D20 books for seigecraft?

[CCamfield]

Hi all,

I know at one point, several books were released with a war focus, like Cry Havoc and Fields of Blood.

I'm wondering if any of them, magic issues aside, provide details on, for instance... the damage done by boiling oil, the time to dig a tunnel to undermine a wall, the cost (speed? etc) of seige towers, and similar stuff that was used historically during seiges.

(I would plan on using this with Iron Heroes, where magic isn't very common, and I wouldn't expect seiges to be won through spellcasting. If there's magic content too, that's all right, but it wouldn't be of interest to me.)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts...

 

[Thomas Percy]

Heroes of Battle from WotC has good chapter about siege weapons.
Our Strongholds series will cover broad theme of siegecraft and warfare.
I can paste you rules of cauldorn, greek fire/holy water projector and siegecraft skill if you are interested in non-official rules.

 

[The_Universe]

WotC's Stronghold Builder's Guide is also somewhat relevent to your dilemma, I believe. I made extensive use out of it during a D&D game where siegecraft was a primary concern. Wish it had had cannon, though...

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Classic Play Book of Strongholds & Dynasties by Mongoose has a good mass combat system, and includes the rules for siege warfare.

The Auld Grump

 

[CCamfield]

Heroes of Battle from WotC has good chapter about siege weapons.
Our Strongholds series will cover broad theme of siegecraft and warfare.
I can paste you rules of cauldorn, greek fire/holy water projector and siegecraft skill if you are interested in non-official rules.

Sure, I'd be interested in seeing those rules!

It sounds like Strongholds and Dynasties is the more broadly focussed book... some of the other stuff in it might be of interest to me too. Hm.

 

[CCamfield]

Grump, do you have a copy of that book?

I looked at it in a store today, but I didn't buy it. I was looking at the entries for building seige weapons, which said that the stats (for use in combat, I presume!) were in the next chapter. Only, so far as I could see, they weren't. Is that in fact the case?

I don't want to buy a book which Mongoose has had to edit down to fit the page count. The same author's OGL Ancients suffered from having quite a lot of content cut out.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Grump, do you have a copy of that book?

I looked at it in a store today, but I didn't buy it. I was looking at the entries for building seige weapons, which said that the stats (for use in combat, I presume!) were in the next chapter. Only, so far as I could see, they weren't. Is that in fact the case?

I don't want to buy a book which Mongoose has had to edit down to fit the page count. The same author's OGL Ancients suffered from having quite a lot of content cut out.

Ah yes, I had forgotten about that - for some unknown reason the siege weapon stats are in Classic Play Book of the Sea not Strongholds & Dynasties. I bought and use both together, so it tends to slip my mind.

However, the war machine stats are also in the Conan Mass Combat PDF that is available free on the Mongoose website. Be warned, the PDF is not grandma friendly.

The Auld Grump

 

[CCamfield]

Tsk, that is REALLY sloppy of Mongoose. Thanks for the PDF!

Is there anything else that comes to mind as missing from that specific book, but included in other Mongoose books? Maybe I'll stroll over to the Mongoose forums.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

The only other thing that I find missing is the effect of certain Meta-Magic feats on spells used in battle, specifically Widen spell. I handle it by simply doubling the casualties inflicted.

However, I have used OMCS II a lot, so I obviously like it. (Having gone so far as to modify it to work with OGL Steampunk...)

The Auld Grump

 

[genshou]

WotC's Stronghold Builder's Guide is also somewhat relevent to your dilemma, I believe. I made extensive use out of it during a D&D game where siegecraft was a primary concern. Wish it had had cannon, though...

Isn't a ballista that fires lightning bolts enough for you?

Good book, that one. I've made extensive use of it before. It'll get you the stats for the walls and more information on siege tactics, but I'd recommend checking out some of the other products mentioned by fellow Enworlders. Can't hurt to have more ideas to draw from!