Sarge Potteiger
Emotional Damage
Image Source: Warhammer Wiki
Intent: Create a walker for the Inquisition as well as the Protectorate
Development Thread: Test Run Thread
Manufacturer: Protectorate/Pyre
Model: Mark I Dreadwalker
Affiliation: Omega Protectorate/Inquisition
Modularity: Weapon arms can be swapped out. Relatively simple process, just time consuming. Cannot be done in battle without returning to base and using several posts to swap out/rearm. Easier to switch from energy weapon to energy weapon than energy --> ballistic.
Production: Limited
Material: Titanium-Durasteel Alloy
Role: Fire Support/Combat Walker
Height: 6m
Length: 3m
Width: 6m
Weight: ~11 tons
Minimum Crew: 1
Optimal Crew: 1 + Droid Brain
Propulsion: Bipedal
Top Speed: ~40 KM/H
Armaments:
Left Arm [One Weapon]:
Crushfist + Underslung Flamer
Missile Launcher: 16 Missiles [Fire Support Variant]
Fire-Linked Heavy Laser Cannons [Fire Support Variant - 2]
Right Arm [One Weapon]:
Fire-Linked Heavy Laser Cannons [2]
Heavy Bolterx6
Rotary Blaster Cannon [Most common]
Disruptor Cannon
Autocannon
Crushfist + Underslung Flamer
Squadron Count: 3
Passenger Capacity: N/A
Cargo Capacity: Enough for pilot weapon/survival pack. ~15 kg
Misc. Equipment: Droid Brain
Description: In discerning the strengths of the Protectorate military, Sarge found that while they had adequately armed their ground soldiers, outfitted their fleets and starfighter squadrons and protected their planets with stations and dropships and sensors... there was a noticeable lack of anything approaching readily used combat vehicles. Specifically, there was a shortage in the walker department.
No weapon is quite as iconic to a military as the walker, it's towering form emboldening allies and frightening enemies. Commissioning a prototype be made on Belsavis - chosen for its remoteness and small population - Sarge took his design philosophy for the Inquisition and applied it to a combat vehicle. Big, heavily armed and armored, and designed for maximum carnage.
To this end, he was given a squat, bipedal walker capable of some modularity. As he'd not asked for it to be a transport but rather a fire support and direct combat vehicle, that is what he was given. Top heavy, made of the same armor as the powered armor of the Inquisition, the massive vehicle moves at a relatively slow pace on two tree trunk legs. Said legs are incredibly powerful but small to prevent the oft used 'take out the walkers legs' strategy from working as effectively as it once did.
This being said, the walker can still be toppled over and once it does it is incredibly difficult to right without assistance. But, due to its weight, it toppling is a rare occurrence in regards to the enemy the cause. Two varients of the walker exist - the 'Standard' variant and the 'Fire Support' variant.
The Standard variant is armed with the aptly named Crushfist. It's left arm ends in what amounts to a massive crushgaunt perfect for pulping infantry or smashing into light vehicles. Underslung beneath said fist is a heavy flamethrower, there to help clear out infantry, hallways, bunkers or even crew compartments. The right arm is given over to a weapon of the drivers choosing - most often a rotary blaster cannon as the walker is frequently deployed to help eliminate infantry. The second most common variant trades that rotary cannon for a fire-linked heavy laser cannon for taking out vehicles.
The Fire Support variant uses the same right arms as the Standard, the difference is the left is either given over to an 8 shot missile launcher or another heavy laser cannon for anti-vehicle work.
Some choose to use ballistic weapons on the vehicle, therefore limiting its extended combat effectiveness. This is a personal preference.
Standing in the main torso, the user uses their body to guide the walker, arms and hands being used to control the same limbs on the walker. A droid brain is inbuilt into the walker to help process the data on the feeds and pinpoint important targets and locations to bring to the pilots attention. These droid brains have a curious habit of developing violent personalities at an alarming speed, requiring frequent memory wipes to keep them stable. Said personalities often have an impact on the pilots, making them more volatile and cantankerous while driving the walker.
Due to the size and nature of the walker, they're a relatively rare sight on the battlefield. There will never be a hundreds strong charge of these walkers. In regards to their size, as well, they're a heavy walker by nature and share the same protection as other heavy walkers. They're hard to kill, but not impossible, and will give every bit as good as they get before going down - unless someone just bombs them from orbit. Then they'll just cry. As a side note, the top of the walker is the least armored, while the cockpit is one of the most. Protection is otherwise spread relatively evenly around the large assault vehicle.
It's also environmentally sealed and enclosed, naturally, and has its own oxygen supply of roughly 1.5 hours. General weaknesses include being top heavy, large amounts of recoil on certain weapons (rotary blaster, laser cannons, missile launcher) that prevent it from firing swiftly on the move. When equipped with two energy weapons firing both at the same time is impossible.
