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.
 
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