Thump -- Thump -- Thump!
The reverse-jointed legs of "Executioner," your family's mech. Behind you follows a small mob of footsoldiers, there to prevent the enemy's foot from attempting to board or topple your mech. The fresh coat of blue and gold paint shimmers in the sun. With every step, the shock absorbers in the arms keep them relaxed in steady. In each arm is a great stubby cannon loaded with both ball and canister and a great hydraulic claw. Beside you, in another mech which resembles a large knight armed with hydraulic spike in one arm and shield in the other is Ancert Bouchard d'Tere in his family's "Lancer." Ancert, the senior of the two of you has one of his squires raise the flag to signal a halt.
"Guillhem d'Rambuiss," he calls from his cockpit, "Is this not your first battle?"
"It is!" you yell back.
"The enemy is expected to have mechs, one of our ironclads and another crewed like a war galley," he replies.
You see a smoke column in the distance, the same ploom that emits from the backs of your "Executioner" and Ancert's "Lancer."
"Shall you head into the town or try and fight in the fields?" calls Ancert.
Indeed, between your claws and petards, your Executioner is well suited to taking on other mechs in close combat. However, you do have boxy rocket racks to perhaps engage in the fields while Lancer has no such long range armament.
[A] Fight in the field
[B] Fight in the town
[C] Other
>>47492280
Twitter: @ArmorRenegadeOP
>>47492280
[A] Fight in the field
It's the only honorable choice!
>>47492653
Writing
You point one of Executioner's gold arms toward the field. Ancert raises Lancer's green arm in a salute. The stacks belch a new column of thick charcoal smoke as the green knight head toward the town. You split toward the field with your house's men-at-arms. From the woods emerges a similar mech to yours, belching smoke from its own stacks. It carries a large axe in its right hand a brace of cannons on its other hand. It is followed by its own footsoldiers. It heads toward the town abandoned for this coming clash of titans.
Behind it comes a surprise, not one but two more mechs clad in wooden armor. They produce no smoke trail -- inferior copies powered by the labor of a dozen slaves or prisoners. If a regular mech is clumsy, these man-powered mechs are klutzes amongst mechs. Slower and cruder than one properly outfitted by the Mechcrafter's Guild. These two hunched over mechs, while not identical, have a similar configuration. A large buzzsaw built into the torso, a small howitzer set between its shoulders, and a right arm with a large hook.
These two march toward the field to engage your Executioner. Each step tears up the fields and they are indeed followed by their own footsoldiers; peasant levies armed with billhooks and scythes by the look of it. Your command one of your squires to fire off a signal flare to warn Ancert.
You now turn your attention to the coming galley mechs who must close to have any hope of chewing through your armor. Indeed, the bombs lobbed by the howitzer are already bursting dangerously near your troops.
"Close the fragmentation shutters!" you order through a speaking tube. You close the cupola and are left with only the narrow vision provided by a combination of pericopes and vision slits.
[A] Engage with rockets, however innaccurate
[B] Close to gut them with your petard
[C] Other
>>47493290
[C] Other
[A] Engage with rockets, however innaccurate
Aim the rockets at the ground and their legs. Their armor doesnt seem strong enough to protect from the blast, and if theyre really that clumsy, you should be able to trip them up at least. Then you can finish them off efficiently.
Going to eat dinner; will be back in perhaps an hour, perhaps an hour and a half.
>>47493724
The rockets are basically Congreve rockets and are more anti-infantry weapons than anything. They are unguided but you basically know the arc they have been set for
>>47493290
[A] Engage with rockets, however innaccurate
I agree with >>47493724
although I think we should try to sweep our arc over the galley mechs' troops and the man-powered mechs behind. Wooden armor seems like it would at least take a beating even from congreves and possibly panic the laborers inside enough to disrupt the mech's approaching but would be wasted on the galleys. We want the enemy galley mechs as isolated as possible, both from troops and their allied mechs.
>>47493870
Hello boys, I'm back. And writing for a rocket barrage
Knowing the arc of your rockets and having a rough estimation of where they might land, you twist Executioner's torso until your are more or less square with the two galley mechs. Accurate ranged fire has always been one of the troubles of mechs, and in part why they tend to rely on oversized melee weapons for the kill against equal foes. You take your hands from the joysticks which operate the arms and alternately pull thriggers bolted onto the arms of your command chair. The rockets screech like banshees as they streak off into the air, four at a time from one of the two 16-pack box launchers. As they reach the end of their path, they begin to explode, sending down iron fragments into the peasant levies. Others fail to detonate and fall like great darts. Still more detonate too late, and tear up the field in explosions. You begin to advance past a windmill. As the dust clears, you see that one of the mechs has been immobilized by the soft, churned-up dirt. It fires its howitzer in a cloud of obscuring black powder. Suddenly, a great force rocks Executioner. You hear screams from the engine room.
"Direct hit, Sire!" you hear from a speaking pipe from the engine room, "Fragmentation from the hit. Francois has been struck."
Francois, one of your pages, a boy of a mere 12-years of age serving to stoke the boiler of the Executioner. That was Pierre, one of your squires who leads the small gang in the engine room.
"How bad is the damage? To Francois and Executioner?"
"We've a new porthole, Sire! Francois was stuck grievously by stone splinters in the leg, but we bandaged him. He's out of the fight for now!" replies Pierre.
You consider this and push the pedals to advance step by ponderous step.
[A] Engage the immobilized galley mech
[B] Engage the live one
[C] Other
>>47495547
> [B] Engage the live one
Take on the still-functional enemy first. The immobilized one is still dangerous, but not as dangerous as the dude who's running around.
>>47495582
Do you want to use one of the petard shots?
The idea behind the lobster claws and underslung cannons is that you grab hold with the claw, and gut them with a point blank shot. The combination of a double shot of ball and grape would certainly blast apart the rowing deck of a galley mech, but you have only two shots total - and there is a steam mech.
>>47495582
Writing
You adjust the length of the strides so as to veer your path towards the still functioning galley mech. Your men at arms follow behind your charge. Indeed, you have a rather dangerous maneveuer in mind to quickly dispatch the galley mech. It slowly starts to back up, trying to sidestep your charge and perhaps trip you with its hook. But galley mechs are clumsy and slow in their maneuvers. You slow your strides as you approach. The lone arm reaches out and catches on Executioner's left shoulder. The large buzzsaw is already spinning, and the galley mech pulls your near. You hear a great, screaching noise as it starts to dig into the concrete armor of Executioner. But you push the right lobster claw out. It easily smashes through the thick wooden beams. You pull the trigger, and the back of the galley mech explodes - sending out bodies of the galley slaves ripped apart by the splinters. The recoil forces Executioner's right arm back, even with the great springs to buffer the recoil.
The galley mech falls to its knees as you reverse.
"Sire, our men at arms have routed the levies," says Roston through a speaking tube, the squire that serves to signal with flags and serve as a lookout.
There is a pause and then another surprised call from Roston, "Sire, Lancer has raised a red flare. They're in trouble. And it looks like the other galley has extricated itself from the soft ground."
You want to help Ancert, but you would rather not turn your back on a foe - even one that is clumsier and slower than yourself.
[A] Finish off the immobilized galley mech and help Lancer
[B] Help Ancert at once
[C] Other
>>47496491
> [C] Other
Fire the petard, and take 'em out. No time for precision. Then turn and help Ancert.
In the future we need to build very highly ecofriendly mechs.
[B]
I also rather like the writing :)
>>47496491
[A] Finish off the immobilized galley mech and help Lancer
As quickly as possible, we won't be helping anyone if we let this thing sit around as a big turret during the battle.
Going to call it in 5 minutes, break the tie with a die roll if necessary
Scratch that. Writing for the consensus to finish off the galley mech
You turn and advance on the second galley mech in a gentle, counterclockwise turn. It cannot turn itself nor the limited arc of its howitzer track Executioner. You leisurely advance so as not to bog down as this galley mech had. You come behind the galley mech, where it cannot defend itself, and swing down your claw. The gun crew bails out towards the ground, where one is crushed under the uncaring feat of the fighting titans. The claw comes down around the cockpit and you snap it shut. Blood paints your claws, and you back up and head toward the town where you see a great pillar of dust.
You increase the pace and head toward the town. You hear the sound of metal shrieking under stress over the din of Executioner's machinery. This is very urgent indeed and you push your anscestral mech into a run - a rather dangerous maneuver in that it required excellent spacial awareness and timing to not fall over while doing so. THe three toes tear into the ground and you see what has happened. The green Lancer lies fallen on a building; it would be almost comical - as if the giant iron man were sitting in an armchair - were it not engaged in a fight for its life. The hydraulic spike arm lies limp, leaking fluids from a cannonball hit. The shield is rent two pieces by cannonball strikes. And the foe mech, the axeman clad in black and yellow livery, slams its axe down again and again into the shield. Ancert still exerts some measure of control and tries to move the shield to block the blows that rain down upon it.
[A] Fire your remaining rockets in a single volley
[B] Charge the axe-wielding mech
[C] Other
A
>>47497229
[C]
While I hate to be that guy...
Why not both?
No time to mess around, launch rockets as we advance, more as a distraction than anything, I don't expect them to do much against a mech, then go right into a charge and pitard the fuck out of that over sized lumberjack.
>>47497480
It would make the rocket barrage even more inaccurate than it normally is, but I'm happy to allow it if you win
Rolled 1 (1d2)
Rolling to pick between the two
>1/2
You carefully twist Executioner's torso and widen its stance. You take your hands from the arm joysticks and pull the triggers for the rockets. At this range, many still miss or glance off. However, you can see explosions behind the chokingly thick cloud of gunsmoke. You hear a great din and start to backpedal. The axeman comes charging out of the cloud, trailing streams of smoke from sharp edges. This close, you can see that it's cockpit has been fastened into the visage of a snarling wolf. The one of the cannons on its left arm fires, and glances somewhere. As you continue to backpedal, and instead find yourself turning, you realize that it has by luck struck and damaged one of the components which gives motive force to your legs. It raises the axe high and starts to swing it down. You quickly start cranking the wheel to twist the torso and impose the spent arm in the way of the great hatchet. It bites deeply into the arm, which sprays steam and leaks oil like a fountain of blood. The right joystick is unresponsive, indicating a total loss of power.
"Pierre!" you shout, "Shut off circulation to the right arm and get your boys working to build more pressure to make up for what we've already lost!"
"Aye, Sire!" comes the reply. And you can merely hope that he obeys as quickly as possible. Indeed the left arm is already sluggish in its response from the lost steam pressure.
>>47497968
The axeman presses closer and you can feel your mech starting to topple. However, you swiftly push one leg back to deflect the axeman - which stumbles into a building and dissappears in a cloud of dust from the impact - and to retain your balance. It takes some frantic pedalling, and cranking, and turning of dials to truly balance the mech. Your foe is in a similar situation and cautiously emerges from the rubble. Alas, it had not tripped and fallen.
"Sire, there is no more steam going to disabled right arm and we have stoked the boiler further. You should be back to full power," says an exhausted-sounding Pierre.
"Acknowledged," you coldly reply as you begin to size up the foe-knight's machine. Your hands shake on the controls in a way that you cannot control.
Looking at the wolf-visaged axe-mech, you notice a rent in its side, where Ancert's hydraulic spike punched through. Alas, that is the side opposite to your remaining arm. If you try to charge, you will veer to the left - so there is no real element of momentum in this battle. However, you might be able to turn aside the axe, as your left arm can intercept - though the natural clumsiness of a mech's movements will undermine your dexterity.
[A] Try and counter the axe
[B] Close and try and gut him with your petard before he caves in your cockpit.
[C] Try and circle towards the weak side.
[D] Other
>>47497990
[B] Close and try and gut him with your petard before he caves in your cockpit.
Writing
You have to take shorter strides as you close. Indeed, this will be a tumultuous clash. For there is little subtlety in the battles of mechs. Most blows more resemble wild haymakers, and there is very little in the way of bobbing and weaving. The black and gold mech raises its axe on its approach. There are perhaps a dozen strides between the two of you, and it takes almost that time in seconds for the distance to be crossed and for you to come to blows. You start to veer off to try and take the axe blow in your already disabled right side. Your left arm reaches out and its claw finds purchase in the armpit of the enemy mech. However, your cockpit and indeed the entirety of Executioner is rocked as the axe comes down, smashing through the iron-reinforced concrete of the Executioner’s right side. The force is so strong that one the legs starts to buckle, and it takes frantic corrections to keep Executioner standing. But, you still stand. And that is enough for you to reorient yourself, bite into the iron plates with your lobster claw.
You pull the trigger, and the petard belches fire and gunsmoke. Slowly, like a dying man, the axe mech goes limp – its steam powered limbs gradually losing pressure. The enemy knight abandons his dying mech. Your men at arms will perhaps give chase.
Your family will be pleased, since the territories controlled by this town now belong to the Realm; and in all likelihood, your family – since, with two galley mechs and a knight’s mech you have won the lion’s share of the glory.
After the battle, the process of salvage and treatment of injuries begins. The axe-mech is loaded into a specially reinforced and wide wagon pulled by a small herd of oxen. The captured levies are rounded up in the town where they will be held prisoner until the gains might be consolidated. The captured knight goes into the Executioner’s brig and will be held at your family’s manor until an appropriate ransom is received.
You prepare to write a letter to your family about the deeds done and about the performance of yourself and Ancert, whose family is a vassal to your own.
[A] Emphasize your valor on the field of battle at the expense of Ancert
[B] Tell the truth to as great an extent as possible, but make emphasis of the damage Ancert inflicted as an important contributing factor to your victory.
[C] Other
>>47498762
[B] Tell the truth to as great an extent as possible, but make emphasis of the damage Ancert inflicted as an important contributing factor to your victory.
Our family knows we're great, and we did some impressive work already. We're probably better off having the guy fighting with us feel good about working under us, and for sure we don't want to give anyone watching our back a reason to hold a grudge.
>>47499082
Writing
You arrive at the Chateau after some time, with several stops at coaling stations to refill the fuel bins. Your footsteps rumble like an earthquake as you pilot Executioner into its shed, as tall as the three-story chateau. The footmen take the captured knight from your brig and to the dungeons. Your father, Comte Ganeaut Broussard d’Rambuiss, a tall, barrel-chested man some fifty years old is there to greet you. He does not mind your filthy, smelly padded mech jockey’s uniform as he hugs you and kisses each cheek. Your mother, Lady Elior, a blonde woman some ten years younger than your father cannot help but break the expected formalities to embrace her son returned from campaigning.
“I’ll get the servants to draw you a bath, Little Gui,” she says.
“Yes, Mother,” you say, “I would very much like that.”
At that moment, it felt like everything was going right in your life.
END THREAD 1
Thanks for playing, all who participated. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed coming up with the idea and writing it.
I'll hang around for perhaps an hour if anyone would like to chat or discuss things. I can also be reached on twitter, where I will announce things.
I will go out on a limb and say that I would like to run again on Tues, but I have not totally cleared the decks.
>>47499448
What's your handle?
Also, thanks for running, you have really good prose, and I'm a sucker for coal powered mech fights.
>>47499482
@ArmorRenegadeOP
