MK Marshal's Handbook - Siege Combat

From MiddleWiki

See Marshal's handbook

Siege Combat

For complete information regarding Siege Combat in the Middle Kingdom, including the construction of siege weapons, siege weapon ammunition, and the proper marshalling procedures for Siege Warfare in the Middle Kingdom, see The Middle Kingdom Siege Engines Handbook.

A. General

Siege engines or structures may be used in combat during melees and wars in accordance with the rules set forth in the Siege Engines Handbook.

B. Munitions

1. Siege-class munitions are denoted by being primarily yellow and include ballista bolts and rocks (1-pound [0.45 kg] foam or 4-tennis-ball clusters).

2. Small-arms munitions include single tennis balls and tube shafted combat archery arrows and bolts.

C. Blow Acknowledgment

1. A blow from siege class ammunition to any legal target area shall be judged fatal or completely disabling.

2. Blows from siege class ammunition to shields shall be judged fatal or completely disabling to the bearer of the shield unless otherwise specified by scenario rules.

3. Hand-held weapons struck by siege class munitions shall be considered destroyed.

4. Small-arms munitions fired from siege engines shall be treated as combat archery projectiles.

5. Siege munitions are considered spent upon striking a target, the ground, or a battlefield structure.

D. Destroying Siege Engines.

1. Fighters shall stay clear of moving parts and, when possible, approach siege engines/structures from the side.

2. Striking or thrusting siege engines/structures with hand-held weapons is strictly prohibited.

3. Siege engines may be destroyed by placing a hand-held weapon on the engine/structure and declaring “this weapon is destroyed,” or by being struck by siege-class munitions from another siege engine.

4. Siege engine crews are fully armored combatants and should be treated as would be any other fighter on the field.

5. Siege engineers may not fire their engine while holding any weapon, nor have a weapon dangling from the wrist. Siege Engineers and crew members working on an active siege engine may carry (in their hand) and use only thrown objects (with the exception of thrust and throw javelins) to defend themselves. The crew member may only engage an opponent when they are at least 10 feet away from the engine they are assigned to.

6. If fighting occurs within 5 feet (1.524 m) of an engine that is cocked or loaded, a hold shall be called and the engine shall be declared destroyed and removed from the combat area and made safe.

7. If their engine is destroyed in combat and the Siege Engineer and Siege crew is not dead, they may move to assist another engine that is still active, once their destroyed engine has been safely removed from the field. If there is an engine available for use and/or a Siege engineer who needs a crew, a siege crew member may man and operate the engine with permission of the Siege engineer unless scenario rules prohibit it.

8. Siege Crews and Siege Engineers whose engine has been destroyed and are still alive may operate a reserve engine if they own one, or operate a replacement engine of the same type with permission of the engines owner /engineer if the scenario rules do not prohibit it.

9. Once a destroyed engine is safely removed from the field, any Siege Engineer or Siege crew member of a destroyed engine may return to the field with thrown objects: thrustand-throw javelins, axes, knives, etc., or any weapon they are authorized in unless prohibited by the scenario rules. They must wear the proper armored hand coverage required for the type of weapon they use. Half gauntlets are acceptable for the use of thrown weapons.