Drow Confederacy (MAC)

This article provides some information on the Ka'thalar Drow Confederacy, a faction in MAC 3092.

Brief History and Culture

The Drow Confederacy of Ka'thalar has been birthed from the ashes of multiple violent and bloody revolutions. When the drow, having stolen the secrets of machines and engineering from surface dwellers, experienced an industrial revolution, the heavily religious and magical roots of their society were forever shaken. For a long time, mages were seen as a "bourgeoise" class of sorts, granted powers that they did nothing to deserve, and they were forced to hide their talents or be persecuted--perhaps killed. A second revolution, centuries later, resulted in the "proletariat" of the drow displacing the factory owners and establishing theoretically more equitable society. Mages fought for equal rights as they began to realize just how many drow were actually capable of casting spells, a fact somehow overlooked and suppressed by prevailing attitudes and prejudices. Today, mages and mechanics alike work to further both their own aims and those of the drow culture at large.

Despite the fact that the drow of 3092 have worked to establish positive social change within the bounds of their own society, the drow are no less xenophobic and territorial than they have been in millenia past. Through an amazing feat of engineering, they have constructed an enormous, largely opaque dome over the entirety of the continent; the purpose of this light-excluding structure being to "terraform" the surface into an extension of the caves. The dome serves as both a physical barrier to travel (having only specific entry and exit points unless it is breached by force) and a symbol of drow power on the continent, warlike drow having expanded to the surface and killed or enslaved all other sentient life on Ka'thalar. Surface trees and plant life are now history of the past several centuries, as the dead earth has been resown with lichens and other formerly cave-dwelling flora and fauna.

The one typical constant for drow is their hatred and fear of all creatures that are not drow. It is frequently believed by drow that they are the pinnacle of evolution on Gaera; intelligent, agile, cunning, honorable, and magically and technologically adept. They see the surface-dwelling races (humans etc.) as resource-consuming obstacles that stand in the way of the glorious drow conquest of the entire planet of Gaera. While they enjoy the underground and would like to see the surface resemble it, many drow resent having been forced to live in caves for so long without a possibility for expansion. Most drow have a high sense of honor and personal pride, but it only applies to other drow; other species are considered to be unworthy. A dispute between two drow might be settled by some kind of honor duel, whereas a drow who has a dispute with a non-drow would likely stab the offender in the back as soon as he turned away. The Confederacy only allows citzenship to drow; other life-forms have no rights whatsoever.

Military Structure

While not mandatory, military service is considered a highly honorable profession among drow on Ka'thalar, and warriors who fall courageously in battle are considered to have deeply honored their ancestors and themselves. Promotions in the drow military are generally given for the same reasons that they are in the real military; seniority, displays of ingenuity, and extreme competence or skill.

The drow military largely consists of what would be considered infantry and air force units. Drow are not great naval tacticians or shipbuilders, mostly due to the millenia spent underground where there are no oceans. While they have had some time to figure it out, and certainly understand shipbuilding, most drow are less comfortable on the ocean than they are fighting in crowded urban or mountain environments.

Against non-drow factions, drow favor stealth and ambush tactics, sniping, and superior mobility of their forces. Many drow, even infantry units, are equipped with stealth cloaking and radar deflecting devices. A typical infantry unit has one commando in a battlesuit for every dozen men who is equipped with a group IR/radar cloak that deflects attempts to pick up signals in a large enough area to cover his entire unit. While not all infantry have "invisibility" style cloaking devices, nearly all vehicles are equipped with chameleon camoflauge to some degree. They typically favor energy weapons, particularly mana beams, to ballistic weaponry. Drow "terror" infantry and strike teams intended to attack lightly armored targets (or civilians) are typically armed with microwave disruptors.

All drow battle armor comes standard with polarized visors that block glare and sunlight to a great degree, if not absolutely; the majority of drow prefer to use projected IR input on their helmet HUD than direct vision when outdoors in the sun. While sunlight is not nearly as crippling for a modern drow military than it is for their ancient ancestors thanks to these technologies, they still frequently prefer to fight at night when possible, mostly to reduce their own visibility. As such, most drow hardware is painted black by default; chamelon cloaking devices allow it to stand out less during the daytime, and they can be switched off at night to conserve energy. In close-quarters infantry battles, drow commonly utilize hot smoke grenades to create cover, confusing IR and cutting visibility.

Drow infantry units also typically carry mobile infantry-sized artillery platforms, a la the machine gun, to provide cover fire for land battles. These platforms are modular; four drow infantrymen can each carry one piece and assemble it on-site in a few minutes. The most common mobile platform is essentially a large lightning gun or Tesla coil that can be operated by one gunner after assembly. Typically, even these emplacements have the power to do some damage to mecha that are not heavily shielded.

Mages in drow units are often encouraged to specialize in spells that offer support to their mecha-piloting allies. Illusion and protection spells (especially missile shield and reverse missiles) are excellent choices, as are healing magic and machine magic.

Drow name their units after astrological signs, constellations, star clusters, and other celestial objects visible in the night sky; the great dome is often made transparent during the hours of darkness to allow their minimal but revered light through to the drow living in the surface cities.

Drow Confederacy Mecha

Each stock model armor designed by the Drow Confederacy's engineers is typically intended to fill a fairly specific military role or purpose. Form follows function, and as such, the majority of Confederacy mecha are humanoid in nature as opposed to more exotic forms. The aesthetic specifics (paint job, for example) are often up to individual pilots to customize, depending on the role of the mecha; painting an enormous yellow duck on the side of a stealth model would be foolish, for example, and probably not happen.

The nomenclature for Confederacy mecha models is fairly standardized. Some of this nomenclature is also used by CFIN military groups from time to time, particularly if the model in question is originally based on a Confederacy design. SentanCorp, notably, has used Confederacy nomenclature for its mecha models:

Designation-##/Switch "Nickname"

Designation: This is a short description of the mecha's general purpose or function. A set of sample parameters follows:

• PT--"Prototype." Reserved for custom jobs or, well, prototypes.
• AE--"Aerial." A flying mecha.
• AQ--"Aquatic." An armor designed for underwater combat.
• AS--"Assault." A mecha designed for straight combat. Usually combined with other letter designations; AQAS, for example, would mean "aquatic assault."
• DEMO--"Demolitions." Mecha specialized for taking out static, constructed emplacements such as gun turrets or other structures.
• HG--"Heavy ground." A mecha that does most of its fighting on land, heavily armored and armed.
• LG--"Light ground." A mecha that does most of its fighting on land, but that is more lightly equipped and often focused on speed.
• ST--"Stealth." Camoflauge, assassin mecha, etc.
• SNP--"Sniper." Ranged fire support mecha.
• SU--"Support." Transport mecha or mecha with special support functions, such as advanced comms jamming, communication relay abilities, intelligence functions, etc.

The number following the designation is assigned based on the order in which the model was accepted into military use. For example, DEMO-03 indicates that the model was the third demolitions mecha design developed and contracted for further production.

Switch: Indicates modifications to a standard model. Listed after the slash and separated by dashes.

• CA--Outfitted with heavy camoflauge options despite this being atypical for the model.
• CP--Composite frame as a non-standard option.
• CX--"Custom," indicative of a heavily-altered model, a non-specific parameter. Usually indicates a non-standard weapons loadout.
• F--Flight-capable.
• J--Jump-capable.
• RE--Standing for "reinforced," suggests a model with heavier-than-usual armor.
• SH--Standing for "shielded," suggests a model with a very strong shield.
• XH--A mecha with a heavier-than-normal frame.

For example, a DEMO-03/CA-SH-XH has three non-standard modifications; camo, extra heavy shields, and a heavier-than-usual frame.

Nearly all models include a self-destruct mechanism. It is generally believed by drow that death by self-destruct, taking a few enemies with the pilot, is preferable to the cowardice that is ejecting and praying one's escape pod is not the target of subsequent missiles. Low-ranking drow often have destruct devices that are not under control of the pilot, but by their commanding officers. This often encourages these pilots to fight their hardest in each battle; failure is never an option when retreat means your commander will blow you up for showing weakness.

Most drow mecha are built to be intimidating at first appearance, and drow military engineers will go out of their way to create imposing designs that strike fear into the hearts of enemies--assuming, of course, that they ever get a chance to see a stealthy mecha or a sniper. Even though humanoid forms are preferred, many drow engineers have taken inspiration from the creatures of the underdark or from horrifying monsters, creating armors that resemble humanoid spiders (without all the extra legs), mindflayers, giants with beholders for heads, demons, and wraiths, though this is by no means a conclusive list. There are, naturally, some non-humanoid models inspired by the same sources.

Sample Military Mecha

DEMO-04 "Banshee"

LGSU-12 "Arcanite": This mecha is humanoid, but it is unusual in the sense that it has a second cockpit, located in the chest area. It is a speedy mech, equipped with stealth functions and optimized for close combat. However, the primary purpose of the mech is to serve as a giant battlesuit or transport for the secondary pilot, a mage, who can cast spells from within the mecha or use the entire mech as a conduit for touch spells without having to worry about doing any complicated piloting.

AEST-05 "Mephit": Small, flight-capable mecha heavy on camo and stealth tools, usually deployed in large numbers for harassment air strikes and bombing/missile runs. The standard for light aerial mecha in the Drow Confederacy. They have actual wings, mostly for intimidation purposes.

AS-17 "Illithid": Built to resemble a giant illithid, this mech is equipped with various typical armaments and is jump/hover capable. It is capable of fighting at range, but the four tentacle projections around the "mouth" are actually electromagnetic grapplers equipped with laser cutting devices. If the pilot can get a hold on an opponent's mecha, he can cut that portion loose and suck it into the "mouth" where it is vaporized by a high-output plasma stream. Skilled pilots attempt to use sensors and other tools to locate the cockpit to suck the pilot out directly.

HGAS-21 "Cerberus": Despite its name, this four-legged, canine-modelled armor only has one head. It would be remiss not to install a powerful flamethrower in the mouth; the armor is also jump capable, more for the forward thrust action than anything else. The preferred strategy is to speed toward available targets, tackle them, and utilize the plasma sprayer in conjunction with energy claws. It is a heavily armored mecha, despite its speed, and a less common model, often issued to elite pilots to lead charges.