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Old 07-14-2006, 02:41 PM   #101
Verjigorm
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Default Re: Armoury of Antiquity: Questions regarding archaic arms and armor

What would you(all of you) do to simulate a battering ram?
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Old 07-14-2006, 06:54 PM   #102
The Colonel
 
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Default Re: Armoury of Antiquity: Questions regarding archaic arms and armor

Quote:
Originally Posted by Verjigorm
What would you(all of you) do to simulate a battering ram?
Generally it's a plot device:
"the ram's reached the gate. It sits there, hard against the barbican wall, huge and black with the iron plates of it's belfry already ringing from the stones your men are hurling onto it. You can't see them, but you know the enemy sappers are already throwing themselves into position around the beam itself, and soon the gate will be under attack. What are you planning to do about it?"
If the plan is a good one, the gate stands, if not there had better be something behind it.

However you might want to model the damage to the gate, particularly if the PCs are on the outside, so ... assign the gate a DR and HT, then let the ram deliver the combined thrust damage of the whole crew (possibly penalised for low tech rams such as one that is supported by its operators, one without a head etc. or augmented for a high quality head) ... then decide what the defenders are doing about the attack. If their counteraction fails, the gate goes down eventually. Be prepared to be flexible if your PCs are stood like idiots in the belfry as boiling oil comes pouring through the roof and soaks everyone inside...
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Old 07-15-2006, 10:59 AM   #103
Polydamas
 
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Default Re: Armoury of Antiquity: Questions regarding archaic arms and armor

Based on the old rules in Compendium II, I would sum the BLs of the users, convert that BL into ST, and make damage be some fraction of that ST in dice: 1/4 for a wooden beam, 1/2 for an iron-capped beam, 2/3 for a sling ram (one suspended at several points from its housing, so that the users can put most of their strength into pushing rather than lifting). Thus a sling ram with 200 ST 10 crew (base ST 141) might do 5dx19. Allow attacks at the rate which seems reasonable given the size of the ram. As The Colonel said, sieges are often best handled by doing research and deciding how long something will take, since rolling damage against a wall for eight hours of battery gets dull. Assuming average rolls might be useful...
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