Beyond the Barbed Wire (WWII) Update

[Tailz Silver Paws]

I have just uploaded the most up to date PDF files for equipment, for use with my Beyond the Barbed Wire add-on to the d20 System.

Equipment Guide #1: Personal Weapons of World War II
This will be the most important PDF is it has the bulk of weapons a soldier will use. Such as rifles, pistols, rifle grenades, and sub-machine guns. It also contains the supporting equipment issued with each weapon such as webbing ammo pouches.

Specialist equipment such as land mines, cannons, anti-tank weapons and machine guns will have a dedicated PDF.

Equipment Guide #2 Machine Guns of World War II
This PDF contains all the rules and information, stats and descriptions for the Machine Guns of the Second World War. It also have supporting equipment information such as spare barrel containers, ammo drums, etc.

All of the PDF files can be found in the downloads section of my web site. Please be aware the files are still "draft" versions and will be riddled with bad spelling and grammar. Please post any feedback at my web site.

[Darkwater]

Hay tailz I was skimming threw your equipment guide #1 and under the m1 you have this statement

"Eight Rounds or None at all: The clip can
only be loaded if inserted with 8 rounds or no
rounds in the clip. If inserted with 7 of less
rounds the clip will automatically eject."

I own a real m1 and though with 7 rounds or less the rounds set loose in the clip you can insert it and the clip wont eject now doing this is time consuming and in battle condition with bullets zipping over your head may be impossible but it can be done just thought I let you know good work by the way looks great

[Tailz Silver Paws]

Hay tailz I was skimming threw your equipment guide #1 and under the m1 you have this statement

"Eight Rounds or None at all: The clip can
only be loaded if inserted with 8 rounds or no
rounds in the clip. If inserted with 7 of less
rounds the clip will automatically eject."

I own a real m1 and though with 7 rounds or less the rounds set loose in the clip you can insert it and the clip wont eject now doing this is time consuming and in battle condition with bullets zipping over your head may be impossible but it can be done just thought I let you know good work by the way looks great

How do you mean: set loose?

I personally don't have access to this rifle, so I have to go by the written material. I try to find as much info about the weapons from those who used them in battle to write my game mechanics - so any info you can give would be fantastic.

[Valarian]

The PDFs look very good Tailz.
One comment on the presentation. You are obviously going for a typed look in keeping with the period. It's a great look and very atmospheric. In my opinion, the images in the PDFs don't match this look and feel though. Perhaps a border and some shadow around each image would make them look like pasted photos instead of the digital images they are.

[Darkwater]

How do you mean: set loose?

I personally don't have access to this rifle, so I have to go by the written material. I try to find as much info about the weapons from those who used them in battle to write my game mechanics - so any info you can give would be fantastic.

The clip for the M1 is not like a standard clip in all other rifles. The 8 rounds are held in by each other, there is no internal spring in the clip


FULL GARAND CLIP


GARAND CLIP WITH LESS THE 8 RUONDS
so when you have 7 rounds or less you have a empty space and the rest of the rounds are loose in the clip and want to fall out., with a full clip you would insert it into the rifle. inside the receiver there is a lever in the rifle witch pushes up on the rounds in the clip as Garand is fired when the last round is fired the lever comes all the way up activating the bolt catch and it also ejects the clip from the rifle., with less then 8 rounds you have to hold the bullets in the clip with your thumb so that they want fall out while inserting it in to the rifle and this can be a little difficult with the resistance of the lever.you also have to be careful that the bolt dose not close on your thumb witch has not happen to me YET but it has been know to hit peoples thumbs hard enough to break them



Hope this helps

[Tailz Silver Paws]

The clip for the M1 is not like a standard clip in all other rifles. The 8 rounds are held in by each other, there is no internal spring in the clip


FULL GARAND CLIP


GARAND CLIP WITH LESS THE 8 RUONDS
so when you have 7 rounds or less you have a empty space and the rest of the rounds are loose in the clip and want to fall out., with a full clip you would insert it into the rifle. inside the receiver there is a lever in the rifle witch pushes up on the rounds in the clip as Garand is fired when the last round is fired the lever comes all the way up activating the bolt catch and it also ejects the clip from the rifle., with less then 8 rounds you have to hold the bullets in the clip with your thumb so that they want fall out while inserting it in to the rifle and this can be a little difficult with the resistance of the lever.you also have to be careful that the bolt dose not close on your thumb witch has not happen to me YET but it has been know to hit peoples thumbs hard enough to break them



Hope this helps

Ah yes, I had read about the "thumb" problem. Might make that a concentration test not to get your thumb caught. DC 10 in normal cercomstances, higher it your being shot at. Fail and... snap! Then -1 to all attack rolls and skill checks till you get medical help.

That is a bloody fantastic bit of info, I didn't know that. I knew there was a mechanism that helped to push on the cartirdges and then ejected the clip, but this explains it so much better. I thought that maybe with less than 8 cartridges loaded in the clip, when you pushed the clip into the rifle the "lever" would not be pushed all the way down (I assumed there was a catch ), thus if the lever was not pushed all the way down it would still be trying to "eject" the clip.

I'll have to re-write the description in reguard to this item.

Certainly I would not want to be fumbleing with a half loaded clip with bullets falling all over the place while some other git is shooting at me.

Many thanks!

What about inserting one cartridge at a time? I read that the rifle greande discharger attachment forced the soldier to load a single cartridge at a time because the gas mechanism was altered while the discharger attachment was attached..? Have you heard about this?

[Tailz Silver Paws]

The PDFs look very good Tailz.
One comment on the presentation. You are obviously going for a typed look in keeping with the period. It's a great look and very atmospheric. In my opinion, the images in the PDFs don't match this look and feel though. Perhaps a border and some shadow around each image would make them look like pasted photos instead of the digital images they are.

Now why didn't I think of this, I have some old WWII photos at home with the ruffled edge look and the white boarder. I could do the same for the photos in the book.

Neat idea!

[Darkwater]

Ah yes, I had read about the "thumb" problem. Might make that a concentration test not to get your thumb caught. DC 10 in normal cercomstances, higher it your being shot at. Fail and... snap! Then -1 to all attack rolls and skill checks till you get medical help.

That is a bloody fantastic bit of info, I didn't know that. I knew there was a mechanism that helped to push on the cartirdges and then ejected the clip, but this explains it so much better. I thought that maybe with less than 8 cartridges loaded in the clip, when you pushed the clip into the rifle the "lever" would not be pushed all the way down (I assumed there was a catch ), thus if the lever was not pushed all the way down it would still be trying to "eject" the clip.

I'll have to re-write the description in reguard to this item.

Certainly I would not want to be fumbleing with a half loaded clip with bullets falling all over the place while some other git is shooting at me.

Many thanks!

What about inserting one cartridge at a time? I read that the rifle greande discharger attachment forced the soldier to load a single cartridge at a time because the gas mechanism was altered while the discharger attachment was attached..? Have you heard about this?

I wouldn’t worry about the thumb problem if you use proper loading techniques it isn’t a issue, it usually only happens to people not familiar with the rifle and I would say most GI in WW II would no the techniques by the time they were in the field it may be a problem if they were trying to load less then 8 round, as far as the rifle grenade go I’m not sure. I know a guy that’s into collecting and restoring Garands at my range next time I see him ill ask for you. It may be awhile before I see him.

[Tailz Silver Paws]

I wouldn’t worry about the thumb problem if you use proper loading techniques it isn’t a issue, it usually only happens to people not familiar with the rifle and I would say most GI in WW II would no the techniques by the time they were in the field it may be a problem if they were trying to load less then 8 round, as far as the rifle grenade go I’m not sure. I know a guy that’s into collecting and restoring Garands at my range next time I see him ill ask for you. It may be awhile before I see him.

Any info is always welcome