Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Man of Paper]

Discord Server

When humanity first set out across their own system there was a significant amount of combat on nonterrestrial objects as well as a number of devastating fleet battles. A massive loss of life culminating in the nuclear devastation of Calypso led to a revival and restructuring of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. All nations of Earth were signatories of this redrafted treaty, heralding in an age of advancement unlike any other. With the use of military equipment banned in space, and weapons of mass destruction outlawed entirely, humanity focused on their scientific endeavors. This golden age brought about the invention of the Jump Drive - a peculiar, large, and extremely complex device capable of opening a "gate" between two points in space. With this, humanity's expansion across the stars went from an optimistic destiny to inevitable.

It's Year 3155 and humanity has colonized countless star systems across the vast expanse of space. The Seven Stellar States claim dominion over these colonies and developed worlds and, thanks to the United Planets Council (an entity with representatives from all member states that spawned from the UN) and the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, conflict between even the largest Stellar States has remained relatively small scale and isolated away from civilian infrastructure.

But now the status quo is about the be shaken to its core. The Stellar States of The Okinasu Empire and The Weitraum Republic had a scientific cooperation treaty in the works for generations, and they recently pooled resources and manpower to develop the latest in battlefield technology: the BattleMech. The first tests went splendidly and the HTM-1 Hitman was put into production across both states. This agreement between the Okinasu and Weitraum wouldn't last much longer than the first mechs rolling off the line, as both Stellar States had extremely different views on their usage. The Empire, worried more about its own security and survival (and rightfully so, but that'd be another history lesson entirely), wanted the two states to maintain control of development of the BattleMechs and continue treating their ongoing work as a state secret vital to the security of the Empire. The Republic was more of a mind to produce them exclusively for the UPC Peacekeeping forces - of which the Republic had a disproportionately large amount of influence over. A move that would see all the Stellar States gain access to BattleMech Technology, and one which might legitimately endanger the security of the Empire's borders down the line.

Sabotage of production lines across both States began to flare up into localized conflict. The UPC as a whole voted against intervention, many suspect out of curiosity with regards to how the Hitman would actually perform in live combat. Either way, war was on the horizon, and it promised to be like no other before it.



Hello players! This here is an Arms Race where your only purpose is to design battlemechs for your respective Stellar State to utilize in the coming war. While conventional forces will be present (and evolve) and must be taken into consideration when developing your BattleMechs, you are not responsible for their development. In fact, you'll be doing very little outside of discussing with your teammates how to best make stompy to give your enemies.

Your first step to playing is to decide whether you will be designing mechs for The Okinasu Empire or The Weitraum Republic. Your next step is going over the rules below! If you're familiar with arms races you might not need every detail, but you might want to gloss over them just in case.

Team Threads
Weitraum Republic
Okinasu Empire

Spoiler: Basic Gameplay Loop (click to show/hide)

There are three phases per turn: Design, Revision, and Combat. During the Design and Revision phases you and your teammates will be responsible for discussing, proposing, and voting on proposals. Once the revision phase is done you just gotta wait for me to put out the Combat Report.

At the start of each Design Phase you will receive information on what kind of environments your Stellar State is expecting to fight in, as well as the types of utility in a mech they're looking for.

Spoiler: Making Mechs (click to show/hide)

You can design new base models of mechs in the design phase, but only with the use of a Mech Credit. You can not design an entirely new mech without one. You can use Designs and Revisions to modify the chassis itself to improve upon the base or make variants for it.

Each Design Phase gives you two Design Action to vote upon (Mech Credits also give a Free Design Action so as to not eat up design opportunities). All the components you plan to utilize in a mech are made in the Design Phase unless based off of existing equipment. Note that Chassis "revisions" can be done as designs, as some actions like entire refits of a model may pile on the difficulty pretty quick if done as a Revision.

The Revision Phase gives you two Revision Actions to vote upon. Revisions are used to modify existing mechs and components or fix their issues. Making variant models of mechs can be done as a revision, as sometimes you just want to swap out those two medium lasers for some heat sinks and a coffee pot.

All proposals are subject to a Difficulty Modifier and a 2d6 dice roll in order to determine the efficacy and final outcomes of the proposals. The Difficulty modifiers are +4 (Simple), +3 (Trivial), +2 (Very Easy), +1 (Easy), 0 (Normal), -1 (Hard), -2 (Very Hard), -3 (Theoretical), -4 (Ludicrous), or -x (Impossible). Difficulty is based off of the ambition of the design as well as how experienced you are with similar concepts. Impossible designs will always fail, but they may still result in some sort of progress on a higher roll.

The general guide to potential outcomes for the dice rolls is as follows:

Utter Failure (2): Nothing is gained but the knowledge of how not to do it next time.
Buggy Mess (3): The design functions, just not too well at all. At least some experience is gained.
Poor (4): The design can be used without being a threat to anyone handling it. Still, it is far from reliable.
Below Average (5): It works, but there is clear room for improvement.
Average (6,7,8): The design generally functions as intended.
Above Average (9): The design works, and something about it works out better than expected.
Superior (10): It works much better than intended, and a lot is learned in related fields of research.
Masterwork (11): This is the perfect design.
Unexpected Boon (12): Development of this design goes so well that some sort of extra benefit is provided to the side building it.

Spoiler: Making Mechs Cont. - Limitations on Mech Design (click to show/hide)

Mech Chassis are largely up to you to come up with, but there are a few rules that must be adhered to:
Mechs are Bipedal
Mechs can have zero or two arms
Mechs cannot achieve flight
No AI “pilots”

You also have to determine the number and size of weapon hardpoints each Chassis has. Hardpoints and the weapon must match sizes. Making a variant of a chassis allows you to adjust the number and size of hardpoints.

Nonweapon components do not need specific "slots" to fit into a Chassis, but there is a soft cap on adding components before it begins to get exponentially harder and less effective than splitting them up.

Spoiler: Ok we got Mechs and shit, now what? (Expense and Combat) (click to show/hide)

Once a Chassis or component is created it is given an Expense Level. The Expense Levels of components are a general guide to how they will impact the overall cost of a Chassis, but are rated on a stricter scale than the Chassis. Chassis Expense Levels determine how many of the mech are at you Stellar State's disposal. It is entirely possible for a Chassis to be Cheap with a number of Very Expensive parts, but it isn't likely and outside of good rolls or thoughtful engineering in proposals a chassis will likely default to an Expense Level around that of its most expensive component.

Expense levels are abstract with no solid number they represent. The levels of expense are as follows:
Cheap
Expensive
Very Expensive
Costly
Unique - Unless you're extremely unlucky or overambitious you should only ever see Mechs reach Unique.

Spoiler: War...war never changes (is a bullshit line) (click to show/hide)

As the war grows in intensity both sides will gain Chassis credits to utilize. These must be utilized on the turn they are received. Conventional forces will adjust and adapt over time in order to better work with or against mechs, so you will need to consider that as well. The advancements made by conventional forces will be GM creations based on the works of the team opposing said force and subject to the same rolls.

Spoiler: Is This BattleTech and other info that can help but isn't quite worthy of its own spoiler (click to show/hide)

The setting is heavily inspired by the Battletech/MechWarrior setting, but it is not that. There is no need to adhere to BattleTech's rules, nor should that setting be used as a firm guideline for what is possible and what is not. BattleTech is for nerds!

You aren't the military strategists this time around, unlike most other arms races. Your Stellar State will deploy what they have where they can as best as they can as long as you're providing something. Strategy is for nerds!

There is no map or lanes, because space is big and fixed lanes don't make sense in space when you have access to Jump Ships. Maps are for nerds!

And here's the starting equipment so you can get an idea of where things stand.

Spoiler: Weapons/Components (click to show/hide)

Small Weapons
Small Lasers: Low-power energy weapons that draw from a mech's power source. Low power draw, but low range and low damage as a result. Cheap
12.5mm Machine Gun: A 12.5mm machine gun that fires 300 rounds a minute. Effective against infantry and light armor. Cheap

Components
WO.Mk4 Fusion Engine: A fusion engine designed by the Weitraum Republic and Okinasu Empire. Functional, but can catastrophically explode if it takes a significant blow. Efficacy of this engine drops precipitously as mass and energy weapons are added to a chassis. Cheap
Jump Jets: Jet boosters that allow a mech to subject itself to a loosely controlled launch in a parabolic arc and subsequent loosely controlled landing. A larger number of jump jets are needed for higher mass chassis. Cheap
Subpar Heat Sink Bank: A collection of heat sinks meant to release excess thermal energy produced by a mech in order to keep the meat inside from cooking beyond medium. Slightly more effective than putting a fan in the cockpit. Cheap
Standard Steel Armor: A basic, cheap form of protection. Can stop small arms and lighter vehicle-based weaponry, and can resist smaller mech-sized weapons with some regularity. Cheap

Spoiler: Chassis/Mechs (click to show/hide)

HTM-1 "Hitman": A 30 ton bipedal mech with a cubed torso and a fixed domed head holding the cockpit. The torso can rotate up to 90 degrees in either direction. The HTM-1 has a Small Mount in the center of the torso housing an 12.5mm Machine Gun with its ammo and a Small Mount on each side of the torso for a pair of Small Lasers. The side mounts have limited horizontal traversal but can be adjusted vertically +/-60 degrees. The torso mount has a greater freedom of movement, allowing it to fire on close targets much smaller than itself. The HTM-1 utilizes a WO.Mk4 Fusion Engine to provide power throughout. Jump Jets in the upper legs provide some ability to get airborne and control descents. The HTM-1 runs fairly hot during prolonged combat tests due to an inefficient pair of Subpar Heat Sink Banks in the torso flanking the "spine". The HTM-1 uses Standard Steel Armor for protection against smaller weaponry and some defense against an equivalent mech. Cheap

[Rockeater]

For the empire!

[m1895]

Weeb time

[KhazintheDark]

For the Republic!

[Knightwing64]

For the empire!

[TricMagic]

Right, still banned from discord apparently. I'll be joining the Republic if that's okay?

[Man of Paper]

Haha right I guess I can change that

[Man of Paper]

Remember to check the team threads for revisions before reading the update!

After-Action Report, Turn 1

Keiko's Rest

The invasion of Keiko's Rest began with what an untrained eye would have assumed was a scattered meteor shower. In truth, Republican special forces were dropping in from orbit to secure a landing zone for the operation proper. Infantry and armor met with Imperial Defense Forces in entrenched positions for brief but violent clashes that left all participants bloodied. Imperial mechs made their showing first as Republic forces consolidated and struck out toward the mech production facility near their drop zone.

The invasion was still in its youth when Republic forces attempted to punch through Imperial lines. Conventional Republic forces massed and launched a spearhead assault into prepared but artillery-battered positions in a slow but steady advance through killing fields. IDF mechs made their appearance as the first lines were reached. The Imperial-flagged Hitmen had been using the high walls of the factory compound as cover until they sallied out toward the Republic's offensive action.

Small Lasers burned through the air and swept across attacking infantry and armor, slicing through men and melting through the relatively light protection on the armor while the Akita 12.5mm Machine Gun rained suppressing fire down on approaching foes. Return fire was frighteningly less effective than nonmech forces had anticipated, as small arm were entirely ineffective and the mechs could take a number of hits from high caliber munitions that'd have knocked conventional armor in one or two blows.

Even more devastating to the invading forces was the HTM-1TO, a modification of the Hitman that replaces the Small Lasers with "Type 25" 40mm Precision Cannons and the Mk4 fusion engine with the Donutstacker. These models proved to be slightly but noticeably faster than the original and used their cannons to rain further hell on everything standing beneath them.

After a brief but stubborn and effective defense, Republic forces were forced to stall their advance and adjust their strategy accordingly. This, of course, meant the deployment of the Republic's own legally distinct HTM-1 mechs to the field.

While both forces of mechs, numbering about a dozen total between them, were supported by ample numbers of conventional forces, they found themselves focusing on the biggest threats on the field - the other mechs - while the other ground forces mostly observed in stunned silence at the first clash of iron behemoths.

The HTM-1TOs rained 40mm shots onto the opposing mechs from beyond the Republic's effective engagement range, but the larger rounds didn't quite have the "impact" that they had on smaller or lighter targets. Armor got dinged and some reinforced glass cracked, but the autocannons did little more than create an annoying off-rhythm steel drumbeat for the pilots of the Republic mechs.  As the two forces closed in the small lasers from both forces' mechs lit up and crackled across the battlefield. The more mobile HTM-1TOs were harder for the Republic mechs to focus energy weapons on, but the beams were strong enough to melt away grooves of armor regardless. In this closer range the 40mms were more likely to punch through the armor protecting the Republic mechs, but not enough to make up for the small lasers they had replaced. The smaller machine guns on both mechs also opened up in this range, bathing one another in small arms fire. The machine guns proved to be about as effective as the Imperial autocannon, replacing any chance at punching through armor with a higher rate of fire and smaller rounds that found it a little easier to ricochet around to find a gap in the armor to slip through.

An Imperial mech was the first to fall as a focused blast of small lasers burned through the armor on a leg and fused the knee. As the HTM-1TO began to lose balance the top of its cockpit blew off and a small figure, the pilot, was jettisoned out of the mech and to relative safety. Tactics were practically nonexistent as the two forces closed into brawling range, stomping around each other in attempts to keep their weapons facing something they could kill. It was quite the spectacle for the observers on both sides as the mechs brutalized one another, but the fight was skewed in the favor of the Republic mechs, who were on the whole more capable of dealing damage to the other mechs thanks to the Imperial replacement of small lasers with the 40mm. That said, it was barely a victory for the Republic mech pilots. The saving grace for the Republic mechs was a particularly focused burst of laser fire that punched through the side of a HTM-1TO, which cooked off the ammunition stored within and triggered a catastrophic detonation of the fusion engine. Once the remaining Imperial mechs pulled back, the Republic mechs had to withdraw and recover as opposed to hunting their foes down.

As was displayed on the field, the newer HTM-1TO wasn't quite as capable as the original at fighting something its own size. This did not rule them out of the fight though. The 40mms used by the mechs were devastating when used against conventional forces and could single-handedly hold off an infantry advance. The basic HTM-1 could do that too, but the HTM-1TO was just better at it. As a result, the Imperial mechs actually had a much greater impact in combined arms engagements and helped keep the Republic from taking too much ground.

The Republic's actions on Keiko's Rest were supported by their HTM-01, although not to the degree the Imperials saw with their mechs. The initial invasion was successful, but has been stalled by the stubborn IDF defense. The battle is currently in a stalemate, although the Imperial forces hold the advantage. The mech production facility on the planet is still threatened by Republic forces in the area.


Vordwelt

The Imperial invasion of this Weitraum Republic world started off similarly to the Republic's invasion of Keiko's Rest as special operations capable units secured a landing zone against the wishes of the local Republic defenders. The HTM-1TO was present among the initial landing forces and proved extremely effective in a supporting role for larger offensive infantry actions. The front on Vordwelt was very fluid as there were very few naturally defensible locations on the planet (and less clear targets for the invading force to focus on). The improved speed, even if only slightly, over the Republic defenders allowed the Imperials more flexibility in their offensives. While the Imperial HTM-1 saw use here much like the Republic model at Keiko’s Rest (that is, largely infantry support during offensives), the minor differences the HTM-1TO had set it apart as a harasser, moving to hit enemy infantry and doing as much damage as they can manage before running away. While armor and anti-armor weaponry very often left their marks on attacking mechs, the HTM-1TOs were largely able to act as raiders without getting killed.

Direct assaults on Vordwelt went less well for the Imperials. The lack of an effective mech-fighting weapon on a number of the Imperial mechs meant they were ultimately bound to be on the losing end of an even fight. Fighting wasn’t always necessarily even thanks to the actions of HTM-1TOs taken outside of large-scale engagements, but their extracurricular activities were not successful in softening the defenders enough to dramatically shift the frontline.

Aerial assets were more present above Vordwelt's fields than at Keiko's Rest, and perhaps it was lucky for the mech pilots there that the skies were clear. Fixed-wing aircraft scrambled frequently to counter mech attacks. While they couldn't guarantee a kill, the aircraft were allowed to take swipes at the large boxy targets with little fear of reprisal (from the mechs themselves, at least). The heavy presence of air assets is revealing a potentially troublesome weakness in mechs if it isn't addressed in some manner down the line.

The Imperial Defense Force on Vordwelt has been effective in dealing damage to the defenders, however they lack the follow-through to fully take advantage of the openings they create for conventional forces. The battle for Vordwelt is underway. Neither side is showing any significant advantage over the other in regard to the coming battles.

----------------

The war has officially begun and both stellar states are far from willing to back down yet. Mech are proving themselves to be quite the presence on the battlefield and so both states are attempting to double down and get an advantage in mech development over their opponent. Both sides have a Mech Credit, giving them a free action to design a new chassis this design phase. A mech chassis is simply the base factory model of the mech. You can make a chassis with weapon slots that are unfilled, but it will be replaced by the first variant that outfits them. Remember, nonweapon equipment for your mechs does not need a specific slot to be included, but many different subsystems will impact difficulty and expense.

Spoiler: Combat History (click to show/hide)

Keiko's Rest
-Invasion of Keiko's Rest: Stalemate, first Mech-on-Mech fight, Imperials gain minor Strategic Advantage

Vordwelt
-Invasion of Vordwelt: Stalemate, air power reduces Mech efficacy

[Maxim_inc]

I'll go for the Empire

[Man of Paper]

Remember to check the team threads for revisions before reading the update!

After-Action Report, Turn 2

Keiko's Rest

As the first few battles of Keiko's Rest wound down and battle lines became more static, the Okinasu Empire unveiled a weapon designed to take advantage of an immobile battlefield (and to strike deeper into Republic-held territory): the Type 35 "Toigurenedo" 255mm Self-Propelled Artillery. These tracked guns rain high explosive hell down on Republic lines as they debuted, but even worse is their "Nokku" 255mm Multipenetrator Airburst Shell. These shells pop open over targets and propel sharpened tungsten carbide rods into targets below. While certainly terrifying for infantry (who wants to see their buddies quite literally pinned to the dirt?), these rounds also prove effective at punching holes in armor and, unfortunately for the Republic, mechs parked on the backline if the Imperials are lucky enough to target the right areas.

But the Republic did not sit on it's hands either. With the successes of the Republic mechs against their Imperial counterparts, the Republic instead focused their efforts wholly on the destruction of everything else. With skies evenly contested by both forces' atmospheric fighters, there was some wiggle room for the deployment of the DC.58 "Bibo" Heavy Bomber. This large aircraft also made it's debut at Keiko's Rest in an effort to smash through Imperial defenses. While the Bibos did suffer a significant amount of losses over the course of their introductory battles, the efficacy of their 12000kg of bombs can not be understated. These aircraft can be loaded with 1000kg high explosive bombs or their 1500kg "Geschenkkorb" Cluster Bombs. The bombers, like the Imperial artillery, proved effective against the entire range of ground targets, and while they could more readily target areas housing mechs, their vulnerability to enemy aircraft makes them less consistent.

With flesh, steel, and earth being shredded by both sides, mechs once again are used to power through and attempt to deal a decisive blow. The spearhead of the Republic advance was led by their new mechs - the DVL-1-1 "Vuurduivel" and the DVL-1-2 "Voetduivel". These mechs are both 40-tonners with a roughly triangular torso and fixed domed head bearing a pair of horns housing a well-protected sensor suite. These sensors allow the mechs to identify vehicles and mechs within 500 meters even without line of sight. They are fitted with a pair of arms with impressive range of motion that end in Small Weapon Mounts. Both the arms and the torso come fitted with autostabilizers to increase their ability to stay on target while moving. A third Small Weapon Mount is installed in the lower torso. Both mechs utilize the Kaarsvlam Fusion Engine, which grants high speed and mobility even with a significant amount of "Dijkstijl" Composite Armor (Mutlilayered armor with a scaled ceramic outer layer followed by a Ceramo-Resin sandwiched between steel plates. The resin rapidly expands and hardens with the heat and pressure that often accompanies armor-penetrating munitions and energy weapons. The hardened resin is fragile but makes up for it with a higher resistance to energy weapons.) for its weight class. They also have three Subpar Heat Sink Banks on the back and Jump Jets installed in the legs. For all these similarities, they are also quite different.

The DVL-1-1 "Vuurduivel" comes equipped with a WR.Tulpenbloei Small Laser in the right arm and lower torso Small Weapon Mounts, a WR.Specerijlijn Weaponised Heat Beam in the left arm's Small Weapon Mount, and the WR.Vuurwek Incendiary Missile System in the upper central torso's Medium Weapon Mount. The Tulpenbloei is your bog-standard small laser upgrade, improving range and damage at the cost of heat generation, but the Specerijlijn is a different beast entirely. This "laser" converts heat from the mech into a focused beam that does little physical damage to the target, transferring a significant percentage of the heat pumped through the weapon into said target instead. The Vuurwek also turns up the heat, as the weapon system can fire a volley of warheads with a potent mix best described as a cross between thermite and napalm.

The DVL-1-2 "Voetduivel" replaces the Medium Weapon Mount with a Small Weapon Mount fitted with a Pinscher alongside the lower torso's Pinscher, as well as having a Tulpenbloei Small Laser in each arm's Small Weapon Mount. Additional armor was added to make up for the adjustment in tonnage with the downsized weapon mount, but it still squeaks in lighter that the DVL-1-1 and is slightly faster as a result.

A handful of the Republic Armed Forces' mechs (-Duivels and Hitmen both) had been knocked out by saturating artillery fire before engaging in the battle proper, but that was the same for the Imperial Defense Force as well (except from rampant bombing). The Republic's mix of mech forces was met with both Imperial Hitman models as well as the visually impressive ONI-1TO.

The ONI-1TO is a 50-ton mech with a bulky triangular body wider at the shoulders and tapering in toward the waist. A Small Weapon Mount at each shoulder houses a Type 25 and a Medium Weapon Mount is installed centrally in the torso with a "Oni's Bark" Type 77 120mm Cannon installed. The rudimentary L-shaped arms end in conical fists and act as tertiary weapons. The Oni can launch powerful strikes using the tip of the conefists and immense force to punch through thick armor, and the arms can pivot somewhat in their shoulder joints to provide a better range of attack. Another triangular shape makes up the head and cockpit and is equipped with a pair of powerful spotlights resembling eyes. It comes with the Imperial's catapult-assisted ejection system. The armor is very thick for mechs of an equivalent weight class, and angling across its entire body aid in reducing effective incoming fire fairly well. Thanks to the WOO Mk1 "Donutstacker-Wasabi" powering the mech it can still hit speeds greater than the Hitman. But what makes it impressive is the neon lighting across the entire mech. The Oni's Bark as well as the one forward and four rear Subpar Heat Sink Banks are ringed in neon lights. The cockpit is also excessively decorated, with the highest quality and comfort afforded to pilots of the ONI-1TO from carpet to seat to RGB consoles. No expense was spared, which explains why they appeared in fewer number than any other individual mech deployed by either force.

The new mechs, in conjunction with each forces' Hitman mechs, clashed in a glorious spectacle. The ONI-1TOs drew first blood, scoring hits on their opponents outside of the range of Republic mech weaponry. A keen eye on the Republic side could see the lights on, in, and around the ONIs that fired flicker off for a brief moment after firing their gun.

It was an interesting cannon, firing two shells in sequence with every squeeze of the trigger - a dense armor-piercing shell followed up almost immediately by a high explosive shell. One burst hit a Republic Hitman in the center torso and managed to set off the Pinscher ammo which devolved into a reactor explosion, giving anyone nearby a healthy dose of radiation as the mech vaporized. This wasn't too common an occurrence as the duel between mech groups closed in further, as it was exceedingly obvious now that the Oni's Bark was somehow interfering with power in the mech and so the ONI-1TOs were not keen on utilizing the weapon too often. The ONIs also found themselves falling victim to their own flair, with vital systems outlined clearly for the Republic mechs to target.

This was especially punishing when it came to the Vuurduivel and Voetduivel. These mechs were presently the quickest steel behemoths in the field, and while the Oni's Bark did have a range advantage, the Duivels had intense firepower. Opening salvos of missiles from the Vuurduivels were adequately accurate and bathed opposing mechs in sticky, intensely burning chemicals. The payload of the Vuurwek was devastating, warping armor and heating the target mechs up to uncomfortable levels. The rounds that missed did even more damage to the poor infantry lines beyond the mech battle, with anyone in the splash radius offered precisely zero chance of surviving.

The ONIs and Duivels were both faster than either sides' Hitman models, allowing them to maintain their own optimal ranges better than the boxy mechs. This gave ONIs time to pause for a solid shot on the Republic Hitman mechs, so long as they weren't overheating from Vuurwek damage. At closer ranges however, the Republic Duivels really expressed their capacity for violence.

The Tulpenbloei melted deep gouges into ONI armor more effectively than the Type 25s on each of the ONIs shoulders could respond to (especially with the guidance of some well-placed neon lights). The "Dijkstijl" Composite Armor was extremely effective armor, with the Vuurduivel and Voetduivel even managing to shrug off AP rounds thanks to a layer of explosively expanding ceramo-resin. But even when the Oni's Bark could defeat the armor, followup shots were never on the same target thanks to recoil imparted on the ONI and the speed of the horned Republic mechs. This significantly reduced the overall impact of the ONI's main gun.

But the pain didn't stop there for the Empire's neon knights. While the Vuurduivel built up a large amount of heat using the Vuurwerk, perhaps the only saving grace for the Empire besides a low ammo count, the Specerijlijn weaponized that heat and blasted it into the Imperial mechs within small lasering range. Even with the ONI's multiple heat sinks they had a hard time dealing with, ultimately, both ends of the incendiary missiles - especially as they were being targeted fairly accurately by the Republic mechs. Firing an Oni's Bark guaranteed a Vuurduivel would pounce in that brief moment of hypervulnerability, and pilots were quick to eject from their mechs as their hair and skin melted and fried from the heat. Even the ONIs fists proved largely ineffective as a Duivel was already quicker and could utilize their NITROUS fuel injectors if they really needed a burst of speed.

Both Imperial Hitman mechs were likewise battered by the reveal of the Vuurduivel and Voetduivel, as the quicker mechs also entirely outranged them. While the Republic's mech forces were certainly not unscathed, they dominated their mech opponents to a terrifying degree.

With the Imperial mech routed and finding themselves engaging in proper combined arms engagements outside the mech production facility, the Republic found themselves leaning on their mech support more than anticipated. The missile system on the Vuurduivels proved, as most any incendiary weapon does, to be highly effective at killing its targets and forcing breaches in enemy lines. Indeed, for the time being it seems the only thing the Duivels have to fear are massed volleys of large rounds or those frankly terrifying Nokku artillery rounds.

With a back line softened from the sky and the front line battered from the ground, Imperial forces were pushed from the production facility without much large-scale fighting within the facility proper. They plan to retake the facility soon, and that just means any damage to the facility becomes expensive repairs for them later on. The Weitraum Republic has taken the mech production facility in a devastating display. Imperial forces are planning a counter-attack, but failure here could result in enough manpower loss to require surrendering the planet. The Republic just needs to defend their position in order to secure victory.


----


Vordwelt

While Bibos found plenty of use over enemy soil, indiscriminate high altitude bombing of one's own lands is generally frowned upon. As a result, this destructive means of air support largely sat out the fighting on Vordwelt. Imperial artillery was less restricted, so their usage provided a larger relative impact than on Keiko's Rest. Without many other variables to offset the advantages expressed by the Republic over the Empire in the fighting on Keiko's Rest, conflict here goes about as you'd expect it to.

While interaction between the two forces was largely similar, one major tactical difference was the requirement for the defending Republic to have mechs actively on the defensive line in order to rapidly respond to Imperial actions. These tall mechs on a wide open plain proved quite easy targets for spotters to identify and relay to Toigurenedo companies. A larger percentage of mechs were disabled or destroyed by Imperial artillery than elsewhere, and these extra losses could prove to be the deciding factor if the Imperial forces can attack with a stronger front - especially in the field of mechs. It certainly reduced the losses incurred by the Imperials by a noticeable, although not impressive, percentage. Even one of those Vuurduivels knocked out of action was a blessing for dozens and dozens of infantrymen.

The Imperial forces on Vordwelt suffer losses not unlike on Keiko's Rest, leaving them vulnerable should the Republic press then any harder. The lack of additional support for the Republic this turn does leave the door open for the Imperials to take advantage of, however. As it stands, the Imperial Defense Force attacking Vordwelt could lose their foothold should the Republic hit them with more overwhelming force.

Spoiler: Combat History (click to show/hide)

Keiko's Rest
-Invasion of Keiko's Rest: Stalemate, first Mech-on-Mech fight, Imperials gain minor Strategic Advantage
-The Burning Battle: Debut of ONI-1TO[OE], DVL-1-1 "Vuurduivel"[WR], and DVL-1-2 "Voetduivel"[WR], devastating show of force by the Republic led largely by the Vuurduivel, Republic captures mech production facility

Vordwelt
-Invasion of Vordwelt: Stalemate, air power reduces Mech efficacy
-Resistance on Vordwelt: Republic forces replicate successes elsewhere, resulting in a threat to the continued existence of Imperial invaders