Type-23 Combat Exosuit
The Type-11 civilian exosuit is a useful tool, but it really needs some improvement and could be a valuable piece of combat equipment. First up, then, is to refine the design to make it much easier to maintain while retaining the low price of construction for the exoskeleton itself. Once we've refined the exoskeleton we're going to increase the speed with which the user can move, and add reinforcements to the user's hands to provide for enhanced climbing and close-quarters combat when necessary.
A very well protected full-face helmet with radio system and simple air filter is included, functioning as a way to stop things like flashbangs and fragments from doing damage to a user's face or eyes, while also protecting them (briefly) from various types of contaminants in the air. The suit is entirely enclosed to protect the user from the surrounding environment, including chemical and biological threats. Radiation threats are generally best defended against by heading in the other direction when the Geiger counter starts to click really fast. Nano-scale protection is not included. Don't enter parts of the Black Zone with nanoscale threats. Just don't.
The key part of the militarization process is introducing some serious modularity, through the very simple process of "rotate into place and swivel the clip", i.e., purely mechanical means. The basic exoskeleton carries only a minimal level of protection across the body, to keep fragments and long-range gunfire from injuring the user. However, the skeleton has points to attach additional armor plates, of varying thickness, and the limbs can be augmented with additional mechanical "muscles" to increase speed or lifting capacity. Finally, various devices can also be mounted on standardized mounts to multiple points on the body, such as forearms, shins, and the back.
The only extra piece included so far is a grapple hook system, which allows the user unparalleled ability to maneuver across the battlefield in almost any direction. The system can also be used as an offensive tool, as the fast-moving "hook" is actually a set of small spikes and barbs meant to successfully catch on anything it's fired at, which makes it a very dangerous weapon that can also be used to drag around and throw enemy soldiers.
RESEARCH CREDIT USED: ROLL
4D4 DROP
2 LOWEST!
Difficulty: Normal
Result: [
1 +
1 +
3 +
3] → 6
Above AverageThe battlefield provides very unique challenges to the operation of actively infantry, and their equipment will face the same risks that our tip of the spear will.
The original exosuit designs have been cut up and redone from the ground up with the goal of achieving several milestones. Exosuits are now custom-built for each user: size and dimensions are taken in account for an optimal system.
The first goal was retaining its relatively cheap production cost: This is mostly kept, but the maintenance times have only become more daunting as the system is now expected to be essentially replaced piece by piece over its operational lifetime as parts go bad. The parts are reinforced, however, and could feasibly handle multiple combat operations without needing to refurbish.
The second goal was speed: This exosuit gives its operators the hellish freight-train locomotive power that allows a person to burst through a soft-wood door with only a minor set back. Fine dexterous tasks are severely inhibited by the imprecision that the machine has when the active strength-enhancing gloves are on: they can be removed for finer tasks such as accurately firing a small arm or operating a computer terminal. With the gloves on, the solid mass of steel with specialized graspers allows for very excellent climbing, provided the structure is sturdy: An individual could climb a solid concrete wall for vantage points. Not to mention that the sheer force that a makeshift weapon propelled by an exoskeleton is disquietingly brutal: A individual wearing an exosuit is on average five times stronger, and the average soldier can now rip the head off a Yaerian with ease.
It is by no means a stealth device, however, as the systems walk cycle can't help but make bellowing stomps.
The third goal was to allow the enduring heart of the Elorius to show: Our soldiers can requisition varying armor plates from the forges to cover their entire body. Crafty individuals can clip on bolts of kevlar or more advanced materials as they go, headless of weight, bulk is the only thing that matters. Most of the time, it is crude homogeneously rolled steel. Thick, but heavy. The helmet is a different story, it comes with environmental control and self-sealing: when combined with the undersuit, the individual is protected from biological and chemical hazards provided the suit isn't punctured or sprayed with dangerous things. This allows insertion into the
Black Zone reliably, if only into the lightly contaminated zones.
The undersuit is sewn in with thin layers of kevlar, more a deterrent to shrapnel then anything else, but the real protection is in the harness and connection points that allow our engineers to add armor, as mentioned earlier.
The grappling hook was mostly a marginal success. Care has to be taken for the weight of the individual, and it is sometimes removed as the super heavy variants of the suit simply can't even walk up to the second story without causing a roof collapse, but on the few who opt for a more maneuverable system, they are able to scale up urban terrain with approximately a third of the speed and none of the subtlety of a Phoziris 3d maneuver gear equipped individual. Most of the time, it’s used for spearing infantryman with impunity.
The logistical train behind the EXO-23 is an order of magnitude more severe than anything we have fielded so far. We don't have to just field the thousand parts and ingots of armor plating into the battlefield, but maintenance personnel, armory tools as well as a hundred different operating systems that the energy demand has skyrocketed. We simply cannot keep the trucks going all day without either an improvement in energy generation or an increase in power density storage systems.
With current-generation power systems, a rechargeable battery cell 50 pounds in weight (22.6 kg), provides power for the EXO-23 to last for 5 days in the field. Air filter technology requires replacement after a day and a half of operation or after a Black Zone insertion.
On the battlefield, the EXO-23 is sure to make an impact. Also, it can hip-fire the AMCA.
[
Very Expensive,
5 Minerals,
6 Energy]
DesignsTransportation Capacity: 2 [1 used]
Resources: 3 Minerals, 3 Energy
Weapons
Salvaged Weaponry: Most scouts and some veteran personnel managed to get their hands on hand-crafted or pre-annihilation weapons that use a variety of methods of delivery. Logistics for these variable effectiveness weapons will be a headache until a standardized loadout is made. A vast majority of these weapons are lovingly crafted by the scavengers, and as such are chemically accelerated. The few energy weapons in this mix are terrifying examples of what was our might, but we do not yet have the technological nor industrial might to recreate them, or even put them back together if we dismantle them. (N/A)
Iona II ICA
A large, boxy and rugged weapon more in line with the A-M_CA, the Iona ICA is capable of launching 60 70mmx3mm flechette needles into a target at 700 rounds a minute with a fully mechanically operated 5 coil system. It fires with enough power to directly pierce most examples of scavenged armor with a direct hit. Powered by external battery systems with a cable port in the stock that also accept stick batteries.
[Expensive, 3 Minerals, 3 Energy]
18mmx1.V(Variable) Anti-Material Coil Accelerator- Breech Loader: an Antitank Rifle with an unparalleled ruggedness. Using a coiled magnetic system to fire, it is able to be fielded with munitions prepared in the field, requires a tripod or an exoskeleton to wield. Standard loadout is 30-40 shots worth of fire. Semi-Automatic requires about 3 seconds to reload the weapon unless its breech-loader fails, then it is a frustrating time to reload it.
[Expensive/Very Expensive, 2+1 Minerals, 3 Energy]
Misc. Equipment
Survivalist uniform: Our troops are issued all the equipment they need to, in theory, survive the toxic air and deadly cold of some parts of the city. Given in the form of whatever can be found, but the standard is a gas mask and a coat in our colors, a Purple-ish coloration.
Type-23 Exosuit: A hard to maintain yet easy to manufacture exoskeleton designed for the rigors of the battlefield. A massive supply train means that the exosuit can be fielded in the battlefield with its massive strength and unyielding modular armor plating. The full-body sealing makes it immune to low-level biological/chemical hazards and allows minor Black Zone access. Has a marginally effective Grapple Hook.
[Very Expensive, 5 Minerals, 6 Energy]
IFF Ping Emitter: A system by which Battle-Frame IFF signals are captured and reproduced at the call of another Battle-Frame, sometimes tricking it into not opening fire and moving on with its bizarre programming. Signal capture means that while every soldier has an IFF Ping Emitter, it doesn't work all the time.
[Expensive, Complex]
Infrastructure
Type-11 Exosuit: A hard to maintain yet easy to manufacture exoskeleton designed for logistics and “acquiring” personnel. Their restrictive nature and difficulty in field repairs makes them categorically unsuitable for field operations.
[Expensive, 4 Minerals, 2 Energy] Provides +1 Minerals [/color]
RESU: The ultimate in standardized battery production, an evolution of the Protobattery into a scalable system from anything from handheld to logistical systems. (1 Energy + 1 Energy, requires 1 TC)
Alpha Foundry: A series of series production systems designed to turn scrap metal into molded steel ready for casings, armor and other uses. Makes designs cheaper if it is applicable. After-recovery efforts on refining recovered metals effectively increase our industrial might. +1 Minerals [/color]
Sky-Thread Base: One of the “lesser” achievements of our species exists in our territory, the amputated space-elevator is in the center of what was once the world's largest mercantile sector. Although the miracle of the thread is long gone, it’s surrounded by dozens of armatures and cargo unloading hardware that has been jury-rigged into transportation in between the jagged buildings of the Elorious.
PressGanged Cargo Loaders: Heavy, disposable vehicles designed to move cargo to the front, these vehicles are descendants of Thread-Base hardware for moving heavy goods, and use their bulk and armor plating to make rubbled areas traversable. Sometimes deployed on the front lines as an unauthorized Armored Personnel Carrier. + 2 LAND TC
[Cheap, 2 Minerals, 2 Energy]
[E: 2/2; P: 0/2]
District 7: The Unyielding Bunkers of Elorius[E: 4/4; P: 0/4]
Elevator Base (1)The base of one of two Space Elevators that were on this world. Its cord has long since rotted, but impact scar crater is one of the larger craters that lead all the way to the Sea. Surrounding it is razed cityscapes and looted spaceports, tarnished only by intense infighting and neglect as the centuries went on.
[E: 4/4; P: 0/4]
Scraper Kill Hills (2)Heavy city development, the ruins of which have only been recently cleared. Unlike the Arcology, this is many, many buildings that all amalgamate against each other as wreckage that has compacted into something like hills and valleys. Watch your step.
[E: 4/4; P: 0/4]
Collapsed V. Farms (3)What was once a burgeoning vertical farm now lies as a massive mound of soil, mutated crops, and strange intoxicating monsters set in a bog. Raider gangs live here, with an eclectic set of gear they terrorize the countryside and are renowned for their accuracy with their war-bows, strung with threading from the Elevator.
[E: 3/4; P: 1/4]
Deteriorating Arcology (4)The center of our world, The largest Arcology of the planet. Its name has been forgotten, and the only reason it stands was that the Hated Enemy coveted it. Inside it is miles of corridors and unscavenged loot, as well as ticking machines. Sometimes the dying reactor inside the Arcology manages to power some of the sub-systems inside, including internal and external defenses.
+1 Energy[E: 2/4; P: 2/4]
The Metro (5)A dozen tunnels go directly underneath the Arcology, allowing for truly horrific tunnel fights between both factions as well as the active menace of Battle-Frames directed by the equivalent of an autonomous sub-way and construction authority. It’s already dying, but its dreams dictate when its legions will march
+1 Minerals[E: 0/4; P: 4/4]
Ruined Park (6)Massive fields of gardens, forests, and microbiomes grow un phased here. One of the few places on the planet without city development. A rebellion from the Phozirus Shard had arrived here after a mutiny a long time ago, and they have appeared to now be ruled by the Metro’s Construction Authority. They are vicious and cunning about doing their masters bidding, which often makes no sense whatsoever.
[E: 0/4 P: 4/4]
Glass Crater (7)What was once a massive stretch of the city has been obliterated to the foundations by a particularly devastating hydrogen bomb. Nothing grows here, and nothing stirs besides interloping Yaerians, for it is a hollowed grave of millions of the dead. In the center of the crater is a monumental pile of corpses stacked up by the Battle Frames. Sometimes they visit, but unlike other areas, they seemingly do so to mourn rather than to patrol. This is one of the few places where Battle-Frames do not open fire upon Yaerian forces upon detection, and it is perhaps one of the most terrifying places to be in. If you die here, your body is added to the pile.
[E: 0/4 P: 4/4]
Cleared Metropolis(This part of the city was spared by the wide-spread bombardment the most of the world was hit with, and the vast majority of buildings are still intact. People might actually live here in the coming years, were it not for the unsettlingly close Black Zone.
[E: 0/2; P: 2/2]
District 6: The Shining Spires of Phoziris Black Zone (9)The Black Zone is a hellish city-scape of active Battle-Frames, malfunctioning nano hives, radioactive craters, and other equally horrible things. Only Special forces equipped with defense against chemical, biological, radiological and nano-scale threats (CBRN-S) can traverse this zone safely and a semblance of control over this zone will provide a bonus towards attacking Sectors 3, 4, and 7.
The Shining Sea(10)Generations ago, the local Battleframes used a series of what was later discovered to be thermonuclear charges to turn this area into a basin, which the sea now resides. No one knows why, but the Frames had a planet shaking conflict with each other in what was once Sector 8. This conflict ended when the Zone had been terraformed, the area was sunken down and entirely flooded. The conflict ultimately leads to the formation of an inland sea as vast amounts of material were cratered into the surrounding area as well as a concerted effort by the Battleframes themselves. The water is unsafe to drink and is sterile, but it is incredibly convenient that the vast majority of nuclear materials have sunk to the floor of the seabed, and only requires minor filtration to become drinkable. Most of our water is projected to come from the Shining Sea as it is easier to filter water than to reclaim it. Control over this zone will provide a bonus towards controlling Sectors 2, 5, and 6.
It is now the
Revision Phase of Cycle 0.00 The Next phase will be Combat.
From the jagged, lonely and broken spires of the sky, Elorius Soldiers march forward. Are they terrified of the enemy? Do they pity them? The Armies are not lead by just Generals that play at being the demiurges of Fire that the Directors of the last era held. Describe to me how your legions are organized.
Records are slim and few, but the Directorate standard was simple: There was no doctrinal army standard. Each army was organized according to the preference of the Auxiliaries patterning as long as it fit into the battle plans of the Navarchs who plotted from the stars.
All the Navarchs are long dead, their fleets shattered into dust in their finest hour far away from here, so feel free to create your army to your people's strengths, people of lonely spires.