Cannons are used to destroy city walls or break up large troop formations. They are rare on Golarion, but do exist. Each cannon requires a crew of four to aim and load. The leader of the weapon’s crew makes the Shooting roll.
Bombard: Assuming they have a rough idea of their target’s location, bombards may fire at targets they cannot see by lobbing projectiles over intervening terrain or obstacles. Bombarding suffers a -4 penalty in addition to all other modifiers, and doubles deviation when the Shooting roll is failed (see Area Effect Attacks). Reduce the penalty to -2 with precise coordinates (such as from a skilled spotter).
On Golarion, cannons only fire solid shot ammunition.
Solid Shot: Heavy balls of iron, lead, or stone designed to batter walls or plow through packed ranks of troops. To fire, the leader of the crew makes a Shooting roll as usual. If successful, roll a die. If even, it bounces to another victim behind and within 6” of the first and hits him as well. Continue in this way until the die roll is odd.
Type Range Damage AP RoF Blast Weight Cost
Solid Shot 50/100/200 3d6+1 4 1 MBT — —
Notes: Heavy Weapon, Reload 8. Two crew members may reload at the same time.
Catapults and trebuchets are mechanical devices that hurl large stones at enemy defenses or ranks of troops. They normally require a crew of eight to load the projectile, crank down the lever that propels it, then sight and aim it. Firing can be done by a single person, but loading the projectile takes at least four.
A ballista is a mechanical engine designed to fire a massive crossbow bolt. One person can fire the device (Shooting). One person can reload, although it’s faster with two people.
A ram is a movable scaffold with a heavy wooden pole suspended by rope or chains. A crew of at least two is needed to swing the ram pole to batter another object. Up to eight people can swing the ram, with the leader making the attack roll and others providing Support.
A siege tower is a massive wooden tower on wheels, designed for scaling walls. Moving the structure requires at least a crew of eight, who can push the device at Pace 1 from within the tower on the ground (double that if 16 individuals push the tower, and triple it if 24 push). Those within have complete cover and solid wooden walls until the ramp drops, usually at the highest level. Some siege towers may have arrow slits on the higher levels as well, allowing archers to fire as they approach the enemy walls.
Type Range Damage AP RoF Blast Weight Cost
Ballista 15/30/60 3d6 4 Special — — 500 gp
Notes: Heavy Weapon, Reload time is five minutes for a solo operator, or two minutes with a crew of two.
Catapult 24/48/96 3d6 4 Special MBT — 800 gp
Notes: Heavy Weapon, Reload time is every five minutes with a crew of four.
Ram — 3d6 — — — — 1,000 gp
Notes: Not a ranged weapon, used to batter objects. See Breaking Things.
Siege Tower — — — — — — 2,000 gp
Notes: Not a ranged weapon, used to scale walls; shooters can fire from upper floors.
Trebuchet 30/60/120 3d8 4 Special MBT — 1,000 gp
Notes: Heavy Weapon, Reload time is every five minutes with a crew of four.