Dwemer Constructs

Centurion Spider.

The most common of the ancient Dwemer war machines, the Centurion Spider is considered a diminutive threat by experienced adventurers.

Its construction can be described in two parts. In the bottom we can see a fairly thick metallic platform with legs, which, obviously, serves as a base. The other not-so-obvious purpose of armoring the bottom of the centurion is for protection from heat. Of all centurions, the spiders have their vital mechanisms closest to the floor, which is often quite hot in Dwemer fortresses.

The legs are also worthy of interest. Their simple construction suggests that the spider was made not as a war machine, but as a guard, or even a house servant.

Its legs allow it to both move on flat floors of the fortresses and travel up and down stairs, but with only one joint in each leg it would have difficulties keeping balance in the treacherous landscape of Vvardenfell.

The second part of the spider is a sheet of very thin metal, which even I could mistake for some sort of organic material, were it not for the obvious ventilation holes in its back.

While I have little to say about the innards of the globe, the metal itself has caught my interest. Though it is light and flexible, it still offers a surprising degree of protection. It leads me to wonder why the Dwemer did not use this alloy in other animunculi. Might it be the "Flesh-metals" mentioned in the Lessons of Vivec? I have one theory, but it is very far fetched. I have yet to discover what kind of metal or metals we need to recreate this armor, but I already have suspicions that some metal unknown to us was used in its production.

Perhaps this unknown metal was so rare that it was all used in construction of the Spider Centurions. But if this theory is correct, then another question arises: why, then, did the Dwemer not simply dismantle the spiders and use this armor when the war with the Chimer started? Ah, the Dwemer are still a mystery. Maybe uncovering the mystery of their language will shed some light on it.

In battle, the Spider is not a very dangerous opponent, attacking primarily with its body and sharp legs. However, they have been observed to, on occasion, launch a globe of poisonous substance, which is stored inside their body and seems to pass right through their ventilation system under great pressure. The origin of the poison is yet another mystery, though it is, fortunately, curable by mundane and magical means.

Steam Centurion.

Another one of the mysterious Animunculi built by the Dwemer is simply called the Steam Centurion. This article will be compised of several parts:

1) Construction.
This centurion was undoubtedly designed for combat. Its entire body is constructed of solid metal blocks and armored with thick metal plates. What is more interesting, however, is that its shape and "face" resemble that of a Khajiit. Though I have never seen one, I imagine a Khajiit Senche looks roughly the same.

This observation has left me somewhat perplexed: The Khajiit species, other than Ohmes-raht and Suthay-raht, are almost never encountered outside of Elsweyr, so I cannot understand how the Dwemer even knew of the existance of the Senche.

The steam centurion's weak points are the exposed mechanisms behind its knee and elbow armor plates. Its back also has an openable panel, which can be used to see and operate the machinery inside.

Another seemingly weak point is the exhaust pipe on its back. One would think that by blocking it one could put the Animunculi out of commission, but in reality it has a number of concealed openings, through which the excess steam is ventilated. When the steam centurion is severely damaged, all the steam is released through emergency openings in the shoulders and the machinery is shut down. This is, I believe, a safeguard to avoid explosion and friendly damage in the heat of battle.

Also worthy of noting is the face, which features two eye sockets and a moving jaw. While the "eyes" are probably pure decoration, the jaw, I believe, serves some purpose which is, as yet, still a mystery to me.

2) Fighting capabilities.
The only weapon of the steam centurion is a huge metallic ball with spikes mounted on its right hand. The effect of this immense weight upon the centurion's frame is counteracted by a heave "bracer" encircling the arm immediately next to the ball. The ball itself can be propelled forward to hit enemies at a short distance. Such a powerful bludgeoning weapon would be quite effective against the bone armor of the Chimer.

3) Mobility
Though it appears clumsy and cumbersome, the speed and maneuverability of this Animunculi is surprising. This can be attributed to a series of additional joints under the armor pads. The left hand also features three fingers, which can be moved, but which I have never observed the centurion to use.

Centurion Sphere.

The Centurion Sphere is one of the most sophisticated, mysterious and dangerous Animunculi.

The Sphere has an elongated head featuring a jaw, similar to the Steam Centurion, and a solitary eye. The eye is made of glass and has strange markings.

While most Dwemerologists accept the theory that it is solely for decoration, I believe it has something to do with targeting and controlling its blade (see below). The head is affixed to the torso with a thin long neck without armor- a common weak point among all the Centurions save the Spider. Why the Dwemer chose not to cover it with armor is still a mystery to me.

The torso resembles the Steam Centurion's, except for the shortened exhaust pipe and thinner armor. The pipe has probably been shortened because in this case it is the only way to vent steam. Accordingly, it must be constructed to be hard to reach- else disabling the sphere would be a simple task.

The arms of this Animunculi are unarmored. They have two joints - one at the shoulder and one at the elbow area. While this may seem like too few points of articulation to allow good maneuverability, the Sphere is in fact extremely agile and fast in combat and wields its weapons with fearsome accuracy.

And thus we come to the combat equipment of this machine. Upon the left hand is mounted a thick and heavy metallic shield which can block almost any blow. Fortunately, it serves a completely different purpose, of which I will speak later, and the Centurion uses it rather clumsily.

The right hand of the Sphere Centurion is a veritable bane of living creatures - it features sharp thorns for piercing armour and skin and an extendable long blade for fighting foes considered too dangerous.

The blade is particularly interesting: somehow it can be enchanted like any conventional weapon, although no one has yet been able to remove it from the Centurion.

And now we come to the most confusing and strange part of the Animunculi. The base. While it may seem that the upper part is attached to the bottom sphere, it actually levitates approximately centimeter from its surface. This means that the Dwemer were somehow able to harness the power of gravitation to build it.

Even more perplexing is the fact, that the sphere, while made of metal, is amorphic. When the centurion shuts down, the part under its body folds in to protect and, possibly, repair it. In its normal form the machine places its round shield over the opening and it becomes a part of the sphere. I can only wonder what this sphere is in reality. I contrived a theory, but I was forced to dismiss it as foolish and blasphemous...

Centurion Archer

The Centurion Archer, younger brother of the Centurion Sphere, is the topic of this article.

The head of the Archer is similar to that of the Sphere, except that the Archer has no jaw. I believe this is to provide better stability for the head- if the "eye" is, as I have hypothesised, used as a targeting device, then the head's movements must be as precise as possible, which is easier to achieve if it has no independent moving parts.

The Archer's head also has a visible seam, suggesting to me that the top of its head is removable. I have not yet been able to open this seam, but I am sure there is a way.

The torso is a very complex mechanism, enclosed in a thick plate-metal "shirt" - two half-spheres bolted together on the front and on the back of the Animunculi. The left hand is typical, if this word can be used for anything made by the strange, enigmatic Dwemer. It consists of two metallic blocks, with a pincer on the end. All of them are connected by rotating joints. The elaborate construction of the pincer suggests that it might be used to hold objects and even used as a weapon against small targets.

Of more interest is the right hand. Where its joint should be, there is a metallic sphere, which successfully acts as a the missing joint. The evidence suggests that this is a reservoir where the projectiles are stored. The hand itself is a long hollow tube from which the projectile is fired. The tube is lined with curious mechanisms that appear to increase pressure when the bolt leaves the sphere and travels along the tube. The gained speed, along with the amazing aerodynamic properties of the dart allow it to fly great distances and inflict damage even to heavily armored targets. The blades on the hand are purely for decorative purposes, as they are reversed and the Centurion cannot strike with enough strength to penetrate flesh.

The last part is the base sphere. It is actually quite different from the Sphere Centurion's. The Archer's sphere is actually two heavily armored wheels, that can come together, forming some sort of new spherical base that stabilizes the entire Centurion and saves steam power when the Centurion is stationary. When the Centurion is battle-ready, though, it enters the "wheel" form again, because in "sphere" form it does not stand, but waves from side to side slightly, which can easily throw off the aim.

And thus I conclude my study of the Dwemer Animunculi. We all know that there are many deep mysteries about the Dwemer,. but I hope that my work will contribute to the efforts of uncovering them.

As a footnote, I must also mention to the kind reader that there are several other Animunculi: the Numidium, the Scarab, and the nameless bipedal Centurion. But I have yet to acquire a working prototype of any of them (in the case of the Numidium, it is quite impossible), so I cannot research their functions.

-- Darth Blade