Design PhaseMilitary Proposal: Queen Moreni's Revenge
The world was bigger than Askia and the small kingdoms at her border. Etroa saw to reminding us of that on a regular basis. We were socked in by seas to the north and south, but instead of a boundary we saw opportunity. Ships grew larger and larger over the years, capable of carrying vast amounts of cargo to and from their destinations. Askia sought to exploit whatever gains they could get from the rapidly expanding era of exploration, and while most, if not all, other land they sought to claim was already owned by another nation, this was by no means a dead end. Askia, seeking to improve ties to other nations, began to trade in earnest. But of course, some people become jealous of wealth and success, and not every nation sought to keep the peace with Askia.
Massive ships of war were constructed to combat enemies at sea and cement the Askians as a small but potent naval power. One such ship was the A.N.S. Queen Moreni's Revenge, one of the largest pre-industrial warships documented. Classified as a carrack, the Queen Moreni's Revenge was named for King Abdoulaye's late wife who had been lost at sea. The vessel was one of the first to feature gunports for her 26 heavy cannons and 140 lighter guns spread across the 50 meter long ships two decks, with a four deck tall forecastle and a two deck tall stern castle. The Queen Moreni's imposing figure was topped by four masts, each with a series of large sails.
The guns themselves were Magnetoglass Cannons. First, we should discuss Magnetglass itself. It was widely understood that you could boil away magnetofluid to get a pliable magnetic substance. Magnetglass is what occurs when someone logically goes the other way with the process by dumping magnetofluid into near-freezing water. The magnetofluid condensed itself into a solid clear mass and, curiously, retained it's solid state even after removal from the chilly waters. Furthermore, if melted down it would cool back into it's solid state, allowing the material to be worked and cast in a manner not unfamiliar to contemporary metalworkers. While the material appeared as a clear glass, it's properties held more in common with steel. Raw magnetglass is a material surrounded by a strong magnetic field, but when melted down and recooled the magnetic field becomes permanently aligned in the material towards the core of the earth during the cooling process. This means that, say, a sword cast out of magnetglass with it's tip pointed down throughout the process would have a strong magnetic field pushing out of the tip of the blade regardless of orientation compared to the core afterwards.
The Glass Cannon's interior barrel was made of magnetglass aligned towards the muzzle. A chute at the rear of the cannon allowed munitions to be dropped into a "standby chamber" that was pushed forward into the weapon by an operator, positioning the round within the magnetic field of the magnetglass and immediately launched out of the barrel. Rounds came in three types: entirely ferrous round for higher velocity shots; iron grappling hooks with lengths of attached rope; and, due to gunpowder not being used, sacks of metallic flakes, sand, and whatever loose powder available that would tear open upon firing and provide a smokescreen should one be needed.
A.N.S. Queen Moreni's Revenge's saw a lot of action both on the seas and the shores. The captain of the ship had a keen sense of the value of a ship taken whole and not sunk beneath the waves. He drilled his sailors on engaging with intent to board and maximize the amount of money available for their cuts of the loot (which was all the incentive most needed to improve) while bolstering the Askian fleet with foreign ships. For years they protected Askian shipping by boarding and raiding the ships and ports of enemy nations. A shockingly extended period of general peace saw the Queen Moreni and her crew grow restless, but King Abdoulaye, in a display of his immense generosity ignited by the tales of his wife's namesake, gave the crew five year's pay in one lump, gave them the option to leave the military freely at any time, and let the captain take the ship as his own with a permanent Contract of Privateering valid against any nations engaged in war against Askia.
The crew that stayed on the ship had unknowingly signed up to become legends among sailors. Peace hadn't lasted much longer than a year, which was just enough time for a little bit of nonregulation modification to the ship in the form of sheets of fumehide sheathed around the masts. This addition to the ship prevented chain shot from breaking apart the masts (though obviously the sails themselves were still vulnerable) and made the Queen Moreni's Revenge all the more terrifying to go up against.
Difficulty: Very Hard (-2)
Roll: 5+2-2 = 5 (Below Average)
The ANS
Queen Moreni’s Revenge is the kind of ship that everyone knows. While the modern tales have certainly embellished it’s place in history above it’s true importance, it earned it’s right to be remembered. The ship accounted for the record largest number of enemy vessels sunk among the Askian fleet of the age, and it’s captain is well known due to having dictated his memoirs after his eventual retirement to the lap of luxury.
The vessel was constructed by the best engineers in the shipbuilding industry, although it was a difficult task even for them. Four masts spread across the vessel, two main and two smaller, harnessed the wind for it's motion, and it's dozens of cannons and ammo were an intimidating sight. A significant part of the hold was left empty, space for loot. The beast wasn't the fastest vessel in the Askian fleet by far, but it's intended targets were often slow, treasure bearing galleons or similarly heavily armed vessels.
The ship itself was large for the age, and bristled with magnetoglass cannons. For a period after it’s construction there would be a rush to create more such vessels, but none reached the fame of the
Revenge. The cannons were a large part of the fear it inspired; they could fire as fast as the crew could load them, leading to crushing bursts of cannonfire faster than any contemporary weaponry. However, it wasn’t without flaw; after several rounds at high speed, the magentic charge of the cannon would be diminished, slowing the velocity of the shells. As such, bursts would be reserved for close range, while at less sure ranges they would fire slower to reduce the decay of the field. The cannons could be recharged, but nobody wanted to be unable to fire during an engagement. While the lack of explosive force behind the shells was detrimental to their effectiveness, they fired in such volume as made up for it. The magnetohide sheaths on the masts were quite effective; it was one of few ships involved in heavy combat to not register any hits to the mast over its lifespan.
The Cavalry of Rulaara
As the centuries passed between the Iconan War and the modern era, authority within the Askian Kingdom became something of a muddled mess -- vassal kings dominated in some areas, practically having carved out petty kingdoms for themselves, the kings lounged greedy and corrupt, and the religious orders of the griots bickered incessantly between themselves and with the king over what powers were to be given to who. Despite the pioneering reforms of Konaté III, Askia was left divided against itself, the government's ability to fulfill its duties declining.
Enter Wegchahiké. A young man banished--though the reasons for why are lost to time--into the Desert Tu without food nor water nor magnetofumic compass, Wegchahiké managed to survive through being taken in by one of the vassal kingdoms along the edges of Askian territory, Rulaara at the line where savannah and desert became a blurry distinction indeed -- a people long neglected by the Askian kings and by the griot orders. These people had grown adroit, skirmishing with occasional Etroan or Iconan raiders while expecting no help from their ostensible rulers, and Wegchahiké found himself immediately stricken with sympathy for these people, expecting nothing and doing everything, and saw their power.
Wegchahiké devoted himself to overthrowing the evils that he saw as responsible for both his plight and the plight for Rulaara -- the indolent, conflicted men that had come to sit at the head of all authorities both secular and religious. Chijindum, in whom Wegchahiké was a fervent believer, had conquered his foes by the sword, and had created a unified kingdom that did not fight among itself but rather flourished. He would do the same. The drive and sincerity that backed Wegchahiké's words gave them an intense power, and relaying the weak and corrupt state of the Kingdom gave the Rulaarans, long simply accepting of their position, a good reason to finally turn and decide that it was best for them (and, according to the fiery sermons of Wegchahiké, all of Askia) if the old Kingdom finally came to an end.
It was here that the skills of Rulaara that had helped to keep their security all this time came into play. The Rulaarans had had skilled cavalry for many decades by this point -- even though they had merely had armor of normal hide, and even though they had had merely javelins and lances, these cavalry made themselves stand out through the two-stage combat that they had learned to use. Firstly, the Rulaarans would use javelins to harass their foes from afar, moving quickly and creating openings while being difficult to kill themselves... and then they would charge in for brutal shock effect with their lances. However, even with this, the technological inferiority of this approach saw many Rulaaran casualties.
It was upon making contact with reform-minded innovator-griots of the Askian Kingdom that Wegchahiké was ultimately able to take this concept and bring it into the modern world. The lance with which the Rulaaran Cavalry made their shock charges was replaced with a pistol, fired from nearly point-blank range, and the armor of the cavalry was replaced with the Magnetohide armor that had aided to repulse the Iconans from the Desert Tu.
But the true innovation of the Rulaaran cavalry was their javelins; while the magnetohide armor repulsed metal, by keeping javelins stored in magnetofluid for a long time before retrieving and cleaning them, they could create iron javelin-heads that ignored the magnetic fields of other materials (such as their own magnetohide armor) but that was intensely attracted to other metal that wasn't charged in the same way. This gave these javelins punching power above their chronological weight -- if the target was armored in iron, they could expect a terribly brutal blow.
With forces that he had made both powerful and inspired, Wegchahiké decided that he would return order to Askia, and when his cavalry crested the horizon, the traditional orders and the forces of the king sallied forth to combat him.
It was a slaughter; magnetohide armor neither repelled the lead of pistol bullets nor did it inhibit these charged javelins, meaning that even the shock troops of Askia were brutalized by the cavalry, and for all of their mobility and knowledge the traditional griot orders were thoroughly unused to cavalry warfare, as cavalry were unusual among the main lands of Askia. And with the outdated and conflicting orders of Askia brought to heel with profound force, Wegchahiké declared that it was time for the Kingdom of Askia to come to an end, and the Chijindate of Askia to begin, a nation unified through the concepts of innovation... and force. The Chijindate, Wegchahiké decided, would grant rulership to the most clever and powerful of its griots... griots all unified under Wegchahiké's Order of the Single Path (many of which were Rulaaran).
Difficulty: Average (+0)
Rolls: 5 + 4 = 9 (Above Average)
It is considered a miracle, in historical terms, that Chijindum’s dynasty lasted as long as it did. The Kingdom of Askia lasted for an unprecedented length of time before a change of regimes. But all things end, and the Askian Kingdom was no exception.
In many ways, the Rulaaran Revolt was a war between the two sides that had defined Askia; the desert Tu and the savannah. After the most recent war with Etroa, the Rulaaran lands had been particularly hard hit, bearing the brunt of several Etroan raids and even a naval invasion. But because they were in the further reaches of the kingdom, they were last on the list for recovery efforts. This was what had always happened, and the dutiful Rulaarans had accepted their lot. Until Wegchahiké arrived in their vassal kingdom and rallied them to a new war.
The cavalry of Rulaara were the face of the rebel forces. The magnetohide armor and barding they and their steeds bore gave them significant staying power compared to contemporary cavalry, and their pistols let them fire from beyond the range of enemy bayonets or pikes. But the most lethal invention was their homing javelins, pulled towards their armored foes with lethal accuracy. More than one poor infantryman fell to three or more javelins at once.
While Wegchahiké’s religious and philisophical writings are hotly debated in today’s universities, what is not is that he was a brilliant tactician and inventor. His innovation in Rulaaran cavalry is considered essential to the revolt’s early successes, which were what led other border kingdoms to join it and provide the cavalry with much needed infantry support. The kingdom capitulated after the Battle of Osimiri, the king and his immediate family fleeing abroad.
Shortly afterwards, the Kingdom of Ofal offered to renew trade with the ‘Chijindate’, and Etroa declared the new state no better than the old. A neighbor that had formerly been at war with Askia, the Guanho Principality, offered friendship to the new regime.
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As the Askian Chijindate settled into the space left by the Askian Kingdom, it did not cease to innovate; after all, peace never lasts. It’s now the
revision phase, and you have
2 revisions to work with.
Designs
Chijindum and Chijindum’s Code of Laws: The Great Unifier Chijindum and the laws he committed to writing inspire the Askian people to this day as one of the greatest leaders in early history and the first codified set of laws, as well as being the man credited with the creation of one of the first states.
-The Golden Road: Chijindum’s path is an example to all, and after his death many have elevated him to the level of deity. The griots of the Golden Path are peerless navigators, and the arrival of such a wandering sage is met with reverence and cheer in many communities.
-The Iron Way: An order descended from griots who took a more martial bent. They serve the armies as officers and as spiritual advisors in equal measure, and are strong warriors in their own right.
Magnetofume Compass: Jars, pots, or other tightly fit containers that can hold magnetofumes. When opened slightly, pierced, or otherwise given a hole, the magnetofumes escape and drift north. This is incredibly useful for navigation, and was essential to not getting lost in the vast and rather featureless Tu Desert.
-Magnetoliquid Glass Compass: Compressing magnetofumes into liquid form and capturing it in a glass vessel allows for a much longer lasting tool. Nobody goes far from home without one.
Fumehide Armor: Leather armor worn by the priest-magicians of Askia when the time comes for war. It’s fairly tough in it’s own right, but the real attribute that makes it shine is the magnetic field emitted by the fumehide, making the wearer significantly harder to hit in a lethal way.
A.N.S. Queen Moreni’s Revenge: A large privateering ship of the Renaissance era, known for it’s large size and magnetoglass cannons. The cannons are rapid firing but have issues with maintaining this speed. The Revenge was a symbol of Askian naval power in the ismuth for a long while.
Rulaaran Cavalry: Units of light cavalry that bear pistols and javelins and are armored in magnetohide. Rather than charge into the ranks, they stand off and fire their pistols and lethal magnetically charged javelins before rushing away before the enemy can retaliate.
Resources and Interactions
Magnetofumes: A thick, gray gas found in holes and vents across Askia with unique electromagnetic properties. At this time, not much is known about it, but it surely has potential. It will persistently drift north when exposed to the air, in defiance of the direction of the wind. When compressed, magnetofumes turn to a grey liquid called magnetofluid, which ripples to the north. If metal is submerged in magnetofluid for long periods, it ignores the magnetic fields of other magnetofume-derived equipment and homes in on non-magnetofumic metal. When magnetofluid is dumped into water and the water is boiled away, it creates the tough, leathery substance dubbed fumehide, which has a light magnetic field around it. When magnetofluid is dumped into freezing water, it creates magnetoglass, a clear material that can be worked like metal and has a magnetic field pointing in whatever direction was “down” at the time of creation. This resource has the sphere of Electromagnetism.
Author
Topic: Commander Arms Race: Askian R&D (Preliminary Turn 5 - Final Phase) (Read 10535 times)