Hello All!
I've got a question and I hope that there is an official clarification to it.
Let's assume we have Heavy Ballista. It's located on the top of castle tower and enemy ogres attack castle.
Crew: 3
Aim: 2
Load: 3
So, what does it mean?
1. Each time target moves we need to use 'Aim Actions' or we need to use them only when we switch targets?
2. Round figures (2 to aim, 3 to load) mean
a) that all crew members must spend full-round actions (so if we aim and reload we can fire only once per 5 rounds)
b) or it means that we just need to spend these full-round actions in total (so it would mean that we can fire every 2 rounds?)
"b" seems tempting... but looking to heavy trebuchet or heavy cannon... it would basically mean that those weapons could be fired again every 2 rounds? Seems really too fast. TOO FAST.
Anyone? :)
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Okay, a more specific one:
You've got 3 humans manning your heavy ballista. The Crew Leader has the Exotic Weapon Proficiency, but no other feats.
1. For aiming, you target a creature. Each time you change your target, you have to start aiming again. There are also penalties on the attack roll if your target is smaller than the ballista (see direct fire siege weapon rules).
2. As I read it, the load action is performed by the crew, so with 3 medium crew working together, they can load in one round if they all perform full round load actions.
Regarding aiming, as it is written, the aiming is entirely done by the "Crew Leader". So, it would take 2 full rounds to aim. As mentioned in the description, the Master Siege Engineer feat reduces these to move actions, so with a double move, you could do this in one round.
As for attacking, again, this is done by only the "Crew Leader" and requires a further Standard action. Given that Ogres are Large Creatures, you'd be at -2 to hit with a Heavy Ballista (because it is one size category larger than the Ogre).
So, your looking at a Shot every 4 rounds, with a normal medium crew and no additional feats. As I read it, Only the Crew Leader is required for 3 of these rounds, so you should be able to have the PCs doing other things during the aiming and attacking phases of the operation.
I will note, that my interpretation of the crew not being required for aiming assumes that the ballista doesn't require any actual movement beyond slight adjustments easily done by one person. If actually rotating the ballista, you'd probably be doing that with movement rules for siege engines, not the aim action. Aiming for a siege weapon is mostly a matter of adjusting for distance you intend to fire - it should already be facing the target when deployed.
If targeting a moving target, I highly recommend using readied actions for the actual attack roll and picking a stationary spot when aiming. A ballista isn't designed to be moved much when firing, so the act of aiming is more in timing when the target will line up with your sights, rather than moving the ballista to target the enemy.
Using a siege engine is really hard without a proper siege engineer (someone with the Master Siege Engineer feat). With it, however, things are much easier.
With Master Siege Engineer and 2 other mooks,
Move Action x3 = Reload
(Standard) Move Action x2 = Aim
Standard Action x1 = Fire
This is one shot per round.
With just 3 mooks (no Master Siege Engineer):
(Round 1) Full Round x 3 = Reload
(Round 2) Full Round x 2 = Aim; Standard x 1 = Fire
This is one shot every other round.
How are the "mooks" aiming?
Poorly? Really, though, anyone can be a member of the crew, it doesn't define any stat or skill requirements to just crew the machine. It is the Crew Leader who is the one actually controlling the crew, and their aiming, reloading, etc.
