Warjack Factories in the Iron Kingdoms

Steam, Steel & Sweet — NQ 22

This article examines the steel heart of the war efforts of the Iron Kingdoms: ’jack factories! To illustrate standard examples of ’jack production, we will first visit the factories of Cygnar and Khador and then examine the differences in Cryx, the Protectorate of Menoth, and beyond.

Steamjacks are ubiquitous in western Immoren. Many of the ’jacks seen every day are used for heavy labor and are built either as general purpose drudges or customized for more specialized tasks like mining or nautical work. While these labor ’jacks can be produced by small teams of mechaniks to fill special requests the production and assembly of warjacks represents a significant undertaking for any nation. Small production facilities have the luxury to experiment with designs and materials but are woefully inadequate for the military needs of any of the nations of western Immoren.

There is no industry more important to the war efforts of the Iron Kingdoms than warjack production. Each of western Immoren’s nations centers its military on these engines of destruction and the facilities where they are assembled. While handfuls of tinkerers and mechanics run smaller ’jack shops, warjack factories employ dozens — sometimes hundreds — of skilled laborers. These workers operate under the supervision of experienced arcane mechaniks to produce numerous standardized warjacks simultaneously. Production lines assemble prefabricated components into finished ’jacks, a process refined over centuries from techniques and methods created during the production of the first Colossals.

Massive ’jack factories like Caspia’s Cygnaran Armory and the Rigevnya Complex in Korsk are the results of intensive long-term research and development programs. Although the industries of Cryx and the Protectorate of Menoth diverge wildly in their warjack production, both kingdoms have profited by the methodologies developed in Cygnar and Khador.

A HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY

The invention and development of the Colossals was crucial in western Immoren’s victory against the Orgoth. The solutions early mechanikal pioneers found to their manufacturing challenges on these creations made lasting impacts on ’jack production techniques that survive to this day.

The Iron Alliance not only needed to keep construction of the Colossals a secret from the Orgoth but also wished to minimize the damage discovery by the enemy would cause to the project. Decentralizing production met both these needs admirably. They assembled components of the giant machines across
a wide geographic area and shipped them to a facility for assembly into a Colossal only when sufficient component parts were ready. Dispersing the wizards, alchemists, and skilled laborers at work on the Colossals ensured that a single Orgoth raid could not critically compromise the operations.

These tactics proved prudent when the Orgoth discovered and annihilated the Khardic Colossal facilities. Although they brutally interrogated, tortured, and killed the men and women at that facility, the Orgoth still failed to halt the production of Colossals.

Western Immoren continued to operate Colossal factories after the defeat of the Orgoth. Many became hubs of applied research and design in the steam and mechanikal industries, and the Colossals themselves were used in sporadic battles and wars between Khador and Cygnar until Khador’s iron giants were destroyed or dismantled at the conclusion of the 257 AR Colossal War. Cygnar continued to use its own Colossals for another decade. With the advent of guerilla attacks by trollkin, Cygnar’s Colossals proved to be of limited tactical use, particularly in the heavy forest.

By this time smaller steamjacks had come into common industrial and agricultural use, and it did not take long for Cygnaran military researchers to experiment with equipping similarly sized machines for warfare. King Woldred the Diligent of Cygnar commissioned the first dedicated warjacks in 269 AR. Early warjacks were built on existing labor ’jack chassis, but the facility where they were assembled in Caspia represented the Iron Kingdom’s first true warjack factory. Khador and Ord noted the success of these warjacks and quickly began converting their own facilities. King Woldred ordered the decommissioning of Cygnar’s Colossals in 286 AR. From that point on, all facilities that had manufactured Colossals in the Iron Kingdoms became dedicated to producing warjacks.

ROLE OF STANDARDIZATION

The dispersed assembly process developed during the Orgoth invasion continues today, bringing with it a number of advantages. Although there is no longer a need to hide the factories from an occupying army, invasion by a neighboring state is a very real possibility. Multiple factories for the fabrication of ’jack parts helps prevent a nation from being crippled with the loss of any single city.

Such work also spurs local economies. For example, far from Caspia on the western coast of Cygnar, a local industry has sprung up in New Larkholm to take advantage of the region’s large silica deposits. Several local businesses have formed the small Western Reach Optics consortium and now contract with the Cygnaran Armory to produce the delicate optics systems used in warjack heads. A number of other smaller ’jack components are manufactured by similar niche industries that have grown up around appropriate resources. These components are sometimes transported long distances before reaching the ’jack factories where they are integrated into a warjack chassis.

Virtually all major warjack factories center their production on a handful of chassis. When the Colossals were decommissioned, the nations retained an infrastructure for the assembly of specific components. Building ’jack chassis that could later be equipped with a choice of weaponry made an efficient reuse of these materials. The initial chassis designs can still be seen in current warjacks and development philosophies; indeed, the Berserker still in use today was one of the earliest projects of the Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly. The early models may be outclassed by modern Khadoran warjacks, but their heavy armor, powerful engines, and tremendous capacity for destruction inform virtually all of Khador’s contemporary warjack designs.

Unlike Cygnar, the Khadoran High Kommand does not see the need to decommission warjacks and would never consider selling even old parts to mercenary forces or private companies. This is one reason the Berserker continues to see battlefield use despite its age. Although Berserkers have not been produced in decades, this warjack will likely be active until the last one is destroyed in battle. The same will likely be true for Khador’s Juggernauts and Destroyers.

The Cygnaran Armory, with its greater access to resources and the more commercial mindset of its nobles, periodically decommissions ’jacks it deems obsolete. The design of its old Nomad chassis still echoes in Cygnar’s modern ’jacks, however. The Ironclad and the ’jacks based on its design are the most obvious descendants of the Nomad, but even the Centurion shares some elements. Only in recent years has Cygnar experimented with redundant weaponry on a mass-produced warjack, and the Hammersmith represents a significant divergence from their typical designs. The Talon is a similar antecedent for Cygnar’s light ’jacks, as reflected in the Charger, Sentinel, and Lancer. The Lancer represents an interesting synthesis of chassis designs. Its hull is similar in basic form to the Talon’s, but the Lancer is equipped with a powerful arc node to devastate enemy ’jack cortexes — its primary battlefield function — while simultaneously using standard weaponry to keep opponents at bay.

Manufacturing concerns continue to limit the approval of new chassis types. Each chassis requires its own production and assembly areas. When possible, multiple ’jack chassis are assembled in a single factory, but different teams of workers must be assigned to each chassis due to differences in assembly requirements. Space constraints often create a necessity for separate facilities. It is much less expensive to rearm a preexisting chassis with new weapons systems than it is to design a chassis and its associated steam engine from scratch. Only when new battlefield roles or challenges arise for which older chassis are insufficient will a nation’s ranking generals commission new designs.

The creation of a new chassis is a significant undertaking that represents an enormous investment. That cost is expected to carry forward through decades of production. Its creators view each chassis as a complete weapon system unto itself, and multiple variants and weapons configurations are considered during the design and approval process. The new boiler and engine system is one of the most critical parts of a new chassis’ design, and these items must be able to bear out their high cost. Typically, one configuration fills a default role and is produced in the highest numbers, while teams fabricate smaller numbers of parts for the variants filling supporting roles. For instance, Cygnar commissioned the Hunter chassis to serve as an advance scout and armor buster, but secondary variants like the Grenadier were part of the original design mandate.

LARGE COMPONENT FABRICATION

Some components such as large armor plates or specialized optical gear can be built away from the factories, but most components are cheaper to fabricate on site. Before these parts can be made, the raw materials must be gathered and refined. In Cygnar the vast majority of iron is mined in the Wyrmwall Mountains. The largest mining operations are Ironhull Station and Orven, but there are dozens of smaller mining operations throughout the Wyrmwall. Competition for lucrative Cygnaran Armory contracts can be intense, and some less scrupulous companies are not above hiring muscle to intimidate and harass their competitors. In addition to iron, precious metals or difficult-to-refine trace minerals also exist in relative abundance and are in high demand for use in alloys and warjack parts. The neighboring Rhulic community has become expert in excavating and refining these rarer ores. Although the dwarves of this region are isolated from their brethren in Rhul, they remain technologically innovative. The huge profits to be made from Cygnar’s contracts have spurred the Wyrmwall dwarves to develop unique variants on the classic Ghordson Driller and Grundback Runner mining ’jack chassis to better mine for these resources.

Khador’s mineral resources are less conveniently located. Although the country has rich ore deposits, many of them are located high in the northern mountain regions. Prison laborers under military guard — or the eye of police forces hired by the kayazy — increasingly work these inhospitable mining camps, a process also employed in the mines of Khardov. Khador supplements its own mining operations by trading for raw materials with Rhul. Although the invasion of Llael has made trade with Rhul difficult, it has had the unexpected consequence of spurring local growth of smaller Cygnaran mining and refining operations to make up for the shortfall. This has made things more costly for the Cygnaran Army in general, but it has proved profitable for many Cygnaran businesses that are eager to fill these niches.

War Profiteering

By late 607 AR, not every Cygnaran is pleased with profits being reaped by small assortment of businesses associated with war industry. An increasing number of complaints have been raised in the Cygnaran Royal Assembly regarding both specific companies and entire communities such as Orven and Ironhead Station who have been raking in the gold crowns while Cygnaran soldiers bleed on the war front. No concrete measures have been implemented to deal with these so-called war profiteers as yet, but a number of laws have been proposed that would allow the Cygnaran crown to lawfully demand some materials or goods at lower rates.

King Leto has urged against this heavy-handed tactic but is increasingly in the minority. Some have argued that the nobles feel threatened only so long as they are not themselves profiting from such industry and that they resent the rise to power of peers who do not have claims to the proper bloodlines.

Similar complaints and disputes have occasionally arisen in the Khadoran capital on the same topic, often the High Kommand and the Great Princes contesting with the most influential of the nation’s kayazy. Khador’s laws however, have already gone a long way toward giving the military some authority to control costs in critical manufacturing processes by fiat.

Although any major mining center has some ability to refine ore, the high-grade steels and alloys required to build warjacks require specialized facilities. Cygnar sends most of its ore to refineries located in Caspia, Orven, and Steelwater Flats.

In fact, Steelwater Flats is swiftly becoming one of the most important parts of Cygnar’s warjack production. The recent Menite invasion of Caspia has given the Cygnaran Armory pause, and the Armory desires a second major base of warjack production. Steelwater Flats is ideal, located as it is at the juncture of Cygnar’s North-South/East-West rail lines and already possessing major industrial capabilities. Warjacks manufactured there can quickly be distributed to any front. Iron and other metals mined in the Wyrmwalls are already processed in Steelwater, meaning that once fully operational warjack factories are present there, Cygnar will be able to manufacture its ’jack chassis at a much greater pace.

In this regard the Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly in Khardov is already well ahead of Cygnar. A moderate amount of iron is actually mined in Khardov, eliminating the need to transport it to refineries. Because it sits at the convergence of the Lothpool River, a major rail line, and the Vroggen Tradeway, Khardov is perfectly situated to receive raw materials from elsewhere. The kayazy-owned refineries and factories have received ever-increasing contracts since the escalation of the war. Khardov has always been polluted, but now thick choking smog is always present, and citizens risk death every time they leave their homes. A severe environmental disaster is only a matter of time.

Once raw materials have been processed, they are transported to the warjack factory. The huge loads of metal are typically moved by rail in the modern era, but significant portions are still hauled on roads by horse and ox carts. The caravans are heavily guarded; although the processed metals would be extremely difficult to steal, simply delaying the shipments can cause tremendous damage to any nation’s armed forces. With almost every nation’s military forces already stretched thin, mercenaries and adventurers with good reputations can make a respectable living by escorting these caravans.

Most warjack factories fabricate the larger components of their chassis either in the factories themselves or in adjacent facilities. The steel reaches the factories in the form of massive ingots, requiring secondary forges and smelting capabilities. Once the raw steel is on site, it is once more rendered into liquid; often a final refining process to improve the grade of the steel is also applied. The steel is then poured into molds to form it into the final components. The largest ’jack parts are created at this stage, including each chassis’ signature hull and frame as well as the largest gears, pistons, and armor plating.

In Cygnar the Steam and Iron Workers Union provides the bulk of the manpower in the warjack factories. Engineers representing the Cygnaran Armory supervise teams of contracted union workers. At least a handful of these engineers remain on site at any facility manufacturing steel parts. Although the Steam and Iron Workers Union has an excellent reputation for quality and diligence, the crown requires the assurance of its military engineers. The Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly fills a similar role for that nation’s factories. In smaller ’jack factories, however, the KMA may have only one or two representatives and rely on a support staff hired by the local kayazy.

At any factory, the sight of liquid steel pouring into the huge molds is a spectacle not soon forgotten. The factories are often dark, lit primarily by the smoldering glow of the foundries. Dozens of workers labor at the giant crucibles, and the noise is deafening. The enormous temperatures necessary to melt steel require staggering amounts of coal, and even the best-ventilated factory floors are thick with coal smoke. Chain-and-pulley systems maneuver the warjack parts from their molds onto the production floor. Labor ’jacks typically hold heavy components in place while mechaniks engage in the delicate connecting work. Because this procedure requires little manpower, Cygnaran factories often employ gobbers to operate the pulleys and provide spot inspections of the components before they are integrated into a finished warjack. At this stage, all the largest components are moved into a staging area for final assembly.

MECHANIKA AND SMALL COMPONENT FABRICATION

Most large factories have a cluster of smaller shops, peripheral to the main factory floor, dedicated to the assembly and inspection of smaller ’jack components. Non-mechanikal parts include everything from precision-fit clockwork gears to the hundreds of parts that make up the steam engines powering warjacks. Independent craftsmen construct many of these components, but all major factories have facilities to produce small quantities of any part at need. Scores of laborers work at benches and tables, hand-tooling the thousands of tiny gears found in any ’jack. Many apprentice steam workers and mechaniks begin learning their craft on this stage of production.

Large quantities of surplus parts result from component fabrication. Some of those pieces are kept at the factory, but the majority of it is sent to supply depots and combat mechaniks on the front to be used as spare parts. The remainder is usually sold to labor ’jack manufacturers or other steam workers.

Gear Smuggling

Most large ’jack factories must deal with an unavoidable amount of internal graft and corruption. Although not nearly as provocative, profitable, or dangerous as cortex smuggling, this includes a regular supply of excess gears and other mass-produced parts sold under the table by employees. Civilian mechaniks and independent workshops are willing to pay a premium for top-grade parts; fine gears manufactured to extremely precise measurements are not easily replicated without expensive equipment. Getting caught smuggling warjack parts out of a factory can result in severe punishments. Even the smallest infraction will result in the loss of employment, but punishment often also includes fines or jail time. Those suspected of a wider conspiracy to steal military hardware might even face charges of treason.

More delicate components are crafted under the watchful eyes of arcane mechaniks. Optics systems in particular require a delicate touch and constant inspection. A warjack’s optics consist of a series of glass lenses and mirrors, some fresh from immersion in alchemical baths. Expert craftsmen attend to
the grinding of lenses to meet the factory’s specifications. Alchemists then apply special treatments to make the lenses resilient enough to withstand the massive damage a warjack can expect to suffer. The optics systems directly interface with the mechanikal reflex channels that let a warjack’s cortex control its body. This mechanikal relationship is extraordinarily complex, so mechaniks and arcanists work closely together to oversee the final integration of the optics with the ’jack’s cortex.

Larger and more sophisticated facilities such as the Cygnaran Armory include both workrooms dedicated to small-parts fabrication and those dedicated to the production of warjack mechanika. These parts may also be produced by smaller specialized shops, including those belonging to arcane guilds such as the Fraternal Order of Wizardry or the Order of the Golden Crucible. Because of the supreme complexity of cortex fabrication and the costly materials used in their manufacture, almost all cortexes are produced at dedicated facilities under heavy guard.

Cortex production is undoubtedly the single greatest limiting factor in the production of warjacks. The Fraternal Order of Wizardry produces most of the cortices used by the Cygnaran military, usually made in either Ceryl or Caspia. Shipping cortexes by sea from Ceryl is generally considered too great a risk due to the proximity of Garlghast and the Scharde Islands pirates, but in emergency situations the Cygnaran Royal Navy will assign large task forces to guard these shipments. The long journey from Ceryl to Caspia and the Eastern fronts has spurred other centers of cortex manufacturing overseen by the Fraternal Order. Mercir, on the southern cape of Cygnar, has a smaller cortex manufacturing capability but occasionally fills large consignments due to the safe naval shipping routes to Caspia. Arcanists in Corvis also produce some of Cygnar’s military-grade cortexes.

Khador has a much smaller capability to produce cortices, but the occupation of Llael dramatically altered Khadoran cortex production. The Khadoran High Kommand spared no expense to complete a new rail line running from Korsk to Llaedry by way of the city of Rorschik. This line was built in a record-setting time at a staggering cost in coin and human lives. Now operational, the Rorschik compound is perfectly positioned to manufacture warjacks and get them to the front lines quickly after completion. The Greylords Covenant therefore set up operations to produce cortexes in Rorschik itself. The two major ’jack factories in Rorschik are limited in their production only by the import of raw materials and the speed at which cortexes can be produced. The industrial capacity of Merywyn is also being integrated into Rorschik’s manufacturing, but it will be some time before this occupied city plays a significant role in Khador’s warjack production.

Despite the developments in Rorschik, the Rigevnya Compound in Korsk remains the primary supplier of warjack cortexes. The site, home to the Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly, produces some warjacks but dedicates much of its warjack facilities to experimental mechanikal design. The recent loss
of Thunderhead Fortress to the Protectorate was a blow to Khador’s expanded industrial efforts, though the defeat was partially softened by the fact that Khador had already used much of its stockpiled assets.

No mass-produced warjacks currently use cortexes below Aurum Grade, the standard for military ’jacks. Some of the more specialized and complex ’jacks require the expensive Arcanum-Grade cortex, but cortexes of this grade are especially limited in Khador where they are used only in warjacks with highly specialized combat routines, such as the Kodiak or Spriggan. Cygnar enjoys a greater supply of these high-grade cortexes. The Centurion, Defender, Stormclad, and Hammersmith all bear Arcane-Grade cortexes, and it is not uncommon for production lots of Sentinels, Lancers, and Hunters to carry the superior grade as well.

The reflex channels that compose a warjack’s “nervous system” are some of the most delicate parts created at a factory. Senior mechaniks oversee and sometimes work directly on the fabrication of the delicate lines, grooves, and channels that a cortex uses to control a chassis. The channels are fabricated from precious metals and exotic alloys. Due to the amount of space required to shape the variety of metals involved in producing reflex channels, rooms dedicated to reflex channel assembly can amount to a miniature factory peripheral to the main facility. Because the reflex channels are so delicate, a very clean working environment must be maintained during their construction. These rooms are therefore often shared with teams dedicated to crafting arc nodes, at least in Cygnar. The arc node is the most complex system next to the cortex, and only the most expert arcane mechaniks are capable of building them.

Mechanikal weapons systems are extremely potent examples of mechanika and bear complex systems. This limits the degree to which they can be mass-produced, but achieving this task has been a priority for both Khador and Cygnar. In Khador, junior members of the Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly are often apprenticed to Blaustavya Shipping and Rail’s senior mechaniks and can expect to spend many months crafting Ice Axe rune plates. No room for experimentation is given to the junior mechaniks, but daily work on these and other weapon systems can give them a fine understanding of applied mechanikal principles.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Final assembly and integration of warjacks in a factory is a lengthy process. Once the chassis and hulls are completed, teams of workers are continually dedicated to the integration of systems. At any given time, ten to fifteen warjacks are in varying stages of construction. Typically, ’jacks of the same chassis configuration are at the same assembly step as their component systems are completed and readied for integration. Cranes and small steam-powered freight elevators lift the chassis while steam engines and arm systems are attached to the ’jack’s main hull. The largest factories may have a number of labor ’jacks to aid assembly of the heaviest pieces as well.

Once the ’jack’s overall frame is assembled, the cortex is one of the first constituent parts to be attached to the chassis. Early placement of the cortex allows the arcanists and mechaniks overseeing the final stages of assembly to test the integration of all secondary systems. Reflex channels are laid down from the cortex to each system. In Cygnar, gobbers often perform these tasks: they are able to reach into the tiny spaces and grooves the channels often occupy and are naturally skilled at performing the minute adjustments these delicate systems require. Armor plating and external weapons systems are the last components to be added.

Under normal circumstances a group of five to ten warjacks of a single type is completed almost simultaneously. Senior mechaniks with ’jack-marshalling knowledge run basic systems checks in an adjoining test area, usually a large bare courtyard. Next, junior warcasters are tasked to spot-check individual
’jacks for performance and cortex flaws. Senior warcasters are also known to drop in on factories unannounced and perform their own inspection of finished ’jacks. Only ’jacks that pass this final set of inspections are approved for military use and commissioned for active service.

WARJACK PRODUTION IN THE PROTECTORATE

Until relatively recently, virtually all warjack production in the Protectorate was covert and relied heavily on ’jack parts smuggled or salvaged from Cygnar and Khador. This has been changing since the establishment of the Factorium first under Hierarch Kilgor Ravonol and more recently under Visgoth Ark Razek. The Menites did their best to keep Cygnaran authorities away from the warjack assembly site, and when they could not dissuade them from investigating it explained it as a labor ’jack facility. Taking a page from Cygnar’s industry (but for different reasons), weapons systems for Protectorate ’jacks were assembled at diverse hidden locations and only attached to the finished warjack at the last possible moment.

The need for secrecy vanished with the declaration of open war with Cygnar, and the Factorium now houses warjack factories functionally similar to those of the other Kingdoms. Warjacks produced at any facility in the Protectorate go through similar stages of assembly; additionally, most major steps are blessed by Menite clergy. The Protectorate’s leadership has never been entirely comfortable with the necessity of arcane components in the fabrication of warjacks. Even though the most complex mechanika are built and installed by foreign captives and voluntary recruits to the Vassals of Menoth, the Menite priests still find these ’jacks distasteful. Each stage of assembly is completed with Menite clergy blessing the components and praying for Menoth’s forgiveness for using arcane items. All large surfaces on a warjack chassis bear inscriptions praising Menoth.

Occasionally, a visgoth requires a specific lot of warjacks to be produced for a certain crusade or duty. These ’jacks have special prayers and devotional items affixed to them, entreating Menoth’s aid in their task. For example, a small battle group of Castigators was recently produced for protecting supply trains between Sul and Tower Judgment. Extensive prayers were written on the hulls of these ’jacks, dedicating them to “the protection of those who bear loads in His service.” Some Protectorate warjacks bear individual names, with “The Fire of Salvation” and “Blessing of Vengeance” being two of the most famous. At their inception some ’jacks receive names based on Menite Holy days. Other ’jacks are named later, as their cortexes become attuned and their quasi-personalies emerge.

Prior to the final dedicatory prayers and anointments that place a warjack in service to the Protectorate, specially chosen Vassals conduct tests and activate the ’jack’s cortex. There have been a handful of incidents where unhappy Vassals were able to marshal one of these warjacks long enough to kill his warders and attempt an escape. None of these attempts has ever succeeded, but several caused significant damage to property and laborers before the Vassal in question was killed and the ’jack subdued. Monks of the Order of the Fist now carefully monitor these proceedings.

Despite the necessity of mass assembly, the Protectorate’s workers treat their warjacks more like handcrafted weapons than most nations do. Because laborers do not directly enter the field of battle, Menite workers often identify very strongly with the ’jacks they build, seeing them as weapons that they send at the enemies of their faith.

The Factorium remains the center of the Protectorate’s warjack production, but additional facilities have become operational since the escalation of the war. Imer has always played an important role in the Protectorate’s industries and is now home to the nation’s second-largest warjack factory. At the edge of the Bloodstone Marches, the Protectorate had established a secret semi −open-air manufacturing camp for the construction of prototype Reckoners. This camp has been expanded into a fully enclosed factory specializing in the production of Reckoners and Castigators.

The capture of Leryn by the Northern Crusade is an increasingly obvious strategic gain for the Protectorate. Although the members of the Golden Crucible have been gone for some time, their complexes and nearby mining facilities remain. The Khadoran Greylords Covenant had preserved these facilities for their own uses, but now the Protectorate controls them. It is likely the Protectorate will attempt to turn Leryn into a secondary source of warjack production in the north, allowing the Northern Crusade to quickly replace ’jacks lost in their ongoing operations. Similarly, Thunderhead Fortress is expected to become a major secondary source of cortex production, as mines in the nearby mountains contain several essential trace materials.

Vassals of Menoth Escape Attempt

Early in AR 605, Vassal of Menoth Jack Applewaith learned through an underground grapevine that his family had been slaughtered by Protectorate troops in their homes near East Wall. The hope that he could one day escape and be reunited with them had been the sole reason Applewaith had not given up on life. The next day, while inspecting a newly functional Crusader at a small warjack factory outside of Ichthien, Applewaith seized control of the ’jack and forced it to crush the unprepared supervisor who guarded him. Applewaith marshaled the ’jack through the factory, killing over twenty laborers and rupturing a large container of Menoth’s Fury.

Temple Flameguard responded quickly but were unaware of the spill. Although they killed Applewaith almost immediately, their Flame Spears touched off the leaking Menoth’s Fury. The resulting inferno reduced the interior of the building to ashes, killing everyone inside. Now all Vassals performing inspections of functional warjacks are supervised by at least one well-guarded Scrutator.

WARJACK PRODUCTION IN THE NIGHTMARE EMPIRE

Cryx’s ’jack production techniques diverged from the mainland nations’ very early on. For centuries there was little uniformity of design among helljacks or bonejacks. Schematics and materials were largely left to the whim of individual necrotechs, and ’jack factories were more glorified workshops for experimentation than facilities for mass production. As various chassis proved themselves successful in battle, an increasing degree of uniformity set in. Cryxian warcasters and other necromancers in command of warjacks began to demand substantial quantities of specific ’jacks to fill specific needs, the aesthetic and experimental wishes of the necrotechs be damned.

Despite this increasing standardization, Cryxian ’jack factories remain idiosyncratic affairs. This is particularly true of factories located within the Cryxian Empire itself. There necrotechs in charge of helljack factories are given leeway to choose their materials and produce their ’jacks however they wish, as long as their quotas are met and their orders are filled efficiently. Many necrotechs maintain adjacent work areas at the factories for private experimentation. Alterations to schematics and weapons configurations are not unheard of, and more than one necrotech has been summarily destroyed by a warcaster for making unwanted or dangerous additions to a new lot of ’jacks.

The largest concentration of warjack manufacturing is in the port city of Dreggsmouth. Helljack facilities there specialize in the production of specific chassis; factories devoted to bonejack manufacturing typically create multiple chassis types, as the parts are common between many different designs. Production at any of these facilities occurs in a fashion similar to that of mainland factories, with the exception that thralls and other necrotechnological machines perform labor instead of human workers. Often, these thralls are equipped with specialized tool-limbs to better perform their tasks.

Skell, the capital of Cryx, is home to a secondary — but still important — helljack industry. Master Necrotech Mortenebra made Skell her home for centuries before moving to oversee operations on the mainland, but her legacy remains. Large numbers of production ’jacks are created here, but the emphasis of many of the ’jack-producing factories are focused on experimentation instead of mass production.

Bonejack factories are capable of producing much larger quantities of arc nodes and low-grade cortexes than any similar factory on the mainland. The necrotechs have truly perfected the arc node and possess a fine understanding of the mechanikal principles that power it, drawn from centuries of necromantic interrogation of the greatest mechaniks of the Iron Kingdoms. Deceased arcane mechaniks are smuggled from the mainland and forced to toil endlessly, building cortexes for the armies of the Dragonfather.

The necrotechs also employ several necromantic shortcuts, such as replacing the rare trace metals used for sensitive cortex parts and reflex channels with necrotic substances. They first reduce and liquefy corpses and then mix those foul substances with acids and other toxic chemicals to create materials analogous to the metals used in standard warjack cortexes. Although the cortexes of helljacks and specialist bonejacks such as the Stalker are as complex as normal warjack cortexes, necrotechs can cut many corners when it comes to the more standard bonejacks. Deathrippers and Defilers need only be able to obey a few key instructions, and their cortexes are therefore much simpler to produce.

Mainland helljack production was a sporadic and inconsistent affair until very recently. This has rapidly changed with the establishment of extensive factories in tunnel and cave systems beneath the Thornwood, initiated by Lich Lord Asphyxious. These tunnels contain mining and smelting facilities operated by thralls. This drastically simplifies the transportation of
raw materials for ’jack construction, and a staggering number of helljacks and bonejacks are being produced in these subterranean factories.

All of the materials necessary for fabricating ’jacks can be found in the tunnels except for the blight-tainted bone that necrotechs favor for some parts. In the absence of Toruk’s blight, however, necrotechs have created an alternative for the bone. A specially smelted alloy of necrotite and exotic metals is used to line huge bins. These bins are then packed full of human and animal bones and left to bathe in the fell radiations of the container for several months. At the end of this process, the bones are almost as tough as the ones contaminated by Toruk’s own blight.

Ordic, Rhulic, and Llaelese ’Jack Factories:

Both Ord and Rhul concentrate their ’jack production on labor ’jacks. Ord in particular follows a very similar production scheme to that of Cygnar. In fact, significant portions of their chassis components are surplus from Cygnaran factories. The major difference in Ord’s warjack production is the smaller scale of its factories. Ord can field fewer warcasters and produces far fewer warjacks. Ord’s ’jack production also differs in that it prefers somewhat different steel alloys. The majority of Ordic warjacks can expect to see some naval use, and they require steels that can resist storms and corrosive seawater. Ord has only a handful of dedicated warjack factories and even these often share components with naval facilities.

Rhul’s emphasis on mining and industrial applications is an obvious influence on their warjacks. Almost all their initial chassis designs were for specific industrial uses and were only later fitted for military use, though they required little modification to serve effectively. This has proven extremely useful for Rhulic teams exploring new mining territory, as they can carry supplemental limbs for their ’jacks to meet projected needs in work or combat. Although all Rhulic ’jacks can currently pull double duty, there is debate in Rhul regarding designing purely combat-oriented chassis given the increasingly explosive climate of the Iron Kingdoms. In the meantime, it is a testament to the designers of Rhul’s labor ’jacks that so many of them are perfectly suited for warfare even with their standard mining equipment.
Llael never had an extensive warjack industry, and their overall industrial capacity has always been low.

The first truly Llaelese warjack to see substantial production was the Vanguard, commissioned in AR 566. Although Llael was home to some true geniuses in the field of mechanika its government rarely utilized them for regular military projects, and the Vanguard provides a sad glimpse of the wasted potential. Prior to the Vanguard, Llaelese warjacks were crafted in small batches as individual pet projects funded by Llaelese nobles serving the military. In the aftermath of the occupation, what ’jack factories survived the invasion are being refitted for Khadoran warjacks or labor ’jacks. The Llaelese Resistance is largely reliant on the Protectorate of Menoth, but rogue mechaniks are contemplating ways to produce more despite their lack of sufficient funds and facilities. To date they have had to content themselves with repairing and rebuilding what few ’jacks they have kept or managed to locate since the invasion.

JACK FACTORY DESCRIPTION/ FLOOR PLAN

The Vaselinko Mechanik & Steam Koncern represents a typical small warjack factory. The Khadoran military arranged a buyout of the Rorschik private labor ’jack factory by Blaustavya Shipping & Rail. The factory is now managed by Dukal Kotrovna (male Khard, Arcane Mechanik 12), who represents both BS&R and the Khadoran Mechaniks Assembly and is widely recognized as an expert in his field. Dukal is a veteran of several years as a combat mechanik; he is something of an anomaly in that he saw years of battle as a ’jack marshal but has retained all of his original limbs. His temper is notorious among his workers, but it is usually only directed at the lazy and incompetent.

Dukal received the management of the factory as a reward for his years of excellent service. Although not the most innovative of mechaniks, he has real skill at working efficiently under duress, a talent he is now applying to the tight deadlines the factory must meet. The factory’s conversion to military ’jack production was finished only recently, and the facility is just now completing its first consignment of ten Destroyers. It is currently equipped with molds and parts to build both the Juggernaut and Devastator chassis.

Patrols of Winterguard with wardogs are stationed along a wall enclosing the entire facility, and a further two groups patrol the factory itself. Two junior Greylords Ternions are assigned to patrol the compound. Workers and visitors must pass through a single checkpoint guarded by several Winterguard and a marshaled Juggernaut before being granted access to the factory. Past the checkpoint, the main entrance for workers is a side door next to the great steel loading dock. A warehouse near the main factory entrance stores raw materials.

1.A long, empty floor space runs the length of the warehouse, separating the workrooms from the main factory floor. To the immediate right of this space is the factory’s small refinery, where low-grade steel can be refined into the high grades necessary for ’jack production. The entire factory is quite warm, but here the heat is stifling.
2. Directly next to the refining machines lies the foundry. This is where the raw steel is smelted and poured into
the giant molds of ’jack chassis. Two stripped-down and unarmed Juggernauts assist the mechaniks with the work. Enormous rail systems hang from the ceiling, enabling the mechaniks to move the molds and remove the finished parts by the use of hooked chains.
3. The assembly area is past the foundry. Five nearly complete Destroyers stand here. Teams of mechaniks are attaching their bombards, and a senior mechanik performs systems checks. Three more partially built Destroyers are hoisted in mid-air as workers integrate their leg systems.
4. A separating wall runs the length of the building to the left of the factory entrance. Behind it are rooms for the production of fine components. Each room is dedicated to the assembly and crafting of multiple mundane parts. A Greylord Ternion guards the last two rooms before the far wall. Inside these, senior mechaniks assemble Executioners and Ice Axes. The final room contains delicate parts and workbenches with tools. The factory’s cortex stock is kept under heavy lock in this room.
5. Factory boss Petrovna’s office is across the main floor from the cortex and delicate components storage room. Here he meets with officials from the High Kommand and Greylords covenant to discuss production goals and needs.
6. Between the office and crafting rooms, a large pair of doors leads into a walled outer courtyard. This is where functional warjacks are given final inspection and testing by mechaniks and Greylords. A pile of mangled scrap parts lies at the
near wall. Pieces of steel from the pile are often used to test the strength of a warjack’s grasp or weapons. Often, senior workers can be found having cigars or pipes in the courtyard when it is not being used for ’jack testing.
7. At the far end of the compound from the factory itself
are two rows of barracks for the workers. Under normal circumstances twenty to thirty workers are lounging in the barracks between shifts or on their weekly day off. If the factory is attempting to produce more than its usual quota, workers will only be here in six hour shifts as the factory runs twenty-four hours per day.