The Empire of the Tale - The Homebrewery
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Empire of the Tale has emerged over the last
The
of standard time as a major Prime power, on par
millenium
the most dangerous and powerful ancient polities.
with
five mortal empires recorded in the Hall of Records
Only
it in scope, and it is questionable if any mortal force
exceed
the collapse of the Illithid Empire could defeat it in
since
battle. It has declared war on no fewer than eighteen
open
powers or power-like beings, and appears to
inter-sphere
winning these conflicts. It utilises technology not
be
found anywhere in the known multiverse, and
otherwise
implements this technology whenever possible.
violently
Empire is a massive and powerful force for Law, and
The
rapidly increasing in scale. It also near-perfectly aligns
is
our views as a faction, that to take and use is by
with
good, and that what you can hold is what you
definition
Despite this however no conclusive study has ever
deserve.
performed into any aspect of the Empire, and little
been
known to us even now, after our return to the
remains
repository of lore in the multiverse and the
greatest
of so much we had previously thought lost.
reclamation
the last eighty-seven years I have conducted the most
For
investigation into the Empire of the Tale ever
thorough
the results of which you now hold in your
performed,
I hope that by commending this document to the
hands.
of Records I can in some way hope to shed a light on
Hall
fascinating ascendant power, and aid any who wish to
this
after me in determining what action, if any, should be
come
taken.
A Study on the Taleish Empire
By C.E.Byderway, Factor 2
of the Fated
C.E. Byderway, Factor 2
Bellevent 124/Hashkar 257/IMP 1021
and encompassing an estimated five
worlds
billion mortal souls. Its extraplanar
hundred
are limited, but not nonexistent. It has
ties
ties to Mechanus, especially to the
political
Creche, as well as the Nine Hells.
Inevitable
also enjoys the attentions of the Seven Heavens, who are
It
invested in the Empire in order to prevent it
principally
falling to evil.
totally
the Empire is divided amongst nearly five
Although
worlds most of these are considered peripheral
hundred
known to Imperials as "Notes". The most important
worlds,
or so worlds are known collectively as the "Page
eighty
worlds connected by permanent portals known as
Worlds",
Gates centred on the Imperial capital world of Tale.
Page
on the Page worlds of the Empire is as advanced and
Life
as anywhere in the multiverse, and Imperial
interconnected
is quite possibly the best anywhere outside of
technology
itself. The Empire is extremely adept at
Mechanus
this technology to achieve what appears to be its
leveraging
purpose- continuous expansion into new worlds
primary
it can feed into its ever-hungry maw.
which
Empire needs to expand more or less constantly. It
The
always either expanding, dealing with the results of its
is
or preparing for its next phase of expansion. For
expansion,
millenium it has been an ever-growing blot on the
a
a constant hungering maw that takes in the
multiverse,
resources that creation has to offer and turns them
infinite
progress and wealth and unity and war.
into
The Empire In Summary
Empire is a thousand year old force The
four hundred and eighty seven
spanning
There is nothing I can imagine more beautiful.
approximate date of the Emperor's birth. According to
The
Imperial history the Emperor is a mortal human
official
not descended from any Outsider or Elementals.
being,
Orgain accounts claim that the Emperor is in fact a
Some
a rare offspring of a human and dwarf, but this is not
mul,
corraborated.
Emperor conquers his homeland using early rimfire
The
and forms the Prelude Empire.
firearms
the face of an unrecorded Extraplanar threat the Tale
In
is signed between the Emperor's homeland of
Pact
the dwarven Clan Lords of the Greytide
Prelude,
and the orc Khans of the steppes. With
mountains,
technology, dwarven resources and orcish
Imperial
the threat is defeated.
warriors
Tale Pact controls the entirety of its world, absorbing
The
ravaged polities and conquering the remainders
various
early bolt-action weapons. The first reference to the
with
of Prelude is dated to this time, although no
Tower
Tale Pact has by this point reformed itself as the
The
Empire and uses early Page Gates to invade Kel.
Taleish
cultural transition to accepting and supporting
The
largely unjustified conquest is not documented
aggressive,
of Kel is completed. This is the first Imperial
Conquest
well documented by external sources due to the
event
presence of the church of Ioun on Kel, who
heavy
extracted many of the church's senior
successfully
Imperial soldiers are recorded as using late bolt
members.
weapons and heavy artillery, as well as experimental
action
of Evergloom is completed. Imperial soldiers are
Conquest
early automatic weapons and beginning to use
using
vehicles similar (although inferior) to the infernal
armored
machines of the Nine Hells. Evergloom nobility who
war
with the invaders are brought in as full partners of
sided
Tale Pact.
the
invasion of Orgain ends in failure due to betrayal by
First
Empire's native drow allies. Lolth is the first deity to be
the
invasion of Orgain ends with total destruction of
Second
native drow societies. First recorded use of gas
the
Imperial History
-31 IMP- The Emperor's Birth
-4 IMP - The Prelude Empire
0 IMP - The Tale Pact
86 IMP - Tale Conquered
reference to its construction is made.
107 IMP - The Invasion of Kel
and appears to have been purged.
141 IMP - Kel Conquered
aircraft which are largely unsuccessful.
fixed-wing
163 IMP - Evergloom Conquered
188 IMP - The Orgain Betrayal
by the Empire as a result of this.
proscribed
196 IMP - Orgain Conquered
weapons by the Empire.
Second Chapter of Imperial conquests begins.
The
soldiers are now making widespread use of
Imperial
weapons and armoured vehicles, as well as early
automatic
aircraft which can consistently win
rotary-wing
against manticore and wyvern-based aerial
engagements
although Evergloom dragon cavalry is still needed
cavalry,
population exceeds 8,000,000 twice that of the
Prelude's
of Brass.
City
expanding into the Thri-Keen dominated tunnel
When
of Indaero the Empire's armour, artillery and
world
infantry are found to be horribly ineffective. In
motorised
they develop the first Ironclads, which tear their
response
through the Indaeran armies with little to no
way
resistance.
begins to show the first signs of ecological collapse, as
Tale
native rainforest dies off of its own accord due to the
the
of the world's atmosphere. Tale begins moving its
ravaging
into the megalopolises that will become its
population
first Mind Cores are bound using the consciousness of
The
modrons. Although very basic the Mind Core
Monodrone
to be a more capable computer than the best valvebased
proves
Imperial computers.
third chapter of Imperial conquest and colonisation
The
in response to overcrowding in Prelude, which is
begins
faster than construction allows. At this point
expanding
legal population exceeds 90,000,000, ten times
Prelude's
forces join the Diabolic armies of Zariel in an
Imperial
on the Blood Tor in exchange for the locations and
assault
of a dozen valuable worlds. Although the Imperial
identities
contributes significantly to the succeses of the legions
army
Avernus the Blood War operates on a scale that not even
of
Empire can conceive, and the frequency of PTSD and
then
cases amongst the battle's survivors exceeds expected
CSR
by a factor of fifty.
levels
Empire is attacked in force by the Mantis Empire,
The
launches simultaneous assaults on no fewer than a
which
Taleish worlds, two of them Pages. Two Note worlds
dozen
lost, with the wars costing millions of Taleish lives and
are
of Mantid thri-keen. The Empire's failure to scuttle
billions
worlds allows the Mantids to capture Imperial weapons
its
fourth chapter of the Imperial Conquest begins with
The
invasion of the planet of Izmer, a world of powerful
the
and monsters. The first Imperial jet planes are used
mages
the war to devastating effect in the mountains of Izmer,
in
down dragons by the score, and the Empire
shooting
atomic weapons in the destruction of the Dragon
deploys
352 IMP - The Second Chapter
.
.
in many cases.
368 IMP - Prelude's Limits
381 IMP - The First Ironclads
402 IMP - Tale's Death
hallmarks.
456 IMP - Mind Cores
521 IMP - The Third Chapter
the estimated total population of Sigil.
603 IMP - The Battle of the Tor
591 IMP - The Mantis Wars
reverse-engineer Imperial bullets by the next battle.
and
726 IMP - The Fourth Chapter
A Moment of Quiet: A ranger and her Ironclad
enjoy a brief moment of quiet in a remote
swamp, hundreds of miles from civilisation.
Emperor's citadel.
allince of Proscribed Powers and Power-adjacents lead
An
the combined efforts of Lolth and an unknown Demon
by
leads a massive assault on half of Orgain Tome.
Prince
Page worlds and thirty Note worlds come under
Nine
attacks by an assortment of demons, slaad,
simultaneous
and abominations that test the Taleish armies
elementals
their limits and leave billions dead.
to
Imperial forces slowly lose ground over the course
The
nearly three decades until, in 869 IMP, the undead
of
forming the backbone of the invading armies
hordes
disappear, along with almost all information
spontaneously
their affiliation. The remaining armies are
regarding
up with extreme prejudice leaving Imperial
mopped
to wonder what exactly happened for the next
scholars
rearranging of the multiverse cuts every world of the
The
off from every other world instantly and without
Empire
Worlds remain seperated for between seven to
warning.
months, leading to widespread chaos that
fourteen
massive efforts to rectify. Food shortages on many
requires
worlds cause riots as rationing gets ever more
Imperial
and Tale's population drops for the first time since
severe,
beginning of the Second Chapter.
the
years after the events of the Great Reforming a
Thirteen
disaster strikes the multiverse, where all arcane
second
ceases functioning for a decade. Efforts to partially
magic
world autonomy taken after the Reforming allow
improve
Imperial worlds to survive, but the increased
most
and reduced capacity for communication
autonomy
the reliance on Tale. Eighty six worlds, twenty
undermines
of them Page Worlds, declare independence from the
seven
Imperial army returns to its old worlds in force, and
The
one third of the lost worlds in the first six years.
reconquers
death toll of the wars of these six years, civillians
The
is estimated at seven hundred million. These
included,
known as the Revising, last for the next thirty four
wars,
and claim another three billion lives.
years
world of Stoss, ever a thorn in the side of the Empire,
The
with six subordinate worlds which remained
secedes
connected due to the resurgent efforts of Annam All-
largely
to aid these giant-dominated worlds. In fact, not
Father
had these worlds seceded they had also colonised and
only
six additional worlds in the previous forty seven
conquered
The Empire enters a long and brutal war against
years.
twelve worlds, but finds itself in battle against an
these
Privy Council announces the commencement of the
The
Chapter of expansion with an invasion of the planet of
Fifth
former capital of the Vodoni Empire, in search of
Vulkara,
arcane secrets discovered by the Vodoni. The
various
protrays this as a great victory over one of the
media
other great powers, but Vulkara has long since
Prime's
in power following its war against the Free Stars
declined
and the fact the Taleish have any difficulty with
Alliance
conquest at all shows what strains Stoss is putting on
this
military.
the
modern day. The Privy council is still prosecuting its
The
against the Stoss, the Empire's private industries still
war
its people in something approaching slavery. Time
hold
the multiverse moves on, and the Empire crawls
passes,
841 IMP - Vengeful Gods
920 IMP - The Revising
954 IMP - The Stoss Ordning
forty years.
897 IMP - The Great Reforming
advanced opponent entirely ready for the conflict.
equally
1000 IMP - The Fifth Chapter
910 IMP - The Dearth Arcane
1021 IMP
inexorably towards its future.
Empire in one capacity or another.
.
Ruby and Ebon: Imperial soldiers from the Ingress
world of Enelon fight to retake a city currently
under the control of cultists of Umberlee.
worlds in the empire are known as Pages, the
Major
the smaller peripheral resource extraction colonies,
others,
known as Notes.
are
the Empire’s population is around five hundred
Although
across nearly five hundred worlds, more than 90%
billion
the Empire’s population lives in the 76 Page worlds, 80%
of
Tale itself is excluded. The population of a Page world
if
from fifty to two billion, with an average of around
varies
billion, varying in race and government and culture.
five
are much much smaller than Pages, with
Notes
far below a hundred million in all cases. Unlike
populations
Notes are not permanently connected to the
Pages,
Gates, and are instead served by roving Link Gate
Chapter
which can go for weeks, months, or even years
connections
Empire has been called a great many things- one
The
would be entirely accurate would be a finely tuned
which
for the expansion into and subjugation of new
machine
The Empire’s structure is designed to facilitate this.
worlds.
Empire is connected by artificial portals known as
The
Gates. There are broadly three types of Page Gates-
Page
largest to smallest Chapter, Link, and Speculator
from
Unlike the portals used in much of the rest of the
Gates.
such as the portals used to enter Sigil- Page
multiversedo
not only transport cratures and what they bear
Gates
worlds, and instead function as open doorways
between
transfer all mass which passes through them.
which
Gates
Chapter
worlds within the Empire are connected by
Major
gates, massive and permanent portals through
Chapter
matter and energy can constantly flow. The
which
of a Chapter Gate is a vast undertaking, and the
producing
product stands around half a kilometre tall. As the
end
gates are so difficult and expensive to produce
Chapter
the Empire’s central authority is capable of building
only
Even if another authority could construct a Chapter
them.
it is not permitted to, as this would undermine the
Gate
control over its Tomes.
Empire’s
Gates
Link
Gates are portals usually about thirty feet across
Link
can connect between any two of their number to
which
a stable Gate connection. Technically Chapter Gates
form
a form of Link Gate, but the latter term is usually only
are
to refer to Gates which are only temporarily
used
often switching between other Link Gates
connected,
use of programmed runes.
through
Link Gate connection can last for up to an hour per
A
in most cases, with longer and more frequent
week
being ever more taxing for the Gate and ever
connections
expensive for the operator.
more
Gates
Speculator
Gates are used to connect to locations with
Speculator
Gates of their own, worlds the Empire is invading or
no
for the first time. Speculator Gates are very
colonising
to run and use huge amounts of magical power,
expensive
are similar to teleportation spells in their targeting.
and
Speculator Gate is usually opened for no more than
A
minutes, during which resources for the construction of
ten
Link Gate will be ferried through alongside any personnel
a
Imperial Structure
Pages and Notes
.
a time without being renewed.
at
The Gates
A Web of Worlds: A map outlining the network of
Imperial worlds. The presence and implications
of the chokepoints should be obvious.
required for conquest or settling.
capital of the Empire is Tale, which is also its most
The
world and the original home of its founder. Tale
populous
a population of fifty billion divided amongst a number
has
megacities scattered across its surface. Tale is beyond
of
and is the hub through which the Empire’s
metropolitan
run. All of the Empire’s greatest corporations call
logistics
home, and several of them very nearly run megacities
Tale
their own.
of
Tome is the term for an entire branch of the Empire.
A
Tome has a capital world, the world of its first
Each
which is directly connected to Tale. There are five
Chapter,
in total- Kel, Evergloom, Orgain, Bydlow, and
Tomes
each of approximately the same nominal size.
Ingress-
Tome is divided into Chapters- the world directly
Each
to Tale is the first Chapter, the worlds directly
connected
to that are the second Chapter, and so on. Each
connected
except the first is connected to two worlds of a newer
world
and one world of an older Chapter. As no world is
Chapter
to another of the same Chapter this creates
connected
choke points in the branching web of worlds that is
major
empire, with each world having control over those that
the
below it and Tale having control over all of them. This
come
choking of traffic ensures that Tale can keep a
artificial
central hand over the affairs of its empire, and limits
strong
Empire’s only rule for Page worlds is that they obey
The
authority, regardless of whether it comes from Tale
Tale’s
or from the world’s superior Chapters. Many
directly
generally in the earliest Chapters and in Kel Tome-
Pages-
extremely integrated into the Empire and are
are
little Tales that have no ambitions beyond the
essentially
and no identity beyond Taleish. These Pages are
Empire
authoritarian, with the government reserving the
highly
to intrude into every facet of life, but are still generally
right
favour of private enterprise and commerce.
in
these Pages however every world is different.
Beyond
worlds are completely planned economies ruled
Some
from the central authority. Others are liberal
entirely
or authoritarian theocracies, or techno-feudal
democracies,
All that matters is that they provide Tale what
aristocracies.
wants when it wants it, that it meets the demands of the
it
Tale’s demands vary wildly- in times of relative
Empire.
and prosperity all Tale asks is that law and order are
peace
and that channels of trade and communication
maintained
open. In times of strife or war Tale can demand
remain
or less any concession, and it is the responsibility of
more
Page to both provide it and make its people accept that.
the
world of Tale is governed from the world itself, by
Each
Page government, which is subservient to the Imperial
the
Even Tale itself is governed in this way,
Government.
on it and the First Chapters the distinction
although
the Imperial and Page government is blurred. The
between
government of Tale, which has the authority to
Imperial
any Page government, is actually quite small but
command
powerful, appointing its own members as it sees
extremely
It is headed by the Imperial Privy Council, the body of
fit.
Emperor’s ministers who between them oversee all
the
of the Empire. The Imperial Army is similarly
elements
but extremely well equipped and highly trained, with
small,
soldiers chosen from the best and most loyal elements
its
the Page armies.
of
.
Tale
Tomes
ability of subversive or secessionist activities to spread.
the
Governance
Emperor is an enigmatic figure about whom little is
The
Although Tale is authoritarian and at times brutal
known.
Emperor himself is not a deific or even revered man.
the
shows on many Pages poke light fun at him, and
Comedy
questioning his mission is forbidden questioning
though
is acceptable.
him
truth the Emperor has not been seen in public for
In
Some believe he is dead, or never existed in the
centuries.
place. The exact truth is closely guarded by the
first
Government, although no member of the Privy
Imperial
has ever alluded to his death or claimed him to be
Council
other than active.
anything
which fail Tale, people who oppose Tale and
Governments
who cause problems for Tale can expect serious
groups
The Empire does not tolerate opposition, and
retribution.
runs gulags and hard labour camps, and is more
openly
willing to send people to them. The Empire does not
than
hereditary slavery of any kind (at least on an
perform
level- individual Pages can and do differ from this
Imperial
but is entirely at home to the concept of debt or
policy)
slavery.
punitive
things become more serious however the Empire
When
and does deploy its military internally. At no point since
can
Empire has comprised more than a dozen Pages has it
the
not been fighting some internal strife with military
ever
Attempts at Secession, either in part of a Page, a
force.
Note, or in one case an entire Tome, is common
whole
in the Empire, and the suppression of these efforts
enough
one of the few things the Empire prioritises over
is
expansion.
Empire does not ever formally recognise Secession,
The
although some Pages have successfully separated
and
from their Tome and enjoyed peace for a time
themselves
have all eventually been reclaimed through force or
they
the Empire has no loose ends in the current day
coercionthe
Pages of Stross.
beyond
Empire has no state religion and does not interfere
The
matters of faith. This is to make it easier to acquire
with
worlds as conquered peoples are not forced to
new
their religion, and also allows the Empire to
abandon
conflict with the servants of various powers.
prevent
Taleish have a close working relationship with a
The
of powerful extraplanar entities, most notably the
number
of Mechanus who consider the Empire a useful
Modrons
for the propagation of law and sends them specially
force
Inevitables for the creation of Mind Cores. The
designed
of the Nine Hells also have ongoing relationships
fiends
many high-profile Imperial citizens, including
with
military personnel and major business holders.
governors,
Seven Heavens have also long made their presence
The
largely in counter to the presence of the baatezu.
known,
inter-sphere Powers and Power-adjacent
Eighteen
are currently proscribed by the Empire. This means
beings
the Powers in question cannot be worshipped by
that
citizens, usually on pain of death or imprisonment
Imperial
a gulag. The most prominent such figure is the drow
in
Lolth, who has been proscribed by the Empire
goddess
the second invasion of Orgain. Other proscribed
since
include Orcus, the recently resurgent Demon Lord
Powers
undeath, as well as Umberlee the destroyer of the sea
of
The Emperor
Punitive Action and General Strife
Religion
and the god of anarchy and strife.
industry is largely focused around a series of large
Imperial
guild-like entities known as "Corporations".
commercial
in the eyes of Imperial law, they are an ingenious
People
for wealth gathering with minimal personal
device
As a tool for pursuing the goals of the Takers
accountablity.
have never seen something so perfect.
I
are extremely powerful and can operate
Corporations
near-impunity when it comes to the people on the
with
but must still concede to the Imperial authority,
ground,
anjoy no special protections in this regard.
and
generally pay taxes to the world they are
Businesses
on and follow the laws of that world even
incorporated
operating abroad, making it very hard for Page
when
to control companies from Tale. A lot of this is
governments
design, as the Imperial government uses relentless
by
expansion and the hunger for an infinite supply
capitalistic
fresh resources as its primary methods of achieving its
of
goals of expanding the Empire infinitely. The people
actual
to expand the Empire because they want to (or at
work
because their boss wants to), not because the
least
forces them to, which seems to be much more
government
efficient.
Taleish Empire expands through three principal
The
colonisation of uninhabited (or barely inhabited)
methods-
conquest of worlds with native populations, and
worlds,
with native governments and peoples in the
collaboration
of the Bydlow Tome. This former method is
manner
engaged in by Imperial Corporations.
extensively
least a dozen Imperial corporations utilise Speculator
At
to find and colonise worlds with their own workers.
Gates
corporations generally aim to create Note worlds by
These
and scouting out worlds with their gates, aiming to
finding
arable land, empty space and rich mineral deposits.
find
found these Corps will build Link Gates and offer
Once
colonisation opportunities to inner-city Imperial
attractive
usually from Ingress Tome. These colonists are
citizens,
allowed to build up to a population of around half a
then
during which they build infrastructure and export
million,
for the Corp, before the entire world is sold to the
goods
for billions of dollars.
Taleish
worlds remain private indefinitely, although these
Some
are usually small and resource poor. They become
worlds
estates of the richest Imperial citizens, or resort
private
or testing sites.
worlds,
note is that the entirety of the Ingress Tome was
Of
by private enterprise in this way, and that that
colonised
and varying Tome remains partially owned by the
wild
which originally colonised it.
corporations
phenomenal wealth of the Empire's uppermost classes
The
ridiculous, and there is little that is not commodified in
is
worlds of Tale. Immortality itself is available to anyone
the
sufficient wealth, with reserve clones and resurrection
with
extremely common amongst the wealthy. A
being
clone costs one million dollars, and most would
functioning
this is entirely worth the price to live for another of
agree
race's full lifetimes.
your
of wealthy individuals therefore involves
Assassination
the location and destruction of clones and the
both
of remains, as well as soul trapping and
annihilation
Clone Forts exist as a result of this, protecting the
disposal.
.
Corps
Private Worlds
Death, Immortality, and Assassination
clones of the wealthy for staggering sums.
from the heart of Evergloom, Marawall and
Hailing
(M&N) is perhaps the most ‘elegant’ of the arms
Noblemen
in the empire. Unlike most companies that
corporations
on producing sheer bulk goods, Marawall and
focus
prefers more personal items; Blending the
Noblemen
and practical needs of the Empire with traditional
martial
Artistry and Craftsmanship. Personalized to the
Elven
no one piece of M&N equipment is exactly alike, be it
buyer,
detailing work and trigger pull on a carbine to the panel
the
on a suit of body armor. What is most famous
designs
is their ironclad models, which follow the
however
and design ideas of more common equipment to
principles
next level. Everything is tailored to the pilots
the
down to even cup holders and family crest.
requirements
such pieces can go for tens of millions of gold, each
While
is one of a kind and cutting edge; Including the
one
so much a corporation as an extension of the Imperial
Not
ImpAr is responsible for outfitting the central
military,
Army with its heavy equipment. From Armored
Imperial
Carriers to 4th generation Spellweaver
Personnel
without Imperial Armor it is said nothing would
magicraft,
done. While they primarily focus on conventional heavy
get
and armor, they are also well known for the roster of
arms
clads unique to the armed forces. From the
combat
class sentry units seen in the coreward worlds
Homeguard
the Cavalier class multi-role combat platform seen
to
from war zones to frontier towns. Without
anywhere
if you served (mandatory or otherwise) you
question
Land and Oil Concern is the wealthiest and most
Tale
world speculator concern in the Empire.
powerful
formed as a composite of various Taleish oil
Originally
TLOC was born in order to pool as many
concerns,
resources as possible to form the first privately
corporate
Gates and colonise the world of Ingress.
built
still partially owns Ingress and runs its
TLOC
even after its acquisition by the Empire, and is
government,
is perhaps one of the largest weapons and armor
I.A.I
in the empire. Originally Ifverman Arms
manufacturers
they were one of the first guilds to spring up in the
Guild,
arm of the future Empire. As a pioneering guild
industrial
major rise to initial fame was in the production of a
their
but mass-produced combat knife that even
simple
later continues to see use from military to
generations
work through the realm.
utility
dozens of smaller guilds in the process of
Consuming
massive up scaling in production, IAI would become a
this
player in arming both the imperial army, but the
major
militias as well. As time wore on and the nature of
Outland
and armor evolved, so too did IAI; Often scalping
arms
or pioneers in the field to keep their edge. Even now
talents
image isn’t as prestigious as Imperial Armor Works,
IAI’s
they are synonymous with reliable, plentiful and rugged.
but
was also the primary contractor for the Titan
IAI
of Imperial armoured vehicles, and the most
generation
modern Ironclad models, known collectively as
common
Ifverman Titan Trifecta, are all I.A.I models.
the
Marawall and Noblemen
of the Emperor’s Royal Guard.
ironclads
Imperial Armorworks
have fond stories of the war machines of ImpAr.
probably
TLOC
the leading force for colonisation of new worlds.
now
Ifverman Arms Incorporated:
Imperial Broadcasting Organisation is the semi-private
The
arm of the Empire. Answering directly to the Privy
media
with the IBO Commisioner General having a
Council,
seat of their own, the IBO broadcasts officially
Council
and approved television and radio across the
licensed
Empire. It is responsible for providing Imperial
entire
with both fictional and factual media, and
citizens
all official proclamations of the central
dispensing
as well as developing new methods of
government,
and transmission.
communication
IBO also collects the notorious Receiver's Fee on all
The
worlds, which must be paid to legally receive any
Imperial
or radio broadcast within the Empire. Although
television
the Fee is extremely easy no effort is made
circumventing
prevent this, as failure to pay the Receiver's Fee is an
to
way for the Imperial authorities to arrest anyone they
easy
Shiawasena Neko's smiling feline face shines out of
Ōkina
estimated twenty million neon signs across the Empire,
an
the Big Happy Cat loudly proclaiming that the food
with
whatever building it is spread across is both
inside
AND delicious. Though it rarely is either healthy
nutritious
tasty the sheer ubiquity of Big Happy Cat food chains
or
low cost of their meals means that OSN is a staple of
and
culture.
Imperial
tried OSN meals myself out of curiosity I found
Having
noodles tasted like parchment and the soy sauce was
the
painfully acidic. I have no idea why anyone would
almost
choose to eat at these places repeatedly, and
willingly
Empire's thorny relationship with flight has lead to a
The
progression into aerial and wildspace technologies.
stunted
progress has been made to leave the ground has
What
made by Mockingbird Aeronautics, which has
been
a stranglehold on Imperial aviation since it
maintained
the Mockingbird Gunship in 591 and the jet engine
created
662. in
consider themselves the masters of
Mockingbird
that leaves the ground, and produces everything
everything
passenger planes to military helicopters to the rockets
from
Empire uses to launch communications satellites.
the
current crowning glory is the Máni program,
Mockingbird's
a largely technological Mockingbird rocket
where
transported a living human to the surface of
successfully
primary moon.
Tale's
is also conducting experiments into
Mockingbird
technology, which are some of the most
Spelljammer
inept I have ever witnessed. This is unsurprising,
laughably
the Empire is well served by its Gates and has no need
as
wildspace travel beyond its satellites.
for
formed by a merger between Evergloom and
Originally
corporations, Hexiron is a byword for cutting
Amatsukamin
arcana and technica. Hexiron is the current Imperial
edge
for advanced weapons design, responsible for
sweetheart
development of the next generation of armoured
the
and energy weapons.
vehicles
rarely makes anything itself, barring prototypes,
Hexiron
instead sells its designs back to ImpAr for mass
and
with an expensive license and a rule that its
manufacture
remain stamped with the Hexiron roundel.
designs
.
IBO
feel needs arresting.
Ōkina Shiawasena Neko
no idea why I kept going back to them.
similarly
Mockingbird Aeronautics
Hexiron
official tagline is "Arigakof, Engineering
Arigakof's
In Scope and Specification". A better slogan
Excellence
be "Arigakof; Because If It's Worth Doing It's Worth
might
With Wrought Steel".
Doing
is the Empire's premiere supplier of heavy
Arigakof
especially power generation and resource
engineering,
Originally founded by an alliance of Duregar
extraction.
Dwarven clans shortly after the conquest of Orgain,
and
words "Subtlety" and "Finesse" are not in Arigakof's
the
Arigakof builds it big, builds it relatively cheap, and
lexicon.
it when it breaks with some pipe it found behind the
fixes
shed.
has dabbled with military equipment, and has
Arigakof
tanks, Ironclads and personnel carriers for the
produced
Army. These machines tend to be solid and
Imperial
and above average in reliability if a bit poor in
oversized,
Golden Mile is a (many) mile-long street in Prelude,
The
site of the original Imperial stock exchange. The
the
operates under a relatively standard post-capitalist
Empire
system, where companies can float themselves in a
stock
for capital and unscrupulous men and women can
search
and sell theoretical numbers that make your eyes water
buy
your wallet shrivel up like a beaten animal. The Golden
and
exchange is not the only such stock exchange in the
Mile
but it is the biggest both in terms of companies
Empire,
and value traded.
represented
surprisingly (or perhaps not) the Empire
Perhaps
a strong central hand in the Mile's affairs, and
maintains
calls the Exchange Master to report to the Privy
regularly
to the point of giving him a seat of his own. While
Council,
Empire has few direct moral concerns it does despise
the
to enrich a small few without producing actual
activity
and comes down heavily on exploiting the markets to
value,
what it describes as "non-value added capital
perform
This means that playing the Golden Mile is a
aggregation".
risky business, where your fortune is only one of the
very
Building Better Beings."
"Torell-Yomari:
and golems are uncommon in the Empire,
Automata
a sour spot due to being too small to contain a
occupying
Core and far less effective and intelligent than a Core-
Mind
factory or other facility. A single golem costs as
operated
as a Mind Core, and while one Mind Core can
much
dozens of advanced machines with capable
operate
a golem can just about follow basic instructions.
intuition
is the leading creator of what it calls
Torell-Yomari
life", but are generally known as TY-Forged. These
"artificial
humanoid beings are expensive, but much more
man-sized
and capable than golems and able to operate
intelligent
more or less any conditions- knee deep in liquid
under
in the middle of a necrostorm, while they shovel
poison,
mithril with their bare hands. Under such
molten
the million dollar automata remain far, far
circumstances
expensive than the apparatus required to support a
less
mortal.
remain relatively rare, usually toiling out of
TY-Forged
of biological life. Their intelligence is high and they
sight
sapient by necessity, but their work is beyond dull. The
are
ramifications of this have not been, in my opinion,
possible
Arigakof
their performance.
Golden Mile Exchange
you can lose on a bad deal.
things
Torell-Yomari
terribly well considered.
Imperial Automata Championships grew out of the
The
Android Combat tourneys of Kordon, a series of
World
in which various profesional and home-built
contests
and Ironclads fought to the destruction or the
automata
in great televised spectacles. The WAC began in 460,
death
by as soon as 471 the IAC had secured exclusive rights
but
the inter-world distribution of the bouts as well as the
to
rights to host new bouts of their own.
intellectual
contests are held on most Imperial Page worlds, and
IAC
amongst the most popular spectator sports in the
are
of Tale, although baseball remains more popular in
entirety
and it is a stupid man who gets between an
Bydlow
orc and his rugby. The tourneys have gotten ever
Imperial
elaborate with ever bigger prizes being awarded to
more
winner, with the biggest and greatest tourneys still
the
held on Kordon by the WAC itself. Arms corps use
being
tourneys as opportunities to advertist and test their
the
and amateurs use them to prove their designs
equipment,
prospective employers. It is rumoured that the contract
to
of the Imperial Army watch the matches closely
nagotiators
a result of this, and base at least some of their decisions
as
the results of the tourneys.
on
most Imperial blood sports the chances of death in
Like
IAC are small, as infrastructure is set up to resurrect
the
who are unlucky enough to be killed in the fights. This
any
course does little to nothing to help with the pain of
of
pasted across the ground by the boot of a twenty-ton
being
robot.
walking
began as the Washington Arms Company, one of
WC&K
Empire's larger contractors for small arms and light
the
vehicles before the Indaero wars. The WAC was
armoured
big, but exploded when it invented the Bunyan, the
always
mass-manufactured Ironclad, and gained sufficient
original
to fundamentally change the Empire's entire
clout
model to the Standard Length Contract
manufacturing
which was itself based on the centuries of the
system,
god, the Teotlan.
WAC's
became a rolling juggernaut after the Bunyan,
WAC
and buying out various smaller arms
assimilating
as they appeared to make their mark on the
companies
army. This attitude of poaching the best designers
Imperial
ideas houses has long lead to WAC (and later W-C and
and
cornering the market on many crucial pieces of
WC&K)
equipment, the most famous of course being the
military
tank and its variants which served for a total of
Lafayette
hundred and sixty years.
two
strategy of course lead to name changes and
This
to Washington-Cheolgongso after acquiring the
rebranding-
of the Ban'Go in 542, and WC&K after buying out
makers
makers of the Lafayette's replacement, the Kunlun
the
Unit, in 894- but WCK is still the same old
Manufacturing
Arms Company at its heart, and is now by far
Washington
richest and most powerful arms and armour company
the
the Empire, with WC&K designs making up a whopping
in
of all non-aviation military hardware produced
56%
in the Empire. WC&K makes everything, from
anywhere
Imperial Automata Championships
WC&K
guns to missiles to tanks to grenades to Vitae Cores.
the capital world of the Empire and the hub from
Taleis
everything springs. With a population of fifty billion
which
may be the most populous world in all of creation. The
it
city Prelude revels in its position as the largest city
capital
to exist anywhere in all the planes, possessing as it
known
a population of nine billion. The centre of Prelude is
does
by the massive monolithic Tower of Prelude, a pair
pieced
shining white spires bridged with a lattice of black glass
of
forms the home of the Emperor. Although the Tower
that
to be entirely modern there are no records of its
appears
or of having ever been modified in any way,
construction,
yet it shines with solar panels designed only last year.
and
of Tale is wilderness dotted with the ruins of cities
Most
long ago for the megalopolises of the Empire,
abandoned
spanned by the Empire’s famous and beloved bullet
and
that connect Tale’s twelve great cities. Tale’s
railways
are long since run dry, and much of the world is
resources
partial or total ecological collapse. The cities are
suffering
from this disaster, but whatever remains beyond
spared
is largely wasteland. Tale as a result must import
them
of its food from other worlds, particularly the worlds
most
the Tome of Evergloom.
in
was the first world conquered by the Prelude authority
Kel
it was then known, the first Page to be added to the
as
story.
Empire’s
the Empire’s arrival Kel was a humdrum world of
Before
lords, adventuring heroes, ancient ruins and
feudal
gods. The Authority chose it largely at random
enigmatic
a list of identical worlds which its speculator wizards
from
found, and crushed its old orders into dust over the
had
of three decades of warfare. Kel was then
course
to new forms of industry, and flooded with
introduced
settlers who arrived to take advantage of its
Taleish
empty lands.
relatively
Kel is as Imperial as any world can be. It has little
Now
no culture of its own, and its people live in megalopolises
to
like those of Tale. Like Tale Kel is also largely a
just
wasteland, and like Tale Kel is beginning to see
plundered
first signs of total ecological collapse.
the
Kel Kel’s servant worlds are largely focused on
Like
masses of Imperial citizens, expanding into easy
housing
settling these new worlds, overpopulating them,
conquests,
is a bizarre world where the sunset is eternal,
Evergloom
trees grow higher and faster, and wildlife is beyond
the
It was the second world to which Tale expanded, a
prolific.
of elves which is partially merged with its own
land
giving the planet’s natural forces an extreme
Feywild,
in power. Evergloom’s winds blow stronger, its
increase
rise higher, its quakes dig deeper, and its fires burn
tides
hotter.
the Empire invaded Evergloom it was facing an
When
well seasoned in the use of magic and monsters
enemy
early automatic weapons and armoured vehicles,
with
that it had to rely extensively on diplomacy in
meaning
to turn native groups against one another and ally
order
the moist amenable. As a result of this Evergloom’s
with
is still extremely aristocratic, based on the old
government
kingdoms who chose to side with the Taleish and add
elven
hiss of their arrows to the resounding boom of Taleish
the
artillery.
Tale (50 bln)
Kel (31 bln)
them, and repeating the cycle anew.
housing
Evergloom (15 bln)
worlds are the breadbaskets of the Empire,
Evergloom’s
Evergloom selects its expansions based on which
and
can best provide it with the vast orchards and fields
worlds
it requires to meet its obligations. It also prides itself
which
creating the best products of the empire- the most
on
weapons, the most efficient vehicles, the most
powerful
buildings and arts. Whether this pride is wellfounded
beautiful
is arguable, but being made in Evergloom’s tome is
stamp of quality all across the Empire.
a
culture is a blend of old elven attitudes and
Evergloom’s
Imperial changes, creating a deeply stratified and
new
imperialistic society. At the top are the old
utterly
families and those who they choose to take in
Evergloom
their conquered worlds. At the bottom are the
from
of beings who require natural surroundings to
diaspora
sent to Evergloom’s worlds to toil in the farms.
survive,
is one of the five first chapter worlds, directly
Orgain
to Tale by the Mountain Gate. Orgain is a
connected
cold world with an almost uninhabitable
mountainous,
which was locked in constant warfare between the
surface
duergar and drow kingdoms. When the Empire
native
Orgain it allied with the drow against the duergar,
invaded
armies drawn from Evergloom to promote
using
The drow were promised premiere roles in
cooperation.
empire, to rule Orgain on behalf of their masters on
the
This proved to not be enough, and the drow betrayed
Tale.
Taleish as the war against the duergar began to grow to
the
close in a series of slaughters. In response the Empire
a
massive drafts across all three of its words and
issued
a massive army to re-invade Orgain.
raised
are now almost no drow on Orgain, which is run
There
the duergar and Taleish dwarven clans who coexist well
by
the mutual bonds of greed and capitalism. Orgain’s
in
are devoted to heavy industry and the acquisition of
worlds
and fuels, and new expansions traditionally look for
metals
with expansive underdarks. This produces a near-
worlds
flow of drow , elven, firbolg and centaur diaspora
constant
Orgain destroys the local order, elevates any local
as
and duergar to run the world, and discards anyone
dwarves
cannot tolerate the ravaging of nature.
who
was first discovered in the earliest days of the
Bydlow
by the first Rangers, who stumbled across it while
Empire
the Planes. It was noted and catalogued as a
exploring
of middling technology, using early steam power and
world
weapons alongside basic magic, before being
musket
forgotten about.
quickly
years after the conquest of Orgain Bydlow was
Eighteen
by the Vodoni Empire, a fleet of airborne craft
invaded
a vast horde of lycanthropic horrors. Although the
carrying
was not yet sufficiently recovered to conquer
Empire
it saw this as an opportunity, and aided the Bydlans
Bydlow
repelling their invaders in exchange for their vassalage.
in
Bydlans were given Imperial technology which they
The
adapted to and used to drive out the spacefaring
quickly
For their part the Bydlans accepted Imperial
monsters.
and protection from future threats.
dominion
Bydlow became a Tome it remained the most free
When
independent, with the greatest capacity for autonomy.
and
which the Empire coerces into joining with trade
Worlds
diplomacy are usually offered positions in Bydlow
and
and similar independence, although it is rare for a
Tome
to forever be allowed this freedom.
world
are mostly drow and firbolgs, and almost slaves.
These
Orgain (11 bln)
Bydlow (21 bln)
Weave permeates the Empire as much as it does
The
but traditional magic has long fallen out of
anywhere,
with the Empire. Although wiards and sorcerors do
favour
and the old arcane colleges of Tale remain in various
exist
the Empire works on economies of scale which
capacities
individual spellcasters like myself partially obsolete
make
a strategic level.
on
magic in the Empire could better be called
Most
blendings of arcane and mechanical systems to
artificery,
devices more powerful than either aspect could
create
alone. Referred to within the Empire as Technica,
create
achievements of these methods are truly remarkable,
the
surpass anything I have ever seen elsewhere in the
and
except possibly for the foundries of Mechanus
Planes,
Even the Diabolic engines of the Nine Hellsotherwise
itself.
without compare as war machines- can only
to compete against the Empire as equals.
hope
scientific method is well developed, and has
Imperial
many fruits. The Empire has automatic rimfire
born
explosives, refrigeration, mass-production,
weapons,
composites (although it prefers metal), internal
plastics,
radiant energy projection, electrical power, the
combustion,
motor, the jet engine, rotary and fixed-wing aircraft,
electric
flight, fission power, fusion bombs,
heavier-than-air
packaging, wireless communication, and postcapitalist
disposable
political thought. Though I have seen many of
advancements before on the Planes or other Prime
these
never before have I seen all such devices together,
worlds
seen the principles behind the devices so conclusively
or
A few specific devices I have never seen
explored.
Ironclad is an all-purpose workhorse, suitable for any
The
from travel to labour to combat. Ironclads are large
job
vehicles, generally around twenty feet tall and
walking
bipedal. They are considered supremely adaptable
usually
excel in most activities where minimal logistical
and
or infrastructural quality can be expected. The
support
Ironclads were invented as an alternative to other
original
for conquering the cave world of Indaero, where
vehicles
vehicles and motorised infantry were incapable
armoured
navigating the churned and broken tunnels of the native
of
artillery was of no use, and foot infantry were
Thri-Keen,
vulnerable to ambushes at all times. The
exceptionally
lacked any anti-armour technology and so were
Thri-Keen
to stop the Ironclads as they invaded their hives and
unable
their soldiers- only seventeen ironclads were lost to
torched
action in the entire war, all killed by enemy mages, a
enemy
which otherwise claimed more than one hundred and
war
thousand Imperial lives and millions of Thri-Keen.
twenty
then Ironclads have become widespread as mining,
Since
and construction vehicles, and are the Empire’s
farming,
war machines for light scouting, as well as woodland,
go-to
and urban combat. Ironclads have advanced
marshland,
from those original designs deployed on
enormously
which were almost entirely arcane, being little
Indaero
than golems containing a very cramped pilot and
more
flamethrowers. The modern Ironclad is a
holding
giant, equipped with a variety of devices and
mechanical
weapons powered from a miniature onboard
high-tech
All this is controlled by two entities working in
reactor.
the pilot, and the Mind Core.
parallel-
Arcana and Technica
Imperial Magic and Science
also stand out, and are documented here.
elsewhere
Ironclads
computers are of limited capacity and extremely
Imperial
being only good for number processing. They have
bulky,
since reached the limits of what valves can allow, as
long
other polities have before, necessitating the use of
many
methods.
arcane
the Empire uses souls, usually of outsiders or
Instead
entities”, who are bound into rods of gold or
“extraplanar
or brass. These bound souls develop personalities of
iron
own, influenced by the nature of their original form
their
in no way dependent on them. They are then connected
but
small weave turbines and weavehammers, used to
to
small electrical impulses which are then fed into a
generate
creating a flawless direct connection between
computer,
soul and any computer they are connected to. This
the
that the souls become Mind Cores, and can be used
means
rapidly control mechanical and electrical devices of all
to
types.
Cores are ludicrously expensive. A new Ironclad
Mind
approximately nine million dollars. Of this three
costs
dollars are spent on the Mind Core. Cheaper cores
million
exist, but they are too simple for anything other than the
do
basic functions. There is no escaping the necessity of
most
cores are the means by which an injured soldier
Vitae
holds on to life, and are single handedly
precariously
for keeping melee combat relevant into the
responsible
Empire.
modern
vitae core is a magical implant the size of a child’s fist
A
constantly leeches positive energy and disperses it
which
its host. Soldiers with Vitae cores are very very
through
to kill with bullets smaller than a thumb, with
hard
other than a shot to the head or the heart being
anything
that the vitae core can maintain life through and,
something
allow recovery from. Vitae cores are so efficient
eventually,
a soldier riddled with rifle bullets to the point of shock
that
incapacitation can return to the fight before the battle
and
even over under their own power.
is
response to this is melee combat. Even considering
The
explosives a sword or axe remains the best
man-portable
to do major physical damage to an enemy equipped
way
a vitae core, and the resilience the vitae core gives
with
melee combat more viable against other targets as
makes
well.
cylinders are complex cylinders of various sizes
Boolean
spin in a vacuum-sealed housing. They can convert
which
energy directly into weave disturbances, making
electrical
essentially magic generators.
them
cylinders work by quickly and pseudo-randomly
The
a series of runes inscribed on the cylinder’s face,
moving
“hammering” the local weave and causing rapidly
rapidly
disturbances which can then be manipulated.
oscillating
and faster boolean cylinders can cause larger
Larger
and thus generate more magical power.
disturbances
cylinders of a different type- known as Weave
Boolean
also exist to perform the opposite function-
Turbines-
magic directly into electrical power. Weave
turning
are not broadly used for power generation as they
Turbines
highly inefficient (connecting a Weavehammer and a
are
Turbine in series is less than 15% efficient),
Weave
them to a technical curiosity with extremely
relegating
applications, but essential for the operating of Mind
niche
Mind Cores
Cores, or their expense.
Mind
Vitae Cores
Boolean Cylinders aka Weavehammers
Cores.
wars can broadly be broken into two types- war
Imperial
a technological or magical equal (usually a
against
section of the Empire) and war against a
breakaway
inferior, known affectionately by Taleish
technological
as "seal clubbing".
soldiers
Empire's preferred grand strategy when attacking is
The
use horizontal Speculator Gates to drop large numbers
to
infantry and aircraft into a sparsely populated part of the
of
world or plane, along with military engineers who
target
a Link Gate from prefabricated parts over the
assemble
of the next day or so. This Link Gate is then used to
course
additional men, equipment and ammunition as the
ferry
goes on the offensive, targeting enemy
Empire
with its aircraft as its ground corps spreads
infrastructure
like an infection.
out
of course means that the Empire's invasion of a new
This
is intensely vulnerable in the first day, making
world
developed worlds difficult (as has been seen by
attacking
Empire's efforts against Stoss) as there is a long delay
the
Imperial forces only have access to a small amount
where
equippments.
of
commanders are generally capable and willing
Imperial
adapt, but one failure I have noticed is that they can have
to
transitioning out of seal clubbing and into a
difficulty
warfare system when shown that a previously
conventional
enemy is more dangerous than they
underestimated
purpose of the Empire's armies is not immediately
The
It of course has a variety of roles, including the
apparent.
of acquired worlds and the expansion into new
suppression
but these are both in service of the military's
territories,
goal of holding the Empire together. This is the real
true
of the army, and it is a purpose that has little to do
purpose
the army's actual capacity.
with
military of the Empire is massive, employing an
The
seven billion souls across all its worlds not
estimated
the various frontier militias. Despite this however
including
is more or less impossible for the Empire to leverage all
it
power simultaneously, and it would never wish to do
this
Most of these soldiers are tied up with one duty or
so.
at any given moment, leaving at most five to six
another
usable in an invasion or similar.
percent
this leaves at least three billion soldiers ready
Although
duty there is another major issue- the Empire cannot
for
to lose. The Privy Council relies on a series of
afford
victories to impress, intimidate, and bind in
propaganda
cause the citizens of its constituent worlds. As a
common
of this the Empire is only truly willing to leverage its
result
power in defense of its existing assets, not to expand.
full
also of course ignore the expense of military
This
The Empire's yearly military budget is
operations.
four hundred and twenty trillion dollars per
approximately
but this is insufficient to simply conquer a world
year,
it feels like. Global conquest is one thing, but
whenever
costs of a common world can easily run into the
occupation
of trillions per year, and when the sheer length of
tens
is considered these numbers can quickly
occupation
staggering- the final cost of the annexation of
become
one of the fourth chapter worlds of Orgain Tome, is
Teyar,
The Empire At War
Imperial Strategy
expected.
The Military's Purpose
estimated as having been one quadrillion Imperial dollars.
fixed-wing aircraft are quite poorly developed
Imperial
to other worlds I have seen. The Empire faced
compared
same principle issues with these early craft as every
the
world did (inability to contend against airborne
other
in combat, limited uses for scouting etc) but also
cavalry
not require them for civilian use due to the early
did
of more advanced railways. As a result of this
development
though the Empire discovered the jet engine six
even
ago they haven't made a vast amount of use of it.
centuries
rotary-wing aircraft are more advanced, and are a
Imperial
method for supporting ground forces with
favourite
of rockets and automatic cannon shells. In seal
barrages
operations they are also able to operate with nearimpunity,
clubbing
making them very attractive to Imperial
Imperial parlance a "Beast Corps" is any form of infantry
In
cavalry that does not use creature arcanically defined as
or
giants, or (ironically) beasts. Dragons are
humanoids,
a subset of these beast corps, although they are
considered
described as such in order to preserve draconic
rarely
sensibilities.
Corps have historically dominated Imperial urban,
Beast
and subterranean combat where their
woodland,
and adaptability is crucial, as is their ability
maneuverability
switch rapidly from using their mounted weapons
to
heavy machineguns or mortars operated by a
(usually
to melee combat. They are also beloved for their
rider)
to carry (although not fire) heavy artillery into
ability
unreachale positions. Favoured creatures
otherwise
manticores, peryton, ankhegs, gryphons, hydras,
include
rocs, remorhazes and (rarely) purple worms,
hippogriffs,
increasingly more powerful creatures being
with
rarer due to the difficulty of taming and
increasingly
them.
rearing
are less effective than Ironclads in most
Beasts
but are generally cheaper to maintain and
capacities,
cheaper to produce, which makes them an
always
Imperial equipment is broadly defined by Standard
Official
Contracts, deals for a company to supply a design
Length
machinery for a 52 year period. Combat Genertions
and
about due to this, changing each time a contractor is
come
as technology advances. During a Combat
changed
a given piece of equipment is produced by a
Generation
manufacturer, as well as by ImpAr on their
particular
Particular corporations will dominate a given area
behalf.
a given generation, and competition for each new
for
contract is extremely fierce.
generational
core Imperial Army is given the first pick of all new
The
and replaces and supplements its stock until it
equipment,
satisfied, a time which can easily take half of a generation
is
more. Once the Imperial Army is content with its lot the
or
is released to the Tomes, who typically act
equipment
to the Imperial Army and update their First
similarly
Page Armies first, followed by each successive
Chapter's
In this way it can take many decades for cutting-
Chapter.
equipment to reach the later Chapters, with the
edge
and now Fifth Chapters being three combat
Fourth
behind the Imperial Army. Civilian equipment
generations
generally on par with Fourth Chapter equipment as a
is
.
Aircraft
commanders.
Beast Corps
prospect to Imperial armourers.
attractive
Combat Generations
result, if not better.
are abundantly common in Tale, and form one of
Humans
four dominant species along with orcs, dwarves, and
its
The Emperor himself is supposedly human, as are
elves.
of the Privy Council.
much
naturally quick to multiply, highly adaptive and
Being
driven, humans make up forty percent of the
extremely
population. Their cultures are extremely diverse
Empire’s
they fall into the broad
(although
etc moulds as they always
Amatsukamin/Aesiric/Pesdjetian
and they can be found anywhere.
have),
and half-orcs are common in the empire. Tale had a
Orcs
native orcish population in its steppe hordes, who
large
cowed by the Emperor’s fantastical weapons and
were
into the Imperial military very early in its history.
brought
are highly pragmatic but innately resistant to
Orcs
and highly quarrelsome. They have some
authority
with Imperial society as a result, but function well
difficulty
the Frontier, where most of the Empire’s orc population
on
be found. Orcs are usually employed in the military and
can
industries, and are usually the preferred choices
security
the invading of new worlds as the empire’s expansionist
for
are entirely in line with the teachings of Gruumsh.
policies
are neatly blended into orcish society at
Hobgoblins
or less all levels, and occupy very similar positions.
more
numbers of scro can also be found across the
Moderate
Empire.
are vital to the daily operating of the empire, and
Dwarves
the second most populous race after humans. Dwarven
are
were the first allies of the Emperor, courted by his
clans
of efficiency and lawful society, and have been
promises
integrated into the empire since that day.
heavily
are generally employed in heavy industry roles,
Dwarves
make up the majority of the population of the world of
and
Tome. In other Tomes they are less common, but far
Orgain
rare. from
are also common in the empire, although they
Duregar
more or less entirely restricted to Orgain Tome as their
are
for underground climes means that they require
preference
with Underdarks or large mines, both of which are
worlds
the purview of Orgain. There is little to no
considered
to Imperial censuses over 93% of Imperial
According
are employed in the military, and they are over-
dragonborn
in the Imperial Army (the force which answers
represented
to the Privy Council as opposed to a Page World)
directly
a factor of nearly 2000%. The Empire loves dragonborn,
by
their martial culture and fierce devotion to their
especially
and considers them highly capable, dependable, and
oaths,
soldiers.
loyal
are nonetheless rare in the empire, as they
Dragonborn
infrequently encountered during expansion and
are
incentive programs) breed relatively slowly. The
(despite
citizen on the street therefore rarely if ever sees
average
in their daily lives.
dragonborn
the many dragonborn employed in the military most
Of
The Imperial Races
Humans
Orcs
Dwarves
between the peoples at this juncture.
animosity
Dragonborn
are employed in Beast and Drake Corps.
science asserts that elves are born of the Feywild,
Imperial
that they struggle when not surrounded by life. Ugly,
and
imperial cities of concrete and steel do not sit well
sterile
elves, and as a result they gravitate towards the one
with
of “nature” that the Empire respects- intensive
form
Most of the Empire’s food is grown by elves,
hydroponics.
at least by elven overseers. The Evergloom Tome is also
or
by elves, meaning that the race in general has
ruled
influence compared to its meagre
disproportionate
Elven artisans and artists are also very
population.
in the Empire, with a large proportion of the
prominent
public celebrities being elven.
Empire’s
Elves
High
original aristocrats of Evergloom were generally
The
Elves, and they remain so to this day. High Elves run
High
of Evergloom's businesses and government, and
much
old families also count members of the upper levels
many
the Imperial government in their number.
of
Elves
Wood
elves are naturally attuned to nature, an
Wood
trait in the Empire, but are preserved from the
unenviable
fate of the firbolgs by the natural unity and
terrible
haughtiness of the Evergloom governments.
imperialistic
elves as a result are usually able to escape the
Wood
heart of the Empire and make their ways either
industrial
Note worlds to to the ever-expanding frontier. The first
to
of settlers in a new land is usually of wood elves for
wave
reason, who move into newest Imperial acquisitions
this
another world is acquired, at which point they move
until
and leave their homes open for humans and orcs.
on
Eladrin
are surprisingly common in the Empire,
Eladrin
their relationship with Tale is strained. The
although
to put it very mildly, does not like the Feywild as it
Empire,
a world of whimsy and change beyond its direct control.
is
a result worlds outside of Evergloom Tome usually have
As
Feywilds purged using massive forest-clearing
their
known as Arborciders, supported by massive orc
machines
who will remain in the Feywild their entire lives.
armies
from these Feywilds are usually moved to
Eladrin
Feywilds which are tamed by constant Imperial
Evergloom
their inhabitants monitored for signs of secession.
efforts,
Drow
are a largely subjugated class in the Empire, and
Drow
in disenfranchised ghettos on many worlds of the
live
Tome. They are usually driven from Underdarks
Evergloom
they are found, and when they are not removed their
when
are put under heavy curfew as their political classes
cities
religious institutions are destroyed. The Empire has no
and
for the traditional drow ways of life, and does not
tolerance
its existence when Duregar are so much more
permit
to its needs.
amenable
Elves Half
humans are extremely common in the Empire,
Half-elven
outstripping the populations of full elves of all
massively
There are no parts of the empire where half elves
types.
be found in large numbers except for some of the
cannot
of Orgain Tome, but even here half-elves thrive
worlds
to their natural charm and long lifespans.
thanks
elves are defined by the Taleish censuses as any
Half
possessing at least one ancestor of full elvish blood
human
of every four born in the last millenium. If it were not
out
this limitation (which, amongst other things, excludes
for
children of multiple half-elves) they would be the
the
most populous race in the Empire and on track to
second
humans by the year IMP 2620.
outnumber
.
Elves
of the Imperial gnomish population calls Evergloom
Most
Orgain Tome its home. They are natural scientists,
or
and technicians and gravitate towards such
engineers
whenever opportunities present themselves. Many
fields
innovations were invented by gnomes, and the
Imperial
punches well above its weight class in this regard.
race
simple life craved by halflings is alive and well in the
The
but it is not the way of their ancestors. Halflings
Empire,
towards the freer worlds of the Empire, where
gravitate
tend to slip into a broad middle class of picket fences
they
pleasant enough apartments. This may just be the
and
luck at work, but it certainly seems to work for
halfling
are uncommon in the empire, just as they are
Tieflings
but far from unheard of. Tieflings generally
everywhere,
to their own worlds when they have kingdoms of their
keep
or gravitate towards these kingdoms when they do
own,
not.
Genasi, and other planetouched tend towards
Tieflings,
where they can quell the arcane side of them- for
jobs
this usually mean managerial or corporate
tieflings
of control, although they also have a good hand in
positions
anything which gives them power enough to quiet
finance,
nagging voices in their head. For earth genasi for
the
this often means travelling to Orgain Tome, where
example
can be surrounded by earth just as their ancestors
they
were.
in general tend to form quarters within
Planetouched
cities. Having visited these places I would say they
Imperial
usually too nice to be called “ghettos”, but the word
are
at the edge of the mind.
hovers
is difficult for beings over seven feet tall. Caloric intake,
Life
requirements, the cavalcades of issues that come
housing
pushing a bipedal spine to its limits, the ever-looming
with
of square-cube, law all these issues mount up. This
spectre
one of the reasons why such species tend to violence in
is
farming is not energy efficient for them, but tribute
nature-
raiding usually is.
and
of these problems remain in the Empire, but some
Many
fixed. Easy access to low-cost calorie-dense foods
are
that the races the Empire classes as “heavy
means
can survive more easily, and generally tend to
peoples”
less violent. They also tend to become fat and
become
due to their metabolism and brain chemistry, but
sedentary
is neither here nor there.
that
heavy peoples become manual labourers or
Most
where their natural abilities are useful and they do
soldiers
have to interact with devices not designed for them.
not
also tend to form quarters in cities, where everything
They
Gnomes
Halflings
them.
Tieflings, Genasi, and other
Planetouched
Minotaurs, Goliaths, and other “heavy”
races.
is scaled a little too big for the smaller peoples.
society is in theory regimented, but at its edges
Imperial
its base a fragmented anarchy reigns with little direct
and
This is where a number of species who are too
control
and often too stupid to function in
quarrelsome
Imperial society end up, forming a seedy
conventional
of criminals and extremely lower classes.
underbelly
life and pastoral living are rare in the empire, which
Simple
forests and sacred glades as sources of lumber
sees
it and mineral deposits. Creatures which need
between
things to continue their way of life do not fare well in
such
Empire, and are generally hounded to the edges of their
the
before being forced to come begging to the Imperial
world
or starve. Such people are usually sent to the
colonists
Tome where they spend the rest of their lives
Evergloom
rare or powerful races in the empire are designated
Some
or Extreme Special Interest Races. Although the
ESIRs,
of most Imperial citizens are tracked the
movements
of ESIs are heavily monitored at all times, and the
location
can often find themselves pressed into service.
people
Giants
who did not secede with the Pages of Stoss are
Giants
by the Empire as its best soldiers. Hill giant
treasured
may possess a limited tactical acumen but even
infantry
can grasp the ideas of simple firearms, while fire and
they
giants live for Imperial wars as surely as they live for
frost
Surtur's.
Illithids
position of mind flayers in Imperial society is a
The
one full of exceptions. Driven by an instinctive
complex
to dominate and expand the illithids are naturally
desire
to the Empire's methods, but all servitude rankles
attuned
Elder Brain and the natural xenophobia of the species
an
little to aid this.
does
rarely mingle with other Imperial citizens, and it
Illithids
to be an even chance whether a world's mind
appears
communities will align with Imperial invaders,
flayer
to repel them, or simply abandon the world to its
attempt
with their nautiloids. What illithids do join the Empire
fate
make their homes far from other citizens and will
normally
rise to the top of whatever enterprises they choose
quickly
associate themselves with.
to
Undead
undead are not persecuted in the Empire, but
Intelligent
propagation of undead is allowed murder remains
while
and any necromancer who is unable to control his
illegal,
will face similar punishment to any other industrial
undead
disaster.
a lich myself I was pleasantly surprised by how well
As
Empire received and accepted me. I was not refused
the
with governors or business leaders due to my
audiences
although my presence was not appreciated
nature,
the lower classes. I was also able to acquire souls
amongst
fill my phylactery from amongst the debt-slaves of
to
Ingress worlds, which I understand is common
multiple
Imperial liches.
amongst
and liches head multiple Imperial corporations
Vampires
often rise highly in such organisations due to a lack of
and
needs and large amounts of experience in relevant
general
.
Goblins, Gnolls, Bugbears, Kobolds,
Lizardfolk, and other anarchics.
Firbolgs, Centaurs, and similar
farming, as do their dwindling lines of descendants.
ESIs or Extreme Special Interest Races
fields.
are nearly three hundred recognised gods in the
There
often competing with each other for worshippers
Empire,
quasi-power Buddha Gautama has assumed a role of
The
head for several faiths within the Empire, which
pantheon
collectively referred to as Taleish Dharmism. This
are
also incorporates significant Bureaucratic
religion
creating a faith based around peace and order
practices,
diverges quite significantly from its constituent
which
roots.
Dharmism preaches the cyclical nature of
Taleish
acceptance of authority, nonviolence, frugality,
existence,
a pursuit of inner peace.
and
Life, Trickery, Ambition, Mind, Beauty
Domains:
Lawful Good
Alignment:
of the few Abyssal forces openly worshipped in the
One
Graz'zt is the Imperial god of artistry, hedonism
Empire,
celebration. From theatres to strip clubs, Graz'zt's
and
is exalted wherever emotion and "the moment"
name
reason and structure.
surpass
of the six-fingered gods run various clubs of
"Priests"
and indulgence across the Empire, usually running
excess
the edge of the legal system. One service they provide is
on
"Sigil of Six", a tattoo on those who wish for it that
the
the protection of an abyssal lord for all those
guarantees
want it in exchange for a constant tithe of their
who
as well as whatever else the church asks for.
earnings...
Trickery, Ambition, Mind, Beauty
Domains:
Chaotic Evil
Alignment:
Obsidian Butterfly has long cemented her role as the
The
Death god of the Taleish, edging out the Raven
primary
to occupy the coveted position. She is the preeminent
Queen
power controlling the cycle of death and rebirth,
has a hand in battle as one of the Empire's many gods
and
war. of
clerics of Itzpapalotl handle anti-undeath duties
The
the Empire, and work to both deliver children and
across
out the dead. The massive stepped pyramids which for
lay
primary churches are also used for the
Itzpapalotl's
of her old pantheon, as well as the ritual
worship
of precious objects, food, and occasionally
sacrificing
to the Queen of the Dead.
criminals
Death, Grave, Life, War, Peace, Blood
Domains:
Gods of the Empire
sharing portfolios.
and
Bane
Buddha Gautama
Graz'zt
Gruumsh
Itzpapalotl
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
is the Empire's great god of magic, having muscled
Odin
way into the position through dint of being one of the
his
High Gods of the arcane. The Empire reveres the oneeyed
only
king as the bringer of knowledge and prophecy, and
is known to be liberal with his favour when it comes to
he
mages who remember him in their moments of
Imperial
victory.
Life, Light, Order, Peace, Solidarity, City
Domains:
is the king of sunlight, law, justice, and civilisation.
Pelor
the Empire's chief deity, Pelor's face in the
Arguably
is focused on justice and the responsibilities of a
Empire
both to bring civilisation to others and support
civilisation,
within your own community.
those
Church of Pelor is one of the biggest in the Empire,
The
deeply involved with local and Imperial-level charity.
and
also work hard to incorporate conquered peoples into
They
Empire to prevent their exploitation in unfamiliar
the
Informally they are also present in the Empire to
situations.
the Church of Bane, and prevent a stranglehold of
oppose
across Tale.
Tyranny
Life, Light, Order, Peace, Solidarity, City
Domains:
Neutral Good
Alignment:
is the Empire's god of creation and artifice, its
Ptah
patron of science and technica. Imperial
primary
Odin
Arcana, Knowledge, Nature, War
Alignment:
Pelor
Ptah
of Ptah do not general
worshippers
Waukeen
Empire's constant conquests and expansions have
The
it into contact with a great many polities and
brought
which also consider themselves inter-world players.
powers
no one of these powers can oppose the Empire in
Though
battle they do, all together, keep it constantly tested
open
with little room for it to rest on its laurels.
and
Vodoni Empire has been a sworn enemy of the Taleish
The
since the Bydlow wars, where the Taleish successfully
ever
the world against the vast Vodoni assaults.
held
Vodoni were once the equals of the Taleish,
The
armoured vehicles and automatic weapons with
opposing
spelljammers and nigh-invulnerable
supersonic
infantry. The two empires clashed on dozens
lycanthropic
occasions, although the wolves of the stars never
of
a Taleish world.
conquered
Vodoni were eventually defeated not by the Taleish
The
by the Free Space Alliance, and the subsequent Taleish
but
of the Vodoni capital world would suggest that
conquest
particular foe is defeated, although the Taleish
this
to ban Vodoni imagery and there are most
continue
remnants of the were-men out in the blackness of
definitely
wildspace.
Empire's opportunity to make peace with Lolth has
The
since passed, and her position on the proscription list
long
earned the Empire the eternal emnity of both the
has
of Spiders and her entire subservient pantheon.
Queen
had no Underdark of its own (extensive mining
Tale
have since changed this) and I question if the
operations
truly understood what it was doing when it made
Empire
enemy of an inter-sphere Power who controls an entire
an
of the Abyss, but the die is long since cast and now
layer
and her pantheon are mortal enemies of the Empire.
Lolth
has shown a willingness to work even with her
Lolth
hated enemies in order to harm the Empire, and is
most
of an assembling leader for the proscribed
something
and Power-adjacents. If I were pressed to name
Powers
force that would ultimately destroy the Empire it would
the
these beings- making the enemy of Powers is rarely
be
major consequence, and making nearly a score
without
enemies is demanding your own death.
such
Thri-Keen empire known as the Stars of the Mantis,
The
in the Taleish Empire as the Biters, is currenty the
known
and most populous Empire recorded in the Hall.
largest
it differs from the Taleish in many significant ways
Though
shares a deep and abiding love of expansion and a
it
for fresh resources that the Taleish would be able to
hunger
as an echo of their own if they had enough self
recognise
awareness.
have written extensively about the Mantis before in my
I
works, and see no need to repeat myself here. It is an
other
vast polity of trillions, packed into
incomprehensibly
eighteen hundred worlds. It is also a distressing
around
led by its psionic overlord god-emperor and
theocracy,
with its supposed ancient gods named the
obssessed
The Empire's Enemies
Head Above the Parapets
The Vodoni Empire
The Dark Seldarine
The Stars of the Mantis
"Juna", who I have yet to see any evidence of divinity for.
Though the Taleish outstrip the Mantis comfortably in
.
of technology the Mantis have a deep understanding
terms
Spelljammers matched only by the Arcane themselves,
of
quality rimfire firearms, and seemingly infinite
high
After the Mantis successfully invaded two
manpower.
worlds and stole the secrets of advanced firearms
Taleish
Taleish have taken great pains to prevent their enemies
the
securing any more advanced technology, and have
from
forced to scour six different Note Worlds with nuclear
been
after concerted Mantis attacks.
fire
Dearth Arcane has many names across the multiverse.
The
inhabitants of Abeir-Toril know it as the Spellplague.
The
people of Oerth call it Mordekainen's Slumber.
The
of its name the effects are largely identical
Regardless
the multiverse- the cessation or pausing of Arcane
across
of all types.
magic
exact extent of the Dearth Arcane varies from world
The
world. Torillian mages lost all active magic. Eyokra was
to
of all life due to the absence of even the basic
scoured
weave destroying the concepts of souls and
universal
Maerosi mages barely recorded anything except for
gravity.
series of otherwise inexplicable phenomena.
a
the Empire the Chapter Gates flickered and
Across
to fail at different rates. Several worlds were
began
altogether from the broader network for
seperated
periods and were forced to provide for
extended
for up to ten years at a time, causing many to
themselves
extreme rationing and martial law.
implement
the conclusion of the Dearth Arcane twenty seven of
By
seventy five Page worlds had seceded from the Tale
the
Worlds had previously attempted this on many
Empire.
but rarely if ever had they been Page worlds and
occasions,
had they seceded in such quantities. The Imperial
never
once those ten years had concluded was
response
Revising was a long series of wars to reclaim the
The
worlds, already underway when I arrived on
seceded
for the first time. Lasting for a total of thirty seven
Meldest
an eventually claiming a total of three billion lives, the
years
Revising was a gruelling experience for the Empire
broader
a terrible ordeal for the worlds trying to preserve their
and
I estimate
independence.
exact impacts of the Revising are difficult to assess
The
they are extremely mixed. The Empire is extremely
as
on propaganda victories and an appearance of
reliant
in order to maintain its unity, and could
invincibility
have not kept up its internal authority without
certainly
the treacherous worlds. It was also ultimately
reclaiming
in these wars, although they were far more
victorious
than any wars the Empire had ever fought before
difficult
cost the lives of more sons and daughters than any
and
event in Imperial history save for the Great
single
Reordering.
Revising was also not completed, and remains
The
to this day. Although it was declared concluded
unfinished
Imperial media sixty eight years ago this was not strictly
by
one major secessionist power remains, the terrifying
true-
was one of the last worlds of the Second Chapter, a
Stoss
where the old war between the giants and dragons
world
still ongoing, moving between hot and cold periods as
was
side retired to recover and rearm themselves. The
each
of the Empire to Stoss reignited this conflict and
arrival
to a giant victory in which the dragons were forced to
lead
from the world altogether, with the lawful and good
retreat
being taken to Evergloom worlds and the black
dragons
The Revising
The Dearth Arcane
a concentrated campaign of reconquest.
predictable-
The Revising War
indomitable Stoss Ordning.
and
The Stoss Ordning
and red dragons being driven out into the multiverse.
Stoss quickly became a powerful tool of the Empire, having
.
tempered with more than twenty five thousand years
been
intermittent war, and took quickly to Imperial
of
Incorporated into the Tome of Bydlow the
technologies.
of Stoss were seeded with Imperial settlers,
hinterlands
the world's independence and identity as a world of
but
was never properly eroded as so many other Bydlow
giants
were.
worlds
was always a difficult world for the Empire to
Stoss
and it fequently expected concessions in exchange
control,
the service of its formiddable giant armies, including
for
assigning of subordinate worlds. When the Dearth
the
struck it was perhaps unsurprising that Stoss
Arcane
from the Empire along with its six subordinate
seceded
to form an empire of its own. Known as the Stoss
worlds
it is an entrenched and powerful empire of its
Ordning,
a dangerous force exporting the Ordning to all worlds.
own,
is now the greatest of thorns in the Empire's side, and the
It
resounding Taleish propaganda failure.
most
the Empire is authoritarian the Stoss Ordning is
If
else altogether. Anyone familiar with the
something
knows it exists to put everyone in their place, and
Ordning
liberties and social mobility the Empire allows its
whatever
are missing altogether from the Ordning.
citizens
Stossin wars are a series of major ongoing wars to
The
the Stoss Ordning for the Empire. At current these
reclaim
have been raging for sixty four years and have no end
wars
sight. in
of the Ordning's worlds have been reclaimed by the
Two
but eight more have been colonised or conquered
Empire,
the Stossin since the beginning of the Dearth Arcane.
by
Stossin army is incredibly difficult to repel from its
The
worlds, having begun with a similar level of technology
held
the Empire and now having had plenty of time to
to
army of the Stoss Ordning is similar to, although
The
from, the Armies of the Empire. Its has access to
divergent
of the Empire's own technology, including armoured
many
and Ironclads. Its armies are comprised of giants
vehicles
with weapons it would normally take an Ironclad to
armed
assorted native monsters of Stoss, and the terrifying
wield,
bayagor.
bayagor are a race of what Imperial scientists
The
to be Giant-Kin, a conclusion I agree with having
believe
the autopsy and vivisection reports. Originally arising
seen
the Stossin underdark, the bayagor were a deeply
from
and treacherous race, with the violent disposition of
violent
Giants, the natural cruelty of the Verbeeg and
Fire
and the general physical composition of the
Fomorians,
Originally exterminated by the Empire at the
Firbolgs.
of a long and difficult war, the bayagor have
conclusion
resurfaced and become the primary infantry of
somehow
Stoss Ordning. Their rate of multiplication has been
the
astonishing, and apparently allows the Stossin to
similarly
attacks on the Empire and other worlds more or
launch
whenever their materiel allows, with manpower being
less
nonfactor.
a
rate of replenishment of the bayagor is troubling, as
The
the rate at which they displace native populations after
is
I have not been able to glean additional
conquest.
about them, and they are not recorded on any
information
of which I am aware. Whatever they may exactly be
world
may be a matter of grave concern.
capable
The Stossin Wars
prepare its defences.
The Ordning Army and the Bayagor
the surface it may seem like the structure and scale of
On
Empire is countrary to a place of adventure, but this is
The
at best flawed perspective. While the face the Taleish
an
is of unity and law this belies the truth, a place of
present
violence and chaos if one knows where to
near-constant
look.
special operations groups to intelligence agencies,
From
assassination to corporate espionage, law
political
to gang warfare, and frontier exploration to
enforcement
the ruins of the past, there is always room for the
delving
individual to make their mark on Tale. All that
exceptional
scale of the Empire means is that the small problems
the
more personal, and the big problems are so much
are
worse...
are undoubtedly the easiest to slot into Tale. From
Fighters
to soldiers to mercenaries to law enforcement
militiamen
gangsters, there's no real difficulty in fitting a Fighter
to
the Empire.
into
you will shortly discover, guns are merely martial
As
for citizens of the Empire, meaning that Fighters
weapons
many other classes for that matter) are proficient in
(and
by default.
them
as assassins, thieves, conmen or simple criminals,
Whether
(or at least those of a Rogueish type) are common
Rogues
the Empire's underbelly.
in
rogues can use Hacker's Tools (and indeed can
Many
their starting Thieve's Tools proficiency for
exchange
which is invaluable in the modern Empire.
hacking),
detailed above the Empire is home to many, many gods.
As
of these deities are powerful beings with massive
Some
entrenched churches, others rely on a few faithful to
and
their good word. Regardless of their exact situation,
spread
are as beloved in the Empire as they are across the
clerics
with many hiring their services as healers and
Multiverse,
out to mercenary groups in exchange for large
warders
to their church.
donations
Taleish make constant use of wizards as Combat
The
in the military, and also in more private capacities,
Mages
services to the wealthy in exchange for frankly
providing
amounts of coin. Most Imperial Wizards train in
ludicrous
great universities of the Empire, like the famed
the
College of Tale, but there are still dozens of other
Invisible
to learn the arcane arts, not least from the ancient
ways
reclusive mages of a hundred conquered worlds who
and
dwell in their towers far from civilisation, wisely left to
still
own devices by the Taleish.
their
can make little use of guns, even clunkers are
Wizards
beyond them, but where science fails magic often
largely
are a little tricky to slot into Tale, primarily
Barbarians
of the primal aspect to their flavour, but this is not
because
Perhaps you call the frontier home and
insurmountable.
taken to its wild ways, or your world was only revently
have
into the Imperial fold? Alternatively if you're willing
brought
twist the flavour... A Heavy Trooper long since addicted
to
his adrenaline supplements, a street-level thug with a
to
strong connection to his distant plains
surprisingly
or just a librarian with breathtaking anger
ancestors,
issues.
management
to no Barbarian class features work with a ranged
Few
and guns don't change this. My advice? Weld a
weapon,
Adventuring in Tale
Clerics
Wizards
Fighters
prevails...
Barbarians
Rogues
Silenced pistols can also be of great help for a Rogue.
shotgun to a greatsword and get stuck in.
advent of mass media created the modern celebrity
The
brought the arts into every home. Music has never
and
more prolific or faster-changing than it is now in the
been
of Tale, and great Bards from across the Multiverse
Empire
make their way to the Empire to learn what it
frequently
teach them. Bards can be c
can
Druids are the real victims of the Imperial ways, and
The
being a Druid is unlikely to be illegal on a given
while
militant environmentalism certainly is. Perhaps this
world,
a good time to remind you that there is a lot of life in a
is
and that vermin are as natural as anything else, no
city,
how many chips they eat. Alternatively stop washing
matter
hair, grow your beard out, and smoke that good shit to
your
with nature even when you're halfway up a
connect
skyscraper.
aren't metal, and the best armour is made of
Composites
Does that mean Taleish Druids can wear half plate?
them.
question.
Good
a Monk is a prize fighter who breaks legs for a
Perhaps
in a fighting pit or a fully-fledged follower of Buddha
living
seeking enlightenment. Though the Empire
Gautama
its soldiers in melee fighting unarmed combat isn't
trains
a subject focused on, so there's no real help there,
really
while guns run out of ammunition and swords can be
but
is very little magic that is absolutely illegal in the
There
and though social mores may look down on those
Empire,
consort with demons, the undead, or far stranger
who
there are still those who bargain for power. There
things
a surprisingly large number of Warlocks in the Empire,
are
amongst the upper classes where CEOs and
especially
sell their souls to beings who know the exact
politicians
of a life, down to the nearest cent in many cases.
value
are extremely common in the Empire, and are
Artificers
for the entire field of Technica on which the
responsible
runs. Everything needs the technica of an Artificer,
Empire
communications to power generation to the
from
of Mind Cores and Weavehammers, and they
fundamentals
ubiquitous as a result.
are
Artificers are of course proficient with all guns.
Imperial
be a bit silly for them not to be,
It'd
is no weapon which the Empire will forever forego,
There
the arts of the Blood Hunter are no exception. Perhaps
and
learned your arts in an experimental military program,
you
from an elder of a conquered or frontier people. Perhaps
or
learned them yourself, in one of the great magical
you
college.
of this book, like Ironclads and Vehicles, were
Elements
designed with Blood Hunters in mind and you may well
not
some odd interactions. These are the risks you run
find
you play unofficial material.
when
Bards
Druid
Monks
a good fist remains on the end of your arm.
dropped,
Paladins
Rangers
Sorcerers
old arcane
The
Warlocks
Artificers
Blood Hunters
soldiers are well-versed in fighting enemies who
Imperial
much more dangerous than they are from a physical
are
Giants, dragons, and even titans have learned
perspective.
respect the use of advanced weapons and the methods of
to
forces.
Imperial
combat-trained folk of the Empire can use Rodeo and
All
armoured vehicles and war beasts are usually
Although
well protected they often have comparatively
extremely
points. Although these points can be harder to
vulnerable
they often allow for the target to be more easily crippled,
hit
even killed.
or
Point Targeting attack can be made against any target
A
or more sizes larger than the attacker instead of a
two
attack. In this case the target's armour class is
conventional
by either its dexterity bonus or proficiency bonus
increased
is higher), but if the target is hit it must take a
(whichever
check against the damage. If the target fails
concentration
check then the attacker can choose to apply one of the
the
Kill: The target's speed is reduced by half until
Mobility
end of its next turn.
the
The target cannot use one of its weapons
Disarmed:
turn (chosen by the attacker) and, if applicable,
next
it. drops
Sensors: The target is blinded until the end
Scrambled
its next turn.
of
The target is rendered unable to make a
Downed:
flight until the end of their next turn. Fixed
powered
aircraft cannot turn, accelerate, or climb on their
wing
turn, and other creatures like dragons and vehicles
next
helicopters fall.
like
This attack is considered to have been a
Heartseeker:
critical hit.
normal
effects can also be applied instead of the normal
These
of a critical hit if the attacker so chooses.
effects
creatures are immune to some effects, for
Some
the magically hovering Beholder cannot be
example
as it has nothing to damage and an ooze cannot
downed
its sensors crippled as its entire body is a sensor.
have
fighting armoured vehicles or large war beasts in an
When
space the chance of death for the average
enclosed
is, to put it mildly, astronomical. Imperial
infantryman
manuals therefore recommend using risky and
combat
maneuvers such as "combat mounting",
dangerous
known as "Rodeo", in order to slightly improve
informally
odds.
these
creature can attempt to Rodeo any creature at least
A
size classes larger than it instead of making a melee
two
To do this it must make a contested athetics or
attack.
check (its choice) against the target, with the
acrobatics
also making the same check. If the creature
target
the rodeo is successful then it rodeos its target.
attempting
a creature is rodeoing another it is subjected to
While
Two Handed property on weapons is ignored (and
The
weapons always use the improved damage
Versatile
when attacking the rodeoed creature.
dice)
and spell attacks against the rodeoed creature
Attacks
Damage Threshold.
ignore
rolls against the rodeoed creature have
Attack
advantage.
rodeoed creature has disadvantage on attacks against
A
creature rodeoing it.
any
rodeoing creatre has disadvantage on all dexterity
The
saves.
rodeoing creature's position is always considered to
The
rodeoing creature can use its reaction whenever it
A
including immediately before it takes damage, to
wishes,
its rodeo and dismount the creature, in which case it is
end
at any location of its choice which is in contact with
placed
previously rodeoed creature. If this means that the
the
creature would no longer be eligible to take
rodeoing
(for example it has moved out of an area of effect)
damage
it does not take the damage.
then
rodeoeing creature can also dismount the creature it is
A
at will on its own turn in the same way (this can
rodeoing
used to "vault" over a creature by rodeoing and
be
it in the same turn).
dismounting
rodeoed creature can spend an action to make a
A
athletics or acrobatics check (its choice) against
contested
rodeoing creature's athletics check. If the rodeoed
every
wins the check against a rodeoing creature then
creature
rodeoing creature is dismounted as above and
the
hit with one of the rodeoed creature's melee
immediately
(its choice, not including attacks currently on some
attacks
of recharge or which require spell slots) to represent
form
Imperial Combat
Techniques
Rodeo
Point Targeted attacks.
Point Targeting
the following effects;
following effects:
be somewhere overlapping with the rodeoed creature's.
A Special Set of Skills
In addition to the normal rules of the Player's
Hanbook a number of proficiencies are added for
Imperial citizens:
Technica is an Intelligence skill, referring to the
study of technology, and Militaria, referring to
understanding of military history, equipment and
tactics, is a Wisdom skill. Technica is available in
addition to Arcana as an alternative whenever
Arcana is available, and Militaria is available in the
same way as an alternative to Athletics and
History.
Air Vehicles are also an available tool
proficiency for Imperial characters, available as a
choice whenever Land Vehicles would be
available. Hacker's Tools are also an available tool
proficiency whenever Thief's Tools are available.
how it forced off the rodeoing creature.
soldiers, militias and civilians use a wide variety of weapons and equipment to defend themselves or destroy their
Imperial
As one might expect across five hundred worlds there is a considerable variation in both the makes and purposes of
enemies.
but broad categories do still remain. The following weapon types are widely available throughout the Empire.
weapons,
Weapons:
Clunker
weapons are produced for civilian self-defense, requiring little training or physical ability to use, and only a little
Clunker
to purchase. They are never automatic (automatic weapons are restricted on some Imperial worlds) and usually fire a
wealth
lower-calibre bullet.
cheaper,
Weapons:
Infantry
weapons are man-portable weapons used by human-sized creatures for general combat. They fire rounds ranging
Infantry
around the short .35" in the case of autopistols to .95" for the largest antipersonnel rifles, with the mainstay round being
from
long .35" round used in most battle rifles. Energy-based anti-infantry weapons are currently being introduced in the
the
with the current cutting edge of infantry equipment being the Heavy Laser long-range weapon.
Empire,
Weapons:
Heavy
weapons are used for anti-materiel purposes, or against large groups of enemies. They are heavy and poorly suited
Heavy
All Infantry and Heavy weapons are considered to be Martial Weapons, and all Clunker and Ironclad weapons are
Note:
to be Simple Weapons. For the purposes of interacting with feats and class features Infantry, Heavy, Clunker, and
considered
weapons also count as guns (or firearms, gunpowder weapons, or whatever term is used), bows and crossbows. All
Ironclad
pistols (weapons without the Two Handed property) are also considered to be Hand Crossbows for proficiency's sake
Light
Imperial Weapons
for use against infantry, but capable of penetrating the armour of (amongst other things) Ironclads.
Infantry Weapons
Weapon Cost Damage Weight Properties
Long Arns
Assault Rifle $600 1d8 piercing 9 lbs Ammunition (range 300/1200), Reload (16), Rapid Fire, Two Handed
Battle Rifle $800 1d10
piercing
10 lbs Ammunition (range 400/1500), Reload (8), Two Handed
Heavy Laser $25000 2d12 radiant 13 lbs Ammunition (range 400/6000), Reload (4), Slow Fire, Sniper, Two
Handed, Instant Travel
Marksman Rifle $6500 2d12
piercing
12 lbs Ammunition (range 400/6000), Reload (4), Slow Fire, Two Handed
Sniper Rifle $9800 6d4 piercing 15 lbs Ammunition (range 400/6000), Reload (4), Slow Fire, Sniper, Two
Handed
Pistols
Heavy Pistol $250 1d10
piercing
6 lbs Ammunition (range 300/1500), Reload (8), Brutish, Unwieldy
Light Pistol $150 1d6 piercing 2 lbs Ammunition (range 75/375), Reload (8), Light
Machine Pistol $300 1d4 piercing 2 lbs Ammunition (range 25/120), Reload (16), Light, Rapid Fire
Pistol $250 1d8 piercing 3 lbs Ammunition (range 150/750), Reload (8)
Shotgun Pistol $300 2d12(2d8)
piercing
4 lbs Ammunition (range 40/80), Reload (1), Brutish, Scattergun
Submachinegun $500 1d6 piercing 6 lbs Ammunition (range 25/120), Reload (16), Rapid Fire
Machineguns
Laser Repeater
Light
Machinegun
$18000 1d8 piercing 20 lbs Ammunition (range 300/1500), Pipe Fed, Brutish, Instant Travel, Rapid
Fire, Two Handed, Unwieldy
$4000 1d10
piercing
23 lbs Ammunition (range 300/1500), Reload (16), Brutish, Rapid Fire, Two
Handed, Unwieldy
Plasma Caster $20000 1d10 fire 26 lbs Ammunition (range 300/1500), Pipe Fed, Brutish, Rapid Fire, Two
Handed, Unwieldy
Shotguns
Automatic
Shotgun
$2000 1d12(1d8)
piercing
Shotgun $700 4d6(2d10)
piercing
Special Weapons
9 lbs Ammunition (range 40/80), Reload (8), Brutish, Rapid Fire, Two
Handed
8 lbs Ammunition (range 40/80), Reload (4), Scattergun, Brutish, Slow Fire,
Two Handed
Flamethrower $3000 2d6 fire 75 lbs Incinerator (30/20), Pipe-Fed, Two Handed, Unwieldy
Micro Grenade
Launcher
$1000 1d8 thunder 3 lbs Ammunition (range 25/100), Slow Reload(1), Blast(5/1d8 slashing),
Brutish, Light
Sturmgun $22000 1d10
lightning
60 lbs Ammunition (range 40/120), Arc Line (5/1d10 lightning), Instant
Travel, Pipe Fed, Slow Fire, Two Handed
Clunker Weapons
Weapon Cost Damage Weight Properties
Clunker Pistol $100 1d6 piercing 2 lbs Ammunition (range 200/1000), Reload (6)
Clunker Rifle $400 1d8 piercing 10 lbs Ammunition (range 400/2000), Reload (6), Two Handed
Clunker
Shotgun
$250 2d12(2d8)
piercing
9 lbs Ammunition (range 40/120), Brutish, Reload (2), Scattergun, Slow Fire,
Two Handed
Heavy Weapons
Weapon Cost Damage Weight Properties
AM Rifle $9500 6d8
piercing 110
lbs
AT Laser $70000 6d6
radiant
Grenade
Launcher
Heavy
Flamethrower
$15000 1d8
thunder
110
lbs
55 lbs
$8000 4d6 fire 80 lbs
Heavy
Machinegun $14000
piercing 3d8
Microrocket
Launcher
MP Rotary
Cannon
$22000 3d6
thunder
90 lbs
100
lbs
$17000 3d6
piercing 140
lbs
MP
Sturmcannon $60000
lightning 2d6 110
lbs
Rocket
Launcher
$750 2d8
thunder
15 lbs
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 400/6000), Reload (4), Instant Travel,
Emplacement, Heavy, Slow Fire, Sniper, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 400/6000), Reload (4), Instant Travel,
Emplacement, Heavy, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 25/100), Reload (6), Blast(5/1d8 slashing),
Brutish, Emplacement, Heavy, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Incinerator (50/30), Emplacement, Heavy, Pipe Fed, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 300/1500), Reload (1), Cannon,
Emplacement, Heavy, Rapid Fire, Slow Reload (16), Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 300/1500), Reload (16), Cannon,
Emplacement, Heavy, Rapid Fire, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 300/1500), Slow Reload (24), Cannon,
Emplacement, Heavy, Two Handed, Ultra Rapid Fire
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 40/120), Reload (4), Arc Line (10/2d6
lightning), Cannon, Emplacement, Heavy, Instant Travel, Slow Fire, Two Handed
AT Weapon, Ammunition (range 200/900), Blast(10/2d8 slashing), Brutish,
Chamber Shot, Heavy, Slow Fire, Two Handed
Line (X/Y): If a creature is hit by an attack from this
Arc
or if the attack roll to hit the creature had a result
weapon,
ten, then a line of focused electricity links through
above
air between the user and the target. Every creature
the
X feet of the line except for the weapon user takes Y
within
damage.
Things like recoil control and target acquisition
Artillery:
irrelevant with this weapon- it's all about good
are
and barrel placement. When Making an Attack
judgement
an Artillery weapon, you must use your Wisdom
with
(X/Y): This rule lists two numbers. The first
Ammunition
the weapon’s normal range in feet, and the second
is
the weapon’s long range. The weapon's extreme
indicates
is ten times its long range. When attacking a target
range
normal range, you have disadvantage on the Attack
beyond
When attacking a target beyond the long range you
roll.
a -10 modifier to the attack roll. You cannot attack a
suffer
beyond the extreme range. This rule supercedes the
target
Weapon: This weapon is designed to kill massive
AT
and armoured vehicles, and struggles to acquire
monsters
smaller. Unless the target of this weapon is of
anything
size class or above attack rolls made with this
Huge
suffer a -10 modifier to their to-hit rolls, and
weapon
which need to make a save against this weapon
creatures
a +5 modifier to their rolls if they are not of Huge
receive
class or above.
size
Shots from this weapon explode in a shower of
Blast(X/Y):
energy, or a simple blast wave. If a creature is hit
shrapnel,
an attack from this weapon, or if the attack roll to hit the
by
had a result above ten, then a blast goes off on or
creature
it. In addition to the damage taken by the attack every
near
within X feet of a point on the creature takes Y
creature
If a weapon has the blast property it can be loaded
damage.
ammunition which changes both of its damage types
with
This weapon is extremely heavy, and wrestling it
Brutish:
position is as important as placing its shots. When
into
an Attack with a Brutish weapon, you use your
Making
of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the Attack
choice
Damage Rolls. You must use the same modifier for
and
rolls. both
All that matters with this weapon is controlling its
Cannon:
finesse is irrelevant. When Making an Attack with a
recoil,
weapon, you must use your Strength modifier for
Cannon
Attack and Damage roll modifiers.
the
Shot: This weapon needs to be fully reloaded
Chamber
each shot. As a result of this reloading is designed to
after
very easy- it does not actually mechanically require
be
at all, and the delay is included in the Slow Fire
reloading
Without proper planning this weapon is a
Emplacement:
to use against infantry, but a little effort can
nightmare
this. This weapon is automatically Unwieldy.
overcome
wielding this weapon an entire action can be spent
When
make the wielder Emplaced until the next time they
to
voluntarily or not. While Emplaced a creature is
move,
Wash (X/Y): If a creature is hit by an attack from
Frozen
weapon, or if the attack roll to hit the creature had a
this
above ten, then hyper-cooled powder and liquid
result
around it. Every creature within X feet of the
spreads
takes Y damage, and all surfaces within X
creature
of the creature when the attack is made are
distance
to be difficult terrain as they are covered in ice.
considered
ice lasts for a number of turns equal to the user's
This
proficiency bonus.
modifier for the Attack and Damage roll modifiers.
similar rules shown in the Player’s Handbook.
to fire for no extra cost.
rule.
rooted and ignores the to-hit penalty from AT Weapon.
(X/Y): This weapon does not attack normally.
Incinerator
its wielder can spend an attacl to project a gout of
Instead
as a cone Y feet long that forces all creatures within
flame
to make a dexterity saving throw against your Heavy
it
DC. Creatures which fail the test take the damage
Attack
in the weapon’s profile, with creatures which pass the
listed
taking half as much.
test
a creature passes or fails one saving throw against a
If
creature’s incinerator weapon then it also passes
particular
fails all other saving throws against that weapon for the
or
of the turn in the same way- the first roll is applied to
rest
other saves.
all
cone of the incinerator can start at any point within
The
feet of the creature which uses it, but must point directly
X
Travel: This weapon’s projectile instantly travels to
Instant
target in a straight line, meaning that its targets don’t
its
to be led and it doesn’t suffer from projectile drop,
need
it a very accurate weapon. Attacks made with this
making
Fed: This weapon does not need to be reloaded, but
Pipe
be discarded without severing its connecting pipes
cannot
are used to affix it to a tank of fuel, belts of bullets, or
which
source. Connecting or disconnecting a weapon’s
power
takes an action, although they can also be severed by
pipes
the weapon away (this may destroy them
throwing
Using this weapon to make an attack uses up a
however).
of its ammunition.
unit
Fire: At the start of their turn a wielder of this
Rapid
can choose to fire it on full auto. If they do this
weapon
they make an additional attack for every normal attack
then
make with the weapon this turn, but cannot add their
they
or strength modifier to their attack or damage
dexterity
with the weapon this turn, and also cannot apply the
rolls
(X): This weapon can be used to make X attacks
Reload
it needs to be reloaded. Reloading this weapon takes
before
This weapon has two damage values- the first
Scattergun:
used when attacking a target within the weapon’s normal
is
and the second (in parentheses) is used when
range,
a target beyond the weapon’s normal range. In
attacking
this weapon's extreme range is only twice its long
addition
range.
Fire: After this weapon is used to make an attack it
Slow
be cycled with an attack or bonus action before it can
must
Reload (X): This weapon can be used to make X
Slow
before it needs to be reloaded. Reloading this
attacks
Sniper weapons are automatically Unwieldy, but
Sniper:
the wielder is rooted count their long range as their
when
range (meaning they only suffer disadvantage when
normal
their long range) and ignore the -5 to-hit penalty
exceeding
exceeding long range. They also always have
for
when attacking targets within thirty feet.
disadvantage
weapon with the Sniper property is considered not to
A
the Rapid Fire or Ultra Rapid Fire properties.
have
Rapid Fire: This weapon has the Rapid Fire
Ultra
In addition when wielding this weapon you may
property.
an action to spray an area with an intense barrage of
spend
lead. You may immediately make a ranged weapon
flying
against every creature within a cone, the length of
attack
is equal to half the normal range of the weapon. If
which
wish you can instead make two attacks against all
you
creatures, but in this case you cannot add your
these
When using this weapon a creature can spend
Unwieldy:
attack to become rooted until the next time it moves,
an
or not. A creature is automatically rooted if it is
voluntarily
Attack rolls with this weapon are made with
prone.
(and saves against it are made with
disadvantage
unless the user is rooted.
advantage)
weapon receive a +2 modifier to their to-hit rolls.
away from the user.
benefits of the Sharpshooter feat to the weapon.
an attack. This is not the same as the Loading property.
be used to make another attack.
weapon takes an action.
dexterity or strength modifier to the attack or damage rolls.
Clunker, and Heavy weapons can be modified in a
Infantry,
of ways, some of which are listed here. Weapon
number
can only be applied to weapons which do not
modifications
their limitations. Weapons may have multiple
violate
so long as it makes sense.
modifications
a modification causes weapons to require "unique
Where
this means that the weapon needs a new
ammunition"
type which costs the same as its original type
ammunition
is only shared with other weapons with the same
but
ammunition type and with the same modifications.
normal
Receiver
Automatic
weapon was redesigned to fire on an automatic
This
This can be a major boon, but remember that this was
feed.
designed to spray out shots.
never
Twice weapon base price.
Cost:
Not Rapid Fire, not Ultra Rapid Fire.
Limitations:
This weapon loses the Slow Fire property if it
Effects:
it, and gains the Rapid Fire property if it didn't. It also
had
the Unwieldy property. If it also originally had the
gains
or Unwieldy property then it gains the AT Weapon
Sniper
If it had the AT Weapon property originally then
property.
to-hit penalty and bonus listed under AT Weapon are
the
Belt-Fed
belt-fed assault rifle can be a useful boon. A belt-fed
A
launcher not so much.
rocket
Twice weapon base price.
Cost:
Two Handed, Not Pipe Fed or Chamber
Limitations:
Shot.
This weapon gains the Pipe Fed property and
Effects:
the Reload and Slow Reload properties.
loses
Sights
Canted
second set of sights, arranged parallel to the existing
A
improves this weapon's range.
ones,
Three times weapon base price.
Cost:
None.
Limitations:
At the start of your turn you can choose for this
Effects:
to have the Sniper property or not. If it originally
weapon
the Sniper property then it remains Unwieldy even
had
Magazine
Extended
it a bigger magazine and your troubles melt away,
Give
like your enemies.
much
One tenth weapon base price.
Cost:
Not Pipe Fed.
Limitations:
The number listed after Reload or Slow Reload
Effects:
Calibre Hi
weapon fires an unusually high calibre of round,
This
recoil control more of a priority.
making
Twice weapon base price.
Cost:
None.
Limitations:
This weapon has a +1 modifier to its damage
Effects:
but a -1 modifier to its attack rolls. If it is a heavy
rolls,
both of these modifiers are doubled. It gains the
weapon
property if it did not have it already, unless it has
Brutish
Cannon property. It also loses the Light property, and
the
Gunrunner
weapons can be made of lightweight polymers
Imperial
Three times weapon base price.
Cost:
Not Brutish or Sniper, not a Heavy Weapon
Limitations:
This weapon can be used to make a single attack
Effects:
a bonus action, provided the user's action was spent to
with
Sights
Laser
well-aligned laser sight can make all the difference.
A
$500 Cost:
Not a Heavy Weapon.
Limitations:
This weapon gains a +1 modifier to the first
Effects:
roll made with it each turn.
attack
Calibre Lo
using a lower calibre damage is reduced but weapon
By
and recoil are markedly improved.
control
Free. Cost:
Not a Heavy Weapon.
Limitations:
This weapon has a -1 modifier to its damage
Effects:
but a +1 modifier to its attack rolls. It also loses the
rolls,
property and uses unique ammunition.
Brutish
Rounds
OCEAN
Construct, Elemental, Abomination. These are
Outsider,
creatures which are immune to conventional lead, but
the
immune to a weapon with the right modifications and
less
ammunition.
Weapon base price.
Cost:
None.
Limitations:
This weapon's damage is magical, provided it is
Effects:
with special OCEAN ammunition that costs twice
loaded
much as normal ammunition.
as
is not the same as requiring unique ammunitionthis
This
weapon can still use normal ammunition, and normal
can still fire OCEAN rounds, but an OCEAN
weapons
and OCEAN rounds must be paired in order for
weapon
Quickdraw
lightweight gun in the right holster is the difference
A
life and death.
between
Weapon base price.
Cost:
Not Brutish or Sniper, not a Heavy Weapon.
Limitations:
Drawing this weapon does not take an object
Effects:
The wielder of this weapon can choose to have
interaction.
on any initiative roll, but cannot do anything on
advantage
first turn of the combat except for draw and fire either
their
weapon or another weapon with Quickdraw.
this
Silencer
screw-on silencer can give a few more moments of
A
which can make all the difference. Imperial
concealment,
also double as flash hiders.
silencers
$200 Cost:
Not a Heavy Weapon.
Limitations:
The sound of this weapon's firing is significantly
Effects:
although it does not become silent unless this is
reduced,
Weapon
Underslung
you don't need to draw a shotgun firing it is
When
fast.
surprisingly
$500, not including the weapon mounted.
Cost:
Two Handed, not Sniper.
Limitations:
This weapon has a Shotgun Pistol, Machine
Effects:
or Micro Grenade launcher mounted beneath it.
Pistol,
mounted weapon can be used to make an attack (but
This
reloaded) with a bonus action and does not require an
not
interaction to draw.
object
Weapon Modifications
Dash.
doubled with regards to this weapon.
magical damage to be inflicted.
when it is not a Sniper.
in this weapon's properties is doubled.
paired with silent ammunition.
uses unique ammunition.
instead of comparatively heavier metals.
weapons almost all use ammunition, usually one
Imperial
many groups. Weapons which use the same damage dice
of
the same damage type use the same ammunition typeall
and
1d8 piercing damage guns fire the same calibre for
All weapons which only deal fire damage also use
example.
same ammunition type (fuel, burned or plasmised) and
the
which only deal cold damage also use the same
weapons
type (zero point coolant). Weapons which only
ammunition
lightning or radiant damage do not use ammunition
deal
are instead fed by rechargeable power packs.
and
the end of every combat whoever is in charge of
At
must roll an militaria check for each
ammunition
type that was fired. If the result is below three
ammunition
the fight’s duration in turns then the party loses one
times
of ammunition of that type as it did not plan to use
level
much of this ammunition. If ammunition is lost which
this
be used by Ironclads or infantry (for example fuel)
could
five levels are lost if any Ironclads used that
then
in the combat.
ammunition
all levels of an ammunition type have been lost the
When
which use that type cannot be fired any more. It is
weapons
that party members stock themselves with
assumed
ammunition for their own weapons to last for an
sufficient
combat. One level of ammunition weighs 10lbs, or
entire
variant ammunition is available for all weapons, at
Special
to some extent. Certain variants are more widely
least
and others are more exclusive.
available,
use of variant ammunition is decided when a
The
is loaded or reloaded, or in the case of Chamber
weapon
weapons every time the weapon is fired.
Shot
Ammunition:
Exchange
ammunition is identical to normal ammunition
Exchange
that it swaps one or more damage types for another,
except
costs more.
and
Ammunition
AP
Piercing ammunition gives a +1 ,modifier on any
Armour
rolls made with it, provided the target is wearing
attack
or possesses natural armour of some variety. It also
armour
the Damage Threshold of the target as being half
counts
it would otherwise be.
what
ammunition costs twice as much as normal
AP
and is available for weapons which only deal
ammunition,
Ammunition
Silent
rounds use an attached universal silencer and
Silent
low charge in order to render the shots nearly
extremely
not quite) silent. Silent Ammunition rounds have
(although
extremely low velocity, and attacks made with it have
an
the range and do half the damage of normal
half
(except on a critical hit). They are also however
ammunition
good for sneaky work- attack rolls made with
extremely
ammunition automatically critically hit targets when
silent
hit and the target is not aware of the attacker's
they
location.
order to gain any benefit from Silent Ammunition a
In
must also be fitted, otherwise the only effect is that
silencer
damage is reduced. Silent Ammunition costs the same
the
standard ammunition and is only available for weapons
as
only deal piercing damage.
which
Ammunition
Stun
ammunition is similar to Exchange ammunition in
Stun
it swaps any piercing or slashing damage that the
that
does for bludgeoning, thunder or lightning damage
weapon
when the ammunition is purchased). Targets
(chosen
to zero hitpoints by a weapon using Stun
reduced
are not killed but are instead downed and
Ammunition
stabilise. Stun ammunition can be loaded into
immediately
weapon which only does piercing, thunder, or slashing
any
and costs the same as normal ammo.
damage
reistant to stun ammunition's damage are
Creatures
to it, as are all constructs, elementals, outsiders,
immune
Ammunition
Variant Ammunition - Level Rule
Ammunition.
Default Damage
Real World
Equivalent
Cost/
Attack
Cost /
Level
1d10 piercing 7.62 mm Raisin $1000
1d8 piercing 5.56 mm Raisin $800
1d6 piercing 10 mm Raisin $400
1d4 piercing 9 mm Raisin $400
4d6(2d10) piercing 10 gauge Raisin $800
2d12(2d8) piercing 12 gauge Raisin $800
1d12(1d8) piercing 16 gauge Raisin $600
2d12 piercing .338 Raisin $2000
6d4 piercing .950 Raisin $2500
2d8 thunder PG-7VL Raisin $1000
1d8 thunder 40mm Raisin $600
3d8 piercing .50 Raisin $4500
3d6 thunder .50 explosive Raisin $6000
6d8 piercing 25mm Raisin $12000
3d10 thunder +
3d10 piercing
40mm shell Raisin $15000
12d12 piercing APFSDS Raisin $24000
2d10 thunder 80mm bomb Raisin $8000
4d12 thunder 160mm bomb Raisin $12000
6d6 piercing 20mm Raisin $12000
3d4 piercing 15mm Raisin $8000
6d10(6d6) piercing 1/10 gauge Raisin $15000
6d12(6d8) piercing 1/13 gauge Raisin $12000
any fire damage Thermofuel Raisin $1000
any cold damage ZP Coolant Raisin $5000
Ammunition Levels- Variant Rule
Name
Death's Head
Damage Types
Replaced
Piercing,
Thunder, Fire
Replacement
Type
Necrotic
Cost
Mutiplier
8x
Explosive Piercing Thunder 4x
Gamma Burst
Incendiary
Piercing,
Thunder
Piercing,
Thunder
Radiant
Fire
Promefuric Thunder, Fire Acid 4x
Zero-Point
Coolant
8x
2x
Thunder, Fire Cold 2x
slashing, piercing, or thunder damage.
undead, and creatures immune to the Stunned condition.
100lbs if it is Ironclad ammunition.
a grenade takes an action. Creatures can throw a
Throwing
at any point no more than three times their
grenade
score away in feet. All grenades use the same DCten
strength
plus the user's proficiency bonus.
one grenade can be thrown at once. If multiple
Only
detonate simultaneously on one point then the
grenades
wave increases in size- every time the number of
blast
used doubles the blast size increases by 10 ft (so
grenades
two grenades adds 10 ft, using 4 adds another 10ft).
using
within this range take damage from every grenade
Targets
the explosion (so detonating two Death's Head grenades
in
deal 4d8 necrotic damage to all creatures within 30
would
of the explosion, four such grenades would deal 8d8
feet
damage over 40 ft).
necrotic
Head Grenade.
Death's
$1000
Cost:
Head grenades explode in a blast of Necriteladen
Death's
smoke, rotting and rusting anything inside their
with the corrupting power of Necrite. Creatures
range
20 feet of an exploding Death's Head grenade take
within
necrotic damage, unless they can pass a constitution
2d8
in which case they take half damage.
save
Grenade.
Frag
$100 Cost:
grenades detonate in a burst of shrapnel and a
Frag
blast wave. Creatures within 20 feet take 1d8
powerful
and 1d8 thunder damage, unless they can pass a
slashing
save in which case they take half damage.
dexterity
Grenade.
Incendiary
$100 Cost:
grenades explode in a circular shower of
Incendiary
fuel, 20 feet in diameter. Creatures which enter the
flaming
for the first time on their turn or start their turn
circle
it take 2d6 fire damage unless they can pass a
inside
save in which case they take half damage. The
dexterity
keeps burning for three turns.
fuel
Explosive.
Plastic
$250 Cost:
explosives can be remotely detonated with an
Plastic
by the creature which threw them, or by another
action
with a properly set up remote detonator. Any
creature
of plastic explosives can be detonated
number
but only one may be thrown with a given
simultaneously,
When plastic explosives detonate they function
action.
Grenade.
Promefuric
$500 Cost:
grenades deal 2d8 acid damage to all
Promefuric
within 20 feet of the grenade when they detonate
creatures
they can pass a dexterity save in which case they
unless
half damage.
take
Grenade.
Smoke
$250 Cost:
Grenades release a sphere of opaque smoke, 20
Smoke
in radius, which lasts for three turns. Targets attacked
feet
the smoke cloud are considered to be heavily
through
concealed.
Grenade.
Stim
$5000
Cost:
grenades release bursts of healing gas in a 20 foot
Stim
rich in microportals to the plane of positive energy.
radius,
inside a Stim Grenade restore 1d4+1 hitpoints
Creatures
unless they are undead or constructs.
immediately
powerful Stim Grenades can restore 2d4+2, 4d4+4,
More
5d4+10, in which case they instead cost $25,000,
or
Grenade.
Stun
$250 Cost:
grenades explode in a loud and bright blast of
Stun
and light. Creatures within ten feet of the exploding
sound
(20 feet in darkness) must pass a constitution save
grenade
be blinded and deafened until the end of their next turn.
or
grenades do not effect constructs, elementals, oozes,
Stun
or creatures which can neither see nor hear.
undead,
stun grenades can only effect creatures of
Normal
size class of smaller. This maximum size class can
medium
increased to Large, Huge or Gargantuan with more
be
grenades. These cost $2,500, $25,000, and
expensive
Grenade.
Tase-Mag
$500 Cost:
grenades explode in a shower of modulated
Tase-Mag
power. Creatures within a 20 foot radius take 2d6
electrical
damage unless they can pass a Constitution save
lightning
which case they take half damage. If they fail the save
in
also have their movement speed reduced by half until
they
start of their next turn unless they are immune or
the
to lightning damage.
resistant
reduced to 0 hitpoints by the grenade are not
Creatures
but instead immediately stabilise. Demons and
killed,
have disadvantage on saves made against Tase-
constructs
Bomb.
Thunderblast
$250 Cost:
bombs use pure blast waves that cause
Thunderblast
and impact damage to armoured targets.
spalling
within 20 feet take 2d8 thunder damage, unless
Creatures
can pass a dexterity save in which case they take half
they
Coolant Grenade.
Zero-Point
$500 Cost:
grenades spray freezing liquid and powders over a
ZPC
foot radius. Creatures inside the radius take 2d6 cold
20
unless they pass a constitution save, in which case
damage
take half damage.
they
area sprayed with Zero-Point Coolant is considered
The
be difficult terrain for the next three turns.
to
Baseball.
Nuclear
$3,000,000
Cost:
Baseballs are the smallest nuclear weapons the
Nuclear
can make. Mostly produced by WCK, the fact they
Empire
a terrible idea doesn't seem to deter people from
are
Atomic Series on the side.
scrawling
Baseballs deal 4d8 radiant, 4d8 fire and 8d8
Nuclear
damage to all creatures within 30 feet. Creatures
thunder
Grenades
$250,000, or $2,500,000 respectively.
$250,000 respectively.
Mag grenades.
damage.
identically to Thunderblast Bombs.
which can pass a dexterity save instead take half damage.
addition to the Imperial Combat training detailed above
In
with Imperial weapons and technology can lead to
training
improved and divergent skills. The following
significantly
are all available to Taleish folk in addition to those
feats
are highly skilled in the use of propelled explosives,
You
rockets to grenade launchers, as well as other more
from
equipment, and are able to use them more
esoteric
than others. You may choose to double the range
effectively
the damage listed under a weapon's Arc Line, Blast, or
OR
Wash property every time you make an attack with
Frozen
are highly practiced in the use of thrown grenades,
You
in terms of volume and precision. You may throw a
both
or detonate plastic explosives using an attack,
grenade
of an action. Alternatively you can still spend an
instead
to throw a single grenade, in which case your
action
bonus is doubled when calculating the Grenade
proficiency
arts of bathing your enemies in flaming fuel or burning
The
are well known to you, making your gouts of death
acid
to escape. Your Strength score increases by one, and
hard
does your Heavy Attack DC.
so
dexterity or Strength score increases by one. In
Your
you may make an attack with a weapon with the
addition
property but not the Two Handed property held in
Light
offhand by spending a bonus action. This feat may be
your
twice, and on the second occasion you are no longer
taken
to only using weapons with the Light property for
restricted
can effectively wield multiple pistols simultaneously,
You
the quantity of fire you can output. Your
increasing
or Dexterity score increases by one point.
Strength
hit by your Point Targeted attacks have
Creatures
on their concentration saves to avoid the
disadvantage
effects.
are amongst the foremost marksmen with
You
rifles. You receive a permanent +2 modifier to
conventional
attack and damage rolls you make with guns which have
all
Two Handed property but not the Slow Fire, Sniper, or
the
Strength or Dexterity score increases by one point.
Your
have advantage on checks made to begin or maintain a
You
ignore the disadvantage penalty for making a ranged
You
with a weapon with the Scattergun property while
attack
enemy is within 5 feet of you. In addition ranged attacks
an
Scattergun weapons within their normal range count
with
melee attacks for the purposes of your spells and class
as
features.
are an extremely proficient sniper, able to rapidly
You
targets and compensate for the weight of your
acquire
Your Dexterity score increases by one point. You
weapon.
not automatically recieve disadvantage for using a
do
with the Sniper property to attack a target within
weapon
feet. In addition you are automatically considered to
thirty
Rooted for the purposes of using Sniper weapons
be
you have not yet moved this turn.
provided
you make a Rapid Fire attack with an Unwieldy or
Before
weapon you may choose to add your relevant
Emplacement
score modifier to the damage roll OR attack roll. In
ability
you are automatically considered to be Rooted for
addition
purposes of using Unwieldy and Emplacement (but not
the
weapons provided you have not yet moved this
Sniper)
Imperial Feats
in the Player Handbook.
presented
Blastmaster
Sniper
This bonus does not apply to nuclear weapons.
it.
Grenadier
Support Gunner
turn.
DC.
Immolator
Pistolier
your bonus action attack.
Point Attacker
Rifleman
Unwieldy properties.
Rodeo Master
Rodeo.
Shotgun Brute
nothing more than a golem with an integrated
Originally
and a flamethrower held in its hands the modern
pilot
has evolved over nine combat generations and
ironclad
centuries to become the most iconic and culturally
seven
machine of the Empire. Tanks win the Empire's
important
gunships suppress its enemies, and trains carry its
battles,
but Ironclads dominate its media. Children dress as
freight,
for parties, and Ironclads heroically slaughter the
Ironclads
foes in television and film.
Empire's
modern Ironclad stands twenty feet tall and
The
the tools of its trade in its adjustable and
brandishes
hands. It weighs around twenty tons, and is
adaptable
by a trained pilot and controlled by a self-aware
crewed
called a Mind Core (or Mind Core).
processor
driver of an Ironclad, whether they are a civilian or a
The
is known as a pilot. The bond between a pilot and
soldier,
Ironclad is a deep one, on par with the bond between
their
parent and their child, although who in the relationship is
a
parent and who is the child is a difficult question.
the
siblings would be a better point of comparison,
Perhaps
individuals who do not necessarily adore each other
two
have a natural closeness and a responsibility for one
but
that can only be broken by true disaster.
another
can be piloted by anyone who can enter their
Ironclads
they cannot generally refuse access to a pilot who
cockpitto
get their hands on the controls. They will
manages
also have a specific pilot who is truly theirs, whose
however
they are bonded to in the ritual of broken tags. This is
soul
pilot, with anyone else being merely someone who
their
to be sitting in the seat.
happens
part of the binding of a Mind Core a set of small mithril
As
will be produced, each around the size of a child's
plates
and bearing special runes also used to bind the Mind
palm
which can be found carved somewhere into the Core
Core,
These are the Core's tags, essential to its existence
itself.
nature.
and
tags can be taken by any sapient creature and, in a
These
but relatively simple ritual, used to link the creature to
long
Core. In this manner the soul of the creature and the
the
are partially merged, and the Core's awareness and
Core
are finalised. The Core takes on something of
personality
bond partner, becoming some kind of a compliment to
its
The exact nature of the Core's resulting personality
them.
wildly based on the soul used to create it and the
varies
of the bond partner- sometimes it will create a good
needs
supportive friend for a partner who needs such a thing,
and
other times a necessary foil to a partner who needs
and
Whatever the exact nature of the resulting
restraining.
between the Core and the partner it is always a
relationship
and beneficial one, if not necesarily one without
good
conflicts.
a Core's partner dies it loses much of what makes
When
who it is, and may become despondent. It can at this
it
be re-bound, with a new set of tags being forged and
point
by a new partner to bond its soul. The Core will then
used
on parts of the new partners soul and add it to the
take
of its previous partners still swirling in its binding.
remains
this way a Core is both an echo and a distinct entity, both
In
the being it was before binding and all of its previous
from
partners.
like all Imperial equipment, are updated in fiftytwo
Ironclads,
to one-hundred-and-four year cycles known as Combat
Over this time Ironclads have consistently
Generations.
larger, faster, more well equipped and more
gotten
to their various opponents.
adaptable
is the name of the game for Ironclad
Adaptability
conventional armour like tanks and air support of
designstypes
will always outperform Ironclads when in their
all
environment. On an open field tanks outrange
preferred
with bigger, more powerful guns and easily rebuff
Ironclads
weapons with their superior armour and shields.
Ironclad
a result of this the place of the Ironclad is wherever the
As
isn't- broken terrain, dense forests, marshland, tunnels
tank
cities are all the purview of the Ironclad.
and
is also why Ironclads have never risen above fifty
This
not even in prototype tests. The place of Ironclads is in
feet,
of an Imperial project codenamed Ironclad in order to
Par
its true purposes, the original Ironclads went
disguise
six major design revisions over the course of the
through
wars to improved reliability and performance.
Indaero
Marks were increasingly mechanical and better
Later
but were fundamentally based on a basic golem.
armoured,
Bunyan was the original production Ironclad, and the
The
for the creation of combat generations as a concept
reason
to Washington's insistence on a contract as long as the
due
cycles of the Matos Moctezuma.
great
comparison to later Ironclads the Bunyan was loud,
In
and poorly armed. Early models had open canopies
clumsy,
order to save weight and allow for easy evacuations
in
the enemy scored a hit on the exposed engines. The
when
was improperly angled on early models. There was,
armour
put it mildly, room for improvement.
to
was a devastating unit, and spent fifty-two years utterly
It
its opponents, paving the way for other Ironclads.
crushing
Ban'Go comfortably outstripped the Bunyan
Cheolgongso's
every capacity, from speed of deployment to armament
in
to armour thickness. The Ban'Go blew its
strength
out of the water- literally in the swampland
opponents
and lead to Cheolgongso's easy gaining of the
trialscontract
and its subsequent acquisition by the
Ironclad
Arms Company.
Washington
the Ban'Go remains renowned for its speed and
Overall
particularly over all classes of its
maneuverability,
Restored lightweight Ban'Go at full sprint are
successor.
as matching or exceeding mediumweight
documented
up to the Behemoth.
Ironclads
Svyatogor remains the largest series of
Arigakof's
yet produced. Likely produced in anticipation of
Ironclads
Diabolic-Imperial combined arms wars expected to
the
the Svyatogor was a thirty foot tall giant of curved
come,
plates and heavy armaments that could in a toe-to-toe
steel
compete with Ironclads as modern as Generation 5
fight
to its extreme power.
thanks
Svyatogor survived for two whole generations before
The
series of small-scale secessions by Note worlds exposed
a
utter inability to compete against Imperial tanks in open
an
and a general difficulty with fulfilling the basic roles
battle,
Ironclads.
of
Ironclads
Ironclad Generations
Pilots
cramped environments, not open fields.
relatively
Gen 0 - MkI-MkVI (ImpAr)
Gen 1 - Bunyan (Washington)
The Ritual of Broken Tags
Gen 2 - Ban'Go (Cheolgongso)
Gen 3 - Svyatogor (Arigakof)
Roc by Washington-Cheolgongso was the last of the
The
Ironclads, and the first to use
mounted-weapon
in its later design iterations, replacing the
microfusion
engine it was originally conceived with. Generally
turbine
and smaller than the Svyatogor, the Roc was also
lighter
faster and only slightly less well armoured, allowing
much
to run rings around the Svyatogor in its preferred
it
Its inferiority in open combats however
environments.
it in the eyes of many, and more importantly the
soured
promise of small scale fusion reactors made it as
growing
Titan first entered active service in 726 alongside the
The
of the fourth chapter, and enjoyed an
announcement
three generations of design revisions and
unmatched
The Titan has long since permeated the entire
iteration.
and more of them have been produced than any
Empire,
Generation of Ironclad, and in fact more than any two
other
generations put together.
other
Titan was the first Ironclad to have unmounted, held
The
which gave it unparalleled operational flexibility.
weapons
was also extremely modular, with a huge list of potential
It
that could be made with only surface hull
modifications
This, coupled with IAI's notoriously rugged and
alterations.
design, meant that the Titan was able to survive for
reliable
upon decades with only minor design iterations
decades
Washington-Cheolgongso Behemoth finally brought an
The
to the Titan's dominance by providing improvements
end
couldn't be applied to the existing Titan chassis
that
massive rebuilds and redesigns- subdermal shield
without
which massively improved the Behemoth's
systems
IAI for its part didn't even attempt to compete
resilience.
the contract and instead started to move into a business
for
where it focused on producing frontier weapons and
model
parts for its ubiquitous Ironclads.
replacement
Behemoth is still in production to this day for the
The
and Third Chapters, although it only lasted for one
Second
in the Imperial Army. It gained a largely
Generation
reputation as a temperamental machine,
unwarranted
it was no more maintenance-heavy than the
although
and more reliable than the Roc, being
Svyatogor
compared to the implacable Titan which
unfavourably
Magog by Schwartz, Dorgessun and Nightland is the
The
advanced Ironclad to have seen combat thus far.
most
mid way through its second combat generation,
Currently
Magog has seen extensive service in the last eighty-
the
years and is widely renowned as a very capable
seven
although it requires more frequent servicing due to
design,
reliance on field technica to remain upright and
its
functioning.
the Magog is fast, strong, and highly resilient,
Overall
a trained but not exceptional pilot being able to easily
with
Gen 4 - Roc (Washington-Cheolgongso)
Ironclad
Huge Construct, Varying Alignment
Armor Class ?
Hit Points ?
Speed ?
much of a fossil as the fuel it ran on.
Gen 5 - Titan (Ifverman Arms Inc.)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?)
Condition Immunities poisoned
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Senses ?
Languages Common
Challenge ?
applied to its three variant hulls.
being
Gen 6 - Behemoth (W-C)
famously be fixed with duct tape and an MMA welder.
could
Gen 7 - Magog (SD&N)
best a storm giant in open combat.
Basic Function. When acting independently an
Ironclad is proficient in nothing, not even its own
weapons, and uses its own mental statistics when
necessary. It is able to use its own modifications,
but is not proficient in these either.
Emergency Shutoffs. If a piloted Ironclad is
charmed or stunned then it must be controlled
entirely by the pilot with no help from the Core,
which is locked out of its own body- the Ironclad
is considered to be subject to the Slow spell but
is not beholden to any other effects of the charm
or stun and can (for example) freely attack the
creature who charmed it. This lasts until the
charm or stun ends.
If an independent Ironclad is charmed then it is
instead paralysed for the same duration.
Extensively Modified. Various statistics of an
Ironclad marked with ? are dictated by its exact
design, as detailed later.
Piston Punch. An Ironclad's unarmed attacks do
6d4 bludgeoning damage unless they would
otherwise do more.
Immutable Form. The Ironclad is immune to any
spell or effect that would alter its form, except
for increasing its size.
Sealed Cockpit. Spells and effects cast at the
Ironclad effect the Ironclad if possible, unless
they do psychic damage. If this is not possible (or
if the spell does psychic damage) then they
instead target the pilot, even if this would
otherwise be impossible due to the caster being
unable to see the pilot.
For example if a creature casts Hold Person on
the Ironclad then the spell instead targets the
pilot as Ironclads are not humanoids, even
though the caster may not be able to see the
pilot. The exception to this is damaging spells- no
spell which does non-psychic damage can ever
target a pilot inside an Ironclad unless the
Ironclad's hull has been breached.
Actions
Pick Up Pilot. The Ironclad puts a pilot in contact
with it inside its cockpit.
can be breached, which means that the hull is
Ironclads
and vulnerable components (and the pilot) are
opened
to the air. An Ironclad is considered breached
exposed
the following situations:
under
an Ironclad takes in or lets out a pilot it is
Whenever
breached until the end of its next turn.
considered
an Ironclad's hatch is blown open by an
Whenever
it is breached.
ejection
an Ironclad is reduced to 0 hp or suffers
Whenever
equal to or greater than half its maximum hp in
damage
single attack or spell it is massively breached.
a
which are grappling or rodeoing Ironclads
Creatures
spend an action to try and rip their doors open. If
can
do this they must make a contested athletics check
they
the Ironclad- if the Ironclad fails then it is
against
breached unless the creature was of Large
massively
a breach takes an hour of light work. Fixing a
Fixing
breach takes eight hours. While breached an
massive
Ironclad's Amour Class, as well as its Dexterity and
The
save rolls, are reduced by 4.
Constitution
Ironclad is vulnerable to all damage.
The
inside the Ironclad can be targeted by spells and
Pilots
as normal, and are considered to be in threequarters
attacks
cover.
the Pilot or Ironclad is forced to become prone the
If
falls from the Ironclad and lands prone as closely
Pilot
certain amount of physical power is required to effect an
A
(or other armoured vehicle) at all. A tank will not
Ironclad
be damaged by a spear, no matter where it is hit,
ever
of course that spear is ridiculously large. For
unless
their Damage Threshold is dictated by their hull
Ironclads
(and detailed later).
weight
and spells which deal damage below a creature's
Attacks
Threshold do no damage at all. Force, Thunder
Damage
Acid type damage are exceptions to this, with all of
and
damage types ignoring the damage threshold due to
these
impossibility of defending againt them with simple
the
armour.
the purposes of overcoming Damage Threshold all
For
caused by a single attackroll or saving throw (such
damage
cantrip bonus damage, the two seperate damages of
as
weapons, smite damage etc) is considered as one.
Blast
A longsword attack does 7 damage and then
Example:
a divine smite of 12 damage while attacking an
triggers
with Damage Threshold 15. As this has a total of
Ironclad
damage, which is more than 15, the Ironclad takes 19
19
damage.
the same Paladin made three 7 damage Longsword
If
this would do no damage to the Ironclad, as each
attacks
did less than 15 damage.
attack
mechanically count as wearing Armour of a
Ironclads
equal to their hull class- Light Armour for Light Hulls,
type
Armour for Medium hulls, and Heavy Armour for
Medium
Hulls.
Heavy
creature of medium or smaller size class that is in
A
with an Ironclad can spend an action to enter its
contact
provided there is space and the Ironclad is willing
cockpit
allow them access. While inside an unbreached Ironclad
to
pilot has total cover from outside the Ironclad and viceversa.
a
Cores are vital for operation. An Ironclad cannot
Ironclad
independently without a core, and is considered to
function
subject to the slow spell if it is being piloted without a
be
An Ironclad's Core has the same maximum hitpoints
core.
its pilot. If an Ironclad's Core is installed in a new
as
then the new Ironclad inherits the Core's
Ironclad
Wisdom, and Charisma ability scores.
Intelligence,
an Ironclad is reduced to zero hitpoints then it
If
stabilises. Damage to (or the death of) the
immediately
body does not effect its core.
Ironclad's
treat incoming damage as being one sixth its
Ironclads
amount for the purposes of calculating a
normal
DC (making the DC one twelfth the damage
concentration
10, whichever is higher). Other creatures treat damage
or
by an Ironclad in the same way so long as they are of
dealt
size class or above.
Huge
use two different special DCs based on their own
Ironclads
properties- their Light Attack DC, which is used to
physical
against things based on the Ironclad's precision, and
save
Heavy Attack DC which is based on their power and
their
size of their reactor. Infantry may also be called on to
the
these DCs, which are calculated in the same way.
use
a pilot is inside an Ironclad they can spend their
When
to pilot their Ironclad. If they do this the Ironclad
action
the pilot's proficiencies and class features until the
gains
of the pilot's next turn, and is controlled by the pilot.
start
Ironclad also moves in the turn order to take its turn
The
after the pilot's turn, and does so from this
immediately
onwards until the combat is concluded and initiative
point
rolled again. Any spell slot spent, class feature used or
is
feature used by the Ironclad is also considered to be
feat
by the pilot.
expended
inside an Ironclad a pilot can spend a bonus action
While
reaction to eject themself at any time, including
or
after the Ironclad is reduced to 0 hp. If they do
immediately
then the Ironclad's top hatch blows open and they are
this
100 feet into the air. If the Pilot wishes they can
ejected
the Ironclad's Core with them when they eject.
take
Ironclad Mechanics
Breaching Ironclads
Embarkation
Ironclad Cores
size class or below, in which case it is merely breached.
Ironclad Concentration
Ironclad is afflicted with the following issues:
Ironclad DCs
to it as possible.
Damage Threshold and Armour
Light Attack DC:
8 + Proficiency Bonus + Dexterity Modifier
Heavy Attack DC:
8 + Proficiency Bonus + Strength Modifier
Piloting an Ironclad
Pilot Ejection
can self-desctruct as an action, or as a reaction to
Ironclads
reduced to zero hitpoints. An Ironclad which self-
being
forces all creatures within 20 feet of it to make a
destructs
save against its Heavy Attack DC, taking 12d6
dexterity
damage if they fail or half as much if they succeed.
thunder
and Cores can be ejected immediately before Self
Pilots
if the Ironclad wishes. All of an Ironclad's
Destruction
caught within its self-destruction radius are
components
to scrap and cannot be salvaged except through
reduced
melted down.
being
can Crush and Ram creatures and objects as
Ironclada
in the Vehicles section later in this document.
described
built on a light hull weigh around 20 tons, or
Ironclads
pounds. Medium hull Ironclads weight twice this
40,000
(80,000 lbs) and heavy hull ironclads weigh three
much
as much (120,000 lbs).
times
have a carrying capacity equal in pounds to four
Ironclads
times their strength score. Medium hull
thousand
can carry double this amount (eight thousand
Ironclads
their strength score), and heavy hull Ironclads can
times
four times as much (sixteen thousand times their
carry
score).
strength
take weeks to gain levels of exhaustion through
Ironclads
behaviour, and do not need to rest. They can
normal
become tired through overheating and burning
however
power cores.
through
an Ironclad performs an activity marked as
Whenever
in combat make a note. At the end of the combat the
tiring
must make a constitution saving throw with a DC
Ironclad
10 or four times the number of different tiring activities
of
performs, whichever is higher. If the Ironclad fails the
it
it gains a level of exhaustion. Using a ranged weapon
save
does lightning or radiant damage is automatically
which
tiring.
lose all levels of exhaustion on completing a
Ironclads
rest. long
Self Destruction
Tiring Ironclads
Step on them!
Superheavy
are custom-built from the ground up in many
Ironclads
although the Empire produces many Ironclads to a
cases-
template they are customisable. This is especially
standard
to the Titan-class Ironclad, which was designed
applicable
be completely modular and easily altered to any
to
situation.
Ironclads require a Hull and a Mind Core, although
All
is barely enough to be considered functional. Ironclads
this
also choose any number of guns and customisation
can
at creation, as well as a Rage Function, provided
options
can afford them.
they
exact starting budget available for an Ironclad's
The
varies and is dependent on the decisions of the
creation
but it's recommended that the Ironclad is allowed a
DM,
weapon, and Mind Core of its choice, and an amount
hull,
money per the column below.
of
budget should not be spent on non-Ironclad
Ironclad
as it in large part represents inheriting components
items,
have ability scores the same as all other
Ironclads
All ability scores are important to Ironclads,
creatures.
they get reduced effectiveness from multiple
although
ability scores.
mental
method used to generate Ironclad ability scores is
The
to the DM, although it is recommended that the same
up
is used for the Ironclads as the players. Whatever
system
is used this list of ability scores is applied to the
method
Ironclads must possess a Mind Core, the central
All
which directs the Ironclad’s movements.
intelligence
speaking Mind Cores use bound spirits of
Broadly
usually Modrons donated for the purpose by the
Outsiders,
of Mechanus, but the spirits of any being may be
foundries
up to and including dead mortals.
used
Cores dictate what actions trigger the Ironclad’s
Mind
Function, and may apply a general modification to the
Rage
Ironclad.
cores cost $3,000,000, but any charater which starts
All
the souls of celestials, Angel Cores are
Originally
used in battlefield support roles where their
sometimes
tendencies towards beneficence synergises with
natural
responsibilities. Angel cores tend towards
their
and parental instincts.
protectiveness
Function Trigger: Angel Cores trigger Rage
Rage
whenever they spend an action to aid an ally in
attempts
way during moments of high stress (eg combat).
some
man’s cores use the souls of dead mortals to provide
Dead
controlling intelligence. An attempt is usually made to
their
the souls to equipment they understood in life, for
pair
reasons. DMCs are sometimes considered a
obvious
bid for immortality by soldiers although those
subsidised
have worked with DMCs will usually disagree, as they
who
seen that life stuck in a giant machine may not be
have
it was cracked up to be.
what
Function Trigger: Dead Man’s Cores trigger a
Rage
attempt whenever they start a turn having killed a
Rage
in with a challenge rating /total class levels higher
creature
zero in the previous turn.
than
Score Improvements: +1 to any two Ability
Ability
Scores
bound souls of elementals are amongst the most
The
of cores, and often the most human in their peculiar
varied
A fire elemental will be aggressive, yes, but it may be
ways.
terrible tyrant or a valiant hero..
a
Function Trigger: Pick a damage type other than
Rage
Piercing, Slashing, Force or Psychic damage
Bludgeoning,
binding the core. Ironclads fitted with this elemental
when
are resistant to this damage type, and trigger a Rage
core
whenever they start a turn having done damage of
attempt
type to an enemy with a challenge rating/number of
this
levels higher than zero in the previous turn.
class
Score Improvements: +2 DEX or +2 STR, -1
Ability
Cores can be aggressive, difficult to predict, and
Fiend
disobedient. They will not attempt to subvert their
often
and goals, but will apply generous interpretations of
orders
a big dollop of their personal biases and as
instructions,
sudden onset deafness as required in order to pursue
much
goals how they want.
those
Function Trigger: Fiend cores trigger Rage
Rage
whenever they start a new turn having both taken
attempts
dealt damage in the previous turn.
and
Score Improvements: +2 CHA, -1 WIS, -1 CON
Ability
cores are the most popular across the Empire for
Modron
all purposes. They are analytical, professional, and
almost
highly intelligent. They may be the souls of basic
generally
or, if the funds and politics allow, specially-
modrons
Inevitables supplied by the creche.
designed
Function Trigger: Modron Cores are reliable but
Rage
they cannot trigger Rage Functions, but can
humdrumperform
almost any task, and get the most out of a
better
They increase the maximum value of all of an
hull.
ability scores by two.
Ironclad’s
are based off the souls of multiple psionically-active
PGCs
in a manner not dissimilar to that of an Elder
creatures
and feed off the psychic emanations of nearby alliesonce
Brain,
again, like an Elder Brain.
Function Trigger: PGC cores trigger Rage
Rage
the first time each turn a friendly creature within
attempts
ft takes damage, or 30 ft if the damage is Psychic type.
15
Score Improvements: One of your INT, WIS or
Ability
increases by 2, the other two increase by 1. -1 CON, -1
CHA
-1 DEX.
STR,
Building an Ironclad
Fully Customisable
Dead Man’s Core
Elemental Core
equipment from others, or salvaging ruined devices.
and
Ironclad Budget
Starting Level Starting Money (in $100,000)
1-4 3d6+3
5-10 6d6+6
11-16 9d6+9
17-20 12d6+12
Ironclad Ability Scores
-1 CHA, -1 INT
WIS,
Fiend Core
profile above.
Mind Cores
Modron Core
an Ironclad should also start with a free core.
with
Angel Core
Score Improvements: +2 INT, -1 DEX, -1 CHA
Ability
Psycho-Gestalt Cores
Ability Score Improvements: +2 WIS, -1 STR, -1 INT
Functions are direct expressions of the spirit of an
Rage
Mind Core. Choose a Rage Function when the
Ironclad’s
Core is bound- this is the Rage Function which the
Mind
Core can trigger.
Mind
a Mind Core triggers a Rage Attempt roll a d6.
Whenever
the result is a 6 the Ironclad gains a use of its Rage
If
Rage Functions can be activated up to a minute
Function.
they were gained at any time, even during another
after
turn. An Ironclad cannot store multiple uses of
creature’s
Rage Function.
its
a Rage Function refers to characteristic damage
Where
is magical damage of a type dependent on the Mind
this
installed in the Ironclad. Modifications cannot affect
Core
(for example Promephuric acid tanks cannot change a
this
Alteration
is perception is reality is perception is reality is
...Reality
is reality is perception is reality is perception is
perception
reality...
ironclad immediately casts one spell with a casting
The
of one action, one reaction or one bonus action and
time
has a spell level of less than one third its pilot’s level.
which
does not consume a spell slot.
This
Destroyer
exhaust vents open across the Ironclad’s
Emergency
and it slams down its fists in a blaze of inexplicable
front,
energy.
planar
wave of energy propagates out from you as a cone 60 ft
A
All creatures within the cone must pass a dexterity
long.
throw against your Heavy Attack DC or take 8d12
saving
damage. Creatures which pass the save
characteristic
take half damage. The damage done by Destroyer
instead
at 5th level to 16d12, at 11th level to 24d12, and
increases
Immortal
Mind Core glows white hot and surrounds itself with
The
shield of pure will. Nothing gets in, and nothing gets out,
a
perhaps for fury.
except
the start of its next turn the Ironclad is immune to
Until
damage that it does not inflict on itself.
all
Lance
illuminators across the front of the Ironclad’s hull
Basic
to impossible levels and blast forth an arcane beam of
glow
destruction.
extraplanar
beam of planar energy blasts from the Ironclad’s front,
A
ft long and 10 feet wide. All creatures within the cone
120
pass a dexterity saving throw against your Heavy
must
DC or take 8d12 characteristic damage. Creatures
Attack
pass the save instead take half damage. The damage
which
by Lance increases at 5th level to 16d12, at 11th level
done
Onslaught
is something to be said for just being extremely
There
and every aspect of reality can count violence in
aggressive,
portfolio
its
one creature or object within range of one of the
Pick
weapons. The Ironclad gains an action which it
Ironclad’s
uses to attack the creature or object. These
immediately
do not consume ammunition in any way, cannot
attacks
the weapon, and do not need the weapon in question to
jam
loaded. be
Spectre
Mind Core shunts its perceptible impacts into the
The
reaches of the multiverse, making it imperceptible
farthest
anyone observing it.
to
the start of its next turn the Ironclad is
Until
to anyone outside of the Far Realm.
imperceptible
Surge
is far from consistent across the planes, and a
Time
burst of relative speed can have enormous effects.
small
ironclad immediately takes an action which it cannot
The
Wraith
Mind Core calls itself home, dragging its Ironclad
The
into another plane. It moves like a vengeful ghost
partially
the world.
across
the start of its next turn the Ironclad gains a flying
Until
equal to double its move speed and can move
speed
anything, including solid ground. During this time
through
cannot be affected by anything on this plane, and cannot
it
Rage Function
Characteristic Damage
Core
Damage Type
Angel
Dead
Man's
Radiant
Necrotic
Elemental The type chosen for the Ironclad’s resistance
at Core selection.
Fiend
Psycho-
Gestalt
Fire, Cold, Acid, Lightning, or Poison (chosen
when the Core is bound)
Psychic
to 24d12, and at 17th level to 32d12.
fire elemental’s damage type to acid).
use to cast a spell or make an attack.
affect them in turn.
at 17th level to 32d12.
use one of three hulls- Light, Medium, or Heavy.
Ironclads
Ironclads must have a hull.
All
Hull of an Ironclad dictates its Damage Threshold
The
Class, and movement speed. These properties may
Armour
changed by various class features or modifications, but
be
not change due to the Ironclad's pilot's level.
do
Ironclad's maximum hitpoints and number of hardpoints change as its primary Pilot (the one who was bonded to it in the
An
of Broken Tags) gains levels. These are listed below. An Ironclad with no living Pilot is considered to have a Pilot Level
ritual
1. of
hulls cost $3,000,000, but Player Characters should probably have one for free at the start of the campaign.
All
of the hull chosen mataining an Ironclad costs
Regardless
$240,000 per year, assuming it sees regular activity.
around
Ironclad Hulls
Hull
Armour Class
Movement
Speed
Damage
Threshold
Light 15+Dex Mod 60ft 10
Medium
16+Dex Mod
(Max 3)
50ft 15
Heavy 18 40ft 20
Variable Hull Stats
Hull Class Pilot Level Maximum Hitpoints Hardpoints
Light 1-4 75 (15d8) + 15xCon 6+Int or Wis or Cha
5-10 100 (20d8) + 20xCon 8+Int or Wis or Cha
11-16 125 (25d8) + 25xCon 10+Int or Wis or Cha
17-20 150 (30d8) + 30xCon 12+Int or Wis or Cha
Medium 1-4 90 (15d10) + 15xCon 8+Int or Wis or Cha
5-10 120 (20d10) + 20xCon 10+Int or Wis or Cha
11-16 150 (25d10) + 25xCon 12+Int or Wis or Cha
17-20 180 (30d10) + 30xCon 14+Int or Wis or Cha
Heavy 1-4 105 (15d12) + 15xCon 6+Int or Wis or Cha
5-10 140 (20d12) + 20xCon 8+Int or Wis or Cha
11-16 175 (25d12) + 25xCon 10+Int or Wis or Cha
17-20 210 (30d12) + 30xCon 12+Int or Wis or Cha
other armoured vehicles which mount a fixed gun in
Unlike
casemate Ironclads use held weapons to improve
their
flexibility.
their
can take as many weapons as they can carry
Ironclads
afford, but be warned- in order for an Ironclad to use a
and
the Ironclad must be configured to that weapon.
weapon
represents the necessary power packs and
This
as well as the ammunition mounting on the
connections,
an Ironclad to a weapon and all other identical
Configuring
(meaning weapons with the same modifications
weapons
to them, as detailed later) takes one hour of light
made
with access to basic tools. The configuration then
activity
one of the Ironclad's Hardpoints, or possibly more
occupies
it has been modified. Ironclads can also be un-configured
if
a weapon, which takes the same time.
from
get a free weapon at game start, along with
Ironclads
Ironclad Weapons
Ironclad Weapons
Weapon Cost Damage Weight Properties
15mm Machine
Pistol
$10,000 6d4 piercing 270
lbs
20mm Pistol $25,000 6d6 piercing 270
lbs
20mm
Submachinegun
$60,000 6d6 piercing 270
lbs
25mm Pistol $50,000 6d8 piercing 270
lbs
25mm Rifle $80,000 6d8 piercing 270
lbs
25mm rotary
cannon
$160,000 6d8 piercing 270
lbs
40mm Cannon $140,000 3d10 thunder +
3d10 piercing
270
lbs
AM railgun $250,000 12d12 piercing 270
lbs
Heavy Arc
Cannon
$350,000 4d10 lightning 270
lbs
HGL $60,000 2d10 thunder 270
lbs
Incinerator $40,000 4d10 fire 270
lbs
Ironclad Laser $300,000 6d8 radiant 270
lbs
Plasma Repeater $300,000 6d8 fire 270
lbs
Rocket Pods $40,000 2d8 thunder 270
lbs
SHGL $80,000 4d12 thunder 270
lbs
Tenth Gauge
Pistol
$50,000 6d10(6d6)
piercing
Thirteenth Gauge $100,000 6d12(6d8)
scattergun
piercing
Zero Point
Thrower
270
lbs
270
lbs
$80,000 2d8 cold 270
lbs
Ammunition (range 50/240), Reload (16), Light, Rapid Fire
Ammunition (range 150/750), Reload (8), Light
Ammunition (range 50/240), Reload (16), Rapid Fire
Ammunition (range 200/900), Reload (8)
Ammunition (range 600/3000), Reload (16), Rapid Fire, Two
Handed
Ammunition (range 300/3000), Slow Reload (16), Cannon, Two
Handed, Unwieldy, Ultra Rapid Fire
Ammunition (range 800/4000), Reload (8), Two Handed
Ammunition (range 400/24000), Reload (4), Instant Travel, Slow
Fire, Sniper, Two Handed
Ammunition (range 40/120), Pipe Fed, Arc Line, Brutish
(15/4d10 lightning), Instant Travel, Slow Fire, Two Handed
Ammunition (range 75/300), Reload (4), Blast (15, 2d10
slashing), Brutish, Two Handed
Incinerator(90/40), Pipe Fed, Two Handed
Ammunition (range 600/3000), Pipe Fed, Instant Travel, Two
Handed
Ammunition (range 600/3000), Pipe Fed, Rapid Fire, Two
Handed
Ammunition (range 200/900), Reload (8), Blast (10/2d8
slashing), Brutish, Rapid Fire, Two Handed
Ammunition (range 75/300), Blast (25/4d12 slashing), Cannon,
Chamber Shot, Slow Fire, Two Handed
Ammunition (range 40/80), Reload (8), Scattergun
Ammunition (range 40/80), Reload (8), Brutish, Scattergun, Two
Handed
Ammunition (range 60/60), Pipe Fed, Brutish, Frozen Wash
(20/2d8 cold), Two Handed
Ironclad's hull.
three crates of free ammunition for that gun.
can be modified by adding various atachments
Ironclads
features to them and their weapons (collectively known
and
Modifications), allowing them to be tailored to any
as
The time taken to apply an Ironclad modification
situation.
widlly- an addition of a sensor suite can be relatively
varies
and take a little more than a day, but full thermal
quick
may require an extensive hull rebuild.
shielding
can take as many Modifications as they can
Ironclads
and (crucially) fit- Modifications almost always have
afford
number of Hardpoints which they occupy, and the total
a
Hardpoints may not go above the Ironclad's total
occupied
of hardpoints. An Ironclad may only take a given
number
which occupies hardpoints slots once, unless
Modification
noted.
otherwise
otherwise noted no modifications are mutually
Unless
with one another, and there are no limitations on
exclusive
Ironclads can take which modifications. An Ironclad
which
(for example) take more shoulder mounted weapons
may
Systems Insulation
Absence-Tested
Ironclad’s vulnerable systems and pilot are
The
by heat-retaining insulation capable of
protected
long-term immersion in zero point coolant.
withstanding
$300,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad is immune to nonmagical cold
Effect
and resistant to magical cold damage.
damage,
Armour Plating (any hull except Light)
Additional
armour plating makes this Ironclad tougher, but
Extra
slower.
much
$600,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Armour Class increases by 1, but
Effect
movement speed decreases by 5 ft. This Modification
its
be taken as many times as desired.
can
APAN
All Purpose ANalyser is a combination of centrifuges,
An
a geiger counter, thaumic scrutinisers and
spectroscopes,
esoteric equipment allowing for a detailed
more
of most arcane or mundane materials.
assessment
$90,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The APAN can spend one minute analysing
Effect
placed within its six inch cube opening (which
anything
be mounted inside or outside the Ironclad), including
may
gases, and living beings. As well as functioning as
liquids,
Identify spell this allows for additional information to be
an
from materials and mechanical devices placed
gleaned
This may include their function, material
within.
age, what planes they have been on, or many
composition,
factors. If allowed to destroy the sample the APAN
other
AWACS
Warning And Control Systems are mounted on
Airborne
to determine the location of enemy air assets and
aircraft
with targeting. This is not dissimilar to that.
help
$120,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
An AWACS gives knowledge of the approximate
Effect:
of every airborne creature within one mile or in
location
of sight of the user, and advantage on all attack rolls
line
all targets more than 20 ft. off the ground.
against
BDMSO
Brainwave-Dependent Master/Slave Override is a
A
system of MRI machines which monitors a pilot’s
complex
particularly the nucleus accumbens, for
brainwaves,
and inexplicable changes. On detecting such
sudden
the pilot’s controls are immediately severed,
changes
the Ironclad to act independently without override.
alowing
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Whenever the pilot of an Ironclad equipped with
Effect
BDMSO is paralysed, charmed or dominated (or subject
a
another similar effect) while piloting the Ironclad the
to
control systems are severed, preventing the pilot
Ironclad’s
controlling its movements or actions in any way and
from
the Ironclad count as unmanned for all purposes.
making
controls are restored as soon as the effect ends.
These
is an automatic system not under the Ironclad’s
This
control and cannot be triggered by it otherwise. The
direct
Light Imaging
Black
light imagers use lamps that shine invisible light to
Black
Ironclads and their pilots to see in darkness, an
allow
useful tactical ability. Unfortunately no form of
extremely
light is ubiquitous across all worlds, and many
black
races can perceive what would be black light to
sapient
meaning that any imaging system must be able to
humans,
adapted between worlds and to specific opponents.
be
$80,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad can see in dim light as if it were
Effect
light, and darkness as if it were dim light. It cannot
bright
Coating
Blackhide
is a matte black coating which uses a
Blackhide
of extremely complicated scientific
combination
to fox RADAR and SONAR systems, as well as
procedures
obfuscation to hide it from magical methods like
arcane
sensors and techniques like SAD targeting.
SAS
$55,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad is invisible to all sensors except for
Effect
light based ones, produces no energy signature or
visible
emissions, has no scent, and has advantage on
detectable
throws against scrying. If it is viewed indirectly by
saving
(for example because an Ironclad next to it is
scrying
then it may make a wisdom save against the scrying
scried)
though it was not the target. If this save is successful
even
the Ironclad is invisible in the scrying view, although
then
Brightline Conduit
Blade-Host
Ironclad’s body is riddled with arcane conduits
The
as Brightline Conduits, designed to ferry the pilot’s
known
into its own weapons with incredible efficiency and
magic
its pilot’s movements with more accuracy.
mirror
$500,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: All damage you deal with a spell or class feature
Effect
requires you to hit a creature with a ranged or melee
which
occurs when you hit a creature with an attack, or
attack,
requires you to make an attack (eg Divine Smite, the
which
Blade cantrip, the bonus damage provided by a
Booming
Rage, the bonus damage of Great Weapon
barbarian’s
etc), is multiplied by a factor of six. Weapon damage
Master
ability score modifier damage is not affected by this,
and
nor is Psychic-type damage.
and
Ironclad Modifications
BDMSO does not restrict use of the Ironclad’s ejector seat.
than it has shoulders.
perceive color in darkness, only shades of grey.
its effects can still be seen.
will always give better results.
.
Very Heavy Impact: One Titan-class Ironclad
crushes another into the ground.
Weaponry
Classic
weapons are classics for a reason- there are few
Classic
to improve on the sword or the maul when it comes to
ways
them Ironclad-compatible, other than simply
making
the weapon bigger.
making
Ten times more than the weapon’s listed price (note
Cost:
1 gp is $100).
that
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one weapon from the Player’s Handbook.
Effect
Ironclad gains a copy of this weapon, which is identical
The
the original version except that it rolls six times as many
to
during damage rolls as listed in the book, it is
dice
sized for the Ironclad and is considered an
appropriately
weapon. Ranges are unaffected. This weapon does
Ironclad
require the Ironclad to be configured in order to use it
not
it is fitted with Modifications which increase its
unless
occupation (such as Hi-Calibre Weapon
Hardpoint
in which case its Hardpoint occupation
Augmentation),
Cloak
high-power Weavehammers an Ironclad can turn
Using
completely invisible for an indefinite period. Highpower
itself
is the key term here however- doing this is absolute
on an Ironclad’s reactor.
murder
$650,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad can spend an action to turn invisible
Effect
the end of its next turn. While invisible in this way the
until
is considered to be under the effects of the Slow
Ironclad
Data Repository
Corraborative
banks fitted into the ironclad hold a wealth of
Data
on various subjects which skilled Hascholars
information
practitioners of the subject can tap into.
or
$40,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Pick any two skills from the following: Any
Effect
skill (except for Invvestigation), Survival, and
Intelligence
The Ironclad is proficient in this skill. Whenever
Medicine.
creature which can hear the Ironclad makes a
another
using this skill the Ironclad can use its reaction to
check
its own proficiency bonus to the result, possibly
add
the outcome. Only one Ironclad can influence a
changing
check in this way.
given
Shield
Eminence
Shields are shields in the classic buckler
Eminence
usually used by Ironclads who want to engage in
design,
combat without being shot to shreds along the way,
melee
the Eminence/Pistol combination remains
although
popular.
$300,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action you can ignite or dismiss an
Effect
Shield held in one of your hands. An Eminence
Eminence
is a shield which increases your Armour Class by 3
Shield
and occupies the hand it is held in.
points
Ironclad can only maintain one shield (including
An
Wall, Gun Shield, Tower Deflector and Eminence
Shield
at a time. Using a shield is tiring.
Shield)
can attempt to maintain their Eminence Shield
Ironclads
in which case the drain on their reactor means
constantly,
accrue exhaustion as a creature normally does.
they
Step (Light Hull Only)
Ethereal
step devices allow Ironclads to temporarily
Ethereal
the ethereal plane, thereby avoiding harm and
enter
obstacles. Of course larger Ironclads are
avoiding
to transport in this way.
impossible
$350,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action you can choose to enter the
Effect
Ethereal until the end of your turn. While in the
Border
Ethereal you can perceive reatures in adjacent
Border
as indistinct shadows and be perceived by them
planes
but cannot be effected by creatures outside of the
similarly,
Ethereal. In addition you cannot be effected by or
Border
objects which are not of Large size class or above
perceive
the plane you just left, or on the Border Ethereal. This
on
does not work in locations which do not border the
feature
Ethereal (ie that aren't the Prime Material, the
Border
the Shadowfel, and the Ethereal Plane). Using
Feywild,
Layering
Ferro-Ceramic
Ironclad’s armour plates are chemically inert, and
The
in no way affected by acid no matter the concentration.
are
acid is a different issue however.
Magical
$450,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad is immune to nonmagical acid
Effect
and resistant to magical acid damage.
damage,
Wall
Flame
Walls are normally projected by a small rolling
Flame
which leaves a trail of thermite behind it. This
device
then rapidly ignites, propelling the roller onwards
thermite
incinerating anything in its wake.
and
$120,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: You can use an attack to project a line of flame
Effect
the ground at a point within sixty feet. The line can
along
up walls but cannot bridge gaps. Every creature that the
go
passes through must pass a dexterity save against your
line
Attack DC or take 3d8 fire damage, taking half as
Heavy
damage on a successful save. The area is then
much
in flaming thermite, which deals 3d8 damage to
covered
creature when it starts its turn in the fire or enters the
any
for the first time this turn. The Flame Wall lasts for a
fire
of turns equal to your Ironclad’s constitution
number
Using a flame wall consumes fuel ammunition
bonus.
Shield FM
Manipulation shields use a combination of gravitic
Field
magnetism and a projection of the strong
manipulation,
force in order to ensnare projectiles so that they can
atomic
returned to sender with extreme force.
be
$600,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As a reaction you can attempt to catch enemy
Effect
This functions identically to the monk class
projectiles.
Deflect Missile, except the returned damage is
feature
to the normal damage of the weapon plus your
identical
modifier, the damage to you is reduced by six
dexterity
as much, and the FM shield can always be used,
times
the monk feature which recharges on a rest.
unlike
you would otherwise have access to the monk class
If
Deflect Missiles then whenever you use Deflect
feature
or your FM shield you gain an additional reaction,
Missiles
until the start of your next turn, which can only be
lasting
Ethereal Step is tiring.
increases from 0 by the relevant amount.
spell. Using a Cloak is tiring.
This attachment can be taken as many times as desired.
identically to a heavy flamethrower.
spent on using your FM Shield or Deflect Missiles.
.
A Distressingly Common Sight: A Behemoth-class
Ironclad undergoes repairs in a garage.
Shield
Gun
shields are popular with pilots who want
Gun-mounted
stay on the move while protecting themselves. They
to
appear around the gun barrel and cover most-
generally
not all- of the Ironclad’s body.
although
$450,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action you can cause a shield to
Effect
into existence around one of your currently-wielded
spring
Ranged attack rolls directed at you receive a -2
weapons.
modifier so long as they are coming at you from the
to-hit
you are facing. The shield lasts for a number of
direction
equal to your proficiency bonus before expiring and
turns
You can also cause the shield to instantly expire
vanishing.
a bonus action.
as
are considered to be facing whatever direction you
You
with the shield being a semicircle large enough to
choose,
half your token with its centre pointed towards your
cover
If you make a ranged attack with the weapon
facing.
the shield you are considered to be facing
generating
whatever creature or object you attacked last, and
towards
shield turns automatically to face them unless you
your
otherwise.
specify
Ironclad can only maintain one shield (including
An
Wall, Gun Shield, Tower Deflector and Eminence
Shield
at a time. Using a shield is tiring. Once a Gun
Shield)
expires it becomes available for use again once a
Shield
of turns have passed equal to the number of turns
number
was previously up for (rounding up in the case of being
it
for less than a whole turn). Ironclads can attempt to
used
their Gun Shield constantly, in which case there
maintain
a 50% chance their shield will be active when combat
is
and will remain for a random number of turns up to
starts
proficiency bonus. If they do this then the drain on
their
reactor means they accrue exhaustion as a creature
their
does.
normally
Plating
Heat-Immune
Ironclad’s outer layer is comprised of specially heat-
This
materials, making it more or less immune to the
tempered
of external heat sources.
effects
$250,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad is immune to nonmagical fire
Effect
and resistant to magical fire damage.
damage,
Weapon Augmentation
Hi-Calibre
Calibre forms are available for many weapons
Higher
by Ironclads. Such weapons become heavier and
employed
difficult to control, but are more damaging when they
more
hit their targets.
actually
Half the price of the chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one of this Ironclad’s weapons. That
Effect
now occupies an additional hardpoint when
weapon
does one point of additional damage for every
configured,
rolled in its damage calculation, and receives a -1
dice
to all to-hit rolls made with it. In addition the
modifier
Feedline
Hull-Weapon
Ironclad weapons are fed from a magazine in order
Most
minimise the use of the Ironclad’s exterior ports and
to
flexibility. Feeding weapons from a belt or power
improve
however remains attractive, as it means that pilots do
cable
need to pause to reload.
not
Half the price of the chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one of the Ironclad’s weapons that uses
Effect
That weapon takes up an additional hardpoint
ammunition.
Mind Core Aptitude
Improved
Cores have difficulty using their own equipment
Mind
to their inherently limited aptitude for most things.
due
can however be improved and made able to utilise
They
equipment better through training and the addition of
their
knowledge modules, usually reel-to-reel tapes.
further
$150,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Choose one weapon, two saves, or four skills.
Effect
Ironclad is proficient in these things even when
The
This Modification can be taken as many times as
uncrewed.
desired.
Shield
Incinerator
shields use high-intensity flames to produce
Incinerator
of extreme heat, charge, and atmospheric distortion
areas
disrupts incoming energy in a variety of exotic ways.
which
similar are A/C or Acidic/Caustic shields which
Very
a similar duty with the aim of wearing down
perform
solid projectiles and reducing their ability to
incoming
the Ironclad.
damage
$350,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As a reaction when damaged by a spell or ranged
Effect
you can raise a free hand and attempt to catch
attack
projectiles in a shield of high-intensity flame which
enemy
energetic attacks. You take half as much acid, cold,
disrupts
lightning, necrotic, radiant and thunder damage from
fire,
attack or spell (and all other attacks and spells from
the
creature) as you otherwise would. This effect lasts until
that
start of your next turn.
the
you also have the Promefuric Acid Tanks Modification
If
you instead take half as much piercing damage as you
then
would from the attack or spell, but the other
otherwise
types are all unaffected.
damage
addition to this the Ironclad's unarmed attacks do 6d6
In
unless they would otherwise do more damage,
damage,
do fire damage instead of bludgeoning.
and
an incinerator shield for an attack or a reaction
Using
fuel ammunition identically to a heavy
consumes
flamethrower.
LATEJECT
EJECTor seats are used to, unsurprisingly,
LATeral
eject Ironclad pilots.
laterally
$60,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: On ejecting from an Ironclad the Pilot is fired in
Effect
Weapon Augmentation
Lo-Calibre
Calibre rounds are of course less damaging than
Lower
larger cousins, but they allow for smaller receivers
their
lighter, more controllable weapons to fire them.
and
Half the price of the chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one of this Ironclad’s weapons. That
Effect
now occupies an additional hardpoint when
weapon
does one less damage for every dice rolled in its
configured,
calculation, and receives a +1 modifier to all to-hit
damage
made with it. In addition the weapon becomes Brutish
rolls
a Cannon, and stops being a Cannon.
if
when configured and gains the Pipe Fed property.
any direction they choose.
weapon becomes Brutish if it was not already a Cannon.
.
A Man and His Droid: An extensively-modified
Titan-class Ironclad poses for a photograph with
its pilot as part of a mercenary company's
advertising campaign.
Arcane Channel Array
Mainline
are networks of arcane materials and runic
MACAs
layered throughout an Ironclad’s hull and
inscriptions
in an extensive lattice designed to enhance magical
limbs
as much as possible.
power
$1,500,000
Cost:
Occupation: 8
Hardpoint
: Any magical damage an Ironclad deals, except for
Effect
with its weapons, is multiplied by a factor of six
that
it could not benefit from Blade-Host Brightline
provided
Ability score modifier damage is not multiplied in
Conduit.
way, and nor is Psychic-type damage.
this
Weaponry
MCX
stands for Military Certification Expired. It
MCX
weapons which are no longer considered
indicates
old fashioned equipment, no longer
“contemporary”-
by the military. As old fashioned devices these
wanted
require less support but also have less integration
weapons
Ironclad systems and are generally old and worn.
with
Half the price of the chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one Ironclad weapon. The Ironclad gains
Effect
weapon, but the weapon does not require
that
to be used unless it is fitted with
configuration
The weapon also does not ever trigger any
attachments.
of on-attack or on-hit effects, cannot be used to cast
kind
or use class abilities in any way except for Extra
spells
and jams whenever it critically fails to hit a target or
Attack,
target rolls a 20 on a save against the weapon’s effects.
a
a weapon jam takes an action, and while a
Clearing
System
NMOD
Empire does not fit its vehicles with Nuclear
The
On Demand systems, but is generally slow to
Meltdown
their installation and occasionally rewards their
punish
The advantages of suddenly becoming a ball of atomic
use.
are many, but six to nine million dollars of expensive
death
going up is not something the Taleish like to
hardware
encourage.
$385,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: Instead of self destructing as normal this
Effect
can choose to initiate a nuclear meltdown. In this
Ironclad
when the Ironclad self-destructs its detonation is
case
delayed until the start of its next turn. When the
instead
detonates all creatures and objects within 60 ft
Ironclad
30d6 fire, 40d6 thunder and 10d6 radiant damage.
take
between 40 and 60 ft away can roll a Dexterity
Creatures
against the Ironclad’s Heavy Attack DC, taking half
save
Rounds and Weapon Enhancements
OCEAN
Neutralising
Outsider/Construct/Elemental/Aberration
are bullets and shells used to damage targets
rounds
immune to conventional harm through use of
otherwise
exotic materials such as silver nanofibres,
various
dust, and abyss-forged brass casings. OCEAN
adamantine
and chemical supplements are also available, and can
fuel
used to produce flames, acids, or other materials which
be
also harm arcane creatures.
will
Half the price of the chosen weapon/modification.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one of this Ironclad’s weapons or
Effect
(except its unarmed attacks). That weapon or
Modifications
now takes up an additional Hardpoint when
modification
modifications cannot cause an Ironclad to harm
OCEAN
when it would not otherwise do so.
itself
PEMA
Energy Modulation/Amplification systems are
Positive
to let Ironclad pilots repair each other and
designed
through the application of standard healing
themselves
spells.
$400,000
Cost:
Occupation: 3
Hardpoint
: Spells cast and class abilities used by Ironclads
Effect
with a PEMA ignore restrictions preventing them
equipped
restoring health to constructs. In addition these spells
from
six times more health than they otherwise would,
heal
their target is an Ironclad.
provided
Radio
Planar
a massively improved series of radio antennae
Using
with magical communications devices the Ironclad
mixed
its transmissions will always be heard.
ensures
$200,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad can pick up and broadcast to any
Effect
radio system from any point on the same world
tower-scale
blocked by magical or technological means. The
unless
communications array can also transmit to
Ironclad’s
planes of existence, although in this case its
adjacent
range is limited to over one kilometre of
communication
terrain from the point it is transmitting to. Selecting a
open
point between Planes functions identically to
transmission
Weapon Shoulder Mount
Primary
hull reinforcement and a strong mounting point
Through
Ironclad’s primary weapon can be affixed to its body.
an
lets the Ironclad shoot the weapon while its hands are
This
occupied, possibly with another weapon,
otherwise
the Ironclad’s ability to direct its weapons is not
although
improved.
Half the price of the chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: -
Hardpoint
: Choose one of this Ironclad’s weapons. That
Effect
can be fired without using the Ironclad’s hands,
weapon
occupies an additional hardpoint when configured.
and
Acid Tanks
Promefuric
armoured tanks of hyper-reactive Promefuric acid
Large
the incendiary fuel reserves of this Ironclad,
replace
it to spray deadly withering chemicals instead of
allowing
fire.
$125,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: Fire damage done by this Ironclad’s weapons and
Effect
but not spells, is replaced with acid damage.
Modifications,
Ironclad cannot be fitted with Sturmer Power Banks,
This
Action Doors
Quick
explosive charges or quick-acting pneumatics are
Small
on the Ironclad’s doors’ release catches, blowing
fitted
open extremely quickly before winches and cables re-
them
them. seal
$50,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad can be entered or exixted with a
Effect
action instead of an action. Ejecting from the
bonus
only breaches it until the start of its next turn,
Ironclad
the Teleport spell.
weapon is jammed it cannot be used to make an attack.
damage if they succeed.
Zero Point Coolant Reserves, or Z█████.
rather than until its hatches are refitted.
configured and does magical damage.
.
The Future Arrives: A light Magog-Class Ironclad
and its pilot. The primary weapon is some kind of
barium-firing railgun.
Wall (Foxer/Clasher)
Shield
and Clasher shields both work on the same
Foxer
of a fog of small magical barriers suspended in a
principles
wall. Foxer walls use many thousands of such shields,
thin
smaller than a fingernail, to slow projectiles which pass
all
the shield, while clasher fields use fewer, larger
through
in the hopes of blocking them altogether.
shields
$675,000
Cost:
Occupation: 3
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action pick any two points within
Effect
feet of the Ironclad and no more than twenty feet
twenty
each other. A wall springs from this line, thirty feet
from
either of the Foxer or Clasher type.
tall,
the wall is of the Foxer type then any ranged attack
If
passes through this wall does only half as much
which
as it otherwise would do. If it is of the Clasher type
damage
the attack instead receives a -3 to-hit modifier. The
then
lasts for a number of turns equal to your proficiency
shield
before expiring and disappearing. You can also
bonus
the shield to instantly expire as a bonus action.
cause
Ironclad can only maintain one shield (including
An
Wall, Gun Shield, Tower Deflector and Eminence
Shield
at a time. Using a shield is tiring. Once a shield
Shield)
it becomes available for use again once a number
expires
turns have passed equal to the number of turns it was
of
up for.
previously
who are in contact with the wall can push
Creatures
weapons through it to fire. If they do this then their
their
are not affected by the wall.
attacks
Ironclad’s Shield Wall attachment always produces
An
of the two types, chosen when the attachment is fitted.
one
order to produce the other type it must purchase the
In
again. Accordingly this attachment may be
attachment
up to twice.
taken
Gun (Light)
Shoulder-Mounted
mounts are popular amongst offensively-
Shoulder
Ironclad pilots for their ability to be directed with
minded
effort. These lighter weapons are particularly
minimal
against ground targets, and barely take any effort on
useful
part of the Ironclad to use.
the
Same As chosen weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad gains one of the weapons listed
Effect
These weapons do not require a free hand to use,
below.
can be used to make an attack using either an attack or
and
bonus action. They can also be cycled (in the case of slow
a
weapons) with an attack or bonus action.
fire
upgrade can be taken as many times as desired,
This
any weapon being selected each time. All shoulder
with
weapons have the Pipe-Fed property and count as
mounted
Gun (Heavy)
Shoulder-Mounted
mounts are popular amongst offensively-
Shoulder
Ironclad pilots for their ability to be directed with
minded
effort. Heavier weapons in particular add yet
minimal
way to damage enemy Ironclads or large monsters
another
direct combat.
in
Same As Chosen Weapon.
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad gains one of the weapons listed
Effect
These weapons do not require a free hand to use,
below.
can be used to make an attack using either an attack or
and
bonus action. They can also be cycled (in the case of slow
a
weapons) with an attack or bonus action. All shoulder
fire
weapons have the Pipe-Fed property and count as
mounted
Plasma
Caster
Sniper
Rifle
$23000 1d10
fire
Sturmgun $26000
$12000 6d4
piercing
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Brutish, Rapid
Fire
Ammunition (range
6000/6000), Slow Fire
1d10 Ammunition (range
thunder 40/120), Arc Line (5/1d10
lightning), Slow Fire, Instant
Travel
weapons.
Ironclad
Weapon Cost Damage Properties
Flamethrower $3500 2d6 fire Incinerator (30/20)
Heavy Laser $30000
Light
Grenade
Launcher
Light
Machinegun
Laser
Repeater
2d12
radiant
$1000 1d8
thunder
$6000 1d10
piercing
$22000 1d8
piercing
Ammunition (range
6000/6000), Slow Fire,
Instant Travel
Ammunition (range
25/100), Blast(5/1d8
slashing), Brutish
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Brutish,
Rapid Fire
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Brutish,
Rapid Fire
weapons.
Ironclad
Weapon Cost Damage Properties
AM Rifle $11000 6d8
piercing
AT Laser $95000 6d6
radiant
Grenade
Launcher
$6000 1d8
thunder
Heavy $10000 4d6 fire
Flamethrower
Machinegun $16000
Microrocket
Launcher
3d8
piercing
$26000 3d6
thunder
MP
Sturmcannon $65000
lightning
2d6
MP Rotary
Cannon
Rocket
Launcher
$20000 3d6
piercing
$1500 2d8
thunder
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
400/6000), Slow Fire,
Instant Travel
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
200/900), Instant
Travel, Brutish
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
25/100),
Blast(5/1d6slashing),
Brutish, Heavy
AT Weapon, Pipe Fed,
Incinerator (50/30)
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Rapid Fire,
Cannon, Heavy
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Rapid Fire,
Cannon
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Cannon,
Instant Travel, Arc Line
(10/2d6 lightning),
Slow Fire
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
300/1500), Ultra
Rapid Fire, Cannon
AT Weapon,
Ammunition (range
200/900),
Blast(10/2d8 slashing),
Brutish, Heavy, Slow
Fire
.
Ruined Horizons: No matter how many "NO
STEP" labels they put on your gun, posing is
always more important.
Running
Silent
Ironclad is capable of what is sometimes
This
referred to as “silent running”, where
affectionately
systems are powered down, motors are used
unnecessary
in place of engines, and solenoids are opened
extensively
carefully. Ironclads doing this are much harder to
very
detect.
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: By spending a bonus action this Ironclad can
Effect
advantage on all stealth checks it makes until the start
gain
its next turn. This will usually only be enough to offset its
of
disadvantages when it comes to stealth. Using
natural
Running is tiring.
Silent
Imager
SONAR
a system of reflected sound this Ironclad is
Using
of producing a vague map of the surrounding area.
capable
high-quality computers detailed images are
Without
even with powerful Mind Cores, but vague
impossible,
can be produced.
maps
$250,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: SONAR Imager gives blindsight out to a range of
Effect
feet, but this blindsight can only perceive objects or
eighty
of large size category or above. The imager can
creature
identify the location of creatures or objects of small or
also
size, but cannot “see” them from any mechanical
medium
due to the blurred image produced.
perspective
SONAR imager cannot see through magical silence
The
cannot perceive creatures or objects subjected to Pass
and
SRTR
Thermonuclear Resolvers, also known as
Short-Range
or SuRTuR bombs, are the current go-to tactical
SRTRs
weapons of the Empire. It's highly unlikely that
nuclear
are available for purchase, and like all Imperial nukes
they
release of gamma is deliberately curtailed, but accept
the
substitute for utterly destroying whatever it's pointed at.
no
$5,000,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: An SRTR is a weapon with the profile below. An
Effect
modification can only be fired once, and is lost after
SRTR
The Ironclad's hardpoint remains occupied until the
firing.
useless) SRTR is removed. This modification can be
(now
as many times as desired.
taken
Hull
Stripped
stripping a hull of all armour (except that which
By
the pilot's pod) an Ironclad's workings become
protects
which may leave it totally vulnerable. This is a
exposed,
and uncommon procedure, but it may have fringe
risky
for specific pilots.
benefits
Free Cost:
Occupation: -2 (yes, the Ironlad gains
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad's armour class becomes 10 plus its
Effect
modifier, its Damage Threshold becomes 0, and
dexterity
number of hit dice is permanently reduced by one. The
its
counts as wearing no armour at all (and so may
Ironclad
from Unarmoured Defence if its pilot possesses the
benefit
increases its movement speed by 10 ft, and is
feature),
as being one size class lighter than before for
counted
and using modifications.
fitting
Ironclad may not be fitted with Absence-Tested
The
Insulation, Additional Armour Plating, Blackhide
Systems
Arc Lightning Field (Heavy Hull Only)
Sturmer
Arcs project crackling fields of electricity
Sturmer
themselves, frying electronics and organics of all
around
Of course this is extremely taxing for the Ironclad’s
stripes.
meaning that the Ironclad can barely move or act
reactor,
using the field.
while
$450,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action you can choose to activate or
Effect
a coruscating field of lightning around yourself
deactivate
extends out to a distance of 30 ft but does not go
which
walls. Every creature which starts its turn within
through
field or enters it for the first time that turn takes 12d6
the
damage. This damage increases to 24d6 at 5th
lightning
36d6 at 11th level, and 48d6 at 17th level.
level,
you are maintaining the field you are considered to
While
under the effects of the Slow spell as your reactor power
be
siphoned off to maintain the field. Using the lightning
is
Hull Coils
Sturmer
conducting panels on the Ironclad's hull can be
Exposed
to quickly electrocute any creature which fancies itself
used
wrestler, or anyone stupid enough to climb on its hull.
a
$175,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: As an attack or as a reaction when grappled the
Effect
can deal 12d6 lightning damage to all creatures
Ironclad
or rodeoing it. Creatures which would be
grappling
by Sturmer Hull Coils can make a dexterity save
damaged
the Ironclad's light attack DC, taking half damage if
against
pass. They may also choose to immediately end their
they
or rodeo, which also causes them to take half
grapple
If they both pass the save AND end their
damage.
then they take no damage.
rodeo/grapple
which end their rodeo with their reaction on
Creatures
Sturmer Hull Coil damage take no damage, as
taking
for a rodeo.
normal
Power Banks
Sturmer
Sturmercorp power banks are mounted to this
Massive
chassis. Utterly useless for powering the
Ironclad's
due to incompatible voltage issues, the banks can
Ironclad
used to charge all manner of lightning-based weapons.
be
$375,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Fire damage done by this Ironclad’s weapons and
Effect
equipment, but not spells, is replaced with lightning
special
This Ironclad cannot be fitted with Promefuric
damage.
Coating, Ferro-Ceramic Layering, or Heat-Immune Plating
field is tiring.
Without Trace.
Weapon Cost Damage Properties
SRTR $5,000,000 10d6
fire
10d6
thunder
Ammunition (range
300/1500),
Blast(60/15d6 fire 5d6
radiant 20d6 thunder)
Using Sturmer Hull Coils is tiring.
Acid Tanks , Zero Point Coolant Reserves, or Z█████.
additional Hardpoints).
.
Scale and Impact: A piece of IAI promotiuonal
material for the early mediumweight Titan
chassis. It nicely shows off the relevant scale.
Subcon
Mind Cores are extremely expensive, cheaper
Although
can be made known as Core Subcons. Core
versions
are extremely stupid and extremely unreliable, but
Subcons
are at least capable of piloting an Ironclad even if they
they
make subjective decisions.
cannot
$300,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: This Ironclad can function when its Mind Core is
Effect
connected. In this case the Ironclad’s Intelligence,
not
Charisma and Dexterity are all reduced to 4, it
Wisdom,
use bonus actions and will do only what it is told to
cannot
Launcher
Thermite
is a favoured high temperature fuel of the
Thermite
and makes a devastating weapon. Large barrels of
Empire,
stuff are packaged and launched at the enemy, to be
the
separately and turn into a vast font of fiery death.
ignited
$140,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: As an attack you can fire a 90 lb thermite barrel
Effect
a point you can see within sixty feet. The barrel has an
at
class of 15 and 30 hp, but is vulnerable to piercing
armour
If the barrel is destroyed or if it takes any fire
damage.
then it explodes in a gout of flaming thermite.
damage
it explodes everything within twenty feet of the
When
that is not in full cover must pass a dexterity save
barrel
your Heavy Attack DC or take 3d10 fire damage,
against
half as much damage on a successful save.
taking
area is then covered in flaming thermite, which
The
3d10 damage to any creature when it starts its turn
deals
the fire or enters the fire for the first time this turn.
in
barrel’s flames last for a number of turns equal to
The
Ironclad’s constitution bonus.
your
barrels consume as much fuel as an attack
Thermite
a heavy flamethrower. Packaging the fuel and
with
the barrels is immaterial and should be ignored.
acquiring
Thrusters
Ironclads consume huge amounts of power very
Flying
and rapidly overheat, and only the lightest Ironclads
quickly
capable of it. Flight however offers so many options to
are
Ironclad that it remains very attractive.
an
$350,000
Cost:
Occupation: 3
Hardpoint
: An Ironclad can ignite one of its sets of thrusters
Effect
any time, including during another creature's turn, to
at
weightless until the start of its next turn. While
become
it can stand from prone without spending
weightless
its standing jumps are always as long and high
movement,
its move speed, it ignores the effects of difficult terrain,
as
it gains a climbing speed equal to its move speed.
and
Ironclad also gains a flying speed equal to its move
The
if it is built on a Light hull.
speed
Ironclad loses the use of a set of its thrusters when
An
effect wears off. An Ironclad regains use of all its
their
at the end of any turn where it uses none of them.
thrusters
Thrusters is tiring.
Using
Wave
Thunderstrike
ParaElemental AutoPortal (Lightning)
Self-propagating
PEAP(L) fluids spray forward from an Ironclad’s wrists,
or
with a massive natural charge and begetting
imbued
charges from microportals to the ParaElemental
further
of Lightning. This electrical power is short lived, but
plane
painful to be anywhere near.
very
$120,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: You can use an attack to project a line of hyper-
Effect
electrical liquid along thr ground at a point within
charged
feet. The line can go up walls but cannot bridge gaps.
sixty
creature that the line passes through must pass a
Every
save against your Light Attack DC or take 6d6
dexterity
damage and half their movement speed.
lightning
which pass the save take half as much damage
Creatures
Deflector (Heavy hull only)
Tower
Deflectors are enormous Ironclad-portable shields
Tower
can only be carried and powered by the largest
which
These shields are massive enough to hide an
Ironclads.
Ironclad behind, and nearly impenetrable.
entire
$500,000
Cost:
Occupation: 3
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action you can ignite a Tower
Effect
held in one of your hands. A Tower Deflector is a
Deflector
which works as a twenty foot long line which you
shield
move and position at will on your turn, although you
can
always be holding it for it to work. A Tower Deflector
must
as half cover unless it is being held in both hands, in
counts
case it counts as three quarters cover. If you are
which
behind the Tower Deflector AND it is being held in
prone
hands then it counts as full cover. The Tower Deflector
two
for a number of turns equal to your proficiency bonus
lasts
expiring and vanishing. You can also cause the
before
to instantly expire as a bonus action.
shield
Ironclad can only maintain one shield (including
An
Wall, Gun Shield, Tower Deflector and Eminence
Shield
at a time. Once a Tower Deflector expires it
Shield)
available for use again once a number of turns
becomes
passed equal to the number of turns it was previously
have
for. up
can attempt to maintain their Tower Deflector
Ironclads
in which case there is a 50% chance their shield
constantly,
be active when combat starts and will remain for a
will
number of turns up to their proficiency bonus. If
random
do this then the drain on their reactor means they
they
Clash Field
Ultra
Clash Fields or UCFs are high-power forcefields
Ultra
by diverting the entirety of an Ironclad’s reactor
produced
a series of generators across its chassis. While the
into
is doing this there is not force on any plane which
Ironclad
damage it, save perhaps for direct divine intervention.
can
$350,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: You may spend your action and bonus action to
Effect
immune to all damage until the start of your next
become
Language System
Universal
Mind Core is fitted with a combination of arcane
The
and large data banks filled with languages.
translators
$2,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad can speak and read all living
Effect
of the Empire, and is always under the effects of
languages
Comprehend Languages spell.
the
and do not have their movement speed reduced.
do.
accrue exhaustion as normal for a creature.
turn. Using a UCF is tiring.
.
Tomorrow's Solution to Today's Enemies: A
mediumweight Magog Psalm, the most advanced
Ironclad being produced in the modern Empire.
This one is outfitted with jets.
Grappling Improvements
WAC
Android Combat is a popular television show on
World
world of Kordon, where Ironclads perform ever more
the
feats of choreogrphed and imrovised unarmed
elaborate
for their crowds. Design changes made to the
combat
Ironclads have long since proven to be exactly what
WAC's
needed to help suplex your opponents into the dirt.
is
$250,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Ironclads fitted with WAC grappling
Effect
have advantage on checks made to grapple
improvements
and other Ironclads have disadvantage on
Ironclads,
made to grapple them. Medium and Heavy
checks
with WAC grappling improvements have
Ironclads
on grappling Huge size class creatures in
advantage
and Heavy Ironclads with WAC grappling
general,
may grapple Gargantuan creatures as if they
improvements
were Gargantuan.
themselves
Pugilism Improvements
WAC
Android Combat's secondary focus- after ludicrous
World
of Ironclads throwing their supposed archenemies
displays
is Ironclads punching the shit out of each other.
around-
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The unarmed attacks of Ironclads fitted with
Effect
pugilism improvements do six times more damage
WAW
their pilots' unarmed attacks do unless they would
than
do more.
otherwise
Embersmoke
XMC
Xorn Mining Commission originally only prospected
The
resources. Now it also produces what used to be a
for
of its resource extraction operations-
byproduct
Embersmoke, gas containing FE microportals.
compressed
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: As a bonus action or as a reaction when a
Effect
moves within 20 ft of, rodeos, or makes an attack
creature
against the Ironclad the Ironclad can release a burning,
roll
cloud of Embersmoke in a 20 ft radius around it.
cloying
Embersmoke gives all creatures within it half cover
The
all attacks and spell attacks, and deals 2d6 fire
from
to any creature which is in the Embersmoke when
damage
is released, enters the Embersmoke for the first time that
it
or starts its turn in the Embersmoke. The
turn,
Point Coolant Reserves
Zero
point coolant is used by all modern Ironclads, an
Zero
chemical which doesn’t warm up under almost any
arcane
and drinks in all heat.
circumstances
$225,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Fire damage done by this Ironclad’s weapons and
Effect
equipment, but not spells, is replaced with cold
special
This Ironclad cannot be fitted with Promefuric
damage.
Tanks , Sturmer Power Banks, or Z█████.
Acid
$50,000,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: Damage done by this Ironclad (including its
Effect
is of whatever type it chooses. This Ironclad cannot
spells)
fitted with Promefuric Acid Tanks Sturmer Power
be
or Zero Point Coolant Reserves.
Banks,
Reactor Power (Medium or Heavy hull only)
Increased
Ironclad’s reactor has been overhauled to produce
This
wattage and fitted with more capable connecting
additional
As a result of this it is stronger than its mere
cables.
appearance would suggest.
mechanical
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Strength score increases by 1.
Effect
attachment can be taken as many times as desired
This
the Ironclad’s Strength score reaches its maximum.
until
(Light or Medium hull only)
Microservos
Ironclad’s servos are supplemented with
The
that “prime the pump” for its movements.
microservos
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Dexterity score increases by 1.
Effect
attachment can be taken as many times as desired
This
the Ironclad’s Dexterity score reaches its maximum.
until
Reinforcements
Central
of composites and exotic alloys are used to
Struts
this Ironclad’s hull and insulate its joints.
reinforce
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 1
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Constitution score increases by 1.
Effect
attachment can be taken as many times as desired
This
the Ironclad’s Constitution score reaches its
until
Improvement
3C
Cooling and Cramming are the three Cs of
Connection,
Core Capacity. Better Connection to the Ironclad for
Mind
data flow. Better Cooling for allowing it to work
improved
longer without overheating. Better Cramming to make it
for
better.
study
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Intelligence score increases by 1.
Effect
attachment can be taken as many times as desired
This
the Ironclad’s Intelligence score reaches its
until
maximum.
ISDT
Subjective Decision Training is a program by
Improved
Mind Cores are rapidly subjected to a series of
which
scenarios where they can test their decision-
illusory
skills. This either improves the decisions made by
making
Mind Cores or gets them hooked on cocking around in
the
world of fantasies. Either/or, really.
a
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Wisdom score increases by 1. This
Effect
can be taken as many times as desired until the
attachment
Wisdom score reaches its maximum.
Ironclad’s
Binding
Additional
binding additional fragments of the Mind Core’s
By
consciousness (or if necessary other
original
the Mind Core’s metaphysical presence
consciousnesses)
be improved. The benefits of this are middling at best
can
tactical situations, but invaluable in law enforcement or
in
parade. on
$100,000
Cost:
Occupation: 2
Hardpoint
: The Ironclad’s Charisma score increases by 1.
Effect
attachment can be taken as many times as desired
This
the Ironclad’s Charisma score reaches its maximum.
until
maximum.
Embersmoke lasts until the start of the user's next turn.
Z█████
The experimental Z██████ uses ██████
█████████ ██ the █████ of Pain ███
and all of their crew (including drivers, operators
Vehicles
passengers) take their turn together. When a vehicle's
and
occurs any crew at the appropriate controls of a
turn
can spend their Action to make the vehicle Crawl or
vehicle
to Cruise, or cause one of the vehicle's Actions to
start
Crews can also spend their bonus actions and
occur.
as normal to trigger the vehicle's bonus actions
reactions
reactions.
and
may not take actions or bonus actions of their
Vehicles
unless triggered by a member of the crew, and do not
own
access to the normal selection of actions unless
have
stated.
otherwise
cannot move normally or take the Dash action.
Vehicles
they may Crawl, Cruise, or perform an Emergency
Instead
When Movement Speed is specified in these actions
Stop.
the appropriate movement speed type for the
subtitute
current medium (eg a plane should use its flying
vehicle's
instead of its movement speed when airborne).
speed
can never gain a form of movement speed they
Vehicles
not normally have from a spell.
do
Crawl
is when a vehicle drops its speed as much as
Crawling
in order to move with greater precision. For a car
necesary
would mean using a combination of forward and
this
gears in order to maneuver better.
reverse
a vehicle to crawl for a turn takes an action.
Causing
a vehicle crawls it moves up to its move speed
When
it wishes.
however
vehicles cannot crawl when they are
Fixed-wing
A vehicle can only crawl for a turn if it is
airborne.
crawling, or cruising at or below its normal
stationary,
speed.
move
Cruise
can begin cruising as an action, and will then
Vehicles
to cruise until such a time as an action is spent to
continue
it to crawl or it stops moving.
cause
cruising a vehicle is subject to the following
While
effects:
may increase or decrease its move speed at the start
It
its turn by an amount up to its acceleration speed, to a
of
of its top speed and a minimum of 0.
maximum
turning is limited and its facing must be tracked (see
Its
Armour and Facing). The vehicle may only move
Frontal
the direction it is facing at any given moment when
in
cruising.
must move a distance equal to its movement speed, as
It
vehicle automatically stops cruising if it starts
A
in which case its movement speed is changed to
crawling,
Stop
Emergency
vehicle may perform an emergency stop as an action. If
A
does this it immediately moves straight forwards a
it
equal to half its current movement speed and then
distance
a vehicle takes an action in addition to the normal
Entering
for mounting a creature. Unless otherwise
requirements
creatures within a vehicle are considered to be in
noted,
cover half
otherwise noted a vehicle cannot attack a target
Unless
5 feet of it.
within
Rules For Vehicles
Special Vehicle Movement Actions
directed by whoever is driving the vehicle.
its normal value.
moving altogether.
stops
Embarkation
Flexibility and Minimum Range
The Corps That Was...: An assortment of IAI
hammerheads during the invasion of Belods.
vehicle which moves into contact with an object or
A
(known as an Obstacle) will either crush or ram
creature
obstacle, per the DM's decision.
the
vehicle's size modifier is based on its size class- 1 if it's
A
2 if it's large, 3 if it's huge, 4 if it's gargantuan.
medium,
and exceptionally large gargantuan vehicles have a
Tiny
Crushing
which attempt to move through an obstacle
Vehicles
is a combination of smaller, softer, and lighter than
which
vehicle will crush the obstacle. In this case the obstacle
the
1d6 bludgeoning damage for every ten feet of
takes
speed that the vehicle has, multiplied by the
movement
size modifier, unless it can pass a dexterity save
vehicle's
the vehicle's Light Attack DC.
against
Ramming
which attempt to move through obstacles which
Vehicles
cannot move through without significant difficulty ram
they
obstacle. In this case both the vehicle and the obstacle
the
1d6 bludgeoning damage for every ten feet of
take
speed that the vehicle has, multiplied by the
movement
size modifier.
vehicle's
obstacle being rammed can attempt to make a
The
saving throw against against the vehicle's Light
dexterity
DC. If it is successful then both it and the ramming
Attack
take half as much damage as they otherwise would.
vehice
ramming vehicle can also make a constitution saving
The
against its own Heavy Attack DC in order to reduce
throw
damage to itself by half.
the
vehicle may then be forced to stop, either
The
or after a short distance, or have its movement
immediately
reduced, at the DM's discretion. Vehicle crew may
speed
take damage as if they themselves had rammed the
also
can also choose Crush and Ram creatures and
Ironclads
by moving into contact with them after taking the
objects
action. If they do this then their movement speed is
dash
to be double its actual value.
considered
are dumb, and cannot take actions, bonus actions
Vehicles
reactions or move on their own, and cannot make
or
Wisdom or Intelligence checks or saves.
Charisma,
inherit the proficiency bonuses of their crew if
Vehicles
crewmen are proficient in the activity and the vehicle's
the
When the bonus is for the vehicle's active actions
operation.
bonus actions the proficiency bonus of the triggering
or
is used (so a gunner's proficiency bonus is used
crewman
attacks made with a tank's gun). If the bonus is for a
for
then the vehicle commander's bonus is used, unless
save
save is a dexterity save (or there is no commander) in
the
case the driver's proficiency bonus is used.
which
bonuses are not listed in vehicle stat blocks as
Proficiency
result of this. Vehicles may also use the ability score
a
of their crew for the roll or damage modifiers of
modifier
actions. In this case the modifiers are listed on the
their
profile (for example as [DEX] or [INT]).
vehicle's
may have mounted weapons which may be used
Vehicles
any members of the crew to make attacks as if the crew
by
was wielding the weapon. Each of a vehicle's
member
weapons can only be used by one creature each
mounted
turn.
vehicle is considered to be facing either in the direction it
A
travelling or in the exact opposite direction. When
is
vehicles can only face in one of the eight cardinal
cruising
(they immediately face the closest cardinal
directions
when they start cruising), and can only travel in
direction
direction they are facing.
the
cruising a vehicle may change its facing by one
When
(from North to North-East or North-West and so on)
step
time it moves a number of feet equal to its
every
It may do this a number of times per turn up
maneuvering.
its maneuvering cap.
to
vehicles have a second armour class after their
Some
in brackets. This second armour class is used when
first,
vehicle is attacked from a direction opposite to its
the
Other circumstances may also give an opportunity
facing.
attack this lowered armour class.
to
Impacts and Ramming
Inaction and Control
modifier decided at the DM's discretion.
Frontal Armour and Facing
obstacle.
... and Could Have Been: SBC's superheavy tanks
never saw much service, but had a large impact
on popular culture.
vehicles are presented here for player reference, to
Some
an idea of exactly how dangerous the various war
get
of the Empire are, how much they can be
machines
to contribute to a situation, and what they'd be
expected
to use. like
a Challenge Rating is shown this is assuming that
Where
vehicle is being crewed by Imperial soldiers, who can
the
two attacks each per turn and have a dexterity score
make
14. Vehicles crewed by basic law enforcement agents or
of
members may be significantly less dangerous due to
militia
lack of training and experience, and vehicles crewed by
a
operations forces may be much more of a threat
special
to their superior training and equipment.
due
military vehicles listed are of the most common type
All
the Empire, the designs roughly contemporary with the
in
Ironclads of the Fifth Generation. These are the
Titan-class
most commonly encountered in use by mercenary
vehicles
criminal syndicates, secret cults, law enforcement,
forces,
frontier militias. Modern equipment (contemporary
and
the Magog) or recently decommissioned equipment
with
with the Behemoth) are much rarer, only
(contemporary
in the possession of the Imperial Army and Chapter
found
respectively, and would only be encountered as
Armies
by Pilots with extremely rebellious ambitions.
enemies
meaning Military Certification eXpired, refers to
MCX,
and vehicles which are long since out of use in
equipment
Empire. Most MCX vehicles are a hodgepodge of
the
and restored assets from previous Combat
reclaimed
slightly upgunned and up-armoured with
Generations,
equipment that can be coerced to fit onto their
modern
frames.
ancient
vehicles are generally less dangerous than modern
MCX
but the addition of more modern technology alows
vehicles,
to hang on to relevance. When this is coupled with
them
relative cheapness it means that MCX vehicles can be
their
in large numbers, posing a threat to things which
fielded
otherwise be their considerable superiors.
should
the perspective of a civilian of 21st century earth,
From
Titan's generation of vehicles would appear to be
the
to next-gen military technology, while MCX gear
similar
the gamut from the turn of the millenium to the
runs
world war. The Goliath would be more futuristic,
second
the Magog even more so, comparing to the Titan as an
and
would to a Sherman.
Abrams
armoured doctrine is focused around open field
Imperial
and multi-role vehicles, and indeed has been
deployments
the first tank-like vehicles were deployed in 163 IMP
since
the fields of Evergloom. Although brief dabblings with
on
tanks and tank destroyers have occured over the
heavy
the sheer variety of the Empire's enemies has always
years
a tank that can adapt to almost any opponent,
necessitated
even when seal clubbing a tank can expect to face
as
from raving orc hordes to diving dragons to
everything
guerillas to golems the size of a house, and that's
drow
spells are even considered.
before
current public favourite Battle Tank, the W-C
The
uses two mounted machineguns for spotting and
Lafayette,
purposes as well as a primary cannon which can
ranging
loaded with anti-personnel Hordekiller shells, antimonster
be
Tank Hunter shells, or all-purpose Thunderbuster
Armoured Personnel Carriers or APCs are used
Imperial
transport infantry to and around the battlefield and
to
infantry after deployment. They are armed with
support
40mm cannons capable of middling anti-armour
powerful
as well as machineguns for antipersonnel purposes.
duties,
current private forces mainstay APC, the Enoch by
The
can carry three full crew as well as six passengers,
SD&N,
can also lend their firepower to the APC's
who
thanks to the firing slots along its sides. Its
engagements
duty is to accompany Battle Tanks wherever they go
normal
supporting them once they arrive- for this reason even
and
PCs are around about as fast and, crucially, as
wheeled
Fighter Jets are not very advanced compared to its
Imperial
assets, and are permanently stuck in a limbo
ground
air combat and ground attack roles. The Empire
between
the air, and would rather produce a single multirole
hates
and wash its hands of the whole ordeal than try and
vehicle
planes for specific purposes.
make
Imperial Jets are made by Mockingbird, and almost all
All
fly-by-rune, using Mind Cores to direct their
use
similarly to ironclads. Independent, unmanned
movements
in this manner have also been attempted, but
craft
Helicopter Gunships are like flying tanks, heavily
Imperial
and armoured flyers equipped with anti-infantry and
armed
weapons which allow them to slog it out with
anti-monster
anything the multiverse can throw at them. They are
almost
powerful for their cost and, although they are
devastatingly
from flimsy, much more powerful than they are resilient.
far
who underestimate the Empire's rotary-wing craft
Those
live to tell the tale, whether they be mortal or divine,
rarely
or beast. The current privately-distributed Gunship in
man
the MKNB Manticore, has enough firepower to
particular,
a dragon to the bone and enough speed to
strip
make space for the duration of the combat.
continuously
Helicopters are used to (unsurprisingly)
Transport
Imperial soldiers to combat zones and extract the
transport
They are usually lightly armoured with nothing
wounded.
than sheets of metal seperating the crew, passengers,
more
vital components from the elements and enemy fire.
and
armament is similarly minor, usually being limited to
Their
pair of machineguns or infantry-scale rotary cannons
a
it can use to defend itself.
which
most common mark of the Transport Helicopter, the
The
Cormorant, lacks armour but makes up for some of
MKNB
lack with mass. Usually tough enough to withstand
this
but high explosives, the Cormorant's main fear
everything
being engaged point-blank by melee air cavalry. Under
is
circumstances the recommended tactic is very simple-
such
tail and run like hell, relying on the lateral turbines to
turn
it beyond the reach of anything that flaps its wings.
put
Example Vehicles
Armoured Personnel Carriers
as Battle Tanks.
maneuverable
Fighter Jets
MCX
underperform in all manners.
consistently
Helicopter Gunship
Transport Helicopters
Battle Tanks
shells.
Before the Combat Generation and Standard Length Contract (SLC) system the variations of vehicles in the Empire
Note:
many. Although the air remained dominated by Mockingbird more than a dozen companies made official Imperial tanks
were
163 and 414. They have been omitted from this list for the purposes of brevity.
between
addition to this it should be noted that while the Imperial Army will exclusively use the equipment selected in trials each
In
other forces may choose to sign contracts with the less controlled runners-up in order to get better equipment
generation
This list is far from exhaustive as a result.
sooner.
A History of Imperial War Machines
Land Vehicles
Contract Year Ironclad Mark Tank Mark Carrier Mark Real-World Tank Generation
414 Bunyan (WAC) Hammerhead (IAI) Obsidian (IAI) 0 Gen/WW2
466 Ban'Go (CHL) Hammerhead (IAI) Augusta (WSTN) 1st Gen/Early Cold War
518 Ban'Go PGPN (W-C) Bogatir 15 (AGKF) Augusta Mk2 (WSTN) 1st Gen/Early Cold War
570 Svyatogor 24 (AGKF) Bogatir 99 (AGKF) Granite (IAI) 2nd Gen/Late Cold War
622 Svyatogor 32 (AGKF) Lafayette (W-C) Granite (IAI) 3rd Gen/Modern
674 Roc (W-C) Lafayette (W-C) Granite (IAI) 3rd Gen/Modern
726 Titan (IAI) Lafayette Mk2 (W-C) Ostryy 46 (AGKF) 4th Gen/Next-Gen
778 Titan (IAI) Lafayette Mk2 (W-C) Ostryy 55 (AGKF) 4th Gen/Next-Gen
830 Titan (IAI) Lafayette Mk3 (W-C) Enoch (SD&N) 4th Gen/Next-Gen
882 Behemoth (W-C) Vector (KMU) Enoch Psalm (SD&N) 5th Gen/Next-Gen+
934 Magog (SD&N) Vector Mk2 (WC&K) Enoch Hymn (SD&N) 5th Gen/Next-Gen+
986 Magog Psalm (SD&N) M46 (HXRN) Paik Sun (WC&K) 6th Gen/Next-Gen++
Air Vehicles
Contract Year Gunship Mark Transport Helicopter Mark Jet Mark Real-World Plane Generation
570 - Swan - 1st Gen/WW2
622 Peryton Swan - 1st Gen/WW2
674 Peryton Brownback Condor Raptor 2nd Gen/Early Cold War
726 Manticore Condor Raptor 2nd Gen/Early Cold War
778 Manticore Cormorant Raptor Longtail 3rd Gen/Late Cold War
830 Manticore Whiteband Cormorant Vulture 3rd Gen/Late Cold War
882 Chimera Albatross Vulture Chalkbrow 4th Gen/Modern
934 Chimera Albatross Hawk 4th Gen/Modern
986 Chimera Socorro Albatross Blue Hawk Floreana 5th Gen/Next-Gen
Battle Tank
Gargantuan Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 21(17)
Hit Points 333(19d20 + 133)
Speed 20ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
25 (+7) 6 (-2) 25 (+7) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 18 (3745 XP)
Vehicle. A Battle Tank is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 40 ft., a top speed of 240 ft, a
maneuvering of 5 ft., and a maneuvering cap of 2.
Crew. A Battle Tank's crew consists of one driver,
one gunner, one loader, one machinegunner, and
one commander (who also controls one
machinegun).
Damage Threshold. A Battle Tank has a Damage
Threshold of 30.
Sealed Hull. Creatures inside a Battle Tank have
total cover from outside the Battle Tank, and can
only be targeted by spells from outside the Battle
Tank in the manner of Ironclad pilots. Battle
Tanks can be breached likes an Ironclad.
Mounted Guns. The Battle Tank has two mounted
Machineguns which can be used by the crew.
These weapons are always considered to be
Emplaced, and have the Brutish and Pipe Fed
properties.
The Main Cannon has advantage on attack rolls
against targets hit by one of these Machineguns.
Actions
Main Cannon. Ranged Weapon Attack: +[WIS] to
hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 91 (14d12 + [WIS])
piercing damage. The Main Cannon can only be
used to make an attack if it has been Loaded.
Load. The Main Cannon is Loaded. The damage
done by the Main Cannon attack can be changed
by loading one of the following shells instead of
its normal tank hunter shells:
Hordekiller Shells: The Main Cannon's damage is
reduced to 26 (4d12+[WIS]) thunder, but it also
functions as a weapon with the Blast (60/3d12
slashing) property.
Thunderbuster Shells: The Main Cannon's damage
is reduced to 39 (6d12+[WIS]) thunder, but it
also functions as a weapon with the Blast
(25/6d12 thunder) property.
Embersmoke. As a bonus action or as a reaction
when a creature moves within 20 ft of, rodeos, or
makes an attack roll against the Battle Tank the
Battle Tank can release a burning, cloying cloud
of Embersmoke in a 20 ft radius around it. The
Embersmoke heavily obscures all creatures inside
it, and deals 4d6 fire damage to any creature
which is in the Embersmoke when it is released,
enters the Embersmoke for the first time that
turn, or starts its turn in the Embersmoke.
Embersmoke lasts until the start of the user's
next turn.
A Battle Tank can use Embersmoke three times
before it must be reloaded from outside the
vehicle.
Personnel Carrier
Huge Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 17(14)
Hit Points 231(14d20 + 84)
Speed 20ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
22 (+6) 6 (-2) 22 (+6) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 9 (3745 XP)
Vehicle. A Personnel Carrier a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 40 ft., a top speed of 240 ft, a
maneuvering of 5 ft., and a maneuvering cap of 2.
Crew. A Personnel Carrier has a driver, a gunner, a
machinegunner (who is also the commander),
and space for up to six passengers.
Damage Threshold. A Personnel Carrier has a
Damage Threshold of 20.
Sealed Hull. A Personnel Carrier has a sealed hull,
like a tank.
Mounted Guns. The Personnel Carrier has a
mounted Machinegun and a mounted 40mm
Cannon which can be used by the crew. These
weapons are always considered to be Emplaced,
and have the Brutish and Pipe Fed properties.
Attack rolls made with the 40mm cannon have
advantage when attacking targets which have
previouly been hit by the Machinegun this turn.
Firing Points. The Personnel Carrier has space for
four crew members to attack targets outside the
vehicle each turn with weapons other than the
mounted guns. Crew members who do this are
considered to only be in three quarters cover
(rather than the full cover provided by Sealed
Hull) until the start of their next turn.
Actions
Embersmoke. As a bonus action or as a reaction
when a creature moves within 20 ft of, rodeos, or
makes an attack roll against the Personnel Carrier
the Personnel Carrier can release a burning,
cloying cloud of Embersmoke in a 20 ft radius
around it. The Embersmoke heavily obscures all
creatures inside it, and deals 4d6 fire damage to
any creature which is in the Embersmoke when it
is released, enters the Embersmoke for the first
time that turn, or starts its turn in the
Embersmoke. Embersmoke lasts until the start of
the user's next turn.
Personnel Carrier can use Embersmoke three
times before it must be reloaded from outside
the vehicle.
Assault Charges. As an action a personnel carrier
can spray a 20 foot cone with powerful
shockwaves. All creatures in the cone take 2d6
thunder damage and must make a constitution
save against a DC of 16. Creatures which fail the
save take an additional 2d6 thunder damage and
are deafened until the start of their next turn. In
addition melee attacks against them have
advantage for the same duration.
The cone can be sprayed behind or directly to
either side of the Vehicle. After each direction
has been sprayed it cannot be sprayed again until
a minute is spent reloading the assault charges
from the outside.
MRAP
Huge Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 114 (4d12+20)
Speed 10ft.
SPAAG
Huge Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 170 (10d20+50)
Speed 20ft.
T
H
A
H
S
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 8 (-1) 20 (+5) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Vehicle. An MRAP is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 100 ft., a top speed of 400 ft, a
maneuvering of 20 ft., and a maneuvering cap of
1.
Crew. An MRAP has a driver, a gunner, and space
for up to six passengers.
Damage Threshold. An MRAP has a Damage
Threshold of 15.
Sealed Hull. An MRAP has a sealed hull, like a tank.
Mounted Guns. An MRAP has either a mounted
Machinegun or Grenade Launcher which can be
used by the crew. These weapons are always
considered to be Emplaced, and have the Brutish
and Pipe Fed properties.
Actions
None
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 8 (-1) 20 (+5) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 8 (3900 XP)
Vehicle. A SPAAG is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 40 ft., a top speed of 240 ft, a
maneuvering of 5 ft., and a maneuvering cap of 2.
Crew. An SPAAG has a driver, a gunner, a RADAR
operator and a commander.
Damage Threshold. An SPAAG has a Damage
Threshold of 20.
Sealed Hull. An SPAAG has a sealed hull, like a
tank.
Mounted Guns. An SPAAG has an MPRC, a
machinegun, a 40mm cannon or a 25mm rotary
cannon. These weapons are always considered to
be Emplaced, and have the Brutish and Pipe Fed
properties.
Hail of Lead. The SPAAG's Machinegun is
considered to have the Ultra Rapid Fire property,
and its MPRC can always add the user's strength
or dexterity modifier to its attack and damage
rolls when using the cone attack provided by
Ultra Rapid Fire.
Actions
RADAR sweep. The SPAAG becomes aware of all
airborne creatures and objects of Medium size
class or above within line of sight, unless they are
invisible or in magical darkness, and gains
advantage on attacks against these creatures and
objects until the start of its next turn.
C
D
D
S
L
C
V
ac
m
1
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C
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M
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Motorcar
Huge Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 8
Hit Points 69 (6d12+30)
Speed 10ft.
Motorcycle
Large Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 8
Hit Points 69 (6d12+30)
Speed 15ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+3) 8 (-1) 16 (+3) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 0 (- XP)
Vehicle. A Motorcar is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 100 ft., a top speed of 500 ft, a
maneuvering of 10 ft., and a maneuvering cap of
1.
Crew. A Motorcar has a driver, and from one to
ten spaces for passengers.
You Get What You Pay For. Two common
Motorcar variants are Sports Cars and Trucks.
These have different vehicle profiles, as detailed
below:
Sports Car; Acceleration 300ft., top speed 1000
ft, maneuvering 10 ft., maneuvering cap 2.
Truck: Acceleration 50ft. (150 ft when unloaded),
top speed 400 ft, maneuvering 20 ft.,
maneuvering cap 1.
Actions
None
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+3) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 0 (- XP)
Vehicle. A Motorcycle is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 250 ft., a top speed of 500 ft, a
maneuvering of 10 ft., and a maneuvering cap of
3.
Crew. A Motorcycle has a driver, and one or two
spaces for passengers.
You Get What You Pay For. Sports motorcycles are
faster than normal motorcycles, and have an
acceleraion of 400ft, and a top speed of 800 ft.
Completely Open. Motorcycle crew receive no
cover at all from being in the motorcycle.
Actions
None
Fighter Jet
Gargantuan Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 145 (10d20+40)
Speed 15ft., flying speed 100 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 26 (+7) 18 (+4) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)
Vehicle. A Fighter Jet is a Vehicle. It has an
acceleration of 1000 ft., a top speed of 6000 ft, a
maneuvering of 200 ft., and a maneuvering cap
of 4.
Crew. A Fighter Jet has a single crew member, its
pilot.
Mounted Guns. The Fighter Jet has a mounted
25mm Rotary Cannon and a Rocket Pod which
can be used by the crew. These weapons are
always considered to be Emplaced, and have the
Brutish and Pipe Fed properties.
Fixed Weapon Mounts. The Fighter Jet can only
use its weapons to attack targets within a cone
(as the spell targeting method) starting at its
current position and pointing the direction it is
facing.
Built to Taxi. A whilst a Fighter Jet is on the
ground its maneuvering is 15 ft but its
maneuvering cap is 1.
High Ex Rounds. A Fighter Jet's weapons do
thunder damage instead of piercing or slashing
damage.
Strafe Run. Creatures on the ground have
disadvantage when attacking a Fighter Jet, but the
Jet is also considered to be at every location it
made an attack from until the start of its next
turn for the purposes of being effected by spells
and targeted by attacks.
Actions
Light Bombs. As an action the Fighter Jet can
designate one point on the ground it has passed
over to drop a bomb on. Every creature within
thirty feet of this point must pass a DC (12+
[WIS]) dexterity saving throw or take 8d6 thunder
damage, with creatures which pass the save
taking half as much. A Fighter Jet carries two such
bombs.
Eject. As a bonus action a member of the Fighter
Jet's crew can eject from the vehicle, identically
to an Ironclad pilot.
Crewing
Unlike most Imperial vehicles, Imperial air
vehicles are driven by pilots, with soldiers only
being used as gunners.
Transport Helicopter
Gargantuan Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 160(10d20 + 40)
Speed 0ft., flying speed 50 ft. (hover)
Helicopter Gunship
Gargantuan Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class 17(14)
Hit Points 160(10d20 + 40)
Speed 0ft., flying speed 50 ft. (hover)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 26 (+8) 18 (+4) - (-) - (-) - (-)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 9 (1090 XP)
Vehicle. A Transport Helicopter is a Vehicle. It has
an acceleration of 100 ft., a top speed of 550 ft,
a maneuvering of 50 ft., and a maneuvering cap
of 1.
Crew. A Transport Helicopter has a pilot, a
copilot, and up to ten passengers, who can also
use the guns.
Air Only. A Transport Heli's movement speed is
always 0.
Rotary Strafe. A Transport Heli's facing when
crawling can be any direction it chooses.
Big Target. If a Transport Helicopter doesn't move
in a turn attacks against it have advantage.
Mounted Guns. The Transport Helicopter has two
mounted MP Rotary Cannons or two
Machineguns which can be used by the crew.
These weapons are always considered to be
Emplaced, and have theBrutish and Pipe Fed
properties.
Actions
None
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 (+1) 18 (+4) 20 (+5) 10 (0) 10 (0) 10 (0)
Condition Immunities All
Damage Immunities Poison, Psychic
Damage Resistances Slashing
Senses None
Languages None
Challenge 9 (1090 XP)
Vehicle. A Helicopter Gunship is a Vehicle. It has
an acceleration of 100 ft., a top speed of 550 ft,
a maneuvering of 50 ft., and a maneuvering cap
of 2.
Crew. A Helicopter Gunship has a pilot and a
gunner.
Damage Threshold. A Helicopter Gunship has a
Damage Threshold of 15.
Air Only. A Helicopter Gunship's movement
speed is always 0.
Rotary Strafe. A Helicopter Gunship's facing when
crawling can be any direction it chooses.
Big Target. If an Helicopter Gunship doesn't move
in a turn attacks against it have advantage.
Mounted Guns. A Helicopter Gunship has a
40mm cannon, a 25mm Rotary Cannon, and two
Rocket Pods. All these weapons have the Brutish
and Pipe Fed properties.
Actions
None
Soldiers make up the majority of the various
Imperial
armies. The average Taleish infantryman is at
Imperial
proficient in his equipment, with Page World armies
least
from competent to exceptionally well trained
varying
on their position in the military heirarchy and
depending
priorities of the Page World.
the
of the exact details, almost all Imperial
Regardless
are professional career troopers, paid for their
soldiers
and compensated for their injuries. The body of a
work
army is organised in a typical order of battle, rising
Taleish
fire teams of five soldiers to squads of ten to platoons
from
forty. Above this come companies, batallions, regiments,
of
and then armies, with each comprising of four of
division,
former. Specialists are appended onto this structure,
the
Heavy Gunners, Grenadiers, Snipers, and Flame
with
troops falling into their own command structure
Corps
Soldiers make up the majority of the various
Imperial
armies. The average Taleish infantryman is at
Imperial
proficient in his equipment, with Page World armies
least
from competent to exceptionally well trained
varying
on their position in the military heirarchy and
depending
priorities of the Page World.
the
Infantry
Imperial Soldier
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 15 (plate carrier)
Hit Points 19(3d8+6)
Speed 30ft.
Imperial Sniper
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 15 (Anti-Piercing Suit)
Hit Points 16(3d8+3)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14(+2) 14(+2) 14(+2) 10(+0) 14(+2) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Equipment Imperial soldiers are equipped with
a Battle Rifle or Assault Rifle, a pistol, and a
Longsword.
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Soldier makes two
attacks with its weapons, or four rapid fire attacks
with its Assault Rifle.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing
damage.
Battle Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 400/1500 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d10 + 2)
piercing damage.
Assault Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2)
piercing damage.
Assault Rifle (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon Attack:
+2 to hit, reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 4
(1d8) piercing damage.
Imperial Soldiers
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12(+1) 16(+3) 12 (+1) 12(+1) 16(+3) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Equipment Imperial Snipers carry a light sabre
and a pistol. They also carry a long arm- either a
Marksman Rifle, a Sniper Rifle, or an Anti-Materiel
Rifle.
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Soldier makes two
attacks, one of which may be spent cycling its
long arm.
Light Sabre. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing
damage.
Marksman Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 400/6000 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d12+3)
piercing damage.
Sniper Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 400/6000 ft., one target. Hit 18 (6d4+3)
piercing damage.
AM Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach
400/6000 ft., one target. Hit 30 (6d8+3)
piercing damage.
Imperial Snipers
from which they are seconded into
are the Empire's anti-tank infantry. Taken from
Grenadiers
same stock as the Heavy Gunners, Grenadiers are
the
rockets and grenades to punch through enemy
given
They tend to be a bellicose sort, and have an
armour.
knack for finding where a tank really does
uncomfortable
want to be hit.
not
Heavy Gunners are selected from the rank and file
Imperial
the military on most worlds, chosen for their strength
of
resilience when compared to their peers. They are
and
fed assorted growth supplements and steroids in
then
to improve their existing physical talents. The Heavy
order
are then given the heaviest and most
Gunners
arour that modern technica can provide, as
comprehensive
as heavy automatic weapons which they use to provide
well
Imperial Grenadier
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 18 (Anti-Blast Suit)
Hit Points 22(3d8+9)
Speed 30ft.
Imperial Hvy Gunner
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 17 (Imperial Heavy Armour)
Hit Points 22(3d8+9)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16(+3) 12(+1) 16 (+3) 12(+1) 14(+2) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Damage Resistances Slashing, Thunder
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Equipment Imperial Grenadiers carry a Maul, a
Shotgun Pistol, and either a Grenade Launcher or
a Rocket Launcher.
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Heavy Gunner makes
two attacks or four rapid fire attacks.
Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft.,
one target. Hit 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning
damage.
Shotgun Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 40/80 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d12+3)
piercing, or 12 (2d8+3) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Grenade Launcher. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, reach 25/100 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3)
thunder damage. Blast (5/4(1d8) slashing).
Rocket Launcher. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, reach 200/900 ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d8 +
3) thunder damage. Blast (10/9(2d8) slashing).
Imperial Grenadiers
Imperial Heavy Gunners
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16(+3) 12(+1) 16 (+3) 12(+1) 14(+2) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Equipment Imperial Heavy Gunners carry a
Greatsword, a shotgun pistol, and either a Light
Machinegun, a Machinegun, a Man Portable
Rotary Cannon, or a Micro Missile Launcher.
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Heavy Gunner makes
two attacks, or four Rapid Fire attacks, or six
Rapid Fire attacks with the Man Portable Rotary
cannon at disadvantage.
Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing
damage
Shotgun Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 40/80 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d12+3)
piercing, or 12 (2d8+3) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Light Machinegun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, reach 300/1500 ft., one target. Hit 8
(1d10+3) piercing damage.
Light Machinegun (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon
Attack: +2 to hit, reach 300/1500 ft., one target.
Hit 5 (1d10) piercing damage.
Machinegun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 300/1500 ft., one target. Hit 16 (3d8+3)
piercing damage.
Machinegun (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon Attack:
+2 to hit, reach 300/1500 ft., one target. Hit 13
(3d8) thunder damage.
Man Portable Rotary Cannon. Ranged Weapon
Attack: +5 to hit, reach 300/1500 ft., one target.
Hit 13 (3d6+3) piercing damage.
Man Portable Rotary Cannon (Rapid Fire). Ranged
Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 300/1500 ft.,
one target. Hit 10 (3d6) piercing damage.
Microrocket Launcher. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5
to hit, reach 300/1500 ft., one target. Hit 13
(3d6+3) thunder damage.
Microrocket Launcher (Rapid Fire). Ranged
Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 300/1500 ft.,
one target. Hit 10 (3d6) thunder damage.
suppressive fire for their unaugmented squadmates.
weaponry is alive and well in the Empire, with
Flame
law activists being far more concerned with the
miltary
of Promefuric weapons than simple flame when
existence
are allowed to complain at all. Although some
they
will attempt to avoid using fire against
commanders
creature there are many who will go straight to the
sapient
troopers as soon as enemies turn to guerilla warfare,
flame
elves in particular are wont to do.
as
Troopers are recruited from the same stock as
Flame
Troopers, and wear similar armour adepted for their
Heavy
purposes. Tieflings, fire genasi and red
particular
in particular will reliably be sniped from the
dragonborn
Heavy Trooper program and given weapons to torch
main
enemies, since it's much less likely that they'll suffer
their
Soldiers are the Imperial answer to city fighting and
SWAT
warrens. They're equipped with shotguns and
underdark
calibre rifles for close range engagements, as well as
small
eponymous longsword with which they train
the
extensively.
Soldiers are used for both military operations for
SWAT
fighting and room-to-room clearing in city fighting,
tunnel
also civilian law enforcement operations. On some
and
militarised world they replace the civilian police
extremely
but it is more common for them to simply
altogether,
Imperial Flame
Trooper
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 18 (Flame Suit)
Hit Points 22(3d8+9)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16(+3) 12(+1) 16 (+3) 12(+1) 12(+1) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Damage Resistances Fire
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Equipment Imperial Flame Troopers carry a
Maul, a Shotgun Pistol, and either a Flamethrower
or a Heavy Flamethrower
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Flame Trooper makes
two attacks.
Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5ft.,
one target. Hit 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage
Shotgun Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 40/80 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d12+3)
piercing, or 12 (2d8+3) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Flamethrower. Ranged Weapon Attack (Special):
All creatures within a 20 foot cone starting within
30 feet of the Imperial Flame Trooper and
pointing directyl away from it must pass a DC 13
dex save or take 7(2d6) fire damage, taking half
as much on a successful save.
Heavy Flamethrower. Ranged Weapon Attack
(Special): All creatures within a 30 foot cone
starting within 50 feet of the Imperial Flame
Trooper and pointing directyl away from it must
pass a DC 13 dex save or take 14(4d6) fire
damage, taking half as much on a successful save.
Imperial Flame Troopers
Imperial SWAT Soldier
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 15 (Plate Carrier)
Hit Points 22(3d8+9)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14(+2) 14(+2) 14(+2) 10(+0) 14(+2) 12(+1)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Equipment Imperial SWAT Soldiers carry a
longsword, a pistol, and either a Shotgun, an
Automatic Shotgun, or PDW (An Assault Rifle
with the Quickdraw and Lo Calibre
modifications).
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Soldier makes two
attacks with its weapons, or four rapid fire attacks
with its Assault Rifle.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing
damage.
Shotgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach
40/80 ft., one target. Hit 30 (4d6 + 2) piercing,
or 13 (2d10+2) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Automatic Shotgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to
hit, reach 40/80 ft., one target. Hit 8 (1d12 + 2)
piercing, or 6 (1d8+2) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Assault Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d8 + 1)
piercing damage.
Assault Rifle (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon Attack:
+2 to hit, reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 3
(1d8-1) piercing damage.
Imperial SWAT Soldier
supplement basic law enforcement.
ill effects of their own equipment.
Pilots are the skilled crew of Imperial airborn
Imperial
and Ironclads. Rigorously trained in the operation
vehicles
these devices, Pilots are selected for the relevant
of
based on their reflexes, eyesight, intelligence and
programs
to keep a cool head under pressure.
ability
are only equipped with weapons for use in
Pilots
and are otherwise considered soft targets.
emergencies,
equipment is barely adequate for sustained combat,
Their
they're barely trained for it at the best of times. As such
and
in their vehicles they fight with as much enthusiasm
when
aplomb as can be expected, but once forced to eject
and
will normally attempt to evacuate the area as quickly
they
Special Operators are the elite forces of the
Imperial
Empire, selected from the most capable and
Taleish
members of the conventional army. They are
promising
the most difficult missions and some of the most
given
questionable tasked, and are fully expected to
morally
against more or less any opponent.
succeed
Page Worlds maintain at least some Special
Most
as do many Mercenary groups, but the Imperial
Operators,
Imperial Army's Special Operator groups in particular
The
especially well equipped, having freedom to request
are
whatever they want from the armouries. This could
largely
anything, from cutting-edge firearms to the newest
be
weapons to blackhide-coated tanks equipped with
energy
rifles that can tear any armoured target they
micromissile
Imperial Pilot
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 15 (Anti-Piercing Suit)
Hit Points 22(3d8+9)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14(+2) 16(+3) 14(+2) 14(+2) 14(+2) 10(+0)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Equipment Imperial Pilots carry a light sabre, a
pistol, and a PDW (An Assault Rifle with the
Quickdraw and Lo Calibre modifications).
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Pilot makes one attack
with its weapons, or two rapid fire attacks with its
Assault Rifle.
Light Sabre. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing
damage.
Assault Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d8 + 1)
piercing damage.
Assault Rifle (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon Attack:
+3 to hit, reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 3
(1d8-1) piercing damage.
Imperial Pilots
as possible.
Imperial Special Oprators
Imperial Special
Operator
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 17 (Imperial Elite Armour)
Hit Points 60(8d8+24)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16(+3) 16(+3) 16(+3) 12(+1) 16(+3) 14(+2)
Saving Throws Con +6, Wis +6
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Equipment Imperial Special Operators carry an
Assault Rifle or Battle Rifle fitted with an
underslung micro grenade launcher or shotgun
pistol, as well as a Longsword and a Pistol.
Actions
Multiattack. The Imperial Special Operator makes
three attacks, or six rapid fire attacks. It can mke
an attack with its Pistol or Longsword as a bonus
action if it has the other weapon drawn, and can
make an attack with its Shotgun Pistol or Micro
grenade Launcher as a bonus action if it has its
Assault Rifle or Battle Rifle drawn.
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing
damage.
Assault Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d8 + 3)
piercing damage.
Assault Rifle (Rapid Fire). Ranged Weapon Attack:
+3 to hit, reach 300/1200 ft., one target. Hit 4
(1d8) piercing damage.
Battle Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
reach 400/1500 ft., one target. Hit 8 (1d10+3)
piercing damage.
Shotgun Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
reach 40/80 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d12+3)
piercing, or 12 (2d8+3) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Micro Grenade Launcher. Ranged Weapon Attack:
+5 to hit, reach 25/100 ft., one target. Hit 7
(1d8+3) thunder damage. Blast (5/4(1d8)
slashing).
see into tiny pieces in a matter of seconds.
Army has the largest compliment of such soldiers.
police vary hugely in their duties and dispositions
Imperial
world to world, from benevolent guardians of the
from
to jackbooted thugs who relish crushing dissent.
people
of their exact role, law enforcers of the Empire
Regardless
invariably armed and authorised to use lethal force
are
necessary, although their exact level of training with
when
weapons is usually relatively poor when compared to
their
member of the Empire's armies.
a
Universities like the Invisible College of Prelude
Arcane
to educate Imperial citizens on the subjects of magic,
work
the purposes of technica development or the
for
of arcane theory. These colleges also run
furtherance
on personal spellcasting, partially funded by
classes
militaries in order to provide a steady stream of
various
Mages.
Combat
Mages are uncommon, making up fewer than
Combat
in a hundred soldiers, and are usually attached to
one
of Imperial Soldiers. Trained with guns and armour
squads
like their martial peers, Combat Mages use their spells
just
support and augment their squads on a tactical level,
to
intelligence, confounding enemies, or
gathering
foes. In addition, all Combat Mages know and
annihilating
the spell Counterspell- with this even the humblest
use
can confound the magic of an Archmage, and
wizard
Imperial Law Enforcer
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 13 (Stab Vest)
Hit Points 11 (2d8+2)
Speed 30ft.
Imperial Combat Mage
Medium humanoid, Varying Alignment
Armor Class 16 (Plate Carrier)
Hit Points 36 (5d8+5)
Speed 30ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12(+1) 12(+1) 12(+1) 10(+0) 14(+2) 10(+0)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Equipment Imperial Law Enforcers generally
carry a pistol, a truncheon, and a shotgun. They
may or may not carry stun rounds for these
weapons. On riot duty law enforcers may carry a
bulletproof shield, in which case their Armour
Class increases by two points.
Actions
Truncheon. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 4 (1d6 + 1)
bludgeoning damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing
damage.
Shotgun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach
40/80 ft., one target. Hit 29 (4d6 + 1) piercing,
or 12 (2d10+1) piercing beyond 40 feet.
Imperial Law Enforcement
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12(+1) 12(+1) 12(+1) 14(+2) 12(+1) 8(-1)
Condition Immunities None
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Varies, but always includes Common
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Equipment Imperial Combat Mages carry a
Battle Rifle, a Pistol, and an Imperial Longsword.
They also carry a spellcasting focus.
Actions
Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 5ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing
damage.
Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach
150/750 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing
damage.
Battle Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 400/1500 ft., one target. Hit 7 (1d10 + 2)
piercing damage.
Spellcasting. The Combat Mage is a 5th-level
spellcaster. Its spell casting ability is Intelligence
(spell save DC 15, +5 to hit with spell attacks).
The Combat Mage has the following cleric spells
prepared:
Cantrips (at will): Acid Splash, Minor Illusion,
Mold Earth, Thunderclap
1st level (4 slots): Alarm, Detect Magic, Shield
2nd level (3 slots): Invisiblity
3rd level (2 slots): Clairvoyance, Counterspell,
Fireball
Imperial Combat Mages
Alternate Spell Choices
Imperial Combat Mages are wizards and ritual
casters, preparing their spells as needed. The
above is only a typical selection for a Combat
Mage who expects to see direct open battle
alongside their squad later in the day. If the day's
duties included asymmetric warfare and patrol a
Combat Mage would be more likely to select
purely intelligence-gathering and anti-surprise
spells, such as Mind Spike and Charm Person.
Combat Mages carry expensive but massproduced
spellbooks which contain more or less
every wizard spell of third level or below known
to the Empire, excluding most purely damaging
spells which is considered the purview of the
squad and their weapons rather than the wizard.
Of note is the spell Find Familiar- Combat Mages
will almost always have a familiar unless it has
been recently killed and not yet replaced.
render them helpless to the bullets of their squadmates.