Morian Unitry: (Worth 1 is 1 MWE, 1 OWE is 1 Orc worth.) Infantry-Irregular Goblin Younglings: .5 OWE Goblin Younglings are not very good, but they are very small, and are perfect for swarming and manning Tanks. Come in all varieties, or as a mass of different
Goblin “Mercenaries”: worth .5 Slightly better than the Goblin Younglings, Mercenaries carry the same weapons as their young.
Dwarvish Shields: worth 1 These Orcs use old Dwarven pikes, swords and large Shields.
Pike Crew: Worth 1 Pike Crews are Pike-using Orcs that are best used in formations and Tanks.
Climbers: Worth 2 Using swords and crossbows, Climbers are best used climbing and attacking from “strange” angles that most would not expect.
Goblin Pitmasters: Worth 2 Using a small axe and a whip, the Goblin Pitmasters are feared, and will drive the armies forward. However, they are still fearsome on the front lines without formation fighting.
Powered Infantry: 2 OWE Of all Varieties, Powered Infantry are better at fighting.
Orcs of the Ninja: 2 OWE Using a katana and a small bow, Orcs of the Ninja are stealth unitry designed for any location. Are great at climbing up sheer walls and cliffs.
Chieftain of the Ninja: 5 OWE The Black Uruk Cheiftains of the Orcs of the Ninja, these unitry use a Broadsword and a recurve Bow in addition to large darts. The Black Uruk Cheiftains are much better spies than the Orcs of the Ninja.
Sod Boxer: worth 2.5 The Sod Boxer is the main unit in 2 teams below (one is in the Tanks section). Each Sod Boxer has a heavy breastplate, a helmet and the rest being leather armor. A Sod Boxer has a crossbow and a short sword. Sod Boxers are goblins who enjoy building and waiting for their prey to come to them, rather than find their prey elsewhere.
Sod Boxer Team: worth 5 The Sod Boxer Team is two goblins who have equipment meant to dig themselves in to the earth for surprise attacks.
Tunneler’s Team: Worth 5 An old Dwarven design of tunneling device, with a slight add-on to the back. The 2 “Sod Boxer” units inside also can hold 10 other goblins in the area the Tunneler’s Team can hold up at once (for the Tunneler’s Team does not make large or substantial tunnels without a good deal more work.
Archers-Non Normal Cross-Archers: Worth 1 Able to use both a crossbow and a bow and arrow.
Goblin Sniper: Worth 1 Using a powerful Crossbow, Goblin Snipers are used in small numbers to destroy units close to the front line, even after they are engaged.
Grey Archers: 2 OWE Using Longbows, the Grey Archers are the farthest shooting of the orcs (Note: Stair shooters are more accurate, but Grey Archers are able to shoot farther)
Stair shooters: Worth 2 Using bows, the Stair Shooters are best at long-distance shooting.
Flight of the Uruks: 5 OWE Uruks with large shields and a crossbow, these Uruks can climb the walls of Moria just like any other goblin.
Heavy Archers: Worth 5 Using longbows, the Heavy Archers are Grey Archers, much better trained and have very heavy armor. Also have a heavy sword as a sidearm.
Cavalry- All Warg Skirmishers: Worth 2 Using both a scimitar and a bow, the Warg Skirmishers are powerful Orcs.
HArmored Warg Skirmishers: Worth 5 The HArmored Warg Skirmisher is the same as the Warg skirmisher, but heavily armored and much better at fighting.
Trolls- All Cave Trolls: Worth 20. While not wearing Armor, the Cave troll does have rather good Arrow-resistance, and is much more maneuverable. The Cave Troll is also somewhat smarter than the HArmored Troll.
HArmored Troll: Worth 20 close to immune to arrow-fire, and having some resistance to Javelins, the HArmored Trolls is slower and dumber than the Cave Troll, but all the more deadly thanks to its armor. Technology- irregular (in other words, other than basic siege weapons) Zwanglider: Worth 5 The Zwanglider is manned by 4-6 orcs, and is a mostly aerodynamic design. If they are there, the Zwanglider is capable of riding on cables which my orcs set up in their defensive structures.
DAORVs: Worth 5 Dangerously Armed Orc-Ridden Vehicles, these are the basic “Tank” design. Manned by 4-6 orcs, there are 8 main arrow slits/holes for swords. The DAORVs have sharp pieces all over it, to prevent climbing/grabbing etc.
ACTs: Worth 5 Anti-Cavalry Tanks, these are DAORVs, but are taller and have platforms inside them, so as to help the 4-6 orcs inside destroy cavalry.
DASTs: Worth 10 The Dangerously Armed Scorpion Tanks are longer than the other tanks, having room for 6-8 orcs and a Scorpion. This tank have one large opening, and no slits. DASTs are made to withstand other siege weapons, while returning fire themselves.
Well, here is 26 Morian/Goblin Town unitry. Because that Goblin Town is so similar to Moria, I'm keep the same list for both.
Concerning the bold units: the Orcs of the Ninja seem odd. The ninja do not exist in Middle-earth, and there isn't much in canon that's close to a ninja. Second, the Chieftain of the Ninja don't make too much sense. The chieftains of Orcs wouldn't go on solo missions. Expendable Goblins would do something like that.
Also, I think that Cave Trolls should be cheaper. The only real difference between them and HArmored trolls is the lack of armor, because intelligence doesn't really play a part in the RP.
Morian Unitry: (Worth 1 is 1 MWE, 1 OWE is 1 Orc worth.) Infantry-Irregular Goblin Younglings: .5 OWE Goblin Younglings are not very good, but they are very small, and are perfect for swarming and manning Tanks. Come in all varieties, or as a mass of different
Goblin “Mercenaries”: worth .5 Slightly better than the Goblin Younglings, Mercenaries carry the same weapons as their young.
Dwarvish Shields: worth 1 These Orcs use old Dwarven pikes, swords and large Shields.
Pike Crew: Worth 1 Pike Crews are Pike-using Orcs that are best used in formations and Tanks.
Climbers: Worth 2 Using swords and crossbows, Climbers are best used climbing and attacking from “strange” angles that most would not expect.
Goblin Pitmasters: Worth 2 Using a small axe and a whip, the Goblin Pitmasters are feared, and will drive the armies forward. However, they are still fearsome on the front lines without formation fighting.
Powered Infantry: 2 OWE Of all Varieties, Powered Infantry are better at fighting.
Orcs of the Ninja: 2 OWE Using a katana and a small bow, Orcs of the Ninja are stealth unitry designed for any location. Are great at climbing up sheer walls and cliffs.
Chieftain of the Ninja: 5 OWE The Black Uruk Cheiftains of the Orcs of the Ninja, these unitry use a Broadsword and a recurve Bow in addition to large darts. The Black Uruk Cheiftains are much better spies than the Orcs of the Ninja.
Sod Boxer: worth 2.5 The Sod Boxer is the main unit in 2 teams below (one is in the Tanks section). Each Sod Boxer has a heavy breastplate, a helmet and the rest being leather armor. A Sod Boxer has a crossbow and a short sword. Sod Boxers are goblins who enjoy building and waiting for their prey to come to them, rather than find their prey elsewhere.
Sod Boxer Team: worth 5 The Sod Boxer Team is two goblins who have equipment meant to dig themselves in to the earth for surprise attacks.
Tunneler’s Team: Worth 5 An old Dwarven design of tunneling device, with a slight add-on to the back. The 2 “Sod Boxer” units inside also can hold 10 other goblins in the area the Tunneler’s Team can hold up at once (for the Tunneler’s Team does not make large or substantial tunnels without a good deal more work.
Archers-Non Normal Cross-Archers: Worth 1 Able to use both a crossbow and a bow and arrow.
Goblin Sniper: Worth 1 Using a powerful Crossbow, Goblin Snipers are used in small numbers to destroy units close to the front line, even after they are engaged.
Grey Archers: 2 OWE Using Longbows, the Grey Archers are the farthest shooting of the orcs (Note: Stair shooters are more accurate, but Grey Archers are able to shoot farther)
Stair shooters: Worth 2 Using bows, the Stair Shooters are best at long-distance shooting.
Flight of the Uruks: 5 OWE Uruks with large shields and a crossbow, these Uruks can climb the walls of Moria just like any other goblin.
Heavy Archers: Worth 5 Using longbows, the Heavy Archers are Grey Archers, much better trained and have very heavy armor. Also have a heavy sword as a sidearm.
Cavalry- All Warg Skirmishers: Worth 2 Using both a scimitar and a bow, the Warg Skirmishers are powerful Orcs.
HArmored Warg Skirmishers: Worth 5 The HArmored Warg Skirmisher is the same as the Warg skirmisher, but heavily armored and much better at fighting.
Trolls- All Cave Trolls: Worth 20. While not wearing Armor, the Cave troll does have rather good Arrow-resistance, and is much more maneuverable. The Cave Troll is also somewhat smarter than the HArmored Troll.
HArmored Troll: Worth 20 close to immune to arrow-fire, and having some resistance to Javelins, the HArmored Trolls is slower and dumber than the Cave Troll, but all the more deadly thanks to its armor. Technology- irregular (in other words, other than basic siege weapons) Zwanglider: Worth 5 The Zwanglider is manned by 4-6 orcs, and is a mostly aerodynamic design. If they are there, the Zwanglider is capable of riding on cables which my orcs set up in their defensive structures.
DAORVs: Worth 5 Dangerously Armed Orc-Ridden Vehicles, these are the basic “Tank” design. Manned by 4-6 orcs, there are 8 main arrow slits/holes for swords. The DAORVs have sharp pieces all over it, to prevent climbing/grabbing etc.
ACTs: Worth 5 Anti-Cavalry Tanks, these are DAORVs, but are taller and have platforms inside them, so as to help the 4-6 orcs inside destroy cavalry.
DASTs: Worth 10 The Dangerously Armed Scorpion Tanks are longer than the other tanks, having room for 6-8 orcs and a Scorpion. This tank have one large opening, and no slits. DASTs are made to withstand other siege weapons, while returning fire themselves.
Well, here is 26 Morian/Goblin Town unitry. Because that Goblin Town is so similar to Moria, I'm keep the same list for both.
Concerning the bold units: the Orcs of the Ninja seem odd. The ninja do not exist in Middle-earth, and there isn't much in canon that's close to a ninja. Second, the Chieftain of the Ninja don't make too much sense. The chieftains of Orcs wouldn't go on solo missions. Expendable Goblins would do something like that.
Also, I think that Cave Trolls should be cheaper. The only real difference between them and HArmored trolls is the lack of armor, because intelligence doesn't really play a part in the RP.
The "Ninja" units are more of cool names for my only stealth units, because it kind of works with their weaponry.
for trolls, Intelligence makes a difference. I've had problems with people saying that Trolls can't do something that I want them too because they are not intelligent enough. Also, Armor doesn't really matter much with Morian Trolls compared.
Tul Generas of the Orcs, Darthraxx of the dragon Knights. I RP, and have lots of fun.
-last edited on Mar 23, 2017 20:45:54 GMT by LegoBuilder
Post by LegoBuilder on Mar 23, 2017 20:43:45 GMT
Tentative list of Gondorian units. Enjoy! Infantry
Gondorian Soldiers Worth: 1 W/A: Longsword, Tower shield, plate armor. Description: The most basic unit in Gondor’s army, and yet one of the best defensive units in Middle-earth.
Gondorian Pikemen Worth: 1 W/A: Pike, Tower shield, plate armor Description: A unit that can stop a cavalry charge in its tracks and form effective shield walls as well.
Gondorian Halberdiers Worth: 1.5 W/A: Halberd, tower shield, plate armor Description: A more advanced version of the pikeman that can both stop cavalry and cut down their foes from a distance.
Axemen of Lossarnach Worth: 1.5 W/A: Battleaxe, sword, shield, plate armor Description: Warriors who trade skill for power
Archers of the Morthond Vale Worth: 1.5 W/A: Longbow, short sword, leather armor Description: Archers who are better skilled but less armored than Gondor’s enlisted archers.
Outer Guard - Infantry Worth: 2 W/A: Halberd, shield, plate armor, tower shield Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Outer Guard - Archers Worth: 2 W/A: Crossbow, armor with a full helm. Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Harvagor Soldiers Worth: 2 W/A: Broadsword, medium armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor. Their name means Southern Warrior, and they strike fear into the hearts of the Haradrim.
Harvagor Archers Worth: 2 W/A: High-powered bow, light armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor.
Rangers of Ithilien Worth: 5 W/A: Powerful longbow, sword, daggers, camouflaged robes over leather armor. Description: Stealth units with some of the best weapons in Gondor.
Cavalry
Wardens of Anorien Worth: 2 W/A: Bow, spear, light armor Description: Light cavalry who patrol Anorien.
Gondorian Cataphracts Worth: 3 W/A: Heavy plate for horse and rider, lance, large shield Description: Powerful linebreakers.
Harvagor Riders Worth: 3 W/A: Sword, shield, bow, light armor, camouflage robes. Description: Stealthy cavalry riding atop desert steeds from the stock of Khand.
Knights of Gondor Worth: 4 W/A: Lance, shield, sword, heavy armor. Description: The best cavalry in Gondor, but inferior to Swan Knights. Siege Weapons
Gondorian Trebuchets Worth: 20 Description: Some of the best catapults in Middle-earth, mounted high atop the ramparts of Minas Tirith.
Greenwood swordsman (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Standard elven sword, kite-shaped shield (strong but light metal), sidearm. Medium armor (plate). These soldiers are vicious fighters, highly disciplined, and well-suited for melee, though they are capable of efficiently gathering into formations at a single command. They are vulnerable to cavalry, trolls, siege weapons, and the sort.
Greenwood spearman (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Spear and shield (or pike only), short sword. Medium armor (plate). These units are much more accustomed to formations, being effective against frontal/cavalry assaults. Undergoing vigorous training before reaching the field, they will stand their ground regardless of the numbers they face. They are not as effective as others in melee, though, and archers are a serious threat to them.
Maethyr I-Thewair (Woodland Warriors) (worth 2 – 2.6 MWE). Two-handed battle axe, twin short swords. Heavy armor (scale). These units are destructive menaces in the battlefield, causing chaos in melee. They are also skillful in ambushes and other such tactics. Vulnerable to snipers, trolls, cavalry.
Hir-E-Lang (Masters of the Sword) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Two-handed longsword, sidearm. Light armor (flexible plate, elven cloak). These are the veterans whose skill and leadership have earned them the commanding position of companies of the Greenwood swordsmen. They are dangerous adversaries and are capable of making quick decisions in the battlefield. They share the same vulnerabilities as the units they command.
Hir-E-Ech (Masters of the Spear) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Spear and shield (or pike only), sword. Heavy armor (plate). Like the Hir-E-Lang, these commanders are veterans skilled in their position. They are often seen in the front lines with their companies as they face their enemies. They share the same vulnerabilities as the units they command.
Arandond (King’s Fist) (worth 5 – 6.5 MWE). Sword, shield, bow, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). These special units are deployed by the king to defend Mirkwood against its enemies through their skills in close combat and with the bow. They do lack the swiftness of other units, however.
Tir-E-Arachir (Guards of the High Lord) (worth 10 – 13 MWE). Longbow, sword, throwing knives. Light/med. armor (flexible plate, Lorien cloak). Engaged in intense training for thousands of years, these are by far the best soldiers in Mirkwood. Their accuracy with the bow and throwing knives is unmatched in Middle Earth, and their swiftness and stealth is like no other. They are devastating in close combat, and even other elites will find them formidable opponents, to say the least. They have few weaknesses, aside from being swarmed by dozens of enemies, or perhaps the extremely unlikely shot of some lucky bowman who would require the fortune of seeing his target.
Archers (1 standard unit worth 1.3 MWE)
Silvan archers (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Standard elven bow, short sword. Light armor (leather, camo). Being elves, it’s safe to assume that these archers possess deadly accuracy. They are capable of destructive volleys or precise individual shots. They are particularly effective in the forest, where they easily blend in with their surroundings. They lack skill in close combat, though, and a sudden cavalry attack would likely annihilate them.
Mirkwood Warders (worth 2 – 2.6 MWE). Longbow, sword. Medium armor (gambeson, chainmail, camo). A more skilled version of the Silvan archers, these soldiers are especially accustomed to stealth and are more accurate with their long ranged shots. They share the same weaknesses as the Silvan archers.
Dae-E-Tawar (Shadow of the Forest) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Longbow, short sword, throwing knives. Light (flexible plate, camo). These stealthy archers can release a volley of arrows and disappear before their opponents are aware of the threat. They are especially designated to take down enemy commanders, and they are far more capable in melee than other archers. However, they cannot last too long in open combat, and when exposed, cavalry are often a threat.
Hir-E-Beng (Master of the Bow) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Longbow, sword, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Like the Hir-E-Lang and Hir-E-Ech, these archers are the veterans of their position who have been promoted to command over companies. They specialize in taking out enemy commanders and adding to the hail of arrows released by those they command. They share the weaknesses of the Silvan archers, and are also not as swift as other archers.
Cuan-E-Tawar (Guardians of the Forest) (worth 8 – 10.4 MWE). Longbow, twin short swords, sidearms. Light armor (plate, camo). These units are even more accurate with the bow than the skilled Tir-E-Arachir. Also training for thousands of years with the bow, they are capable of making incredibly accurate shots that no one else in Middle Earth would come close to making. While they are not incredibly skilled in melee, they can last for a decent amount of time before needing to withdraw.
Cavalry (1 standard unit worth 1.6 MWE)
Silvan scout (worth 1 – 1.6 MWE). Standard elven bow, short sword. Light armor (leather). Swift riders who are the eyes on the road ahead and on the battlefield, the Silvan scouts have the sharpest eyes of their people. They often carry out quick strikes on an enemy host, firing off a few accurate shots before moving out of range. Aside from this, however, they try to avoid close combat.
Rochir-E-Tawar (Knights of the Forest) (worth 1 – 1.6 MWE). Spear, sword, shield. Medium armor (plate). These are the standard cavalry units of Mirkwood’s army. They are capable of lightning strikes on the enemy lines, cleaving through enemy infantry, and dexterous moves amid combat. They are susceptible to volleys of enemy arrows.
Linebreakers (worth 2 – 3.2 MWE). Spear, longsword, shield. Heavy armor (plate). These units focus on battering down the enemy lines through powerful assaults. One of the riskier positions in among the horsemen, they especially perform a technique known as the Hammerblows, destructive to enemy lines.
Hir-E-Roch (Masters of the Horse) (worth 4 – 6.4 MWE). Longsword, shield, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Veterans, specialized in commanding cavalry, skilled with the sword. They share weaknesses of the Rochir-E-Tawar.
Rochir-E-Arachir (Knights of the High Lord) (worth 8 – 12.8 MWE). Spear, cavalry sword (specially made, lightweight yet durable for quick thrusts and cuts), shield, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Highly talented horsemen who can change direction with incredible speed. Short of the better Rohirrim units, they are among the best cavalry in Middle Earth, and their combat skills are devastating. These units generally guard the king while on the field of battle. They share the weaknesses of other cavalry.
Greenwood swordsman (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Standard elven sword, kite-shaped shield (strong but light metal), sidearm. Medium armor (plate). These soldiers are vicious fighters, highly disciplined, and well-suited for melee, though they are capable of efficiently gathering into formations at a single command. They are vulnerable to cavalry, trolls, siege weapons, and the sort.
Greenwood spearman (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Spear and shield (or pike only), short sword. Medium armor (plate). These units are much more accustomed to formations, being effective against frontal/cavalry assaults. Undergoing vigorous training before reaching the field, they will stand their ground regardless of the numbers they face. They are not as effective as others in melee, though, and archers are a serious threat to them.
Maethyr I-Thewair (Woodland Warriors) (worth 2 – 2.6 MWE). Two-handed battle axe, twin short swords. Heavy armor (scale). These units are destructive menaces in the battlefield, causing chaos in melee. They are also skillful in ambushes and other such tactics. Vulnerable to snipers, trolls, cavalry.
Hir-E-Lang (Masters of the Sword) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Two-handed longsword, sidearm. Light armor (flexible plate, elven cloak). These are the veterans whose skill and leadership have earned them the commanding position of companies of the Greenwood swordsmen. They are dangerous adversaries and are capable of making quick decisions in the battlefield. They share the same vulnerabilities as the units they command.
Hir-E-Ech (Masters of the Spear) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Spear and shield (or pike only), sword. Heavy armor (plate). Like the Hir-E-Lang, these commanders are veterans skilled in their position. They are often seen in the front lines with their companies as they face their enemies. They share the same vulnerabilities as the units they command.
Arandond (King’s Fist) (worth 5 – 6.5 MWE). Sword, shield, bow, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). These special units are deployed by the king to defend Mirkwood against its enemies through their skills in close combat and with the bow. They do lack the swiftness of other units, however.
Tir-E-Arachir (Guards of the High Lord) (worth 10 – 13 MWE). Longbow, sword, throwing knives. Light/med. armor (flexible plate, Lorien cloak). Engaged in intense training for thousands of years, these are by far the best soldiers in Mirkwood. Their accuracy with the bow and throwing knives is unmatched in Middle Earth, and their swiftness and stealth is like no other. They are devastating in close combat, and even other elites will find them formidable opponents, to say the least. They have few weaknesses, aside from being swarmed by dozens of enemies, or perhaps the extremely unlikely shot of some lucky bowman who would require the fortune of seeing his target.
Archers (1 standard unit worth 1.3 MWE)
Silvan archers (worth 1 – 1.3 MWE). Standard elven bow, short sword. Light armor (leather, camo). Being elves, it’s safe to assume that these archers possess deadly accuracy. They are capable of destructive volleys or precise individual shots. They are particularly effective in the forest, where they easily blend in with their surroundings. They lack skill in close combat, though, and a sudden cavalry attack would likely annihilate them.
Mirkwood Warders (worth 2 – 2.6 MWE). Longbow, sword. Medium armor (gambeson, chainmail, camo). A more skilled version of the Silvan archers, these soldiers are especially accustomed to stealth and are more accurate with their long ranged shots. They share the same weaknesses as the Silvan archers.
Dae-E-Tawar (Shadow of the Forest) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Longbow, short sword, throwing knives. Light (flexible plate, camo). These stealthy archers can release a volley of arrows and disappear before their opponents are aware of the threat. They are especially designated to take down enemy commanders, and they are far more capable in melee than other archers. However, they cannot last too long in open combat, and when exposed, cavalry are often a threat.
Hir-E-Beng (Master of the Bow) (worth 4 – 5.2 MWE). Longbow, sword, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Like the Hir-E-Lang and Hir-E-Ech, these archers are the veterans of their position who have been promoted to command over companies. They specialize in taking out enemy commanders and adding to the hail of arrows released by those they command. They share the weaknesses of the Silvan archers, and are also not as swift as other archers.
Cuan-E-Tawar (Guardians of the Forest) (worth 8 – 10.4 MWE). Longbow, twin short swords, sidearms. Light armor (plate, camo). These units are even more accurate with the bow than the skilled Tir-E-Arachir. Also training for thousands of years with the bow, they are capable of making incredibly accurate shots that no one else in Middle Earth would come close to making. While they are not incredibly skilled in melee, they can last for a decent amount of time before needing to withdraw.
Cavalry (1 standard unit worth 1.6 MWE)
Silvan scout (worth 1 – 1.6 MWE). Standard elven bow, short sword. Light armor (leather). Swift riders who are the eyes on the road ahead and on the battlefield, the Silvan scouts have the sharpest eyes of their people. They often carry out quick strikes on an enemy host, firing off a few accurate shots before moving out of range. Aside from this, however, they try to avoid close combat.
Rochir-E-Tawar (Knights of the Forest) (worth 1 – 1.6 MWE). Spear, sword, shield. Medium armor (plate). These are the standard cavalry units of Mirkwood’s army. They are capable of lightning strikes on the enemy lines, cleaving through enemy infantry, and dexterous moves amid combat. They are susceptible to volleys of enemy arrows.
Linebreakers (worth 2 – 3.2 MWE). Spear, longsword, shield. Heavy armor (plate). These units focus on battering down the enemy lines through powerful assaults. One of the riskier positions in among the horsemen, they especially perform a technique known as the Hammerblows, destructive to enemy lines.
Hir-E-Roch (Masters of the Horse) (worth 4 – 6.4 MWE). Longsword, shield, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Veterans, specialized in commanding cavalry, skilled with the sword. They share weaknesses of the Rochir-E-Tawar.
Rochir-E-Arachir (Knights of the High Lord) (worth 8 – 12.8 MWE). Spear, cavalry sword (specially made, lightweight yet durable for quick thrusts and cuts), shield, sidearm. Heavy armor (plate). Highly talented horsemen who can change direction with incredible speed. Short of the better Rohirrim units, they are among the best cavalry in Middle Earth, and their combat skills are devastating. These units generally guard the king while on the field of battle. They share the weaknesses of other cavalry.
It sounds like you are over-estimating the Tir-E-Achir. First off, any groups of soldiers with spears or polearms could destroy is, as the Tir-E-Achir only has a rather long range or else a much shorter range. In addition, it normally is pretty easy to see the enemy as they fire/attack, unless it's in the forest.
Tul Generas of the Orcs, Darthraxx of the dragon Knights. I RP, and have lots of fun.
Tir-E-Arachir (Guards of the High Lord) (worth 10 – 13 MWE). Longbow, sword, throwing knives. Light/med. armor (flexible plate, Lorien cloak). Engaged in intense training for thousands of years, these are by far the best soldiers in Mirkwood. Their accuracy with the bow and throwing knives is unmatched in Middle Earth, and their swiftness and stealth is like no other. They are devastating in close combat, and even other elites will find them formidable opponents, to say the least. They have few weaknesses, aside from being swarmed by dozens of enemies, or perhaps the extremely unlikely shot of some lucky bowman who would require the fortune of seeing his target.
It sounds like you are over-estimating the Tir-E-Achir. First off, any groups of soldiers with spears or polearms could destroy is, as the Tir-E-Achir only has a rather long range or else a much shorter range. In addition, it normally is pretty easy to see the enemy as they fire/attack, unless it's in the forest.
The problem with that is that those soldiers would have to get close enough to them in the first place. Spearmen would have several arrows coming in their direction before they got within ten feet of the Tir-E-Arachir. But supposing they did get closer, it isn't impossible for them to deflect spear thrusts, and having trained for thousands of years they would certainly be prepared for facing many different weapons. That's not to say spearmen would be a more difficult opponent, though.
Depending on the features of the land, yes, they could be seen easier. Which is why I only intend to use them in places where their stealth can be implemented.
Tentative list of Gondorian units. Enjoy! Infantry
Gondorian Soldiers Worth: 1 W/A: Longsword, Tower shield, plate armor. Description: The most basic unit in Gondor’s army, and yet one of the best defensive units in Middle-earth.
Gondorian Pikemen Worth: 1 W/A: Pike, Tower shield, plate armor Description: A unit that can stop a cavalry charge in its tracks and form effective shield walls as well.
Gondorian Halberdiers Worth: 1.5 W/A: Halberd, tower shield, plate armor Description: A more advanced version of the pikeman that can both stop cavalry and cut down their foes from a distance.
Axemen of Lossarnach Worth: 1.5 W/A: Battleaxe, sword, shield, plate armor Description: Warriors who trade skill for power
Archers of the Morthond Vale Worth: 1.5 W/A: Longbow, short sword, leather armor Description: Archers who are better skilled but less armored than Gondor’s enlisted archers.
Outer Guard - Infantry Worth: 2 W/A: Halberd, shield, plate armor, tower shield Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Outer Guard - Archers Worth: 2 W/A: Crossbow, armor with a full helm. Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Harvagor Soldiers Worth: 2 W/A: Broadsword, medium armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor. Their name means Southern Warrior, and they strike fear into the hearts of the Haradrim.
Harvagor Archers Worth: 2 W/A: High-powered bow, light armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor.
Rangers of Ithilien Worth: 5 W/A: Powerful longbow, sword, daggers, camouflaged robes over leather armor. Description: Stealth units with some of the best weapons in Gondor.
Cavalry
Wardens of Anorien Worth: 2 W/A: Bow, spear, light armor Description: Light cavalry who patrol Anorien.
Gondorian Cataphracts Worth: 3 W/A: Heavy plate for horse and rider, lance, large shield Description: Powerful linebreakers.
Harvagor Riders Worth: 3 W/A: Sword, shield, bow, light armor, camouflage robes. Description: Stealthy cavalry riding atop desert steeds from the stock of Khand.
Knights of Gondor Worth: 4 W/A: Lance, shield, sword, heavy armor. Description: The best cavalry in Gondor, but inferior to Swan Knights. Siege Weapons
Gondorian Trebuchets Worth: 20 Description: Some of the best catapults in Middle-earth, mounted high atop the ramparts of Minas Tirith.
Excellent units LB! Would you mind if I used these for Gondor in the 4th Age RP? We never got a huge list together.
The day of prosperity makes one forget adversity; The day of adversity makes one forget prosperity.
Tentative list of Gondorian units. Enjoy! Infantry
Gondorian Soldiers Worth: 1 W/A: Longsword, Tower shield, plate armor. Description: The most basic unit in Gondor’s army, and yet one of the best defensive units in Middle-earth.
Gondorian Pikemen Worth: 1 W/A: Pike, Tower shield, plate armor Description: A unit that can stop a cavalry charge in its tracks and form effective shield walls as well.
Gondorian Halberdiers Worth: 1.5 W/A: Halberd, tower shield, plate armor Description: A more advanced version of the pikeman that can both stop cavalry and cut down their foes from a distance.
Axemen of Lossarnach Worth: 1.5 W/A: Battleaxe, sword, shield, plate armor Description: Warriors who trade skill for power
Archers of the Morthond Vale Worth: 1.5 W/A: Longbow, short sword, leather armor Description: Archers who are better skilled but less armored than Gondor’s enlisted archers.
Outer Guard - Infantry Worth: 2 W/A: Halberd, shield, plate armor, tower shield Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Outer Guard - Archers Worth: 2 W/A: Crossbow, armor with a full helm. Description: Defensive units that guard the Rammas Echor.
Harvagor Soldiers Worth: 2 W/A: Broadsword, medium armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor. Their name means Southern Warrior, and they strike fear into the hearts of the Haradrim.
Harvagor Archers Worth: 2 W/A: High-powered bow, light armor, camouflage robes Description: Warriors who patrol the deserts of Harondor.
Rangers of Ithilien Worth: 5 W/A: Powerful longbow, sword, daggers, camouflaged robes over leather armor. Description: Stealth units with some of the best weapons in Gondor.
Cavalry
Wardens of Anorien Worth: 2 W/A: Bow, spear, light armor Description: Light cavalry who patrol Anorien.
Gondorian Cataphracts Worth: 3 W/A: Heavy plate for horse and rider, lance, large shield Description: Powerful linebreakers.
Harvagor Riders Worth: 3 W/A: Sword, shield, bow, light armor, camouflage robes. Description: Stealthy cavalry riding atop desert steeds from the stock of Khand.
Knights of Gondor Worth: 4 W/A: Lance, shield, sword, heavy armor. Description: The best cavalry in Gondor, but inferior to Swan Knights. Siege Weapons
Gondorian Trebuchets Worth: 20 Description: Some of the best catapults in Middle-earth, mounted high atop the ramparts of Minas Tirith.
Excellent units LB! Would you mind if I used these for Gondor in the 4th Age RP? We never got a huge list together.
Only if you make them all terrible 0.5 MWE units first so I can win
-last edited on Mar 25, 2017 21:14:56 GMT by masterlegobuilders: Updated troop worth per request
Post by KitKat on Mar 25, 2017 6:35:07 GMT
Alright, here's Erebor's troop list now. As a note, most troops are the same between Erebor and the Iron Hills. The biggest difference between these being that the cavalry are exclusively from the Iron Hills (as Erebor doesn't seem to have boars; there are a few machines, though, that use boars, and while those require the Iron Hills in order to be produced, the cost comes from and they are fielded by Erebor), while the tanks and a few other pieces of machinery are from Erebor (as the Iron Hills doesn't seem likely to have the capabilities to mass-manufacture advanced war machines). Mods, if you thought Rex's list was bad, I apologize for this too (while my computer freezes when I try to paste it).
If no worth is listed, assume one Dwarf-worth (1.333 MWE).
Melee Infantry:
Swordsmen: Equipment: Sword, kite shield, dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with portions of plate. Description. All-around units. Not particularly great at any specific job, but they adapt easily to different situations.
Shield-bearers: Equipment: Dual tower shields, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Extremely hard to take down, but aren't exactly as dangerous as other units. These troops specialize in covering other troops, and are trained to use a number of formations to increase efficiency.
Halberdiers: Equipment: Halberd, tower shield, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Erebor's standard defensive unit. Halberdiers are heavily armored and trained to hold tight lines to fend off enemy troops. When attacked from in front, few enemy melee troops besides dedicated shocktroopers/linebreakers stand a chance against them, though they're easily defeated when flanked.
Naginata: Worth: 2 Equipment: A naginata polearm, two throwing axes, small heater shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Highly defensive units. They are quite slow, but are extremely hard to smash. While they don't hold lines quite as well as halberdiers they don't need tight formations to survive. They're far more resilient against shocktroopers than halberdiers are, though they're weaker against ranged units.
Sigin-thark: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Naginata, mini-crossbow, kite shield, and a light axe. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Similar to naginata, though far more experienced. Sigin-thark are trained to hold a line against anything short of an artillery bombardment, which is good, because they're not getting anywhere fast. Their naginata are ideal for cutting down shocktroopers before they get too close, and their shields are large enough to deflect arrows and block axes.
Stone Guards: Worth: 2 Equipment: One-handed battle-axe, heavy tower shield, a dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Stone guards are highly defensive and very heavily armored, and pose a formidable barrier to virtually any infantry, even shocktroopers. They are similar to the Mahalu, but less powerful and far more practical to field in large numbers.
Macemen: Equipment: Mace, kite shield, mini crossbow, dagger, and a throwing axe. Light chainmail. Description: The "glasshammers" of Erebor. They hit hard and move fast, though their light armor makes them relatively easy to take down if someone gets past their shield.
Rakhas-felek: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Claymore, dagger, and mini crossbow. Chainmail with some light plate. Description: Lightly armored Dwarves with heavy two-handed swords. While rakhas-felek can use their swords to defend against melee weapons, they have light armor and are thus weak against archers
Axemen: Worth: 2 Equipment: Battle-axe, dagger, and two throwing axes. Medium-heavy plate. Description: Offensive juggernaut-type units. They're generally used as crowdbreakers due to their berserker-like abilities. They're extremely hard to take down because of their heavy armor, and are very dangerous even when cut off from friendly forces. Unfortunately, they're quite slow.
Gunukun: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Battle-axe, mini-crossbow, two throwing axes. Heavy plate. Description: Elite axemen, Gunukun play essentially the same role as their weaker counterparts, but are far more dangerous.
Climbers: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Various pieces of climbing equipment, dagger, throwing axe, two mini crossbows, shield, and a one-handed battle-axe. Chainmail. Description: Dwarves trained to quickly scale walls using their grappling hooks, and even capable of fighting while hanging on the rope. While these forces aren't efficient for much else, they're quite good at capturing walls.
Doppelsoldner: Worth: 2 Equipment: Serrated flammenschwert, a throwing axe, a dagger, and a mini crossbow. Medium-heavy chainmail. Description: Wielding gigantic swords significantly taller than the soldiers themselves, Doppelsoldner are skilled duelists, and are even quite capable fighting multiple enemies at once. The signature wavy blade of the flammenschwert, along with its serrated edge, imparts unpleasant vibrations into enemy blades, and also quickly cuts through most hafts, giving the Doppelsoldner an slight advantage against most troops and even letting them destroy the weapons of others.
Ranged Infantry:
Light Crossbowmen: Equipment: Light crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: The primary ranged unit of Erebor. Their crossbows are capable of taking out moderately armored troops from a reasonable range. While their armor is quite effective in deflecting enemy arrows, it's not quite as good at defending against melee weapons.
Heavy Crossbowmen: Equipment: Heavy crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to light crossbowmen, except armed with a heavier crossbow and thus have more hitting-power and range, but also a lower rate-of-fire.
Repeating Crossbowmen: Equipment: Repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and a throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to the other crossbowmen types but with repeating crossbows. While these crossbows are weaker, they have a much higher rate-of-fire.
Gunuzirak: Worth: 2 Equipment: Modified repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: A higher-power repeating crossbowman. In a way, these crossbows are a mixture between a traditional repeating crossbow and an ordinary bow. They use the same reloading mechanism as a standard repeating crossbow, but they have a longer draw and are more powerful. The arms are also oriented vertically instead of horizontally for the sake of convenience, and the lever is much larger. When fired, they are generally braced against the leg (aimed upwards), giving their user the best possible position for firing. Additionally, these bows are carried on a strap, and feature a catch on the inner side which holds the weapon in place relative to the holder's leg, allowing it to be fired from the hip. Overall, these units have the power of standard archers, but can fire quite rapidly, making them perfect for (sometimes sustained) volleys, though they aren't always the most accurate.
Snipers: Worth: 2 Equipment: High-powered crossbow, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two pavises (on back). Medium lamellar. Description: Experienced crossbowmen equipped with rather large and powerful crossbows capable of out-distancing a longbow with good accuracy. Best from high, somewhat far-off spots, snipers excel at taking out high-priority targets.
Shathuru-felak: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Ultra-high-powered crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two pavises (on back), and climbing equipment. Light lamellar. Description: Recruited from the best snipers and equipped with the highest quality weaponry, shathuru-felak are deadly foes. The quality and consistency of their weapons combined with their experience allows a shathuru-felak to have extremely good accuracy. Because of the power of their crossbows, they can out-distance pretty much any other comparable unit, though they're very slow to reload. Given time, A shathuru-felak can reach otherwise-inaccessible areas thanks to their climbing equipment.
Support Units:
Walking Artillery: Worth: 2 Equipment: Small repeating ballista, a pavise, and a dagger and a throwing axe for each. Medium lamellar. Description: Essentially mobile ballistae. Walking artillery consist of a Dwarf carrying a ballista on his back, and another Dwarf operating it. They're slow and can't really defend themselves, but they allow heavy artillery to be brought into tight spaces.
Saboteurs: Worth: 15 Equipment: Three throwing axes (each), standard mining equipment (each), bottles of oil, wood (if not otherwise provided), and a specialized high-speed mining machine. Light/no armor. Description: Dwarves trained in mining quickly and accurately (though not beautifully ). Usually having two or three Dwarves per machine, these units are capable of mining tunnels extraordinarily quickly, and their oil and wood can be used to collapse walls (by tunneling under them, and burning the supports). However, they cannot fight off anything more than a scout or two as they're miners, not warriors. The mining machine is essentially a cart with a crank and a few picks, built so that when the crank is turned, the picks repeated hit the walls, mining through them kind of like a normal miner. (note on mining: Each machine is able to mine an (approximately) thirteen meter tunnel just wide and tall enough for a Dwarf per (non-combat) turn. A tunnel going from out of range of a castle to inside it would take approximately a month to make, and would be wide enough for as many Dwarves as I use mining machines.)
Khelegathol-felek: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Various tools and supplies for constructing things, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Battlefield engineers from under the Mountain. Khelegathol aren't very good fighters, though excel at making traps, weapons, and other support equipment.
Elites:
Mahalu-baruk: Worth: 6 (8 MWE) Equipment: One-handed war-axe, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a heavy tower shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: The best there is in terms of shock-resistant troops, mahalu-baruk are heavily armed and armored Dwarves that excel at resisting and taking down shock troopers and/or pushing their way through shield walls. Their shields are built for resisting heavy weapons, while their axes are designed for chopping through other shields. Due to their heavy armor and axes, mahalu-baruk are good against just about everything besides cavalry and Trolls.
Warrior Monks: Worth: 7 (9.3 MWE) Equipment: Various melee weapons (specific Dwarves vary in choice, so it could be just about anything), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Ancient-style medium fireproof plate. Description: Dwarves dedicated to Aule. They are great smiths, historians, and very skilled warriors with their weapon of choice. They wear armor (including masks) similar to that which was used by the Dwarves in the First Age, making them nearly immune to heat/fire and quite strong against most other things. The fame of their skill and the quality and appearance of their armor is quite intimidating, making all but the most disciplined troops reluctant to engage them.
Khazadu Zigil Uzbad: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE). Equipment: Double-sided halberd, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two throwing axes. Medium chainmail, with some plate. Description: The most elite forces of Erebor, and personal bodyguard of the King Under the Mountain. They can take down just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and are hard to defeat even when cut off and surrounded. (note that due to their high worth, small numbers, and the complexity of their fighting style, I will mainly use them like PCs).
Stealth Units:
Scouts: Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a light assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Basic troops trained in stealth. Scouts are not skilled fighters, but are mainly armed for self-defense. They can lay down traps and take out unwary enemies, but are generally best suited for surveying and other non-combative operations.
Assassins: Worth: 2 Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Similar to scouts, but have proper combat training and are capable of holding their own. Assassins work best when ambushing small, unsuspecting parties, but can face your average soldier with some skill.
Black Plague: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A heavy silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a specialized assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Medium-light chainmail with camouflage. Description: The Black Plague leave few traces outside of the chaos or desolation that may be seen from their work. While very capable of staying hidden in the day and striking effectively during a quiet afternoon, few things are more dreaded than a deployment of the Black Plague striking at night with a storm in the distance. Their camouflage and training render them virtually invisible, and anything more than or including an occasional rumble in the distance is enough to cover up the noise of their shots, and likely anything that might come from their targets. Although their crossbows are not as powerful as most of the same level due to the silencing techniques used (which don't actually silence the crossbow, just greatly muffle it), what power they have is more than enough for their wielders to take out most units with a single shot.
Kheleburk: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A ### sword, a dagger, a throwing axe, a mini-crossbow, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Most simply described as "battlefield ninja", Kheleburk are adept at moving about unknown, but focus mainly on their combat skill. While most typical infantry struggle against them in open combat, even some of the most elite units have much to fear from an ambush. Their (and the other stealth units', though assortments between them vary) satchels contain various items of use, including basic tools (i.e. matches, rope, etc.), small traps such as caltrops, and things like blinding powders (which can be loaded into their sheaths, giving the Kheleburk an additional advantage when initially engaging) and bottles filled with flammable oil.
Sankheled: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE) Equipment: Two katana, a silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a vast assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Sankheled are the most elite individuals of Erebor's stealth corps. Few are found who do not want to be, and those that do don't take long to make it known that it was the enemy's mistake to find them. Not only do they have ways of getting into even some of the most secure locations, they're also formidable warriors who can take down most any opponent, particularly when given a chance to prepare something special for them. That said, Sankheled are normally only deployed for the most demanding jobs, often where little backup is available.
Cavalry (Iron Hills only):
Light cavalry: Worth: 2 Equipment: Short halberd, two mini-crossbows, dagger, and a throwing axe. Chainmail with portions of plate. Description: Erebor's basic cavalry unit. Light cavalry excel at running down enemy archers and other exposed units due to being fast but lightly armored.
Shock-boars: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: War hammer, two mini-crossbows, and two throwing axes. Heavy plate (the boars themselves have light scalemail and an angled helmet). Description: As the heavy cavalry of Erebor, shock-boars are designed for devestating any attempt at a formation short of a Gondorian-quality phalanx. Equipped with war hammers and heavily armored, they hit hard, move (somewhat) fast, and are hard to take down. The boars' armor is designed for deflecting pikes and arrows, being shaped in such a way to "encourage" said weapons to glance off.
Skirmishers: Worth: 2 Equipment: Light crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Medium lamellar. Description: Skirmishers are, well, skirmishers. They charge enemy units, fire, and retreat before the enemy can react. They're fast, but lightly armored and weak in melee.
Heavy Skirmishers: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Heavy repeating crosbow, two throwing axes, and two mini-crossbows. Heavy lamellar. Description: Heavy skirmishers don't strike often, but when they do, they normally devastate their target. Their crossbows are essentially multiple heavy crossbows stacked on top of each other, which means that they can release a tremendous number of bolts in a very short amount of time (i.e. as they run by) without sacrificing much, if any power. That said, in order to reload they have to pull away from the battle and dismount, and also spend a significant amount of time just in the reloading part since they literally have to load multiple heavy crossbows (even doing a single one isn't very quick), and that leaves them rather vulnerable to counterattacks from whatever may remain of their target.
Barashathur: Worth: 3 (4 MWE) Equipment: Repeating crossbow, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Similar to standard skirmishers, but equipped with repeating crossbows. While barashathur aren't quite as good at punching through armor and shields as normal skirmishers are, they can absolutely demolish enemy troops when following through after a good shock-boar charge.
Weapons crews: Note: While most of these units have heavy armor, keep in mind that this isn't actually always the case. When manning tanks many of these units are inside the cabin, and thus they oftentimes shed unnecessary armor for sake of mobility (sometimes only keeping armor on the parts that will be exposed, namely face and chest for those peeking outside the tank). Assume that this is the armor that they on any areas that could be exposed to enemy fire.
Brutes: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: Hands. Light chainmail. Description: Dwarves brutes generally serve one purpose: to turn the cranks that power most tanks. That said, one shouldn't think that they're worthless in combat, or are particularly weak even. Note that their hands are registered as weapons, and they likewise take a "Chewbacca" approach to combat (most effectively against Goblins and other small Orcs).
Operators: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: A dagger, throwing axe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Operators are trained solely for the operation of various weapons. They are experts in reloading ballistae and catapults, and also in diagnosing the typical difficulties that inevitably come about. However, although they excel in reloading weapons quickly and effectively, and have a great understanding in how the weapons work, they rarely actually fire them, and thus are little above average when it comes to accurately aiming them.
Gunners: Equipment: A dagger, throwing aaxe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Gunners are essentially operators who've been trained in the actual firing of various weaponry, and so are much more accurate when doing so (and are also more expensive to train).
Commanders: Equipment: Two throwing axes, two mini-crossbows. Heavy plate Description: Operating a tank effectively is a difficult job. Multiple (sometimes over a dozen) crewmen have to coordinate each and every one of their actions in order to act quickly and effectively, and often this has to be done when few of the said crew can actually see anything outside. This issue is solved by designating a single commander for each tank crew. His job is to peek his head outside to see what's going on, and then tell everyone else (mainly the brutes moving the vehicle) what to do. Even this isn't quite ideal, but by the end of training, most tanks crews can work relatively efficiently when under specially trained commanders.
Deck guards: Equipment: A halberd, heater shield, light crossbow, dagger, and mini-crossbow. Heavy plate. Description: Deck guards are the primary melee/close-range defense for some tanks, such as the MAP. Their job is to keep enemies from climbing up onto the deck. They're not particularly skilled in any way, but are generally capable of keep their decks clear of enemies. Their crossbows are not often used for long-distance firing, but are mainly for preventative measures.
Cabin guards: Equipment: A one-handed axe, buckler, and dagger. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Similar in purpose to deck guards, but for inside the cabins of tanks. They're much more adapted to combat in tight spaces, as opposed to small, open areas.
Siege weapons/infantry support:
Polybolos: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: A Dwarven variation of the Greek ballista, which is obviously a bit more efficient (being Dwarven). The polybolos uses a flat-link chain to draw the string and also load the next bolt, allowing a full-power single-operator-sized ballista to reload significantly more quickly. Now it does come with a few drawbacks, such as slightly lower accuracy due to how it's worked, but it retains most, if not all of its power yet fires noticeably faster than any standard weapon of comparable strength. The field version of this weapon (any instance of it not mounted on top of a building or vehicle) is mounted on a pair of two wheels, with a folding stand in the back for quick and easy transportation.
Repeating Arbalests: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: Essentially an oversized Chinese repeating crossbow (aka chu-ko-nu). A repeating arbalest is a small arbalest (similar in size to the polybolos) fitted with a lever to reload in the same method as a traditional chu-ko-nu. Portions of the mechanisms are made of metal and ash wood, allowing them to withstand the extra stress, but also increasing the weight of the weapon. Repeating arbalests are also a bit weaker than most arbalests of similar size in order to make the reloading mechanism usable, but their astonishing rate of fire far outweighs its disadvantages in many situations. Field repeating arbalests are on mounts similar to those of a polybolos.
Mortars: Worth: 3 (1.25 weapon, 1.75 crew (1 gunner, 1 operator)). Description: Mortars are high-caliber, high-power, small-sized arbalests, typically resting on stands that make them fire at trajectories above forty-five degrees. These arbalests are designed to fire virtually any sort of ammunition an artillery tank would normally use, but on a smaller scale, and most commonly using standard stones or else incendiary rounds (but they can also fire other things, like smoke-grenades or powder-balls, for various effects). The major drawback of having such high power in such a small package is that these things are very difficult and slow to reload, requiring special equipment (which is obviously brought with the weapon) and a safe place.
Fireblades (Erebor, but requires both HQs): Worth: 10 (about 13 MWE) Description: Think furnace, with wings wheels. Fireblades are essentially essentially modified furnaces. On the bottom, they have a nearly square and very short heat-resistant box mounted on wheels (with the box sitting quite low to the ground), and higher up there's a large container of oil-soaked coal with a special feeder operated by a crank. The front end of the "fire-box" is open except for a small ledge to keep coal from falling out, and the back is the same except that it has several fans (which can be operated either by a crank or by moving the wheels, and are geared up a little bit so that the fans spin relatively quickly). While pushed by a pair of boars from behind, Fireblades are quite slow (perhaps the speed of a large battering ram), but they're nearly unassailable from the front because of the heat.
Tanks (Erebor only):
As you should all know quite well (but I'm mentioning anyways for those who will inevitably be seeing these for the first time ), these are not literal tanks. I call them tanks because that's what I can most easily and accurately compare them to for the sake of explaining them, but by no means do they use virtually any of the modern technologies which tanks normally use. They're based upon wooden frames, with metal plating armoring the outside. They do use tracks, but these tracks are powered by systems of cranks, and their gearboxes are quite primitive. And obviously, since we don't use explosives here, these tanks are generally equipped with various forms of ballistae and arbalests instead. As Dwarves are quite short, and extra height simply makes for more weight and more material to hit, the insides of these tanks are quite short, about four feet floor-to-ceiling (or in other words, uncomfortable for those of other races). Most tanks also have a few spare weapons in easy-to-reach places, just in case they're necessary. Oh, and I've redesigned a few of these. And let me guys know if you think I can drop any of the prices at all. I've been trying to add up the costs of crew and base weapons, and add a slight boost for the advantage of armor and mobility, but some of them seem a little higher than they should be (such as the MAP).
Light Tank: Worth: 10 (4.25 weapon, 5.75 crew (1 gunner, 5 brutes, 1 commander)) (13.3 MWE) Description: Let's be honest, while the LT was what got me started with all of my tanks, it was quickly fazed out and became useless. That said, I've made a few changes that will hopefully fix that. It's still based upon the relatively modern Ontos Tank Destroyer, being quite small, fast, and otherwise mobile. However, the exposed top-mounted arbalest has been replaced by an advanced armored turret featuring an integrated polybolos. Inside the cabin of the tank is a small raised platform, which the gunner stands on to aim the polybolos (it gives him a boost so that he can peek out the top of the tank). Above this platform is a circular hole in the top of the tank, with a ring of armor extending a few inches upwards, and a conical roof above that. This ring acts as the main structure of the turret. On the upper lip of said ring (with bearings and the proper brackets) is mounted a polybolos, which can slide around the circumference of the ring and also tilt up or down. The operating chain of the polybolos has been extended, with one loop of it extending down to the base of the turret to another sprocket (and yes, the geometry of the sprocket locations and idlers has been done so as to not interfere with the vertical movement of the polybolos), which is attached to a parallel bevel gear through a detachable coupling. This bevel gear is meshed together with a perpendicular bevel gear, which is then tied through its axle to another regular gear, which is meshed with the inside of a large ring gear that runs the perimeter of the turret (at the ceiling of the cabin). Another gear on the outer edge of this ring gear (so that it doesn't interfere with the polybolos-side one) is tied to another bevel gear, which is again meshed with another bevel gear, which is attached a sprocket. A chain runs from this sprocket to another sprocket mounted to a crank inside the cabin, which is operated by a brute. In brief, the polybolos' firing mechanism is actually operated by a separate crank inside the cabin, running through a bunch of conversions switching between types and orientations of gears. The brute turns the crank, that spins the ring gear, which in turn spins the chain on the polybolos. I can go into further detail on how all of this works (and why I have various components, such as the ring gear), but the end result is that the polybolos can be pointed in any direction and still be powered by the crank, so the brute focuses on powering the weapon, while the gunner focuses on aiming it (he also has the coupling, so he can simply disconnect and reconnect the crank whenever he needs to stop or start firing). What is the purpose of this setup? By moving the actual operation of the polybolos from the inside of the turret down into the main cabin, one brute can spend all of his energy powering it, thus giving it an unnaturally fast rate of fire (perhaps two bolts per second tops, more often one) without sacrificing power or control, though it does take an extra crewmember. As for speed, an LT can (on relatively flat ground) outrun infantry and some heavy cavalry, but is clearly slower than the majority of light cavalry. Overall, an LT has seven crew: one gunner, five brutes (four for locomotion, one for the polybolos), and a commander.
Heavy Artillery Tank: Worth: 15 (7.5 weapon, 7.5 crew (2 operators, 1 gunner, 1 commander, 4 brutes, 1 cabin guard)) (20 MWE) Description: An updated design from my previous tank of the same name. The tank has a standard design (quite boxy, slightly slanted sides, etc.), but it has relatively heavy armor and features a ballista housed inside the main cabin. The ballista itself is standard-size, but with a somewhat higher power than most others comparable to it (through Dwarven engineering, i.e. a reinforced frame to allow for a stronger pull, and lower gearing on the reload crank). Instead of having a vertical hole in the front of the tank to make space for the ballista to fire through, a set of plates are attached to the ballista and shell through tracks, which allows the plates to move up and down with the ballista as it adjusts elevation. Of course, the armor there is still quite thin, and there is a gap in the roof for the top of the ballista to stick out. It has a crew of nine: three for the ballista (two operators and one gunner), one commander, one cabin guard, and four brutes for the cranks (and is thus relatively slow, having the same power as an LT with more weight).
Mobile Artillery Platform: Worth: 40 (19.5 weapon, 20.5 crew (1 commander, 8 gunners, 2 operators, 8 brutes, 4 deck guards)) (53.3 MWE) Description: Unlike my first two tanks, the MAP hasn't changed much. It's still a bulky mobile platform, with six repeating arbalests and two polybolos stuffed on top (and still exposed, like my others used to be). Their size also lets them function as mobile walls. Its crew is still quite massive, having twenty-three members: one commander, eight gunners, two operators (to run ammunition), eight brutes, and four deck guards.
Infantry Transport & Artillery Vehicle: Worth: 20 (12 weapons, 8 crew (1 commander, 1 gunner, 2 operators, and 6 brutes)) (26.6 MWE) Description: Also the same as it was before. ITAVs are actually half-tracks, functioning as fast troop transports with bonus artillery on the side. The front has fairly heavy armor, while the sides have medium-light armor, and the top (of the passenger compartment, not the forward cabin) and rear have no armor at all (except removable nets that simply stop stray arrows). ITAVs have six mortars bolted onto its sides, and one repeating arbalest sticking up just behind the forward cabin. It has a crew of ten, having one commander, one gunner, two operators (for the mortars), and six brutes. It can carry up to ten additional troops.
Easily Propelled Artillery (requires Iron Hills): Worth: 30 (9 weapon, 4 boars, 17 crew) (40 MWE) Description: Yes, I know its name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it does give a good idea of what the EPA (my version, not the government one ) is: a heavy siege ballista mounted onto a tank chassis so that it's much faster and more easily moved than a normal siege ballista. That said, the EPA consists of a Dwarven siege ballista (which is slightly better than a standard one of its size, as with the HAT) mounted on a very large tank chassis. The top, back, and most of the sides are unarmored besides a basic net intended to stop stray arrows, while the front has medium-heavy armor. The ballista's elevation system is also integrated with the forward plate, consisting of a few gears meshed with racks built into the forward panel, supplemented by ropes and pulleys (while the rear end of the ballista is simply on a very large hinge). Due to its immense weight, EPAs are propelled not by cranks, but by teams of boars imported from the Iron Hills, although cranks are still kept for aiming the weapon. The EPA requires twelve boars, and has a crew of : one commander, one gunner, six operators, six brutes, three deck guards, three cabin guards.
Combative Armored Barricade: Worth: 5 (2.5 weapon, 2.5 crew (one gunner, two brutes)) Description: These ones are mostly the same as before, only that I'm dropping the boars. They're similar to EPAs in appearance, except miniature. The backs, tops, and most of the sides are unarmored, while the front has heavy plate. But instead of acting as a form of transportation for normally immobile weapons, CABs are intended to be used in large quantities to form walls. Each one has either a polybolos or a repeating arbalest (in wall formations, there will generally be two repeating arbalest ones for every polybolos), attached to a mount so that it can turn to some degree, but always be oriented so that it will fire through a very small hole in the front panel. The front panel also has several other holes through which small blades or even projectiles can be thrust through to attack anyone who gets too close. Being so light, CABs only use two cranks, though aren't particularly fast. It has a crew of three: one gunner (who acts as a unit commander, while an outside head commander oversees groups of CABs), and two brutes. Polearm units standing behind the cabs can use their own weapons to attack through the holes.
And I think that should be all for now. An even fifty units (and thirty-four thousand and eighteen characters).
Alright, here's Erebor's troop list now. As a note, most troops are the same between Erebor and the Iron Hills. The biggest difference between these being that the cavalry are exclusively from the Iron Hills (as Erebor doesn't seem to have boars; there are a few machines, though, that use boars, and while those require the Iron Hills in order to be produced, the cost comes from and they are fielded by Erebor), while the tanks and a few other pieces of machinery are from Erebor (as the Iron Hills doesn't seem likely to have the capabilities to mass-manufacture advanced war machines). Mods, if you thought Rex's list was bad, I apologize for this too (while my computer freezes when I try to paste it).
If no worth is listed, assume one Dwarf-worth (1.333 MWE).
Melee Infantry:
Swordsmen: Equipment: Sword, kite shield, dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with portions of plate. Description. All-around units. Not particularly great at any specific job, but they adapt easily to different situations.
Shield-bearers: Equipment: Dual tower shields, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Extremely hard to take down, but aren't exactly as dangerous as other units. These troops specialize in covering other troops, and are trained to use a number of formations to increase efficiency.
Halberdiers: Equipment: Halberd, tower shield, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Erebor's standard defensive unit. Halberdiers are heavily armored and trained to hold tight lines to fend off enemy troops. When attacked from in front, few enemy melee troops besides dedicated shocktroopers/linebreakers stand a chance against them, though they're easily defeated when flanked.
Naginata: Worth: 2 Equipment: A naginata polearm, two throwing axes, small heater shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Highly defensive units. They are quite slow, but are extremely hard to smash. While they don't hold lines quite as well as halberdiers they don't need tight formations to survive. They're far more resilient against shocktroopers than halberdiers are, though they're weaker against ranged units.
Sigin-thark: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Naginata, mini-crossbow, kite shield, and a light axe. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Similar to naginata, though far more experienced. Sigin-thark are trained to hold a line against anything short of an artillery bombardment, which is good, because they're not getting anywhere fast. Their naginata are ideal for cutting down shocktroopers before they get too close, and their shields are large enough to deflect arrows and block axes.
Stone Guards: Worth: 2 Equipment: One-handed battle-axe, heavy tower shield, a dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Stone guards are highly defensive and very heavily armored, and pose a formidable barrier to virtually any infantry, even shocktroopers. They are similar to the Mahalu, but less powerful and far more practical to field in large numbers.
Macemen: Equipment: Mace, kite shield, mini crossbow, dagger, and a throwing axe. Light chainmail. Description: The "glasshammers" of Erebor. They hit hard and move fast, though their light armor makes them relatively easy to take down if someone gets past their shield.
Rakhas-felek: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Claymore, dagger, and mini crossbow. Chainmail with some light plate. Description: Lightly armored Dwarves with heavy two-handed swords. While rakhas-felek can use their swords to defend against melee weapons, they have light armor and are thus weak against archers
Axemen: Worth: 2 Equipment: Battle-axe, dagger, and two throwing axes. Medium-heavy plate. Description: Offensive juggernaut-type units. They're generally used as crowdbreakers due to their berserker-like abilities. They're extremely hard to take down because of their heavy armor, and are very dangerous even when cut off from friendly forces. Unfortunately, they're quite slow.
Gunukun: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Battle-axe, mini-crossbow, two throwing axes. Heavy plate. Description: Elite axemen, Gunukun play essentially the same role as their weaker counterparts, but are far more dangerous.
Climbers: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Various pieces of climbing equipment, dagger, throwing axe, two mini crossbows, shield, and a one-handed battle-axe. Chainmail. Description: Dwarves trained to quickly scale walls using their grappling hooks, and even capable of fighting while hanging on the rope. While these forces aren't efficient for much else, they're quite good at capturing walls.
Doppelsoldner: Worth: 2 Equipment: Serrated flammenschwert, a throwing axe, a dagger, and a mini crossbow. Medium-heavy chainmail. Description: Wielding gigantic swords significantly taller than the soldiers themselves, Doppelsoldner are skilled duelists, and are even quite capable fighting multiple enemies at once. The signature wavy blade of the flammenschwert, along with its serrated edge, imparts unpleasant vibrations into enemy blades, and also quickly cuts through most hafts, giving the Doppelsoldner an slight advantage against most troops and even letting them destroy the weapons of others.
Ranged Infantry:
Light Crossbowmen: Equipment: Light crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: The primary ranged unit of Erebor. Their crossbows are capable of taking out moderately armored troops from a reasonable range. While their armor is quite effective in deflecting enemy arrows, it's not quite as good at defending against melee weapons.
Heavy Crossbowmen: Equipment: Heavy crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to light crossbowmen, except armed with a heavier crossbow and thus have more hitting-power and range, but also a lower rate-of-fire.
Repeating Crossbowmen: Equipment: Repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and a throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to the other crossbowmen types but with repeating crossbows. While these crossbows are weaker, they have a much higher rate-of-fire.
Gunuzirak: Worth: 2 Equipment: Modified repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: A higher-power repeating crossbowman. In a way, these crossbows are a mixture between a traditional repeating crossbow and an ordinary bow. They use the same reloading mechanism as a standard repeating crossbow, but they have a longer draw and are more powerful. The arms are also oriented vertically instead of horizontally for the sake of convenience, and the lever is much larger. When fired, they are generally braced against the leg (aimed upwards), giving their user the best possible position for firing. Additionally, these bows are carried on a strap, and feature a catch on the inner side which holds the weapon in place relative to the holder's leg, allowing it to be fired from the hip. Overall, these units have the power of standard archers, but can fire quite rapidly, making them perfect for (sometimes sustained) volleys, though they aren't always the most accurate.
Snipers: Worth: 2 Equipment: High-powered crossbow, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two pavises (on back). Medium lamellar. Description: Experienced crossbowmen equipped with rather large and powerful crossbows capable of out-distancing a longbow with good accuracy. Best from high, somewhat far-off spots, snipers excel at taking out high-priority targets.
Shathuru-felak: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Ultra-high-powered crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two pavises (on back), and climbing equipment. Light lamellar. Description: Recruited from the best snipers and equipped with the highest quality weaponry, shathuru-felak are deadly foes. The quality and consistency of their weapons combined with their experience allows a shathuru-felak to have extremely good accuracy. Because of the power of their crossbows, they can out-distance pretty much any other comparable unit, though they're very slow to reload. Given time, A shathuru-felak can reach otherwise-inaccessible areas thanks to their climbing equipment.
Support Units:
Walking Artillery: Worth: 2 Equipment: Small repeating ballista, a pavise, and a dagger and a throwing axe for each. Medium lamellar. Description: Essentially mobile ballistae. Walking artillery consist of a Dwarf carrying a ballista on his back, and another Dwarf operating it. They're slow and can't really defend themselves, but they allow heavy artillery to be brought into tight spaces.
Saboteurs: Worth: 15 Equipment: Three throwing axes (each), standard mining equipment (each), bottles of oil, wood (if not otherwise provided), and a specialized high-speed mining machine. Light/no armor. Description: Dwarves trained in mining quickly and accurately (though not beautifully ). Usually having two or three Dwarves per machine, these units are capable of mining tunnels extraordinarily quickly, and their oil and wood can be used to collapse walls (by tunneling under them, and burning the supports). However, they cannot fight off anything more than a scout or two as they're miners, not warriors. The mining machine is essentially a cart with a crank and a few picks, built so that when the crank is turned, the picks repeated hit the walls, mining through them kind of like a normal miner. (note on mining: Each machine is able to mine an (approximately) thirteen meter tunnel just wide and tall enough for a Dwarf per (non-combat) turn. A tunnel going from out of range of a castle to inside it would take approximately a month to make, and would be wide enough for as many Dwarves as I use mining machines.)
Khelegathol-felek: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Various tools and supplies for constructing things, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Battlefield engineers from under the Mountain. Khelegathol aren't very good fighters, though excel at making traps, weapons, and other support equipment.
Elites:
Mahalu-baruk: Worth: 6 (8 MWE) Equipment: One-handed war-axe, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a heavy tower shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: The best there is in terms of shock-resistant troops, mahalu-baruk are heavily armed and armored Dwarves that excel at resisting and taking down shock troopers and/or pushing their way through shield walls. Their shields are built for resisting heavy weapons, while their axes are designed for chopping through other shields. Due to their heavy armor and axes, mahalu-baruk are good against just about everything besides cavalry and Trolls.
Warrior Monks: Worth: 7 (9.3 MWE) Equipment: Various melee weapons (specific Dwarves vary in choice, so it could be just about anything), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Ancient-style medium fireproof plate. Description: Dwarves dedicated to Aule. They are great smiths, historians, and very skilled warriors with their weapon of choice. They wear armor (including masks) similar to that which was used by the Dwarves in the First Age, making them nearly immune to heat/fire and quite strong against most other things. The fame of their skill and the quality and appearance of their armor is quite intimidating, making all but the most disciplined troops reluctant to engage them.
Khazadu Zigil Uzbad: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE). Equipment: Double-sided halberd, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two throwing axes. Medium chainmail, with some plate. Description: The most elite forces of Erebor, and personal bodyguard of the King Under the Mountain. They can take down just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and are hard to defeat even when cut off and surrounded. (note that due to their high worth, small numbers, and the complexity of their fighting style, I will mainly use them like PCs).
Stealth Units:
Scouts: Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a light assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Basic troops trained in stealth. Scouts are not skilled fighters, but are mainly armed for self-defense. They can lay down traps and take out unwary enemies, but are generally best suited for surveying and other non-combative operations.
Assassins: Worth: 2 Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Similar to scouts, but have proper combat training and are capable of holding their own. Assassins work best when ambushing small, unsuspecting parties, but can face your average soldier with some skill.
Black Plague: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A heavy silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a specialized assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Medium-light chainmail with camouflage. Description: The Black Plague leave few traces outside of the chaos or desolation that may be seen from their work. While very capable of staying hidden in the day and striking effectively during a quiet afternoon, few things are more dreaded than a deployment of the Black Plague striking at night with a storm in the distance. Their camouflage and training render them virtually invisible, and anything more than or including an occasional rumble in the distance is enough to cover up the noise of their shots, and likely anything that might come from their targets. Although their crossbows are not as powerful as most of the same level due to the silencing techniques used (which don't actually silence the crossbow, just greatly muffle it), what power they have is more than enough for their wielders to take out most units with a single shot.
Kheleburk: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A ### sword, a dagger, a throwing axe, a mini-crossbow, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Most simply described as "battlefield ninja", Kheleburk are adept at moving about unknown, but focus mainly on their combat skill. While most typical infantry struggle against them in open combat, even some of the most elite units have much to fear from an ambush. Their (and the other stealth units', though assortments between them vary) satchels contain various items of use, including basic tools (i.e. matches, rope, etc.), small traps such as caltrops, and things like blinding powders (which can be loaded into their sheaths, giving the Kheleburk an additional advantage when initially engaging) and bottles filled with flammable oil.
Sankheled: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE) Equipment: Two katana, a silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a vast assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Sankheled are the most elite individuals of Erebor's stealth corps. Few are found who do not want to be, and those that do don't take long to make it known that it was the enemy's mistake to find them. Not only do they have ways of getting into even some of the most secure locations, they're also formidable warriors who can take down most any opponent, particularly when given a chance to prepare something special for them. That said, Sankheled are normally only deployed for the most demanding jobs, often where little backup is available.
Cavalry (Iron Hills only):
Light cavalry: Worth: 2 Equipment: Short halberd, two mini-crossbows, dagger, and a throwing axe. Chainmail with portions of plate. Description: Erebor's basic cavalry unit. Light cavalry excel at running down enemy archers and other exposed units due to being fast but lightly armored.
Shock-boars: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: War hammer, two mini-crossbows, and two throwing axes. Heavy plate (the boars themselves have light scalemail and an angled helmet). Description: As the heavy cavalry of Erebor, shock-boars are designed for devestating any attempt at a formation short of a Gondorian-quality phalanx. Equipped with war hammers and heavily armored, they hit hard, move (somewhat) fast, and are hard to take down. The boars' armor is designed for deflecting pikes and arrows, being shaped in such a way to "encourage" said weapons to glance off.
Skirmishers: Worth: 2 Equipment: Light crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Medium lamellar. Description: Skirmishers are, well, skirmishers. They charge enemy units, fire, and retreat before the enemy can react. They're fast, but lightly armored and weak in melee.
Heavy Skirmishers: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Heavy repeating crosbow, two throwing axes, and two mini-crossbows. Heavy lamellar. Description: Heavy skirmishers don't strike often, but when they do, they normally devastate their target. Their crossbows are essentially multiple heavy crossbows stacked on top of each other, which means that they can release a tremendous number of bolts in a very short amount of time (i.e. as they run by) without sacrificing much, if any power. That said, in order to reload they have to pull away from the battle and dismount, and also spend a significant amount of time just in the reloading part since they literally have to load multiple heavy crossbows (even doing a single one isn't very quick), and that leaves them rather vulnerable to counterattacks from whatever may remain of their target.
Barashathur: Worth: 3 (4 MWE) Equipment: Repeating crossbow, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Similar to standard skirmishers, but equipped with repeating crossbows. While barashathur aren't quite as good at punching through armor and shields as normal skirmishers are, they can absolutely demolish enemy troops when following through after a good shock-boar charge.
Weapons crews: Note: While most of these units have heavy armor, keep in mind that this isn't actually always the case. When manning tanks many of these units are inside the cabin, and thus they oftentimes shed unnecessary armor for sake of mobility (sometimes only keeping armor on the parts that will be exposed, namely face and chest for those peeking outside the tank). Assume that this is the armor that they on any areas that could be exposed to enemy fire.
Brutes: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: Hands. Light chainmail. Description: Dwarves brutes generally serve one purpose: to turn the cranks that power most tanks. That said, one shouldn't think that they're worthless in combat, or are particularly weak even. Note that their hands are registered as weapons, and they likewise take a "Chewbacca" approach to combat (most effectively against Goblins and other small Orcs).
Operators: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: A dagger, throwing axe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Operators are trained solely for the operation of various weapons. They are experts in reloading ballistae and catapults, and also in diagnosing the typical difficulties that inevitably come about. However, although they excel in reloading weapons quickly and effectively, and have a great understanding in how the weapons work, they rarely actually fire them, and thus are little above average when it comes to accurately aiming them.
Gunners: Equipment: A dagger, throwing aaxe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Gunners are essentially operators who've been trained in the actual firing of various weaponry, and so are much more accurate when doing so (and are also more expensive to train).
Commanders: Equipment: Two throwing axes, two mini-crossbows. Heavy plate Description: Operating a tank effectively is a difficult job. Multiple (sometimes over a dozen) crewmen have to coordinate each and every one of their actions in order to act quickly and effectively, and often this has to be done when few of the said crew can actually see anything outside. This issue is solved by designating a single commander for each tank crew. His job is to peek his head outside to see what's going on, and then tell everyone else (mainly the brutes moving the vehicle) what to do. Even this isn't quite ideal, but by the end of training, most tanks crews can work relatively efficiently when under specially trained commanders.
Deck guards: Equipment: A halberd, heater shield, light crossbow, dagger, and mini-crossbow. Heavy plate. Description: Deck guards are the primary melee/close-range defense for some tanks, such as the MAP. Their job is to keep enemies from climbing up onto the deck. They're not particularly skilled in any way, but are generally capable of keep their decks clear of enemies. Their crossbows are not often used for long-distance firing, but are mainly for preventative measures.
Cabin guards: Equipment: A one-handed axe, buckler, and dagger. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Similar in purpose to deck guards, but for inside the cabins of tanks. They're much more adapted to combat in tight spaces, as opposed to small, open areas.
Siege weapons/infantry support:
Polybolos: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: A Dwarven variation of the Greek ballista, which is obviously a bit more efficient (being Dwarven). The polybolos uses a flat-link chain to draw the string and also load the next bolt, allowing a full-power single-operator-sized ballista to reload significantly more quickly. Now it does come with a few drawbacks, such as slightly lower accuracy due to how it's worked, but it retains most, if not all of its power yet fires noticeably faster than any standard weapon of comparable strength. The field version of this weapon (any instance of it not mounted on top of a building or vehicle) is mounted on a pair of two wheels, with a folding stand in the back for quick and easy transportation.
Repeating Arbalests: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: Essentially an oversized Chinese repeating crossbow (aka chu-ko-nu). A repeating arbalest is a small arbalest (similar in size to the polybolos) fitted with a lever to reload in the same method as a traditional chu-ko-nu. Portions of the mechanisms are made of metal and ash wood, allowing them to withstand the extra stress, but also increasing the weight of the weapon. Repeating arbalests are also a bit weaker than most arbalests of similar size in order to make the reloading mechanism usable, but their astonishing rate of fire far outweighs its disadvantages in many situations. Field repeating arbalests are on mounts similar to those of a polybolos.
Mortars: Worth: 3 (1.25 weapon, 1.75 crew (1 gunner, 1 operator)). Description: Mortars are high-caliber, high-power, small-sized arbalests, typically resting on stands that make them fire at trajectories above forty-five degrees. These arbalests are designed to fire virtually any sort of ammunition an artillery tank would normally use, but on a smaller scale, and most commonly using standard stones or else incendiary rounds (but they can also fire other things, like smoke-grenades or powder-balls, for various effects). The major drawback of having such high power in such a small package is that these things are very difficult and slow to reload, requiring special equipment (which is obviously brought with the weapon) and a safe place.
Fireblades (Erebor, but requires both HQs): Worth: 30 (about 40 MWE) Description: Think furnace, with wings wheels. Fireblades are essentially essentially modified furnaces. On the bottom, they have a nearly square and very short heat-resistant box mounted on wheels (with the box sitting quite low to the ground), and higher up there's a large container of oil-soaked coal with a special feeder operated by a crank. The front end of the "fire-box" is open except for a small ledge to keep coal from falling out, and the back is the same except that it has several fans (which can be operated either by a crank or by moving the wheels, and are geared up a little bit so that the fans spin relatively quickly). While pushed by a pair of boars from behind, Fireblades are quite slow (perhaps the speed of a large battering ram), but they're nearly unassailable from the front because of the heat.
Tanks (Erebor only):
As you should all know quite well (but I'm mentioning anyways for those who will inevitably be seeing these for the first time ), these are not literal tanks. I call them tanks because that's what I can most easily and accurately compare them to for the sake of explaining them, but by no means do they use virtually any of the modern technologies which tanks normally use. They're based upon wooden frames, with metal plating armoring the outside. They do use tracks, but these tracks are powered by systems of cranks, and their gearboxes are quite primitive. And obviously, since we don't use explosives here, these tanks are generally equipped with various forms of ballistae and arbalests instead. As Dwarves are quite short, and extra height simply makes for more weight and more material to hit, the insides of these tanks are quite short, about four feet floor-to-ceiling (or in other words, uncomfortable for those of other races). Most tanks also have a few spare weapons in easy-to-reach places, just in case they're necessary. Oh, and I've redesigned a few of these. And let me guys know if you think I can drop any of the prices at all. I've been trying to add up the costs of crew and base weapons, and add a slight boost for the advantage of armor and mobility, but some of them seem a little higher than they should be (such as the MAP).
Light Tank: Worth: 10 (4.25 weapon, 5.75 crew (1 gunner, 5 brutes, 1 commander)) (13.3 MWE) Description: Let's be honest, while the LT was what got me started with all of my tanks, it was quickly fazed out and became useless. That said, I've made a few changes that will hopefully fix that. It's still based upon the relatively modern Ontos Tank Destroyer, being quite small, fast, and otherwise mobile. However, the exposed top-mounted arbalest has been replaced by an advanced armored turret featuring an integrated polybolos. Inside the cabin of the tank is a small raised platform, which the gunner stands on to aim the polybolos (it gives him a boost so that he can peek out the top of the tank). Above this platform is a circular hole in the top of the tank, with a ring of armor extending a few inches upwards, and a conical roof above that. This ring acts as the main structure of the turret. On the upper lip of said ring (with bearings and the proper brackets) is mounted a polybolos, which can slide around the circumference of the ring and also tilt up or down. The operating chain of the polybolos has been extended, with one loop of it extending down to the base of the turret to another sprocket (and yes, the geometry of the sprocket locations and idlers has been done so as to not interfere with the vertical movement of the polybolos), which is attached to a parallel bevel gear through a detachable coupling. This bevel gear is meshed together with a perpendicular bevel gear, which is then tied through its axle to another regular gear, which is meshed with the inside of a large ring gear that runs the perimeter of the turret (at the ceiling of the cabin). Another gear on the outer edge of this ring gear (so that it doesn't interfere with the polybolos-side one) is tied to another bevel gear, which is again meshed with another bevel gear, which is attached a sprocket. A chain runs from this sprocket to another sprocket mounted to a crank inside the cabin, which is operated by a brute. In brief, the polybolos' firing mechanism is actually operated by a separate crank inside the cabin, running through a bunch of conversions switching between types and orientations of gears. The brute turns the crank, that spins the ring gear, which in turn spins the chain on the polybolos. I can go into further detail on how all of this works (and why I have various components, such as the ring gear), but the end result is that the polybolos can be pointed in any direction and still be powered by the crank, so the brute focuses on powering the weapon, while the gunner focuses on aiming it (he also has the coupling, so he can simply disconnect and reconnect the crank whenever he needs to stop or start firing). What is the purpose of this setup? By moving the actual operation of the polybolos from the inside of the turret down into the main cabin, one brute can spend all of his energy powering it, thus giving it an unnaturally fast rate of fire (perhaps two bolts per second tops, more often one) without sacrificing power or control, though it does take an extra crewmember. As for speed, an LT can (on relatively flat ground) outrun infantry and some heavy cavalry, but is clearly slower than the majority of light cavalry. Overall, an LT has seven crew: one gunner, five brutes (four for locomotion, one for the polybolos), and a commander.
Heavy Artillery Tank: Worth: 15 (7.5 weapon, 7.5 crew (2 operators, 1 gunner, 1 commander, 4 brutes, 1 cabin guard)) (20 MWE) Description: An updated design from my previous tank of the same name. The tank has a standard design (quite boxy, slightly slanted sides, etc.), but it has relatively heavy armor and features a ballista housed inside the main cabin. The ballista itself is standard-size, but with a somewhat higher power than most others comparable to it (through Dwarven engineering, i.e. a reinforced frame to allow for a stronger pull, and lower gearing on the reload crank). Instead of having a vertical hole in the front of the tank to make space for the ballista to fire through, a set of plates are attached to the ballista and shell through tracks, which allows the plates to move up and down with the ballista as it adjusts elevation. Of course, the armor there is still quite thin, and there is a gap in the roof for the top of the ballista to stick out. It has a crew of nine: three for the ballista (two operators and one gunner), one commander, one cabin guard, and four brutes for the cranks (and is thus relatively slow, having the same power as an LT with more weight).
Mobile Artillery Platform: Worth: 40 (19.5 weapon, 20.5 crew (1 commander, 8 gunners, 2 operators, 8 brutes, 4 deck guards)) (53.3 MWE) Description: Unlike my first two tanks, the MAP hasn't changed much. It's still a bulky mobile platform, with six repeating arbalests and two polybolos stuffed on top (and still exposed, like my others used to be). Their size also lets them function as mobile walls. Its crew is still quite massive, having twenty-three members: one commander, eight gunners, two operators (to run ammunition), eight brutes, and four deck guards.
Infantry Transport & Artillery Vehicle: Worth: 20 (12 weapons, 8 crew (1 commander, 1 gunner, 2 operators, and 6 brutes)) (26.6 MWE) Description: Also the same as it was before. ITAVs are actually half-tracks, functioning as fast troop transports with bonus artillery on the side. The front has fairly heavy armor, while the sides have medium-light armor, and the top (of the passenger compartment, not the forward cabin) and rear have no armor at all (except removable nets that simply stop stray arrows). ITAVs have six mortars bolted onto its sides, and one repeating arbalest sticking up just behind the forward cabin. It has a crew of ten, having one commander, one gunner, two operators (for the mortars), and six brutes. It can carry up to ten additional troops.
Easily Propelled Artillery (requires Iron Hills): Worth: 30 (9 weapon, 4 boars, 17 crew) (40 MWE) Description: Yes, I know its name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it does give a good idea of what the EPA (my version, not the government one ) is: a heavy siege ballista mounted onto a tank chassis so that it's much faster and more easily moved than a normal siege ballista. That said, the EPA consists of a Dwarven siege ballista (which is slightly better than a standard one of its size, as with the HAT) mounted on a very large tank chassis. The top, back, and most of the sides are unarmored besides a basic net intended to stop stray arrows, while the front has medium-heavy armor. The ballista's elevation system is also integrated with the forward plate, consisting of a few gears meshed with racks built into the forward panel, supplemented by ropes and pulleys (while the rear end of the ballista is simply on a very large hinge). Due to its immense weight, EPAs are propelled not by cranks, but by teams of boars imported from the Iron Hills, although cranks are still kept for aiming the weapon. The EPA requires twelve boars, and has a crew of : one commander, one gunner, six operators, six brutes, three deck guards, three cabin guards.
Combative Armored Barricade: Worth: 5 (2.5 weapon, 2.5 crew (one gunner, two brutes)) Description: These ones are mostly the same as before, only that I'm dropping the boars. They're similar to EPAs in appearance, except miniature. The backs, tops, and most of the sides are unarmored, while the front has heavy plate. But instead of acting as a form of transportation for normally immobile weapons, CABs are intended to be used in large quantities to form walls. Each one has either a polybolos or a repeating arbalest (in wall formations, there will generally be two repeating arbalest ones for every polybolos), attached to a mount so that it can turn to some degree, but always be oriented so that it will fire through a very small hole in the front panel. The front panel also has several other holes through which small blades or even projectiles can be thrust through to attack anyone who gets too close. Being so light, CABs only use two cranks, though aren't particularly fast. It has a crew of three: one gunner (who acts as a unit commander, while an outside head commander oversees groups of CABs), and two brutes. Polearm units standing behind the cabs can use their own weapons to attack through the holes.
And I think that should be all for now. An even fifty units (and thirty-four thousand and eighteen characters).
Why did I click on this topic...
One mod to rule them all and in the darkness ban them - Lord of the Mods "I am the Mod Reborn!" - masterlegobuilders I'm the real boss
Alright, here's Erebor's troop list now. As a note, most troops are the same between Erebor and the Iron Hills. The biggest difference between these being that the cavalry are exclusively from the Iron Hills (as Erebor doesn't seem to have boars; there are a few machines, though, that use boars, and while those require the Iron Hills in order to be produced, the cost comes from and they are fielded by Erebor), while the tanks and a few other pieces of machinery are from Erebor (as the Iron Hills doesn't seem likely to have the capabilities to mass-manufacture advanced war machines). Mods, if you thought Rex's list was bad, I apologize for this too (while my computer freezes when I try to paste it).
If no worth is listed, assume one Dwarf-worth (1.333 MWE).
Melee Infantry:
Swordsmen: Equipment: Sword, kite shield, dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with portions of plate. Description. All-around units. Not particularly great at any specific job, but they adapt easily to different situations.
Shield-bearers: Equipment: Dual tower shields, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Extremely hard to take down, but aren't exactly as dangerous as other units. These troops specialize in covering other troops, and are trained to use a number of formations to increase efficiency.
Halberdiers: Equipment: Halberd, tower shield, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Erebor's standard defensive unit. Halberdiers are heavily armored and trained to hold tight lines to fend off enemy troops. When attacked from in front, few enemy melee troops besides dedicated shocktroopers/linebreakers stand a chance against them, though they're easily defeated when flanked.
Naginata: Worth: 2 Equipment: A naginata polearm, two throwing axes, small heater shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Highly defensive units. They are quite slow, but are extremely hard to smash. While they don't hold lines quite as well as halberdiers they don't need tight formations to survive. They're far more resilient against shocktroopers than halberdiers are, though they're weaker against ranged units.
Sigin-thark: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Naginata, mini-crossbow, kite shield, and a light axe. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Similar to naginata, though far more experienced. Sigin-thark are trained to hold a line against anything short of an artillery bombardment, which is good, because they're not getting anywhere fast. Their naginata are ideal for cutting down shocktroopers before they get too close, and their shields are large enough to deflect arrows and block axes.
Stone Guards: Worth: 2 Equipment: One-handed battle-axe, heavy tower shield, a dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Stone guards are highly defensive and very heavily armored, and pose a formidable barrier to virtually any infantry, even shocktroopers. They are similar to the Mahalu, but less powerful and far more practical to field in large numbers.
Macemen: Equipment: Mace, kite shield, mini crossbow, dagger, and a throwing axe. Light chainmail. Description: The "glasshammers" of Erebor. They hit hard and move fast, though their light armor makes them relatively easy to take down if someone gets past their shield.
Rakhas-felek: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Claymore, dagger, and mini crossbow. Chainmail with some light plate. Description: Lightly armored Dwarves with heavy two-handed swords. While rakhas-felek can use their swords to defend against melee weapons, they have light armor and are thus weak against archers
Axemen: Worth: 2 Equipment: Battle-axe, dagger, and two throwing axes. Medium-heavy plate. Description: Offensive juggernaut-type units. They're generally used as crowdbreakers due to their berserker-like abilities. They're extremely hard to take down because of their heavy armor, and are very dangerous even when cut off from friendly forces. Unfortunately, they're quite slow.
Gunukun: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Battle-axe, mini-crossbow, two throwing axes. Heavy plate. Description: Elite axemen, Gunukun play essentially the same role as their weaker counterparts, but are far more dangerous.
Climbers: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Various pieces of climbing equipment, dagger, throwing axe, two mini crossbows, shield, and a one-handed battle-axe. Chainmail. Description: Dwarves trained to quickly scale walls using their grappling hooks, and even capable of fighting while hanging on the rope. While these forces aren't efficient for much else, they're quite good at capturing walls.
Doppelsoldner: Worth: 2 Equipment: Serrated flammenschwert, a throwing axe, a dagger, and a mini crossbow. Medium-heavy chainmail. Description: Wielding gigantic swords significantly taller than the soldiers themselves, Doppelsoldner are skilled duelists, and are even quite capable fighting multiple enemies at once. The signature wavy blade of the flammenschwert, along with its serrated edge, imparts unpleasant vibrations into enemy blades, and also quickly cuts through most hafts, giving the Doppelsoldner an slight advantage against most troops and even letting them destroy the weapons of others.
Ranged Infantry:
Light Crossbowmen: Equipment: Light crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: The primary ranged unit of Erebor. Their crossbows are capable of taking out moderately armored troops from a reasonable range. While their armor is quite effective in deflecting enemy arrows, it's not quite as good at defending against melee weapons.
Heavy Crossbowmen: Equipment: Heavy crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to light crossbowmen, except armed with a heavier crossbow and thus have more hitting-power and range, but also a lower rate-of-fire.
Repeating Crossbowmen: Equipment: Repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and a throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to the other crossbowmen types but with repeating crossbows. While these crossbows are weaker, they have a much higher rate-of-fire.
Gunuzirak: Worth: 2 Equipment: Modified repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: A higher-power repeating crossbowman. In a way, these crossbows are a mixture between a traditional repeating crossbow and an ordinary bow. They use the same reloading mechanism as a standard repeating crossbow, but they have a longer draw and are more powerful. The arms are also oriented vertically instead of horizontally for the sake of convenience, and the lever is much larger. When fired, they are generally braced against the leg (aimed upwards), giving their user the best possible position for firing. Additionally, these bows are carried on a strap, and feature a catch on the inner side which holds the weapon in place relative to the holder's leg, allowing it to be fired from the hip. Overall, these units have the power of standard archers, but can fire quite rapidly, making them perfect for (sometimes sustained) volleys, though they aren't always the most accurate.
Snipers: Worth: 2 Equipment: High-powered crossbow, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two pavises (on back). Medium lamellar. Description: Experienced crossbowmen equipped with rather large and powerful crossbows capable of out-distancing a longbow with good accuracy. Best from high, somewhat far-off spots, snipers excel at taking out high-priority targets.
Shathuru-felak: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Ultra-high-powered crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two pavises (on back), and climbing equipment. Light lamellar. Description: Recruited from the best snipers and equipped with the highest quality weaponry, shathuru-felak are deadly foes. The quality and consistency of their weapons combined with their experience allows a shathuru-felak to have extremely good accuracy. Because of the power of their crossbows, they can out-distance pretty much any other comparable unit, though they're very slow to reload. Given time, A shathuru-felak can reach otherwise-inaccessible areas thanks to their climbing equipment.
Support Units:
Walking Artillery: Worth: 2 Equipment: Small repeating ballista, a pavise, and a dagger and a throwing axe for each. Medium lamellar. Description: Essentially mobile ballistae. Walking artillery consist of a Dwarf carrying a ballista on his back, and another Dwarf operating it. They're slow and can't really defend themselves, but they allow heavy artillery to be brought into tight spaces.
Saboteurs: Worth: 15 Equipment: Three throwing axes (each), standard mining equipment (each), bottles of oil, wood (if not otherwise provided), and a specialized high-speed mining machine. Light/no armor. Description: Dwarves trained in mining quickly and accurately (though not beautifully ). Usually having two or three Dwarves per machine, these units are capable of mining tunnels extraordinarily quickly, and their oil and wood can be used to collapse walls (by tunneling under them, and burning the supports). However, they cannot fight off anything more than a scout or two as they're miners, not warriors. The mining machine is essentially a cart with a crank and a few picks, built so that when the crank is turned, the picks repeated hit the walls, mining through them kind of like a normal miner. (note on mining: Each machine is able to mine an (approximately) thirteen meter tunnel just wide and tall enough for a Dwarf per (non-combat) turn. A tunnel going from out of range of a castle to inside it would take approximately a month to make, and would be wide enough for as many Dwarves as I use mining machines.)
Khelegathol-felek: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Various tools and supplies for constructing things, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Battlefield engineers from under the Mountain. Khelegathol aren't very good fighters, though excel at making traps, weapons, and other support equipment.
Elites:
Mahalu-baruk: Worth: 6 (8 MWE) Equipment: One-handed war-axe, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a heavy tower shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: The best there is in terms of shock-resistant troops, mahalu-baruk are heavily armed and armored Dwarves that excel at resisting and taking down shock troopers and/or pushing their way through shield walls. Their shields are built for resisting heavy weapons, while their axes are designed for chopping through other shields. Due to their heavy armor and axes, mahalu-baruk are good against just about everything besides cavalry and Trolls.
Warrior Monks: Worth: 7 (9.3 MWE) Equipment: Various melee weapons (specific Dwarves vary in choice, so it could be just about anything), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Ancient-style medium fireproof plate. Description: Dwarves dedicated to Aule. They are great smiths, historians, and very skilled warriors with their weapon of choice. They wear armor (including masks) similar to that which was used by the Dwarves in the First Age, making them nearly immune to heat/fire and quite strong against most other things. The fame of their skill and the quality and appearance of their armor is quite intimidating, making all but the most disciplined troops reluctant to engage them.
Khazadu Zigil Uzbad: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE). Equipment: Double-sided halberd, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two throwing axes. Medium chainmail, with some plate. Description: The most elite forces of Erebor, and personal bodyguard of the King Under the Mountain. They can take down just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and are hard to defeat even when cut off and surrounded. (note that due to their high worth, small numbers, and the complexity of their fighting style, I will mainly use them like PCs).
Stealth Units:
Scouts: Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a light assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Basic troops trained in stealth. Scouts are not skilled fighters, but are mainly armed for self-defense. They can lay down traps and take out unwary enemies, but are generally best suited for surveying and other non-combative operations.
Assassins: Worth: 2 Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Similar to scouts, but have proper combat training and are capable of holding their own. Assassins work best when ambushing small, unsuspecting parties, but can face your average soldier with some skill.
Black Plague: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A heavy silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a specialized assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Medium-light chainmail with camouflage. Description: The Black Plague leave few traces outside of the chaos or desolation that may be seen from their work. While very capable of staying hidden in the day and striking effectively during a quiet afternoon, few things are more dreaded than a deployment of the Black Plague striking at night with a storm in the distance. Their camouflage and training render them virtually invisible, and anything more than or including an occasional rumble in the distance is enough to cover up the noise of their shots, and likely anything that might come from their targets. Although their crossbows are not as powerful as most of the same level due to the silencing techniques used (which don't actually silence the crossbow, just greatly muffle it), what power they have is more than enough for their wielders to take out most units with a single shot.
Kheleburk: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A ### sword, a dagger, a throwing axe, a mini-crossbow, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Most simply described as "battlefield ninja", Kheleburk are adept at moving about unknown, but focus mainly on their combat skill. While most typical infantry struggle against them in open combat, even some of the most elite units have much to fear from an ambush. Their (and the other stealth units', though assortments between them vary) satchels contain various items of use, including basic tools (i.e. matches, rope, etc.), small traps such as caltrops, and things like blinding powders (which can be loaded into their sheaths, giving the Kheleburk an additional advantage when initially engaging) and bottles filled with flammable oil.
Sankheled: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE) Equipment: Two katana, a silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a vast assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Sankheled are the most elite individuals of Erebor's stealth corps. Few are found who do not want to be, and those that do don't take long to make it known that it was the enemy's mistake to find them. Not only do they have ways of getting into even some of the most secure locations, they're also formidable warriors who can take down most any opponent, particularly when given a chance to prepare something special for them. That said, Sankheled are normally only deployed for the most demanding jobs, often where little backup is available.
Cavalry (Iron Hills only):
Light cavalry: Worth: 2 Equipment: Short halberd, two mini-crossbows, dagger, and a throwing axe. Chainmail with portions of plate. Description: Erebor's basic cavalry unit. Light cavalry excel at running down enemy archers and other exposed units due to being fast but lightly armored.
Shock-boars: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: War hammer, two mini-crossbows, and two throwing axes. Heavy plate (the boars themselves have light scalemail and an angled helmet). Description: As the heavy cavalry of Erebor, shock-boars are designed for devestating any attempt at a formation short of a Gondorian-quality phalanx. Equipped with war hammers and heavily armored, they hit hard, move (somewhat) fast, and are hard to take down. The boars' armor is designed for deflecting pikes and arrows, being shaped in such a way to "encourage" said weapons to glance off.
Skirmishers: Worth: 2 Equipment: Light crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Medium lamellar. Description: Skirmishers are, well, skirmishers. They charge enemy units, fire, and retreat before the enemy can react. They're fast, but lightly armored and weak in melee.
Heavy Skirmishers: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Heavy repeating crosbow, two throwing axes, and two mini-crossbows. Heavy lamellar. Description: Heavy skirmishers don't strike often, but when they do, they normally devastate their target. Their crossbows are essentially multiple heavy crossbows stacked on top of each other, which means that they can release a tremendous number of bolts in a very short amount of time (i.e. as they run by) without sacrificing much, if any power. That said, in order to reload they have to pull away from the battle and dismount, and also spend a significant amount of time just in the reloading part since they literally have to load multiple heavy crossbows (even doing a single one isn't very quick), and that leaves them rather vulnerable to counterattacks from whatever may remain of their target.
Barashathur: Worth: 3 (4 MWE) Equipment: Repeating crossbow, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Similar to standard skirmishers, but equipped with repeating crossbows. While barashathur aren't quite as good at punching through armor and shields as normal skirmishers are, they can absolutely demolish enemy troops when following through after a good shock-boar charge.
Weapons crews: Note: While most of these units have heavy armor, keep in mind that this isn't actually always the case. When manning tanks many of these units are inside the cabin, and thus they oftentimes shed unnecessary armor for sake of mobility (sometimes only keeping armor on the parts that will be exposed, namely face and chest for those peeking outside the tank). Assume that this is the armor that they on any areas that could be exposed to enemy fire.
Brutes: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: Hands. Light chainmail. Description: Dwarves brutes generally serve one purpose: to turn the cranks that power most tanks. That said, one shouldn't think that they're worthless in combat, or are particularly weak even. Note that their hands are registered as weapons, and they likewise take a "Chewbacca" approach to combat (most effectively against Goblins and other small Orcs).
Operators: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: A dagger, throwing axe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Operators are trained solely for the operation of various weapons. They are experts in reloading ballistae and catapults, and also in diagnosing the typical difficulties that inevitably come about. However, although they excel in reloading weapons quickly and effectively, and have a great understanding in how the weapons work, they rarely actually fire them, and thus are little above average when it comes to accurately aiming them.
Gunners: Equipment: A dagger, throwing aaxe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Gunners are essentially operators who've been trained in the actual firing of various weaponry, and so are much more accurate when doing so (and are also more expensive to train).
Commanders: Equipment: Two throwing axes, two mini-crossbows. Heavy plate Description: Operating a tank effectively is a difficult job. Multiple (sometimes over a dozen) crewmen have to coordinate each and every one of their actions in order to act quickly and effectively, and often this has to be done when few of the said crew can actually see anything outside. This issue is solved by designating a single commander for each tank crew. His job is to peek his head outside to see what's going on, and then tell everyone else (mainly the brutes moving the vehicle) what to do. Even this isn't quite ideal, but by the end of training, most tanks crews can work relatively efficiently when under specially trained commanders.
Deck guards: Equipment: A halberd, heater shield, light crossbow, dagger, and mini-crossbow. Heavy plate. Description: Deck guards are the primary melee/close-range defense for some tanks, such as the MAP. Their job is to keep enemies from climbing up onto the deck. They're not particularly skilled in any way, but are generally capable of keep their decks clear of enemies. Their crossbows are not often used for long-distance firing, but are mainly for preventative measures.
Cabin guards: Equipment: A one-handed axe, buckler, and dagger. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Similar in purpose to deck guards, but for inside the cabins of tanks. They're much more adapted to combat in tight spaces, as opposed to small, open areas.
Siege weapons/infantry support:
Polybolos: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: A Dwarven variation of the Greek ballista, which is obviously a bit more efficient (being Dwarven). The polybolos uses a flat-link chain to draw the string and also load the next bolt, allowing a full-power single-operator-sized ballista to reload significantly more quickly. Now it does come with a few drawbacks, such as slightly lower accuracy due to how it's worked, but it retains most, if not all of its power yet fires noticeably faster than any standard weapon of comparable strength. The field version of this weapon (any instance of it not mounted on top of a building or vehicle) is mounted on a pair of two wheels, with a folding stand in the back for quick and easy transportation.
Repeating Arbalests: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: Essentially an oversized Chinese repeating crossbow (aka chu-ko-nu). A repeating arbalest is a small arbalest (similar in size to the polybolos) fitted with a lever to reload in the same method as a traditional chu-ko-nu. Portions of the mechanisms are made of metal and ash wood, allowing them to withstand the extra stress, but also increasing the weight of the weapon. Repeating arbalests are also a bit weaker than most arbalests of similar size in order to make the reloading mechanism usable, but their astonishing rate of fire far outweighs its disadvantages in many situations. Field repeating arbalests are on mounts similar to those of a polybolos.
Mortars: Worth: 3 (1.25 weapon, 1.75 crew (1 gunner, 1 operator)). Description: Mortars are high-caliber, high-power, small-sized arbalests, typically resting on stands that make them fire at trajectories above forty-five degrees. These arbalests are designed to fire virtually any sort of ammunition an artillery tank would normally use, but on a smaller scale, and most commonly using standard stones or else incendiary rounds (but they can also fire other things, like smoke-grenades or powder-balls, for various effects). The major drawback of having such high power in such a small package is that these things are very difficult and slow to reload, requiring special equipment (which is obviously brought with the weapon) and a safe place.
Fireblades (Erebor, but requires both HQs): Worth: 30 (about 40 MWE) Description: Think furnace, with wings wheels. Fireblades are essentially essentially modified furnaces. On the bottom, they have a nearly square and very short heat-resistant box mounted on wheels (with the box sitting quite low to the ground), and higher up there's a large container of oil-soaked coal with a special feeder operated by a crank. The front end of the "fire-box" is open except for a small ledge to keep coal from falling out, and the back is the same except that it has several fans (which can be operated either by a crank or by moving the wheels, and are geared up a little bit so that the fans spin relatively quickly). While pushed by a pair of boars from behind, Fireblades are quite slow (perhaps the speed of a large battering ram), but they're nearly unassailable from the front because of the heat.
Tanks (Erebor only):
As you should all know quite well (but I'm mentioning anyways for those who will inevitably be seeing these for the first time ), these are not literal tanks. I call them tanks because that's what I can most easily and accurately compare them to for the sake of explaining them, but by no means do they use virtually any of the modern technologies which tanks normally use. They're based upon wooden frames, with metal plating armoring the outside. They do use tracks, but these tracks are powered by systems of cranks, and their gearboxes are quite primitive. And obviously, since we don't use explosives here, these tanks are generally equipped with various forms of ballistae and arbalests instead. As Dwarves are quite short, and extra height simply makes for more weight and more material to hit, the insides of these tanks are quite short, about four feet floor-to-ceiling (or in other words, uncomfortable for those of other races). Most tanks also have a few spare weapons in easy-to-reach places, just in case they're necessary. Oh, and I've redesigned a few of these. And let me guys know if you think I can drop any of the prices at all. I've been trying to add up the costs of crew and base weapons, and add a slight boost for the advantage of armor and mobility, but some of them seem a little higher than they should be (such as the MAP).
Light Tank: Worth: 10 (4.25 weapon, 5.75 crew (1 gunner, 5 brutes, 1 commander)) (13.3 MWE) Description: Let's be honest, while the LT was what got me started with all of my tanks, it was quickly fazed out and became useless. That said, I've made a few changes that will hopefully fix that. It's still based upon the relatively modern Ontos Tank Destroyer, being quite small, fast, and otherwise mobile. However, the exposed top-mounted arbalest has been replaced by an advanced armored turret featuring an integrated polybolos. Inside the cabin of the tank is a small raised platform, which the gunner stands on to aim the polybolos (it gives him a boost so that he can peek out the top of the tank). Above this platform is a circular hole in the top of the tank, with a ring of armor extending a few inches upwards, and a conical roof above that. This ring acts as the main structure of the turret. On the upper lip of said ring (with bearings and the proper brackets) is mounted a polybolos, which can slide around the circumference of the ring and also tilt up or down. The operating chain of the polybolos has been extended, with one loop of it extending down to the base of the turret to another sprocket (and yes, the geometry of the sprocket locations and idlers has been done so as to not interfere with the vertical movement of the polybolos), which is attached to a parallel bevel gear through a detachable coupling. This bevel gear is meshed together with a perpendicular bevel gear, which is then tied through its axle to another regular gear, which is meshed with the inside of a large ring gear that runs the perimeter of the turret (at the ceiling of the cabin). Another gear on the outer edge of this ring gear (so that it doesn't interfere with the polybolos-side one) is tied to another bevel gear, which is again meshed with another bevel gear, which is attached a sprocket. A chain runs from this sprocket to another sprocket mounted to a crank inside the cabin, which is operated by a brute. In brief, the polybolos' firing mechanism is actually operated by a separate crank inside the cabin, running through a bunch of conversions switching between types and orientations of gears. The brute turns the crank, that spins the ring gear, which in turn spins the chain on the polybolos. I can go into further detail on how all of this works (and why I have various components, such as the ring gear), but the end result is that the polybolos can be pointed in any direction and still be powered by the crank, so the brute focuses on powering the weapon, while the gunner focuses on aiming it (he also has the coupling, so he can simply disconnect and reconnect the crank whenever he needs to stop or start firing). What is the purpose of this setup? By moving the actual operation of the polybolos from the inside of the turret down into the main cabin, one brute can spend all of his energy powering it, thus giving it an unnaturally fast rate of fire (perhaps two bolts per second tops, more often one) without sacrificing power or control, though it does take an extra crewmember. As for speed, an LT can (on relatively flat ground) outrun infantry and some heavy cavalry, but is clearly slower than the majority of light cavalry. Overall, an LT has seven crew: one gunner, five brutes (four for locomotion, one for the polybolos), and a commander.
Heavy Artillery Tank: Worth: 15 (7.5 weapon, 7.5 crew (2 operators, 1 gunner, 1 commander, 4 brutes, 1 cabin guard)) (20 MWE) Description: An updated design from my previous tank of the same name. The tank has a standard design (quite boxy, slightly slanted sides, etc.), but it has relatively heavy armor and features a ballista housed inside the main cabin. The ballista itself is standard-size, but with a somewhat higher power than most others comparable to it (through Dwarven engineering, i.e. a reinforced frame to allow for a stronger pull, and lower gearing on the reload crank). Instead of having a vertical hole in the front of the tank to make space for the ballista to fire through, a set of plates are attached to the ballista and shell through tracks, which allows the plates to move up and down with the ballista as it adjusts elevation. Of course, the armor there is still quite thin, and there is a gap in the roof for the top of the ballista to stick out. It has a crew of nine: three for the ballista (two operators and one gunner), one commander, one cabin guard, and four brutes for the cranks (and is thus relatively slow, having the same power as an LT with more weight).
Mobile Artillery Platform: Worth: 40 (19.5 weapon, 20.5 crew (1 commander, 8 gunners, 2 operators, 8 brutes, 4 deck guards)) (53.3 MWE) Description: Unlike my first two tanks, the MAP hasn't changed much. It's still a bulky mobile platform, with six repeating arbalests and two polybolos stuffed on top (and still exposed, like my others used to be). Their size also lets them function as mobile walls. Its crew is still quite massive, having twenty-three members: one commander, eight gunners, two operators (to run ammunition), eight brutes, and four deck guards.
Infantry Transport & Artillery Vehicle: Worth: 20 (12 weapons, 8 crew (1 commander, 1 gunner, 2 operators, and 6 brutes)) (26.6 MWE) Description: Also the same as it was before. ITAVs are actually half-tracks, functioning as fast troop transports with bonus artillery on the side. The front has fairly heavy armor, while the sides have medium-light armor, and the top (of the passenger compartment, not the forward cabin) and rear have no armor at all (except removable nets that simply stop stray arrows). ITAVs have six mortars bolted onto its sides, and one repeating arbalest sticking up just behind the forward cabin. It has a crew of ten, having one commander, one gunner, two operators (for the mortars), and six brutes. It can carry up to ten additional troops.
Easily Propelled Artillery (requires Iron Hills): Worth: 30 (9 weapon, 4 boars, 17 crew) (40 MWE) Description: Yes, I know its name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it does give a good idea of what the EPA (my version, not the government one ) is: a heavy siege ballista mounted onto a tank chassis so that it's much faster and more easily moved than a normal siege ballista. That said, the EPA consists of a Dwarven siege ballista (which is slightly better than a standard one of its size, as with the HAT) mounted on a very large tank chassis. The top, back, and most of the sides are unarmored besides a basic net intended to stop stray arrows, while the front has medium-heavy armor. The ballista's elevation system is also integrated with the forward plate, consisting of a few gears meshed with racks built into the forward panel, supplemented by ropes and pulleys (while the rear end of the ballista is simply on a very large hinge). Due to its immense weight, EPAs are propelled not by cranks, but by teams of boars imported from the Iron Hills, although cranks are still kept for aiming the weapon. The EPA requires twelve boars, and has a crew of : one commander, one gunner, six operators, six brutes, three deck guards, three cabin guards.
Combative Armored Barricade: Worth: 5 (2.5 weapon, 2.5 crew (one gunner, two brutes)) Description: These ones are mostly the same as before, only that I'm dropping the boars. They're similar to EPAs in appearance, except miniature. The backs, tops, and most of the sides are unarmored, while the front has heavy plate. But instead of acting as a form of transportation for normally immobile weapons, CABs are intended to be used in large quantities to form walls. Each one has either a polybolos or a repeating arbalest (in wall formations, there will generally be two repeating arbalest ones for every polybolos), attached to a mount so that it can turn to some degree, but always be oriented so that it will fire through a very small hole in the front panel. The front panel also has several other holes through which small blades or even projectiles can be thrust through to attack anyone who gets too close. Being so light, CABs only use two cranks, though aren't particularly fast. It has a crew of three: one gunner (who acts as a unit commander, while an outside head commander oversees groups of CABs), and two brutes. Polearm units standing behind the cabs can use their own weapons to attack through the holes.
And I think that should be all for now. An even fifty units (and thirty-four thousand and eighteen characters).
Why did I click on this topic...
good question. I'm not sure myself, oh wait no, It was hoping that Dol Guldur would have posted it's stuff (I'm considering changing from Isengard to Dol Guldur.)
Tul Generas of the Orcs, Darthraxx of the dragon Knights. I RP, and have lots of fun.
Alright, here's Erebor's troop list now. As a note, most troops are the same between Erebor and the Iron Hills. The biggest difference between these being that the cavalry are exclusively from the Iron Hills (as Erebor doesn't seem to have boars; there are a few machines, though, that use boars, and while those require the Iron Hills in order to be produced, the cost comes from and they are fielded by Erebor), while the tanks and a few other pieces of machinery are from Erebor (as the Iron Hills doesn't seem likely to have the capabilities to mass-manufacture advanced war machines). Mods, if you thought Rex's list was bad, I apologize for this too (while my computer freezes when I try to paste it).
If no worth is listed, assume one Dwarf-worth (1.333 MWE).
Melee Infantry:
Swordsmen: Equipment: Sword, kite shield, dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with portions of plate. Description. All-around units. Not particularly great at any specific job, but they adapt easily to different situations.
Shield-bearers: Equipment: Dual tower shields, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Extremely hard to take down, but aren't exactly as dangerous as other units. These troops specialize in covering other troops, and are trained to use a number of formations to increase efficiency.
Halberdiers: Equipment: Halberd, tower shield, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Erebor's standard defensive unit. Halberdiers are heavily armored and trained to hold tight lines to fend off enemy troops. When attacked from in front, few enemy melee troops besides dedicated shocktroopers/linebreakers stand a chance against them, though they're easily defeated when flanked.
Naginata: Worth: 2 Equipment: A naginata polearm, two throwing axes, small heater shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Highly defensive units. They are quite slow, but are extremely hard to smash. While they don't hold lines quite as well as halberdiers they don't need tight formations to survive. They're far more resilient against shocktroopers than halberdiers are, though they're weaker against ranged units.
Sigin-thark: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Naginata, mini-crossbow, kite shield, and a light axe. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Similar to naginata, though far more experienced. Sigin-thark are trained to hold a line against anything short of an artillery bombardment, which is good, because they're not getting anywhere fast. Their naginata are ideal for cutting down shocktroopers before they get too close, and their shields are large enough to deflect arrows and block axes.
Stone Guards: Worth: 2 Equipment: One-handed battle-axe, heavy tower shield, a dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Stone guards are highly defensive and very heavily armored, and pose a formidable barrier to virtually any infantry, even shocktroopers. They are similar to the Mahalu, but less powerful and far more practical to field in large numbers.
Macemen: Equipment: Mace, kite shield, mini crossbow, dagger, and a throwing axe. Light chainmail. Description: The "glasshammers" of Erebor. They hit hard and move fast, though their light armor makes them relatively easy to take down if someone gets past their shield.
Rakhas-felek: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Claymore, dagger, and mini crossbow. Chainmail with some light plate. Description: Lightly armored Dwarves with heavy two-handed swords. While rakhas-felek can use their swords to defend against melee weapons, they have light armor and are thus weak against archers
Axemen: Worth: 2 Equipment: Battle-axe, dagger, and two throwing axes. Medium-heavy plate. Description: Offensive juggernaut-type units. They're generally used as crowdbreakers due to their berserker-like abilities. They're extremely hard to take down because of their heavy armor, and are very dangerous even when cut off from friendly forces. Unfortunately, they're quite slow.
Gunukun: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Battle-axe, mini-crossbow, two throwing axes. Heavy plate. Description: Elite axemen, Gunukun play essentially the same role as their weaker counterparts, but are far more dangerous.
Climbers: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Various pieces of climbing equipment, dagger, throwing axe, two mini crossbows, shield, and a one-handed battle-axe. Chainmail. Description: Dwarves trained to quickly scale walls using their grappling hooks, and even capable of fighting while hanging on the rope. While these forces aren't efficient for much else, they're quite good at capturing walls.
Doppelsoldner: Worth: 2 Equipment: Serrated flammenschwert, a throwing axe, a dagger, and a mini crossbow. Medium-heavy chainmail. Description: Wielding gigantic swords significantly taller than the soldiers themselves, Doppelsoldner are skilled duelists, and are even quite capable fighting multiple enemies at once. The signature wavy blade of the flammenschwert, along with its serrated edge, imparts unpleasant vibrations into enemy blades, and also quickly cuts through most hafts, giving the Doppelsoldner an slight advantage against most troops and even letting them destroy the weapons of others.
Ranged Infantry:
Light Crossbowmen: Equipment: Light crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: The primary ranged unit of Erebor. Their crossbows are capable of taking out moderately armored troops from a reasonable range. While their armor is quite effective in deflecting enemy arrows, it's not quite as good at defending against melee weapons.
Heavy Crossbowmen: Equipment: Heavy crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to light crossbowmen, except armed with a heavier crossbow and thus have more hitting-power and range, but also a lower rate-of-fire.
Repeating Crossbowmen: Equipment: Repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and a throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to the other crossbowmen types but with repeating crossbows. While these crossbows are weaker, they have a much higher rate-of-fire.
Gunuzirak: Worth: 2 Equipment: Modified repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: A higher-power repeating crossbowman. In a way, these crossbows are a mixture between a traditional repeating crossbow and an ordinary bow. They use the same reloading mechanism as a standard repeating crossbow, but they have a longer draw and are more powerful. The arms are also oriented vertically instead of horizontally for the sake of convenience, and the lever is much larger. When fired, they are generally braced against the leg (aimed upwards), giving their user the best possible position for firing. Additionally, these bows are carried on a strap, and feature a catch on the inner side which holds the weapon in place relative to the holder's leg, allowing it to be fired from the hip. Overall, these units have the power of standard archers, but can fire quite rapidly, making them perfect for (sometimes sustained) volleys, though they aren't always the most accurate.
Snipers: Worth: 2 Equipment: High-powered crossbow, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two pavises (on back). Medium lamellar. Description: Experienced crossbowmen equipped with rather large and powerful crossbows capable of out-distancing a longbow with good accuracy. Best from high, somewhat far-off spots, snipers excel at taking out high-priority targets.
Shathuru-felak: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Ultra-high-powered crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two pavises (on back), and climbing equipment. Light lamellar. Description: Recruited from the best snipers and equipped with the highest quality weaponry, shathuru-felak are deadly foes. The quality and consistency of their weapons combined with their experience allows a shathuru-felak to have extremely good accuracy. Because of the power of their crossbows, they can out-distance pretty much any other comparable unit, though they're very slow to reload. Given time, A shathuru-felak can reach otherwise-inaccessible areas thanks to their climbing equipment.
Support Units:
Walking Artillery: Worth: 2 Equipment: Small repeating ballista, a pavise, and a dagger and a throwing axe for each. Medium lamellar. Description: Essentially mobile ballistae. Walking artillery consist of a Dwarf carrying a ballista on his back, and another Dwarf operating it. They're slow and can't really defend themselves, but they allow heavy artillery to be brought into tight spaces.
Saboteurs: Worth: 15 Equipment: Three throwing axes (each), standard mining equipment (each), bottles of oil, wood (if not otherwise provided), and a specialized high-speed mining machine. Light/no armor. Description: Dwarves trained in mining quickly and accurately (though not beautifully ). Usually having two or three Dwarves per machine, these units are capable of mining tunnels extraordinarily quickly, and their oil and wood can be used to collapse walls (by tunneling under them, and burning the supports). However, they cannot fight off anything more than a scout or two as they're miners, not warriors. The mining machine is essentially a cart with a crank and a few picks, built so that when the crank is turned, the picks repeated hit the walls, mining through them kind of like a normal miner. (note on mining: Each machine is able to mine an (approximately) thirteen meter tunnel just wide and tall enough for a Dwarf per (non-combat) turn. A tunnel going from out of range of a castle to inside it would take approximately a month to make, and would be wide enough for as many Dwarves as I use mining machines.)
Khelegathol-felek: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Various tools and supplies for constructing things, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Battlefield engineers from under the Mountain. Khelegathol aren't very good fighters, though excel at making traps, weapons, and other support equipment.
Elites:
Mahalu-baruk: Worth: 6 (8 MWE) Equipment: One-handed war-axe, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a heavy tower shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: The best there is in terms of shock-resistant troops, mahalu-baruk are heavily armed and armored Dwarves that excel at resisting and taking down shock troopers and/or pushing their way through shield walls. Their shields are built for resisting heavy weapons, while their axes are designed for chopping through other shields. Due to their heavy armor and axes, mahalu-baruk are good against just about everything besides cavalry and Trolls.
Warrior Monks: Worth: 7 (9.3 MWE) Equipment: Various melee weapons (specific Dwarves vary in choice, so it could be just about anything), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Ancient-style medium fireproof plate. Description: Dwarves dedicated to Aule. They are great smiths, historians, and very skilled warriors with their weapon of choice. They wear armor (including masks) similar to that which was used by the Dwarves in the First Age, making them nearly immune to heat/fire and quite strong against most other things. The fame of their skill and the quality and appearance of their armor is quite intimidating, making all but the most disciplined troops reluctant to engage them.
Khazadu Zigil Uzbad: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE). Equipment: Double-sided halberd, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two throwing axes. Medium chainmail, with some plate. Description: The most elite forces of Erebor, and personal bodyguard of the King Under the Mountain. They can take down just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and are hard to defeat even when cut off and surrounded. (note that due to their high worth, small numbers, and the complexity of their fighting style, I will mainly use them like PCs).
Stealth Units:
Scouts: Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a light assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Basic troops trained in stealth. Scouts are not skilled fighters, but are mainly armed for self-defense. They can lay down traps and take out unwary enemies, but are generally best suited for surveying and other non-combative operations.
Assassins: Worth: 2 Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Similar to scouts, but have proper combat training and are capable of holding their own. Assassins work best when ambushing small, unsuspecting parties, but can face your average soldier with some skill.
Black Plague: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A heavy silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a specialized assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Medium-light chainmail with camouflage. Description: The Black Plague leave few traces outside of the chaos or desolation that may be seen from their work. While very capable of staying hidden in the day and striking effectively during a quiet afternoon, few things are more dreaded than a deployment of the Black Plague striking at night with a storm in the distance. Their camouflage and training render them virtually invisible, and anything more than or including an occasional rumble in the distance is enough to cover up the noise of their shots, and likely anything that might come from their targets. Although their crossbows are not as powerful as most of the same level due to the silencing techniques used (which don't actually silence the crossbow, just greatly muffle it), what power they have is more than enough for their wielders to take out most units with a single shot.
Kheleburk: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A ### sword, a dagger, a throwing axe, a mini-crossbow, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Most simply described as "battlefield ninja", Kheleburk are adept at moving about unknown, but focus mainly on their combat skill. While most typical infantry struggle against them in open combat, even some of the most elite units have much to fear from an ambush. Their (and the other stealth units', though assortments between them vary) satchels contain various items of use, including basic tools (i.e. matches, rope, etc.), small traps such as caltrops, and things like blinding powders (which can be loaded into their sheaths, giving the Kheleburk an additional advantage when initially engaging) and bottles filled with flammable oil.
Sankheled: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE) Equipment: Two katana, a silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a vast assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Sankheled are the most elite individuals of Erebor's stealth corps. Few are found who do not want to be, and those that do don't take long to make it known that it was the enemy's mistake to find them. Not only do they have ways of getting into even some of the most secure locations, they're also formidable warriors who can take down most any opponent, particularly when given a chance to prepare something special for them. That said, Sankheled are normally only deployed for the most demanding jobs, often where little backup is available.
Cavalry (Iron Hills only):
Light cavalry: Worth: 2 Equipment: Short halberd, two mini-crossbows, dagger, and a throwing axe. Chainmail with portions of plate. Description: Erebor's basic cavalry unit. Light cavalry excel at running down enemy archers and other exposed units due to being fast but lightly armored.
Shock-boars: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: War hammer, two mini-crossbows, and two throwing axes. Heavy plate (the boars themselves have light scalemail and an angled helmet). Description: As the heavy cavalry of Erebor, shock-boars are designed for devestating any attempt at a formation short of a Gondorian-quality phalanx. Equipped with war hammers and heavily armored, they hit hard, move (somewhat) fast, and are hard to take down. The boars' armor is designed for deflecting pikes and arrows, being shaped in such a way to "encourage" said weapons to glance off.
Skirmishers: Worth: 2 Equipment: Light crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Medium lamellar. Description: Skirmishers are, well, skirmishers. They charge enemy units, fire, and retreat before the enemy can react. They're fast, but lightly armored and weak in melee.
Heavy Skirmishers: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Heavy repeating crosbow, two throwing axes, and two mini-crossbows. Heavy lamellar. Description: Heavy skirmishers don't strike often, but when they do, they normally devastate their target. Their crossbows are essentially multiple heavy crossbows stacked on top of each other, which means that they can release a tremendous number of bolts in a very short amount of time (i.e. as they run by) without sacrificing much, if any power. That said, in order to reload they have to pull away from the battle and dismount, and also spend a significant amount of time just in the reloading part since they literally have to load multiple heavy crossbows (even doing a single one isn't very quick), and that leaves them rather vulnerable to counterattacks from whatever may remain of their target.
Barashathur: Worth: 3 (4 MWE) Equipment: Repeating crossbow, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Similar to standard skirmishers, but equipped with repeating crossbows. While barashathur aren't quite as good at punching through armor and shields as normal skirmishers are, they can absolutely demolish enemy troops when following through after a good shock-boar charge.
Weapons crews: Note: While most of these units have heavy armor, keep in mind that this isn't actually always the case. When manning tanks many of these units are inside the cabin, and thus they oftentimes shed unnecessary armor for sake of mobility (sometimes only keeping armor on the parts that will be exposed, namely face and chest for those peeking outside the tank). Assume that this is the armor that they on any areas that could be exposed to enemy fire.
Brutes: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: Hands. Light chainmail. Description: Dwarves brutes generally serve one purpose: to turn the cranks that power most tanks. That said, one shouldn't think that they're worthless in combat, or are particularly weak even. Note that their hands are registered as weapons, and they likewise take a "Chewbacca" approach to combat (most effectively against Goblins and other small Orcs).
Operators: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: A dagger, throwing axe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Operators are trained solely for the operation of various weapons. They are experts in reloading ballistae and catapults, and also in diagnosing the typical difficulties that inevitably come about. However, although they excel in reloading weapons quickly and effectively, and have a great understanding in how the weapons work, they rarely actually fire them, and thus are little above average when it comes to accurately aiming them.
Gunners: Equipment: A dagger, throwing aaxe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Gunners are essentially operators who've been trained in the actual firing of various weaponry, and so are much more accurate when doing so (and are also more expensive to train).
Commanders: Equipment: Two throwing axes, two mini-crossbows. Heavy plate Description: Operating a tank effectively is a difficult job. Multiple (sometimes over a dozen) crewmen have to coordinate each and every one of their actions in order to act quickly and effectively, and often this has to be done when few of the said crew can actually see anything outside. This issue is solved by designating a single commander for each tank crew. His job is to peek his head outside to see what's going on, and then tell everyone else (mainly the brutes moving the vehicle) what to do. Even this isn't quite ideal, but by the end of training, most tanks crews can work relatively efficiently when under specially trained commanders.
Deck guards: Equipment: A halberd, heater shield, light crossbow, dagger, and mini-crossbow. Heavy plate. Description: Deck guards are the primary melee/close-range defense for some tanks, such as the MAP. Their job is to keep enemies from climbing up onto the deck. They're not particularly skilled in any way, but are generally capable of keep their decks clear of enemies. Their crossbows are not often used for long-distance firing, but are mainly for preventative measures.
Cabin guards: Equipment: A one-handed axe, buckler, and dagger. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Similar in purpose to deck guards, but for inside the cabins of tanks. They're much more adapted to combat in tight spaces, as opposed to small, open areas.
Siege weapons/infantry support:
Polybolos: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: A Dwarven variation of the Greek ballista, which is obviously a bit more efficient (being Dwarven). The polybolos uses a flat-link chain to draw the string and also load the next bolt, allowing a full-power single-operator-sized ballista to reload significantly more quickly. Now it does come with a few drawbacks, such as slightly lower accuracy due to how it's worked, but it retains most, if not all of its power yet fires noticeably faster than any standard weapon of comparable strength. The field version of this weapon (any instance of it not mounted on top of a building or vehicle) is mounted on a pair of two wheels, with a folding stand in the back for quick and easy transportation.
Repeating Arbalests: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: Essentially an oversized Chinese repeating crossbow (aka chu-ko-nu). A repeating arbalest is a small arbalest (similar in size to the polybolos) fitted with a lever to reload in the same method as a traditional chu-ko-nu. Portions of the mechanisms are made of metal and ash wood, allowing them to withstand the extra stress, but also increasing the weight of the weapon. Repeating arbalests are also a bit weaker than most arbalests of similar size in order to make the reloading mechanism usable, but their astonishing rate of fire far outweighs its disadvantages in many situations. Field repeating arbalests are on mounts similar to those of a polybolos.
Mortars: Worth: 3 (1.25 weapon, 1.75 crew (1 gunner, 1 operator)). Description: Mortars are high-caliber, high-power, small-sized arbalests, typically resting on stands that make them fire at trajectories above forty-five degrees. These arbalests are designed to fire virtually any sort of ammunition an artillery tank would normally use, but on a smaller scale, and most commonly using standard stones or else incendiary rounds (but they can also fire other things, like smoke-grenades or powder-balls, for various effects). The major drawback of having such high power in such a small package is that these things are very difficult and slow to reload, requiring special equipment (which is obviously brought with the weapon) and a safe place.
Fireblades (Erebor, but requires both HQs): Worth: 30 (about 40 MWE) Description: Think furnace, with wings wheels. Fireblades are essentially essentially modified furnaces. On the bottom, they have a nearly square and very short heat-resistant box mounted on wheels (with the box sitting quite low to the ground), and higher up there's a large container of oil-soaked coal with a special feeder operated by a crank. The front end of the "fire-box" is open except for a small ledge to keep coal from falling out, and the back is the same except that it has several fans (which can be operated either by a crank or by moving the wheels, and are geared up a little bit so that the fans spin relatively quickly). While pushed by a pair of boars from behind, Fireblades are quite slow (perhaps the speed of a large battering ram), but they're nearly unassailable from the front because of the heat.
Tanks (Erebor only):
As you should all know quite well (but I'm mentioning anyways for those who will inevitably be seeing these for the first time ), these are not literal tanks. I call them tanks because that's what I can most easily and accurately compare them to for the sake of explaining them, but by no means do they use virtually any of the modern technologies which tanks normally use. They're based upon wooden frames, with metal plating armoring the outside. They do use tracks, but these tracks are powered by systems of cranks, and their gearboxes are quite primitive. And obviously, since we don't use explosives here, these tanks are generally equipped with various forms of ballistae and arbalests instead. As Dwarves are quite short, and extra height simply makes for more weight and more material to hit, the insides of these tanks are quite short, about four feet floor-to-ceiling (or in other words, uncomfortable for those of other races). Most tanks also have a few spare weapons in easy-to-reach places, just in case they're necessary. Oh, and I've redesigned a few of these. And let me guys know if you think I can drop any of the prices at all. I've been trying to add up the costs of crew and base weapons, and add a slight boost for the advantage of armor and mobility, but some of them seem a little higher than they should be (such as the MAP).
Light Tank: Worth: 10 (4.25 weapon, 5.75 crew (1 gunner, 5 brutes, 1 commander)) (13.3 MWE) Description: Let's be honest, while the LT was what got me started with all of my tanks, it was quickly fazed out and became useless. That said, I've made a few changes that will hopefully fix that. It's still based upon the relatively modern Ontos Tank Destroyer, being quite small, fast, and otherwise mobile. However, the exposed top-mounted arbalest has been replaced by an advanced armored turret featuring an integrated polybolos. Inside the cabin of the tank is a small raised platform, which the gunner stands on to aim the polybolos (it gives him a boost so that he can peek out the top of the tank). Above this platform is a circular hole in the top of the tank, with a ring of armor extending a few inches upwards, and a conical roof above that. This ring acts as the main structure of the turret. On the upper lip of said ring (with bearings and the proper brackets) is mounted a polybolos, which can slide around the circumference of the ring and also tilt up or down. The operating chain of the polybolos has been extended, with one loop of it extending down to the base of the turret to another sprocket (and yes, the geometry of the sprocket locations and idlers has been done so as to not interfere with the vertical movement of the polybolos), which is attached to a parallel bevel gear through a detachable coupling. This bevel gear is meshed together with a perpendicular bevel gear, which is then tied through its axle to another regular gear, which is meshed with the inside of a large ring gear that runs the perimeter of the turret (at the ceiling of the cabin). Another gear on the outer edge of this ring gear (so that it doesn't interfere with the polybolos-side one) is tied to another bevel gear, which is again meshed with another bevel gear, which is attached a sprocket. A chain runs from this sprocket to another sprocket mounted to a crank inside the cabin, which is operated by a brute. In brief, the polybolos' firing mechanism is actually operated by a separate crank inside the cabin, running through a bunch of conversions switching between types and orientations of gears. The brute turns the crank, that spins the ring gear, which in turn spins the chain on the polybolos. I can go into further detail on how all of this works (and why I have various components, such as the ring gear), but the end result is that the polybolos can be pointed in any direction and still be powered by the crank, so the brute focuses on powering the weapon, while the gunner focuses on aiming it (he also has the coupling, so he can simply disconnect and reconnect the crank whenever he needs to stop or start firing). What is the purpose of this setup? By moving the actual operation of the polybolos from the inside of the turret down into the main cabin, one brute can spend all of his energy powering it, thus giving it an unnaturally fast rate of fire (perhaps two bolts per second tops, more often one) without sacrificing power or control, though it does take an extra crewmember. As for speed, an LT can (on relatively flat ground) outrun infantry and some heavy cavalry, but is clearly slower than the majority of light cavalry. Overall, an LT has seven crew: one gunner, five brutes (four for locomotion, one for the polybolos), and a commander.
Heavy Artillery Tank: Worth: 15 (7.5 weapon, 7.5 crew (2 operators, 1 gunner, 1 commander, 4 brutes, 1 cabin guard)) (20 MWE) Description: An updated design from my previous tank of the same name. The tank has a standard design (quite boxy, slightly slanted sides, etc.), but it has relatively heavy armor and features a ballista housed inside the main cabin. The ballista itself is standard-size, but with a somewhat higher power than most others comparable to it (through Dwarven engineering, i.e. a reinforced frame to allow for a stronger pull, and lower gearing on the reload crank). Instead of having a vertical hole in the front of the tank to make space for the ballista to fire through, a set of plates are attached to the ballista and shell through tracks, which allows the plates to move up and down with the ballista as it adjusts elevation. Of course, the armor there is still quite thin, and there is a gap in the roof for the top of the ballista to stick out. It has a crew of nine: three for the ballista (two operators and one gunner), one commander, one cabin guard, and four brutes for the cranks (and is thus relatively slow, having the same power as an LT with more weight).
Mobile Artillery Platform: Worth: 40 (19.5 weapon, 20.5 crew (1 commander, 8 gunners, 2 operators, 8 brutes, 4 deck guards)) (53.3 MWE) Description: Unlike my first two tanks, the MAP hasn't changed much. It's still a bulky mobile platform, with six repeating arbalests and two polybolos stuffed on top (and still exposed, like my others used to be). Their size also lets them function as mobile walls. Its crew is still quite massive, having twenty-three members: one commander, eight gunners, two operators (to run ammunition), eight brutes, and four deck guards.
Infantry Transport & Artillery Vehicle: Worth: 20 (12 weapons, 8 crew (1 commander, 1 gunner, 2 operators, and 6 brutes)) (26.6 MWE) Description: Also the same as it was before. ITAVs are actually half-tracks, functioning as fast troop transports with bonus artillery on the side. The front has fairly heavy armor, while the sides have medium-light armor, and the top (of the passenger compartment, not the forward cabin) and rear have no armor at all (except removable nets that simply stop stray arrows). ITAVs have six mortars bolted onto its sides, and one repeating arbalest sticking up just behind the forward cabin. It has a crew of ten, having one commander, one gunner, two operators (for the mortars), and six brutes. It can carry up to ten additional troops.
Easily Propelled Artillery (requires Iron Hills): Worth: 30 (9 weapon, 4 boars, 17 crew) (40 MWE) Description: Yes, I know its name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it does give a good idea of what the EPA (my version, not the government one ) is: a heavy siege ballista mounted onto a tank chassis so that it's much faster and more easily moved than a normal siege ballista. That said, the EPA consists of a Dwarven siege ballista (which is slightly better than a standard one of its size, as with the HAT) mounted on a very large tank chassis. The top, back, and most of the sides are unarmored besides a basic net intended to stop stray arrows, while the front has medium-heavy armor. The ballista's elevation system is also integrated with the forward plate, consisting of a few gears meshed with racks built into the forward panel, supplemented by ropes and pulleys (while the rear end of the ballista is simply on a very large hinge). Due to its immense weight, EPAs are propelled not by cranks, but by teams of boars imported from the Iron Hills, although cranks are still kept for aiming the weapon. The EPA requires twelve boars, and has a crew of : one commander, one gunner, six operators, six brutes, three deck guards, three cabin guards.
Combative Armored Barricade: Worth: 5 (2.5 weapon, 2.5 crew (one gunner, two brutes)) Description: These ones are mostly the same as before, only that I'm dropping the boars. They're similar to EPAs in appearance, except miniature. The backs, tops, and most of the sides are unarmored, while the front has heavy plate. But instead of acting as a form of transportation for normally immobile weapons, CABs are intended to be used in large quantities to form walls. Each one has either a polybolos or a repeating arbalest (in wall formations, there will generally be two repeating arbalest ones for every polybolos), attached to a mount so that it can turn to some degree, but always be oriented so that it will fire through a very small hole in the front panel. The front panel also has several other holes through which small blades or even projectiles can be thrust through to attack anyone who gets too close. Being so light, CABs only use two cranks, though aren't particularly fast. It has a crew of three: one gunner (who acts as a unit commander, while an outside head commander oversees groups of CABs), and two brutes. Polearm units standing behind the cabs can use their own weapons to attack through the holes.
And I think that should be all for now. An even fifty units (and thirty-four thousand and eighteen characters).
If brutes take a Chewbacca-esque approach to combat, does that mean they dislocate their enemy's shoulder joints on a regular basis?
Alright, here's Erebor's troop list now. As a note, most troops are the same between Erebor and the Iron Hills. The biggest difference between these being that the cavalry are exclusively from the Iron Hills (as Erebor doesn't seem to have boars; there are a few machines, though, that use boars, and while those require the Iron Hills in order to be produced, the cost comes from and they are fielded by Erebor), while the tanks and a few other pieces of machinery are from Erebor (as the Iron Hills doesn't seem likely to have the capabilities to mass-manufacture advanced war machines). Mods, if you thought Rex's list was bad, I apologize for this too (while my computer freezes when I try to paste it).
If no worth is listed, assume one Dwarf-worth (1.333 MWE).
Melee Infantry:
Swordsmen: Equipment: Sword, kite shield, dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with portions of plate. Description. All-around units. Not particularly great at any specific job, but they adapt easily to different situations.
Shield-bearers: Equipment: Dual tower shields, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Extremely hard to take down, but aren't exactly as dangerous as other units. These troops specialize in covering other troops, and are trained to use a number of formations to increase efficiency.
Halberdiers: Equipment: Halberd, tower shield, two daggers, and a light axe. Heavy plate. Description: Erebor's standard defensive unit. Halberdiers are heavily armored and trained to hold tight lines to fend off enemy troops. When attacked from in front, few enemy melee troops besides dedicated shocktroopers/linebreakers stand a chance against them, though they're easily defeated when flanked.
Naginata: Worth: 2 Equipment: A naginata polearm, two throwing axes, small heater shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Highly defensive units. They are quite slow, but are extremely hard to smash. While they don't hold lines quite as well as halberdiers they don't need tight formations to survive. They're far more resilient against shocktroopers than halberdiers are, though they're weaker against ranged units.
Sigin-thark: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Naginata, mini-crossbow, kite shield, and a light axe. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Similar to naginata, though far more experienced. Sigin-thark are trained to hold a line against anything short of an artillery bombardment, which is good, because they're not getting anywhere fast. Their naginata are ideal for cutting down shocktroopers before they get too close, and their shields are large enough to deflect arrows and block axes.
Stone Guards: Worth: 2 Equipment: One-handed battle-axe, heavy tower shield, a dagger, and a mini-crossbow. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: Stone guards are highly defensive and very heavily armored, and pose a formidable barrier to virtually any infantry, even shocktroopers. They are similar to the Mahalu, but less powerful and far more practical to field in large numbers.
Macemen: Equipment: Mace, kite shield, mini crossbow, dagger, and a throwing axe. Light chainmail. Description: The "glasshammers" of Erebor. They hit hard and move fast, though their light armor makes them relatively easy to take down if someone gets past their shield.
Rakhas-felek: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Claymore, dagger, and mini crossbow. Chainmail with some light plate. Description: Lightly armored Dwarves with heavy two-handed swords. While rakhas-felek can use their swords to defend against melee weapons, they have light armor and are thus weak against archers
Axemen: Worth: 2 Equipment: Battle-axe, dagger, and two throwing axes. Medium-heavy plate. Description: Offensive juggernaut-type units. They're generally used as crowdbreakers due to their berserker-like abilities. They're extremely hard to take down because of their heavy armor, and are very dangerous even when cut off from friendly forces. Unfortunately, they're quite slow.
Gunukun: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Battle-axe, mini-crossbow, two throwing axes. Heavy plate. Description: Elite axemen, Gunukun play essentially the same role as their weaker counterparts, but are far more dangerous.
Climbers: Worth: 1.5 Equipment: Various pieces of climbing equipment, dagger, throwing axe, two mini crossbows, shield, and a one-handed battle-axe. Chainmail. Description: Dwarves trained to quickly scale walls using their grappling hooks, and even capable of fighting while hanging on the rope. While these forces aren't efficient for much else, they're quite good at capturing walls.
Doppelsoldner: Worth: 2 Equipment: Serrated flammenschwert, a throwing axe, a dagger, and a mini crossbow. Medium-heavy chainmail. Description: Wielding gigantic swords significantly taller than the soldiers themselves, Doppelsoldner are skilled duelists, and are even quite capable fighting multiple enemies at once. The signature wavy blade of the flammenschwert, along with its serrated edge, imparts unpleasant vibrations into enemy blades, and also quickly cuts through most hafts, giving the Doppelsoldner an slight advantage against most troops and even letting them destroy the weapons of others.
Ranged Infantry:
Light Crossbowmen: Equipment: Light crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: The primary ranged unit of Erebor. Their crossbows are capable of taking out moderately armored troops from a reasonable range. While their armor is quite effective in deflecting enemy arrows, it's not quite as good at defending against melee weapons.
Heavy Crossbowmen: Equipment: Heavy crossbow, pavise (on back), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to light crossbowmen, except armed with a heavier crossbow and thus have more hitting-power and range, but also a lower rate-of-fire.
Repeating Crossbowmen: Equipment: Repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and a throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: Similar to the other crossbowmen types but with repeating crossbows. While these crossbows are weaker, they have a much higher rate-of-fire.
Gunuzirak: Worth: 2 Equipment: Modified repeating crossbow, pavise (on back), dagger, and throwing axe. Heavy lamellar. Description: A higher-power repeating crossbowman. In a way, these crossbows are a mixture between a traditional repeating crossbow and an ordinary bow. They use the same reloading mechanism as a standard repeating crossbow, but they have a longer draw and are more powerful. The arms are also oriented vertically instead of horizontally for the sake of convenience, and the lever is much larger. When fired, they are generally braced against the leg (aimed upwards), giving their user the best possible position for firing. Additionally, these bows are carried on a strap, and feature a catch on the inner side which holds the weapon in place relative to the holder's leg, allowing it to be fired from the hip. Overall, these units have the power of standard archers, but can fire quite rapidly, making them perfect for (sometimes sustained) volleys, though they aren't always the most accurate.
Snipers: Worth: 2 Equipment: High-powered crossbow, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two pavises (on back). Medium lamellar. Description: Experienced crossbowmen equipped with rather large and powerful crossbows capable of out-distancing a longbow with good accuracy. Best from high, somewhat far-off spots, snipers excel at taking out high-priority targets.
Shathuru-felak: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Ultra-high-powered crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two pavises (on back), and climbing equipment. Light lamellar. Description: Recruited from the best snipers and equipped with the highest quality weaponry, shathuru-felak are deadly foes. The quality and consistency of their weapons combined with their experience allows a shathuru-felak to have extremely good accuracy. Because of the power of their crossbows, they can out-distance pretty much any other comparable unit, though they're very slow to reload. Given time, A shathuru-felak can reach otherwise-inaccessible areas thanks to their climbing equipment.
Support Units:
Walking Artillery: Worth: 2 Equipment: Small repeating ballista, a pavise, and a dagger and a throwing axe for each. Medium lamellar. Description: Essentially mobile ballistae. Walking artillery consist of a Dwarf carrying a ballista on his back, and another Dwarf operating it. They're slow and can't really defend themselves, but they allow heavy artillery to be brought into tight spaces.
Saboteurs: Worth: 15 Equipment: Three throwing axes (each), standard mining equipment (each), bottles of oil, wood (if not otherwise provided), and a specialized high-speed mining machine. Light/no armor. Description: Dwarves trained in mining quickly and accurately (though not beautifully ). Usually having two or three Dwarves per machine, these units are capable of mining tunnels extraordinarily quickly, and their oil and wood can be used to collapse walls (by tunneling under them, and burning the supports). However, they cannot fight off anything more than a scout or two as they're miners, not warriors. The mining machine is essentially a cart with a crank and a few picks, built so that when the crank is turned, the picks repeated hit the walls, mining through them kind of like a normal miner. (note on mining: Each machine is able to mine an (approximately) thirteen meter tunnel just wide and tall enough for a Dwarf per (non-combat) turn. A tunnel going from out of range of a castle to inside it would take approximately a month to make, and would be wide enough for as many Dwarves as I use mining machines.)
Khelegathol-felek: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Various tools and supplies for constructing things, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Battlefield engineers from under the Mountain. Khelegathol aren't very good fighters, though excel at making traps, weapons, and other support equipment.
Elites:
Mahalu-baruk: Worth: 6 (8 MWE) Equipment: One-handed war-axe, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a heavy tower shield. Ultra-heavy plate. Description: The best there is in terms of shock-resistant troops, mahalu-baruk are heavily armed and armored Dwarves that excel at resisting and taking down shock troopers and/or pushing their way through shield walls. Their shields are built for resisting heavy weapons, while their axes are designed for chopping through other shields. Due to their heavy armor and axes, mahalu-baruk are good against just about everything besides cavalry and Trolls.
Warrior Monks: Worth: 7 (9.3 MWE) Equipment: Various melee weapons (specific Dwarves vary in choice, so it could be just about anything), two daggers, and a mini crossbow. Ancient-style medium fireproof plate. Description: Dwarves dedicated to Aule. They are great smiths, historians, and very skilled warriors with their weapon of choice. They wear armor (including masks) similar to that which was used by the Dwarves in the First Age, making them nearly immune to heat/fire and quite strong against most other things. The fame of their skill and the quality and appearance of their armor is quite intimidating, making all but the most disciplined troops reluctant to engage them.
Khazadu Zigil Uzbad: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE). Equipment: Double-sided halberd, two mini crossbows, two daggers, and two throwing axes. Medium chainmail, with some plate. Description: The most elite forces of Erebor, and personal bodyguard of the King Under the Mountain. They can take down just about anyone in hand-to-hand combat, and are hard to defeat even when cut off and surrounded. (note that due to their high worth, small numbers, and the complexity of their fighting style, I will mainly use them like PCs).
Stealth Units:
Scouts: Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a light assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Basic troops trained in stealth. Scouts are not skilled fighters, but are mainly armed for self-defense. They can lay down traps and take out unwary enemies, but are generally best suited for surveying and other non-combative operations.
Assassins: Worth: 2 Equipment: Two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Light chainmail with camouflage. Description: Similar to scouts, but have proper combat training and are capable of holding their own. Assassins work best when ambushing small, unsuspecting parties, but can face your average soldier with some skill.
Black Plague: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A heavy silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a specialized assortment of traps, powders, and oils. Medium-light chainmail with camouflage. Description: The Black Plague leave few traces outside of the chaos or desolation that may be seen from their work. While very capable of staying hidden in the day and striking effectively during a quiet afternoon, few things are more dreaded than a deployment of the Black Plague striking at night with a storm in the distance. Their camouflage and training render them virtually invisible, and anything more than or including an occasional rumble in the distance is enough to cover up the noise of their shots, and likely anything that might come from their targets. Although their crossbows are not as powerful as most of the same level due to the silencing techniques used (which don't actually silence the crossbow, just greatly muffle it), what power they have is more than enough for their wielders to take out most units with a single shot.
Kheleburk: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: A ### sword, a dagger, a throwing axe, a mini-crossbow, and a satchel with assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Most simply described as "battlefield ninja", Kheleburk are adept at moving about unknown, but focus mainly on their combat skill. While most typical infantry struggle against them in open combat, even some of the most elite units have much to fear from an ambush. Their (and the other stealth units', though assortments between them vary) satchels contain various items of use, including basic tools (i.e. matches, rope, etc.), small traps such as caltrops, and things like blinding powders (which can be loaded into their sheaths, giving the Kheleburk an additional advantage when initially engaging) and bottles filled with flammable oil.
Sankheled: Worth: 10 (13.3 MWE) Equipment: Two katana, a silenced crossbow, two daggers, two mini-crossbows, and a satchel with a vast assorted traps, powders, and oils. Medium chainmail with camouflage. Description: Sankheled are the most elite individuals of Erebor's stealth corps. Few are found who do not want to be, and those that do don't take long to make it known that it was the enemy's mistake to find them. Not only do they have ways of getting into even some of the most secure locations, they're also formidable warriors who can take down most any opponent, particularly when given a chance to prepare something special for them. That said, Sankheled are normally only deployed for the most demanding jobs, often where little backup is available.
Cavalry (Iron Hills only):
Light cavalry: Worth: 2 Equipment: Short halberd, two mini-crossbows, dagger, and a throwing axe. Chainmail with portions of plate. Description: Erebor's basic cavalry unit. Light cavalry excel at running down enemy archers and other exposed units due to being fast but lightly armored.
Shock-boars: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: War hammer, two mini-crossbows, and two throwing axes. Heavy plate (the boars themselves have light scalemail and an angled helmet). Description: As the heavy cavalry of Erebor, shock-boars are designed for devestating any attempt at a formation short of a Gondorian-quality phalanx. Equipped with war hammers and heavily armored, they hit hard, move (somewhat) fast, and are hard to take down. The boars' armor is designed for deflecting pikes and arrows, being shaped in such a way to "encourage" said weapons to glance off.
Skirmishers: Worth: 2 Equipment: Light crossbow, two mini-crossbows, two daggers, two throwing axes. Medium lamellar. Description: Skirmishers are, well, skirmishers. They charge enemy units, fire, and retreat before the enemy can react. They're fast, but lightly armored and weak in melee.
Heavy Skirmishers: Worth: 4.5 (6 MWE) Equipment: Heavy repeating crosbow, two throwing axes, and two mini-crossbows. Heavy lamellar. Description: Heavy skirmishers don't strike often, but when they do, they normally devastate their target. Their crossbows are essentially multiple heavy crossbows stacked on top of each other, which means that they can release a tremendous number of bolts in a very short amount of time (i.e. as they run by) without sacrificing much, if any power. That said, in order to reload they have to pull away from the battle and dismount, and also spend a significant amount of time just in the reloading part since they literally have to load multiple heavy crossbows (even doing a single one isn't very quick), and that leaves them rather vulnerable to counterattacks from whatever may remain of their target.
Barashathur: Worth: 3 (4 MWE) Equipment: Repeating crossbow, two throwing axes. Light lamellar. Description: Similar to standard skirmishers, but equipped with repeating crossbows. While barashathur aren't quite as good at punching through armor and shields as normal skirmishers are, they can absolutely demolish enemy troops when following through after a good shock-boar charge.
Weapons crews: Note: While most of these units have heavy armor, keep in mind that this isn't actually always the case. When manning tanks many of these units are inside the cabin, and thus they oftentimes shed unnecessary armor for sake of mobility (sometimes only keeping armor on the parts that will be exposed, namely face and chest for those peeking outside the tank). Assume that this is the armor that they on any areas that could be exposed to enemy fire.
Brutes: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: Hands. Light chainmail. Description: Dwarves brutes generally serve one purpose: to turn the cranks that power most tanks. That said, one shouldn't think that they're worthless in combat, or are particularly weak even. Note that their hands are registered as weapons, and they likewise take a "Chewbacca" approach to combat (most effectively against Goblins and other small Orcs).
Operators: Worth: 0.75 (1 MWE) Equipment: A dagger, throwing axe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Operators are trained solely for the operation of various weapons. They are experts in reloading ballistae and catapults, and also in diagnosing the typical difficulties that inevitably come about. However, although they excel in reloading weapons quickly and effectively, and have a great understanding in how the weapons work, they rarely actually fire them, and thus are little above average when it comes to accurately aiming them.
Gunners: Equipment: A dagger, throwing aaxe, and mini-crossbow. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Gunners are essentially operators who've been trained in the actual firing of various weaponry, and so are much more accurate when doing so (and are also more expensive to train).
Commanders: Equipment: Two throwing axes, two mini-crossbows. Heavy plate Description: Operating a tank effectively is a difficult job. Multiple (sometimes over a dozen) crewmen have to coordinate each and every one of their actions in order to act quickly and effectively, and often this has to be done when few of the said crew can actually see anything outside. This issue is solved by designating a single commander for each tank crew. His job is to peek his head outside to see what's going on, and then tell everyone else (mainly the brutes moving the vehicle) what to do. Even this isn't quite ideal, but by the end of training, most tanks crews can work relatively efficiently when under specially trained commanders.
Deck guards: Equipment: A halberd, heater shield, light crossbow, dagger, and mini-crossbow. Heavy plate. Description: Deck guards are the primary melee/close-range defense for some tanks, such as the MAP. Their job is to keep enemies from climbing up onto the deck. They're not particularly skilled in any way, but are generally capable of keep their decks clear of enemies. Their crossbows are not often used for long-distance firing, but are mainly for preventative measures.
Cabin guards: Equipment: A one-handed axe, buckler, and dagger. Heavy chainmail, with some plate. Description: Similar in purpose to deck guards, but for inside the cabins of tanks. They're much more adapted to combat in tight spaces, as opposed to small, open areas.
Siege weapons/infantry support:
Polybolos: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: A Dwarven variation of the Greek ballista, which is obviously a bit more efficient (being Dwarven). The polybolos uses a flat-link chain to draw the string and also load the next bolt, allowing a full-power single-operator-sized ballista to reload significantly more quickly. Now it does come with a few drawbacks, such as slightly lower accuracy due to how it's worked, but it retains most, if not all of its power yet fires noticeably faster than any standard weapon of comparable strength. The field version of this weapon (any instance of it not mounted on top of a building or vehicle) is mounted on a pair of two wheels, with a folding stand in the back for quick and easy transportation.
Repeating Arbalests: Worth: 3 (2 weapon, 1 crew (gunner)). Description: Essentially an oversized Chinese repeating crossbow (aka chu-ko-nu). A repeating arbalest is a small arbalest (similar in size to the polybolos) fitted with a lever to reload in the same method as a traditional chu-ko-nu. Portions of the mechanisms are made of metal and ash wood, allowing them to withstand the extra stress, but also increasing the weight of the weapon. Repeating arbalests are also a bit weaker than most arbalests of similar size in order to make the reloading mechanism usable, but their astonishing rate of fire far outweighs its disadvantages in many situations. Field repeating arbalests are on mounts similar to those of a polybolos.
Mortars: Worth: 3 (1.25 weapon, 1.75 crew (1 gunner, 1 operator)). Description: Mortars are high-caliber, high-power, small-sized arbalests, typically resting on stands that make them fire at trajectories above forty-five degrees. These arbalests are designed to fire virtually any sort of ammunition an artillery tank would normally use, but on a smaller scale, and most commonly using standard stones or else incendiary rounds (but they can also fire other things, like smoke-grenades or powder-balls, for various effects). The major drawback of having such high power in such a small package is that these things are very difficult and slow to reload, requiring special equipment (which is obviously brought with the weapon) and a safe place.
Fireblades (Erebor, but requires both HQs): Worth: 30 (about 40 MWE) Description: Think furnace, with wings wheels. Fireblades are essentially essentially modified furnaces. On the bottom, they have a nearly square and very short heat-resistant box mounted on wheels (with the box sitting quite low to the ground), and higher up there's a large container of oil-soaked coal with a special feeder operated by a crank. The front end of the "fire-box" is open except for a small ledge to keep coal from falling out, and the back is the same except that it has several fans (which can be operated either by a crank or by moving the wheels, and are geared up a little bit so that the fans spin relatively quickly). While pushed by a pair of boars from behind, Fireblades are quite slow (perhaps the speed of a large battering ram), but they're nearly unassailable from the front because of the heat.
Tanks (Erebor only):
As you should all know quite well (but I'm mentioning anyways for those who will inevitably be seeing these for the first time ), these are not literal tanks. I call them tanks because that's what I can most easily and accurately compare them to for the sake of explaining them, but by no means do they use virtually any of the modern technologies which tanks normally use. They're based upon wooden frames, with metal plating armoring the outside. They do use tracks, but these tracks are powered by systems of cranks, and their gearboxes are quite primitive. And obviously, since we don't use explosives here, these tanks are generally equipped with various forms of ballistae and arbalests instead. As Dwarves are quite short, and extra height simply makes for more weight and more material to hit, the insides of these tanks are quite short, about four feet floor-to-ceiling (or in other words, uncomfortable for those of other races). Most tanks also have a few spare weapons in easy-to-reach places, just in case they're necessary. Oh, and I've redesigned a few of these. And let me guys know if you think I can drop any of the prices at all. I've been trying to add up the costs of crew and base weapons, and add a slight boost for the advantage of armor and mobility, but some of them seem a little higher than they should be (such as the MAP).
Light Tank: Worth: 10 (4.25 weapon, 5.75 crew (1 gunner, 5 brutes, 1 commander)) (13.3 MWE) Description: Let's be honest, while the LT was what got me started with all of my tanks, it was quickly fazed out and became useless. That said, I've made a few changes that will hopefully fix that. It's still based upon the relatively modern Ontos Tank Destroyer, being quite small, fast, and otherwise mobile. However, the exposed top-mounted arbalest has been replaced by an advanced armored turret featuring an integrated polybolos. Inside the cabin of the tank is a small raised platform, which the gunner stands on to aim the polybolos (it gives him a boost so that he can peek out the top of the tank). Above this platform is a circular hole in the top of the tank, with a ring of armor extending a few inches upwards, and a conical roof above that. This ring acts as the main structure of the turret. On the upper lip of said ring (with bearings and the proper brackets) is mounted a polybolos, which can slide around the circumference of the ring and also tilt up or down. The operating chain of the polybolos has been extended, with one loop of it extending down to the base of the turret to another sprocket (and yes, the geometry of the sprocket locations and idlers has been done so as to not interfere with the vertical movement of the polybolos), which is attached to a parallel bevel gear through a detachable coupling. This bevel gear is meshed together with a perpendicular bevel gear, which is then tied through its axle to another regular gear, which is meshed with the inside of a large ring gear that runs the perimeter of the turret (at the ceiling of the cabin). Another gear on the outer edge of this ring gear (so that it doesn't interfere with the polybolos-side one) is tied to another bevel gear, which is again meshed with another bevel gear, which is attached a sprocket. A chain runs from this sprocket to another sprocket mounted to a crank inside the cabin, which is operated by a brute. In brief, the polybolos' firing mechanism is actually operated by a separate crank inside the cabin, running through a bunch of conversions switching between types and orientations of gears. The brute turns the crank, that spins the ring gear, which in turn spins the chain on the polybolos. I can go into further detail on how all of this works (and why I have various components, such as the ring gear), but the end result is that the polybolos can be pointed in any direction and still be powered by the crank, so the brute focuses on powering the weapon, while the gunner focuses on aiming it (he also has the coupling, so he can simply disconnect and reconnect the crank whenever he needs to stop or start firing). What is the purpose of this setup? By moving the actual operation of the polybolos from the inside of the turret down into the main cabin, one brute can spend all of his energy powering it, thus giving it an unnaturally fast rate of fire (perhaps two bolts per second tops, more often one) without sacrificing power or control, though it does take an extra crewmember. As for speed, an LT can (on relatively flat ground) outrun infantry and some heavy cavalry, but is clearly slower than the majority of light cavalry. Overall, an LT has seven crew: one gunner, five brutes (four for locomotion, one for the polybolos), and a commander.
Heavy Artillery Tank: Worth: 15 (7.5 weapon, 7.5 crew (2 operators, 1 gunner, 1 commander, 4 brutes, 1 cabin guard)) (20 MWE) Description: An updated design from my previous tank of the same name. The tank has a standard design (quite boxy, slightly slanted sides, etc.), but it has relatively heavy armor and features a ballista housed inside the main cabin. The ballista itself is standard-size, but with a somewhat higher power than most others comparable to it (through Dwarven engineering, i.e. a reinforced frame to allow for a stronger pull, and lower gearing on the reload crank). Instead of having a vertical hole in the front of the tank to make space for the ballista to fire through, a set of plates are attached to the ballista and shell through tracks, which allows the plates to move up and down with the ballista as it adjusts elevation. Of course, the armor there is still quite thin, and there is a gap in the roof for the top of the ballista to stick out. It has a crew of nine: three for the ballista (two operators and one gunner), one commander, one cabin guard, and four brutes for the cranks (and is thus relatively slow, having the same power as an LT with more weight).
Mobile Artillery Platform: Worth: 40 (19.5 weapon, 20.5 crew (1 commander, 8 gunners, 2 operators, 8 brutes, 4 deck guards)) (53.3 MWE) Description: Unlike my first two tanks, the MAP hasn't changed much. It's still a bulky mobile platform, with six repeating arbalests and two polybolos stuffed on top (and still exposed, like my others used to be). Their size also lets them function as mobile walls. Its crew is still quite massive, having twenty-three members: one commander, eight gunners, two operators (to run ammunition), eight brutes, and four deck guards.
Infantry Transport & Artillery Vehicle: Worth: 20 (12 weapons, 8 crew (1 commander, 1 gunner, 2 operators, and 6 brutes)) (26.6 MWE) Description: Also the same as it was before. ITAVs are actually half-tracks, functioning as fast troop transports with bonus artillery on the side. The front has fairly heavy armor, while the sides have medium-light armor, and the top (of the passenger compartment, not the forward cabin) and rear have no armor at all (except removable nets that simply stop stray arrows). ITAVs have six mortars bolted onto its sides, and one repeating arbalest sticking up just behind the forward cabin. It has a crew of ten, having one commander, one gunner, two operators (for the mortars), and six brutes. It can carry up to ten additional troops.
Easily Propelled Artillery (requires Iron Hills): Worth: 30 (9 weapon, 4 boars, 17 crew) (40 MWE) Description: Yes, I know its name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it does give a good idea of what the EPA (my version, not the government one ) is: a heavy siege ballista mounted onto a tank chassis so that it's much faster and more easily moved than a normal siege ballista. That said, the EPA consists of a Dwarven siege ballista (which is slightly better than a standard one of its size, as with the HAT) mounted on a very large tank chassis. The top, back, and most of the sides are unarmored besides a basic net intended to stop stray arrows, while the front has medium-heavy armor. The ballista's elevation system is also integrated with the forward plate, consisting of a few gears meshed with racks built into the forward panel, supplemented by ropes and pulleys (while the rear end of the ballista is simply on a very large hinge). Due to its immense weight, EPAs are propelled not by cranks, but by teams of boars imported from the Iron Hills, although cranks are still kept for aiming the weapon. The EPA requires twelve boars, and has a crew of : one commander, one gunner, six operators, six brutes, three deck guards, three cabin guards.
Combative Armored Barricade: Worth: 5 (2.5 weapon, 2.5 crew (one gunner, two brutes)) Description: These ones are mostly the same as before, only that I'm dropping the boars. They're similar to EPAs in appearance, except miniature. The backs, tops, and most of the sides are unarmored, while the front has heavy plate. But instead of acting as a form of transportation for normally immobile weapons, CABs are intended to be used in large quantities to form walls. Each one has either a polybolos or a repeating arbalest (in wall formations, there will generally be two repeating arbalest ones for every polybolos), attached to a mount so that it can turn to some degree, but always be oriented so that it will fire through a very small hole in the front panel. The front panel also has several other holes through which small blades or even projectiles can be thrust through to attack anyone who gets too close. Being so light, CABs only use two cranks, though aren't particularly fast. It has a crew of three: one gunner (who acts as a unit commander, while an outside head commander oversees groups of CABs), and two brutes. Polearm units standing behind the cabs can use their own weapons to attack through the holes.
And I think that should be all for now. An even fifty units (and thirty-four thousand and eighteen characters).
Gah! I forgot to fix the price of the Fireblades. It should be ten (6 weapon, 1 boars, 3 crew (3 operators, 1 brute)), not thirty. Would a mod care to fix that for me?