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[Maxim_inc]

Arms Race of Souls and Steel

The year is 1879 and the island of Nivea stands on a knife's edge, two powers stand pulling the puppet strings of a pair of small nations on the island preparing for a proxy war that no one would realize the long lasting effects it would have on the face of warfare forever.

The island of Nivea: The island of Nivea has long been the focus point between the two major powers that encompass the inland Sondish Sea, the island itself being in the center of the only straight that allows ships to sail out of the Sondish Sea and into the wider ocean. Both the United Confederation of Mercia and the Francois Dominion have long fought over hegemony of the island and it’s vital location in global trade. The only people to remain out of their control being the Free City of Andgrez being the largest trading port on the southern shore of the island, though with recent military posturing from both sides they might not stay independent for long.

After the re-balancing of power on the continent after the War of the Great Alliance and the Congress of Nations was founded neither nation could afford to directly fight over the island anymore without risking the ire of the greater powers. Thus they began to fund a pair of small groups on the island and have spent the last 40 years clandestinely funding these groups and building them into a nation to serve as a puppet government in control of the island. Recently with the invention of the Soul Engine and the capability to build armored war machines these bring has caused each to ship supplies and materials for each nation to construct the superweapons in secret.

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The Republic of Sordland: The Sords are a tough people who’ve lived in the eastern forests and high hill country of the island of Nivea for generations, recently building their capital city of Sonderland with funding from the UCM. Supported by the United Confederation of Mercia they claim ownership over the entire island and declare their intent to liberate the subjugated people of the Grand Duchy.

The Grand Duchy of Wehland. The Wehls live in luxury in their capital city of Wehlburg on the west coast of their island. The Duke’s city being fed from the fertile lowlands on the north-western coast of the islands worked by peasant farmers. Backed by the Dominion the Duke claims control over the entire island as the King of Nivae and vows to bring to heel the unruly mob masquerading as a government to the east.

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There will be four phases: Design, Revision, Deployment and Battle. All of them are what the name implies, though the Deployment phase is special. If you design a new mech or mech armament, or make a major mech/armament revision you can choose which of the combat sectors these new and improved toys will be shipped too first giving your men the extra edge in combat but only for that turn.

I'll be using a version of Sensei's 2d4 dice table for this AR when it comes to mech designs. Designs will increase in cost depending on the type and number of souls used in it's construction, plus how mechanically complex the base mech body is to begin with. You'll also be designing the weapons used by the mechs too.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Results:

1 or less: You cannot make a working example on schedule.
2-3: The mech/weapon has significant design flaws or missing features.
4: The mech/weapon has some minor flaws.
5: The mech/weapon performs exactly as desired, or required only minor compromises.
6-7: The mech/weapon is a strong example of performance, reliability, or both.
8 or more: You stumble on a design which is particularly clever, performing beyond expectations in some way.

These are somewhat approximate! Keep that in mind, some things will be more iffy to judge than others. Potentially there will be

Difficulty:
+3: An extremely simple task.
+2: A very familiar design.
+1: A design which is familiar to you or already common on the market.
+0: Average.
-1: A design which is ahead of its time.
-2: A design which is very complicated, ahead of its time, or both.
-3: A design which stretches the limits of your capabilities.
-4: A design which it's unlikely anyone in the current era could make, such as relying on materials which are not readily available.

I'm sure you're all wondering what these 'Soul Engines' are? Well I'll explain it to you.

Soul Engines: They are man sized tubes of steel covered in sealing runes with an internal Stirling Engine connected to the Walker’s electrical systems. Runemasters spend a day or more carving the containment runes onto it’s surface to keep the powerful soul inside of it contained and connected to the Stirling Engine.

When Soul Engines become too weak to power the larger walkers you will no doubt design in the future that's where the Magnus Engine steps in.

Magnus Engines: The integration of the living and the dead. Using a runic interface that not even the runemasters themselves fully understand one can have an Imperfect or Perfect Human Soul use ‘Phantom Limbs’ to move the many hydraulic limbs of the mechs. While a ‘Driver’ to direct the soul will still be needed alongside crew to fire and reload the weapons the main movement of the mech can be left to the soul’s otherworldly power instead of purely mechanical grit.

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Now, how about these soul thingies you've been hearing of? Well they come graded by their quality, I've slapped together a handy little chart for the types of souls and their general uses and power capabilities. You're not limited to a single soul per mech but the more souls there are the more expensive the mech will be.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Low Quality Scrap Souls:No one knows what these used to be, souls that have degraded over the ages into a shadow of their former self. Capable of Powering Motorcycle or Horse sized walkers and light turrets on larger walkers.

Medium Quality Animal Souls: Souls that clearly take the shape of animals of both modern times and ages past, if it were not for the war some of the prehistoric souls would be quite the spectacle at the national science museum. Capable of powering Car sized walkers and medium turrets on larger walkers.

High Quality Animagnus Souls: The resulting amalgamation of an Imperfect Human Soul and a Medium Quality Animal soul. Capable of powering tank sized Walkers and heavy turrets as well with some difficulty. Can have limited interface with a Magnus Engine.

Imperfect Human Soul: Can power Heavy Walkers of a large size and when paired with a Magnus Engine can perform limited motor controls with ease, moving arms and legs with only minor assistance from mundane hydraulics.

Perfect Human Soul: Extremely rare and expensive to contain, can power mechs of absurd sizes. When paired with a Magnus Engine one could run an entire mech on their own if the Driver is skilled enough, though that puts great strain on the driver if there is much mechanical complexity involved in the mechs function.

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Both teams will have a basic mech weapon imported from their respective sponsor nations and the capability of designing a base chassis for these weapons. Your nations armies will advance and keep with the times introducing new and more creative ways to kill eachother, and soon new ways to deal with the mechs besides blind shelling.

The Sordish Armory is as follows:

Hankerfield Crank Cannon: A 37mm 6 barreled crank cannon fed from a hopper, its capable of holding 12 shells ready in the hopper and has to be fed by hand and point of fire adjusted by hand with crank wheels. Capable of firing both solid shot and experimental high explosive shells it is quite reliable and jams are easy to clear by continuing to turn the crank. It is Cheap to produce and Small in size.
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.

The Wehls Armory is as follows:

Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon: A 50mm infantry support cannon with a shorty stubby barrel and a low velocity round. It's one-piece ammunition is easy to store and to load into the gun as the gun kicks the empty casing out of the breech every time it fires. It is capable of loading either solid shot or canister shells. It is currently Cheap to produce and Small in size.
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.

Mechs will be designed with 4 hard point types for weapons. Small, Medium, Large and Very Large. You may put at most mounts on a mech as two 'arm' mounts, though adding more will increase cost and complexity. Plus you must have a semi-plausibly designed chassis to mount a large number of weapons.

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https://discord.gg/XtCzjxWz You can find the discord here. If this fails tell me and I'll fix it.
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177784.0 Republic of Sordland Thread
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177783.0 Grand Duchy of Wehland Thread

IT IS PRE-GAME TURN DESIGN PHASE

Each team will get 1 pre-game turn to design their basic Mech and then revise it or design a new weapon to mount of their basic Mech. After the end of the second revision phase the first Deployment phase will begin. The teams will decide which of the 3 middle lanes to send their new mech force too in order to gain the advantage over the other, after this turn it will be assumed that mechs will be spread out along all fronts unless stated otherwise by the teams.

[Maxim_inc]

Map of Nivea

[Maxim_inc]

Reserved

[Rockeater]

Watching here

[Maxim_inc]

In the last months the two nations respective design departments have worked tirelessly to create a new way to killed their hated rival once and for all. The only question is if they made something useful or a pile of hot garbage.

The Grand Duchy made The 'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker

'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker: The Skunk is a four legged walker slightly larger than a horse powered by a single Basic Scrap Soul Engine. It mounts a single 50mm Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon on a platform at the front of the walker protected by a large gun shield which protects the gunner and assistant gunner from small arms fire. It has a Standard Speed of 2.5 MPH and a Flank Speed of 5 MPH, it is driven by a the officer located in the rear of the walker who sits just behind the Soul Engine with his control levers. It can carry a small cart of spare ammunition behind it though that limits its speed slightly, for longterm firing it needs a horse-drawn caisson of ammunition to support it. The two gunners each have a black powder cartridge revolver for self defense and the officer/driver has a musketoon version of the standard rifle.

While the Republic made The Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel.

Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel: The Buttercup is a 4 legged 'spider pattern' walker with a casemated crank cannon surrounded on 3 sides by an unroofed iron box measuring 1.5 inch thickness on the front and 1 inch thickness on the sides. It has a crew of 4: 2 gunner operators, 1 officer and 1 driver. It is unmatched in speed on the battlefield except by horses by being capable of sprinting at a blistering 12 MPH, though in practice this max speed is better reserved for emergency situations and joining the infantry in bayonet charges. It is Expensive to produce on account for the quality parts needed to keep the legs moving at such a blistering speed. Each crewmember also has a carbine for self defense.

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It is now the Revision Phase of 1879

Wehland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon: A 50mm infantry support cannon with a shorty stubby barrel and a low velocity round. It's one-piece ammunition is easy to store and to load into the gun as the gun kicks the empty casing out of the breech every time it fires. It is capable of loading either solid shot or canister shells. It is currently Cheap to produce and Small in size.
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker: The Skunk is a four legged walker slightly larger than a horse powered by a single Basic Scrap Soul Engine. It mounts a single 50mm Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon on a platform at the front of the walker protected by a large gun shield which protects the gunner and assistant gunner from small arms fire. It has a Standard Speed of 2.5 MPH and a Flank Speed of 5 MPH, it is driven by a the officer located in the rear of the walker who sits just behind the Soul Engine with his control levers. It can carry a small cart of spare ammunition behind it though that limits its speed slightly, for longterm firing it needs a horse-drawn caisson of ammunition to support it. The two gunners each have a black powder cartridge revolver for self defense and the officer/driver has a musketoon version of the standard rifle. It is Slightly Expensive to Produce

Sordland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hankerfield Crank Cannon: A 37mm 6 barreled crank cannon fed from a hopper, its capable of holding 12 shells ready in the hopper and has to be fed by hand and point of fire adjusted by hand with crank wheels. Capable of firing both solid shot and experimental high explosive shells it is quite reliable and jams are easy to clear by continuing to turn the crank. It is Cheap to produce
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
The Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel: The Buttercup is a 4 legged 'spider pattern' walker with a casemated crank cannon surrounded on 3 sides by an unroofed iron box measuring 1.5 inch thickness on the front and 1 inch thickness on the sides. It has a crew of 4: 2 gunner operators, 1 officer and 1 driver. It is unmatched in speed on the battlefield except by horses by being capable of sprinting at a blistering 12 MPH, though in practice this max speed is better reserved for emergency situations and joining the infantry in bayonet charges. The Crew also has carbines for self defense. It is Expensive to produce on account for the quality parts needed to keep the legs moving at such a blistering speed.

[Maxim_inc]

Under the command of their respective overlords both teams of engineers have decided to try and make their Medium Engines less shitty. With some having more luck than others.

The Grand Duchy revised their engine into the 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine

The 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine: Higher Quality than the Shoddy Medium Engine the replacement of internal components allows it to produce 1.5 times the power of the Shoddy M-Engine though the runework remains subpar causing...problems. Strong but explodes occasionally. It is Expensive+ to produce.

The Republic revised their engine into the Decent Quality Animal Soul Engine

The Decent Quality Animal Soul Engine: Thanks to a nationwide vocational training regiment and many threats of bodily harm the quality of parts and runes for their Medium Engines has risen. While not more than marginally powerful than the former engine it is much more reliable. It is currently Expensive+ to produce

It is now the Pre-Game Battle Phase

WAR! is the headline of both nations newspapers. A naval incident on which a Sordish, or Wehls if you read a Sordish paper and vice versa, Cruiser fired on an innocent Wehls naval vessel patrolling international waters has caused what was once a simmering hatred to boil over into war. Currently both sides are forming their battalions and generals are hunched over map tables to plan their first strike against their foe.

The respective generals of each nation have asked their engineers where best to deploy the small unit of Walkers that has currently been built in the month leading up to the war, while soon there will be enough mechs to cover all the fronts currently they're in such a few number they can only be used for a single decisive strike. They present you will three options.

Option 1 The Northern Hill Lands: Located on the North Coast in the center of the island this area is pocketed with light woodland, rolling hills rocky hills and the jagged cliffs of the Keskusta Mountain overlooking the entire Hill Lands providing the perfect advantage position.

Option 2 The Keskusta Mountain: Located in the center of the island the Keskusta Mountain reaches high into the sky split by a large jagged valley that cuts through the center of it and covered in hundreds of footpaths painstakingly carved into it's cliffs while a tough nut to crack it is pivotal to hold to gain control over the island.

Option 3 The Citystate of Andgrez: Located on a small peninsula on the Southern Coast of the island Andgrez is controlled by a Chancellor who is elected for life, since the dawn of both the Grand Duchy and the Sordish Republic the current Chancellor has worked tirelessly to keep Andgrez at the cutting edge of military and production technology, including using his personal fortune to import high quality manufacturing tools from the Anteri Empire to construct their own Soul Engines. Any attack through this neutral zone by one of the nations will come as a surprise to the other nation, this would without a doubt invoke the ire of the Chancellor and potentially pull Andgrez into the war as a third combatant in the conflict. But the chance at total surprise is quite temping....is it not?

Once both teams have voted on their target the game will start proper.

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To ease my brain I will be introducing a new way to measure how much something costs. Something that costs slightly more than cheap will be Cheap+ or Cheap++, after that it will become Expensive, Expensive+ and so on. Your armories have been adjusted accordingly.

Wehland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon: A 50mm infantry support cannon with a shorty stubby barrel and a low velocity round. It's one-piece ammunition is easy to store and to load into the gun as the gun kicks the empty casing out of the breech every time it fires. It is capable of loading either solid shot or canister shells. It is currently Cheap to produce and Small in size.
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine: It is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
The 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine: Higher Quality than the Shoddy Medium Engine the replacement of internal components allows it to produce 1.5 times the power of the Shoddy M-Engine though the runework remains subpar causing...problems. Strong but explodes occasionally. It is Expensive+ to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker: The Skunk is a four legged walker slightly larger than a horse powered by a single Basic Scrap Soul Engine. It mounts a single 50mm Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon on a platform at the front of the walker protected by a large gun shield which protects the gunner and assistant gunner from small arms fire. It has a Standard Speed of 2.5 MPH and a Flank Speed of 5 MPH, it is driven by a the officer located in the rear of the walker who sits just behind the Soul Engine with his control levers. It can carry a small cart of spare ammunition behind it though that limits its speed slightly, for longterm firing it needs a horse-drawn caisson of ammunition to support it. The two gunners each have a black powder cartridge revolver for self defense and the officer/driver has a musketoon version of the standard rifle. It is Expensive+ to Produce

Sordland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hankerfield Crank Cannon: A 37mm 6 barreled crank cannon fed from a hopper, its capable of holding 12 shells ready in the hopper and has to be fed by hand and point of fire adjusted by hand with crank wheels. Capable of firing both solid shot and experimental high explosive shells it is quite reliable and jams are easy to clear by continuing to turn the crank. It is Cheap to produce
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
The Decent Quality Animal Soul Engine: Thanks to a nationwide vocational training regiment and many threats of bodily harm the quality of parts and runes for their Medium Engines has risen. While not more than marginally powerful than the former engine it is much more reliable. It is currently Expensive+ to produce
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
The Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel: The Buttercup is a 4 legged 'spider pattern' walker with a casemated crank cannon surrounded on 3 sides by an unroofed iron box measuring 1.5 inch thickness on the front and 1 inch thickness on the sides. It has a crew of 4: 2 gunner operators, 1 officer and 1 driver. It is unmatched in speed on the battlefield except by horses by being capable of sprinting at a blistering 12 MPH, though in practice this max speed is better reserved for emergency situations and joining the infantry in bayonet charges. The Crew also has carbines for self defense. It is Expensive+ to produce on account for the quality parts needed to keep the legs moving at such a blistering speed.

[Madman198237]

Your Discord link has died already. Which side needs more players?

[Maxim_inc]

Ah spring, fresh rains and the flowering of colorful fauna across the island. The natural beauty shattered by the sounds of heavy artillery exploding and the war cries of units making valiant bayonet charges. While there have been many skirmishes like this across the land in times past there is a new sound among the din of battle, the rhythmic pumping of the Soul-Engines many pistons followed by the solid stomps of armored feet churning up the earth and the cracks of highly mobile guns unleashing a new kind of death onto their foes. This is truly a new age of war.

It is the opening phase of the war. Sordland has opted to send their mechs to the Hill Lands while the Duchy has reinforced the push into the Keskusta Mountain.

In the Hill Lands the opening moves of the battle here are like any other. The Duchy and the Sords array their forces in large lines to exchange volleys like true gentlemen conduct war, after the opening artillery bombardment the Duchy forces move forward expecting to meet the Sords in the middle of one of the many rocky clearings that pocket the forest as they had done in many skirmishes years before, only this time instead of hearing the march of men at advance or the shouts of Sordish political commissars encouraging their men something else is heard, a rhythmic stomping. Over one of the hills comes a force of Buttercup-Class Gun Vessels at full sprint, as the stunned men try to make sense of what they're seeing the Gun Vessels slow to a walking pace near the Duchy troops and begin firing their crank cannons sending High Explosive shells into their lines, more than a few of them are duds but they're still flying fast enough to rip through men as solid shot would. A large number of men are cut down in vain as they attempt to fire back at the armored vessels, a few shots making it past the casemate but the soft lead bullet being fragmented to tiny pieces and getting stuck in the lining of the crew's uniforms. The more unlucky crews getting shot by the occasional man that managed to get behind one of the walkers during the chaos but these stragglers were soon cut down.

Soon horsedrawn cannon was brought up and were able to drive off the walkers but their retreat was soon followed by a bayonet charge from the Sords which developed into a bloody melee between the fresh Sordish troops and the shattered Wehls. Thanks to the artillery already being in place due to driving off the walkers the Wehls were able to hold onto a portion of the Hill Lands but the initiative is clearly in favor of the Sords this year. The Hill lands is 1/3 in favor of the Sords. Them needing 0/4 to fully capture the zone.


On the peaks of the Keskusta Mountain the story is quite different. Both sides armies having invested in crack mountain divisions with the difference of the Grand Duchy's 'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker. While unable to take the narrower routs and the engine being prone to failure during the colder parts of the year and closer to the peaks of the Mountain the 'Skunk Gun' proves to be an invaluable asset, capable of being able to be driven up to the peaks and the gun being almost instantly ready to fire after being parked gives the Duchy an almost unmatched artillery advantage being able to shell Sordish units from places pack-guns couldn't be taken by horse. The deadly fire of the guns only being outmatched by the standard Sordish pack-howitzers firing much larger and deadlier shells from dug in positions out of range of the low velocity 50mm Cannons. The Keskusta Mountain is evenly matched at 2/2 with the Duchy holding the initiative for the time being.

The Chancellor of Andgrez has publicly denounced the war as "A foolish endeavor which will ruin our beautiful island home" and has begun petitioning the City Council to nationalize the city Military Police under his command to streamline the preparation of defenses in case their neutrality is breached.

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Its is now the Design Phase of 1880!

The Sords with their fast walkers holds the initiative in the Hills while the two forces in the Keskusta Mountain grind at eachother and each side digs in for a tough siege. Your nations Generals and their previous thoughts on the conduct of war have been shattered by the developments on the frontlines this year, only time will tell what comes next.

Now get to doing what your 'benevolent' rulers have ordered, make more weapons to kill your hated foe with.

Wehland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon: A 50mm infantry support cannon with a shorty stubby barrel and a low velocity round. It's one-piece ammunition is easy to store and to load into the gun as the gun kicks the empty casing out of the breech every time it fires. It is capable of loading either solid shot or canister shells. It is currently Cheap to produce and Small in size.
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine: It is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
The 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine: Higher Quality than the Shoddy Medium Engine the replacement of internal components allows it to produce 1.5 times the power of the Shoddy M-Engine though the runework remains subpar causing...problems. Strong but explodes occasionally. It is Expensive+ to produce.
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker: The Skunk is a four legged walker slightly larger than a horse powered by a single Basic Scrap Soul Engine. It mounts a single 50mm Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon on a platform at the front of the walker protected by a large gun shield which protects the gunner and assistant gunner from small arms fire. It has a Standard Speed of 2.5 MPH and a Flank Speed of 5 MPH, it is driven by a the officer located in the rear of the walker who sits just behind the Soul Engine with his control levers. It can carry a small cart of spare ammunition behind it though that limits its speed slightly, for longterm firing it needs a horse-drawn caisson of ammunition to support it. The two gunners each have a black powder cartridge revolver for self defense and the officer/driver has a musketoon version of the standard rifle. It is Expensive+ to Produce

Sordland Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hankerfield Crank Cannon: A 37mm 6 barreled crank cannon fed from a hopper, its capable of holding 12 shells ready in the hopper and has to be fed by hand and point of fire adjusted by hand with crank wheels. Capable of firing both solid shot and experimental high explosive shells it is quite reliable and jams are easy to clear by continuing to turn the crank. It is Cheap to produce
Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce
Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.
The Decent Quality Animal Soul Engine: Thanks to a nationwide vocational training regiment and many threats of bodily harm the quality of parts and runes for their Medium Engines has risen. While not more than marginally powerful than the former engine it is much more reliable. It is currently Expensive+ to produce
Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.
Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
-
The Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel: The Buttercup is a 4 legged 'spider pattern' walker with a casemated crank cannon surrounded on 3 sides by an unroofed iron box measuring 1.5 inch thickness on the front and 1 inch thickness on the sides. It has a crew of 4: 2 gunner operators, 1 officer and 1 driver. It is unmatched in speed on the battlefield except by horses by being capable of sprinting at a blistering 12 MPH, though in practice this max speed is better reserved for emergency situations and joining the infantry in bayonet charges. The Crew also has carbines for self defense. It is Expensive+ to produce on account for the quality parts needed to keep the legs moving at such a blistering speed.

[Maxim_inc]

This year both teams have chosen to make new mechs and revise certain objects in their inventory.

The Sords have seemed to cement a trend of making fast attack mechs with the new Foxglove and Foxglove Mk.2 Dragoon mech. They have also requesitioned a cannon from the Sordland Navy

The Foxglove Dragoon Walker: A bipedal mech 1.5 times the height of an average man driven and operated by a single man. The main body of the mech is soely the Scrap-Engine used to power the pair of legs used for movement. The Foxglove is fully armored though with the most reliable armor protecting the front of the mech and the Soul-Engine. The driver has a single swivel mounted standard issue rifle and a handful of unreliable home-made grenades to use for offense and defense. It is Cheap++ to produce.

Foxglove Mk.2: The Mk.2 mounts a new 1.2" QF Rifle on the frame with slightly better armor protection and stability, it keeps the same speed as before though with a bit more sway while sprinting due to the abnormal length of it's main cannon. It is Cheap++.

Sordland Ordinance 1.2" Quick Fire Rifle: The 'S-O 1.2" QF Rifle' fires a solid steel shell out of it's rather long 5'3" riffled barrel at extreme speed, designed for hitting small craft that get too close to Sordish capital ships the 1.2" shell was found to be too small to provide sufficient damage to enemy warships other than easily patched holes. It possesses a QF system to increase rate of fire, using recoil to kick out spent casings after firing. It is Cheap+

The Grand Duchy builds on the success of the Skunk walker with the new Boar, as well as requisitioning a field gun from their army and refining their engine.

The Boar Mobile Cannon Walker: A wagon-sized walker powered by a Beast Medium Soul Engine. It carries a pair of 50mm QF guns in diagonal mounting on a pair of raised turntables, it has an armored skirt that runs the entire length of the mech to protect the crew and has light armor over the Engine to protect it. The driver receives an armored box to protect himself, the crew all gets revolvers for self defense. It is Expensive+ to produce.

The 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine Mk.2: Higher Quality than the Shoddy Medium Engine the replacement of internal components allows it to produce 1.5 times the power of the Shoddy M-Engine and is less likely to explode as the previous Mk.1 version. A direct hit from a cannon will still cause detonation due to the stored energy. It is Expensive+ to produce.

M1866 Rifled Cannon-9lb-76mm: The M1867 is an old cannon but still has its uses as a field gun. It uses a unique muzzle and breech loading method thanks to it's riffling allowing the 9lbs 76mm shells to be sent downrange with accuracy. The riffled grooves are cut deep into the barrel of the gun with the shells specially manufactured with fins to engage with the rifling, this requires the shell to be loaded into the gun from the muzzle to line up the rifling properly and prevent miss-fires but provides excellent accuracy giving it it's long service life. The charge is loaded through a simple screw breach at the rear of the gun. Due to being replaced with more modern artillery the Army is willing to part with these rifles, them being Cheap++ to mount and is Medium+ in size.

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Both sides have chosen to deploy their new mechs to the Hills.

In the Hills the Grand Duchy Army has been making good use of the Skunk Gun to fend off waves of Buttercups, the gun crews hiding behind their shields from the hail of 37mm shellfire coming from the enemy crank cannons, their 50mm guns fending off the waves with acceptable success with support of the army based heavy artillery.
Opposite of them the Sords laugh and hoot, certain of their victory as the supply convoys trod into camp bringing along new mechs. Faster than the Buttercup and with a more powerful cannon, if a bit under armored. In the next morning while the infantry battalions of both nations clash the Sords once again charge over the hills ready to shatter the remains of the Grand Duchies Army. Cannon and Rifle armed Foxgloves firing into the crowds alongside the Buttercups, though the familiar low thump of the Skunk's 50mm cannon is heard, though this time the first volley is followed by another. The small Skunks being joined by comparable behemoths with an armored wall around them, dual guns smoking as the crews reload. The exposed drivers of the Foxgloves cut down by canister shells as they operate their guns and Buttercups ripped open by dual broadsides. A number of Foxglove drivers are killed by sharpshooting infantry.
The Foxgloves that return fire easily punch through the armored shield of the Boar though unless care is taken to aim for gun crews or the engine little damage is done by the shell that simply passes through the front and out the back. Though more than a few Boars go up in a piercing scream of an unchained soul and blinding blue light as the soul exits its rune covered chamber as the crew is washed in liquid oxygen and frozen dead in their positions, others are more lucky and their failsafe direction holes divert most of the pressurized liquid after the chamber is ruptured, these that survive are immobile but their guns are still in operation.

The infantry battle that opened the fight had long become insignificant as the ground is held, the Boars pushing back the Sords with a 2/2 equal holding of the Hills. The Generals of both armies grumble to themselves and bemoan the loss of life these mechanical beasts have caused in the ranks of young men conscripted to fight and have started to fund the Army Engineers to come up with better ways to defend the troops in battle.

In the Mountain little changes, both sides dig in deeper into the cliffs as old mines are turned into strongholds where hidden cannons shell enemy positions merely a hundred yards away on the opposite cliffside.

In the City State the Chancellor continues to denounce both the Republic and the Grand Duchy for their idiotic war and after taking direct control of the cities trade network has begun to import foreign machinery to attempt to replicate the deadly war machines both sides have produced, ones meant to deter any invasion into the city.

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It is now the Design Phase, make your stuff.

Wehland Armory

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon: A 50mm infantry support cannon with a shorty stubby barrel and a low velocity round. It's one-piece ammunition is easy to store and to load into the gun as the gun kicks the empty casing out of the breech every time it fires. It is capable of loading either solid shot or canister shells. It is currently Cheap to produce and Small in size.

M1866 Rifled Cannon-9lb-76mm: The M1867 is an old cannon but still has its uses as a field gun. It uses a unique muzzle and breech loading method thanks to it's riffling allowing the 9lbs 76mm shells to be sent downrange with accuracy. The riffled grooves are cut deep into the barrel of the gun with the shells specially manufactured with fins to engage with the rifling, this requires the shell to be loaded into the gun from the muzzle to line up the rifling properly and prevent miss-fires but provides excellent accuracy giving it it's long service life. The charge is loaded through a simple screw breach at the rear of the gun. Due to being replaced with more modern artillery the Army is willing to part with these rifles, them being Cheap++ to mount and is Medium+ in size.

Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce

Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine: It is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.

The 'Beast' Animal Soul Engine Mk.2: Higher Quality than the Shoddy Medium Engine the replacement of internal components allows it to produce 1.5 times the power of the Shoddy M-Engine and is less likely to explode as the previous Mk.1 version. A direct hit from a cannon will still cause detonation due to the stored energy. It is Expensive+ to produce.

Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.

Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
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'Skunk Gun' Mobile Cannon Walker: The Skunk is a four legged walker slightly larger than a horse powered by a single Basic Scrap Soul Engine. It mounts a single 50mm Fabrique Francois Quick-Fire Light Support Cannon on a platform at the front of the walker protected by a large gun shield which protects the gunner and assistant gunner from small arms fire. It has a Standard Speed of 2.5 MPH and a Flank Speed of 5 MPH, it is driven by a the officer located in the rear of the walker who sits just behind the Soul Engine with his control levers. It can carry a small cart of spare ammunition behind it though that limits its speed slightly, for longterm firing it needs a horse-drawn caisson of ammunition to support it. The two gunners each have a black powder cartridge revolver for self defense and the officer/driver has a musketoon version of the standard rifle. It is Expensive+ to Produce

The Boar Mobile Cannon Walker: A wagon-sized walker powered by a Beast Medium Soul Engine. It carries a pair of 50mm QF guns in diagonal mounting on a pair of raised turntables, it has an armored skirt that runs the entire length of the mech to protect the crew and has light armor over the Engine to protect it. The driver receives an armored box to protect himself, the crew all gets revolvers for self defense. It is Expensive+ to produce.

Sordland Armory.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Hankerfield Crank Cannon: A 37mm 6 barreled crank cannon fed from a hopper, its capable of holding 12 shells ready in the hopper and has to be fed by hand and point of fire adjusted by hand with crank wheels. Capable of firing both solid shot and experimental high explosive shells it is quite reliable and jams are easy to clear by continuing to turn the crank. It is Cheap to produce

Sordland Ordinance 1.2" Quick Fire Rifle: The 'S-O 1.2" QF Rifle' fires a solid steel shell out of it's rather long 5'3" riffled barrel at extreme speed, designed for hitting small craft that get too close to Sordish capital ships the 1.2" shell was found to be too small to provide sufficient damage to enemy warships other than easily patched holes. It possesses a QF system to increase rate of fire, using recoil to kick out spent casings after firing. It is Cheap+

Basic Scrap Soul Engine: A simple Soul Engine capable of using Scrap souls for power. It is currently Cheap to produce

Shoddy Medium Quality Animal Soul Engine which is more powerful than the Scrap Engine but breaks down occasionally and is currently Expensive to produce.

The Decent Quality Animal Soul Engine: Thanks to a nationwide vocational training regiment and many threats of bodily harm the quality of parts and runes for their Medium Engines has risen. While not more than marginally powerful than the former engine it is much more reliable. It is currently Expensive+ to produce

Basic Infantry: Basic Line Infantry with single shot cartridge rifles and brightly colored uniforms. Crucial for holding the ground the mechs take.

Basic Artillery: Basic muzzle and breech loading artillery capable of firing high explosive shells. A lucky hit will knock out a weaker mech.
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The Buttercup-Class Gun Vessel: The Buttercup is a 4 legged 'spider pattern' walker with a casemated crank cannon surrounded on 3 sides by an unroofed iron box measuring 1.5 inch thickness on the front and 1 inch thickness on the sides. It has a crew of 4: 2 gunner operators, 1 officer and 1 driver. It is unmatched in speed on the battlefield except by horses by being capable of sprinting at a blistering 12 MPH, though in practice this max speed is better reserved for emergency situations and joining the infantry in bayonet charges. The Crew also has carbines for self defense. It is Expensive+ to produce on account for the quality parts needed to keep the legs moving at such a blistering speed.

The Foxglove Dragoon Walker: A bipedal mech 1.5 times the height of an average man driven and operated by a single man. The main body of the mech is soely the Scrap-Engine used to power the pair of legs used for movement. The Foxglove is fully armored though with the most reliable armor protecting the front of the mech and the Soul-Engine. The driver has a single swivel mounted standard issue rifle and a handful of unreliable home-made grenades to use for offense and defense. It is Cheap++ to produce.

Foxglove Mk.2: The Mk.2 mounts a new 1.2" QF Rifle on the frame with slightly better armor protection and stability, it keeps the same speed as before though with a bit more sway while sprinting due to the abnormal length of it's main cannon. It is Cheap++.