- “Tell me again why I should be pouring good ale into your steam engine?”
“See da steam engine provides da ‘eat to bring ‘er to a boil. Da methel boils off first.”
“And what’s left behind?”
“Da ethel.”
“And what’s ‘da ethel’?”
“Homebrew.”
Newcomers to the theater of mechanized combat, the Orc Hordes are feared more for their violent abandon than sophisticated mech designs. This is beginning to change as ambitious warlords cease their dogged imitation of civilized mechs and begin to create variants uniquely suited to the Horde’s strength: the willingness to embrace any means necessary to conquer their foes.
Steam Cannon Rounds: Boarder Munitions
Boarder munitions are a ranged derivative of the bore puncher, used to terrifying effectiveness against enemy mechs. Boarder munitions are created by sealing an undead inside a clay sphere, which is then encased in a metal sheath.
The rounds are desgined to be shot from a steam cannon. Upon striking an enemy mech, the metal sheath shears off as the round punches through the mech’s armor. The clay sphere breaks open inside the mech, releasing the undead to wreak havoc against the mech’s crew.
To determine if a boarder munition defeats a mech’s armor, roll for damage as per a normal steam cannon round. If the damage beats a mech’s hardness by 10 or more points, the armor has been breached and the undead payload is released inside the mech. Only 1/3 of the damage rolled is recorded against the mech; this reflects the munition’s nature: once the metal shell is discarded, the round does little actual damage.
A colossal steam cannon can fire munitions large enough to carry a single medium-sized undead. Colossal II cannon rounds can hold up to 2 medium-sized undead. Colossal III rounds can hold up to 4 medium-sized undead. Steam cannons smaller than colossal do not fire rounds large enough to hold effective undead combatants, although rumors whisper of retreating orc forces firing “spite” rounds with payloads of gray ooze and crumble bugs. (Dwarf engineers assure us that these stories are only hearsay: “Stupid pig-jockeys need to capture as many mechs as they can get their grubby hands on.”)
Ghouls, ghasts and wights all make excellent boarder munitions. While multiple-undead payloads are more attractive to orcs, often a single undead gets the job done, transforming low-ranking crew members into a mob of undead that swarm the pilot.
The smoking dead do not make good munitions because their steam power requires water, air and exhaust, while other undead can be stored indefinitely.
After a battle, brazen orc cleric/mech jockeys comb the battlefield, rebuking the undead and bringing captured mechs home.
The usefulness of boarder munitions has given rise to breeding farms where a single ghoul or ghast is nailed to posts, or buried up to its neck in the soil. Captured slaves are bound in the fetal position and fed to the stationary undead. Before the bound slaves can rise as spawns they are placed inside a pre-hardened munition cast, which is sealed with additional layers of clay, then finally wrapped in hammered iron.
Alternative Power Source: Undead
Simpler to build than true necromantic mechs, “man-powered” mechs can also be powered by animated zombies. Unlike slaves, undead do not sleep, tire or revolt. No amount of endless labor, though, can make up for poor design; zombie-powered mechs remain the slowest thing on the battlefield. (Their crew needs, however, drop to low.)
Zombie-powered mechs are alluring to the Hordes for two reasons: first, they are far easier for orcs to create than true undead mechs; second, when zombie-powered mechs are downed they spill their evil cargo, filling the battlefield with hordes of the walking dead.
This implicit tactic has led many a battle-hardened jockey to quip: “What’s worse than a zombie-powered mech? A downed zombie-powered mech.”
Unique Weapon: Hell Chain
Before he vanished into the Endless East, Sauru the Mad built this specialized changler for the Orc Hordes. Sauru began with a colossal changler, then used thick iron belts to bind over 200 human slaves to the chains. Then the changler was placed in a locked hanger with a wight for a single night.
It was said that the desperate cries of the trapped slaves could be heard leagues away. Come dawn, 200 clawing, screaming wights were bound to the Hell Chain’s ten long chains.
Unlike traditional changlers, the Hell Chain is intended to be used against foot troops. The changler is built onto a handle; it can be wielded by a mech like a normal changler, but the chains cannot be wound in, nor can the chains detach without destroying the changler.
The Hell Chain’s existence is unknown outside of the Orc Hordes, and the changler has yet to see use on the battlefield. Some orc warlords mutter that even the creator did not know what effect his weapon would have when loosed upon an army. For now the weapon howls in secret, waiting for the day when the Orc Lords are desperate enough to field the Hell Chain.
Chain Sweep(Ex): The Hell Chain attacks an area, and cannot discriminate between specific targets in the affected area. The sweep affects a half circle with a diameter of 30 ft., centered on the mech’s wielding arm. The sweep deals 4d8 damage, plus energy drain. Affected characters can attempt Reflex saves, DC 20 to avoid.
Energy Drain(Su): Living creatures hit by the Hell Chain gain one negative level. A DC 14 Fortitude save removes the negative level. The save DC is charisma based.
Create Spawn(Su): Any humanoid slain by the Hell Chain becomes a wight in 1d4 rounds. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life.
Frightful Wail(Ex): The wights bound to the Hell Chain emit a constant cacophony of anguish that unsettles nearby foes. Creatures within a radius of 200 ft. are subject to the effect if they have fewer than 10 HD. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 20) remains immune to the frightful wail for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds, and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Evil-aligned allies of the mech wielding the Hell Chain ignore the frightful wail.
