Mid-Ohio Resource War

The Mid-Ohio Resource War (also know as the Ohio War, the Last War, or the Freebooter Incursion) was a retaliatory conflict by a loose confederation of settlements, towns, and coalitions (generally called the Freebooters by those on the Toledo side) aimed against the Toledo city-state. The TCS was putting more and more pressure on the surrounding greater Ohio territories, taking salvage, pushing claimants off natural deposits, etc. in an effort to make more and more manufacturing and material gains. The War, started in 88 PE and ending after the internal assassination of Statehead Simon Gronkowski by his head general in mid-89 PE, was the catalyst for the creation of the Artificer's Union. The TCS made extensive use of Artificer technology, being one of the first regional powers to capitalize on Artificer innovations for logistical, manufacturing, and military roles. Despite being generally outnumbered by their attackers, the TCS held vastly superior weaponry, mobility, and armor technologies leading to a large imbalance of casualties on the "Freebooter" side. It was this realization that lead a faction, headed by General Alison Spinnet (the later executer of Gronkowski), to the realization that the use of Artificer technology would either lead to bloody, one-sided conflicts or a massive arms race to procure such weapons. She was a major part of the push for the creation of the Artificer's Union.