Infernal Machine

Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 14: On Outcomes, History and Your Place in It

by Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) My young friend, it is good to see you. How can I be of service to you this fine day? You’ve doubts about the usefulness of what you are doing? Yes, I’ve heard of the project Simeon Bourgeois has undertaken. The French Navy is not as close-mouthed […]

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Infernal Machine: Commissions, Purchase Orders and Promotions – Their Use and Benefits

While a Confederate privateer can use his Letter of Marque to, so to speak, “play pirate,” the United States Navy takes a dim view of civilians captaining an armed vessel during war time, or any time for that matter. In the game “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare,” the “Navy Way” begins with the vessel’s

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Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 13: On Outcomes and Their Legacy

by Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Oh, there you are, my young Inventor friend.  What brings you to this tavern, at this hour of the evening? You are wondering if your fishboat idea will ultimately be successful. You are also wondering if what you are building will perhaps “change the rules” of naval

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Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 12: “…Should you decide to accept it…!” – Missions and the Reason for Going

by Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Hello, my young friend, it is good to see you once again. I note that you have a bandage on your left arm. Is something amiss at your machine shop?  I see, so your associate purchased a lower grade of bituminous coal for your forge. And some

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Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 11: What to Do When the Yankees Come A-Callin’

By Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Again, I bid you a good day, my young prodigy. Thank you for meeting me in this out-of-the-way location. Our talk today requires restraint and privacy between colleagues. We will speak of shifting loyalties. As you may have gathered, the life of a Confederate Inventor and Entrepreneur

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Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 10: Current and Drift: Cause & Effect

By Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Young Inventor! It is good to see you once again. Have you been applying what the two of us discussed in our last conversation? Well done. I am pleased with your diligence, both in study and application of what you are learning. Today, our topic involves one

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Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 9 — Power! Power! Wonder-working Power!

By Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Ah, good day to you once more, young Inventor. I am happy to see you once again. And you have brought your copy of the Inventor’s Vade Mecum with you. May I see it, please? Hmmm, I notice it is now a very worn and much-thumbed work.

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Designer Blogs

Infernal Machine: Three Alligator Thumbnail Biographies

As “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare” moves toward publication, it has been my task to research the backgrounds of those who made up the crews of the “fishboats.” I am fascinated by the amount of information that is still available on many of these individuals. Census records gathered before, during and after the American

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Infernal Machine Bibliography

19 November 2022 Good afternoon, everyone. Ed Ostermeyer here. Several readers have requested information on the works I’ve used in the design of “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare. Herewith is my bibliography (current as of 19 November 2022) for the game, alphabetized and annotated for your use. Comments and remarks are my own opinions

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Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War – Part Five – The “Spitting Devil”

While technical “wizards” like Dr. St. Julien Ravenel and Theodore Stoney were creating the CSS “David” torpedo boat as the Confederacy’s response to the US Navy’s overwhelming superiority on the nation’s rivers and oceans, the Union wizards were not idle in that field, either.

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