Dystopian Designs

THE ADMIRALS OF THE FLEET UNVEIL THEIR DESIGNS

During the Spartan Games Kickstarter for Dystopian Wars, pledges of a certain amount (some five hundred pounds, I think) were granted the awesome chance to design their own vessels for the game - and here are the first ones to appear! Each brings something new to the game, and I'm really impressed with these results. Part of me is gutted I didn't make my own pledge, but as I play Dystopian Wars less and less I decided against it. 

I'm already regretting it. 

So here are the first three new designs, which I hope will all be available for mass production soon enough. I'm already planning to pick up a set of the aerial drills for my Russian fleet! 

ALBION-CLASS DEMI-DREADNOUGHT

A hulking and aged vessel. Older in design concept than the current naval designs of the Kingdom of Britannia (KoB), this was the first Demi-Dreadnought for the nation. Built from a rugged non-military vessel and heavily modified for war, the core concept behind it being a line breaker. Ploughs into a line of enemy ships, crosses the “T” and unloads a powerful payload of broadside torpedoes and gunnery.

Layers of segmented ablative armour padding. More pronounced and “featured” than those found in Russia. This is a modified ship and as such has a large amount of ablative plates and modifications to make it more durable for its close quarter action.

First generation External Shield Generator. One of the first of its kind, whilst bleeding edge technology it needed an air of sophistication and complicated craftsmanship. Built into the hull it carries special rules that mean things don’t always go to plan!

A staggering Broadside capability! Able to swivel slightly, but only capable of firing in a Broadside Arc, these guns are the “main” armament of the vessel. Huge amounts of attack power out the flanks.

Behind the prow of the Sussex sits a powerful breach Mortar weapon. Fires in a fixed straight channel. The idea being to bombard the enemy as the Sussex steams in to unleash its crushing Broadside weaponry!

 SEMYENOV-CLASS BORE ASSAULT SHIP

The Sky-driller program had its beginnings begin in disgrace. F.N. Semyenov was an oil engineer before being drafted into the Russian Coalition Air Corp. When the war broke out he was nearing the end of his uneventful military career, and he had the misfortune to be one of the few remaining officers alive after the Skyship Squadron he was assigned to was nearly eradicated in the initial push to the Wolfgang Fortresses.

The air force needed a scapegoat and he was it. Banished to the Far East in the mountains of Mongolia, he burned to restore his honour. It was here that he made a friendship which would eventually cause terror in the skies. He became friends with another engineer, Mikhail Britnev.  Britnev created the 1st metal-hulled icebreaker, the precursor to the drill on the Khatanga.

The two were observers during a border war between Coalition forces and the Chinese Federation.  One of the floating Chinese Dun Bastions was wreaking havoc among the army’s Land Ships, hovering right above the ground and flaming everything in reach. That is… until with a horrendous screech the Dun broke apart and a Vorkuta Driller burst from within!  It had actually drilled underneath the Bastion and aimed straight up!  It effectively rammed the Dun from below!  The sight of a Dun shattering apart from below broke the Chinese advance and turned it into a rout

Semyenov and Britnev were struck with inspiration. They pushed (some would say pestered) the high command for research facilities until they were granted a small team, if just to make them go away. Coalition command put no faith in the ridiculous idea. That is until a test drill ripped apart a couple captured Chi Longs and tore a Taka Ashi walker to shreds. Once they got over their shock, the Air Generals began to see how effective a terror weapon like this could be breaking the deadlock in the West.

Shortly after the Interbellum ended, the first Semyenov Squadron launched against the Prussians, to horrific effect. By now all Bond soldiers, sailors and airmen have learned that to hear the high-pitched whine of the giant drill is a sign of impending doom!

This little monster is the brainchild of Stephen Hallowich, who has created a Medium skyship with a giant drill on the front. I approve wholeheartedly! Great background too

 TENGU-CLASS HUNTER ASSAULT ROBOT

At the beginning of the World War, the Empire had good control of the underwater theater.  The British had more types of submarine, but the Ika still outclassed everything the westerners could launch under the waves. The Federated States were not even present underwater.

But as the war stretched on, the Empire found itself in a very unfamiliar position. The Russians and as Operation: Shadowhunter showed the Empire, even the Americans began to enter the Underwater war. Even her allies began to advance their underwater capabilities while the Empire still relied on the venerable Ika as its only true combatant beneath the waves. With technology ever advancing, more and more subs became resistant to the Ikas’ underwater assault, some so much as to be completely immune.

For the Empress, this could not stand. She commanded the Alchemical Institute at Kobe to remedy the imbalance immediately. During the Interbellum, new and stranger designs began to emerge from the kagaku-sha at Kobe. The Ika was improved, the Chita joined her under the waves as an extreme threat to surface ships. Yet a weapon to strike true terror in a submariner’s heart eluded them. They knew that fear was a submariner’s worst enemy, and were desperate to play on that fear. So, they scoured the huge trove of Japanese myth for their monster..

Over a year later, the first terrifying result of their search took its maiden flight. The minds at Kobe combined that fear, their love of myth and the lessons learned from the Ayakashi robot to create the Tengu Hunter Assault Robot.

The Robot is a formidable Anti-sub platform combined with the most dangerous boarding threat the Empire has outside of the Ayakashi. The robot’s Kaiyo Rockets are designed to plunge through the waves and strike at subs hiding beneath. The rocket attack is usually followed up by a rain of Incendiary Depth Bombs (nicknamed Furaribi Bombs by the crews) that will burst the sub’s hull and burn up its valuable oxygen. Finally, the entire robot dives downward into the water, its massive katana spearing the sub like a fish, its armoured claws shredding the hull and drowning the helpless submariners

Getting past the unusual head, I love the idea of this beast. Another win for Stephen Hallowich!

Thanks for reading,

George