Numbers two and three come from these amazing artists linked here:
(https://www.reddit.com/r/AllTomorrows/comments/p8zerm/gravitals\_and\_their\_subjects/)
More info in the comment below!
Numbers two and three come from these amazing artists linked here:
(https://www.reddit.com/r/AllTomorrows/comments/p8zerm/gravitals\_and\_their\_subjects/)
More info in the comment below!
This is so cool! I love the swordhead designs (especially the one resembling an axe)
Hey, it’s you! Thank you for the comment, and for coming up with the Swordheads. To be fair, the axe one is literally just one with an anteater-like snout with an actual axe slid onto it. In this case, real metal is very effective to cut through the thick hides of enemies.
The other two are fully organic though. :)
Among the various Subjects in the Machine Empire, there were the “entertainment Subjects”, and among these were the battle Subjects.
Of course many did not share direct ancestry, the term moreso used as one would use “fish” or “worm”. Or, if you’re a Gravital, you would use the term to describe a line of appliance, not caring that they were made in different factories.
With that out of the way, here’s the details:
This one is a very rare Subject, only being found on a few planets and space habitats in a few connected systems. They have a unique design, being humanoid (and human SIZED), and seemingly without the characteristic Bug Facer beak. (In reality, they do have a beak, just covered by flesh, sort of re-making the concept of teeth. Similar to Serina’s Foons ). They were one of the few Subjects to retain sapience, as their owners prized them in a way most machines didn’t: they values their opinion. Of course, the only thing valued was what they would do in battle, but the Machines seemed to enjoy what they would come up with, especially in complex arenas. These Subjects have three pairs of arms to wield many weapons. As a side note, one member of this line of subject would escape the cycle as an infant, smuggled by other subjects. One day, I plan to tell her story…
Classic giant Battlebeasts. They come in numerous forms, most of which resemble some sort of animal. Anything from a horse to a bear to a dragon. The quadruped in this image is an adult, and is currently under the complete control of a Gravital, via the device implanted on its back. This device can directly link to a similar device a Machine Citizen can install, letting them control the Subject with their mind. In this case, the Gravital uses a physical controller to pilot the beast. The small dragomorph is a yearling, soon to sexually mature. For now, it is passive, and raised amongst the giants. In two years time, it will be trying to kill them.
One of the most ubiquitous of the fighting Subjects, the Swordheads. Medium build quadrupeds with hyper-elongated snouts, their faces customized into a myriad forms; indeed, they experienced a morphological cruelty only matched by the beaks of the ancestors of the Bone Crushers. The largest one is a giant breed, most being closer in size to the second, about the size of a small to medium dog. 3a. The large one has been given artificial armor, in the form of a sheath with an axe— slid onto its otherwise smooth snout. Its job is to run across the arena and gore apart the undersides of Mastadon sized beasts under their intestines spill. 3b. The medium sized beast has been specialized to engage in battle with crab or turtle-like enemies, its huge, curved beak only useful to get under the lip of the shells and flip the enemies. The killing is done by a modified toe claw. 3c. The smallest has a spear-like beak and an armored head. It fearlessly plunges headfirst into battle, often against larger foes. Its creator— expecting it to get squashed— has implanted a device in its neck, so when its body is destroyed, the device will extend into six insectile legs to pilot just the head around the arena.
A line of Subjects devolved into guns. Many can shoot actual projectiles, but this one instead shoots extremely powerful stomach acid, which can melt enemies. Sometimes it is used in battle against other organics, but it can also be used by Gravitals. Since the hull of the Gravital is extremely tough, the organic projectiles have no effect on them, and the game is more similar to paintball. Many Gravitals enjoy it, since it gives a sense of pressure if your opponent blasts you and dissolved your gun, making you resort to your smaller— and less effective— spare(s). The strategy in this game is either not to get hit, or to try and block the blast with your chasis (Difficult when your gun is larger than you!). In cases like this, the Machines may express some care for their guns, if only because once all theirs die, they lose.
Some extra fun facts about Acid Paintball *TM (the name is a work in process):
The form shown above is actually large for this sport, being longer in length than a human. 80-90% of its body just makes and stores bile, essentially turning it into an acid firehose.
Although most are smaller, the 80% acid ratio is still around normal, resulting in a good amount of “ammo”.
For longer matches, sometimes competitors will also bring bags full of nutrient goo, to rapidly dump energy into their guns. This can help a Subject running low on acid production to “reload”
In some events, the Gravital will upload their mind into a custom body, sort of like how sports players will all put on the same uniform. This is done so everyone has an equal surface area to block acid spray, so no chassis design has an advantage over another.
The Machine pictured here has a chassis made of orbs, all emitting a glow as different wavelengths. He was dragged into going to Acid Paintball by his friends. His stance is awkward, holding the giant gun like a fish he just caught. He will happily upload into a different chasis to avoid getting spray on his.
Some forms of gun actually have triggers, though these ones simply fire when the Machine thinks to fire. With more finicky mind control systems, panic— even without seeing a player or explicitly thinking to fire— can lead to the gun going off.
Lastly, the most widespread version of the game features two guns. The custom chassis is partially hollow, initially storing the smaller one. The larger one is usually too large to fully block with the body, and so most of the time will get melted. The skill comes from positioning your gun so that the more crucial parts (mouth, bile sack) don’t get melted immediately. The goal is to keep your gun alive the longest, until it either goes into shock, or is melted deep enough that all the acid leaks out of a wound.
While the second gun in initially hidden in the chasis compartment, once the first gun is dead, it is considered poor sportsmanship to put the second gun back in your body after it is drawn. The fun comes from hiding it against the outside of the body.
The second gun being hidden by the body often results in more engaged gameplay, as players are willing to get closer to each other, as they can avoid immediate gun-melt. Now the strategy becomes outmaneuvering your opponent: to try and get to their front, where they’re huddling their gun, or to wait until they turn to fire, and sharpshoot their gun while it’s in the open.
…