| Darkeness66 |
This one has been floating around awhile, but I ran into the issue myself so based on my research here is a link: wikipedia ... Ballista
If you scroll down you will see a picture of a small ballista on a stand. That is the targeting platform being referenced I believe.
Here is some relevant text that caught my eye:
Quote:
As the role of battlefield artillery became more sophisticated, a universal joint (which was invented just for this function) was integrated into the ballista's stand, allowing the operators to alter the trajectory and firing direction of the ballista as required without a lengthy disassembly of the machine.
How much would this cost? I would say about 1/5 the price of the ballista itself (not having the actual price handy).
As to this item making feats & skills irrelevant. I would say that yes it would. Perhaps a better way to handle the issue would be the targeting platform gives a bonus to hit, making it useful to the trained and untrained alike.