Skeelzanian Terrestrial Forces

[Skeelzania]

(Work in progress)

While the Sternreich may be better known for its habit of blasting perfectly-good worlds into magma in the quest for cheaper aluminum foil, it should not be forgotten that Skeelzania operates and maintains a rather large, well equipped, well motivated, and well led army that is periodically dropped like a hammer on unfortunate worlds. This infodex is dedicated to providing you with technical information, whether you are a curious allied leader or just checking in to see exactly what you’re going to be killed with.

The Branches
The vast bulk of Skeelzania’s ground forces can be placed in two categories: the Army and the FS. In addition there are the Marines, though these rarely engage in planetary combat. But back to the other two.

The Army commands the thousands of ground troops, tanks, and aircraft that take and secure planets for the Sternreich. Most of these are conscript soldiers that are completing their Terms of Enlistment required for all Skeelzanian youth, backed up by professional NCOs and officers. While the commissioned officers tend to make sure supplies and orders are delivered to the troops, it is the NCOs who train, command, and fight with the actual ground units. Most Army infantry wear the Templar MKIII combat armor, a full-body protection suit that provides A/B/C coverage, rudimentary blendcamo, and communications. In times of great crisis the Army can call upon several million reservists, though these are generally armed with the older Flak Armor.

The Fürstentum Schützt (FS) is the smaller of the two branches by a significant margin: the highest number of active divisions ever fielded by the FS with 10 infantry and 3 panzer divisions, compared to the Army’s 50 divisions (and 450 reservist divisions) and 24 panzer divisions. However, the FS is completely staffed by professionals who often spend most of their working lives in the Guard, and are fanatical in their devotion to defending the Empire and its ruler. It was this attribute which led to over 60% of the Guard to fight for Dmitri Skeelzot in the Civil War, of which 80% died in the fighting. FS infantry are much more heavily armed and armored than their Army counterparts, wearing the Uruk Hai MK IV power armor with miniguns the standard sidearm. FS Panzer divisions also on average possess heavier tanks.

[Skeelzania]

14mm “Decker� pistol

When Kruger Industries was tasked with designing and manufacturing a high-powered infantry sidearm, the ordnance agent reportedly quipped “don’t give the grunts something with a lot of bells and whistles. We want something that’ll blow a man’s arm off.� The manufacturer took the advice to heart, delivering a huge gun with tremendous stopping power. Easily one of the heaviest pistols in service, the Decker fires a large-caliber 14mm round at high speeds, capable of piercing armor at short range. Absolutely devastating to unarmored opponents, the Decker does suffer from a lack of range, it being less than 100 meters. This is little comfort to those facing it in close-quarters combat.

Skeelzanian Assault Rifle Type 41c a.k.a. SARc or “Sar�

Believe it or not, the original SAR was based off a weapon of “Soviet� design, which historical texts tells us was an evil Terran empire of baby-eaters and providers of welfare. While the design of the weapon has changed over the centuries, its killing power and name have not. Utilizing the 8mm case-less ammunition, the SAR is a powerful infantry weapon capable of dealing with lightly-armored targets. It is fed with 60 round clips and has a rate of fire of over 600 rounds a minute, though it is usually fired in short bursts that allow it to be aimed with some accuracy. A single-shot mode is also available. In addition a 40mm grenade launcher comes standard, fixed beneath the barrel. Firing a 40mm HE round, the launcher can take out small vehicles or armored opponents, or clear a room in short order. The grenade launcher is fed from a twelve round drum magazine.

Light weight and easy to manufacture, the SAR is issued to all Army personnel aside from tank crews, so that even men assigned larger guns (such as a rocket launcher) can have a potent backup weapon.

Type 19 Minigun

This high-speed weapon is a favorite of the FS guardsmen, who weild it with ease in their Power Armor. Although somewhat bulky, it can’t be beat in the antipersonnel role, and is even capable of bringing down aircraft. Firing 23mm case-less rounds at over 1500 rounds a minute, the minigun is capable of reducing a sizeable mob to a pile of twitching flesh in minutes. While it tends to eat through ammo quickly, the lightness of case-less ammunition allows soldiers to carry enough to get them through a mission. Aside from its portable version, the Type 19 is also encountered in the static defense role.

MK VII Flak Cannon

Although rarely used by the infantry, the Flak Cannon is a staple of Skeelzania’s marine forces, who find the weapon well-suited to clearing corridors of pesky enemy shipmen in boarding actions. Firing super-heated flechettes of metal, the Flak Cannon, or “Flaker�, not only slices off limbs but also cauterizes wounds. While this does mean that the enemy won’t bleed to death, its unlikely he’s going to be shooting back when he’s full of holes and a limb or two short. At short range the weapon virtually vaporizes an opponent.