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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Gears Equipment / Siege Weapons

Portable Siege Weapons

Source Guns & Gears pg. 73
Portable siege weapons require moving in concert and making a single attack supported by the full crew.

Acting in Concert

Source Guns & Gears pg. 73
Because portable siege weapons require coordination, operating one requires following a crew leader. The rest of the crew must Ready an action to be taken when the crew leader calls to attack with the siege weapon. The siege weapon's special activity lists what action they need to Ready. For example, all of the crew operating a battering ram—except the crew leader—need to Ready to Stride. Each portable siege weapon has a special activity the crew leader can take if all the rest of the crew have Readied the necessary action. The number of actions it requires and the other specifics can vary greatly depending on what it takes to operate the weapon. It typically requires the crew leader to make a Strike.

Striking

Source Guns & Gears pg. 73
A Strike with a siege weapon uses the crew leader's attack bonus. The siege weapon's Proficiency entry indicates the weapon category for the siege weapon. The crew leader rolls an attack roll against the target. Any bonuses or penalties the crew leader is taking apply to the attack roll. See the sidebar above for more on how attack abilities work with portable siege weapons.

Bulk

Source Guns & Gears pg. 74
A portable siege weapon has a Bulk entry. This is primarily used when someone is carrying the portable siege weapon around. When it's being used by a crew, this Bulk is distributed among them as they see fit, and it's usually not worth tracking the Bulk unless they're already heavily loaded. If characters try to have more than one of them carry the portable siege weapon when it's not being used (dragging it around a dungeon, for example), this is cumbersome, and they're encumbered due to the challenge of constantly coordinating their movement.