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Note: This is now here purely for one's reading pleasure. If one has questions, PM me.
Scorpuron Empire
"Portamus nex taciti!"
Special thanks to Valdez for all his contributions (emblem, concepts, story suggestions, and near-complete overhaul of the faction), Additional thanks to all others who provided contributions as well.
Species Overview:
The Scorpuron (Glorificus Altuscorpus) are a highly advanced species of sentient arthropods which resemble the smaller (perhaps related) scorpions on Earth.
Physically, each Scorpuron has 7 thorax/abdomen segments and six segments creating a tail. The first three segments attach to the head, forming a neck of sorts. The next segment houses the Scorpuron's claw limbs, and the last four body segments possess four pairs of walking/speech limbs. Scorpuron are each armed with two sets of venom: a necrotoxin from their mandibles and a neurotoxin from their tails.
The species is highly adept at tunneling and living underground, so naturally they prefer sub-terrain environments. Scorpuron colonies of old generally consisted of carved rock and crude metal constructs to provide support, while the modern Scorpuron colony in contrast appears a massive metal structure protruding above the sand with hundreds of underground passageways below, making invasion difficult if not impossible.
Scorpuron lack the hive mind and reliance on a colony that the lesser social insects have. Instead, each Scorpuron is linked together by a strong sense of relations, nest loyalty, and a natural preference for living in groups. They exhibit several genetic variants that, due to being better equipped at different tasks, have developed into defined caste system. Casts include:
WORKERS (Humilis Scorpimancipium)
The Worker Caste is mainly used for manual labor, with the average worker being capable of tasks ranging from construction, agriculture, and mining. They also oversee vehicle operation and the logistics sector of Scorpuron society, typically overseen by Cerebrals. The typical Worker tends to be intelligent, but poorly educated since the the manual labor they generally perform rarely requires it.
Workers are distinguished by their rounded head, six walking legs, squat stature, and their submissive natures. Recently, Scorpuron scientists discovered that heavy exposure to the female Regent's growth pheromones will cause Workers to grow to gargantuan sizes and grow even more muscle tissue than normal, making them ideal as heavy laborers and soldiers.
SOLDIERS/HUNTERS (Venenifer Venatorscorpus)
A Soldier Scorpuron is born for combat and was traditionally tasked with hunting prey animals. Their pedipalps have powerful claws and their tails are noticeably longer than Workers, Cerebrals, and Regents for greater reach for strikes.
The Soldier cast is the single largest case in terms of number, partly due to the relatively short lifespans that soldiers have. From birth, soldiers are fed a unique by-product of Akrab and are taken from their mothers long before the young of the other casts. Soldier scorlings are then sent through a vicious, though effective training system which hones their natural huntings skills, use of military equipment, and indoctrinates them to insure loyalty. Upon their third molt, Soldiers are ready to be sent to the front lines as basic Legionaries.
Soldiers are distinguished by their bipedal appearance as a result of their lengthened fourth pair of legs, three pairs of communication limbs, an elongated tail, and a naturally aggressive nature. While soldiers are by no means dumb, they generally prefer to stick to combat and have Cerebrals or Regents handle other matters.
CEREBRALS (Rimor Scorpimens)
Besides having the longest lifespan of the Scorpuron breeds, Cerebrals are naturally gifted with significantly above-average intelligence and are normally associated with works involving research, engineering, architecture, education, and management of the lower casts. They are largely responsible for the technological progress of the Scorpuron and often serve directly under the Regents as aids, advisers, or assistants.
Cerebrals are recognizable for their "hood" that contains part of their central nervous system and a slightly leaner physique than their combat or worker brethren. Due to their position in the Scopuron social order and their incredible lifespan, Cerebrals often have an elitist personality and tend to look down on the Soldiers and Workers as "dumb" breeds.
REGENT (Glorificus Scorpirex)
The leadership and reproductive caste. It is theorized that the Regents are the original Scorpuon breed, since they are the only cast to have a female and have always held a position of leadership in their society. Regent Females are not only needed for reproduction, but are also essential for proper Scorpuron development, since certain pheromones produced exclusively by them are required for proper development and early growth.
The Regents (both male and female) have absolute and unchallenged rule over the entire species, occupying every significant position in the administrative area of Scorpuron society. The Royal Family, headed by the Imperator, is the heart of the Empire's leadership. According to Scorpuron tradition, all Imperator Regents must perform a great deed or service to the Empire before ascending to the thrown, following the example left by Pandius I.
Regnant have some telepathic abilities that allow them to command their colonies effectively and can also use their abilities for communication with non-Scorpuron, as the Scorpuron language (a combination of clicks, gurgles, hisses, and gestures from their small limbs) is virtually unable to be learned by other races.
Regents are noticeable for their oddly shaped head, toothed mandibles and claws, and flattened tail. Unlike the other classes, Regents often wear colorful clothing over their exoskeletons, mainly to show their social rank.
- Faction Color:
- Black/Gray and Rusty Orange
Combat Doctrine: - Maneuver warfare: With their mobile bases, stealth capabilities, saboteur units, and long-range artillery, Scorpuron excel at leaving enemies wondering where they will be hit next.
Tactical Dynamic: - Adaptive systems: Units may have their weapons and/or abilities swapped with the presence of an Armory to adapt to current needs. Doing so does disable the unit for a short time, so any changes must be done while out of combat.
Hypothetical Strengths:
-Scorpuron infantry auto-heal and are unable to be crushed by most vehicles due to exoskeleton.
-Limited Cloaking.
-Decentralized construction system.
-Rapid base construction and relocation.
-Faction can create resources for collection.
-Most units can traverse cliffs.
-Burrowing capabilities.
-Units have medium armor (more than Novus, but less then Hierarchy or Masari)
Hypothetical Weaknesses
-Faction has a limit on how many vehicles may be deployed, thus relying more on infantry.
-Expensive base "construction", since they are fully equipped ships.
-Heros are deployed from the factions tech center (Prominence), thus are unavailable in early game.
-No turrets.
-Resource harvesting can easily be disrupted.
-Certain units are unarmed when deployed.
-Weaker super weapons than the other factions.
Faction History
During the Masari rule of the heavens, the Scorpuron world was chosen as a site for colonization by the lords of the stars. The Masari scouts at first thought the Scorpuron's planet was uninhabited as no creatures where to be seen. However, the Masari colonists themselves soon met the subterranean Scorpruon after they accidentally broke into a nest.
The bewildered Scorpuron assumed the Masari where native to their world and brought them before that particular nest's Regents. Rather than correct them, the Masari attempted to use this ignorance to their advantage and offered to exchange "magical" objects in exchange for servants to aid them. The Regents agreed to the terms, though they where not as pleased as the Masari assumed...
Later in the night, the Regents dispatched a massive raiding partly which slaughtered an entire Masari colony, for the Regents had seen the colonist's thoughts and where unprepared to hand over their world to this alien race. The news of the attack soon spread to the other colonies and soon the Masari where clamoring for armed intervention.
Upon arrival, the Masari army quickly crushed the unorganized Scorpuron colonies and enslaved the race. In order to ensure Masari domination of the Scorpuron, the general in charge of the campaign rounded up all of the Scorpuron Regents and locked them up in captivity for use in controlling the rest of Scorpuron population, which itself was forced into mining and manual labor.
Months later, the race that would go on to form the dreaded Hierarchy revolted, plunging the Masari empire into war. The Scorpuron homeworld, being remote, proved an excellent location to construct an important military storage facility and training grounds for Masari soldiers, using Scorpuron slaves as unwilling sparing partners.
In the meantime, the Regents carefully plotted. Unknown to the Masari, they possessed telepathic abilities which they had previously used to govern their race. Now, the abilities proved most useful in forming the plans for their enemies fall. Carefully, each planted thoughts into the minds of their captors on putting all of the Regents together for ease in management. Foolishly, the Masari did so and paid a dear price, for the Regents where then able to merge their abilities to the point of mind control and turned their captors against their fellow Masari. Once free, the Regents telepathically instructed all of their colonies to rebel at once , throwing the planet into chaos.
It was a bloody war, but thanks to a particularly crafty Regent named Pandius the Masari where cut off from their armories and all hope of reinforcements. With their settlements burning, their vehicles stolen, and outnumbered one million to one, the Masari fell before the onslaught.
The Regents, vowing revenge on their enslavers, decided that living as separate colonies scattered across the planet was something that they could never return to. Instead, the Regents united all their colonies to form a single, governing force that would rule over the entire species. Well aware that internal squabbling was a possibility, it was decided that a figurehead would be needed to assume the role of supreme leader of their race to insure that the local rivalries between nests would be kept in check. From their ranks, Pandius was chosen to become the first Imperator of the Scorpuron as a credit to his victory turning the tide of the uprising, his relative youth, and his general popularity with the population at large. Subsequently, Pandius' descendants would succeed him, carrying on his bloodline as well as the role of Imperator.
As time went by, the Scorpuron developed into an advanced race at an alarming rate, thanks to the large amount of technology left by the Masari. Any Masari that survived where forced by the Scorpuron into technical developments and reverse engineering of the military equipment leftover from the revolt. Upon reaching space-fairing capacity, they began to seek out the Masari while colonizing any habitable worlds they came across, extending their territorial boundaries far beyond their home world. On rare occasions involving attempts to settle in planets already occupied by other races, the Scorpuron's cold rage would burst into pure aggression and they would either enslave or wipe out the local population.
The tenacity of the Scorpuron's Empire, their sheer aggression, and skill in combat earned them a notorious reputation among other space-faring alien races that they encountered. Even the mighty Hierarchy, who had by this time wiped out what they thought to be the last of the Masari, took an interest in the scorpion-like warriors as a potentially good source of cheap soldiers, but the Scorpuron outwitted invasion attempts, either by luring the fleets into well calculated traps or disappearing from colony worlds to leave the commanders to the Overseers wrath.
Thousands of years after the revolt, Scorpuron spies picked up transmissions from the underseer Kamal Re'x regarding the reemergence of the long-lost Masari in the Terran system. The reigning Imperator at that time, Hadrus IV, immediately saw a chance to gain a place in Scorpuron history and dispatched a sizable portion of the finest in the Scorpuron army to earth, under the guise of hired help from the Hierarchy Overseers. Among the task force, Hadrus sent his greatest siege master: General Marius, his psychic (but elderly) Adviser Quinqustratus, and his only male offspring: Pandius II. The two former to lead and oversee the assault while the latter to earn the right to ascend to the Scorpuron throne, as per tradition.
Non-tactical Heros
Heros that would appear in mission transmission boxes. (To be done last)
Imperator Hadrus IV
Supreme ruler of the Scorpuron Empire, Imperator Hadrus IV wishes to be remembered as one of the greatest of all Imperators, though prior to the information about the Masari on earth he had done nothing that could be deemed truly historic. During the rein of his father, the Scorpuron had secured a peace treaty with a Hierarchy mining fleet and provided some aid. As his ascendancy test, Hadrus was assigned to the fleet where he proved worthy of becoming Imperator. Unfortunately, he also picked up some of the Hierarchy's views of the universe and put them into practice upon ascending the throne.
It is well known in Hadrus' court that he will use any possible excuse to banish or imprison other Regents. This is thought to be due to the Imperial Mother baring but one male scorling during the entire rein of Hadrus, making the Imperator extremely paranoid that some other Regent will attempt to usurp the throne and end the bloodline that has been maintained since Pandius I, forever enshrining Hadrus as a weak ruler. Now reaching the final few years of his alloted rule, Hadrus desperately desires for his general to bring back news of the final extinction of the Masari to finally bring a great achievement before his rein ends...
Turatus
Lead researcher in the Empire, Turatus is a good friend and teacher of Pandius. The Cerebral was originally an aid tasked with archiving the ancient records in the Imperial vaults, but Turatus drew the attention of Imperator Hadrus after he managed to sort and copy every last record in his sector with the help of his inventions. Impressed, the Imperator promoted him to Head Liberian and Research Overseer of the Empire and tasked him to tutoring the Imperial offspring, namely Pandius II.
At the request of the prince, Turatus was placed in the fleet as primary Technology Officer.
Tactical Heros:
All heros are deployed from Prominence.
Pandius II: (Stealth hero)
The only male offspring of Hadrus IV, Pandius II was placed in the assault fleet by his father to partake in the ritual Ascendancy Tests to learn all the necessary skills to become Imperator of the Scorpuron Empire. Despite being named after the greatest Imperator, Pandius is not very interested in the political realm of Scorpuron culture, much to the dismay of his father. Instead, Pandius prefers to tinker with various machines and read the original manuscripts of Scorpuron history in his father's library under the guidance of Turatus. From these studies, he has learned of all the things his race has done, both good and bad.
Pandius has shown more than once that he has sympathy for the Worker and Soldier casts, who his father segregated into their own sectors away from the eyes of the Regnants.
On the battlefield, Pandius's youth is readily apparent. He is capable of climbing cliffs and swimming and is also expert at melee combat. Pandius's experience with machines has also shown to be a benefit, as he can sabotage enemy structures and override turret control codes.
Popcap:7
Requires: Prominence, Auxillery 2
Weapon: - Claws (melee): Pandius quickly slashes targets with his sharp claws. Depending on target, he may also grab and throw victims.
Abilities: - Insignificant: (ambient) Pandius has the insignificant tag, allowing him to cause chaos if the enemy is not paying attention.
- Summon Guard: Summons two Praetorian to assist Pandius in battle.
- Saboteur (default attack vs. structures): Pandius disables targeted structure. When attacking turrets, Pandius has the same effect as a Hacker.
General Marius: (Leader and Assault hero)
Marius is the head of the earth-bound assault fleet as well as the commander of the 258th Planetary Pacification and Liberation Battalion of the Scorpuron ground military (otherwise known as the Legion of Marius). He has a passion for the art of laying siege to enemy encampments and his success rates have earned his battalion much glory and honor in the Imperial court. Marius, however, gained his infamy from his bitter rivalry with Imperator Hadrus' adviser in acquiring military contracts. Rumors continue to persist on Marius rigging a mine in Quinqustratus' quarters in attempt to kill the adviser, though he denies this.
Despite being one of the Imperator's most loyal and trustworthy generals, Marius is not above voicing his opinions to the Imperator, an act which would get most soldiers flung in prison. Nothing irks the general more than being forced to tutor the young Regent Pandius and the fact that he is forced to work with Quinqustratus to do so. In combat, Marius wields a long-range pulse cannon that he personally designed and a custom suit of powered armor. As general, he has the authority to call in bombing runs against certain targets.
Popcap:8
Requires: Prominence, Siege-2
Weapon: - Pulse Cannon (long range): Fires burst of particles that burn through most targets.
Abilities: - High General: (ambient) Marius' presence increases his troops moral, leading to faster movement, healing, and fire-rate.
- Air Strike: As general, Marius has the authority to call bombing runs against any target of his choice.
Adviser Quinqustratus: (Support hero)
An elderly Cerebral adviser to the Imperator himself, Quinqustratus has aroused much suspicion and distrust from the Regnant cast for his shadowy and mysterious persona, as well as rumors that he secretly helps the Imperator to seek out and purge disloyal elements within the Empire.
However, the truth about the Adviser is somewhat ironic. Quinqustratius, having loyally served and advised the royal family through the course of several generations, has grown weary of the continual disregard that the last few Imperators have shown towards Scorpuron tradition. He secretly wishes for a more democratic form of government that would allow the Soldier and Worker classes to participate in political arenas.
As part of his enigmatic nature, Quninqustratus was the inventor of experimental mind manipulation technology and proposed its use in warfare. Despite protests from Marius over the cost of the project, Quinqustratus managed to create telepathic enhancement helmets that could unlock the mental capabilities of even mere workers. The Adviser also created an advanced version for himself which was brought to earth as its first venture into combat. The helmet allows him to control the minds of organic soldiers or far worse. "Quinny" can also project thoughts into the minds of leaders and fill them with doubt of their cause, allowing others to attack freely.
Popcap:8
Requires: Prominence, Subterfuge-2
Weapon: - Mental Surge (medium range): Quinny can use his helmet to stimulate excessive mental activity and eventually cause a beings brain to implode from electric build-up.
Abilities: - Enhanced Mind Manipulator: Quinqustratus can control up to seven organic targets at a time and cause nearby enemies to fire on one another.
- Doubt: Quinqustratus fills the targeted hero's mind with Scorpuron propaganda, making them unselectable and unable to move as long as Qunny remains still.
- Cloaking Armor (ambient): Quinqustratus is able to remain hidden from enemy eyes until the right time to strike.
Units:
Thanks to Scorpuron having not yet mastered or acquired any sort of teleportation technology, all units are dropped from orbit in drop pods. Almost all units are requested from deployed Beacon Drones.
Infantry:
Infantry are the primary units of any Scorpuron attack. Most Scorpuron infantry will auto-heal and have both ranged and melee capabilities. (names are subject to change)
Forager: These worker Scorpuron are capable of performing various tasks but their main goal is resource collection.
Popcap: none (each Processor Ship comes with 4 and replaces them)
Requires: Processor Hub
Weapon
None
Abilities: - Natural Healer:(ambient) Workers recover from injuries while they labor.
Field Engineer: (support infantry) Specially trained workers that perform maintenance tasks on vehicles and plant additional Arkrab for Foragers to collect. Armed with their repair device and (with research) a supply of EMP mines for use against robots and vehicles.
Popcap: 1
Requires: Armory, can be produced from Processor, Armory, or Beacon Drone
Weapon: - Repair Devices: Rapidly repairs targeted structure or vehicle, but the target is disabled while repairing.
Abilities: - Seed Arkrab: Plants a single patch of Arkrab for harvest.
- Call Transmitter Node: Places a small beacon that summons a new Transmitter Node. Costs resources to use.
- EMP Mines (Seige): Plants a small mine that explodes with an electro-magnetic pulse, destroying/damaging robots and disabling vehicles.
Legionary: (basic infantry) The grunt warriors of the Empire, Legionary solders are armed with a superheated anti-infantry blade by default but can be re-outfitted for other tasks. Legionaries are also the only Scorpuron unit that can capture structures.
Popcap:2
Requires: None
Weapon: - Heated Blade (melee): A durable blade with an electric current to superheat it. This allows it to cleanly slice through just about any substance.
Abilities: - Capture: Claims neutral structures for the Empire.
- Venom: Legionary spits a small amount of their flesh-eating venom on a target, slowing and rotting anything organic. Useless against Novus.
- Fragmentation Grenade: Legionaries can fling grenades to deal with clumps of infantry or stationary vehicle targets.
- Natural Healer: (ambient) Unit will slowly auto-heal in and out of combat.
Spec-ops Legionary: (anti-structure infantry) These soldiers are trained in the use of high explosive weapons and are naturally armed with a large supply of them to quickly level an enemy encampment. Spec-ops soldiers can climb cliffs and are armed with a light pistol-like weapon for personal defense, though direct combat isn't recommended.
Popcap: 2
Requires: Armory + Legionary.
Weapon - Light Pistol (medium range): Fires heated bullets at enemies, though its not effective against most targets.
- Mortars (long range): Launches powerful shells at enemy encampments from afar. Locked by Research.
Abilities: - Natural Healer: (ambient) Unit will slowly auto-heal in and out of combat.
- Sabotage: Blows up targeted structure for a fee, regardless of health.
- Bolt Hole: Quickly digs a hole to hide in until it is safe to surface.
- Jammer device (ambient): Spec-Ops are invisible to the enemy's radar. (upgrades into full stealth with research)
Praetorian: (elite infantry) Traditionally known as the Royal Guard, the Praetorian ranks have since allowed common Legionaries to join as front-line combat troops that, with good combat performance, can become members of the true royal guard. Praetorian act as very powerful shock troops, armed with a rapid fire carbine and magnetic grenades.
Popcap: 5
Requires: Armory + Legionary or Pandius' Summon Guard ability.
Weapon: - Repeating Carbine (medium range:) Rapidly fires molten metal rounds, capable of shredding light targets and can even chewing through armor given enough time.
- Magnetic Grenades (Special attack): When faced with Vehicles, Praetorian will launch a volley of magnet grenades.
Abilities: - Natural Healer: Praetorian heal while in or out of combat.
- Turret: Praetorian deploys and mans a mounted turret for area defense.
Psychic Legionary (mind control infantry): Using an experimental telepathic enhancement device designed by Quinqustratus, these soldiers work to subvert the enemy's soldiers to the Scorpuron cause and can control 5 infantry units at a time but naturally can can only control organics. They will also naturally negate mind control effects on allied units. As the Telepathic enhancement helmet is experimental, these units are very costly to train.
Popcap: 5
Requires: Subterfuge-2 + Armory + Legionary
Weapon: - Claws (melee): Quick melee strikes with claws.
- Mental Surge (medium range): Helmet stimulates excessive mental activity, eventually causing a beings brain to implode from electric build-up.
Abilities: - Natural Healer: (ambient) Unit will slowly auto-heal in and out of combat, giving them an edge over most infantry. Heal rate is insignificant protection against dedicated anti-infantry units.
- Venom: Legionary spits a small amount of their flesh-eating venom on selected target, slowing and rotting anything organic. Useless against Novus.
- Bolt Hole: Burrows into the ground to wait until unsuspecting units approach.
- Mind Manipulator: Can control any organic target and will also free nearby allies from hostile mind control.
Crusher: (anti-vehicle infantry) A worker Scorpuron that has been exposed to an overdose of growth pheromones, Crushers are so-called as they attack by grabbing and crushing vehicle targets in their powerful claws. Crushers are also equipped with immobilizer gauntlets, special tools that use magnetic waves to glue targets in their place so others can demolish them.
Popcap: 4
Requires: Processor, can be trained from either a Beacon Drone or from a Worker with an Armory present.
Weapon: - Claws (melee): As their name suggests, Crushers charge in close to beat and shred enemies.
Abilities: - Natural Healer: (ambient) Crushers will slowly auto-heal in and out of combat.
- Shredder: (Melee mode) Crusher will pounce on target and tear it apart.
- Mode switch: Changes between anti-vehicle melee (acts like Nufai vs. vehicles and Grunt bash vs. infantry) or Immobilizer Gauntlets (which allows them to freeze enemies and crush hard points as well as cause extra damage to Novus units).
Vehicles:
Scorpuron vehicles are heavily armored and are designed to support infantry divisions rather than serve as main combat units. As each vehicle features advanced systems, few may be deployed at any one time and they feature their own popcap. (names are subject to change)
Beacon Drone: (unit summoner) These light drones contains specialized transmitter technology to mark areas suitable for Drop Pod deployment or calling down ships. These drones are essential for unit construction, and up to 8 of can be deployed at a time. Drone must deploy to use it's transmitters, and is completely defenseless.
Requires: Transmission Node or Carrier or Prominence.
Weapon:
None
Abilities: - Mode switch: Deploys Drone to enable unit construction or lifts it off to move to a new area.
Glaive: (Recon/anti-personal walker)Light anti-personal scout walker, these machines are armed by default with powerful flame throwers capable of incinerating infantry and light structures. Adding to it's fierceness, the walker can quickly scale cliffs to flank the enemy. Glaive walkers also feature jamming equipment and can remove viruses/phase/cloaking in the area around it while active while also hiding any friendly units from non-infantry sensors and, with research, jam enemy radar. With research, the Glaive can be rearmed with a tranquilizer gas which slows enemy infantry and heros.
Popcap: 6
Requires: Armory
Weapon: - Flame Thrower (medium range): Releases streams of powerful flames.
- Tranquilizer Gas Thrower (variable range): Releases an Arkrab-based tranquilizer gas which slows organics, clogs machinery, and produces clouds of the gas which float about for a short time after impact.
Abilities: - Mode Switch: Toggles between weapon or jammer mode.
- Target Designator (jammer): Glaive uses it's sensors to pinpoint locations for guided weapons to lock on to, allowing for long range bombardment from the Prominence or Halbard aircraft.
Scimitar:(MBT/Artillery) Commissioned by Marius after a grueling battle over contracts with Quinqustratius, the Scimitar combines the armor of a main battle tank with the firepower and range of Scorpuron artillery, though its mobility is sub par compared to other vehicles. Scimitar units are able to lob special charges that vaporize most anything they hit over a long distance. However, the kick-back from the artillery necessitates the vehicle be stationary to fire. In addition, the vehicle features a small auto turret for close range protection.
Popcap: 14
Requires: Prominence.
Weapon: - Ordnance Launcher (long range): Fires various ordnances against enemy targets at range.
- Auto Turret (close range): Rapidly launches superheated bullets against close-range targets.
Abilities: - Bombard: Launches a single shell at enemy target at long range. Quick recharge.
Aircraft:
From halberd gunships to the gargantuan Prominence, Scorpuron air units are as varied in function as they are in size.
Halberd: (Anti-vehicle/aircraft gunship) This gunship/hovercraft hybrid can quickly scout out areas of possible threat while providing anti-air and anti-vehicle support for ground forces. The Halberd is armed with a rapid fire molten slug repeater for use against air targets and missiles for anti vehicle. When grounded, the Halberd serves as a light scout craft.
Popcap: 5
Requires: Carrier Ship
Weapon: - Repeating slugthrower (medium range): Launches a hail of superheated metal rounds at the enemy.
- Mortar cannon (requires research/ground mode): Fires small charges at far-away targets.
Abilities: - Low/High altitude modes: Changes the Halbard configuration from air to ground.
- Stealth Detection: Reveals any stealth units in the area.
- Cloaking Device (Subterfuge-3): Cloaks unit for a short time, allowing for better spying on the enemy. Recharges quickly
- Missiles: Fires one missile on targeted object (be it air or ground). Quick recharge but disabled when on the ground. Missile payload depends on what the Halberd is upgraded with.
Agricultural Processor Ship: Specialized craft designed to harvest and process raw Arkrab crops into useful products. Each Processor ship is capable of dropping Arkrab seeds as well as deploying Worker Scorpuron for various duties.
Requires: Transmission Node or Carrier.
Weapon
None
Abilities - Seed Arkrab: Releases several Arkrab seeds to form Arkrab groves for harvest.
- Deploy/Undeploy: Deploys vessel to commence harvesting.
Carrier: While most Scorpuron ships can survive re-entry, Halberd gunships are too delicate for such methods. Thus, the Carrier is deployed on a battlefield to provide air power for Scorpuron assaults as well as providing authority for unconventional orbital deployment. Can produce Halberds and Beacon Drones, as well as activate the orbital assault superweapon and summon the Prominence.
Requires: Transmission Node + Beacon Drone + Processor
Weapon: - Shard Cannons (medium range): Launches shards of heated metal at aircraft.
Abilities: - Deploy/Undeploy: Deploys vessel to allow the summoning of aircraft.
Armory Ship: Ship designed to transport and store advanced weapons to soldiers in ground engagements. Once deployed, advanced soldiers and weapons can be unlocked for all units.
Requires: Transmission Node + Beacon Drone
Weapon - Light Pulse Turret (medium range): Fires a weapon similar to Marius' pulse cannon, though somewhat weaker.
Abilities - Deploy/Undeploy: Deploys vessel to provide vessel's benefits.
Prominence-class destroyer: Massive command vessel responsible for overseeing ground combat and provides access to advanced units. By far the largest of all Scorpuron cruisers and thus requires more advanced clearance to allow it to be summoned. The Prominence is armed with four homing warhead batteries by default and is the only unit that has shields equipped.
Build cap of 1
Requires Carrier and Armory Hub.
Weapon: - Homing Missile Batteries (variable range): Fires volleys of guided rockets at enemies, capable of laying waste to structures and heavy vehicles below.
- Immobilizer Device (Tactical Mode): Magnetizes enemy vehicles to the ground, allowing others to attack.
Abilities: - Stealth Mode
- Increased sight range and detects stealth
- Cloaked when not attacking
- Cannot be autonomously attacked by enemies
- Speed and rate of fire reduced - Assault Mode:
- Increased attack range
- Ability to disperse landmines on the ground
-Rapid Fire - Tactical Mode: (default)
- Can summon heroes and Beacon Drones.
- Ability to disperse Akrab plant seeds.
- Immobilizer ability - Superweapon: Mounts a super-weapon hard point on the front of the Prominence.
(see below)
Structures:
The Scorpuron don't technically have structures so much as deployed spacecraft. Since Beacon Drones fulfill most production applications, both a vehicle factory and barracks structure are non-existent for the faction.
Arkrab Arkrab is a very useful plant that is seeded wherever the Scorpuron empire spreads their influence. The plant's wood can be used for luxury items, its roots can be used for very durable fibers, its seeds can be used as food or fuel, it's vapors as a weapon, and its sap can be used as both a source of plastics and (once purified) as a medicine used to ease the pain of the Scorpuron molting process. Naturally, Arkrab Groves provide the bulk of the Scorpuron's wealth and will regenerate resources over time if not completely harvested. Seeds are spread by Processor Ships, Field Engineers, or the Prominence.
Transmitter Node: A metal citadel dropped from orbit in such a way that it embeds itself in the ground, Transmitter Nodes handle local communication for the Scorpuron army. As a tactical command center, this structure can assemble Beacon Drones, summon Processor Ships, and can eventually be upgraded to provide radar. Called down by Field Engineers.
Beacon Drone (deployed): Responsible for the summoning ground units and certain spacecraft. Lacks the ability to que units, so micromanagement is needed for unit construction.
Processor Hub (deployed Processor Ship): Produces worker units and processes collected plant-matter.
Aviation Hub (deployed Carrier) Produces Halberd gunships, Beacon Drones, and is a requirement for the summoning of the mighty Prominence warship. Can also conduct repairs on nearby aerial units.
Armory Hub (deployed Armory Ship): Specialized structure that not only unlocks most vehicle units but also enables the Scorpuron's Tactical Dynamic and allows Field Engineers to be grown into Crushers. This very important structure features a light defensive turret.
"Super Weapons": (subject to change) - Orbital Assault: Deploys a platoon of 5 Legionaries and 5 Crushers at any targeted location via drop pods. Super-weapon requires at least 40 popcap available to use. Enabled by the Prominence, but is activated by the Carrier.
- Prominence upgrades The Prominence can be upgraded with two different supers (though only one at a time).
-Heat Storm Generator: Weapon that releases a trio of uncontrollable heat storms into the environment to vaporize enemy and friendly units, but does little to structures. With upgrades, can also add a static discharge to each storm.
-Seismic Warhead Launcher:Launches a special warhead that burrows into the ground before detonating with extreme force and rattling structures apart. Requires Siege branch research
Research Branches:
Auxillery: Provides various unit upgrades and support equipment.
-Suit 1:
Suite 2
Suit 3
Suit 4
Siegecraft: Branch of choice for explosives, artillery, and advanced weaponry.
Suite 1
Suite 2
Suite 3
Suite 4
Subterfuge: This branch focuses on stealth, intelligence gathering, and mind control.
Suite 1
Suite 2
Suite 3
Suite 4
Concepts (Credit to Valdez for colored concepts)
For concepts made by me, go here.
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Halberd: (Valdez)
Glaive: (Valdez)
Scimitar: (Valdez)
Pandius/Prominence: (Valdez Thanks for the birthday gift!)
Edited by Strategist, 10 November 2009 - 12:28 AM.
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