Fiction:Merosian Collective/Tripod

Tripods are the primary walker units used by the invasion forces of the. These three-legged terrors, these are usually used by Merosian forces as the vanguard of their invading army, a means of frightening the native populace into a panic and eliminating them swiftly.

General Description
Often described as "unnatural" or "unsettling", Tripods stand tall above the surface on three enormous legs (often jointed; some smaller variants have more "snakelike" limbs" which twist at impossible angles while traversing all sorts of terrain).

The legs are mounted to a lower chassis (or the "body"), which houses numerous bundles of actuated tentacles, some or all of which contain heat rays: vectorized molecular accelerator beams which vaporize or melt materials on contact and, when directed at organic life, instantly heat up the liquid contents of its body, causing it to explode into a fine mist of its liquids and miscellaneous body parts. Aside from housing heat rays, the tentacles actually serve as tentacles normally would; being able to reach down to the ground and pick up objects or native beings. On some variants lies a sift-like vent near the back end, next to the centerline leg, which drops seedlings of Merosian vegetation, such as a creeping fern known as the "red weed".

Atop the lower chassis is the main chassis. Often covered in a metallic armored cowl of sorts, with several lights positioned at the front of the machine giving the appearance of eyes, the main chassis (often referred to as the "head" for its position on the war machine) serves as the cockpit and control room for the tripods, seating as low as one to as high as thirty-two Merosian operators, depending on the size of the tripod. Arguably the most heavily armored section of the Tripod, the head holds the tripod's large engine and accelerator mechanism in addition to the control room and quarters, and sometimes contains a shield generator which protects it from large high-velocity projectiles, or from lower-powered energy weapons. The two sections are connected by a pivoting "neck", which allows the tripod to look around and get a better lay of the land ahead, enabling enhanced maneuvering and targeting.

Tripods are

Small-Size






Mid-Size






Large-Size