Year 1911 AC (After Colonization) Cold Season, Revision Phase
Proposal: It is long know that our sister islands were raised up from the sea by the standard means: volcanic action. However, the fair isle of Abbera has no such vulcanism to lift it so. Mountains, certainly, but bizzarely absent geothermal activity. Recently, the culprit here has been discovered--Caelium. Caelium is, at first glance, a normal mineral crystallized in a hexagonal prism, albeit one with an odd green tinge. However, when an electric charge is applied, it is blessed with the power to lift itself above the ground. With a charge large enough or extended enough, a large amount of material more. This all has to do with the Earth's electromagnetic field. Over billions of years, the electric charge slowly pulled Abbera up from the seas, and artificial electricity causes a bizzare interaction whereupon the attraction of the Caelium to the electromagnetic field is greatly intensified, lifting it.
Caelium is a newly discovered material with very interesting properties. This greenish crystalline mineral creates a field around itself that manages to lessen the effect of gravity on objects within it. Caelium suspends itself in the air at a height relative to the power flowing through it: a higher charge means a higher altitude. There are surely other interactions to experiment with, but as of now we only know the effects of a directly applied electrical current on Caelium in it's base form.
GM Note: This supermaterial has a lot of potential uses, and you aren't restricted with it much. The primary guidelines for using Caelium will be a requirement of power and that it somehow alters gravity and an object's mass. However experimentation is never perfect, and so on a low roll of a design trying to utilize Caelium in a new way it will instead react in another according to my judgement. This means that even with a low roll you can still learn something new about the material and get a new reaction to factor into future decisions. The design will still probably suck, but you still get something out of it, even at an Utter Failure. You might just need to get creative to utilize it.
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Proposal: ARA Model-1911C "Draco" Trench Gun
ARA "draco" trench gun:
The draco is 80 centimeters from tip of the barrel to the end of the wooden stock, and is designed to launch shrapnel round out of the end similar to a blunderbuss. like the blunderbuss of the age of the Pirate, the draco is designed to be used in tighter, cramp enviroments and close quarters, were tight turn and heavy cover ensures the ability to get close.
The draco is designed to be semi-automatic, The gas expelled from the firing of a shell will clear out the shells remains before loading the next shell from the internal storage . The rounds are placed into the shotgun individually, because of the size of a shotgun shell invalidating the use of a stripper clip. The inserted shells (5 in total) are stored in a small compartment long compartment along the bottom, inside the trechgun itself.
The spray of small bullets the draco lets out can be compared to shrapnel from an explosion, ensuring that without cover the enemy in a general direction of, that way is dead.
The barrel of the draco is designed quite thick and has been attached as well to the body of the gun as our engineers can. this is to take advantage of the Pick. The pick is a spike that comes out of the bottom of the stock and is used like a warpick, via the barrel as a shaft. this ensures that our troops have a close ranged weapon even in the event of running out of ammunition.
Difficulty: Normal
Result: 4 (3+1+0) =
PoorThe Draco is a 80 cm long 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun with a tube magazine on the bottom along the barrel that holds four shells (with a fifth in the chamber) individually loaded through the bottom of the weapon. The Draco operates via long recoil to eject a spent shell from the side of the weapon and load another into the chamber. This can often get fouled up, with the spent shell jamming as it ejects and requiring the operator to clear the weapon. The spread of the standard supplied shot is effective out to 20 meters, though the shells can be loaded with anything from small stones to glass fragments, though nonstandard shot should be used as a last resort as effective range drops immensely. This does mean at least that ammunition isn't
as big of an issue on the front line or out of supply.
The largest drawback of the Draco is the weight. The thickened barrel and wood stock bring the shotgun to 5 kilograms, including the butt spike. While the extra weight of the weapon does make the spike more formidable, it also isn't as strong, often breaking after a few uses.
The ARA Model-1911C "Draco" costs
3 Wood and
3 Ore, making it
(Expensive).
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Proposal: ARA Model-1911ART "Gorgon"
The Gorgon is a 155mm heavy field howitzer designed for long range bombardment. It has an interrupted screw breach and munitions are loaded into the weapon in two parts. First the high explosive shell (or incendiary shell) is inserted. Then the propellant (usually in bags) is then placed in the weapon before the breach is closed and then turned, creating a secure gas seal. The weapon has a hydraulic recoil mechanism to manage recoil. This mechanism can be seen as a cylinder below the barrel that is a little smaller and shorter than the barrel of the weapon. When the cannon fires the barrel moves back along a slide as the mechanical energy of firing the cannon is used to compress the air in the cylinder. Once the cannon has fired the air uncompresses pushing the barrel back into position. The gun has two wheels and can be attached to horses or trucks to be moved.
Difficulty: Hard
Result: 7 (6+2-1) =
AverageThe Gorgon is a reliable piece of equipment that should provide effective support for our infantry. Hauled into position using a sled and horses the Gorgon is capable of effectively firing 155mm rounds out to a distance of ten kilometers. The two-part load, the round followed by a bag of propellant, are loaded in the breech and sealed in with an interrupted screw. While rate of fire suffers slightly, the ability to use variable amounts of ammunition at will allows for more accurate fire. Recoil is managed using a hydraulic system. The Gorgon is largely unremarkable, but it does the job.
The ARA Model-1911ART has a cost of
5 Ore, making it
(EXPENSIVE)----------------
Proposal: "Wickerman" Improvement Project
Wickerman Improvement project
The wickerman in its current form is unable to fuffil its role as a mass-deployed grenade for the common soldier. AS such this project is focused on fixing the problems that came up during development.
The first part of the project is Fixing the fuse, ensuring that it is reliable and will always go off after 8 seconds. instead of the inconsistency that is the current fuse.
The second part of the project is increasing our ability to create the primary igniter of the grenade, making it more abundant so that we can make the Wickerman more common.
Difficulty: Normal
Result: 12 (6+6-0) = Unexpected Boon
The "Wickerman" is now everything we wanted and more. First and foremost is the modification of the fuse to an extremely reliable 8 second burn time and a casing designed to disperse White Phosphorus evenly across a 15 meter area with the smoke lingering for an extensive period as the White Phosphorus burns. We also know how to solve our supply problem.
Chemical Compounds are, in general, something the military could find use for, and as such we can now
assign "Chemical Compounds" to resource nodes. Once we have a few labs up and running production for the "Wickerman" should normalize.
On top of all this, engineers have designed a specialized "cup launcher" for the ARA Model-1911A "Modea" rifle in which a "Wickerman" can be placed and launched by firing a blank cartridge. A "Wickerman" launched in this manner is capable of devastating enemies 100 meters away. The cup is light enough to be added as a standard part of our infantry's kit.
The "Wickerman" now costs
1 Ore and
1 Chemical Compounds, making it
(CHEAP), but it retains it's
[complex] status until we can build facilities dedicated to chemical production.
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As our forming army prepares to push our old overlords out of the forest to the south they do so knowing that you are the ones who give them their ability to fight. Now sit back and relax by a warm fire. We'll be back in touch once the Coniferous Forest is secured.
Infantry
ARA Model-1911A "Modea" Self-Loading Rifle: The first Self-Loading Rifle to see combat, the "Modea" is 4.5 kg and a meter in length. It fires 7.92x57mm rounds fed into the weapon by a 12-round en bloc magazine. It has variable sights and is effective to 400 meters. She's packs a punch but suffers from unreliable internal components. The end of the barrel is lightly threaded to allow attachment of a cup launcher. Costs 2 Ore and 2 Wood (CHEAP)
ARA Model-1911C "Draco" Trench Gun: A very heavy 80-cm long 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun. Jams frequently, and the butt spike breaks off after a handful of uses. Costs 3 Wood and 3 Ore. (EXPENSIVE)
"Wickerman" Incendiary Grenade: A 15-cm long White Phosphorus grenade. The grenade has 15m area of effect, an 8 second fuse, and a dud has never been encountered. Costs 1 Ore and 1 Chemical Compounds, making it (CHEAP), but is considered [complex] until we have access to Chemical Compounds.
ARA Model-1911ART "Gorgon": A standard, reliable piece of 155mm artillery. The round and a bag of propellant are sealed using an interrupted screw breach, and the weapon can fire effectively out to 10km. Uses a hydraulic system to manage recoil. Costs 5 Ore. (EXPENSIVE)
Uniforms for the Massed Infantry: The Abberan uniform consists of cotton undergarments, grey gabardine wool pants and jacket, and a collarless cotton button-up shirt. The jacket has multiple convenient pockets and a foldable collar. Jacket buttons hold an image of a crown, and a dark blue crown on the shoulders is used to identify allegiance. Comes with a leather belt and boots. Binoculars are handed out as necessary. Holsters and ammo pouches have flaps on top to keep out the weather. Padded steel helmets are standard issue, as are water-resistant canvas backpacks used to hold the soldier's basic kit. The helmet can be strapped to the back of the pack while traveling.
Specialty Resources
Caelium: A green crystalline supermaterial that we currently know reacts with an electrical current to suspend itself in the air at a level related to the amount of power flowing through it. Further experimentation is required to progress in our knowledge of Caelium.
Chemical Compounds: Chemical Compounds have a variety of potential uses in combat, and so facilities must be dedicated to the production of the compounds we require.
Abbera: 3 Ent., 2 Ore, 2 Oil, 2 Wood, 2 Caelium // 100% Control
Ore: 2
Oil: 2
Wood: 2
Caelium: 2
Poll
3 (15%)
Author
Topic: Industrialized Warfare: Abbera Thread / 1917 A.C. Cold Season (COMPLETE) (Read 78767 times)