Mortar Crews

Created by Adam Tingley // Wreckerdwarf

Pladeholder Dwof by Katy Smith

Functioning as an alternative route through military rankings to the Dragoons, any member of the dwarven military what has completed their archery training and minimum amount of service within a sharpshooter battalion can look to progress to being a mortar crew technician. The crews consist of either 3 or 4 personnel depending on type of ammunition and the conflict requirements. The total number of crews also depends on how many available firing platforms are situated. Dwarves don’t look to meet the enemy out on an open field if it can be avoided and as such, mortar crews are stationed well within city walls.

Differences in Aboveground and Underground Combat

Cities or outposts that breach the surface are reasonably simple to defend. Mortar crews are placed a distance inward from the defensive walls. Mostly in stout towered structures that allow the greatest range to be achieved. Underground formations are still located within the walls of the city but literally so. In the cavernous regions that walls pass through, mortar crews are also responsible for the creation of specialised and smooth boreholes through the rock itself. When the time calls for it, the mortar fires from inside the walls through firing windows at one of the premade boreholes of the cavern roof/wall outside. The ammunition travels through at great speed and has its trajectory changed to hit the enemy with devastating results. Using this method, the mortar is able to target distinct regions of an enemy army or siege camp.

Ammunition Variants

Depending on the desired outcome, different ammunition may be deployed: Iron Shot - A standard ball of iron. Effective, quick to manufacture and cheap. Marble Triple Bola - Three smooth marble spheres attached via a robust iron chain. Most effective when pointed directly at its target. Slag Shot - A plugged hollow cannonball filled with slag runoff from the forges. When impacting the ground, it can explode, coating its target with molten metal. Crystal Shot - A smooth quartz sphere that is hollowed and filled with black powder. When it is primed, fired and reaches its target, the crystal bursts into hundreds of razor sharp shards that rip through anything nearby. For when casualty numbers are more important than fatalities. Bar Shot - A specialised shot comprising two thick iron bars connected to a central spherical shot. When fired, the bars extend outwards in the direction of rotation to add additional coverage of area.