Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

“It is sweet and fitting to die for your country”
-Horace

For very different reasons, three young English soldiers and a nurse have volunteered for service on the Western Front during World War I. They cope with the horror of war through friendship, and will come away forever changed – or die. This game explores belief and doubt, and meaningful connection in the face of death, set against a backdrop of barbed wire, gas masks, and broken hearts.

Dulce et decorum uses ensemble play, storytelling and story game techniques to support immersive character drama. Through collaborative storytelling, the group builds up the reality of war and life on the front and uses that to pressure the characters. A simple mechanical system shapes and follows the fiction. The players wield the tools of the game – cold facts and authentic trench poetry.

Duration: About 4½ hours
Number of players: Four plus one game master
Genre: War tragedy
Player type: You want to invest in both the fiction and your character, and enjoy a degree of uncertainty delivered by the game mechanics. And you think that English poems about poison gas attacks and doomed youth sound lovely.
Game master type: You love the players, and enjoy both pushing them and helping them support and push each other. Mud and barbed wire roll off your tongue like silk, and you can be a little mean.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

“Det er sødt og passende at dø for fædrelandet”

-Horats

Af meget forskellige grunde har tre unge engelske soldater og en sygeplejerske meldt sig frivilligt til tjeneste på vestfronten under første verdenskrig. De håndterer krigens rædsler ved hjælp af venskab, og vender forandrede hjem – eller dør. Spillet udforsker tro og tvivl, og menneskelig kontakt i dødens skygge, på baggrund af pigtråd, gasmasker og knuste hjerter.

Dulce et decorum bruger bipersonsspil, story game og fortællespil til at støtte op om karakterspillet. Gennem fælles fortællespil opbygger gruppen krigen og livet ved fronten, og bruger det til at sætte karaktererne under pres. Et simpelt mekanisk system former og følger fiktionen. Spillerne tager hånd om spillets virkemidler – kolde kendsgerninger og autentisk skyttegravspoesi.