Protable Balista Anyone??

[Deodanth]

The Ballista is a staple of old school wargaming, and hence earlier D&D editions. It was featured in at least one AD&D module (A1, I think). In a 3.0e PbEM I ran, one of the PCs wanted to buy or lease a towed dart engine to help defend their caravan. (Similar to a ballista. I didn't let him have one.)

Is it so hard to include realistic campaign items in 4e?

Make the PCs buy feats (along with the Military skill, look out for my writeup on that ) in order to build and fire the thing. Enforce the weight and movement rules for transporting it. Then, let it do 3d10 or maybe 4d8 at heroic tier, add a die at each higher tier. Oh and give it some hardness (or whatever) and HP. The intelligent monsters will gang-bang the ballista and reduce it to a pile of firewood, Age of Empires style, before targeting the warlord and wizard. Game on.

 

[Verdande]

I'd go with what Deodanth said, but is a portable ballista really going to be useful?

From what I understand, they were hellishly difficult to aim, being relegated to artillery status in medieval times- you shot a couple bolts at the oncoming army as fast as possible, without aiming. You'd hit a guy or two and that'd be that.

I'd let them have one, but don't bother statting up damage or range or whatever. I'm pretty sure it's not an effective or efficient weapon or else you'd probably see more of it in real life.

 

[RabidBob]

ballistae are siege weapons.

We knew them as "Gnome throwers".