Armour

The use of Armour, one-man fighting machines that could be classified as ‘Mecha’, is the standard method of warfare in the alternate World War One setting where ‘Operator’ takes place.

British Army
British Army machines are a uniform camo green colour, with some areas coloured in light brown. They all display the Union Jack in a circle on their left shoulders, and, in the case of ranking officers, the operator’s personal heraldry in a circle on the right shoulder guard. British Armours use a ranking system based on numbers. Rank 1 machines are mass-produced, and referred to as ‘Tommies’. They are small, squat machines, a little over twice the height of a person, with a gauntlet-like left hand and some manner of machine gun mounted where the right arm would be. These Armours are used by line troops. No Rank 2 machine has yet been seen or identified. Rank 3 Armours look like scaled-up versions of ‘Tommies’, with heavier-looking armour and a hand on the end of each arm suitable for using various weapons, typically some form or rifle. They are typically operated by lieutenants. Examples include the ‘ Grey Horseman’ and Rosalind Grey’s unnamed machine. Rank 4 Armours appear drastically different from the lower ranks- aside from being much larger, they have proportionally smaller, wedge-shaped heads and heavier limbs. As opposed to the lower-ranked machines, the operator’s head does not fit inside the machine’s helmet, and the cockpit is spacious and entirely enclosed. These Armours are typically operated by Captains, and as such bear their operator’s heraldry and Company colours, and have a greater degree of customisation. Examples include ‘ Raging Griffon’, ‘ Hangman’, and ‘ Demon Archer’.
 * Rank 1 ‘Tommies’
 * Rank 2
 * Rank 3
 * Rank 4

German Army
German Army Armours are usually a gunmetal-grey colour, and have a ranking system based on metal colours. Unlike British machines, they do not appear to display a flag on the left shoulder, and only captain-ranked machines have so far displayed heraldry. ‘Bronze’ class machines are described as being equal to Rank 3 British Armours. No lower-ranked German Armour has yet been seen. They have shoulder guards and other plates picked out in a bronze colour, and typically follow the same armament convention as British machines- a ranged weapon in the right hand, with the other being a heavy fist. Although the ‘Silber’ class is described as equivalent to Rank 4 British Armours, the one time these two classes of machines have met in combat, the agile ‘Silber’ Armour operated by Hans-Jurgen Jaeger came out on top. As only one machine of this class has been seen, it is impossible to determine how far Jaeger’s machine is customised, or what the typical weapons loadout would be.
 * ’Bronze’ class
 * ’Silber’ class