Willy Vereb — Roleplayer Guild

THE CORAX DOMINION

Geography

|Geographical Location of Country|
Country Size: 1,939,852 square kilometers

|Cities|
- Drachenstadt --- Capital of the Dominion. Originally the castle of the Grandmaster (Drachburg) built atop Mount Drake. It soon grew into the Order's headquarters, then administrative center. Eventually they created an entire metropolis surrounding the mountain. Drachenstadt is the Dominion's largest and most important city, enough that each of its 21 district have rights akin to an individual city.

|Natural Resources|
True to its name the Estewaldian region is rich in evergreen forests, counting as much as over a hundred different species. The harsh winters are demanding to the nature and only the toughest specimens can survive. Aside from its unique flora and fauna Estewald is overall reasonably abundant in resources like stone, iron and have plausible deposits for materials only discovered in the last century. Mining towns that were founded hundreds of years ago are now industrial cities. Recently though Estewald became a source of envy for its neighbors due to its huge deposits of oil. While Estewald built up its oil industry early the discovery of a huge deposit in the Braslaas region around 70 years ago which lead to an explosive growth. While not dominating the market Corax is considered a major oil exporter.

People & Culture

Official Name:Dominius Coracis de Gladisylvus
Alternative Names: Corax Dominion, Chivalric Dominion of Schwerternwalde, Dragonlands, Estewaldian Commonwealth
Government: Feudal Constitutional Stratocracy
Ruler: Current leader of your country, or leadership in the case of a senate/group of people.
Population: 187,541,056 (according to the last census)

|Volksgeist|
TBA

|Demographics|
Helians were the original inhabitants of these lands, a less religiously extreme counterparts to the Eilíftir. Their fragmented kingdoms were eventually conquered by Aryan crusaders from Geisel who mixed together with the population which we can nowadays call as the Estewaldians (or Dominians, latter is also referring to their faith). They compromise 92% of the population with the remainder being Xia people or migrants from other lands. As a sing of their former state Corax has over a dozen languages, each mixing Helia and Geisel differently. There are two dominant languages, though. First is the Estwaldspchrache which is a common tongue used by traders or city goers to communicate between each other. Second is the Lingua Dominian which is based on the liturgical speech of Orthodox brought by the knightly orders. Dominian is used for ceremonial and religious occasions.

|Social Structure|
The Dominion is effectively a feudalist nation with Knights (Ritter) replacing traditional nobility. Titles are hereditary but political maneuvering and "honorable" deeds can advance people through the ranks. The Dominion differentiates between social and military ranks as such we discuss the former. The lowest rank is the Junker, landless knights who either live in cities or under the hospitality of a Lord (Meier). Freiherr are small land owners or town mayors. Graf is the smaller aristocratic title whose primary job is to patrol their lands with Steam Castles (Dampffestung) and inspect the work of their servants. Margraves (Markgraf) are a higher title for larger landowners with higher status but similar rights and hierarchy as the Graf. Next step was the Princeps (Fürst) who rule over multiple manors. The Princeps in turn serve the Masters (Meistern) who had autonomy under their governed lands almost akin to kings. Lastly the supreme ruler of the Dominion is the Grandmaster (Hochmeister), effectively the emperor of the entire nation.

Aside from knight-titles the status of commoners also varies. Landsmann is both a term referring to all subjects of the Dominion and a status of peasants and poor workers whose life could be compared to serfdom. Landsmanner are not freemen and generally they aren't a very active part of economy. What they provide is cheap workforce. If one was lucky or amassed sufficient wealth they could become freemen/citizens (Burger). They form the middle class of society and unlike Landsmanner they have to pay regular taxes. Failure to pay could lead to them and their entire family becoming Landsmanner. Aside from these there existed a third status called Stewards (Knecht) who swore their services directly to a knight. They lived with or close to their lord and could be considered another layer of the middle class.

|Religion|
The Dominion's official and only faith is essentially the Orthodox, brought to the East by a coalition of crusaders from Geisel. Cut off from their homeland and confronted by powerful religious institutions the crusaders didn't back down and in spite of all odds they prevailed and solidified the religion. With the dissolution of the Pope's seat and perhaps foreign influences the Dominion chose to appoint the Grandmaster as the ceremonial leader of their religion which they began to call as the Dominian. Their holy symbols are the cross and the mythological dragon creature. Dominian is limited to Corax and barring immigrants nobody else practices the faith. As for tolerance to foreign religions the government tolerates it so long you aren't born Estewaldian and if you do that in private. In terms of geopolitics religious differences are used as an excuse for aggression or enmity but they are also just as quickly forgotten when it doesn't serve the Dominion's interests. As both military and religious leader the Grandmaster has authority to declare crusades, albeit it's been a century since any such occurrence.

History

Chapter I - Helian Period
A semi-mythological empire from the antiquity, Great Helia is supposedly owned almost the entire far eastern continent thousands of years ago. Some historians doubt the credibility of this claim, though, and suspect Helia was a cultural group that incorporated dozens of smaller states who probably were at constant war with each other. The lack of sufficient archeological evidence though makes determining anything about ancient Helia extremely difficult. Around 300BC the nation called Eilíft Ljós formed. Supporters of the Great Helia theory call this the Age of Strife and the beginning of Helia's dark ages. The following thousand years were chaotic times of warring kingdoms although recent discoveries might put this age in a more positive light. during the 12th century Helia was united under a single power, adopting the name Helian Empire.
[to be continued...]

Armed Forces

Unlike most nations that use conscription and state armies Corax still clings to a variation of the old feudal military system. Ritter families are granted land and special rights in return for providing military services. Being a Ritter means you're taught of war and martial arts since youth and depending on your status and size of your holdings you're legally required to maintain a military force or at least have one of your family members pilot/own a Panzerkampflaufer (battle mech). Meier are landowners of decent status, usually at least Graf or above. They own Dampffestungen (steam castles) which are armored trains 
Knappe - Assistants, aides, generally non-combatants serving a knight. Albeit they can be also messengers or occasionally scouts.

Ritterknecht - Stewards assisting the knight in battle (vehicle crews, combat support vehicles, close support infantry, etc). When on foot they are often referred just as Schütze.

Wappner - Distinguished stewards who command mechs of their own in order to support the Ritter. Occasionally they command infantry platoons. Sergeant is another term they are referred as.

Ritter - nobility who almost always fight in vehicles, most commonly a Panzerkampflaufer. Military usage generally refers to the equivalent of a mech platoon leader.

Pfleger - Nobility assigned to command multiple platoons, effectively leading a company. This is the lowest rank for a person who commands an outpost or manages a steam castle.

Kommandant - Effectively the Dominion equivalent to the rank of major or even somewhat above, often commanding a brigade or a large vessel.

Herzog - The first man in a division, they are often experienced and high ranking nobles who are trusted by the rest of the knights. Unlike most ranks the title of Herzog is temporarily and used after prior vote of confidence. Although semi-permament Herzog titles are in practice do exist. When commanders for multiple divisions are required they are called the Oberherzog.

Grossherzog - An elected title usually appointed prior to a military campaign, it effectively allows commanding an entire army. 

Erzherzog - Chief military leader representing the Grandmaster when necessary. Hochmeister still outranks them if not making this position redundant. Like all Herzog titles this is appointed only as necessary.

The Dominion may be not the most developed nation but they have the world's densest concentration of railways. The reason lies within their defensive doctrine, Steam Castles. Less like fortresses and more like fancy armored trains a Dampffestungen are essentially the linchpin for each Lord to secure their lands. Dampffestungen serve multiple purposes: mobile fortresses, transport for troops and vehicles and temporary home or administrative center of the owner. As such they are indeed "mobile castles running on steam" as their name implies. When facing an uprising or invasion Steam Castles can rapidly get close to the battlefield and unleash their cargo of troops and vehicles. Aside from combatants they also carry large amount of support tools and personnel, including but not exclusive to light mechs that assist in construction or repair/building of railroads.

Combat potential wise Steam Castles are semi-accurately referred as "warships on rails". While nowhere as heavily armed and armored they are still reasonably protected with light turrets and gun emplacements to ward off attackers. Steam Castles can also add special cars with various artillery to provide fire support or these artillery cars can act independently. While the classic Steam Castle is envisioned as the Lord's home for understandable reasons the cars responsible for his/her accommodation usually don't take part in battles. In addition a Lord may own multiple Steam Castles or just divide the cars to multiple pieces. Also while the Lord may sleep in Steam Castles they also have more permanent estates and other residences. There's a limit to the comfort of armored trains, afterall.

Corax infantry is a mix of modern and throwback elements to the middle ages. Their troops often wear breastplates, pauldrons and other protective gear including their iconic Eisenhut. They are made of layers of resin and glass sandwiched between thin steel plates. This allows for lighter armors while being capable of stopping pistol bullets. Although the armor is incapable of defeating rifle rounds from any but the most extreme ranges and the resin layers shatter and be reduced in effectiveness after multiple hits. Ritter often go even further by wearing a full suit of armor, complete with medieval style knightly helmet designs. While the aesthetic and cultural reasons are obvious, there's a figment of practicality to the idea. Corax outlawed the use of high-powered firearms like rifles in the Dominion thus the only weapons civilians can acquire are pistol and light carbine grade weapons, both weak enough to be withstood by the armor. Since putting down peasant revolts is still among their main duties the armor makes Dominion troops more safe and render resistance pointless. Consequently to prevent looted firearms becoming an issue their common carbines are also chambered for 8.5x34mm pistol rounds.

Armor:
- Eisenhut: Literally means "iron hat", this is the typical helmet design worn by most infantry. It offers protection against shrapnel or the odd rifle round and it can also have thinner plate protection to the face and/or include a gas mask.

- Ritterhelm: Knight helmet, these exist in various designs and can provide full protection while unlike medieval closed helmet they don't block peripheral vision so much. There are various designs but none of them offer rifle protection for the entire head. Variants that integrate gas masks also exist.

- Kürass: Standard armor worn by most infantry. As explained before it only protects against pistols and distant shrapnel and depending on type it could weigh between 7-15kg total.

- Ritterharnisch: Full body armor worn for aesthetic reasons just as much as for protection. The breastplate and certain key parts use basic composite layers to absorb pistol rounds but the other parts are just simple steel plates best to deflect melee weapons. Due to advancements in technology the current Ritter armor is a bit more flexible, lighter and has better air circulation compared to how it used to be during the middle ages.

- Motorritterharnisch: Secret project in development as of 1930, a powered exoskeleton merged with a superheavy armor suit to increase the protection of a Ritter on foot. It's predicted that further developments are necessary in mech engineering to make such project viable.

Melee Weapons:
- Pattern 1901 Zweihander: Standard issue longsword still carried by certain infantry units. It's overall 150cm long and weighs 1.5kg. One of the best melee weapons for the 20th century.

- Pattern 1871 Langesmesser: Essentially a one handed sword with a single edge and straight blade. A fairly efficient cutter while also of relatively compact size of 90cm and the weight of 0.8kg. Most variations use a simple knife hilt for easier production.

- Pattern 1899 Degen: Utility knife/dagger and weapon of last resort, no soldier is seen without one!

Small Arms Munitions:
8.5 x 22mm - Standard pistol round used for commercial weaponry, roughly comparable but superior to 9mm rounds in performance.

8.5 x 34mm - Modified pistol round used in hunting rifles and also by the military. Has greater performance even at range but it cannot penetrate body armor. Also called the 8.5mm Carbine.

7.92 x 54mm - Bravsaara's rifle round license produced by the Dominion. Used in rifles and machineguns.

10.8 x 49mm - Old cartridge still used for Gatlings. More powerful than modern rifle rounds but produces less muzzle velocity. A necked down variant is also used for aircraft weaponry and anti-aircraft fire.

Small Arms:
- Niedhardwerk SP-07: One of the most common military pistols shooting then new 8.5x22mm cartridge. It's a semi-automatic pistol and one of the first of its kind. The magazine holds 6 bullets. M1907 are known for their simplicity and sturdiness, even if they aren't particularly amazing in anything else.

- Messkirch 1921: High-powered revolver most favored by the Ritter. It has beautiful finish and chamber capacity for nine 8.5x34mm rounds. As luxury gun maker Messkirch offers the revolver with various decorations and in 3 barrel lengths: standard, Kurz(short), and Lang (long). The latter is mostly for competition shooting.

- Niedhardwerk SK-18: Semi-automatic carbine shooting 8.5x34mm rounds. This is the standard issue gun for most infantry. Compared to the rifles of other nations the K-24 is shorter and fires effectively souped up pistol rounds. The magazine can hold 16 rounds but it can accept other types. Effective range is around 250 meters albeit the low velocity (~470m/s) means you need to get closer for higher accuracy.

- Infanteriegewehr 1921: Mostly a copy of Bravsaara's IR-19, a bolt-action rifle firing 7.92x54mm rounds. A considerable stock of them are available but normally remain unused. Unlike the original the Infgew. 1921 only has a more compact 5-round internal magazine that can be reloaded by stripper clips. Special high-quality variants made for snipers also exist.

- Niedhardwerk AP-28: Submachinegun used by specialists, sergeants or knights. It fires 8.5x22mm rounds from either a 33-round box magazine or a 88-round drum with the rate of fire around 660RPM. Later they introduced a heavier model called the AK-19 (automatischekarbiner 1928) which could fire 8.5x34mm rounds at 440RPM but it extensive care to avoid misfirings thus it didn't get widespread.

Machineguns:
- Niedhardwerk LAG-21: Effectively a "heavy submachinegun" the LAG-21 is a squad support weapon firing a stream of 8.5x34mm bullets. It's light for a machinegun with only 6-8kg (depending on accessories like the bipod) and notable for its very high rate of fire (1500RPM). The cloth belt feed system can support 100, 250, 500 or even backpack system filled with 3000 bullets and the weapon is said to be effective for 500 meters (albeit only for suppression, not for point shooting).

- Infanterieautomatischegewehr 1914: Also referred as the IAG-14 it's a typical blowback operated machinegun firing Bravsaara's 7.92x54mm rounds at a respectable 600RPM. As a typical heavy machinegun it's either mounted on a carriage or in case of the infantry carried variant a tripod to provide stable platform. The gun is water cooled to allow long uninterrupted fire.

- Pattern 1903 Motorautomatische Waffe: Carriage Gatling gun still chambered in the old 10.8x49mm rounds powered by a V4 engine to achieve rate of fire upwards 1200RPM. MAW-03 along with its engine and carriage weighs over 250kg and usually drawn by horse.

Grenades:
- Granatenstiel 1915: Basically a wooden stick that can be screwed on a grenade head to gain additional leverage for throwing. During tests the long wooden handle also prevented grenades from bouncing or falling back into the thrower's trenches. Albeit there are some situations where the sticks are less advantageous.

- Infanteriengranate 1919: Standard hand grenade shaped like mix between an egg and a cylinder, containing as much as 150g of TNT. It's the successor of the Pattern 1898 Infanteriengranate and the consecutive Infanteriengranate 1911. The unreliable and dangerous impact fuse is removed for a 5 or 10 second timed fuse. The original grenade was an "offensive" type designed to be lightweight and rely on blast effects instead of fragmentation. Although this soon turned out to be a mistake and thus they began issuing them with special fragmentation jackets. The Dominion's grenades are versatile. They can be thrown by hand, can have a handle attached to them for longer throws or even be launched from tiny mortar like devices. Aside from the mainline explosive grenades they also have incendiary and smoke variants for other purposes.

- Granatenwerfer 1927: GW-27 is an attempt to give infantry some capability to deliver explosives at range. It's effectively a tiny mortar designed to fire hand grenades for ranges of up to 400 meters. For this purpose you need to attach a special adaptor to the back portion of the grenade prior to fire which contains propellant, fins and a timed fuse that started counting back after the launch. While similar to mortars its firepower, accuracy and overall effectiveness doesn't approach one. 

- Panzerabwehrgranate 1928 "Francisca": Heavy hand grenade with shaped charge supposed to serve as the infantry's answer to the increasing threat of armored vehicles. It contains as much as 280g mixture of hexogen and TNT and with ideal conditions it could penetrate as much as 100mm armor steel. Since shaped charges need precise facing to be effective the conventional grenade delivery was impossible. Instead PAG-28 is screwed into the handling stick horizontally at the middle, effectively creating a throwing hammer. Dubbed "Francisca" for the popular axe throwing sport in the Dominion the weapon can be effectively used the same way.
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Artillery is well-respected within the Dominion with nobles often competing each other either in the quality, size or sheer quantity of their guns. Most high-ranking knights have a collection of antique cannons and they are eager to buy up artillery pieces from all over the world. This led to complicated logistics where you had dozens of different projectile sizes for that many different guns which led to issues as more advanced projectiles became common. With a series of reforms during the 19th century the Dominion managed to standardize their tubes and even imported artillery were often altered to receive shells of Coraxian standard. In addition given the nobles' love for artillery and the numerous import pieces this led to the rapid development of local ordinance production and as such the Dominion is among the world leaders in artillery. When it comes to transportation the Dominion prefers of course uses their extensive railway network but when these need to reach locations outside of rail reach they rely on specialized artillery tractors for example 2-ton 4x4 designs, the 3-ton tracked version,the 15-ton class or even the huge 35-ton types. Lighter pieces may also get put on lorries or be towed by cavalry, whichever is more convenient. Even utility mechs are put to work whenever the situation demands it. This means the Dominion practically always enjoys covering fire by their artillery.

Leichte Mörser 1894 - Also called the 10cm Mörser M94 this old type mortar is designed to be moved by infantry or to be horse drawn. While stripped down or fixed variants also exist the one with the wheeled carriage is the most popular. It plays a similar role to large caliber infantry mortars of other nations.

Mörser 1896 - Alternatively 16cm Mörser M96. Another old type artillery which fires 160mm mortar rounds for the range of 9km. Weighing 1.5 tons, these pieces are either pulled by horses or motorized vehicles.

7cm Gebirgsgeschütz 1924 - Derivative of the Dominion's old 70mm artillery these "pack cannons" are designed to be lightweight and to be stripped down to multiple parts for easier portability. As its name implies these are "mountain guns" relied on when no other type of artillery can be used. It weighs around 500kg and has the range of 6km.

10cm Schwerer Gebirgskanone 1915 - 100mm mountain artillery which weighs around 1200kg and thus requires an entire platoon to carry it, with preferably also using mules. On the other hand it uses the same shell as common artillery and has the range of 12km.

10cm  Feldhaubitze 1921 - Modernized 100mm light artillery used as the mainstay field gun of the Dominion. It weighs around 3 tons and has range in the excess of 20km.

16cm Schwerehaubitze 1912 - Heavier alternative to the more popular 10cm howitzers, lobbing shells 3-5 times of that in weight. It weighs 6 tons (8 with travel setup) and can throw its 160mm shells for the range of 16km. Due to its power compared to its size the 16cm howitzers are occasionally also called as "pocket siege guns".

16cm Geschütz 1924 - Newly redesigned 160mm artillery used for long range fire support. It fires shells of various sizes and characteristics with the maximum range in excess of 35km. For this performance it pays with cost and mobility as the weapon alone weighs some 15 tons, comparable to siege artillery while considerably inferior in throw weight. These guns are usually employed for counter battery fire and when defensive support was required.

21cm Schweresgeschütze 1920 - Heavy 25-ton artillery used for long range shelling from upwards 38km range. As such it also doubles as coastal defense battery and due to its weight and cumbersome setup it's more often seen as stationary piece or mounted on rails, including a popular railway artillery variant.

28cm Schwere Mörser 1918 - The most common type of siege artillery firing 300kg shells with at times as much as 100kg of explosives for the range of 12.5 kilometers. The weapon weighs around 15 tons alone but there are also 30 ton self-propelled variants.

36cm Sturmhaubitze 1928 - Siege artillery of the 360mm range lobbing 600kg shells for 9 kilometers. The design was meant for portability and firepower in sacrifice of almost anything else. As such the system only weighs 25 tons. It was intended to replace the 28cm heavy mortars but currently it's more like a complement to the Dominion's siege train.

45cm Verkurzen-Bombarde 1905 "Dicker Klaus" - Giant howitzer developed for ending sieges. It has a huge 450mm cannon, a shortened variation of the experimental naval gun for the Dominion. Overall it looks like a scaled up field howitzer with only L/16 barrel which limits its shells to 16km range. On the other hand each shells can weight around a ton and reduce nearly any fortification to rubble. Its main drawback is the weight, at 60 tons even the largest artillery tractors struggle to tow it in one piece and only specialized railcars can hold up such mass for transport. More often than not the Big Claus is disassembled and transported in parts before being put together on the field. As such these guns are one of the last pieces of artillery to arrive.
Not all large guns were made to shell down from distance. Some have other purposes. This includes anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns.

2cm Panzerabwehrgeschütz 1911 - Light anti-tank gun developed around the time of landships and then tankettes. It's a semi-automatic 20mm cannon with a top-fed 5, 10 or 20 round box magazine. Later other magazine types were also explored as well as the implementation of this gun for anti-aircraft role.

4cm Panzerabwehrgeschütz 1923 - The current mainstay anti-tank gun of the Dominion using 40mm high-velocity APCBC rounds. It has two variants with both being able to be converted to the other. First is a lightweight design at 500kg (including the ballistic shield) of the usual design which also meant limited horizontal traverse. Another type which weighed 850kg but with thicker ballistic shield, better recoil mechanism and full 360 degree traverse.

6cm Panzerabehrgeschütz 1930 - Gun only available in limited numbers for testing. It's an overall scaled up version of the 4cm, intended as an answer to prepare against further threats. Due to its weight the Dominion would prefer to wait with their introduction until there are sufficient number of tows and other alternatives to carry these into battle.

1cm Flugabwehrgeschütz 1916 - An engine powered gatling gun with a 360 degree flexible AA mount. It's a cheap conversion of old and in most cases obsolete gatling guns into a light anti-air weapon. The old 10.8mm gatling rounds are replaced by a new and improved variant that are necked down to accept 7.92mm bullets and achieve velocities around 1020 m/s. Combined with their lightness and 1200RPM fire rate they are well fit to engage low flying aircraft.

2cm Flugabwehrgeschütz 1921 - Light 20mm autocannon developed based on the 2cm PaG 11 cannons. They have a higher performance than their predecessor and as an anti-aircraft gun nearly twice the maximum ceiling compared to the 1cm gatlings. The gun can fire 300 rounds per minute and has a 20-round magazine as its most common loading mechanism.

4cm Flugabwehrgeschütz 1924 - Mostly used by the navy and steam castles these AA guns are an intermediate between the light and heavy anti-air measures. Loaded with plentiful explosives most aircraft are downed by a single direct hit.

7cm Flugabwehrgeschütz 1925 - Light 70mm anti-air artillery that was meant to engage high-flying airplanes. The shells fly with the muzzle velocity of 900m/s and often contain hexogen which makes them disperse shrapnel more rapidly. Unfortunately this performance comes at a cost and they are heavier than the 10cm AA guns. They were intended to replace the old 10cm guns but for now they are more like an addition.

10cm Flugabwehrgeschütz 1909 - Classic 100mm anti-air artillery originally designed for downing airships. Shells are heavy and of relatively slow but due to their high ballistic coefficient they can fly for impressive altitudes. The heavy shell also contains sizeable bursting charge while the relatively short gun makes it portable by even lorries.

13cm Schweres Flugabwehrgeschütz 1922 - Large anti-aircraft gun mostly found on steam castles, fixed emplacements and specialized ships. Its heavy high-velocity shells give it a frightening range albeit at the cost of firing rate.
With such density of ralroads it's natural that the Dominion invests considerably in the development of locomotive towed artillery. Simpler variants use field guns and other existing artillery with maybe the addition of 360 turntable or quickloader mechanisms. More advanced variants are designed from the ground up to be fired from rails.

21cm Geschütz in Eisenbahnlafette 1915 - Standard railroad artillery mounted on  360 degree turntable, used to provide mobile local fire support. With the entire system being 80 tons it's relatively light by railroad terms which along with the frequency of rails mean they are a common reinforcement during defensive actions. With the range of 44km they are also effective as coastal defense weapons and certain points even have permanent emplacement of these.

28cm Geschütz in Eisenbahnlafette 1928 - Large L/80 gun system firing various shells with range upwards 60km. It uses a simplistic recoil system where the entire train is pushed back 10-15 meters after each fire. The gun is forward mounted with limited horizontal traverse of 5 degrees. Aiming is instead done on a circular track section.

35cm Verkurzen-Marinengeschütz in Eisenbahnlafette 1912 - Giant cannon mounted on railways, intended to crush fortifications. It's essentially a shortened dreadnought gun mounted on a rail system with 360 degree traverse. It fires huge 500kg shells for the range of 18km.

38cm Schweres Geschütz in Eisenbahnlafette 1927 - Gun of the newest coastal defense battleships souped up and mounted in a fixed forward position to a rail system. It fires special lightened shells with a larger powder pack to achieve the range of 52km. While powerful these guns are relatively rare compared to their smaller 28cm G(E) 28 derivatives due to economic reasons.

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Along with railways the Dominion also spent a lot of effort in mechanization, both for utility and combat vehicles. Light bipedal utility mechs are common for construction and field work while rows of trucks are ready to haul people and supplies where the trains couldn't reach. Recon bikes are gradually replacing cavalry in their role and scout cars are similarly common. Military tractors are used to hail heavy equipment like heavy artillery or anti-aircraft cannons. Self-propelled guns also have some role albeit instead of tanks the Dominion invested more in their bipedal vehicles, creating the Panzerkampflaufer which literally means "armored battle walker". Knights and their retinue usually pilots these mechs in combat. In general the Dominion relies on a smaller force of mechanized units than the huge mass armies of other countries. The infantry that cannot fit into transports are usually assigned for guard or policing duties.
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Luftgeschissenkraftfahrzeug 1918 Ausführung C 1cm Zwillig (lgkfz. 18C 1cm zwillig) - Light 2-ton armored car equipped with a pair of gatlings firing necked down 10.8mm rounds for short range anti-aircraft suppression. Compared to 20mm system it has shorter altitude of only around 1500m but due to its lightness and easy of logistics this variant is far more popular.

The Corax Dominion views their mechanized force as a continuation of their cavalry. Knights who were previously required to own horses now piloting Panzerkampflaufer (armored battle walkers) and they are an essential part of the Dominion's new mobility based warfare. Knights are also often accompanied with Wappner who pilot less distinguished mechs or otherwise provide support for them, naturally forming mech platoons.
Name: Panzerkampflaufer I Ausführung A, B or C
Height: 4.17m (maximum in walker mode), 2.5m (tank mode)
Length: 1.87m (walker mode), 2.95m (tank mode)
Weight: 3.6 metric tons
Top Speed: 18 km/h (walker mode), 39km/h (tankette mode)
Armor: 4-10mm
Weapons: 
A: Pattern 1903 10.8mm Motorautomatische Waffe
B: IAG-14 7.92mm machinegun
C: 2cm PaG 11 anti-tank gun

Ever since the start of the 19th century the prestige and importance of the Dominion's cavalry was vanning. In order to avoid this the Grandmaster issued the greatest minds in the realm to create the "cavalry of the 20th century", a mechanical contraption befitting the knights. While tanks were considered at the time they were considered as slow behemoths and didn't interest the Dominion who relied on rapid deployment. After a few years they concluded that the most fit platform for the glorious knight would be bipedal, standing tall in battle. They used already existing bipedal worker mechs as a basis to produce the Panzerkampflaufer, a machine that no longer just walks but runs on the battlefield. That was idea, at least. Due to the slow response of hydraulics this idea eventually turned out to be a dead end as mechs struggled to outpace the slow and cumbersome tanks they were intended surpass. With the development of more advanced suspension systems the reliability of wheeled and tracked vehicles rose considerably. Not willing to admit their failure the Dominion made an ambitious move, installing tracked propulsion on the legs of their mechs. This lead to a decade of struggles during which the knights used tankettes and light tanks and the development a number of offsprings like the Panzerarbeitslaufer I. A worker mech which could allow fieldwork even in the middle of combat and the wheeled road speed of 60km/h.

In the end all this development resulted in dozens of various prototypes and what can be called a bipedal tankette. Pkl. I is tiny by armored vehicle standards and was only equipped with a gatling gun. This soon got replaced by an IAG-14 machinegun and then a 20mm PaG 11 cannon for the C model. Overall the Pkl. I's performance was barely satisfying and the development soon began for a more viable armored vehicle using the same technology. Nowadays only the retainers of poor knights use these vehicles in combat and most existing variants were modified to become armored construction mechs (Pal. II. A).

Name: Panzerkampflaufer II Ausführung A, B or C
Height: 5.87m (maximum in walker mode), 3.22m (tank mode)
Length: 2.46m (walker mode), 3.96m (tank mode)
Weight: 10.5 metric tons
Top Speed: 15 km/h (walker mode), 40km/h (tank mode)
Armor: 6-14mm
Weapons: 
A: 2cm PaG 11 anti-tank gun, co-axial IAG-14 machinegun
B: 7cm GG 24 howitzer, co-axial LAG-21 light machinegun
C: Flammenwerfer 21, co-axial LAG-21 light machinegun

Mainline mech of the Corax Dominion, successor to the short-lived diminutive Pkl. II which was the first to pioneer the unique "hybrid drive system" combining walker and tank properties into one vehicle. When straightened up in walker mode the mech gains larger range of movement and the capability to cross difficult terrain. When the legs are folded under the chassis the pilot activates the diesel-electric drive to power the tracks, gaining a faster and more stable platform. The hydraulic legs double as suspension during tank mode but for long distance travel the insertion of 8 flexible suspension bars is required which can take up to 10 minutes to finish. Part of the problem is that the joints aren't locked in place during tank mode. This increases wear on the key walking components yet on the other hand enables something called "track skiing" as the articulated individual movement of the tracks allows unique maneuvers and tighter turn radius. The original A variant inherited the 20mm cannon of its predecessor while special types armed with light howitzer (specifically a stripped down version of the 7cm mountain gun) and even a flamethrower variant. As armor began improving at a rapid pace the A variant soon fell out of favor and development for a more powerful type began at full swing. Consequently more and more Wappners were equipped by the new Pkl.II, it becoming their new standard, especially the B variant. A standard mech platoon has 4 Pkl. III Ausf Bs lead by a single Pkl. II Ausf. D. Many old A variants were actually converted to the B for similar reasons. The rifle-caliber machinegun was also replaced with the carbine-strength LAG-21 both for budgetary reasons and because the low velocity of the carbine bullets makes it more comparable to the shell speeds of the howitzer thus improving accuracy.

Height: 5.87m (maximum in walker mode), 3.22m (tank mode)
Length: 2.66m (walker mode), 4.16m (tank mode)
Weight: 12.5 metric tons
Top Speed: 15 km/h (walker mode), 40km/h (tank mode)
Armor: 9-21mm
Weapons: 
A2: 2cm PAG 21 autocannon, co-axial IAG-14 machinegun
D: 4cm PaG 23 anti-tank gun, co-axial IAG-14 machinegun
E: 6cm PaG 30 anti-tank gun, co-axial IAG-14 machinegun

Classic mech used by the Ritter, it's most distinguished by its longer gun and reinforced pike-shaped front armor. It has slightly improved drive and a more powerful engine along with slightly reinforced armor to deal with .50cal weaponry. The main cannon is also upgraded to the newer PaG 23 40mm anti-tank gun, capable of penetrating 80mm armor at a flat angle. Some of the knights missed the old 20mm gun and thus you had the A2 variant, effectively the same as the D variant but equipped with the new 20mm autocannon derived from the anti-aircraft guns. Rumors also say that there are experiments to incorporate the 6cm PaG 30 for future variants but currently any such vehicles existing (if they do) is a well-hidden secret.
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Airforce is often considered the "ugly duckling" of the Dominion military. While they consider its importance the woodland and hills covered Estewaldian landscape doesn't make them very appealing compared to their already existing network of rails and land transport measures. As such the limited budget on aircraft caused them to lag behind in terms of their development with their most common interceptors being over a decade old triplanes.

Unique twin body light airship design commonly seen within the Dominion. It's essentially a blimp with two roughly 20m long balloon bodies carrying a central control and accommodations structure for the crew. Thanks to it having no frame the airship is easily transportable on trains and filling up the chambers can be done within a hour or two. Tbz. XI has great range and its crew of 8 can keep surveying the area for days. As such every Steam Castle has at least a few of these. As an airship with pressurised cabins it can reach decent altitudes and in terms of top speed it could comfortably reach 75km/h.

Light two-seater biplane used for reconnaissance designed by the old Halbertwerke aircraft manufacturing company. While upgraded both in terms of engine and frame design its light load and limits as an outdated biplane design put it at a severe disadvantage against modern fighters. Its purpose explicitly being recon though these faults are excusable. Halbert A. VII like its predecessors has no built-in weaponry. Sometimes the co-pilot mounts a machinegun to the back to combat tail chasers but that's about it. Instead its main job is reconnaissance which it serves quite well. Thanks to its lightness and powerful engine the Halbert A. VII could take off with minimal runway and can achieve the top speed of 300km/h, giving it decent range and at least some chance escape from modern fighters.

Single-engine triplane fighter with the top speed of almost 250km/h. Dated and slow by the standards of more advanced designs its triplane construction sports great turning radius and can take off with only minimal runways. Its main weapon is a heavily modified gatling gun with only a single barrel but nine rotating chambers (so effectively a rotary gun) to achieve the fire rate of 1800 rounds per minute. The weapon uses modified 10.8mm cartridges that are necked down to the lighter 7.92mm bullets to achieve muzzle velocities around 980 m/s. The Dr. II also has limited bomb capacity to either drop a pair of 50kg bombs or 10 canisters each with 100 iron flechettes for the old style "nail bombings".

Single-engine biplane bomber with enclosed cockpit and oxygen supply for high altitude flights. As the Dominion doesn't see much value in strategic bombers and instead they went for a "medium" design which does close support for the troops as well as still have enough capacity to carry a large bomb or torpedo for the toughest targets. While the Dominion has no special interest the G. V can also take off from their tiny escort carriers and generally only requires runways comparable to other nations' fighters. As a biplane the G. V is obviously limited in performance, only capable of achieving around 200km/h. Weaponry wise it has two high-speed gatling gunners for anti-fighter combat but there are also plans for a variant with integrated 4cm anti-tank guns in the future for close air support. Bomb capacity wise it can carry a single torpedo or a 800kg bomb or alternatively be loaded with sixteen 50kg or ten 100kg bombs for smaller targets.

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Comon Warship Prefix: Herschaftschiff - HSS (also translated as DNS - Dominion Navy Ship)

People of Interest

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TBA

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Stats

|Geopolitical Power Level|4 / 7

|Tech Tree|
Civilian Technology
Materials: Adept 1
Electronics: Basic
Supply: Basic
Military Technology
INF: Basic
ARM: Adept 1
ART: Adept 1
SUB: Basic
SHP: Basic
HTA: Basic
LTA: Basic
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