The Role Playing Public Radio Forums
General Category => General Chaos => : Straggler June 28, 2014, 03:30:10 PM
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So, I'm looking into creating a world war 1 all flesh scenario based around the second battle of ypres, which was the first large scale use of lethal gas in the war. What I'm looking for is something that would explain the nitty gritty of life in the trenches, food, water, soldiering kit, gear all that wonderful stuff. It seems like the kind of thing that would be front and center in an rpg sourcebook but I can't find any. I know there are a lot of scenarios written for call of cthulhu that take place in the 1910's and 20's, would any of those be any help?
Anything is appreciated, thanks.
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Well, there's this but I haven't read it: http://www.amazon.com/No-Mans-Land-Battalion-Roleplaying/dp/1568821425
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A quick Google search threw a few results of daily life in the trenches:
http://trenches.jynx.ca/?page=home
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/25626530
http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwari/a/Trenches-In-World-War-I.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/life_trenches.htm
A good rule of thumb is that you only need to research a historical time period to the point where it is believable. If you are really interested in a a historical setting and enjoy reading about it, then yeah go hit the books. Otherwise, you only need to paint a better picture of the setting as far as what the players will see, so some minor details can be fibbed or hand-waved if its not something important to the RPG story or if your players don't have a specific interest in it.
World building should always be fun and if you start getting tired of it then change it up or find a setting that interests you more!
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Sounds like you need to watch 'Blackadder goes forth'
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Listen to Dig to Victory.
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A month and a half late to this thread, but I hope this still might help.
So, I'm looking into creating a world war 1 all flesh scenario based around the second battle of ypres, which was the first large scale use of lethal gas in the war. What I'm looking for is something that would explain the nitty gritty of life in the trenches, food, water, soldiering kit, gear all that wonderful stuff.
The book I'm reading right now, At the Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1914-1916 (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10134691-at-the-sharp-end), has plenty on second ypres (it was the Canadian Corps' first battle) and goes into quite a bit about life in the trenches (with chapters like: Living in a Sewer: Life in the Trenches, Many a Damned Cold Morning: The Banality of Trench Routine and "Every Day We Lost A Few Men": Death in the Trenches).
Osprey books are often a good source for nitty-gritty details (though some are pure rivet-counter porn) and British Tommy 1914–18 (http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/British-Tommy-1914%E2%80%9318_9781855325418) is a good book for details about British & Imperial army weapons & equipment. I particularly love the picture of a "Bomber" wearing a mills bomb vest. Imagine going over the top in that!
A couple of details about equipment in second ypres off the top of my head:
This was before the British or Canadians had adopted helmets, soft caps only!
The Canadian Corps was also using the Ross Rifle at the time, which had a nasty tendency to jam during rapid fire!
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So, on the 100th anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres, I have to ask: Have you run your scenario? if so, how did it go?