Crawler

Crawler is an armoured heavy weapon platform.

Construction

Crawler is a walker type construct, typically 30ft long and 10ft wide, with eight shovel-like thick legs that allow it to move in all terrain, is it capable to move surprisingly fast.
In front there is a pilot cabin that is enclosed, a pilot and copilot can fit inside. In the front of chamber lays the command module, created from Cores of Ancient Constructs. The main chamber of the vehicle is open, in posterior part of the construct (2/3 lenght wise) there is and encampment for main weapon. Sides of the chamber are elevated in back and sides with numerous narrow slits allowing for defensive fire. Some Crawlers have a mechanism that allow for this chamber to close.
In the back of the main chamber there is a compartment with arcane power source, this power source is connected to a complex lattice of Heartstrings and Fibremuscle that spread to all parts of the construct.
Body of the Crawler is heavily armored. Outer armor of a Crawler is made of Plating from Ancient Constructs, underneath is a secondary plating made from enchanted steel.
There are 4 pair of legs, the front pair is longer and capable of attacking. Crawler can operate with 2 legs per side inoperable.

Power Generation and Propulsion

Crawlers are powered by a Mk II/III Arcane Generator, power is distributed to the command module and from there by network of Heartstrings to the Fibremuscles of the entire machine. Command module steers the Crawler semi-autonomously, pilot is mostly necessary for supervision and changing course. In case of Lighting Lance equipped Crawlers the power to the propulsion has to be cut for the time of charging and shooting which leaves the Crawler vulnerable.

Strategy

Crawlers are used mostly as counter to Akhatai flying forces like Dragons, Wyrm Riders, Wyvern Cavalry and Wyvern Chariots. Secondary usage is area denial, an army with significant amount of Crawlers must be avoided by aforementioned flying force.
Crawlers are rare in VE military, only about 500 of these exist in 933AR, they are always used with infantry and arcane support. There is also a problem of price, Crawlers are made nearly exclusively from materials that can only be scavenged from Ancient Constructs.

Wagon Class

Cheaper alternative to a typical Crawler. These are wheeled wagons, with much lighter armour, powered by a Garring Engine. Equipped mostly with ballistas and sometimes with cannons.
The main advantage of Wagon class is lack of necessity for scavenge-only materials.

Crew

It crews six, one pilot, skilled with arcana, capable of steering the machine, loader and gunner that operate the main weapon and three gunners, of which there is replacement pilot, medic and engineer.

Main weaponry

• Ballista - smaller mobile ballista, usualy eqiped with semi-automatic reload mechanism, that allow it to shoot quite fast (5 shots per minute) can fire various type of bolts; one of these types is roped bolt, with attached enchanted rope
• Cannon - large gunpowder weapon, has enormous stopping power, for this it pays with high reload times, it is more accurate and has higher range than a ballista but the cannonball types are limited
• Lightning Lance - an advanced arcane artefact which shoots out a bright lance of energy, very accurate and powerful, requires high amount of arcane fuel to operate

Related Technologies

• Arcane Artifact