[Bourgeois Class] Engineering.

[An employer]

Oil-stained citizen: “Finally! My creation for transporting heavy loads is complete – a crate with a single wheel attached to one end and handles at the other. I’ll call it…the barrow-wheel!”

Task


You are to invent and engineer a useful tool, weapon or anything else that will benefit the people of Yew
A small report must be provided for our files.


Rules

40+ Silver to be awarded
The more inventive your creation and more entertaining your report, the more Silver will be awarded
May be completed alone, or as part of a group. Significant bonus Silver for group work.

[Bladius Dart]

Being very aware of the fact that Empath Abbey is often the source of emergencies requiring urgent attention but also being perpetually reminded by my past visits to the Empath Abbey Inn, I was keenly aware of the fact that Stonekeep is a substantial distance from Empath Abbey and the time taken to not only send a messenger to Stonekeep but to have the message delivered, interpreted and the response effort organised is not insignificant.

So not insignificant that by the time we usually arrive it is often the case that disaster has occurred.

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/8725/piea.png


With this in mind I concluded that some sort of beacon system was a necessity, however after in depth discussions with my son who passionately championed the use of alternative methods...

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7161/rocketsyeah.png


...I reconsidered.

Knowing that our Tokunese cousins are masters of the use of black powder I decided to venture to the city of Zento in pursuit of advice.

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2454/rocketd.png


Apparently my four year old son had the right idea.

With the assistance of a reliable carpenter it was deduced that in order to make a rocket-powered message delivery system function effectively we would require some form of ramp running from Empath Abbey to Stonekeep, as we were only in the testing stages we decided to build a much smaller prototype.
Then with our newly constructed delivery vehicle (a tray on wheels) we were able to begin our experiment in earnest.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1309/experiment1.png


Contrary to what the savage babbler had earlier claimed, it soon emerged that rockets do not simply stop but instead detonate. Whilst this may have resulted in a rather fortuitous turn of events I soon realised that unless we possessed a reliable method of stopping the rocket prior to it exploding this scheme was destined to cause any number of casualties or worse; fail entirely.

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/1857/experiment2.png


With the knowledge that my Tokunese rocket advocate was eagerly awaiting a report of our efforts, I returned to Zento to deliver my conclusions.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6599/twat.png


Unfortunately the language barrier provided yet more nuisance as the hapless little fellow assumed that we had been wildly successful, when of course as you can tell from this report the entire experiment was something of a FAILURE.

Perhaps someone somewhere will utilise my beacon concept but I fear I will be taking a long, well-earned break from inventing.

Bladius Dart
Captain

[An employer]

45 Copper awarded. Excellent invention!

[James Palmer]

I bring you four designs for your engineering conquest.
I used a fairly big line-up in Stonekeep to get people to create new things, and for once some useful things were actually created.
I split the group into teams of three as to increase the chances of something useful being created.

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6940/invention.png

The first team actually shocked me by inventing two things, their main entry and a side project.
Their main entry was a rather large portable crossbow that was designed to "break" clouds so that rain could be created in the event of a forest fire in Yew.
Their second entry was a "comfy" pyre, complete with cushion.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1911/invention1.png

I awarded this team second place, they won 25 Copper.

The next team created what they claimed was a "man carrying rocket ship", although I'm going to go ahead and say it was a less comfortable pyre than the other teams effort, because frankly I don't believe it could fly.

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/1982/invention2.png

This team was given third place and my pity.

The final team, and my winners created a marvelous invention called a "communal shower", an invention that can actually clean three people at the same time, and it's much quicker than a bath!
If you were to mass-create any of these and try and sell them I'd strongly suggest this idea, it might just take off.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1613/invention3.png

This team were awarded first place, and 50 Copper each.

After all the inventions were seen and discussed, I announced the winner and the prizes and let them get on with their jobs.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7742/invention4.png

My thanks go to the men and women who helped me create such grand inventions.

*Signed*
Lieutenant Wilkes

[An employer]

60 Copper awarded.

[Leo Madsen]

Can you guard or defend a large swathe of ground with only a handful of men and equipment? Defending a particular location has long been a vital part of warfare, as is preserving the lives of your own troops whilst putting a strain on your enemies resources.

Mankind has a long history of setting traps to ensnare, wound and potentially kill their target. However these traps tend to rely upon rope, pits and sharp wood and metal, relying on a great deal of luck to successfully injure an enemy to remove them from the conflict.

How can you successfully cripple an enemy and potentially those around him in one move? A move that doesn't rely split second timing and risking the lives of your own men?

To the first question I came up with the answer 'explosives'. Explosives are indiscriminant in their targetting and the blast, shrapnel, flames tend to spread over a wide area. However, that doesn't answer the question of how to have the enemy set them off themselves, rather than relying on our own troops to set them off.

I struggled with the problem for a long while. Then it hit me. A return to basics. Having the enemy set them off themselves, unwittingly. If a pit trap, or various sorts has mild success, why not use that and adapt it for use with explosives.

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/355/landminecreation.jpg

I designed a crude model, that I have dubbed The Landmine. The device is a shallow, metal box filled with explosives, when buried in an equally shallow holle and scattered with dirt it blends seamlessly with the ground awaiting its unwitting victim.

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1042/landmine.jpg

When the device is trodden upon the thin medal lid crumples, allowing the pin to strike the steel spike in the bottom, sparking the explosives. the enemy has lot a foot, their leg, their manhood, potentially wounding those nearby. If they survive then the cripples that can no longer fight would become a burden on the enemy military, taking up precious resources.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4836/thelandminelives.jpg

A crude model at best, I believe it can be improved with a 'flint wheel' to create the spark.

Leo Madsen

[An employer]

40 Copper awarded.