1. I heard of several destroyed siege engines. The fastest way is to cut the ropes. Therefore a sword or an axe would be enough. So, there are no "hitpoints" for the rope. A different thing is if you really want to destroy it, then you have to consider the weapon itself. A trebuchet is different from a ballista and therefore you will have to ask a SL on site, if it is enough. I am sure, they will tell you.

3. There is only the landscape you can use. Any things in the way of a marching group can be a risk if it is too narrow or small and therefore would not be allowed.

5. I think, this means that you cannot use chemicals to fire them at your opponents (even water is not allowed) and you cannot use them to fire the weapon itself in any way to accelerate the ammunition. Oil to keep the machine working, for example to reduce the friction should be no problem as long as it doesn't have any contact with the ammunition.

1. I agree with Ijen. Or more specific: to damage a siege engine I would say it takes any normal weapon; the time spent damaging the siege engine is a big factor for the time needed to repair it. To damage it beyond repair you will have to burn it, which needs special equipment and preparation.

2. Since siege engines are part of the rules of sieges, they share some rules with palisades: every siege engine must have one owner who is responsible for it, must show it to the orga, and is allowed to handle/repair it (others may help) (and the part about seige engines adds that only the owner may fire it, too). If you bring it, and if it is approved, you can repair it. There is no skill "build/repair wall" either. And I agree with you, this is a big advantage that you buy with OT money. Like wearing plate armor.

3. You may use anything that is not (OT/IRL) possibly dangerous to a walking person. So I would allow you to use chalk signs (do not use anything that is bad for the environment or hard to get rid of; to use small ammounts of straw would be fine, too). You will have to clean it up, too. But this brings to mind the same question you have to answer for point 4:

4. There is no rule that I know of that tells you how to aim your weapon. There IS a rule, the first and most important rule, what must NOT happen upon impact: "safety for you and your target is always first priority". So while it would be cool to watch a cubic meter of foam material launched over 100m on an advancing enemy, upon impact this would cause a safety hazard if you hit the head (extremly likely in that case). Even more if your target did not see the projectile coming. So range and size of the projectile are limited. There is no exact rule except you have to get clearance for the siege engine, which you might not get if it is too large.

5. siege engines that use chemicals as PROPELLANT are forbidden, same as engines that launch something out of a tube, or with a hard core. So no cannons. Also no fluids as projectile (no waterbombs). But you are allowed to use oil/lubricant within sensible limits to ensure the proper working of your siege engine.



Ultimately: To give clearance for siege engines is a privilege of the heads (though as far as I know, even of those only Fabs and Benny do this). Anything you can get past them, is OK. Everything else, not . I hope what I wrote helps you anticipating what they will accept and what not.

If you are looking for me at the CoM, search for the enemy siege train . "My" artillery guys are looking forward to nuking it out with you.

thanks for the answers!

now as stated in the answer of question 4 range and munitions size are an issue. The rules state only state that siege weapon ammo needs to be at least 20 cm in diameter and it has to be made of foam.

Now there are many different kinds of foam, in different hardnesses. In holland we have for example foam dodgeballs, wich are ment to be thrown hard at people and not hurt. They come in sizes up to 24 cm.

6: are there any more specific guidelines to ammo, or is it just a matter of "the SL on site will decide" ?

7: Would it be okay to take a 24 cm foam ball and paint it black?

8: would it be okay to add a number of layers of latex to a foam ball to make 'fireballs'?

7: Absolutely, if you make sure that the paint will not be washed away by rain, water or anything but stay at the ball. And that it doesnt harden the ball. The paint we used to paint our throwing stones got harder over the time. It still was ok, but you just have to try.

6: You could send a PM to "taurec". He has build more siege engines than the most of us. Maybe he knows more about ammunition rules.

8.: Latex should not harden the ball too much, right? But if you use paint at 7, why not with fireballs, too?

thanks for the answers. I've tried to contact Taurec, but he has not been online since 2009, so im afraid he wont read the message.

and then there is Question 9:

In the rule set it sais we have to get the siege weapons checked by an SL. Is there any way we can contact the SL who will check the weapons in advance to let him/her know have a weapon to be checked?

kind regards,
Orophil

It is possible to give full particulars to the SL and maybe to send some fotos, but a permission can only be given on site; so there will be always a certain risk that you carry along the weapon to the conquest, but the usage will be prohibited finally.

perhaps i was unclear in my question, but what i meant was:

Do we have to let a certain SL know we need him/her to check the weapon before CoM. Like making an appointment of sorts.

kind regards,
Orophil

There are SL in every camp but you should announce you will have siege weapons in your equipment.
Then they know that they have to check it.

Hi Orophil,

while it is true that there is a SL (like me) in every camp, siege weapons will usually NOT (at least the cases where it is not 100% clear from the start) be decided by the normal SL. We have supervisors (so called HEAD's) on site, and those decide the tricky cases.

So you will probably need to talk to Benny or Fabs; but I can tell you already, that they will not make a final decision based on photos.
Also they will probably not drive to your place to check it before the CoM. The only way is to bring it with you and get clearance on site.

Having said that, if you post some photos here, we can give you some advise, so you don't waste a lot of money bringing some siege equipment with you that you cannot use (I know what I am talking about, been there, done that ). But the final decision is with the guys in black.