whether we move or not. Lets not kill more people for that
- Location
- Pilipinas
[X]: Help the gassed man get his mask on. That might give him a chance of surviving before he gets too much into his lungs.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
This kills Thornton. His mask only lasts 1 round
[X]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Take the mask off the gassed man and give it to Thornton. Thornton can't keep his defective mask on forever, while the victim is already good as dead.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
[X]: Try and keep it together. You've got masks on; you should be able to make it taking things slowly and carefully, and with the masks on you risk getting lost and exhausted in the dark.
- Location
- Ottawa
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Whatever
Fuck I knew I was writing some dark shit with the gas rules but fuck.
By the way, this is chlorine. Thank god for that. We can tell because we detected it, and because it's not currently burning all our skin off.
[x] Piss on a rag and get it to the gassed man while evacuating him. Stabilize him however we can. Give his mask to Thornton.
[x] Try to keep it together. Chlorine disperses quickly.
By the way, this is chlorine. Thank god for that. We can tell because we detected it, and because it's not currently burning all our skin off.
[x] Piss on a rag and get it to the gassed man while evacuating him. Stabilize him however we can. Give his mask to Thornton.
[x] Try to keep it together. Chlorine disperses quickly.
Last edited:
- Location
- Brisbane
"the ideal version of this game is basically an angle grinder but for people"
-The Esteemed Writer, 2015(Okay not Trench Raiders but still.)
It's actually phosgene gas, used to absolutely wreck the 3rd Australian Division at Messines. I'm not actually sure if phosgene gas is visible(maybe John mistook the fog for a gas cloud?), but I was using Phosgene's Difficulty 3 for Gas! checks., I've already rolled everyone's ongoing damage so I know who's good as dead and who isn't.
Actual update tomorrow when I'm no longer mildly sleep deprived from a weekend of gaming.
- Location
- Ottawa
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Whatever
Oh super cool. Super super cool. Super super cool.
Fun fact everyone; some of us are already dead from that gas and we don't even know it yet.
Fun fact everyone; some of us are already dead from that gas and we don't even know it yet.
Night March
- Location
- Brisbane
"Stay put! Stay put!" Hughes is yelling, his voice distorted by his mask, and you echo it. The last thing you want is to be stumbling around in the dark in this fucking mask. The man on the ground-Tony Gilliard, one of Smith's bombers-is still flailing. His mask lies on the ground, but as he reaches for it, he knocks it further away. Gas shells are still coming down, hurling gouts of dirt through the air, alongside conventional shells. Most go wide, but one hits the column ahead of you. In the brief flash of the shell, you swear you can see limbs going flying. You can't wait for the gas to disperse; you need to advance and get out of the kill zone, but also do it slowly, so that you aren't running about like a bunch of headless chickens.
Lewis is still trying to hold his mask on, even as the German artillery churns the forest into splinters. One shockwave, that mask goes flying, and he's dead.
One dead man is better than two. You snatch up the dropped mask and move over to Thornton, trying to stand up straight to keep himself out of the gas. It's a desperate and futile move, but better than nothing.
You jerk the gas mask in your hand, trying to get his attention. He turns to you and nods as you approach closer, handing him the mask. He does it as fast as possible, dropping his mask and pulling on the new one. You grab the spare mask and move back to Gilliard, sticking the mask over his face then reach for your field dressing to tie the broken mask to his face. He's already a casualty; he won't moving as much as Lewis.
Despite the mask, the dark, and the fact that the idiot is flailing at you the whole time, you manage to tie the mask to his head with the bandages, just as Hughes runs over to you.
"Do we have stretchers?" you ask.
Hughes shakes his head. "We're going to carry the wounded."
You swear under your breath. This is going to be a nightmare.
Hughes and his NCOs are barking orders, getting the soldiers back into a column, arranging for the wounded. Hughes has them repeat the bandage trick on a few other soldiers with broken masks.
Then you begin the trudge towards the start line. It has to be one of the worst experiences of your life. You're carrying someone-you can't tell with the mask over his face-across your shoulders, along with the rest of your kit. The mask restricts your breathing until it takes every fiber of your being not to rip off the mask to take a proper breath, and you're virtually as blind as Gilliard is with the fogged up lenses. You keep your eyes on the back of the man in front of you, all you can see. The darkness is only lit by the flashes of shells; gas shells, with high explosives thrown in here and there. Every now and then, the column halts as someone is hit by shrapnel and dragged to their feet. More than once, you tread on bodies, killed by gas or artillery and left behind.
You don't know how long it takes. Sometimes, you swore it was a night as long as a whole day; other times, that it was over in minutes. Wisps of gas drift across, lit up by god knows what, phosgene or mist or smoke from artillery shells. It doesn't matter.
Finally, finally, you stagger out of the woods. The first you know of it is when an officer's flashlight flicks on, followed by a yell of "No gas! All clear!"
You pull the gas mask off, taking in gasping breaths of sweet night air that doesn't smell of mouldy hay. Immediately afterwards, you grab your canteen and bolt down half your water.
"Get the casualties sorted out. Rockatansky, find a casualty clearing station and tell them we've got gas casualties that need evacuation as soon as possible."
"Sir, I don't think that'll be an option." The officer with the flashlight says.
"Why?" Hughes asks.
"The whole 3rd Division got a lungful of phosgene. We've got thousands of bloody casualties. Medical is going to be clogged quick smart. Monash wants us to push the attack anyway. It's 0130 hours. Zero hour is 0300. That's when the mines go up. No deviations from the schedule."
Jesus fucking Christ. This really is going to turn out like the Somme, isn't it?
What do you do next?
[]: Try and get some shut-eye before the attack(take rest actions and clear off some exhaustion.)
[]: Talk to Thornton about the gas mask. Lie and tell him that you don't know who the intact mask belonged to, and that you saved someone's life using his broken mask.
[]: Talk to Thornton about the gas mask. Tell what you did and why, and try to get your stories sorted out in case anyone else noticed the mask swap.
Lewis is still trying to hold his mask on, even as the German artillery churns the forest into splinters. One shockwave, that mask goes flying, and he's dead.
One dead man is better than two. You snatch up the dropped mask and move over to Thornton, trying to stand up straight to keep himself out of the gas. It's a desperate and futile move, but better than nothing.
You jerk the gas mask in your hand, trying to get his attention. He turns to you and nods as you approach closer, handing him the mask. He does it as fast as possible, dropping his mask and pulling on the new one. You grab the spare mask and move back to Gilliard, sticking the mask over his face then reach for your field dressing to tie the broken mask to his face. He's already a casualty; he won't moving as much as Lewis.
Basic Medical Check(Difficulty 2):
5 - 1 - 1 - 6 – 6
Success!
5 - 1 - 1 - 6 – 6
Success!
Despite the mask, the dark, and the fact that the idiot is flailing at you the whole time, you manage to tie the mask to his head with the bandages, just as Hughes runs over to you.
"Do we have stretchers?" you ask.
Hughes shakes his head. "We're going to carry the wounded."
You swear under your breath. This is going to be a nightmare.
Hughes and his NCOs are barking orders, getting the soldiers back into a column, arranging for the wounded. Hughes has them repeat the bandage trick on a few other soldiers with broken masks.
Then you begin the trudge towards the start line. It has to be one of the worst experiences of your life. You're carrying someone-you can't tell with the mask over his face-across your shoulders, along with the rest of your kit. The mask restricts your breathing until it takes every fiber of your being not to rip off the mask to take a proper breath, and you're virtually as blind as Gilliard is with the fogged up lenses. You keep your eyes on the back of the man in front of you, all you can see. The darkness is only lit by the flashes of shells; gas shells, with high explosives thrown in here and there. Every now and then, the column halts as someone is hit by shrapnel and dragged to their feet. More than once, you tread on bodies, killed by gas or artillery and left behind.
You don't know how long it takes. Sometimes, you swore it was a night as long as a whole day; other times, that it was over in minutes. Wisps of gas drift across, lit up by god knows what, phosgene or mist or smoke from artillery shells. It doesn't matter.
Finally, finally, you stagger out of the woods. The first you know of it is when an officer's flashlight flicks on, followed by a yell of "No gas! All clear!"
You pull the gas mask off, taking in gasping breaths of sweet night air that doesn't smell of mouldy hay. Immediately afterwards, you grab your canteen and bolt down half your water.
You've taken 2 exhaustion, 2 thirst-removed by drinking-and 1 doubt.
"Get the casualties sorted out. Rockatansky, find a casualty clearing station and tell them we've got gas casualties that need evacuation as soon as possible."
"Sir, I don't think that'll be an option." The officer with the flashlight says.
"Why?" Hughes asks.
"The whole 3rd Division got a lungful of phosgene. We've got thousands of bloody casualties. Medical is going to be clogged quick smart. Monash wants us to push the attack anyway. It's 0130 hours. Zero hour is 0300. That's when the mines go up. No deviations from the schedule."
Jesus fucking Christ. This really is going to turn out like the Somme, isn't it?
What do you do next?
[]: Try and get some shut-eye before the attack(take rest actions and clear off some exhaustion.)
[]: Talk to Thornton about the gas mask. Lie and tell him that you don't know who the intact mask belonged to, and that you saved someone's life using his broken mask.
[]: Talk to Thornton about the gas mask. Tell what you did and why, and try to get your stories sorted out in case anyone else noticed the mask swap.