IV1-Series Combat Droid
The first and most ubiquitous combat droid in the Iron Empire's Mechanized Legions, built to stand bravely against the darkness
The Ivans might freak some people out, but they've always comforted me...I'll never forget the time I spent during the war with Frederick. Sorry - IV8901. He kept me safe after the wall fell, and the dead took the city. I was just a young boy, then - and to that boy who had just watched his parents turn and eat his sister alive, Frederick was like The Iron Emperor himself. Strong. Radiant. Brave. Maybe it's just the haze of nostalgia as I approach my own end, but...he was so kind, in my memories. He carried me through the blood-soaked halls of Damnadon like my father used to - even as he used his free hand to cut apart the dead who came for the flesh of a child in his arms. He sang the song I had taught him to comfort me even as they tore him apart, piece by piece. The Death's Head found me in a broom closet, they tell me. I don't...remember much of it. Supposedly they found an IV1 unit in front of the door, half-buried beneath the dead - the door's mechanisms were so destroyed that they had to cut the door apart with welding rods to get me out. He died protecting me...I know it. Was it his duty that drove him? Maybe. That's...what the mechanics said. But he felt so...human. So... alive.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
Though their design has undoubtedly become more complex as the decades and centuries have wore on since their initial rollout, when all is said and done the design of the IV1 series is surprisingly simple - a robust frame constructed out of the finest Ironite Steel and reinforced in recent iterations with a thick coating of the durable, recently discovered metal known in the empire as Sanctyrite(Also known as "Martyr's Iron"), this robust metal affords the IV1 Series with a now infamous durability that allows their recently-upgraded Twin Onboard Diesel Engines to power their frames for surprisingly long periods of time.
Though their twin onboard Diesel Engines(Whose specifications are largely classified by the Technis Brotherhood) are perhaps their most complex design element, the rest of their frame is surprisingly simple - equipped with a handful of built-in 'hardpoints' along their hips and on their backs to which weapons can be mounted and secured, the IV1's design allows for not only these wielded weapons but allow for a variety of weapons to be embedded within their enormous metallic arms; most commonly powerful stake-drivers or vibrating hacksaws to allow them to fight even if disarmed.
Though the weapons they carry tend to vary depending on their chosen role in a given battle(With different "roles" being given different weapon loadouts), the IV1 Series remains simple and elegant in their design - built to withstand tremendous amounts of punishment and serve as threats that cannot be ignored to allow for the organic Ironite Infantry to concentrate on the ranged combat they so often excel at.
Manufacturing process
Though many have tried to peel back the secrets of the IV1-Series manufacturing process and tooling methods over their centuries of active service, none have succeeded - for the Technis Brotherhood's longstanding deals with The Iron Empire and Tavross, The Iron Emperor himself afford the esoteric techno-cult virtually unlimited secrecy so long as they serve as the smiths for Tavross, The Iron Emperor's war machine.
History
As the story goes amongst Ironite Historians, the tale of the IV1-Series Battle Droids begins with the oft-repeated adage, "The First Ivans weren't build or invented - they were found." - though somewhat hyperbolic, this adage hints at the odd nature of the means by which the IV1 series is believed to have came about. As creations of the Technis Brotherhood and the first fully autonomous combat-grade constructs to hit the open market, the concept that would later become the IV1 series came about during one of the Technis Brotherhood's yearly "Junior Inventor Fairs" - a massive gathering held once a year by the Brotherhood that is one-part festival, one part technological showcase, and one part job fair during which all members of the public are welcomed and encouraged to attend the Fairgrounds and pitch ideas or inventions to the Brotherhood itself, with the greatest inventors and inventions of the lot being selected for either hiring or immortalization in one of the Brotherhood's legendary Standard Template Constructs(STC's) used for mass production in their foundries and factories.
During one of these very fairs, the legend goes, a junior inventor whose name has long since passed from memory pitched a rudimentary concept for a "Combat Robot" using nothing but other pre-existing technologies of the day - a re-imagining of the Brotherhood's existing technology that proved so eye-catching that it is said the brotherhood based the entire IV1 series' prototype designs off this very pitch. Whether the story be truth or fiction, the facts remain that the IV1 series was assembled almost entirely out of pre-existing items and materials and put out onto select markets in record time - though they have undeniably been improved upon and altered in the intervening centuries to the point of near-unrecognizability.
Regardless, however, the IV1 Series was practically an overnight hit - for a country such as The Iron Empire who had for so much of its history been so woefully outmatched by its sworn enemies The Vrýkus Throne that Ironite Military Doctrines typically demanded a 10:1 troop ratio in favor of the Empire to even have a chance of winning a melee engagement, the prospect of an entirely mechanical frontline shocktrooper was nothing short of a godsend. Rugged, durable, and while altogether finicky and somewhat troublesome to upkeep and maintain in the field, the rollout of the initial prototypes of the first IV1 series Combat Droids was a smash hit amongst the Ironite Military - almost immediately, the Technis Brotherhood was overwhelmed with requested from all across the newly reunited Empire for more IV1's(Or "Ivans", as they were already being called then) such that the now legendary Primus Factory Yards were commissioned just to spin up and house the production capacity the Brotherhood now needed to meet the vast demand they now faced.
From there, the history of the IV1's can be traced fairly straightforwardly into the modern day - as one of if not the longest serving Combat Automata still in active service today, the IV1 Series Combat Droid has been iterated upon countless times across their centuries of operation; Their frames slowly modernized and their control units(Which were previously archaic Computational Dynamo-Cores based heavily on the Golemcraft of ancient Mage-Tyrants, adapted poorly to non-magical automata) eventually replaced with the cutting edge Engramatic Control Module(ECM for short) that allowed the IV1's very limited tactical awareness and the ability to take more complex orders and instructions from commanding officers(Though they have also been largely attributed with the "quirky" nature of the IV1's, and why so many seem to develop odd personality quirks and almost human mannerisms if left operational long enough), and countless other upgrades to their onboard weapon suites, armored chassis, and more.
Now, the IV1 Series stands as the undisputed flagship product of the Technis Brotherhood - whose total sales and units moved across all orders amounts to more than all the Brotherhood's other product lines combined five times over; Perhaps the only way to truly fathom how ubiquitous the IV1 Series has become in the modern day is to understand that not only has the droid become the rank-and-file automata in The Iron Empire, but has been sold and distributed to limited vendors not just across Numiastra, but throughout the entire planet of Ea if one factors in black markets, unauthorized resales, and such. Even faroff lands who have no concept of The Iron Empire or Numiastra itself may not be strangers to the power of the IV1 Series.
Significance
The significance of the IV1 Series Combat Droid cannot possibly be overstated in the modern Iron Empire - for its creation and eventual widespread adoption by the Empire's military allowed the Empire and its people to not merely survive against the undead and the damned forces of The Vrýkus Throne, but thrive. With legions of IV1-Series Combat Droids to serve as bulwarks against the ferocious, undying warriors of The Vrýkus Throne, the mighty IV1's allow The Iron Empire to not only protect its organic citizens but to focus its attention on what it truly excels at: Overwhelming Artillery Support and Ranged Firepower.
It is with little exaggeration or hyperbole that many call the the IV1-Series "The Invention that won the empire" - for without it, the Iron Empire would have little to no hope of ever matching its arch-enemy on the field of battle, where the maws and claws of the undead soldiers of The Vrýkus Throne would brutally tear the Ironite Military's artillery and gunpowder-based tactics to shreds. In addition, though it now stands as the most humble and commonplace of all the Iron Empire's Combat Droids, the runaway success of the IV1-Series paved the way for all the models that would come after - meaning that without the humble IVAN, the rest of The Iron Empire's mechanical legions may never have come to fruition.
The Tillies
Though the IV1-Series Combat Droid is ubiquitous across The Iron Empire, it is by design largely a military machine - meant for war against the undead and other enemies of the Empire. As such, when the Ironite Civic Guards in the Empire's Hive Cities began inquiring of the possibilities of acquiring IV1 Series Droids for use in their day to day duties as town guards and a civic militia in service of the people and the common defense, the Technis Brotherhood responded with the IV1/S-Series Combat Droid - these lighter, stripped down versions of the IV1's are nearly as commonplace, but serve almost exclusively as Heavy-Duty Riot Police and Supplemental Civic Guard. Better known amongst the populace as Tillies(So named for a popular Ironite Myth about Unrequited lovers), these Droids exchange the lethal weaponry of the IV1's for lighter Truncheons, Riot Shields meant to stop bullets rather than explosions and claws, Tow Winches sporting nonlethal Bolases and Nets to capture and anchor foes rather than impale and drag them, and smog-emitting pipes designed to disperse crowds(Among other changes too small and/or numerous to list here). Designed for use against the Ironite Populace to supplement police forces, they are valuable tools used in everyday Ironite Policework - whose designs and chassis are largely stylized as Feminine compared to the vaguely "Masculine" frames of the IV1's.
Item type
Robotic
Used by
Owning Organization
Rarity
Though in the early days of the IV1 series they were a highly-restricted technology available largely only to the Ironite Military(And even then, only specific factions within it), the days of the early IV1 Series Combat Droids' exclusivity have long since passed. Whereas before the thin, rickety combat machines were produced in select batches to supplement the frontline battle prowess of the Ironite military, with access to them restricted accordingly, nowadays the IV1 Series - or "Ivans", as they have come to be known to most Ironites - are some of the most ubiquitous and famous machines in the entire Iron Empire; so widely-known and so incredibly popular that they have passed into the cultural zeitgeist as the stuff of Ironite Propaganda posters, stuffed plushies and other toys meant for small children, and as the gold standard for what each Ironite themselves should aspire to: Tough, Stubborn, Valorous, and Strong.
In addition, their numbers have largely exploded such that they are now commonly found in nearly every corner of the Empire as the go-to rank and file frontline footsoldier in the Empire's arsenal - found in every Hive City and in every miltary regiment, the IV1 series has become so commonly available that they can even be found in remote villages(Having been reprogrammed decades or centuries prior), the Vrykus Throne, or even faraway lands as constructs so durable and easily repairable that even in such places where the Iron Empire is an unheard of foreign nation; their design so easily modular and repairable that even those with little knowledge of Ironite Combat Droids can scrap together repairs for the aging automata.
Raw materials & Components
Though the exact specifics of the materials and components required to create the IV1-Series Combat Droids are kept a closely-guarded secret of the Technis Brotherhood, they are by and large hulking lumps of high-grade iron as well as the unique metal known as Sanctyrite - the incredibly durable metal whose methods of refinement were discovered by The Iron Empire that has served as the unbending backbone of the Ironite War Machine. This metal, stronger than the most durable iron or steel and sharper and more resilient in every way to even Adamantine, Sanctyrite is a ferociously durable metal that has driven the Ironite War Machine ever onwards in its quest to hold its ground against the unending forces of the undead in service to The Vrýkus Throne.
Tools
Though many have tried to peel back the secrets of the IV1-Series manufacturing process and tooling methods over their centuries of active service, none have succeeded - for the Technis Brotherhood's longstanding deals with The Iron Empire and Tavross, The Iron Emperor himself afford the esoteric techno-cult virtually unlimited secrecy so long as they serve as the smiths for Tavross, The Iron Emperor's war machine.
- Primus Foundry Yards
- Gelusia Forge Complex
- Forge-Temple Titanus
- Reinforced Sanctyrite Armor Plating with Temperature-Resistant Polymer Coating and Insulated Shock-Absorbant Armorweave
- Two-Ton Reinforced Sanctyrite-A Pavise-Model Dispersion Barricade
- 2x Wrist-Mounted Cold Iron Vibrosaw
- 2x Wrist-Mounted Stake-Driver
- Saxon Model-1782 Combustion-Type Impact Hammer
- Joan Model-902 Diamond-Tipped Chainblade with onboard polearm extension
- Shoulder-Mounted Canister Launcher / Flamethrower Hybrid
- Arm-Mounted Motorized Tow-Winch with Pneumatic Anchoring Point and 250ft of Reinforced Cable
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