Qunlan Beatric becomes project leader for the development of heavy armor and weapons. He is a master of the necromantic arts, which he works into many of his creations. Under his direction, Krank Tuvor, a half-dwarven armorer/weaponsmith began work on the horrors that would later be known as Juggernaughts. In the beginning, these were simply magically powered armored cars. Tracks provide the motive force for them. The clutch system developed by Rachelle Dietrall a human engineer improved the performance of the vehicles over standard magimotive carts. The punks use them mostly to transport troops and valuable cargo from place to place, though after outlaws attacked one of these shipments, the punks began to see what the eventual uses of the might entail. The three punks aboard the juggernaught, armed with arrows, killed all of the raiders from their secure places.

With the encouragement of this success, work proceeded on heavier armored vehicles with more powerful weapons. The punks sold ten of the original juggernaughts to the government of the westlands for the price of 1,000,000 gold pieces each. They used them in their fight against the spicelords, the equivalent of organized crime families of our time. They enjoyed much success with the usage of their new weapon, offering to buy many more of the vehicles, but the punks refused to have a potential enemy have so much power that could be used against them. The funds from the sales provided funding for advanced research on what would later be manned and unmanned "crates" as their pilots dubbed them. The punk base buzzed with excitement as the gnomes worked themselves into a fervor, encouraged by the success of the machines that they had a part in building. Their enthusiasm stemmed much from their lack of success in the past with their projects, which, when they did not acutally injure someone, just failed to work.

The first of the new mechs Krank dubbed the "goldbug". It could carry six men and painted steel made up its outer skin. The metal was magically enhanced, protecting those inside from most weapons and missile weapons of magical origin. One man could drive while the other five would shoot from openings in the sides and rear. It was the earliest tank. It had a top speed of 18", about the running speed of a horse. It was track driven and could handle any non-watery terrein. Later a glass bubble was added to the top of it to allow a mage to ride on top and cast spells at attackers. enhanced, protecting those inside from most weapons and missile weapons of magical origin. One man could drive while the other five would shoot from openings in the sides and rear. It was the earliest tank. It had a top speed of 18", about the running speed of a horse. It was track driven and could handle any non-watery terrein. Later a glass bubble was added to the top of it to allow a mage to ride on top and cast spells at attackers.

Qunlan next created the automaton, an intellegent iron golem with a brain. These prove excellent guards and miners. After some time, they began to have problems with them. Flashbacks of their former lives haunt the creatures, memories of what was important to them in the past. Unknown to the punks, they became very self-aware and sought opportunity to escape. Many of the guards just walked away from their posts and the miners organized a rebellion against their superviors, killing many of them.

Necrobotics is seen as risky by many, though necessary if the punks are to furthur their goals. The later model automatons are made with semi-intellegent brains of animals. These took more effort to train, but did not rebel like their more intellegent counterparts, though they did try to escape when possible. The punks used the 'bots for hazardous mining duty and for those things that were otherwise mundane or undesirable. Talented dwarven masters of metallurgy are recruited to build a forge the likes of which even the dwarves only sing about in the ballads of times past. The huge bellows are powered by falling water, the whine of the forges groan through the day and break the silence of night. Rivers of iron pour continually. Truly the punks' future seemed sure.

With the successful use of the 'bots for mining, the punks no longer lacked the natural resources to create mechs of most any size. Along with the metal ore, the punks found the Mountains of Doubt to be rich in gems and semiprecious stones. The 'punks travel a lot, flashing their wealth about, drawing more numbers to their cause by the promise of wealth, which they are more than able to provide. They only take the most skilled mages and students of war. The punks see themselves as superior intellects and will not accept any of average intellegence or cunning into their numbers. Soon many of the brightest minds in Asterland wear the gaudy clothes and freakish face paint of the 'punks. A feeling of fear towards the 'punks becomes more prevalent amongst the mainstream. The punks keep their dealings secret from the outside world. Their empire in the Mountains of Doubt builds quietly, but quickly.