Catapults & Trebuchets!

[Steverooo]

Years ago, I almost bought a chest-tall working trebuchet. I wish I had!

Well, Bonzai-Cat, you could always build your own, if you wanted (or bribe a Player to do it for you, for "Ultimate Power")!

The Trebuchet in the book is 10 x 10 x 18" or so, if I read aright...

 

[The_Dood]

If you're interested in making your own trebuchet, have a look at this site:

http://www.ripcord.ws/

 

[Steverooo]

There was a great show on Nova about building a Trebuchet, lots of good physics in there

NOVA, Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege! Good stuff!

 

[Steverooo]

Years ago, I almost bought a chest-tall working trebuchet. I wish I had!

Is it worth $64, plus S&H, for a kit? If so, that tabletop model looks interesting, although it's the fixed counterweight type, not the "box of rocks" type I'm used to seeing.

Ripcord is a cool site, though! (Where's .WS? Wales?)

 

[CanadienneBacon]

I saw and loved a show on trebuchets about four years ago. If memory serves, it was a mixed American and British crew with some Frenchman input; they built several trebuchets in England and tested them all for worth. The show covered not only design and physics, but also the hand-crafted building technique of each design. I'd thought the program was on the Discovery channel, but it could well have been on Nova. Regardless, the episode totally changed the way I thought about castle design and has been a major influence on all my RPG stronghold creations since.

On that note, there is a fantastic series of books published by Osprey Publishing that cover all kinds of historical, martial, and social influences throughout the ages. One of my favorites has been Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights: The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia (1185-1560). The photographs of ruins, floorplans, sketches, and detailed descriptions and explanations have been good reading and have made for excellent DMing, both. Osprey puts out all kinds of really fantastic books that historians and gamers alike would probably like.

www.ospreypublishing.com is their link. The books run about $16 a pop full retail, are fairly short, but are incredible and useful.

 

[Rel]

Mmmmm...trebuchet!