Groundwrecker

"Those groundwreckers take hits like castle walls and destroy our soldiers by the dozens. We have to have one. " - Trebai general Zeredeus Zeno

A groundwrecker was a large, magically-powered war machine used by dwarvish peoples, especially the Makovai, during the Twenty-Year War. The machines, often repurposed mining constructs, took the form of large mech suits that were operated by one or more dwarvish individuals. They were much taller and thicker than the average human, ranging from ten to forty feet tall, and five to twenty feet wide.

In their original forms, groundwreckers had no military applications. They were used primarily by the Makovai for mining and drilling of large tunnels in their subterranean cities. The machines originally were equipped with massive drills, and never driven by more than one individual. Like other dwarvish machines, groundwreckers were powered largely by magical gemstones from the depths of the Makovai Mountains. Initially during the Twenty-Year War, the Makovai did not employ groundwreckers or any machinery in their fighting. As the scale of the conflict became clear, and as stalemates became increasingly common as the dwarves lost momentum, the need for new, experimental combat techniques became clear. Around seven years into the war, groundwreckers were repurposed for fighting. The machines were outfitted with varying weaponry and modified in several ways. Most units were armed with large bolt launchers positioned in one of the construct's arms. The other arm sometimes held a flamethrower, but otherwise was used simply as a tool to sweep away enemies. Some units kept their drills, but these proved to be useful only for drilling into fortress walls, rather than combat. Most groundwreckers were operated by a crew of at least two people; one piloting the entire craft in the unit's "chest" area, and the other operating a weapon in one of the unit's arms. Groundwreckers, after a period of trial and error, proved to be effective weapons of war. They were especially instrumental during the siege of White Harbor in the war's ninth year, though they often iced over and required the building of fires next to them to start up again. The machines were nearly impervious to bow, crossbow, and sword attacks, but could be damaged by handheld machines such as miniature cannons, as well as larger machines such as fire wagons. As the war dragged on, eastern armies became more knowledgeable on how to defeat groundwreckers. During and after the siege of Redoran Peak, as the war began to turn against the dwarves, the Makovai experimented with larger, more powerful groundwreckers. Several models were built of varying sizes, with the largest being the Kell Vos at forty feet tall. The most advanced of these new groundwreckers were equipped with weapons such as larger bolt launchers, dragging whips, extreme noise emanators, and some of the first dwarvish miniature cannons. However, many of these large models required an unsustainable amount of power and were often rushed in production, resulting in some of them falling over and smashing into pieces. The largest groundwreckers were operated by crews of over fifteen individuals. In addition, compared to their earlier counterparts, the later groundwreckers often resembled walking tanks more than they did mech suits. After the war, most groundwreckers were melted down for scrap or taken by the Trebai Ascendancy to be studied. Some groundwreckers remained in the hands of the Makovai, used most frequently for crowd control during periods of severe unrest in various cities.

Item type

Mechanical

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