Rationale

Rationale, or drilling is the training that all Keys are expected to know and master.
All Dalmer are trained for active military duty as they can be called upon to defend themselves and their kin at a moment's notice, as such their training is intense and as complete as possible. Well-trained Dalmer are a menace in combat, and emphasis on long military training and study ensures access to the best arms and armor available.
Keys are the basic line soldiers of the S.T.A.M.P. military, the name stems from the fact that they are soldiers who have now accessed military equipment. This access to equipment gives Keys many new abilities. The equipment given is generally chain and plate armor and helmet, a broadsword, a battle axe, a bow, claw gloves, a wall plate shield.
==General training==
The baseline unit of any military, Keys are the fresh recruits from the Dalmer and are in charge most of the time of building, maintenance and management of all the buildings and services needed for the duration of the campaign.
They have many roles as resource gatherers, builders, engineers and managers of buildings, and they are the source of the entire S.T.A.M.P. fighting force.
As such, these Conscripts are trained in several subjects.
===Pilot===
Like all S.T.A.M.P. personnel, soldiers can pilot any vehicle or aircraft in the company's vehicle bays and garages.
===Repairman===
At the end of their training Fighters can repair any building, vehicle or mechanical oriented device and can deliver field repair equipment to a fellow soldier in exchange for the necessary materials and pay. Although repairing equipment at a blacksmith is faster and generally cheaper than field repairs. Fighters can also dispense first aid to other units, evacuating wounded units serving as stretcher-bearers.
===Resource gathering===
Soldiers can gather resources, cut lumber from trees and mine metal from mines among other things as part of their training, but they are more efficient when they use resource gatherer machines for food and lumber or by operating an auto-mine for metals and other raw materials.
===Pillager===
When on the field, soldiers can enter buildings and pillage them for resources.
==Discipline and punishment==
Discipline is a skill highly relevant to military Dalmer, and somewhat less important for civilian Dalmer. Dalmer with high discipline are less likely to flee in battle or more likely to attempt to accomplish dangerous feats.
Soldiers in the Dalmer army have an internal structure based on seniority composed of Fighters (young recruits) Combatants (Soldiers that have finished their required training period) and Warriors (Veterans).
Discipline is enforced by several sanctions that can be inflicted by ranking superiors to their underlings.
Examples of disciplinary sanctions in the army:
*Whipping
*Stoning
*Decimation
*Temporary Crucifixion
*Prison
*Labor
==Combat Techniques==
These are all the combat techniques that the Dalmer learn as part of their training.
====Call to arms====
This order is generally given when the base is under attack. This order is given by making the company headquarters bells ring. The nearby soldier will then bolt for the nearest armory and equip themselves with whatever equipment is available. If no equipment is available, they either make a tactical retreat or wait for the battle station order.
The soldiers will stay in arms until the back to work bell is rung.
====Battle Stations====
This order makes the soldiers bolt for bunkers or any other building to fire or throw weapons at the enemy. But since buildings aren’t equipped with weapons, battle station missions don’t last long. Battle stations in bunkers however can last very long, given the ammunition stores maintained inside them.
The soldiers will stay in arms until the back to work bell is rung.
===Unarmed Combat Skills:===
In basic training Keys are expected to learn basic combat skills, these are Dodging, Punching, Kicking, and Wrestling, a precursor to their training in martial arts.
====APM (armor plate muscle building)====
These exercises are destined to develop and toughen the shoulder, chest and leg muscles of the young soldiers in order to withstand and ignore physical pain, to the point where most blunt force trauma can be shrugged off by the dalmer. This training also emphasizes weight and muscular strength that is critical to the learning of the other Dalmer martial arts such as Grapple, Slamming, and Immovability.
====Grapple====
This martial art focuses on the physical manipulation of a larger enemy in order to neutralize its limbs. The training mainly teaches maim-hugs, breaking strikes, and choke stands.
====Slamming====
This martial art regroups all the techniques of ramming into an enemy (or things in general) in order to repel the enemy. Those who master this slam have been known to be able to charge through walls and even tank vehicles.
====Immovable====
This technique is mostly to teach the Dalmer to stay in formation in stressful situations as well as to compensate for recoil when using weapons. this technique is used for expert melee fighters who can become impervious to external forces and effectively become unmovable by locking their muscles and bones in a position that compensates fully for recoil of their weapon, and are able to repel any foe that would attempt to charge them.
====Headbutt====
The Headbutt is a basic martial art. They attack functions by ramming the opponent with headgear, sometimes using horned helmets. It is a powerful attack, when in numbers, headbutters breach through enemy lines with ease. Inexperienced headbutters may experience a short concussion after the initial attack, and must get back up before they can start attacking again. Headbutting creates units with strong heads and necks. Headbutters are a good counter to muskets, as their cheap equipment cost and great speed makes them a great counter for the slow firing musket. A mass charge of Headbutters is known as the “velociraptor technique”.
====Kinetic throw====
With this technique, the Dalmer soldier can repel an enemy away in order to regain control of the fight.
====Repelling push====
This technique is the channeling of strength into a forceful throw by grabbing the adversary and throwing it away in order to hurt or neutralize it.
===Defensive Combat Skills===
====Defend====
The basic equipment given by a blacksmith is a shield, the Keys use this shield to protect themselves and their comrades in a shield wall. This tactic is extremely useful for parrying ranged attacks and defending the less armored units behind them such as bowdal.
====Shield wall====
In the shieldwall, a first line of defence is made allowing the troops behind to be shielded Dalmer to enjoy a comfortable security.
Directly behind the shieldwall, archers are placed who attack over head, arrows crashing down onto the head, neck, back and shoulders of the opponents. Between the archers, Dalmer with spears are placed. These would target any opponents that charge the shieldwall, piercing the long spears between the front shield, enjoying the protection of the shields while defending it from close combat attackers.
Once the shieldwall breaks down, individual axe warriors, that are behind the line of archers and spear Dalmer storm onto the opponent which is now only a few feet away. The aim of the axe warriors is to disable as many opponents as possible in a short period of time, by wounding blows to the legs. Opponents are incapacitated and then left to bleed to death while the battle continues.
====Shield positioning====
The standard defensive position for a Dalmer squad, the position allows the squad to negate incoming projectiles and melee attacks. This position is only taught after defensive positioning is mastered.
====Fire team positioning====
The standard position of a squad in a combat situation where cover is impossible, in this position the squads shields are locked together, and weapons are placed into the shields slots in order to ensure minimal offensive capacities.
====Defensive positioning====
The squad huddle together in order to protect the squad leader in the middle from harm, this exercise teaches the youth to ensure that their clustered position is impenetrable, only after having passed the stone exercise, where the sergeant will throw stones at them to make sure that the squad leaves no opening that could harm the squad leader in the middle, and that they protect their diaphragm, neck, back and pubis from impact by attempting to make use of their broad shoulders chest and stomach to cushion blows (courtesy of APM training),. When the squad passes the stone throwing exercice flawlessly and quickly enough, they begin their training with real shields.
====Cushion barrier====
A variant of the defensive positioning, this exercise emphasizes the protection of a wounded squad member and a medical officer by surrounding the two, insuring no projectile hit the wounded soldier, or worse the medic, and protecting them with their shields.
===Melee Weapon skills===
Soldiers are trained in most weapons at their disposal, so as to make them as versatile as possible.
====Swords, Axes and Knives====
Edged weapons cover swords, axes and knives. These central and prominent types of weapons are used to hack, slash and (depending on weapon and situation) thrust, stab and draw, generally quick or convenient actions that are highly effective against soft tissues.
Swords and Axes are staple weapons of Dalmer military. Sword and axe training is often complemented with shield training. Soldiers generally form troops of units that have small, rounded shields. This shield is good at blocking arrows and some other projectiles, but is not immune to other projectiles such as ordnance or magic.
Knife specialists often sneak around to flank the enemy and backstab them. Their function goes beyond direct combat as they are often spies, conducting assassinations, sabotage and guerilla tactics against numerically superior enemies.
====Warhammers, Maces and Clubs====
Blunt or weighted weapons cover clubs, maces, hammers, staves, and flails. These weapons sacrifice finesse for ease of use, and can deal powerful damage to rupture armour and break bones.
Warhammer specialists are generally trained in dealing AOE damage as front liners against multiple foes.
Maces and Clubs are used against armored foes or when non lethal wounds are recommended. This weapon style is often used by police forces.
====Pikes and Halberds====
Pointed weapons cover Pikes, Halberds and almost all polearms. Such weapons are thrust in battle to gain a ranged advantage, as well as maintain a high rate of attack. Certain variants may also hook at enemies to disrupt and disarm them, or pull them from atop horses.
Halberd and Pike users wield longer and heavier spears than spear throwers, their spears length make an excellent defense against charging melee units.
===Ranged weaponry skills===
Keys learn about physical ballistic or chemical ballistic weapons. As a rule of thumb, chemical ballistic weapons are superior to physical ballistic weapons in overall accuracy and speed, although without proper guidance additions and modifications such as scopes and targeting assistance mechanisms chemical ballistic aren’t all that good in combat. However, bow and crossbow strength and range is unprecedented when compared to portable and handheld firearms. In fact, most unspecialized firearms are incapable of penetrating armor and metal shields.
====Spears====
Spear Throwing is a skill used by the dalmer in combat where they throw their spear towards the enemy. Spearthrowers typically carry 6 or 7 spears weighing several kilograms each on their backs. The spear throwing training program is generally destined to produce warriors who can kill or neutralise the enemy efficiently using their spears.
Spear throwers are placed in the mid-to-front area so that they can get a few volleys off before being directly engaged in combat. This also prevents friendly fire by the spear throwers.
Spear users have their own ranking system, generally attributed to a ferocious animal they killed using their spear at the end of their training, examples include Boarspear, Bearspear, Antherspear, Batunalulrspear, and Dragonspear. Spears have a lot of weight and can slow or even completely halt the advance of heavy cavalry. The collateral weight of spears can potentially bring down massive creatures such as mammoths.
====Archery====
Archers make use of their longbows in combat, the soldiers trained to become archers are generally lightly armored, speedy, and are trained to fire on horseback.
====Firearms====
Arguably the main weapon of any Dalmer soldier, guns are a very important part of Dalmer military training and Conscripts are trained to use the vast array of guns built by the Dalmer.
===Other Key abilities===
====Legalized necrophagy====
The nature of the operations of the S.T.A.M.P. has led them to sometimes have to eat corpses of the enemies they slay, sometimes of their own to quickly regain their strength if a farm collective is too far away.
====Bragger====
Keys will often taunt the enemy to distract them from attacking the younger, less experienced Keys and attack them, often to the death. Such actions are always looked at in awe by the younger members.
====Overclocking====
This form of meditation allows the Dalmer to withstand the power surge that comes with the usage of combat drugs. This mediation helps the dalmer organism cope with the stress that could make their heart explode from the sudden energy. The combat drugs accelerate the Dalmers heartbeat, granting them tremendous strength for short periods of time, at the expense of their hearts general health.
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Category:Dalmer
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Category:Warfare