Richter
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Post by Richter on Apr 24, 2014 3:10:57 GMT -6
[Reserved for information and background.]
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Apr 24, 2014 3:11:34 GMT -6
Units of the Eastern Clans
The eastern clans have long since been considered amongst the poorest clans Zalboria has to offer, and it isn't an unfounded claim. These lands are rugged and hard to work, and this is made worse by constant feuds amongst the families both common and noble that dwell here. The fact these clans form the nation's land borders with war-hungry Baladorax and Raoecia, whom the Eastern clans tend to raid and be raided by, makes it worse. However, adverse conditions breed hard men, and what they lack in equipment and wealth, the fierce easterners more than make up for in spirit and ferocity.
Land Units
Eastern Irregular - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Basic Armor: Padded Cloth Armor, Compressed Canvas Helmet Equipment: 10x Hunting crossbows 10x Maces Optional: 10x Lamont R15 Falling Block Rifle (Single shot, 12 rounds carried. Replaces crossbow. Only issued in times of war.) - Knife Bayonets (Can be used solo or attached)
While the harsh landscapes along Zalboria's border are hard to farm, they are abundant with game. Even those families that are fortunate enough to have land to work, hunting is both a past time and insurance that food will be on the table if a harvest fails or rot sets in over winter. With guns being both illegal in many clans and rare regardless, most of this hunting is done with crossbows - favored for their cheap cost to make and ability to punch through armor. The latter is a necessity when attacked by raiders from across the boarder, where they need to fight back with whatever is at hand before firearms are issued. New equipment is rare on the frontier and to make matters worse the irregulars get the left overs from 'real' troops, meaning their gear ends up being especially dated. By way of armor they have little but padded cloth or wool that's meant to stop arrows and spent shots, and the occasional sword strike. Their helmet isn't even made of metal either, but pressed canvas material reinforced with a resin coating for added strength.
Despite that the irregulars know the terrain very well and travel very light, easily able to out maneuver and harass invaders where their old technology does little to hamper their hit and run raids. In war, many groups prefer crossbows to the guns provided by their lord, the silent and flashless weapon oftentimes proving a greater boon than bullets. In either case they make formidable light infantry that opponents would do well to not underestimate.
Eastern Men-at-Arms - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Leather coat worn atop jack plate armor, steel brodie helmet. Equipment: 10x Light crossbows 10x Eastern Sickle Swords 20x Grenades (Any type. lethal variants only issued in times of war.) Optional: 10x Lamont R24 6.5x52mm Bolt-action Rifle (4 rounds, 16 rounds carried. Replaces crossbow. Only issued in times of war.) - Knife Bayonets (Can be used solo or attached.)
Compared to the local militias, the men at arms of the Eastern clans are much more robust. While dated, their rifles are of repeating variety and they bring both bayonets and grenades with them to provide a greater edge on the battlefield; though the 6.5 was deemed too weak and phased out in the R-series rifles that followed. To support this heavier role, being that they're not expected to skirmish, they're given metal armor and helmets to better withstand incoming hits. Despite that they're not able to go toe-to-toe with Baladoraxian legionaries, and thus rely on avoidance and speed when outmatched. In the east possessing a sickle sword is a point of honor, afforded only to the richest families and their retainers in times of peace - they are handed out by most clans in war. Owning one serves as the guard's badge of office in addition to working as a fierce weapon in the field. Resembling a falx or falcata from ancient earth, these weapons are razor sharp and capable of opening up a legionary's armor like a can.
Eastern Rifle Squad - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Leather coat worn atop jack plate armor, steel brodie helmet. Equipment: 9x Lamont R24 6.5x52mm Bolt-action Rifle (4 rounds, 20 rounds carried.) - Knife Bayonets (Can be used solo or attached) 1x Lamont "24 Special" 14.3mm Anti-tank Rifle (3 rounds, 9 carried.) 10x Eastern Sickle Swords 10x Lamont P21 10.35mm Revolver 20x Grenades (Any type)
The epitome of what the eastern clans have to offer is the rifle squad, their standard infantry mustered in times of war. Carrying powerful swords and rifles with which they're drilled to extreme accuracy with. Most troops called to war from the eastern clans have at least passing experienced in shooting, and this is reinforced by masterful teachers, making their old guns lethal. With armored warfare starting to crop up many of these clans began to hire gunsmiths from Paemir to modify several of their spare guns to fire monstrous armor piercing rounds that can punch through a tank. Dubbed 'specials', no pair of these guns ends up to be identical in anything but caliber and stopping power. However, they end up being significantly less useful and well rounded than their explosive counterparts in the AT world - but the price is right.
Arming doublets used by the regional guard only cover the stomach and shoulders, but those used by riflemen go down to and protect the thighs and elbows both. While this won't stop a bullet, it can catch an arrow or sword, potentially saving the wearer.
Border Raiders - $ 10 Man Cavalry Unit Training: Superior Armor: Ivory-backed leather armor worn under leather coat, steel brodie helmet. Light padded cloth barding. Equipment: 10x 12-Gauge Pump-action Shotguns (6 rounds held, 18 carried. Can be buckshot or slugs.) 10x Straight-bladed Cavalry Swords 10x Lamont P21 10.35mm Revolver 20x Grenades (Any type)
Some of the fiercest units amongst the eastern lands are, surprisingly to some, not professional troops, but the much feared border raiders. Men from both Zalboria and Raoecia sneak across the frontiers and raid one enough frequently, and some families have grown powerful followings along the border due to their charisma and spoils. These men and women form warbands and minor clans of their own referred to generally as the 'border raiders', and this grouping includes the people on both sides of the line separating the principalities and far kingdom. Ignoring local edicts, these bandits carry hunting shotguns, revolvers, and improvised grenades for use in their private wars - becoming quite accustomed to their use quickly, or, those that survive do. These outlaws make excellent horsemen, riding into formations and blasting apart squads with buckshot or cutting troops in twain with blades, and are equally capable of dismounting and fighting on foot. Even the Baladoraxians are wary of entering the borderlands, knowing that to do so is to invite their wrath like a pack of hungry vultures.
Most of the time these raiders are ignored and allowed to do their deeds as long as it stays out of sight of royals and their meddling, so that they can be recruited in times of war for their remarkable skill at arms.
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Richter
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Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Apr 24, 2014 3:12:06 GMT -6
Units of the Southern and Central Clans The breadbasket of the kingdom is undoubtedly the nation's interior and southern reaches, where the land is fertile and weather fair, allowing for long and bountiful growing seasons. In these lands, trade and politics win out almost invariably against war, battles here are fought in the court and market with dagger and deal. Life for the people is easier as well, the borders are far away and so is the turmoil and danger that goes with them. People from the interior, sometimes referred to the "heartland", are often said to be soft, and comparatively, that's true. For the common folk. The nobility of these regions did not forget their roots, and the surplus allows them to have large families that give rise to many landless heirs whom seek glory in other ventures. These knights and their kin frequently host tournaments and spars to keep their skills sharp, and their vast coffers provide equipment that is the envy of the nation. Land Units
Heartland Militia - $ 10 Man Unit Training: None Armor: Leather vests, compressed canvas helmets. Equipment: 10x Maces Optional: 10x Lamont R25 7.76x56mm Bolt-action Rifles (5 rounds, 10 carried. Only issued in times of war.) The militia pulled from Zalboria's interior are mostly untrained and lightly equipped, oftentimes pulled into battle on short notice. Since the clans in the south can afford larger standing armies than their kind from further away, they rely less on conscripted levies and thus tend to only use them in desperate situations or when numbers are a necessity. Heartland Guardsmen - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Steel breastplate with fauld worn over arming doublet, steel helmet. Equipment: 10x Lamont "Peacekeeper"410 bore Bolt-action Shotguns (4 rounds, 12 carried.) 10x Side Swords 10x Light Shields (Slung over back when not in use) 20x Grenades (Any Variety. Lethal types only issued in times of war.) Optional: 10x Lamont R25 7.76x56mm Bolt-action Rifles (5 rounds, 15 carried. Replaces shotgun. Only issued in times of war.) Employed as men at arms and to keep order in cities, guardsmen are the first thing many people see when they cross over into the heartland. With polished metal armor and strong swords they make an imposing sight and impressive foe, being that they're very well trained in using both. Anyone trying to cause trouble with a lord in the interior will end up facing down the guardsmen, and doing so is a mistake many brigands don't get to make twice. While the nobility don't like to make a habit of handing out guns to commoners when it isn't required, even men at arms, some measure of firepower is needed if only to keep order - and properly deal with law breakers. For that reasons a conversion was made for the standard Lamont R25 rifle that has been dubbed the 'peace keeper' to fit its role as a civil defense gun. Changes made include smoothing the barrel and rechambering it for a small shotgun shell that can be used to break up riots or other non-military threats. The round leaves much to be desired in lethality by design, so that if the gun is stolen it can't be used for assassinations without significant skill and care being used beyond what most would-be murderers are capable of. In war these are replaced with standard rifles, of course. Heartland Infantry - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Steel breastplate with fauld worn over silken arming doublet, steel helmet. Equipment: 8x Lamont R27 7.76x56mm Semiauto Rifles (5 rounds, 20 carried) 1x 80mm Recoilless Rifle (Two man team to operate.) 10x Lamont P26 9mm Semi Automatic Pistol (8 rounds, 24 carried) 10x Side Swords 10x Light Shields (Slung over back when not in use) 20x Grenades (Any Variety) Optional: 1x Paemir 906h 7.76x56mm Light Machine Gun (2 man team to operate, 30 rounds, 60 carried. Replaces Recoilless Rifle) 2x Extra Lamont R27 7.76x56mm Semiauto Rifles (Replaces Recoilless Rifle) Standard soldiers from the southlands are perhaps the best armed in the nation outside of the royal clan's own troops. Steel armor is supplemented by an interwoven doublet of silk that is able to stop bullets very efficiently, but is prohibitively expensive for mass production in most parts of the nation. Older bolt action guns are replaced with new semiautos to increase rate of fire significantly, even though reliability does suffer somewhat as a result. Recoilless rifles and imported machineguns from the border add significant firepower to an already formidable group, pending if the need of the day is to break armor or formations. Atop that, the infantry are drilled extensively in melee combat; while the swords may lay the charge breaking power of a bayonet, they're significantly more useful beyond the first strike. Noble Lancers - $ 10 Man Cavalry Unit Training: Superior Armor: Silk and steel jack plate worn over a splitback leather coat, steel lobster-tail pot helmet. Chainmail barding. Equipment: 10x Lamont R27 7.76x56mm Semiauto Carbine (5 rounds, 20 carried) 10x Lamont P26 9mm Semi Automatic Pistol (8 rounds, 24 carried) 10x Lances 10x Cavalry Sabers 20x Grenades (Any Variety) One of the most terrifying sights on the battlefield is the sight of a cavalry wedge cresting a hill at the sounding of a horn, even in the modern day. Noble lancers are not soft like their non blue-blooded countrymen, they're raised to fight and politic, ruthless in battle and at rest. To turn them lose on a platoon is to invite ruination, supposing they're used with care. Even with expensive armor bullets can bring them low easily, but if they approach close enough to charge home, the effect can be devastating. For protracted melees they bring more traditional swords, and carbines in a conveniently placed saddlebag for engagements with too much firepower to charge. The units are often composed of landless nobility and their most trusted retainers and squires, all of whom are eager to make a name for themselves. Sometimes they can be seen around the nation even when at peace, acting as knights errant, playing out quests of their own design or given to them by superiors in hopes of finding land and glory. A dying ideal, but one kept alive by distant kin with no chance of seeing their thrones, or by those bored of intrigue.
Pavise Infantry Tank - $ Infantry Support Tank Crew: 5 Training: Standard Armor: Reinforced Steel Armor Equipment: 1x 50mm Cannon (Forward Facing) 2x 7.76x56mm Machineguns (Side facing)
For well entrenched foes that can't be dug out with infantry and artillery alone, the Pavise tank was developed. One of the first tank designs in use by Zalboria, it's the closest thing they have to a mass production unit. While it lacks a turret it does posses a forward facing cannon and two sponsons housing machineguns to cover the flanks from anyone trying to sneak around the sides. The armament is rather modest but the armor is heavy to make up for that, its role being to act as a siege breaker and bullet sponge for infantry that will follow along beside and behind it. In open battles it will find itself hard pressed to keep up at its low speeds, however.
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Apr 24, 2014 3:16:55 GMT -6
Units of the Western Clans The western clans exist on a frontier, very much like their kin across the country so close to Baladorax and Raoecia. Like them, the people of the west must constantly to be wary of attacks from abroad, perhaps more so than anyone else. While the sea opens many doors, who comes through them is hard to control, many times this has brought ruin and hardship to the coastline of Zalboria. Raiders, pirates, and slavers all make attempts on the land holdings that dot the expansive shorelines, eager for captives and plunder. Such conditions breed hard men, ones who are quick to fight in protection of their livelihoods and fierce in the battles that ensue. They war amongst themselves less than the eastern clans, though it does still happen, and generally prefer to direct their ire at outsiders. Despite that these clans are not as hostile as one might think, being the first stop for anyone arriving to the nation by ship gives them a unique perspective on the world beyond Zalboria's borders - sometimes for good and sometimes for bad.
Land Units
Coastal Conscripts - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Basic Armor: Resin-reinforced kapok breastplate and compressed canvas helmet Equipment: 10x W.I. Foley 6.5x52mm Straight-pull Bolt-action Rifle (6 rounds, 18 rounds carried. Only officially issued in times of war.) - 10x Detachable Spade Bayonet (Can be used solo or attached) Optional: 10x Grenades (Any Variety. Only officially issued in times of war.) Coastal conscripts are mustered not just in defense but also for raiding, amongst the clans that do that. Similar to Clan Kasorymor across the sea, western clans occasionally engage in piracy, against each other and foreign nations. For that reason even the average trooper will know how to work a gun, and use its bayonet in melee if it comes to it. While laws about owning firearms still exist in a few of the more conservative coastal clans, most generally aren't too apt to enforce it. The looming threat of attack on the frontiersmen is both constant and real, so having weaponry on hand can spell the difference between a failed invasion and a successful one. Some encourage ownership on some level, but most fall in between. With plenty of opportunities to turn those guns on foreigners, the chance of them being used on kinsmen isn't as high as it is elsewhere.
The Foley rifle used by these troops was a competing design with the Royal Armory's older R24 rifle, using a (at the time) revolutionary box magazine under the barrel instead of accepting clips through the receiver, along with a straight-pull bolt for faster cycling. While this offered a faster and easier reload coupled with better rate of fire, the price and added machining made it eventually lose the contract in favor of something more easily mass produced. Being from the west himself, Andras Foley sold the designs to his home clan and its neighbors for their own use. In these lands it caught on, and remains in use to this day; the carbine version being the most common for militia. One unusual feature of these rifles is the spade-shaped bayonet they come with. Made more for use as tools than weapons, they can still prove handy in a fight if push comes to shove. But with such light armor, they try not to fight in protracted melee, and prefer to ambush and use cover. Coastal Garrison - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Resin-reinforced kapok breastplate, leather mask with goggles, steel tortoise shell helmet. Equipment: 10x 16-gauge Pump-action Shotgun (7 rounds, 28 carried) 10x W.I Scian 11.6mm Revolver 10x Sjamboks 20x Grenades (Any Variety. Lethal types only officially issued in times of war.) Optional: 10x W.I. Foley 6.5x52mm Straight-pull Bolt-action Rifle (6 rounds, 30 rounds carried. Replaces Shotgun. Only officially issued in times of war.) - 10x Detachable Spade Bayonet (Can be used solo or attached) 10x Hand Axe (Replaces Sjambok. Only officially issued in times of war.) Similar in design to the islander's Gwithyas, and using the same model of shotgun, coastal garrisons keep an eye on their regions; keeping down riffraff and raiders out. Rather than use clubs they carry whips called sjamboks made from animal hide that are less lethal, but very painful, a trademark of the sometimes harsh rule of the garrison's employers. Regardless, some measure of order is needed for any society to survive, especially one faced with constant threats of annihilation or enslavement. These men are both capable as policemen and soldiers, changing out their less-than-lethal equipment for rifles and axes when a true fight is called for.
One feature of the westerner's kit that stands out most is the inclusion of leather masks with their uniforms. These protect the soldier's face from splinters and shrapnel primarily, though they also offer some protection against chemical agents. Both of the former are very common threats where ships are concerned, either from shells landing nearby or hitting the hull and sending metal shards flying, and the latter can be an issue in riots where tear gas and other methods of dispersal are required. Coastal Skirmishers - $ 10 Man Unit Training: Standard Armor: Resin-reinforced kapok breastplate, leather mask with goggles, steel tortoise shell helmet. Equipment: 10x W.I. Cogadh Type-2 6.5x52mm Semiauto Rifle (20 rounds, 60 carried) - 10x Detachable Spade Bayonet (Can be used solo or attached) 9x W.I Scian 11.6mm Revolver 1x "Tanbellen" Pistol 10x Hand Axes 20x Grenades (Any Variety) While not as impressive as skirmishers from Kasorymor, the western clans have a much higher tolerance for change and breaking tradition. Dealings with foreign nations several years back brought in a small shipment under the table, semiautomatic rifles. They went to work back engineering these repeatedly, failing many times. The Cogadh Type-2 is one attempt of many, produced by a small arms firm on the coast to rival and hopefully beat out the Royal Armory's projects into the same line of gun. Once again, it uses detachable box magazines to achieve impressive reload and firing speeds, able to carry 20 rounds in each and unload them in record time. Accuracy leaves something to be desired, but sacrifices have to be made somewhere. A handful of Kasorymor's bomb pistols were imported to aid in more difficult situations where a rifle alone isn't enough.
Spiothair Scout Car - $ Armored Car Crew: 3 Training: Standard Armor: Light Steel Armor Equipment: 1x Turret-mounted 20mm Cannon 1x Coaxial 6.5x25mm machine gun
Even though the infrastructure for tanks is sorely lacking just about everywhere, save the heartlands, the western clans do have access to a small armored car that carries out a similar function at a fraction of the cost. While not as effective in stand up armor-to-armor engagements, the Spiothair is much faster than actual tanks, allowing it to slip around to vulnerable spots to make the most of its small, rapid fire cannon. The area where it excels most is as a scout vehicle, where its quiet engine and low silhouette make it a very capable forward observer and recon unit.
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