Shell Shocked

Trench warfare put tremendous stress on soldiers in the battle zone. Some men could cope better than others, but everyone has a breaking point. Once that point is passed, psychological breakdown begins. Soldiers call it “the shakes,” or “shellshock.”

At a Minor level, the Shell Shocked Hindrance means your character has −1 to his Sanity and tends to stare a lot. As a Major Hindrance, Sanity and Charisma suffer a −2 penalty. At either level, whenever the character suffers Sanity loss he must make a Spirit roll or be mentally Incapacitated for 1d6 rounds (2d6 rounds as a Major Hindrance). Note that armies in the Great War had no experience dealing with soldiers crippled by severe stress. They tended to call it cowardice and punished incapacitated soldiers with rank reductions, harsh duties, or firing squads.