Grav Implosion weapons
The Helhiem ancients were masterful in their use of Grav Technology, miniaturising Grav weapons to the point that they can be used as grenade weaponry and taking the concepts in two different directions. Currently called Grav Implosion weapons have found in sizes ranging from grenades to nova shells, but with only a handful of extremely large gun mounts seemingly intended for knights and other walkers likely due to their complexity. Incredibly intricate and expensive, the power of these weapons is undeniable. The reason for the name "implosion" is that upon activation they create a short lived black hole which draws in and obliterates all within a large area due to the intense attractive force as well as vanishing the resulting matter when the weapon ceases function. As deadly, if not more so, than Vortex Grenades as well as less likely to cause a demonic incursion the Implosion weapons are not recommended for mass production, partially because they are too expensive, but also because of the risk these weapons would pose to most allies.
Grav Sheer Weapons
Seemingly prototype weapon systems based upon the Grav Weapons of the Well of Urd. Instead of applying gravetic force spread out over a large area like the grav weapons recovered from the Datacore, instead the gravetic forces are concentrated into a very small area which are capable of cutting and punching through most conventional materials even denting Angel Steel through prolonged use. Even Plasma weapons are not as powerful as Gravity Sheer weapons, although they are far too expensive for deployment outside of single elite squads or elite astartes.
Current ranged variations have included pistols, carbines, rifles, and sniper rifle variations.
Melee variations include swords, with cutting power in excess of Plasma foils and Hammers which release stored Grav Sheer that cause detonations more reminiscent of missile launchers. Power armour is recommended.
Grav Grenade
An experiment in miniaturisation the Grav Grenade is an area denial weapon similar to Plasma or Frag Grenades. A small device around the size of a palm. When thrown the device will send out a pulse of intense gravetic force of similar intensity to a grav cannon in a 360 degree radius around the device. In an enclosed area, these devices will crush many enemies to paste, and in an open area the pulse is still strong enough to disorient and injure many foes. The grenades have an additional property in that they are reusable, although rarely in the context of a battle. They function via an internal generator, which can be recharged if the grenade is recovered intact, a difficult proposition as the grenades can be rather fragile.
Trans Sonic Weaponry
Similar in practise to the Transonic blades used by Adeptus Mechanicus Skittari Sonic weapons would usually not be very useful against the metal enemies of the Men of Iron, but these weapons are the exception. Able to modulate and vibrate automatically with many materials the vibrations caused by these weapons cause the delicate internals of many machines to be damaged or come out of alignment. Against biological enemies the effect of these weapons is similar to Transonic blades, albeit from a distance, with prolonged exposure bursting internal organs and disorienting targets.*
*Archmagos Biologis Maximal has noted that these weapons bare similarities to the breath of the Forest Dragon indicating that these weapons are either based upon or at least inspired by study of these creatures.
Cryo Pause weapons.
A handful of these strange weapons have been recovered from the ruins. They seem to use some means to fire sub-zero beams of energy, encasing enemy targets in frost and ice. While these weapons have been recovered in sizes ranging from pistols to main tank guns, the exact mechanics behind how they function is unknown.
Even Archmagos Veneratus Tranth is stumped by how these weapons operate though their potential effectiveness is undeniable, able to freeze opponents to death, erect impromptu barricades and more. A request to the Muspal archives indicates that they retain scant information regarding these weapons, only that they used special component crystals from a world on the borders between Segmentum Solar and Obscurus known as Ulfr. These weapons were sent during the War of Iron to see if they could provide a weapon system against the Men of Iron, however Ulfr was lost during the war.
Korpr Next Generation Armour
A single damaged suit of this prototype armour has been located and according to scant recovered files it was intended to be the start of an even more advanced variation of Power Armour. Intended for anti-machine duties the Korpr incorporates several systems that Archmagos Veneratus has managed to positively identify as Haywire devices. If in action Archeotech generators would create an area of intensive Heywire fields in approximately a 30-metre radius that would shut down all technology in a certain radius save for the suit.
For this reason, according to Archamgos Tranth the suit is a master piece of design and astoundingly complicated, with him estimating it being 180% stronger than Imperial Power Armour and a reactor that can easily power the entire affair. However according to the Archmagos the suit is incomplete an early prototype rushed out to defend the city. He is confident that if we can reverse engineer the incredibly complicated base suit he might be able to complete the later the design. The powerful Heywire devices would also be useful on their own.
Power Armour Type III: Paratrooper.
The infamous Type III basic power armour the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Trust had long debated whether or not this suit of armour existed at all. Eventually all debates boiled down to the fact that there were PA types 2 and 4, so presumably the basic version of Advanced Raider armour must exist. At long last the schematics for this armour have been discovered. While it only has 60% of the toughness and strength enhancements of Imperial Power Armour, it has significantly more agility and lasts for 12 hours before recharge. It also comes equipped with a powerful Jetpack capable of giving a common soldier a degree of movement that is most impressive.
Heywire ammunition
A variant ammunition for the Super Exitus Rifle, these bullets include some of the most advanced Heywire technology that Archmagos Tranth has ever seen. Designed to destroy Men of Iron Command Nodes including the programmes within crippling entire Man of Iron armies.
Pulse Sublimation Weapons
Similar in function if not in form to the weapons of the Tau, these guns seem intended to act as support weapons rather than as dedicated infantry weapons these guns work by temporarily creating "cool" plasma and firing it at the enemy via electromagnetic fields. What scant records we have of Tau tech indicates that their Pulse weapons are designed very differently. These weapons are intended as saturation weapons, dissipating their plasma over as large a surface area as possible, presumably to infiltrate joints and other entrances into the inner workings of a machine bathing them in plasma fire. While not as effective against single targets these moderately expensive weapons would make excellent support weapons against many foes.
Volkite Weapons
An underground store house containing several hundred Volkite guns of varying sizes seemingly stored away due to not being effective in the current war. Volkite weapons are an ancient form of weapon created to be used against Orks. An extreme derivative of Melta weapons, these thermal rays are able to "deflagrate" organic matter causing explosive combustion or organic matter. A direct hit will often cause a target to explode harming their comrades. While incredibly effective against Orkoids and other hoards, these weapons are not designed to truly harm or damage metal, which according to the Muslpelhiem archives led to them being stored away for the duration of the war.
These weapons are fairly easy to produce, requiring Advanced Materials and Materials, but it is unlikely they can be distributed enemas to any group outside of Helguard and this is not recommended. Instead they would make for an excellent special weapon to be distributed to other squads when reverse engineered.
Storm Weapons
Seemingly intended to be enhanced versions of the Arc weapons so often fielded by the Skittari Storm Weapons are incredibly impractical weapons in many ways. Taking enormous amounts of power to fire and having considerable weight due to their internal reactors, these weapons are also prone to overheating if fired too often similar to Imperial plasma weapons as well as being rather delicate on top of taking rather significant amounts of advanced and exotic materials to produce, the only reason one could see to use them is that the power they display is phenomenal. The rifle version of the weapons fires an arcing beam of energy with such power that biological matter was ionised to nothing. Even more impressively the energy will seek out further targets if the enemies are clustered together. However against mechanical enemies the true power of these weapons is made know, each shot being enough to completely disable a Leman Russ battle tank and kill the crew inside. Versions of this weapon have been found from Pistol to long rifle, as well as a prototype hammer.
Combat Shield
Apparently a recent development by the Dark Age "Scientists" designed to increase the survivability of their soldiers in the face of the Men of Iron, this shield is incredibly designed, intended to be as flexible and to redirect as much force as possible reducing the damage to the wielder. Capable of being attached to Trooper Armour the metallic alloy that makes up the shield can resist direct fire from an Impaler for several seconds before being penetrated, enough time for the soldier to gun down a vulnerable opponent. This increase in survivability has led to Archmagos Tranth recommending that the shields be issued to all troops that would benefit from them.
Exo Lance
The single largest weapon system found so far, this weapon is an enlarged version of Super Lance weapon and is so large and power intensive that so far there is no ship large enough to use this weapon as well as being incredibly delicate because of the massive amounts of power needed to function and fire. However, Archmagos Veneratus Tranth estimates that this weapon would be the most powerful single target weapon in the Trust's fleet's arsenal designed to destroy battleships in a single hit from light seconds away with the only exception being a Nova Cannon firing Grav Implosion or Vortex Rounds.
In addition, a whole slew of prototype vehicles has been discovered. Apparently many of these, these were intended to reduce the strain on supplies that many DAoT cultures were experiencing during the great war by being simple to maintain, fairly cheap to build (for the Dark Age of Technology) as well as having several different roles through incredibly innovative and creative modular technology and are designed to support one another. Three vehicles from these designations were already approved for mass production, the Diamond Back, Goliath Walker and Northern Sentinel, and we have already received the designs.
Viking Air superiority fighter/Assault Walker
Designed as an both air superiority fighter armed with melta missiles, Gatling impalers and of course Haywire weapons the Viking forms the backbone of the transformative force. With a simple movement, the pilot of this craft can convert it from an air craft to a walker bringing its two Gatling impalers to bare upon the enemy before returning to aircraft form to protect and shadow its army defending it from enemy filers. An interesting and valuable design against many foes especially if deployed in large numbers.
Hellbat: Scout car/Assault Walker
A scout vehicle and "tactical assault walker" armed with a plasma flamer, when in scout mode the Hellbat is a light APC vehicle similar to the monitor scout car. When in APC mode it's plasma flamer can be fired at significant distance in a straight line, with the car having tremendous speed. In this form it is intended to harass enemy forces alongside the Diamondback, however, if forced into a corner or if in pitched battle it will shift to its upright walker state. In this form, it trades speed for armour, range for a wider cone of fire able to ward infantry from the other parts of this prototype army.
Siege Tank: Mobile Artillery/Main Battle Tank
A Leman Russ equivalent albeit one that is significantly more expensive due to several upgrades to the inherent design. Designed to serve as a main battle tank as well as mobile artillery. These weapons function in two modes first is the "tank" or "assault mode" in which the vehicle may be used in the familiar armored support role using relatively light weapons comparative to its size. The second is the more radical "siege mode" in which the vehicle becomes a static emplacement and is able to reconfigure its main gun into a significantly more powerful and longer ranged weapon. The Tank mode's armaments are twin 90mm accelerator cannons that are able to do major damage to most lightly armoured foes and eventually deal with foes with heavier armour especially with its surprisingly high rate of fire. The Siege mode's cannon is a single 180mm accelerator firing super-heated tungsten rounds, that can devastate a large area from a distance roughly half of what the royal of Basilisks can accomplish. While the ability to rapidly change roles is interesting and extremely valuable it is currently impractical to deploy in large numbers.
Thor demi knight
Currently considered Demi Knights (not true knights as they lack the Throne Mechanicum similar to their brother the Northern Sentinel) by the Mechanicus the Thor and Odin are classified as Heavy and Super Heavy assault walkers respectively and seem to have been intended to compliment the Northern Titan Killer. The Thor is the smallest of the three Demi Knights and seems to have been intended as the most mass producible. Featuring incredibly thick armour to protect the piolet, the Thor boasts a very impressive array of weaponry two 250mm accelerator strike cannons on each arm to attack ground targets, four 330mm cannons on the back to attack enemy fortifications and finally Leanar and Flack cannons mounted on the top to attack aircraft. Combined with its thick armour and a unique system called "resurrection" where the machine spirit is able to partial repair itself should the pilot of the Thor be alive, but the Thor itself damaged the Thor is an incredible weapon system with major flaws. The first is that it has too many weapons, unlike the Goliath, which can target targets on the ground and in the air at the same time, the Thor can only use one of its weapon systems at once. Second it is very immobile. In city fighting this weapon would be excellent, but outside of enclosed areas the Thor suffers as turning is hard for it, dodging is near impossible and keeping up with a large force is difficult. Third it lacks no true melee option, meaning most competent knights would be able to take it apart with ease. This combined with its large cost makes it a very potent, addition to the Trust's arsenal, but it is not a weapon to be used without support
Odin Demi Knight
Given its size the Odin is more analogous with a full-fledged knight, however as it lacks the Throne Mechanicum it cannot be designated as a knight. While initially appearing as little more than a blown up enhanced Thor, Archamgos Veneratus Tranth is certain that it is the Thor that is a scaled down version of the Odin. The Odin features incredibly thick and resilient armour with integrated ion shields, with neutron Las cannons needing deployment to pierce it. With two twin linked plasma cannons as it's main armaments, shoulder mounted missile pods and four back mounted Graviton Bombardment cannons the Odin was clearly intended to be a spear head to push through any resistance. However similar to its lesser cousin the Odin it suffers from a several fatal flaws. While the issue of only using one weapon system is not present as both its AA and Plasma guns can be used at the same time, it is still slow, immobile and lacking in a dedicated ranged option, clearly relying on the Northern Titan Killer to ensure that melee based super heavies do not close with it and end it quickly. This is on top of it's incredible price.
Banshee Stealth Harassment Fighter
While in recent years Archamgos Tranth has proposed concepts to use the stealth systems from the Advanced Recon armour in vehicles, it would seem that the Dark Age "scientists" had similar ideas and were about to bring the "Banshee" Harassment fighter into mass production when the Men of Iron attacked Helhiem. Based on a modified Peregrine fighter chassis the Banshee is a VTOL fighter with an impressively small internal generator, completely sealed from the outside world. Armed with Heywire weapons, a selection of missiles and Gatling impalers, the greatest strength of this craft comes in its tactical cloaking device derived from the Advanced Recon Armour Set, allowing it to hide itself and strike suddenly and without warning. Unfortunately, while the base craft is not particularly expensive the cloaking technology is, making it more viable for large scale deployment then say the Shadow Bat, but far from becoming common place.
Warhawk Heavy Aerial Combat ship
Seemingly an effort to create the most advanced in atmosphere ship possible, the Warhawk does not have traditional means of propulsion, instead flying via gravity manipulation devices usually found in vehicles like Land Speeders and Grav bikes, albeit significantly more advanced. This not only increases its operational time, aerodynamics and general manoeuvrability, but also, it's speed in atmosphere able to fly at top speed and fly circles around all but Eldar or Necron fighters. The fighter is also armed to the teeth with Heywire weapons, variable micro missiles and plasma guns. The main weapon however is an incredibly potent in atmosphere variant of the Well of Urd's Grav Guns that allows the Warhawk to obliterate enemy formations simply by flying over them. The main downsides to this incredible piece of engineering is it's incredible cost (the resources that go into building and maintaining a single Warhawk could probably produce a squadron of lesser fighters), the sheer skill required to pilot a ship this fast and agile and the operational time of the Warhawk is limited as the reactor burns through at an incredibly fast pace.
Right this is what I've got ATM lots of Starcraft Expy's (cause I've been playing lots of Starcraft ATM
) but I have tried to give good reason for us finding them and hopefully will give
@Durin some ideas.
I've also tried to put in stuff you've suggested
while trying to balance it to Embers verse standards, but if you've got any suggestions comments or improvements PLEASE, give them too me.
The reason there are so many prototypes is well Helhiem was a research colony who's scientists presumably lived in these moons. We also know that they were an important research colony, they made the ****ing Navigators.