By Ed Ostermeyer, Master Engineer (Grade 2)

Good day to you, young Inventor.

You are to be congratulated.

You hold in your hand the Inventor’s Vade Mecum, a handbook for you to use whatever, wherever, whenever and, most important of all, why-ever you have questions or need assistance in your chosen field of endeavor.

Your enthusiasm for the field of maritime engineering at this moment in our country’s history places you at the forefront in the development and construction of nautical devices and mechanisms that will astound and discomfit our country’s foes.  

Using your knowledge and that of your team plus the latest tools and methods that 19^th century science and industry can provide and the steps found in this Vade Mecum, you should encounter fewer interruptions and delays in making your latest technological marvel the Wonder of the Age.

Step One – Location, Location, Location.

Being an Inventor, you probably have already surmised that a nautical engineering marvel must have access to water as its primary requirement.  This is most easily accomplished by either building or leasing a machine shop as your base of operations. Ideally, this should be in a city with port facilities.

The port can be either on a river or the coastline. 

For example, setting up shop in a coastal port like Charleston, South Carolina has certain advantages.

Your Charleston machine shop location will always generate an income of at least $2 in the normal course of business each month. It has a steady, if unspectacular level of engineering expertise available for use each quarter.

Recruiting new members to your project team will also be slow at Charleston, there being a single Investor or Mechanic available each month. However, Journeymen can be hired by the pair, and the Queen City is simply crawling with paid-off Sailors who are available free-of-charge, but only if you have a Letter of Recruitment from the War Office.

Step Two: Tempering the Dream with Reality

Though choosing your base of operations should always take into account how big your dreams and ideas are, you must also be practical. The size and cost of your mechanical marvel will have a big influence on which port facility would best be able to see it through to completion. 

Complexity also plays a part here. If your vessel requires a propulsion system more advanced than a hand crank, basing in a port city like New Orleans (see illustration) with its larger seasonal engineering expertise rating would help get your project completed in the shortest possible time.

Step Three: There’s a war on, you know!

Finally, you know that we all are in the midst of a Civil War. Our country’s port facilities are very important to the survival of our nation, making them prime targets for the enemy’s army and navy to seize and conquer.

Should the enemy be successful, you will find it necessary to relocate your project, lock, stock and personnel to another city or even another state.

 Also, be mindful that time plays a role here as well. The longer the war drags on, the harder it becomes to recruit and then retain Investors on your project.  Couple this with your machine shop having a low monthly income (at Petersburg, for instance) then your Mechanics and Journeymen may have to “down tools” for want of money to buy parts and materials. The longer this lack of funds lasts could mean that your Wonder of the Age could still be up on the stocks in the machine shop when the war finally ends.

That’s enough for now.

Next week, Part 2 of the Inventor’s Vade Mecum will show you how to recruit for success.

(Note: All graphic images of Infernal Machine game materials used in The Inventor’s Vade Mecum are subjective and may change and appear different in their final form.  All images show sourcing unless otherwise noted.)

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