The Clokwerk Horde
26-07-2006, 19:48
Government type: Monocracy
Monocrat: Technoczar Vladistalk II
Population: 1
The history of the Singular Monocracy of The Clokwerk Horde starts billions of years ago, shortly after the universe was formed. One of the prime planets created was quickly inhabited by a race of beings known as the Klatuu. These people became very advanced, very quickly. They mastered every facet of science and medicine within a thousand years of their achieving sentience, and managed to do so without any serious wars. This major accomplishment was achieved by limiting the advance of technology severely. Thus only machines designed to augment science and medicine were created, and even those were strictly controlled.
One of the most important breakthroughs that the Klatuu made was the genetic perfection of their entire species. Due to this, they enjoyed millennial life spans and cells that reproduced so fast as to render their bodies almost indestructible. With the complete mastery of their bodies at hand, the Klatuu could not resist further tampering. Genes were spliced together and torn apart at will, creating many subspecies that began to interbreed and mingle. Although there were immense benefits, chief among them the achievement of psychoknesis, subtle flaws developed in their DNA.
Similarly great breakthroughs followed, and over the course of several billion years the Klatuu became demigods, as close to the real thing as is physically possible for any mortal to be. Unfortunately, even this did not render them impervious to their genetic tampering. Slowly at first, but gaining speed with every passing moment, the Klatuu died off. The lone survivor of this catastrophy was a young male. On the surface, this male looked normal, but inside he was far different. He was, in fact, the result of an intense series of technological studies, being the first Klatuu “test-tube baby,” and also the first recipient of the cutting-edge biological “nanobodies,” artificial bacteria that repair and restore cells. However, even these marvelous creations could not prevent the shock of the event from driving him insane. Broken and disheartened, he traveled the universe, looking for ways to kill himself and end his misery, but his near-perfect body regenerated too fast. He just could not die, no matter how hard he tried.
In despair, he made his way to a virgin world on the rim of a backwater galaxy, one untouched by any other race. Here, amongst the unspoiled beauty of nature, he came to the conclusion that if he could not kill himself, he would wait for time to do it for him. So he sat, day after day, year after year, not eating or drinking or sleeping. And yet, he lived. Finally, out of desperate boredom, he began to tinker with the world around him. Finding this much to his pleasure, he decided to kill time by creating an army of mechanical “friends” he called Clokwerk.
Sadly, his little inventions fell apart as soon as he had made them. Then he hit upon the idea of forging a psionic construct (a simple being of energy), an easy task for a Klatuu, and making it inhabit his Clokwerk. The result was a phenomenal success. The Clokwerk were now able to run smoothly no matter what shape they took, with or without power, by simply being connected to the mind of the last Klatuu.
After depleting the bronze, iron, and brass (his favored metals) reserves on the world upon which he lived, the last Klatuu, who had now dubbed himself Vladistalk II (even though there never was a Vladistalk I), created vast space barges to ferry his army to the stars. Driven by psionic force, these craft spread his metal men to world after world, harvesting ore and forging new Clokwerk. After some centuries had passed, Vladistalk formed the nation we know today as the Singular Monocracy of The Clokwerk Horde, and added Technoczar to his name. Now, resplendently sitting on his Clokwerk throne, Vladistalk embarks upon a grand quest to kill time. And maybe, just maybe, conquer the universe in the process.
General Information on the Clokwerk
The mechanical/ psion hybrids known as the Clokwerk come in many different forms. Some have dozens of legs, some have but one. Some fly, some swim, and some slither. Each and every one is different, having been made on the mad whims of the crazed Technoczar.
The heart of the Clokwerk is their boilers, buried deep within their chests. Fed with heat from a coal-powered furnace below them, these simple wrought-iron machines heat the water that flows through the artificial veins and arteries of the metallic army. Through a complex system of gears and rods, this thermal energy is converted to kinetic, thus appearing to drive the Clokwerk. In reality, the boilers are pointless, as psionic force actually guides the machines.
Clokwerk can be sorted into several different categories, some of which are listed below:
Footmen
The Footmen are the basic soldiers of the Monocracy. They are usually between four and eight feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters) tall, and are the most common constructs. They can arm themselves in a variety of ways, but usually prefer some sort of blade, hammer, or flarelock. Footmen have between two and four limbs.
Warjacks
Warjacks are big, tough bruisers designed to smash to pieces that which is too large for the Footmen to handle. Their tough metallic hides conceal a blazing anger at just about everything. Standing roughly 13 feet (4 meters) tall at the tip of their many smokestacks, these monstrosities prefer to get up close and personal and regularly take the fight to the enemy. Cannon, flamethrowers, axes, swords, and random chunks of metal are common weapons seen wielded in the massive, spiked hands of these beasts.
Tankmen
Tankmen are the heavy ground support forces of the Clokwerk, resembling nothing so much as multipedal tanks. Usually armed with a single steam or black powder cannon (see: Weapons), they are almost exclusively meant for ranged combat. However, some are ordered by Vladistalk to carry blades instead. To support their massive bulk, between eight and 24 legs are common, as are numerous other appendages.
Scrammers
The Scrammers are air/ space support craft, usually occupying the role of a fighter in other nations. Wings, propellers, jets, and even wheels can be anywhere on the craft, and because they don’t actually provide power or do anything at all, it doesn’t affect the design. Multiple cannons are the standard armament, usually on swivel turrets.
Zeps
Zeps are the Clokwerk adaptation of the German dirigible. They can be used for transport or as floating weapons platforms, and it is not uncommon to find them doing both. Due to their gargantuan size, weapons loads on par with the Flyers are not uncommon. Up to ten gigantic boilers provide power for the many propellers that drive these craft forward. The space that is used to hold lifting gas on standard Zeppelins has been filled in with gun decks and Scrammer hangers, so the entire construct is borne aloft by psionic force alone.
Flyers
Flyers (not to be confused with Scrammers) are the interstellar transports of the Singular Monocracy. The design of these behemoths is relatively standard, with metal frames providing support, and glass walls and floors to fill in the rest of the space. Hundreds, if not thousands of steam cannons and other weapons can be installed, and every other kind of Clokwerk can be transported. For sub-stellar flight, gigantic propellers or paddle wheels provide momentum. Massive metal coils store psionic power drawn from Vladistalk and expel them at high speeds in order to travel faster than light.
Rollers
Rollers are used to transport Clokwerk when Zeps are not available and the Technoczar doesn’t feel like teleporting them around. Most use wheels, like the name implies, but tracks and legs are not unusual. Weapons vary, but are often totally lacking.
Cruisers
The Cruisers are aquatic support. Many cannon and dozens of Scrammer bays often figure into the construct. Most are fully enclosed and can submerge, even to the point where their smokestacks are completely underwater. Torpedoes and flipper-equipped Footmen are also carried. In some cases, massive piston-legs are included, allowing them to either walk along the seabed or climb onto land.
Duplicates
The Duplicates are the direct result of Vladistalk’s boredom. Each is basically a mechanical clone of himself, built to entertain and generally screw with people. They are identical to their creator, even to the point of appearing to have massive psionic powers. Duplicates often accompany the army as generals. Many a foreign diplomat (and would-be assassin) has been fooled into thinking these are the real Vladistalk.
Psi Witches
Psi Witches are the result of Vladistalk’s tampering with the native populations of conquered planets. After abducting a suitable specimen (always a human female, age 19 to 25), the Technoczar augments the victim with Clokwerk bones and replaces their organs with boilers and tubes. The crowning glory of these creations is in their head. After performing a near complete lobotomy (every part of the brain not responsible for vocal recognition and other basic functions is removed), a brass box is inserted. A tiny, flat, triangular-shaped stud protrudes from the box and out through the witch’s forehead. On this stud is carved a representation of Vladistalk’s eye. Through this device he may channel his vast energies via the witch’s body, commanding and controlling the psionic being that replaces her soul.
Shokwerk
The Shokwerk were created to fill the great need for Psi Witches (or, at least, their powers). Forged with the arcane “electric” technology in mind, the Shokwerk are the next generation of Clokwerk. They can channel spells and whatnot nearly as well as any Psi Witch, cost much, much less in time and effort, and may use the new flarelocks with greater ease. Shokwerk come in as many sizes and shapes as Clokwerk, but in general resemble humans wearing ornate armor. Another advantage they have over Psi Witches is that they can “charge” fellow Clokwerk, enhancing the blast radius and power of the explosion following the Clokwerk’s death. A picture can be found here (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Zipline/NemFight.jpg) (the two pictured are fighting over which Vladistalk likes best). One interesting side effect of the introduction of Shokwerk to an area is that everything electronic, including power armor and sensors, ceases to function within 15 feet.
Spidurz
As every reader of fiction knows, if you create a steampunk universe, it is required by international law that you include a steam-powered giant spider. I now comply with that law. Spidurz range in size, like all other Clokwerk, but generally have six 50ft (15.2 meter) legs, a large, square body with four decks, and a box-shaped head in the front. Weapons are usually restricted to Gattlers, mortars and cannon, but there really is no procedure for arming them.
Drillers
An offshoot of the creation of the Rollers, Drillers are basically mechanical moles. Equipped with a massive drill bit, a highly durable tracked motion system, and an ultra-reinforced iron hull, these cylindrical contraptions are capable of transporting up to 300 Footmen (depending on the size of the individual model) into a planet’s mantle, and then bring them out safely somewhere else. Drillers are also very useful for undermining fortifications.
Land Ships
A Land Ship is, more or less, a naval vessel with some form of terran locomotion. In other words, it’s a boat with tracks (or wheels, or legs, etc). Although Land Ships only work on relatively flat ground, their extremely long range, thick armor, and high-caliber weapons make them the perfect counterpart to a flotilla of Zeps. Some Land Ships are even able to launch and recover Scrammers.
Bombwerk
Bombwerk are Footman with a few modifications: namely, the replacment of most of their body with a giant furnace and boiler. A tiny head sits atop this hulking pressure cooker, directing the seemingly-small limbs to deliver the Bombwerk warrior to its target. Once there, enormous pressure builds inside the boiler within seconds, which then bursts in a mad shower of shrapnel and scalding water. Cheap to construct, easy to field and highly destructive, Bombwerk are the perfect troop moral assassins.
No matter the category, all Clokwerk are powered by the psionic energy drawn from Vladistalk. Their metal bodies can be mauled and destroyed, but their psychic essence cannot. So, even if completely dismembered and melted down, they can reform themselves in any manner of Vladistalk’s choosing.
Because they are beings of psionic power, barriers and walls (not to mention any other kind of terrain) offer no resistance to them. For example, if a Tankman wanted to get to the other side of a high wall, it might just funnel some of the psionic force it received from Vladistalk and create a psychic staircase capable of supporting it’s weight. Other objects can be formed as well, including shields and autonomous drones.
Technology of the Clokwerk
Double-walled boilers – Thicker plating and reinforcement bands allow boilers to provide two to three times as much power as before, increasing the speed, strength, and carrying capacity of all retrofitted Clokwerk.
Fine coal – A new process allows Clokwerk engineers to break down already mined coal and reconstruct it with higher percentages of carbon and sulfur, replacing less useful materials found in natural coal. The result is a hotter-burning fuel that creates steam faster and more efficiently.
Flarelocks – A lack of ranged weaponry, especially amongst Footmen, puts the Clokwerk at a significant disadvantage. To remedy this, the flarelock has been invented. The weapon is smithed in two different versions, the rifle and the pistol.
The flarelock rifle is by far the most common of the two, issued to every Footman that can get their hands on one. The barrel is some 6 ½ feet (2 meters) long and has a caliber of .95 inches (24 millimeters). A reservoir of oil is attached to the end of the rune-inscribed brass barrel. This source of ignition lights the shells on fire as they pass, adding to their destructive ability. Firmly tied to the barrel, below the oil pot, is an axe-head that can be used as either a tool or to turn the rifle into a halberd. The sharpened fore-end of the blade can also work as a bayonet. An ammo drum holding 6 rounds is housed above the trigger, allowing for semi-fast reloads.
Flarelock pistols are much like their larger cousins, only lacking the length of the barrel (the pistol is only 4 feet (1.2 meters) long) and the axe-head. The ammo drums only hold three rounds, so the flarelock pistol is almost exclusively used by officers not in direct combat. The main advantage the pistols have over the rifles is that they can be double wielded.
No matter the version, flarelocks are quite deadly. However, the kickback on these weapons is truly immense, so only the psychically stabilized hands of the Clokwerk can properly use them.
Gattlers – During the skirmish over New Connohaugh, the Clokwerk Flyers were nearly helpless against the small ships of the enemy armadas. To fix this, the Gattler was invented. Basically a steam-driven, water-cooled gatling gun, these weapons require a three-man crew to operate (1 gunner, 1 loader, and 1 engineer). Ammunition belts are dumped into a large hopper on the right side. To actually fire, the engineer must pull a large lever in the floor of the machine to connect the power couple of the boiler with the drive shaft of the gun. Then the gunner simply keeps the crosshairs on the target, and the gun does the rest.
Steam cannon - The steam cannon is a two-chambered affair. The lower one is heated to several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, a projectile of some kind is loaded into the upper chamber, and water is then poured into the lower one. The liquid flashes to steam and propels the shell forward (with the help of psionic force, of course).
BP cannon - Black powder cannons are the same basic design as those found on earth, but with the added kick of psychic assistance. Compressed steam pumps actually make use of the boilers found in almost all Clokwerk. They expel a blinding hot cloud of steam that can fry opponents.
Psion nodes - Another way Clokwerk can strike at foes is by channeling “spells” cast by the Technoczar. In reality, they are simply physical manifestations of an intangible force. Still, they can easily overwhelm and destroy just about anything. These spells can take just as many forms as the Clokwerk themselves.
Klatuu Anatomy
The Klatuu are tall and thin, with purplish-black skin and large, elongated heads surmounted by blazing-white eyes. A second set of limbs is found beneath the main pair, and beetle-like wings droop from their backs. Very thin bones and pallid skin present an air of fragility around the last messenger of the Klatuu, but this is an illusion; in reality he is extremely durable, but not through natural means. The nanobodies that course through his beige veins are responsible for much of his prowess.
Diplomacy
Vladistalk is usually more than happy to befriend one and all. Provided, of course, that you a) keep him entertained, or b) pay him a tribute of some kind of small, icy snack. Since he’s just killing time until his eventual death, he’s also up for pretty much anything: hunting trips, barbecues, speaking at your wedding, et cetera. You know, all that good stuff. Plus, if you somehow manage to destroy The Clokwerk Horde and take him prisoner, chances are he will just spend his time playing ping-pong.
Lands of the Clokwerk
The Clokwerk Horde originated on a previously unsullied world, drifting through the arms of a backwater galaxy. Only Vladistalk knows the name and location of this planet, but he does not go there for he has stripped it of all value in his eyes. The ores are gone, there are no people, and the ecosystem has been destroyed.
From this obscure launching point the Clokwerk spread. Whole galaxies fell, world by world, to the undying legions of the mechanical tide. On each conquered world the Clokwerk set to work “reforming” the inhabitants and their accomplishments, making them fit in with Vladistalk’s vision. Modern structures are torn down and replaced by those of stone, wood, and brick. Electricity is shunned, and nature is heavily restored.
Reforming generally consists of the transmogrification of the modern to the old. If you were to take a picture of a reformed world, no doubt it would look much like a cross between 10th and 19th century Earth.
Countless planets have been occupied by the horde, and still more are to follow. And the Clokwerk keep marching, on, and on, and on.
Monocrat: Technoczar Vladistalk II
Population: 1
The history of the Singular Monocracy of The Clokwerk Horde starts billions of years ago, shortly after the universe was formed. One of the prime planets created was quickly inhabited by a race of beings known as the Klatuu. These people became very advanced, very quickly. They mastered every facet of science and medicine within a thousand years of their achieving sentience, and managed to do so without any serious wars. This major accomplishment was achieved by limiting the advance of technology severely. Thus only machines designed to augment science and medicine were created, and even those were strictly controlled.
One of the most important breakthroughs that the Klatuu made was the genetic perfection of their entire species. Due to this, they enjoyed millennial life spans and cells that reproduced so fast as to render their bodies almost indestructible. With the complete mastery of their bodies at hand, the Klatuu could not resist further tampering. Genes were spliced together and torn apart at will, creating many subspecies that began to interbreed and mingle. Although there were immense benefits, chief among them the achievement of psychoknesis, subtle flaws developed in their DNA.
Similarly great breakthroughs followed, and over the course of several billion years the Klatuu became demigods, as close to the real thing as is physically possible for any mortal to be. Unfortunately, even this did not render them impervious to their genetic tampering. Slowly at first, but gaining speed with every passing moment, the Klatuu died off. The lone survivor of this catastrophy was a young male. On the surface, this male looked normal, but inside he was far different. He was, in fact, the result of an intense series of technological studies, being the first Klatuu “test-tube baby,” and also the first recipient of the cutting-edge biological “nanobodies,” artificial bacteria that repair and restore cells. However, even these marvelous creations could not prevent the shock of the event from driving him insane. Broken and disheartened, he traveled the universe, looking for ways to kill himself and end his misery, but his near-perfect body regenerated too fast. He just could not die, no matter how hard he tried.
In despair, he made his way to a virgin world on the rim of a backwater galaxy, one untouched by any other race. Here, amongst the unspoiled beauty of nature, he came to the conclusion that if he could not kill himself, he would wait for time to do it for him. So he sat, day after day, year after year, not eating or drinking or sleeping. And yet, he lived. Finally, out of desperate boredom, he began to tinker with the world around him. Finding this much to his pleasure, he decided to kill time by creating an army of mechanical “friends” he called Clokwerk.
Sadly, his little inventions fell apart as soon as he had made them. Then he hit upon the idea of forging a psionic construct (a simple being of energy), an easy task for a Klatuu, and making it inhabit his Clokwerk. The result was a phenomenal success. The Clokwerk were now able to run smoothly no matter what shape they took, with or without power, by simply being connected to the mind of the last Klatuu.
After depleting the bronze, iron, and brass (his favored metals) reserves on the world upon which he lived, the last Klatuu, who had now dubbed himself Vladistalk II (even though there never was a Vladistalk I), created vast space barges to ferry his army to the stars. Driven by psionic force, these craft spread his metal men to world after world, harvesting ore and forging new Clokwerk. After some centuries had passed, Vladistalk formed the nation we know today as the Singular Monocracy of The Clokwerk Horde, and added Technoczar to his name. Now, resplendently sitting on his Clokwerk throne, Vladistalk embarks upon a grand quest to kill time. And maybe, just maybe, conquer the universe in the process.
General Information on the Clokwerk
The mechanical/ psion hybrids known as the Clokwerk come in many different forms. Some have dozens of legs, some have but one. Some fly, some swim, and some slither. Each and every one is different, having been made on the mad whims of the crazed Technoczar.
The heart of the Clokwerk is their boilers, buried deep within their chests. Fed with heat from a coal-powered furnace below them, these simple wrought-iron machines heat the water that flows through the artificial veins and arteries of the metallic army. Through a complex system of gears and rods, this thermal energy is converted to kinetic, thus appearing to drive the Clokwerk. In reality, the boilers are pointless, as psionic force actually guides the machines.
Clokwerk can be sorted into several different categories, some of which are listed below:
Footmen
The Footmen are the basic soldiers of the Monocracy. They are usually between four and eight feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters) tall, and are the most common constructs. They can arm themselves in a variety of ways, but usually prefer some sort of blade, hammer, or flarelock. Footmen have between two and four limbs.
Warjacks
Warjacks are big, tough bruisers designed to smash to pieces that which is too large for the Footmen to handle. Their tough metallic hides conceal a blazing anger at just about everything. Standing roughly 13 feet (4 meters) tall at the tip of their many smokestacks, these monstrosities prefer to get up close and personal and regularly take the fight to the enemy. Cannon, flamethrowers, axes, swords, and random chunks of metal are common weapons seen wielded in the massive, spiked hands of these beasts.
Tankmen
Tankmen are the heavy ground support forces of the Clokwerk, resembling nothing so much as multipedal tanks. Usually armed with a single steam or black powder cannon (see: Weapons), they are almost exclusively meant for ranged combat. However, some are ordered by Vladistalk to carry blades instead. To support their massive bulk, between eight and 24 legs are common, as are numerous other appendages.
Scrammers
The Scrammers are air/ space support craft, usually occupying the role of a fighter in other nations. Wings, propellers, jets, and even wheels can be anywhere on the craft, and because they don’t actually provide power or do anything at all, it doesn’t affect the design. Multiple cannons are the standard armament, usually on swivel turrets.
Zeps
Zeps are the Clokwerk adaptation of the German dirigible. They can be used for transport or as floating weapons platforms, and it is not uncommon to find them doing both. Due to their gargantuan size, weapons loads on par with the Flyers are not uncommon. Up to ten gigantic boilers provide power for the many propellers that drive these craft forward. The space that is used to hold lifting gas on standard Zeppelins has been filled in with gun decks and Scrammer hangers, so the entire construct is borne aloft by psionic force alone.
Flyers
Flyers (not to be confused with Scrammers) are the interstellar transports of the Singular Monocracy. The design of these behemoths is relatively standard, with metal frames providing support, and glass walls and floors to fill in the rest of the space. Hundreds, if not thousands of steam cannons and other weapons can be installed, and every other kind of Clokwerk can be transported. For sub-stellar flight, gigantic propellers or paddle wheels provide momentum. Massive metal coils store psionic power drawn from Vladistalk and expel them at high speeds in order to travel faster than light.
Rollers
Rollers are used to transport Clokwerk when Zeps are not available and the Technoczar doesn’t feel like teleporting them around. Most use wheels, like the name implies, but tracks and legs are not unusual. Weapons vary, but are often totally lacking.
Cruisers
The Cruisers are aquatic support. Many cannon and dozens of Scrammer bays often figure into the construct. Most are fully enclosed and can submerge, even to the point where their smokestacks are completely underwater. Torpedoes and flipper-equipped Footmen are also carried. In some cases, massive piston-legs are included, allowing them to either walk along the seabed or climb onto land.
Duplicates
The Duplicates are the direct result of Vladistalk’s boredom. Each is basically a mechanical clone of himself, built to entertain and generally screw with people. They are identical to their creator, even to the point of appearing to have massive psionic powers. Duplicates often accompany the army as generals. Many a foreign diplomat (and would-be assassin) has been fooled into thinking these are the real Vladistalk.
Psi Witches
Psi Witches are the result of Vladistalk’s tampering with the native populations of conquered planets. After abducting a suitable specimen (always a human female, age 19 to 25), the Technoczar augments the victim with Clokwerk bones and replaces their organs with boilers and tubes. The crowning glory of these creations is in their head. After performing a near complete lobotomy (every part of the brain not responsible for vocal recognition and other basic functions is removed), a brass box is inserted. A tiny, flat, triangular-shaped stud protrudes from the box and out through the witch’s forehead. On this stud is carved a representation of Vladistalk’s eye. Through this device he may channel his vast energies via the witch’s body, commanding and controlling the psionic being that replaces her soul.
Shokwerk
The Shokwerk were created to fill the great need for Psi Witches (or, at least, their powers). Forged with the arcane “electric” technology in mind, the Shokwerk are the next generation of Clokwerk. They can channel spells and whatnot nearly as well as any Psi Witch, cost much, much less in time and effort, and may use the new flarelocks with greater ease. Shokwerk come in as many sizes and shapes as Clokwerk, but in general resemble humans wearing ornate armor. Another advantage they have over Psi Witches is that they can “charge” fellow Clokwerk, enhancing the blast radius and power of the explosion following the Clokwerk’s death. A picture can be found here (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a210/Zipline/NemFight.jpg) (the two pictured are fighting over which Vladistalk likes best). One interesting side effect of the introduction of Shokwerk to an area is that everything electronic, including power armor and sensors, ceases to function within 15 feet.
Spidurz
As every reader of fiction knows, if you create a steampunk universe, it is required by international law that you include a steam-powered giant spider. I now comply with that law. Spidurz range in size, like all other Clokwerk, but generally have six 50ft (15.2 meter) legs, a large, square body with four decks, and a box-shaped head in the front. Weapons are usually restricted to Gattlers, mortars and cannon, but there really is no procedure for arming them.
Drillers
An offshoot of the creation of the Rollers, Drillers are basically mechanical moles. Equipped with a massive drill bit, a highly durable tracked motion system, and an ultra-reinforced iron hull, these cylindrical contraptions are capable of transporting up to 300 Footmen (depending on the size of the individual model) into a planet’s mantle, and then bring them out safely somewhere else. Drillers are also very useful for undermining fortifications.
Land Ships
A Land Ship is, more or less, a naval vessel with some form of terran locomotion. In other words, it’s a boat with tracks (or wheels, or legs, etc). Although Land Ships only work on relatively flat ground, their extremely long range, thick armor, and high-caliber weapons make them the perfect counterpart to a flotilla of Zeps. Some Land Ships are even able to launch and recover Scrammers.
Bombwerk
Bombwerk are Footman with a few modifications: namely, the replacment of most of their body with a giant furnace and boiler. A tiny head sits atop this hulking pressure cooker, directing the seemingly-small limbs to deliver the Bombwerk warrior to its target. Once there, enormous pressure builds inside the boiler within seconds, which then bursts in a mad shower of shrapnel and scalding water. Cheap to construct, easy to field and highly destructive, Bombwerk are the perfect troop moral assassins.
No matter the category, all Clokwerk are powered by the psionic energy drawn from Vladistalk. Their metal bodies can be mauled and destroyed, but their psychic essence cannot. So, even if completely dismembered and melted down, they can reform themselves in any manner of Vladistalk’s choosing.
Because they are beings of psionic power, barriers and walls (not to mention any other kind of terrain) offer no resistance to them. For example, if a Tankman wanted to get to the other side of a high wall, it might just funnel some of the psionic force it received from Vladistalk and create a psychic staircase capable of supporting it’s weight. Other objects can be formed as well, including shields and autonomous drones.
Technology of the Clokwerk
Double-walled boilers – Thicker plating and reinforcement bands allow boilers to provide two to three times as much power as before, increasing the speed, strength, and carrying capacity of all retrofitted Clokwerk.
Fine coal – A new process allows Clokwerk engineers to break down already mined coal and reconstruct it with higher percentages of carbon and sulfur, replacing less useful materials found in natural coal. The result is a hotter-burning fuel that creates steam faster and more efficiently.
Flarelocks – A lack of ranged weaponry, especially amongst Footmen, puts the Clokwerk at a significant disadvantage. To remedy this, the flarelock has been invented. The weapon is smithed in two different versions, the rifle and the pistol.
The flarelock rifle is by far the most common of the two, issued to every Footman that can get their hands on one. The barrel is some 6 ½ feet (2 meters) long and has a caliber of .95 inches (24 millimeters). A reservoir of oil is attached to the end of the rune-inscribed brass barrel. This source of ignition lights the shells on fire as they pass, adding to their destructive ability. Firmly tied to the barrel, below the oil pot, is an axe-head that can be used as either a tool or to turn the rifle into a halberd. The sharpened fore-end of the blade can also work as a bayonet. An ammo drum holding 6 rounds is housed above the trigger, allowing for semi-fast reloads.
Flarelock pistols are much like their larger cousins, only lacking the length of the barrel (the pistol is only 4 feet (1.2 meters) long) and the axe-head. The ammo drums only hold three rounds, so the flarelock pistol is almost exclusively used by officers not in direct combat. The main advantage the pistols have over the rifles is that they can be double wielded.
No matter the version, flarelocks are quite deadly. However, the kickback on these weapons is truly immense, so only the psychically stabilized hands of the Clokwerk can properly use them.
Gattlers – During the skirmish over New Connohaugh, the Clokwerk Flyers were nearly helpless against the small ships of the enemy armadas. To fix this, the Gattler was invented. Basically a steam-driven, water-cooled gatling gun, these weapons require a three-man crew to operate (1 gunner, 1 loader, and 1 engineer). Ammunition belts are dumped into a large hopper on the right side. To actually fire, the engineer must pull a large lever in the floor of the machine to connect the power couple of the boiler with the drive shaft of the gun. Then the gunner simply keeps the crosshairs on the target, and the gun does the rest.
Steam cannon - The steam cannon is a two-chambered affair. The lower one is heated to several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, a projectile of some kind is loaded into the upper chamber, and water is then poured into the lower one. The liquid flashes to steam and propels the shell forward (with the help of psionic force, of course).
BP cannon - Black powder cannons are the same basic design as those found on earth, but with the added kick of psychic assistance. Compressed steam pumps actually make use of the boilers found in almost all Clokwerk. They expel a blinding hot cloud of steam that can fry opponents.
Psion nodes - Another way Clokwerk can strike at foes is by channeling “spells” cast by the Technoczar. In reality, they are simply physical manifestations of an intangible force. Still, they can easily overwhelm and destroy just about anything. These spells can take just as many forms as the Clokwerk themselves.
Klatuu Anatomy
The Klatuu are tall and thin, with purplish-black skin and large, elongated heads surmounted by blazing-white eyes. A second set of limbs is found beneath the main pair, and beetle-like wings droop from their backs. Very thin bones and pallid skin present an air of fragility around the last messenger of the Klatuu, but this is an illusion; in reality he is extremely durable, but not through natural means. The nanobodies that course through his beige veins are responsible for much of his prowess.
Diplomacy
Vladistalk is usually more than happy to befriend one and all. Provided, of course, that you a) keep him entertained, or b) pay him a tribute of some kind of small, icy snack. Since he’s just killing time until his eventual death, he’s also up for pretty much anything: hunting trips, barbecues, speaking at your wedding, et cetera. You know, all that good stuff. Plus, if you somehow manage to destroy The Clokwerk Horde and take him prisoner, chances are he will just spend his time playing ping-pong.
Lands of the Clokwerk
The Clokwerk Horde originated on a previously unsullied world, drifting through the arms of a backwater galaxy. Only Vladistalk knows the name and location of this planet, but he does not go there for he has stripped it of all value in his eyes. The ores are gone, there are no people, and the ecosystem has been destroyed.
From this obscure launching point the Clokwerk spread. Whole galaxies fell, world by world, to the undying legions of the mechanical tide. On each conquered world the Clokwerk set to work “reforming” the inhabitants and their accomplishments, making them fit in with Vladistalk’s vision. Modern structures are torn down and replaced by those of stone, wood, and brick. Electricity is shunned, and nature is heavily restored.
Reforming generally consists of the transmogrification of the modern to the old. If you were to take a picture of a reformed world, no doubt it would look much like a cross between 10th and 19th century Earth.
Countless planets have been occupied by the horde, and still more are to follow. And the Clokwerk keep marching, on, and on, and on.