Low Tech cannons mortars and shells

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

Heavy weapons have limited RPG use unless you're hunting foes who can only be taken down by cannon fire. (As an example, GURPS 3E High Tech had a fun vignette on WW1-era artillery vs. Nameless Horror.) If you're on the receiving end, you need to be tough enough that cannons hurt rather than being insta-kill.

That's for direct impacts (although note that targets that call for direct cannon fire aren't exactly uncommon in many campaigns - castle walls and ocean-going ships, for example). The thread is largely about explosive shells, and those are often useful against infantry - the overpressure and fragmentation/shrapnel can result in multiple casualties from a single shot into the center of a formation, making them often the go-to method for engaging large numbers of foes at once, absent readily-available magic. Mundane PC's could see themselves faced with such and have a decent chance of survival (typically by diving/staying behind cover, although unless the shell has fairly-heavy fragmentation damage, getting hit is unlikely to be immediately fatal, particularly if the PC's have their important bits armored).