Warmechs

*The various races of Humanity and Star Spawn utilize massive war engines called by many different names, most commonly Behemoths and Colossus. First created during the Golden Age of human advancement to fight their many wars, they were the most effective first and last line of defense against the Demons during "The Fall". Being capable of taking on whole armies of such creatures before being brought down by the overwhelming numbers of their enemies. These are the most powerful armored vehicle available to most military forces and are used to force whole cities into submission.*

*They can fire shock mortars and spire missiles directly into hostile territory, and their enormous size also serves a major negative psychological role to the enemies on the battlefield. Being more akin to mobile fortresses, they are typically deployed from low or medium orbit, or from high atmosphere and are used to attack heavily-defended structures and emplacements. They often lend quick, but unstoppable support to troops on the ground. War Engines are extremely powerful, possessing an exceptionally destructive plasma beam, as well as one or two dorsally-mounted anti-air cannons.*

*Their "bodies" are massive and multi-leveled and posses two to four legs(some times more). Both platforms walk using their massive legs, which are surprisingly swift and precise given their massive size. The legs can also be used to crush enemy forces on the ground. Despite their enormous strength these war engines are quite vulnerable to being boarded; the central core of these powerful machines is protected only by the vehicle's external armor, so attacking the core is easy once an enemy boards the craft. To counter this, War Engines typically carry several squads of defenders to repel boarding parties.*

*The battle engines of the many warring factions across inhabited space vary immensely in role and size. Humans often employ large bipedal monstrosities while many Star Spawn prefer quadruped variations. The only things the various war engines of the chaotic future truly share in common are their immense size and high damage endurance. Whenever and wherever they are deployed, these engines of apocalyptic destruction are the strongest force on any battlefield, leaving only death and devastation in their wake.*

## *History*

*No one living remembers exactly when the first Battle-Engine was developed or who was responsible, such records having been lost ages ago. What is known is that roughly 20,000 years ago a great data tome was discovered among the ruins of a long dead civilization which housed instructions necessary for the construction of Battle-Engines. The first of these war machines to be built in millennia, understandably, this prototype was rudimentary in the extreme. Being being described as a 100 ton box with legs. It was developed in 2439.AR by the Alesian Hegemony, first deployed in 2443.AR, and produced throughout the rest of Near Space after its construction plans were stolen in 2455.AR. Significant development and refinement of the technology followed through subsequent centuries.*

*Battle Engine advancement in Near Space crested near the end of the Age of Rebirth, but slowly degraded during the protracted conflicts of the Damned Age. Much of the infrastructure and expertise necessary to produce the most advanced models was lost, with the result that, by the early centuries of the Red Millennium, most of the primary factions were fielding models that were thousands of years old. AR-era Battle-Engines technology was preserved during this period of decline by an imperialist faction later known as the Dragmir Empire. Absent from the politics of Near Space for centuries, they returned in 3050 fielding 'Battle Engines of considerable sophistication and power.*

*The Dragmir invasion triggered a resurgence of Battle Engine-related research and development, both among the major factions and minor factions of Near Space leading to many new models being introduced.During the later centuries of the war ravaged Red Millennium, most Battle Engine manufactures were damaged or outright destroyed. Smaller factories retooled and began manufacturing ancient designs dating back to the Age of Rebirth. The creation of hybrids from these ancient designs and new technologies again led to a slow progress in development, despite the return to all-out war and the use of nuclear weaponry.*