War Vehicles (DK)

:Chapter from Dragon Kings
The vehicles on the following pages enhance both adventures and BATTLESYSTEM™ games. 
==Chariot, Heavy==
Considered the elite shock elements of the sorcerer-kings' armies, massed heavy chariots have a well-deserved reputation for destructiveness. 
===Construction===
The basic body of the heavy chariot is leather, stiffened and stretched over a frame of wooden beams. The two axles, fire-hardened wood greased with animal lard, support four spoked wheels_ A leather overlay often protects the spokes. 
The frame's front is further protected with bone or chitin plates, often with protruding spikes to discourage skirmishers from boarding. The frame holds a large chitin roof suspended above the chariot. More chitin armor or spikes can be applied over the wheels or along the chariot's sides or rear. 
Most heavy chariots also have a leather sail, deployed when the wind is at its back. Charioteers insist that the sail lightens the load on the drawing animals, but the sail lends no speed to the vehicle. When not in use, the sail is drawn down onto the chitin roof. 
A single wooden pole, attached in a pivot-mount, juts from the front of the frame. The animal harnesses attach to this pole, which is usually fashioned into a wooden or bone point. 
Four kanks or four crodlu pull the heavy chariot. The animals are most often harnessed in two pairs, but can be arranged four-abreast with an additional mounting bar. 
A heavy chariot costs 600 cp (without animals). 
===Crew===
The heavy chariot requires a single driver who manages the animals from the front position in the chariot's frame. The vehicle can also carry up to three man-sized combatants, who need spend no time operating the chariot. The chariot is large enough to allow them a generous supply of missile weapons. 
===Tactics===
The driver of the chariot can attack with single-handed melee weapons, but suffers a -4 penalty to his attack rolls. The combatants suffer a -1 penalty to missile attack rolls while the chariot is moving. The combatants are restricted when firing forward-their field of fire begins at 15 degrees to either side of straight forward. 
The heavy frame of the chariot gives the driver and combatants 75% hard cover, making all missile attacks against them suffer a -7 penalty on attack rolls. When in melee with those outside the chariot, the driver and combatants are considered on higher ground (-1 bonus to initiative rolls). 
Sudden turns may cause the chariot to Bip or break an axle. Whenever the heavy chariot is moving faster than half speed and attempts to tum more than 45 degrees, the driver must make an animal handling proficiency check to avoid irreversibly damaging the vehicle. Those inside must also make Dexterity checks to avoid 2d6 points of damage when the vehicle careens and tips. 
If one animal is slain, the chariot is reduced to h speed. If two or more animals are slain, the heavy chariot cannot move. 
===BATTLESYSTEM™ Game Tactics===
The heavy chariot is sturdy enough to charge directly into ranks of troops. However, since animal casualties after such a charge are high, heavy chariots usually chase down routed units instead. 
Often, heavy chariots function as harrassment troops against massed infantry formations. The chariots move within missile range and pick away at the slower forces. Heavy chariots work best when there is little opposing cavalry. 
Large formations of heavy chariots often keep extra animals and riders nearby. Their sole purpose is to replace fallen animals before the slowed chariots are overrun. 
In BATTLESYSTEM™ game play, every hit beyond 2 on a heavy chariot slays one of the three combatants (one at 3 hits, another at 4, and the last at 5). When conducting missile fire, each heavy chariot model counts all living combatants as firing. 
Heavy Chariots
: AD 2d12 AR 4 Hits 8 ML 15 MV 15 
Heavy Scythed Chariots
: AD 2d12 +8 AR 5 Hits 8 ML 15 MV 15 
Heavy Chariots with Javelinmen
: AD 2d12*6 AR 4 Hits 8 ML 15 MV 15 
: Range 2" /4" /16". 
Heavy Chariots with Archers
: AD 2d12*6 AR 4 Hits 8 ML 15 MV 15 
:: Range 5" /10" /15".
==Chariot, Light==
Far faster and more manoeuvrable than its heavier counterpart, the light chariot is a weapon of lightning quick assaults and reconnaissance. The sight of light chariots on the horizon has been the harbinger of impending combat for centuries. 
===Construction===
The body of the light chariot is a single concave piece of stiffened leather or chitin. One wooden axle supports two spoked wheels; as on other chariots, spokes are protected within leather sheaths. 
The light chariot body is open and offers no protection from the very rear. The sides and front of the chariot's frame are built up with further leather, bone, or chitin plates, extending three to four feet from the base. Spikes are also applied as proof against elf skirmishers, who have been known to run after and board chariots on a wager. 
The chariot's two animals (either kanks or crodlu) are harnessed to a long pole extending from the front of the vehicle's body. The mounting is pivotal, allowing great maneuverability at re latively high speeds. The pole tapers to a wicked point. 
A light chariot costs 250 cp (without animals). 
===Crew===
The light chariot requires a single driver who manages the animals from the front position in the chariot's frame; the driver must stand while operating the chariot. The vehicle can also carry a single man-sized combatant; he can concentrate on melee and missile fire while the driver maneuvers the chariot. The chariot is large enough to allow the combatant a generous supply of missile weapons. 
===Tactics===
The driver of the chariot can attack with single-handed melee weapons, but suffers a -4 penalty to his attack rolls. The combatant suffers a -2 penalty to missile attack rolls while the chariot is moving. The combatant can fire missile weapons in all directions out of the light chariot. 
The chitin and leather protection of the light chariot gives the driver and combatant 50% hard cover ; all missile attacks against them suffer a -4 pena lty on attack rolls. In melee with those outside the chariot, the driver and combatants are considered on higher ground (-1 bonus to initiative rolls). 
Sudden sharp turns may cause the light chariot to flip or break an axle. Whenever the chariot is moving at full speed and attempts to turn greater than 45 degrees, the driver must make an animal handling prof iciency check to avoid flipping. Those inside are thrown from the vehicle; they must make dexterity checks to avo id 3d6 points of damage from the fall. 
If one animal is slain, the chariot is reduced to h speed. If both are slain, the light chariot cannot move. 
===BATTLESYSTEM™ Game Tactics===
The light chariot is rarely used in organized formations. Deployed as skirmishers, light chariots are most often used for screening, harassment, scouting, and pursuit. 
In its screening role, the light chariot rides between two advancing armies as the main forces deploy out of marc h columns and into battle positions. Skirmishes between opposing light chariots or cavalry are common before larger battles, though casualties are usually few. 
Like heavy chariots, light chariots can serve as harassment forces against infantry formations. But this duty doesn't take advantage of the light chariot's far superior speed, and other skirmishers can easily take over in this role. 
As a scout vehicle, a chariot offers long range and redundancy of eyes, ears, and memory to the owning sorcerer-king or general. 
In BATTLESYSTEM game play, the combatant is eliminated when the figure takes its third hit. When conducting missile fire, only light chariot models that have a living combatant count as firing. 
Light Chariots
: AD 12 AR 6 Hits 6 ML 14 MV 18 
Light Scythed Chariots
: AD 12+8 AR 7 Hits 6 ML 15 MV 18
Light Chariots with Javelinmen
: AD 12*6 AR 6 Hits 6 M L 14 MV 18
:: Range 2" /4" /6".
Light Chariots with Archers
: AD 12*6 A R 6 Hits 6 ML 14 MY 15 
:: Range 5" /10" /15"
==Cliff Glider==
The thermals that rise off the desert floor soar at times in stiff breezes up the face of the Ringing Mountains. Though these winds are unpredictable and treacherous, intrepid mountaineers ride the thermals, having mastered the flight of primitive gliders for reconnaissance and raiding. this day. 
The first step in glider construction is the procurement of a suitable carcass. Since none of the appropriate creatures are easily bred in capti'1ity, hunters seek raw materials in the mountains, a dangerous task in itself. To ensure that the flyer isn't excessi'1ely damaged, hunters use blowguns with poisoned darts. Many different species can be used for glider construction, so their overall shape and appearance varies considerably. Every cliff glider has a personal preference. 
The carcass is gutted and cured; wing flaps are stiffened with special oils and baked in the hot sun. The bones on the leading edges of the wings are fused and reinforced with stiff wooden dowels. The creature's head and midsection are removed, but the ribs remain intact to house the pilot. Finally, levers are mounted to the wings for a modicum of pilot control during flight. 
Finished cliff gliders are never for sale. Each is custom built by specialized craftsmen for a specific pilot. Artisans skilled in glider construction are rare. 
===Crew===
A cliff glider holds a single pilot. In flight, the pilot's mo'1ements are se'1erely restricted. Usually the glider can also carry a small supply of missile weapons that the pilot can use. 
===Tactics===
Cliff gliders are most often used in surprise attacks in concert with ground forces. Silent and swift, they are often used in night raids by pilots who have infravision. Once a glider lands, its pilot leaves to fight on foot and reclaim the glider later, if possible. Gliders are more easily replaced than pilots, so they are sometimes abandoned after use. 
Once launched, a cliff glider drops 20 feet per round while traveling up to 120 yards forward. The glider must move at least 60 yards per round. It has landed when its altitude reaches zero. For instance, a cliff glider launched from a height of 100 feet lands at the end of the fifth round of night. The glider cannot turn more than 90 degrees per 60 yards of movement. 
While in night, the pilot can launch missile weapons. All attacks made while nying suffer a -3 penalty to hit. The pilot is considered to have 50% hard cover (-4 penalty to hit). 
The glider itself can be targeted from the ground. It is AC 5. If the glider receives 20 points or more damage, it can no longer ny and immediately plummets to the ground. The glider is destroyed, and the pilot suffers falling damage (1d6 for every 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6). BATTLESYSTEM™ Game Tactics 
Cliff glider movement in BATTLESYSTEM™ games is identical to that described above. Every elevation is 10 feet, so the glider must be launched from at least two elevations above the table. 
Once landed, cliff glider units convert to glider infantry with the same number of figures. 
Off-board entry: Cliff gliders are sometimes launched from mountain peaks, many elevations above the battlefield, long before an encounter. To simulate this in a scenario, the cliff glider unit(s) may enter a board edge on a specific turn, already gliding at a specific altitude (5 -20 inches). Only the owning player knows when the cliff gliders will arrive, and he places the figures at that time. 
Cliff Gliders
: 8 stands
: AD 8 AR 6 Hits 2 ML 13 MV 18 Glide 
Cliff Gliders with Javelins 
: 8 stands 
: AD 8*4 AR 6 Hits 2 ML 13 MV 18 Glide
:: Range: 2" / 4" / 6" 
Cliff Gliders with Bows
: 8 stands 
: AD 8*4 AR 6 Hits 2 ML 13 MV 18 Glide
Range:6 11 /12 /18" 
Glider Infantry
: 8 stands 
: AD 6 AR 9 Hits 1 ML 12 MV 12
:: Missile weapons optional. 
==Mekillot Ram==
Mammoth war machines occas ionally serve m combat against city walls or other strongholds. 
===Construction===
The enormous frame of the mekillot ram is built around its power source-a living mekillot. The 50-60' structure is made of wood and hardened leather, harnessed directly to the animal and supported on eight separate axles. The 16 whee ls are wide, to support the vehicle's great weight. The mekillot cannot be removed from the ram and must be fed and watered within its shell. 
The structure itself has an open, upper deck, a central weapons deck, rear tower, and forward ram. The ram section is reinforced with bone or chitin p lates and various spikes. The 10' ram is most often of bone, carved to a point. The ram thrusts through wooden doors or walls when the vehicle is charged directly forward. 
The upper deck holds a heavy catapult and up to 24 soldiers. The central weapons deck can hold as many as 40 more soldiers, but these can only fire toward either side and the rea r of the vehicle. The 20' rear tower carries just one man-sized lookout. With a single mekillot for power, the ram is very 
slow. When manoeuvring in combat, the mekillot ram is usually fitted with a slave harness and 40 slaves to help pull the vehicle, which doubles its speed. Without slave assistance, the ram cannot move up even moderate slopes. 
===Crew===
The ram requires a commander, two drivers who tend the mekillot from inside the vehicle, a single lookout, and the six-person crew of the heavy catapult. The drivers makes psionic or magical contact 
with the lookout to steer the vehicle. It can support up to 64 additional crew, soldiers usually armed with missile weapons. Also, 40 slaves work the mekillot's harness. 
===Tactics===
The mekillot ram is too slow to charge across the open field of battle. However, if supported on either side with other troops, formations of rams can form pivotal strong points in an army's line. 
Soldiers in the vehicle gain 75% hard cover (-7 penalty to hit). The vehicle is so large it must be boarded from underneath, with ladders from the outside, or from the air before melee can begin.
When striking a structure, the ram inflicts 5d 10 points of structural damage. Anything mobile can easily dodge the ram.
The ram can take 220 points of damage before it can no longer move. The mekillot within can take 60 points of damage before dying; this also stops the vehicle. The mekillot ram makes structural saving throws as hard wood. 
===BATTLESYSTEM™ Game Tactics===
Each mekillot ram model should be on a base 40 mm wide and 80 mm deep. lt represents one mekillot ram. Riding inside each ram figure is a complete unit of archers or javelineers. When inside the vehicle, the figures for these are kept off the board. However, the soldiers can disembark from the ram in a single turn, provided the ram makes no other movement, and then operate as an independent unit. Whether in the vehicle or on their own, the soldiers get their own missile or melee attac ks in the appropriate phase. 
As the ram takes hits, the soldiers inside take hits. For every 4 hits on the ram, the soldier unit takes 1 hit. When the ram takes 14 hits, the heavy catapult can no longer fire. 
When slaves pull t h e ram, they are r epresented by a unit of four slave figures. It takes one complete turn for the slaves to be harnessed to the ram. Thereafter the ram moves 6 per turn. 
Flying units can land on the mekillot ram. Attacking units must immediately engage soldiers on the ram. If there are no soldiers, the crew of the catapult is automatically defeated. 
Mekillot Ram
: 2 stands
: AD 2d12 AR 6 Hits 24 ML 15 MV 3
:: Catapult Range 18" /36", Rate 3. 
Ram Archers
: 6 stands
: AD 6*6 AR 8 Hits 1 M L 12 MV 12
:: Range 5" /10" /15" 
Ram Javelineers
: 6 stands 
: AD 6*6 AR 8 Hits 1 ML 12 MV 12
:: Range 5" /10" / 15" 
Mekillot Ram Slaves 
: 4 stands
: AD 4 AR 9 Hits 1 ML 7 MV 12
:: Ram moves 6 with slaves. 
==Undead War Beetle==
For centuries the twisted sorcerer-kings have delighted in bizarre weapons of destruction. 
===Construction===
The undead war beetle must be found and slain, prepared for battle, and then raised as a lifeless, animated creature. 
The large and durable carcasses of giant rezhatta beetles from the Great Ivory Plain are best suited to the process. Hunting parties sent to procure rezhatta often suffer heavy casualties-the beast must be poisoned to preserve the specimen, but its thick carapace deflects most missile weapons. The common practice is to surround a rezhatta, engaging it from the front while the poisoner scrambles below to pierce the underbelly, a tactic fraught with danger. The corpse is loaded onto a large wagon and pulled to the site of preparation. 
First, workers pry the carapace off the beetle and hollow out its insides. They discard its internal organs but leave its limbs and jaws intact, so these can function normally after reanimation. The workers cut and reform the carapace's top to provide a covered upper deck and nine individual weapon's ports. Inside the carapace there is sufficient room for missile ammunition, but little else. 
Once ready, the entire beast is assembled and animated. Since the rezhatta is originally a 9 HD creature, raising it as a zombie requires an animate dead spell cast by a 10th-level priest or wizard. The caster must then stay with the beetle to command it. 
Despite extensive drying, the undead beetle rots and falls apart after 2d 10 + 20 days.
===Crew===
The undead war beetle cannot function without the priest or wizard that raised it. Spellcasters are seldom knowledgeable in battle tactics, so a driver/ commander sits with him just behind the beast's neck. The upper deck can hold nine armed combatants, and nine more can occupy the ports. 
===Tactics===
In undeath the war beetle retains much of its original speed. It usually transports soldiers to a specific battle site, where they disembark and join the beetle in combat. 
Soldiers in the beetle have 75% hard cover (-7 penalty to hit). Miss ile fire from the moving war beetle suffers a -5 penalty. When the beetle is not moving, missile fire still suffers a -2 penalty. 
As an animated creature, the beetle can still attack with its mandibles, THAC0 11, causing ldl2+6 points of damage. It has AC 3 and can take 50 points of damage. 
===BATTLESYSTEM™ Game Tactics===
An undead war beetle model has a base 30 mm wide and 60 mm deep. The model represe n ts one beetle. R iding inside each beetle figure is a small unit of archers or javelineers. When inside the vehicle, the figures for these are kept off the board. However, the soldiers can disembark from the beetle in a single turn, provided the beetle makes no other movement, and they operate as an independent unit. Whether in the vehicle or not, the soldiers get missile or melee attacks in the appropriate phase. 
The spellcaster who animated the beetle can still cast other spells while controlling it, but if he leaves the war beetle, it can no longer move or attack—it will not engage units that attack it. 
Undead War Beetle 
: AD 12+8 AR 7 Hits 8 ML n/a MY 9 
:: Cause horror, -3. 
Undead War Beetle Archers
: 2 stands per beetle
: AD 6*6 AR 9 Hits 1 ML 12 MY 12 
:: Range 5" /10" /15" 
Necromancer
: 1 per beetle 
: AD 4 AR 8 Hits 3 ML 13 MY 12
:: Level 10 priest 4 1st, 4 2nd, 3 3rd, 3 4th, 2 5th
:: or Level 10 wizard 4 1st, 4 2nd, 3 3rd, 24th, 2 5th 
==Silt Skimmer==
Those who have mastered the lanes of shallow silt beyond the shore of the Great Sea can earn vast income. An intrepid captain who can maneuver a skimmer across the estuaries cuts many weeks from caravan travel times and collects hefty profits for the goods and passengers delivered. Of course, travel across the Sea of Silt is not without its perils. 
===Construction===
Regardless of specific design, a silt skimmer is built around its massive wheels. Each is more than 25 feet in diameter, very wide at its center, tapering to a hardened, fine point at its edge to slice through the talcumlike silt. Some wheels are built with an endless staircase in their hollow interiors; slaves or undead walk forever up the staircase, turning the wheel beneath their feet. 
The main motive power is the single large sail, mounted to a large mast and secured aft. The sea winds can be relentless, and many a skimmer's mate agrees that " if it weren't for the silt holdin' us down, we'd sail into the air for sure!" Experienced crews can tack against the wind to progress. 
A skimmer can manage fair speeds in less than five feet of silt, and can still move through depths of 10 or even 12 feet. 
A fully laden skimmer can usually manage between six and eight mi les per day. If completely lightened of cargo and unnecessary weight, the skimmer can add another four miles. Magic, such as enhanced winds or levitation, can lighten the vehicle and increase its speed. 
The frame of the skimmer is made of the lightest materials possible-light woods and thin leather and doth-giving it the reputation for fragility. Heavy chitin or bone armor is out of the question, for the added weight would halt the skimmer. Designs vary, but a typical skimmer can be 50 feet long and half as wide with an outer deck and enclosed bridge. 
The bridge is packed with cargo on a voyage. Flimsy as it is, a skimmer can manage better than two tons of cargo for a trek across the sea. On all but the calmest days, the open deck is no place for living things, so the enclosed bridge has sealable windows, canvas or leather Baps that keep out the seemingly perpetual gales of choking silt. The great helmsman's wheel is here, connected by ropes to the forward axle. The vehicle can only make the most gradual turns in the silt; its tightest turn circle is more than a mile across. 
A skimmer costs 150 to 250 gold pieces. 
===Crew===
To keep the weight down, the skimmer travels with a captain and (usually) no more than six crewmen, who work the rigging and keep lookout. Additional crew work ships that have staircase wheels. 
Spellcasters and psionicists: The many dangers of silt travel force skimmer captains to rely heavily on spellcasters and psionicists. They can probe the area, keep the skimmer on course, and note enemies at great distance. The speed of magic and psionics against silt-borne foes gives the captain precious seconds that separate an intact skimmer from a pile of broken sticks and cloth. It is wide ly known that the crew of any successful skimmer includes powe r ful spellcasters and psionicists. Otherwise, the ship wouldn't be so successful. 
===Combat===
Though they never stray far from the sight of land, skimmers must regularly deal with a number of air—and silt—borne opponents. Crew can use missile weapons or cast spells from the deck, but not the bridge. They have, at best, 50% hard cover (-4 penalty to hit).