LBT: Future Wars Repository

[Caustizer]

Hey all,

This is a fanfiction idea I've been trolling around with for a while now, and some days it worked while on others it didn't.  It takes great inspiration from Twilight Valley, with many of the OCs from that story featured in this alternate universe with Serris' permission.  If you are an LBT-purist a story or settling like this is not for you, but otherwise feel free to post your comments as me and others add tidbits to this thread.


...


The basic idea of this story is that there is a high tech war between the Leaf-eaters and the Sharpteeth who have each developed their own brand of civilization and technology.

The leaf-eater cities and states are enormous and well-defended, with all their food grown from specialized greenhouses to feed the masses.  Their military is conservative and careful, prioritizing safety and reliability over destructive potential.  If a certain weapon is deemed too brutal or inethical by the VDF, they won't use it.

The sharptooth states, collectively refered to as Claw, are absolute dictatorships were the upper classes dine well and the lower classes devour each other in the streets just to eat. Claw thrives on warfare, with every territory conquered full of new prey to consume.  Naturally, this brings the VDF and Claw into conflict on many many occasions.

Here is a bit of a blurb as to what this is all about:


...


Land Before Time: Future Wars

Introduction:

After over 200 million years, the dinosaurs stood unchallenged as the inheritors of the planet Earth.  An alien race watched bitterly from the void of space, and eventually determined that the time of the dinosaurs was finally to come to an end.  They intended to prepare the planet for the seeding of their own creation; a race that would eventually become known as humanity. The planet in its current state however was too hostile for their needs.  To this end they crafted a virus; a special combination of genomes designed to drastically reduce the size and might of the reptiles over generations.  It was released via capsule, and 150 years later it was determined to be a success.  98% of the planet’s reptilian inhabitants did not grow beyond their teenage size and some grew even less.  There was one side effect that the creators of the virus did not intend however – intelligence.

Brainpower doubled, tripled, quadrupled in the offspring of the infected dinosaurs, and what soon followed was the development of civilization, of science, and eventually of war.  

[Caustizer]

Factions of the Twilight War:

VDF or the Valley Defence Force

Twenty generations after the first alien capsule fell on earth, the planet Earth had changed beyond recognition.  The brilliance of longneck engineers, combined with the strength of the spiketails and the will of the threehorns had transformed once the green valleys of the past into sprawling networks of titanium, steel, and pavement.  Green food was cultivated in special greenhouses to feed the masses, water was filtered through giant plexipipes into the hydro systems, and power lines buzzed with fresh ionic electricity.

The leaf-eaters were scattered throughout the world in population centres like this, for they promised one food to eat, a place to live, and a higher purpose.  Some cities were independent, but others were banded together in a network of protection called the VDA, or the Valley Defence Alliance. The VDA kept trade routes open, airlines fuelled, and ensured that society always remained organized surrounding around its modicum:

“Every Race has its Place.”

Notable VDA cities include, the Lush Haven, the Forest Haven, the Verdant Haven, and the biggest one of all called the Great Haven (formerly known as the Great Valley) where the leading council holds government.  The military arm of the VDA is known as the VDF or the Valley Defence Force, which is most advanced and well equiped military force in the world.

[Caustizer]

Claw:

Things were different for the sharpteeth, who founded a completely separate and secret society.  Even after becoming more intelligent, they could not escape their nature and tended to conceal their holdings and avoid direct fighting.  Sharptooth cities are ruled by a single tyrannical ruler, who decides who receives what food and who deserves to eat on any particular day.  Every city like this has a sub-network where the leaf-eaters are kept, completely ignorant of their impending fate until they are selected to “transfer” by the managing AI.  The leaf-eaters who do are understandably never seen again.  Even using these harvesting practises every sharptooth cannot be fed, so the ruling powers are forced to attack and assimilate other leaf-eater groups to keep their populations in check – both through war dead (less mouths to feed) and through the harvesting of the corpses of the conquered.  The worst of the war-like sharptooth nations is known as Claw, which holds its capital at a place known by its old name as Claw Valley.  Claw is led by a mysterious sharptooth known only as Excidium, who has never been seen in public but he is often pictured in likeness on the streets of Claw City.  Claw is notorious for attacking without warning and brutally assimilating leaf eater havens into its fold.  One nation Claw has never dared to attack however is the VDA… until now.

[Caustizer]

State of the World:


Following a period of turbulence and strife the VDF was acknowledged as the savoir of the leaf-eaters for defending independent cities from sharptooth raids, and establishing many kind trade agreements to bring more dinosaurs into the VDA fold. Over 61% of the world was within range of VDF control, and the threat of attack was at an all time low.  

Pressure was mounting in the VDA Council to launch attacks into the Claw and Fang domains, to free captive leaf-eaters from sharptooth tyranny, and such motions were only opposed by a few more conservative councillors such as Grandpa Longneck of the Great Haven and Thuro of Verdant Haven.    They believed that Fang, Claw, and Scythe would collapse on their own and that the renegade sharptooth factions posed no threat to the safety of the VDA and its citizens.

They were wrong.

As night fell the defences of the Great Wall, a turret and ionic fence network specifically set up to defend from attack from the wastes, suddenly shut down as the work of a group Claw’s specially trained Chameleon Spies revealed itself.  What followed was the opening act of a war the likes of which Earth would not know again for another hundred million years – the Twilight War.


The Gang of Five:


Things were certainly different for the gang of five growing up in the Great Haven, but compared to the past dimension they were nearly the same.  Although VDA policy had ensured a society that ran efficiently and effectively by assigning a particular race to a task that suited them best, the result was a division between the herds and some racist sentiment.  Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky, Spike, and Cera all met when they were barely born in a post-hatching play forest (despite how society had evolved, leaf eating parents still preferred their children to be familiar in their natural environment) and were all drawn together by their mutual desire to have fun.  All this changed when a medical team arrived for a standard vaccination, and determined that Littlefoot and Petrie were a rare designation called a “Primo-genitor”.

“Primo-genitor” is a complex term for a very simple phenomenon - that is they were immune to the growth reduction effects of the alien virus, and would eventually grow to their full size.  This was understandably big news, as less then 0.05% of the population had this condition and those that did were considered the last remnants of a once great age.  To find one Primo-genitor was an extremely rare occurrence – but to find two at once was highly exceptional, and it made the news for weeks.  Instantly, the gang had been transformed from normal children to into adored and admired celebrities, and their lives would never be the same.

Around the time the Gang was becoming famous, a family of fast runners defected from Fang to join the VDF, and like all other defectors they were treated with suspicion and indifference.  It wasn’t until one of their children, named “Ruby” was determined to be a Primo-genitor were they given a place to stay and an opportunity for a new life.  With them they brought an eager and skilled young sharptooth named Chomper, who was to become the most famous member of the entire gang.

[jedi472]

Sounds like a cool story! I look forward to more!

[Caustizer]

Military Forces of the Future:

VDF Infantry:

Runner Squads

- Most Fast runners who enlist for the VDF quickly find themselves fighting on the frontlines as part of the Runner Corps, an elite group of dino-soldiers armed with the latest issue automatic shotguns for close range engagement.  
- Their chief advantage is their speed, and they make full use of it in the gritty city fights that often occur during sharptooth raids, as well as quickly suppressing any unwanted uprisings within VDF territory.
- Often consist of 6 individuals, with one designated as the field sergeant
- When speed is secondary to protection, command has been known to special issue Thermic Armour to Runner units, but this is as rare and situational as the battle permits.
- Rarer still are the experimental Plasmic Shells, which are specially designed to punch through the toughest hides and armours using a subatomic ball of plasma to provide maximum killing power.  These shells are especially useful versus Claw Firehounds, which are notorious for their heavy armour.

Spiketail Teams

- Spiketails are valued for their greater then normal proportion of strength to body weight, which ultimately makes them excellent heavy weapon troopers for the VDF in all theatres of war.
- Composed of normally 2 members, which are usually siblings or relatives to ensure the greatest cooperation on the battlefield
- One spiketail is armed with a Dual Fire Missile Launcher on their back which is useful versus enemy vehicles, structures and aircraft, while the other carries a long range Thudd Mortar for attacking groups of infantry from a distance.
- Occasionally Spiketail Teams are fitted with Thermic Armour in especially undesirable zones or important battles, so they last longer versus enemy fire.

Longneck Architect

- Longnecks are important members of the VDF because they are valued for their intelligence, and as such they rarely take to the battlefield directly as opposed to working behind the lines on the latest generation of weaponry.  Architects are a key exception to this rule.
- A single Architect is defenceless and poorly armoured, and as such is highly vulnerable to attack - a fear that these longnecks never cease to mention to their superiors.
- Architects can do many things beyond the capabilities of normal troopers, such as repairing damaged structures, demolishing enemy structures, and detecting nearby stealth units with their advanced sensory apparatus.  It’s not surprising that Runner Squad tend to hang around them when venturing into Claw or Fang territory for this reason.
- Certain trained Architects have been trained to re-activate damaged VDF advanced armour like the Mastodon and Behemoth Walkers, but their abilities are often untested and unreliable (Advanced Walkers are such a new technology after all)
- Longneck Architects often request (with varying degrees of response) to only work with commanders agreeing to provide them with Thermic Armour, but even amongst the well equipped VDF this is rare.

Longneck Exosuit Squad

- Exosuits are the most advanced personal armour suits available in the VDF, and cover the bodies of their Longneck wearers completely from head to tail
- These soldiers are protected from any and all airborne gaseous toxins and are for the most part immune to small arms fire. Claw soldiers dread to be sent against a unit of Exosuits, such is their power
- Usually formed together in squads of 3, although it has been known to expand to 4 when an Exosuit Trainee is brought on
- Because longnecks have to hands to conceivably operate a weapon, the powerful Exo-lasers are mounted in pairs on their shoulders, and fired with a double blink from the wearer in the targets direction.  They are capable of slicing through anything from metal, flesh, bone, or structural reinforcements, but are most effective versus enemy armour that has a difficult time dodging the sweep of the beam.
- On the rare occasion Exosuit units may be issued Regeneration Packs, which is an addition to their armour to allow it to re-integrate and self-repair itself versus incoming attacks.
- Exosuits are cost prohibitive, and therefore are only sent on the most important of surface missions.  As such their operators are the best trained in the VDF, and are an example that younger longnecks often aspire to.

Chomper

- There is no leaf-eater born within the VDF who has not heard the name of Chomper, the friendly sharptooth who is also the VDF’s most elite commando
- Chomper is equipped with a prototype Warp Suit, an unbelievably expensive suit of combat armour that has two unique properties – the Warp Touch and the Warp Jump
- Chomper’s Warp Touch instantly erases anything he touches from time, effectively exterminating any enemy he fights without a trace.  This ability makes him hated and feared by Claw, as the units sent to fight him simply vanished, along with several outlying bases.
- Warp Jump allows Chomper to make a brief leap through space and time, instantly transporting him from one place to another in the blink of an eye.  This ability is quite short ranged though, due to its enormous power requirements, but it hasn’t failed to spawn rumours amongst Claw recruits that he is immune to death.
- VDF commanders can only request Chomper’s presence if they have the highest clearance level available, and even then it’s not a sure thing. Chomper answers directly to Central Command, and nobody else.
- To add to the misery of the VDF’s enemies, Chomper sometimes takes to field equipped with the latest issue of Regeneration Packs, to heal any damage that has been done to his valuable Warp Suit.

[Caustizer]

VDF Vehicles:

Skyrunner

- Skyrunners are cheap and easily manufactured support vehicles produced by the VDF to combat light vehicles and aircraft
- Hover drives enable the Skyrunner to move far more quickly then conventional vehicles, so unsurprisingly they are crewed almost entirely by fastrunners
- Equipped with a battery of 6 Rockets, which rearm automatically after being fired
- Sometimes Extra Rockets are added to the Skyrunner to help it deal with marauding aircraft

Crawler

- Crawlers are reliable all terrain transports that often carry VDF personnel into the field through hostile warzones.  They are crewed by fastrunners, but are used to transport infantry of all races.
- Vision slits in the sides enable the soldiers inside to fire out the hatches at nearby enemies
- Unfortunately only a single unit can fit into the passenger bay at once, but this rarely proves a problem as Crawlers can be manufactured en mass to meet the needs of the infantry divisions
- equipped with an outside mounted grenade launcher, for both urban and open warfare

Charger Tank

-  VDF’s armoured core is formed exclusively of threehorn recruits, and they would have it no other way.  The Charger is the heavily armoured Main Battle Tank of the VDF and is armed with an armour piercing shock cannon for combat against enemy vehicles
- Vastly superior to the Claw Tank, but is also more expensive to produce and more timely to train the crew in its operations
- As a bonus feature (or perhaps an appeasing feature) longneck engineers installed a turbo-injection motor and a huge frontal ramming plate, allowing the Charger to live up to it’s name in a desperate situation
- Sonicannons are an experimental upgrade that allows these tanks to take on large groups of tanks more feasibly, although at the cost of primary penetrative power

Punisher Tank

- Normally a brutal weapon like this would not be allowed out of the testing grounds, but in this case an exception was made due to a strong complaint from the Threehorn Corps.  The complaint was that their existing vehicle, the Charger, was too ill equipped to deal with the swarms of foot soldiers that were commonly used by their enemies.  In their views, depending on fickle runners to protect them was a weakness that just wouldn’t do
- To that end longneck engineers crafted this monster, which is as heavily armed as the Charger but is also equipped with two armour piercing rotating cannons, capable of a rate of fire of 4000 rounds a minute – more then enough to massacre enemy infantry divisions.  The threehorn crew were more then satisfied.
- The Punisher is also armed with Plasmic Shells on rare occasions when the enemy proves more durable then its primary ammunition can handle.
- Thanks to prior arrangements with Topsy, Cera enjoys the best Punisher in the fleet and is often seen testing it’s might on the battlefield.

Cardio-Rig

- This VDF support vehicle is crewed by an assortment of different races, each one designated to carry out a certain role within its function.  A longneck manages the repair systems for nearby damaged vehicles, while a Spiketail drives and a group of swimmers manage the medical bay
- While in motion all operations are ceased, until the unit can deploy again. During this time all crew are strapped in tight.
- Completely defenceless, so it falls to nearby forces to protect them

Brontodon

- Brontodons are the most symbolic, most high tech and heavily armoured machines in service with the VDF to date. They are quadruped combat walkers that tower as tall as a building and are equipped with a ton of various weapons for countering threats of all types
- Primary weapon systems are two mounted Exo Cannons, mighty lasers which can strafe the ground in a line damaging multiple targets in one shot. It is very similar to the system used in Exo Suits, but on a much larger scale.
- Certain modified heavy walkers can mount Arch-Shields, special devices which disable primary weapons but cast an enormous frontal shield which protects nearby VDF forces from incoming attacks and is  credited with saving hundreds of lives to date.
- Only longnecks are allowed to crew a Brontodon, such is its technical complexity and public image.  Unsurprisingly, the engineers who designed it meant for it to be as imposing as they would have grown were it not for the virus, and even a Primo like Grandpa Longneck agreed that they are magnificent (and taller then he was)
- Brontodon are piloted via a belt system, where the driver walks and turns on an oscillating floor and the walker mimics his/her motions
- Extremely expensive and rare even on the most important of battlefields, the honoured crews often name their walkers – Littlefoot’s Brontodon is called ëDoc’, for obvious reasons.



Behemoth

- Spiketails got their day when these massive artillery walkers came into service.
- Tough mobile quadruped walkers that are equipped with the latest big gun in the VDF, the Thunder Cannon.  Thunder Cannons use the largest ballistic shells in existence at 2m across to flatten enemy positions from miles away.
- No close range weapons however, so they are vulnerable to attack.  As well, they have no air defences so are easy prey for Claw Screamers
- Has a single mounted battle bunker, within which a single squad may garrison to support the walker up close.  Spiketail crews frown upon any other race who takes this position besides other spiketails, but they are still grateful for the assistance.
- Rare and expensive, Behemoths are only used in the most desperate of situations when a lot of firepower is needed and the Mastodons aren’t enough

Sonicopter

- Flyers who join the air force no longer fly on their own, but behind the wings of a turbo powered jet craft with a few inches of armour plating between them and their enemies.
- Uses a revolutionary new sonic weapons system to devastate groups of enemy vehicles, but is disappointingly ineffective versus groups of heavily armoured infantry and structures. On the plus side though, at least they have unlimited ammo.
- Possesses the latest sensors and tremor graphs to detect hidden forces, to maximize the effectiveness of the experimental weapons they carry
- Heavily used as a patrol craft, but still on request for VDF commanders in the field beyond the normally permitted forces.

Pulverizer

- Mighty bombers of the VDF air force, these massive hover aircraft can pummel an enemy base into oblivion, and then some.
- Flyers who find the Sonicopter not heavy enough are quickly moved into the Pulverizer Corps, which also has a habit of naming their planes and decorating them with art.
- Also capable of para-dropping loads of infantry onto the battlefield, but said infantry have to endure the gibes of the fly boys, who make fun of the cushiness of their aerial ride.
-  Pulverizers are only commissioned on a “must-be-destroyed” basis, so are rare in small scale skirmishes.

[Caustizer]

The VDF and Claw factions are so well developed now in my notes, if I had the modding and artistic skills I could make a game out of it.

...

VDF has no power plants, so can build unlimited defenses and structures, but has a unit limit based on the amount of Arboriums you construct.  This makes the Valley Defense Forces advantaged in a defensive situation.

Claw has no unit limit, so can build unlimited soldiers and vehicles, but has energy to power it's structures and defenses based on the amount of Talon Cores you construct. Understandably, this makes Claw ideal in offensive situations.

VDF Heroes:

Great Haven (aka Great Valley)
- Starts with Littlefoot's Brontodon, a massive four legged walker which possesses a powerful frontal shield that can be activated at will to protect your army from enemy fire.  The main weapons don't activate until you construct Bigmouth's Armoury and a Battle Center.
- Great Haven's armies are focused on technological superiority, hence the Battle Center and Brontodon walkers are 25% cheaper then the other factions of VDF.

Dawn Haven
- Starts with Sonic Ruby, who has a powerful Sonic Resonator that is effective versus masses of vehicles, but is not truely powerful until she kills enough opponents to be promoted to the Savoir rank.  (VDF ranks go Exemplar = Veteran, Savoir = Elite Veteran, Harbinger = Best of the best)
- Dawn Haven's armies are focused on masses of foot soldiers, and hence infantry coming out of the VDF Training Ground are 25% cheaper then normal.

Verdant Haven
- Starts of with the Cardio-copter, a flying aircraft that is a fusion of flight, medical, and repair divisions of VDF.  Petrie and Ducky are glad to be apart of one of the VDF's first race-collaberative experiments, and using their combined abilities can heal masses of infantry and vehicles in both down times and active battle situations.
- Verdant Haven's armies concentrate on being economically sound, and so enjoy a 25% increase in Arborium productivity.

...

Claw Sector
- Starts with the Deliverator, a ravenous grinding machine that draws enemy vehicles towards it with it's tractor harpoon and breaks them down, providing a decent refund to it's owner.  Hasta is all too glad to put this devilish crawler to the test, and delights in the inevitable death all of his targets experience.
- Claw armies are the most aggressive of all sharpteeth forces and favour the support of their advanced technology before taking to the field to harvest their prey.  Hence Claw Sector can construct the Black Tech Division 25% cheaper then the other sectors, as well as building the deadly Tyrannotron mechs 25% cheaper then normal.

Fang Sector
- In tune with Fang's tendancy to avoid a direct fight, Ozzy the Chamelion Master gladly takes to the battlefield to assist upstart Fang commanders.  Not many sharpteeth, or rather meat eaters, can attest to having their own satellite in orbit, but Ozzy can.  He possesses no weapons, but can use his personal Icarus satelite to steal money, disable radar, and shut down vehicles and buildings with EMP.  On top of this Ozzy only wears the latest Stealth armour, so hes almost complelely invisible!
- Fang's Army's are fitted to avoid a direct fight, instead using stealth and subtlety to gain eventual victory.  In this light, all Fang foot sharpteeth begin with Stealth Armour (even lowly Sickle Packs) to hide them from visibility and make all your attacks quite surprising.

Scythe Sector
- Due to the incredable size of the Scythe Sector, the sharpteeth here have entered into a pact with mercenary flyers in order to better guard their domains.  Apart from this however, Scythe's greatest claim to fame is Dr. Achilles, an unfortunate fast-biter who bound himself with an AI during an experiment in the Black Technology Labs.  Achilles is bound entirely within the domain of computing and electricity, with his mortal body nothing more then an empty vessel to bind his spirit to the world.  Sometimes when Scythe is threatened, Achilles will take to the battle field in his ingenious Calculator, a mobile advanced AI node that allows him to boost production figures enormously allowing armies to be quickly raised.
- Scythe armies are equiped mightily with an airforce piloted by Carniverous flyer allies, and their experience allows aircraft to be produced much cheaper then conventional Claw aircraft.  Units built out of the Death-nest are 25% cheaper.

...

Essentially, each army has 1 hero that you start with depending upon the sub-faction you choose.  These units are entirely different from the Commando units, VDF's Chomper and Claw's Utah and Manhatten, which tend to cause enormous amounts of destruction very quickly.

[Serris]

Here's my contributions:

VDF forces:

Ducky

- No Leafeater in the VDF does not know the name of Ducky, one of the first female VDF soldiers, as well as one of the finest soldiers of either gender.

- Ducky is equipped with the very expensive "Singularity" series powered armor. The suit's combination of amorphous metal and ceramic armor render her immune to small arms fire. In addition, electroactive artificial muscles greatly increase her strength. The armor is powered by a miniaturized fusion reactor inside an armored backpack. The backpack also contains air filtration systems that protect her against airborne toxins.

- The helmet that comes with the armor is equipped with a Heads Up Display, as well as infrared and low light vision modes. The helmet's visor can also darken to counter the effects of flash grenades and. The visor's electronics are protected by a layer of armored glass. The helmet is composed of a light but extremely strong combination of amorphous metal and carbon composites. Though it is strong, high caliber weapons such as .50 caliber SLAP rounds may penetrate the helmet.

- Ducky's weapon is a powerful railgun originally designed for vehicle mounting. The railgun draws power from the miniaturized fusion reactor that powers the suit. The railgun fires a 30 mm, 2 pound, solid steel slug at speeds in excess of Mach 6. The slug can penetrate most armor. Ammunition is supplied in 10 round box style magazines (a modification from the vehicle mounted model where the rounds were supplied in a helical magazine).  However, it is not very effective against massed infantry as there are no explosives in the slug and the railgun has a slow rate of fire. In rare cases, Ducky has been known to use her railgun to kill enemy soldiers behind cover.

- Due to the relatively large size and weight of the railgun magazines, she can only carry a limited amount of ammunition. In addition, the railgun's capacitors take roughly 3.5 seconds to gather enough power for one shot.

- Experiments have been made to allow the armor to repair itself but they have failed. For now, Ducky must take off the armor to allow technicians to repair it.

- Only VDF commanders with the highest clearance can request Ducky's presence and even then, it is not a sure thing that she will show up. She is a member of the so called "Elite Cadre", answering only to Central Command. In addition, Ducky's armor is extremely expensive, so she is only called out only if there is a massive threat.

[Caustizer]

I'd envisioned Theta is the lieutenant who briefs you during the cutscenes when you play as Claw.  That's why I didn't include Ali in the VDF because she's the lieutenant who calls the shots in the VDF military.

[LBTFan13]

I gotta say, this reminds me of a cartoon I used to watch called Dino Riders. This sounds very interesting indeed

[Serris]

Hasta and Theta are paired lieutenants.

I had imagined Red-Eye or Styracus doing the briefing not Theta.

Also, Theta has a barely disguised love for combat which is why I would expect him to engage in direct combat. Also his weapon of choice (knives) will be featured into the Future Wars incarnation.

-----------------------

On a side note, I finished Theta:

Theta - Claw

- Despite Theta having a the rank of lieutenant, he is sometimes called upon for combat. In addition, he has been known to voluntarily attach himself to a unit and fight alongside them.

- Theta wears a modified version of the powered armor worn by Claw Firehounds. The armor he wears is much lighter than the Firehound armor but it does not provide as much protection. It does however, provide more protection than the light armor worn by Claw's standard infantry.

- His main weapon is what is known as a plasma knife. It is an ordinary knife that Theta can connect to his suit's miniaturized fusion reactor. This results in the blade becoming energized and renders it capable of burning through most personal armor and cause severe burns. However, it is not powerful enough to do more than score the heavier armor plating on vehicles or buildings. However, the knife cannot remain indefinitely energized because there is a risk of melting the knife or consuming so much power that the suit cannot move. In addition, he must wait roughly 45 seconds for the knife to cool down before he can energize it again.

- His secondary weapon is the deadly magma cannon. It uses powerful electromagnets to hurl a bolt of molten metal at its target. The bolt can pierce most vehicle armor, igniting fuel and ammunition. A grazing hit on infantry can cause serious injuries and a direct hit is invariably fatal. However, since there are no explosives, it is not as effective against masses of infantry. However, small pieces of hot metal, which can cause serious injury or even fatalities, are ejected from the muzzle of the weapon when it is fired. These do not travel as far nor possess the same weight or size as the main projectile but are still dangerous to nearby unarmored personnel. For safety reasons, the cannon's ammunition is stored in solid metal slugs (stored in 10 round box style magazines) which are then softened and heated to a plastic but not yet molten state via magnetic induction. The entire weapon draws its power from the suit's fusion reactor. It takes roughly 12 seconds to fire due to the fact that the capacitors need to build a full charge to fire and the metal slug has to be softened.

- Theta's armor has limited self repair capabilities. However, extensive damage will force him to remove the suit and have technicians repair it.

---------------------

Theta is supposed to be Claw's anti-vehicle unit. Analogous to Power Ducky.

He is slower and has less armor than Power Ducky but his magma cannon does more damage than Ducky's railgun but at the cost of a much lower rate of fire and a smaller ammunition capacity.

Also, his armor can repair itself but only up to a certain point.

[Caustizer]

That is a pretty cool idea for Theta.

I've been thinking though that since theres only one of him is he a Commando like Utah & Manhatten? or more like a unique hero like Ruby or Ozzy?

The difference is... you would start the game with a unique hero unit (and can only have one, depending on the subfaction you choose) which is more valuable as support then as a one-dino army.  For instance, Ruby's Sonic Cannon isn't all that great but it makes for a great anti-everything support weapon if you are using mainly an army of Spiketail Teams or Runner Squads.

Commandos on the otherhand, are expensive, require lots of tech and clearance, are unique, and generally slaughter everything in their path.

VDF's most known Commando is Chomper, who can pretty much kill anything instantly (including whole squads, buildings, vehicles etc.) while Claw's most known Commandos are Utah & Manhatten who are built together and compensate for each other's weaknesses.

Claw also has the advantage of having two seperate commandos, which means they can use them to bolster their army.

(For instance, Manhatten would be a perfect addition to a group of Firehounds who cannot touch vehicles)

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Ducky

- No Leafeater in the VDF does not know the name of Ducky, one of the first female VDF soldiers, as well as one of the finest soldiers of either gender.

Hellz yeah.

This story sounds freaking sweet. Like a Pelvanida's Twilight that's more Twilight Valley than Darwin's Soldiers.

Totally looking forward to this fic.

[Serris]

Theta is a commando unit and Ducky is a unique unit.

Theta can pretty much trash almost anything in his path while Ducky is suited only for attacking vehicles.

Theta's molten slugs are effective against buildings (can start fires) while Ducky's rail gun will simply go through the building and not ignite anything.

[Caustizer]

Do you think Claw & VDF should have navies, or would it make sense for them to favour avoiding the water?

[Serris]

Well in Twilight Valley, Lio was a swimming sharptooth allied with Claw and Mo and Elsie and possibly some OCs will be allied with the Great Valley so why not?

[Caustizer]

I've been trying to do some art for this but I'm so mindblowingly horrible at it I've nearly given up.  The main problem is... it looks good in my head but when I try to draw it on paper it comes out as something completely different.

[Caustizer]

Alright I've completed some interesting audio segments for the VDF, check them out on Youtube here:

VDF Mission #1 - A Claw to the Heart

VDF Mission #8 - Doom's Hammer
VDF Mission #8 - Doom's Hammer

[Caustizer]

Now up are two good Claw audio tracks too, enjoy:

Claw Mission #1 - Suppression

Claw Mission #8 - Clash of the Titans