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[TricMagic]

Repost. Though with less focus on over-arcing use, and more for ships. Not that it won't get used for such eventually.

Tian Warships

Tian is made up by using a closed foundry, mixing iron and slag with broken down skytears, cast off of other processes. The foundry is heated and compressed, and then left to cool. Once taken out, the new Tian can be forged normally.

Tian has a high melting point, but low density, as well as the strength of steel. This makes it a lightweight option for building. It does require either molds or special skills to craft, but Etroa has long excelled at this. As such, during the time other's used ironclads, Etroa built ships made of Tian, far stronger than the competition. Likewise, Tian doesn't spoil, unlike iron sheets. Combined with the new STCA, these ships were some of the fastest and strongest of their time, their power only really eclipsed by the eclipse itself.

Of note. Tian happens to be non-magnetic normally, and a poor conductor of electricity.


During the foundry process, Skytears force the dissolution of the materials. By compressing it during this time, the materials end up forming a close-packed hexagonal structure as it cools. Once that happens, it's Tian, which doesn't have any unique properties other than being very similar to Titanium.

Or at least, that's the explanation. Forcing structure changes and density manipulation fits Skytear's sphere, hopefully. And Tian, while requiring skytears to make, is a major step forward in metallurgy. Tian can be used in all sorts of places for something light weight, but strong.



Densium Shells

Densium is a unique metal made of skytears forged in a closed foundry, liquidizing them, and then pressurized. Unlike the base form of Skytears, Densium was a metal that was heavy and dense. While it did retain some of Skytear's original properties, the compression caused Densium to be perfect for crafting shells which could pierce armor.


Ur-núte, Scout Craft

Ur-núte was created by mixing Sunseed powder into an aluminium batch. Once heated and cooled, an Ur-núte metal was formed, and could be shaped. It had a specific property, in that it forced heat from one side of itself to the other when shaped long, with the heat either being emitted into the air, a liquid, or a solid, with amazing efficiency.

Using this, we built a Scout Craft that could be launched from any ship. Made up of an STCA spinning propellers, wood for the frame, and large skytears. Ur-núte was built into the steam collection chambers, with the Olszewskium control rods only being dipped when we needed to stop the heat transfer. Ur-núte facilitated heat transfer to the Skytears, directly heating them, and granted enough lift to bring the Scout Craft into the air, making it lighter than air.

A single Scout Craft, known as an Oro, could contain 6 people, or around 4 with full equipment with the fifth piloting. They were perfect for scouting tasks during the war, and were even used for landings in the enemy's territory.

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: (1) TricMagic
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: (1) TricMagic

Reactions Needed. Every Reaction means one more thing to work with in the game proper.
Votes also needed.

Drake is built to be expensive and force our protectorates to pay for it out of their pocket, not the best thing. That and in an invasion by sea, not the most useful. Also another gun.

Sunic Lead: This created a two stage effect, the hardened head would crack through the armor and the gunpowder would detonate from the impact in a fiery explosion.

Densium, just a very dense thing. Good for armor later on, and AP rounds in general.

Tian, basically titanium. Only it is not horrendously expensive to make something from it in modern times. Given the era, it will give our normal ships a leg up.

Ur-núte. Transfer of Heat from one object to another. Used with the STCA and Skytears for the first LtA Craft. And far too small for them to have a contemporary version, though they may have made their own magnetic version instead. Ur-núte can be used later on too.


More proposals anyone? I kinda like Tian since it will allow pretty light aircraft on it's own, even before other shenanigans. And it's strength of steel is still better than the ironclads our foes use right now.

[Jilladilla]

And now it's time for weird fun ideas that I think can actually work.

Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle
Ever since the classical era, Etroan craftsmen have always been fascinated with small, fine machinery. As a result, is it any wonder that the art of clocksmithing has been so much more prolific in Etroa? This fascination has also lead to some strange inventions, the Ancient Lunguma was merely the first. Created by a watchmaker turned gunsmith; the Timekeeper is a fairly bulky contraption, made to address the perceived shortcomings of a bolt-action.

The Timekeeper is the worlds first 'Clockwork Action' rifle; the trigger the weapon merely acts to arrest the motion of these mechanisms. As a result, as long as the trigger is held down, the Clockwork Action will automatically cycle through bullets and fire them, delightfully ticking the entire time, until either the magazine runs out of ammunition, or the clockwork winds down (in which case they'll need to be rewound). The mechanism was designed specifically so that a marksman did not have to 'break aim' in order to work the bolt; all they need to do is hold their aim steady and count the seconds until the rifle fires the next round; for the rifle doesn't just run like clockwork, it *is* clockwork and the soothing sound of its ticking clock will keep the time for the gunner.

With a barrel machined to the same precision as its mechanisms, a carefully adjusted set of sights, and stabilized by the fact that our soldiers will never have to take their hands off it during operation; the Timekeeper may not see universal presence due to its lovingly crafted mechanisms, but those who do carry one will do so proudly, for a better marksman rifle there is not.

(A word of notice: While it may sound like an assault rifle, it's not. The intended rate of fire is far too slow for that, the aim is for about 20-30 rounds per minute)

[TricMagic]

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: (1) TricMagic
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (1) TricMagic

I have trouble deciding, but I think Tian is simple enough over the Scout Craft. Since it is effectively a material used for our ships rather than a ship design in itself.

[Madman198237]

Anor Armored Cruiser, modernized Skytear Galleon
An evolution of the use of the large frigate as a fast warship, the Anor Armored Cruiser is a more modern warship for more modern times. Like the Skytear Galleons of old, alloys of Skytears and metals lighten various elements of the ship, especially those above the waterline, to reduce topweight issues and allow more weapons and superstructure protection to be added.

The ships are powered by SCTA turbine powerplants, making them fast despite their excellent armor protection. They are armored by a fairly advanced, face-hardened steel armor plate enabled by our advanced metallurgy. Their structure is similarly composed of tough steel alloy to give them additional survivability, even beyond that given by their Skytear Galleon-inherited tendency to never sink.

The ships are covered in weapons of all sorts, with a main battery of 8" guns capable of punching straight through any ironclad warship, secondary batteries of 4" guns to deal with lighter warships and harass larger ones that get too close. Shells with Sunic interiors serve us for incendiaries capable of destroying any wooden warships still in service while devastating shore targets, while explosives and armor-piercing shells sometimes use Sunic lead components to add a little incendiary ability to their normal purpose.

These armored cruisers are the most common unit of our fleet, being less expensive than a full battleship yet capable of defeating battleships protected by only iron, and capable of resisting fire from low-velocity guns of the time due to their steel armor.

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: (1) TricMagic
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (2) TricMagic, Madman
Anor Armored Cruiser: (1) Madman

[TricMagic]

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (2) TricMagic, Madman
Anor Armored Cruiser: (2) Madman, TricMagic

[/quote]

[Vostok]

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (3) TricMagic, Madman, Vostok
Anor Armored Cruiser: (3) Madman, TricMagic, Vostok

[Stirk]

The Helpful Hand: Over the millennium, the Heavy Hand mechanism would continuously evolve to meet the ever changing needs of the Etroan people. Attempts to use the mechanism to chop down trees developed into a single-shot-axe which further developed into a chainsaw like blade, attempts to use the pile driver in mining (in addition to setting up the tunnel structures) evolved to hammer-picks evolved into drills, seed sewers sew seeds, reapers harvest, anywhere the heavy hands could reduce labor they did. These power tools are collectively known as Helpful Hands. In modern times each runs on a SCTA engine with a suitable size for their job. A true demonstration of their power was shown when Etroa begun laying out their railroad, while other nations struggled with hoards of poor desperate workers performing back-breaking labor Etora was capable of taming the wild lands with the simple clanking and hum of their machinery as it chopped down raw resources, effortlessly hammered the rail lines into place, and blasted through any obstacle in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the effort other nations required.

In a military context these tools would continue to find use shaping the battlefield, putting up forts, and digging up trenches. One more notable aspect is the addition of Olszewskium "Sun-Up Walls", a play on their short duration in addition to Etroa's love of sun-based names. A special helpful hand has an intake for wood and water in the back, chopping the wood into sawdust and mixing it with the water. It is then frozen by an Olszewskium spike at the front, which is capable of retracting with great force to allow it to escape any ice that manages to trap it. This allows HH users to create temporary ice structures without needing to expend any resources permanently. This can then be used to reinforce defensive positions or cut off avenues of advance...at least until the structures melt.

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (3) TricMagic, Madman, Vostok
Anor Armored Cruiser: (3) Madman, TricMagic, Vostok
Helpful Hands: ()

[The Ensorceler]

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (3) TricMagic, Madman, Vostok
Anor Armored Cruiser: (3) Madman, TricMagic, Vostok
Helpful Hands: (1) The Ensorceler

[Stirk]

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (4) TricMagic, Madman, Vostok, Stirk
Anor Armored Cruiser: (3) Madman, TricMagic, Vostok
Helpful Hands: (2) The Ensorceler, Stirk

[Jilladilla]

Not a design, but lore! Tell me what you think!

The History of Etroa's 'Delayed' Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution. An Era of Rapid Innovation and Discovery. An Era Defined by Steam Power and Mass Production. So why did Etroa; who have managed to build both the world's first steam engine, and 'mass produce' metalworks so early in its development, only enter said Era at a time roughly comparable with the rest of the world, even if they were of course one of the forerunners of the Era?

The answer is manyfold; and changes throughout the centuries. During the Classical Era; the times in which the Great Angamolen of Damrod was built and the Lunguma created, the answer was quite simply religion and culture. The Art of Craftsmanship was of the highest priority, and the intricate systems that made up the steam engine of the Lunguma was seen as the pinnacle of such. Not to mention, Sunseeds were seen as a Divine Object; anyone but a master tinkering around with them did not tend to live a long happy life. As a result; for a long while, only the masters of the art even attempted to create a better engine, and even then, they focused on making it superior, or even more intricate; and very rarely simpler or easier to create. In addition, frequently only the best of the best smiths even got to step foot inside the Great Angamolen; and indeed while this did cause it to output a staggering amount of masterwork creations, it stifled the spark that could have begun the Industrial Revolution then and there.

As the ages progressed into the Renaissance, the hold of religion faded; but the chains of culture only grew stronger. Even when the embers of the Revolution sparked a fire; the cultural values of upholding fine masterful work above all else smothered and extinguished the flames; causing the vast majority of the factories that actually started (frequently by failed apprentices) to fall apart financially. After all; even if they could produce vastly more equivalent quality goods for a cheaper price, no one wanted the 'mass produced crap' that came from them. Even the work of a 'freshly smelted' apprentice (an expression typically used to refer to those smiths who only just begun learning their trade) was valued much more highly than what came out of a factory; even if it was of much lower quality. Indeed, workers of these early factories were shunned quite heavily, and frequently were only composed of the desperate.

However, even in this oppressive environment; there was one success story; a factory that beat the odds and flourished in spite of the times. A factory that likely laid the groundwork for Etroa to properly enter the Revolution proper. We are talking about, of course, the Habchur Nail Factory. The Smith's longstanding dislike for nailmaking is a tale as old as time in Etroa; it is nigh impossible to make a fine or intricate nail without compromising its function, and even then, said intricacy is likely to be hidden away and impossible to appreciate. So when Dietrich Habchur built their factory and started mass producing nails of all things, the responses were along the lines of 'of course they're making nails. It's the only thing those incompetent ingrates who could never understand true craftsmanship with their soulless machines could do right!' This isn't to say they weren't shunned heavily, of course... But for once, a factory could actually find customers to sell to, due in part to the demand of nails outpacing the output of even Etroa's Smiths, but mostly because no one actually wanted to make nails; not even the most desperate of failed apprentices! However, even if it was simple, it's presence eased Etroa into embracing the Industrial Revolution when it set the world ablaze, instead of having its culture; one which allowed it to reach such heights before, hold it back.

CAP Lever Action "Drake": ()
Armor Piercing Sunic Shell: ()
Densium Shells: ()
Tian Warships: ()
Ur-núte, Scout Craft: ()
Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: (5) TricMagic, Madman, Vostok, Stirk, Nemonole
Anor Armored Cruiser: (3) Madman, TricMagic, Vostok
Helpful Hands: (2) The Ensorceler, Stirk

[Twinwolf]

Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle
Ever since the classical era, Etroan craftsmen have always been fascinated with small, fine machinery. As a result, is it any wonder that the art of clocksmithing has been so much more prolific in Etroa? This fascination has also lead to some strange inventions, the Ancient Lunguma was merely the first. Created by a watchmaker turned gunsmith; the Timekeeper is a fairly bulky contraption, made to address the perceived shortcomings of a bolt-action.

The Timekeeper is the worlds first 'Clockwork Action' rifle; the trigger the weapon merely acts to arrest the motion of these mechanisms. As a result, as long as the trigger is held down, the Clockwork Action will automatically cycle through bullets and fire them, delightfully ticking the entire time, until either the magazine runs out of ammunition, or the clockwork winds down (in which case they'll need to be rewound). The mechanism was designed specifically so that a marksman did not have to 'break aim' in order to work the bolt; all they need to do is hold their aim steady and count the seconds until the rifle fires the next round; for the rifle doesn't just run like clockwork, it *is* clockwork and the soothing sound of its ticking clock will keep the time for the gunner.

With a barrel machined to the same precision as its mechanisms, a carefully adjusted set of sights, and stabilized by the fact that our soldiers will never have to take their hands off it during operation; the Timekeeper may not see universal presence due to its lovingly crafted mechanisms, but those who do carry one will do so proudly, for a better marksman rifle there is not.

Difficulty: Average
Roll: 3+3+0 = 6 (Average)

Many say that in modern warfare there is no place for craftsmanship, only for efficiency and volume. Armies are larger than ever, and the cost to equip them equally so. To a degree, Etroa begrudingly accepted the logic; their primary infantry weaponry is mass produced, if still to a high level of quality, as are replacement parts simply because otherwise an army wouldn’t be able to go very long at all without restocking. But what Etroa did not accept was that the place for high standards of quality and hand craftsmanship was a thing of the past, especially not the designer of the ‘Timekeeper’ Clockwork Marksman Rifle.

The Timekeeper was this philosophy manifested into a weapon. Requiring precision clockwork and significant skill to create and maintain, each one was a valuable piece of equipment, and there would never be enough to fully equip Etroa’s army with them even with workshops across the country dedicated to their construction. But then, there was no need to do so; the Timekeeper was the marksman’s weapon. It’s unique clockwork action takes some getting used to, but those that can do so and use it with a steady hand would be well rewarded.

Popular myth was that enemy soldiers could no longer stand to be in the same room as a ticking clock after battle. While the ticking was far too quiet to hear at a range that a marksman would be using it, the weapon certainly made it’s mark on the battlefield.

Anor Armored Cruiser, modernized Skytear Galleon
An evolution of the use of the large frigate as a fast warship, the Anor Armored Cruiser is a more modern warship for more modern times. Like the Skytear Galleons of old, alloys of Skytears and metals lighten various elements of the ship, especially those above the waterline, to reduce topweight issues and allow more weapons and superstructure protection to be added.

The ships are powered by SCTA turbine powerplants, making them fast despite their excellent armor protection. They are armored by a fairly advanced, face-hardened steel armor plate enabled by our advanced metallurgy. Their structure is similarly composed of tough steel alloy to give them additional survivability, even beyond that given by their Skytear Galleon-inherited tendency to never sink.

The ships are covered in weapons of all sorts, with a main battery of 8" guns capable of punching straight through any ironclad warship, secondary batteries of 4" guns to deal with lighter warships and harass larger ones that get too close. Shells with Sunic interiors serve us for incendiaries capable of destroying any wooden warships still in service while devastating shore targets, while explosives and armor-piercing shells sometimes use Sunic lead components to add a little incendiary ability to their normal purpose.

These armored cruisers are the most common unit of our fleet, being less expensive than a full battleship yet capable of defeating battleships protected by only iron, and capable of resisting fire from low-velocity guns of the time due to their steel armor.

Difficulty: Easy
6+2+1 = 9 (Above Average)

While the Eclipse was a grand vessel, it could not possibly be everywhere at once. The Anor-class armored cruiser applied Etroan shipbuilding philosophy to modern designs, showing the Etroan navy to be a fearsome force in the ismuth and the world at large.

As time has passed, Etroa has only become more adept at including Eld in their designs, and it shows with it’s extensive incorporation into the design. As with past ships, it is incredibly difficult to actually sink an Anor cruiser; if one is defeated, it’s through a hit to critical systems or simply by destroying its ability to retaliate rather than simply sinking them and while expensive to outfit the fact that they are easily repaired or salvaged helps to keep cost down. Of course, a ship that’s durable is all well and good, but not very useful if it can’t hurt the enemy - so of course, the Anor cruiser is quite capable of this. It has a heavy main battery for the size, with armor piercing and explosive shells to pierce opposing ironclads. Secondary guns, while smaller, are loaded entirely with sunic shells that allow them to easily set fires to enemy ships even if they have difficulty actually piercing it’s armor.

The Anor Cruisers served as the mainstay vessel of the Etroan fleet during the Yuzuan War, clashing constantly with the ships of the overseas empire.

---

The Yuzuan War was the bloodiest conflict in Etroan history, and many were glad to see the back of it. For 50 years, we’ve given this “peace” thing a try, and for some it’s enough. But those awful Askians keep pushing, and pushing, and pushing. Something’s gonna give. And we’ll be ready when it does.

It is the final preliminary Design phase. You have two designs in this phase. As your forces build and prepare to return to battle, someone takes the lead; perhaps an old veteran from the Yuzuan War, or a youthful new firebrand eager to end the tale of Askia and Etroa; Design your first Commander. They will be added directly to the armory. For the second, design any ground-based military equipment or unit; this will be added directly to the armory.

Spoiler: Prelimary Proposals (click to show/hide)

Designs
Tamin Orodruin: The Tamin Orodruin caldera, while it’s status as the center of the world is debated, is the cradle of metalworking - it’s resources and the easy access to heat helped Etroans develop the trade early, and they have improved on it in the time since.

Sunshard Spears: Bronze spears tipped with sharpened sunseeds, a weapon combining two unique factors of Etroa. It causes heavy burns where it pierces - and while it cauterizes the wounds such that bleeding out isn’t a worry, the pain can often be incapacitating all the same.
   -Maclimire Craftswords: Before they can take an apprenticeship, an Etroan blacksmith must first craft a Maclimire to be recognized as a master. The swords are much like their cousins, the sunshard spears, in how they use sunseeds to turn already bad wounds into lethal stabs, although a bit better in close range.
   -Timekeeper Clockwork Marksman Rifle: The Timekeeper is a clockwork rifle of high craftsmanship, ticking along. Hand-crafted, it was rare but of impeccable quality and accuracy.

Etroan Water Purifiers: Devices used in the ritualistic cleansing of water. Effective at making water safe to drink, although used primarily for ritual rather than day to day use.

Lunguma, The Heavy Hand: A bronze apparatus worn on the arm and part of the body. Using the power of fairly high pressure and steam created by sunseeds and water, it drives a bronze piston with speed into whatever is in front of it. While too unwieldy for combat use despite the attempts of several youths, it allows combat engineers to rapidly build defenses given a couple hours.
   -The Angamolen of Damrod: A large ironworks created by the great smith Damrod after his invention of the Heavy Hand. Using similar technology, the forge would later be an example for others to follow, making it easier to forge large amounts of metal into usable shape.

Sunic Cartridges: Special ammunition for Etroan musketmen, using Sunic Lead. While it doesn’t pierce as well as traditional ammunition, it easily ignites on impact.
   -Sunic Cannonballs: Sunic lead cannonballs, with a bit more lead and a bit less sunseed in the formula to avoid premature detonation, lending an incendiary exponent to Etroan naval and ground cannons.
   -Colonial and Protectorate Forces: Cavalry equipped with sunic lead blunderbuss-pistols, serving as fast attack forces capable of shredding infantry formations from outside of bayonet or pike range.

Skytear Galleons: Huge cargo ships with skytear-infused support beams. Incredibly difficult to actually sink due to the use of skytears and sunseeds to reduce density and lighten it as it takes on water.
    -Anor-class Armored Cruiser: Heavily armored and armed cruisers using sunic cannons for incendiary attack as well as eld-infused steel to give it a surprisingly light weight and ability to stay afloat as long as it has more hull integrity than Iconan cheese.

E.R.S. Eclipse: A massive floating castle created to repel the invading Yuzuan Empire and enable a counterinvasion. Made of super-pykrete and Olszewskium, the frozen fortress makes up for it’s nature as a single vessel and it’s incredibly slow speed with sheer volume of fire and durability.

SCTA: The Self-Contained Turbine Apparatus is a highly efficient, easy to scale up or down and quite easy to miniaturize, steam engine. It carried the industrial revolution on it’s back, powering many factories and inventions both military and civilian.

Resources and Interactions
Sunseeds: Iridescent stones resembling opals, with fantastical properties focused around heat. Not much is known about it, but it surely has potential.
   -When making contact with water, it rapidly heats up.
   -When mixed with lead, it creates Sunic Lead, which is pyrophoric, igniting in the air and setting fire to targets hit with it.
   -When used in alloyed steel along with zinc and chromium, sunseeds create Olszewskium, which cools water instead of heating it.


Skytears: A pitch black stone, with fantastical properties focused around density.
   -It changes density in response to temperature, with higher temperatures reducing density.

[Stirk]

"Maximum" Machine Gun:
Following the lessons of the last war, Etroans had found the need for a rapid-fire weapon capable of holding positions or mowing down enemies from vehicles such as boats and trains. To this end they created a recoil-operated machine gun designated the "Maximum". While early machine guns of foreign nations where bulky and award to work with at the best of times, the Maximum took advantage of Etroa's cooling rod technology to keep a small pool of eternally cold water in contact with the barrel to prevent it from overheating. Compared to foreign water-cooled mechanisms, they where light weight and elegant. In addition, a skystone "pocket" would be placed around the barrel shroud and heated by a remarkably tiny boiler, with a second smaller pocket below the gun's mechanisms (surrounded by a second, smaller cooling shroud). The overall effect was a miracle gun that could be moved by one man, fire near endlessly without the need for a barrel change, and mow down any enemy it came across....

That is the idea, at least.

The Maximum was typically .303 caliber and crewed by 4 men, though it was capable of being fired by one, with a 250 round belt of ammunition. Thanks to its light weight it was capable of acting in both attack and defense. The gun is well loved by Etroan infantrymen, who often spout its praise in the Maximum Mantra "Whatever happens, we have got he Maximum gun, and they have not"

[Jilladilla]

The Etroan Industrial Revolution, an Age of Tension and Wonders
Contrary to popular belief, Etroa was not the first nation to enter the Industrial Era, nor was it in the group of initial forerunners into the era! The honor of who came first is a manner of intense debate internationally, with many arguments about what exactly counts as the requirements for entering said era, poor recordkeeping, various calendars to sort through, and other issues; but those in Etroa know that it was Bomnir, another of Etroa's friends and Protected States, who came first. Bomnir was a mountainous land; whose only claim to fame was their metallurgical talents and resources, but little else. Etroa, of course, saw a kindred spirit there, and safeguarded them much like a younger sibling.

But Bomnir has long exported the products of their smiths, often of near-equal quality to Etroan work. They saw the coming revolution as a way to expand their markets, and took to it with gusto. Indeed; this sudden surge in prominence on the international market, as well as some requests for Master-Crafted machine parts, alerted Etroa as to just what was happening in the world rather quickly. It was little concern, initially; Etroan Craftspeople still could produce to a higher quality than the early factories in the world... Until they realized just how much more numerous those factories allowed them to produce, and the simple fact that Askia, who has managed time and time again to match Etroan Mastery with their ingenuity, was showing signs of entering into that same age. Quantity is a Quality all on its own, after all. And so, with their hands forced, Etroa joined into the Revolution; surging into the age.

This is not to say that Etroa's craftsmen spirit died, no. Even as Common 'Habchurian Style' factories rose in prominence and standing, mass producing the products that an advanced civilization needs en-mass; that spirit adapted and evolved. The ideas of the typical factory were taken; machines that were far more flexible in action, yet requiring a far more active and adept guiding hand (and maintenance personnel); assembling teams of Masters to assemble a product instead of just merely having a single Master responsible for any given item; and standardization (often achieved by a Master Machinist building the best possible machine to produce a highly demanded subcomponent). These Artisanal Factories may have been a vastly different sight than what the Etroa of the previous generation expected, but Masterpieces came from them nonetheless; and many would not have been possible had such a transformation of the Master's workplace not taken place.

This is not to say that this transformation happened flawlessly; many throughout Etroan Society still see the Common factories (and their workers) as a 'necessary evil', now acknowledging them as a critical asset. Many still dream of one day working in an Artisanal Factory, while the older Masters lament the loss of how directly hands on their works used to be. The occupation of a Machinist is an odd place to be, being simultaneously looked up to as a Practitioner of a High Craft; and shunned as an enabler of the Necessary Evil of the Common Factory, as a whole. Nonetheless, it is a trade many have picked up; for the demand is near endless, in factories both Artisanal and Common.

An age of tension; but in the name of advancement of the craft, our society endures. And through that tension; our civilization will be refined, much like the art of the Craft.

[Stirk]

Commander Candidates:

Forward Admiral Timothy "Stalwart" Munroe:
Back in his youth, Timothy served Aboard the Eclipse during the counter-invasion as a gunner. That chunk of ice gave the old man a solid appreciation for a good defensive structure, while the invasion itself showed him how such structures can be used offensively. Although he has been moving up the Naval ladder he is one of the few left in service with experience from the last Great War, making his counsel valuable at both land and sea. He was able to see how the invasion went down up-close after-all, and the Eclipse was used as a forward base letting Timothy pull out a few even older tricks from even older generations.
Type: Defensive

Colonel Ethan "the Dragon" Son of Phillip:
While theoretically at "Peace" for the last fifty years, "Peace" requires "Peacekeeping". Etroa continued to perform operations necessary to maintain our now extensive network of colonies and protectorates, including suppressing attempts at subverting the wonderful order we have set up. As such, many of our men with real combat experience are either in the CAP force or Etroans who have taken part in "Peacekeeping" operations. Ethan is the former, a CAP officer who has made a name for himself as an aggressive and cunning officer. He earned his name during a Peacekeeping operation where his liberal use of Sunic ammunition set an entire rebelling town ablaze, noting that he has to "Burn the town to save it".
Type: Offensive

Marshal Katina "Magpie" Ivanov:
Katina was born the only daughter of a wealthy and successful Merchant/Craftsman, but it soon became clear she had no talent for metalworking herself. As such her father had her focus on the more administrative tasks rather than trying to "hammer with a chisel". She soon proved a perfect fit, taking over the day to day operations allowing her father to have more time to do craftwork himself. Sadly he had passed away due to illness just as Katina was coming into adulthood. With no technical expertise, she sold the factory and signed up for a logistic roll in the military. She took this thankless task seriously, rising through the ranks while reforming every level of Etroa's internal and external logistics system despite there not being a clear or immediate need to do so. She has a reputation as an "armchair Marshal", having no real combat experience herself and still technically serving a non-combat roll. Her nickname comes from her critics in the government, typically those unhappy with her increased spending on infrastructure suggesting that her moves to replace old rail-lines and ships are due to an obsession with having "shiny new things". She seems to have embraced it judging by how well polished her badges are.
Type: Defensive

[TricMagic]

The Tinu Armored Personnel Carrier

The Tinu is an armored personnel carrier of sorts. 6 Wheels, an STCA drive engine, and enough horsepower to tow just about any cargo behind it, and enough space for 6 people in full gear. As well, Etroa Craftsmenship has developed a wheel that can transverse the sand or mud with some ease. The suspension meanwhile means rough terrain can be transversed quickly.

For armor, it uses Tian. A metal made up by using a closed foundry, mixing iron and slag with broken down skytears, cast off of other processes. The foundry is heated and compressed, and then left to cool. Once taken out, the new Tian is forged and wrought into shape. Tian also happens to be nonconductive and nonmagnetic, preventing electricity from traveling through it. As armor, it is as strong as steel, but much lighter, making it perfect for vehicle armor to reduce the weight, which allows for thicker armor.

Overall, the Tinu is the star when it comes to transporting both people and towing supplies quickly. And it does that job extremely well, allowing Etroa to continue their fortified advances and defense.


I'd also want to make a Commanding Officer who specializes in supplies and war tactics. Build off our defensive war and maybe extrapolate off of the first failed Eclipse.

N-Radio

Oceania. A civilization to the far south of our shores. During this era of Peace, our explores set out to document the seas. Up until this point, this country has only rarely been found during trade, selling unique metals and crafts via ship. However, they guarded their homeland very closely until one day Etroa discovered a strange effect.

The reason Oceania was never found turned out to be a unique technolgy which they used to surround their large island home in storms and trick navigational compasses and star reading. However Etroa had to deal with Askia effects messing with them during war, and the Anor were capable of surviving the stormy seas. Oceania tried to sink them with strange technology, but some made it back to report thanks to them being near unsinkable. After that, Etroa went to war with Oceania for the offense against them. After a short but dangerous battle comprised of the Eclipse leading an Anor fleet, they surrendered and peace talks began. Oceania became a Subsidiary, however rebels against handing over the technology destroyed all blueprints and major technology, and as a result the storms and protections surrounding Oceania.

This set them back to being another Protectorate, handing over their unique resource. However, all other technology would have to be rebuilt, which would take time. However, Etroa did gain access to Neró, a naturally occurring silver liquid from beneath the earth that could manipulate Waves.

With war with Askia looming, Etroa and Oceania engineers put aside their differences to come up with a greatly improved radio, made up of Neró stored inside and electric charges, amplifying radio waves. This allowed handsets called N-radios to be made which could be handed out to Officers in the fleet that performed just as well as the previous larger ones, having a dial to adjust the wavelength the radios were on.