fatal

During a siege, the besiegers may attempt
to mine through or under a wall. A tunnel may only
be dug in ground that is neither marshy or rocky.
When underneath a moat or wall, miners support
the ceiling of the tunnel with wooden timbers. If
the goal is to collapse the wall, then the miners fill
the end of the tunnel with flammable materials, ignite
them, and retreat. Another goal of mining is
to tunnel into the fortification so that soldiers may
enter with surprise. However, it is common for
defenders to set a small bowl of water atop a wall
and watch for ripples, which may detect mining.
Defenders may dig a counter-mine to intercept the
miners. Once intercepted, they may be attacked or
smoked out of the mine. If successful, the counterminers
will collapse the mine.
If a portion of a wall is toppled, then defenders
often surrender when the wall topples to
avoid bloodshed. Throughout the siege, the heralds
of the besieger attempt to convince the defender
that it is never too early to surrender. The
defender, however, has much at stake. Even if a
surrender is successful and honored, the defender
may be sentenced to death by their allies for allowing
the loss of the fortification without every possible
measure taken.
Assuming that time is not a concern and that
reinforcements will not arrive for the defender, a
common strategy for the besieger is not to attack at
all, but to prevent all entry and exit. In time, the
defenders will starve, quarrel with each other, and
surrender. However, this strategy might take
months, and in the meantime, the besieger’s army
must be paid and fed.
Upon encountering moats and ditches, besiegers
often attempt to fill them with dirt or bundles
of wood. Nevertheless, depending on the quality
of the fortification, the defender usually has the favored
position when a besieger simply attempts to
directly storm the fortification.
When storming a fortification, a thoughtful
tactic is called a testudo formation. Warriors in a
testudo formation carry body shields, stand close
together, and hold their shields over their heads. This
formation significantly reduces damage from mis-
siles above.
825
Using Siege Weapons
Most siege weapons require multiple characters
to use. To use such a siege weapon, whoever
is in charge of the siege weapon must make a
Weapon (Specific) skill check (see Ch. 8: Skills).
However, aiming at characters or objects is different
with siege weapons than it is with traditional
melee or missile weapons. Consult the table below
to determine the CA of a target when using a catapult,
lithobolus, onager, or trebuchet:
Target Size
Curre
nt
Armor
Humanoid10 Carriage15 Building, 20'
x 20'
x 20'
20
Smallkeep, 100'
x 100'
x 100'
25
Castle, 1,
000'
x 1,
000'
x 1,
000'
30
Largecity35 Raising an Army
While cultures and states differ, generally
speaking the most effective humanoid armies consist
of professional, paid warriors. Mercenaries play
a vital role, as well as soldiers (see Chap. 7: Occupation).
Mercenaries are popular because maintaining
private armies is expensive. Oftentimes, each landholder
is obligated to render 40 days of armed service
to their lord. Though, this depends on how
much land is held and the original arrangement. It
is expected that landowners are the most motivated
warriors, because they may lose their homes. However,
raising landowners as warriors is often ineffective.
For instance, when the obligatory term of 40
days expired, landowners quickly abandon the army.
Since most military campaigns outlast 40 days, this
can be disruptive and dangerous.
Elsewhere, it is popular for the landowners
to be paid for service instead of obligated to 40
days. Usually, enlisted soldiers are paid every 90 days.
Moreover, upon retirement from the army, it is customary
that a plot of land or fixed sum of money
will be granted to the warrior. Regardless, of how
an army is raised, it is rare to find an army larger
than 10,000 warriors.
1. Information on siege warfare has been referenced from The Medieval Fortress and Life in a Medieval Castle. For more
information, see the References section at the end of this book.
Chapter 18: Warfare