I. General:

1. The Earl Marshals of Meridies, Trimaris, and Ansteorra, or their designated representatives, are responsible for the inspection all siege engines.

2. All siege equipment will be inspected for appearance, design, and structure, and tested for function and safety.

3. Siege Engine crews must be armored in at least the minimum required by their kingdom and be authorized in armored combat as fighters or archers.

4. Siege engines must have a period appearance, no visible mundanities such as duct tape, bungie cords, or florescent paint.  Every attempt should be made at an authentic appearance.

5. The siege engine must have been in use prior to 1500.  Be prepared with documentation if challenged.

6. Scale, although it is unfeasible to design every type of siege engine to scale, a reasonable attempt should be made to make the engine of appropriate size to the real thing.  In other words, a normal crossbow mounted on a tripod does not equal a balista.

7. Siege engines and ammo are representational of period siege weapons.  As such they will have specific rules regarding their firing, destruction, and damage inflicted.

II. Siege Engines are divided into two types: Firing and Non-firing:

1. Firing engines are sub-divided into two types,: Direct fire (ex. balistas) and Indirect fire engines (ex. catapults)

2. Non-firing engines are platforms, ladders, etc..

III. Firing Siege Engines:

1. The engine is safe to the firing crew, no dangerous miss fires.

2. The engine is safe to the target, general rule of thumb, it hits no harder than a spear thrust to the body.  It will not knock someone down or stagger them.  The creators are willing to be hit by the weapon.

3. The engine may not be discharged at a target within 10' and there is a no personnel zone of at least 5' in front of the weapon. ( these ranges may increase depending on the type of weapon, it is the responsibility of the crew to enforce these zones)

4. The engine has an overall period appearance and is a siege weapon that was used prior to 1500.  (i.e. no rocket launchers and no bright pink spandex tubing)

5. The engine must be mounted, siege engines cannot be hand held.

6. No pyrotechnics, gases, or chemical propellants.

7. The engine will be test fired for the marshals at least three times without incident.

IV. Non-firing Engines

1. Ramps and ladders must be sturdy and have a stability mechanism (i.e. two people holding the ladder unto the wall, stable platform, locking wheels, etc.)

2. Platforms must be durably constructed and have a posted weight limit. (i.e. total # of fighters allowed onboard)

3. The engine has an overall period appearance and is a siege engine that was used prior to 1500.

4. The engine must have no jutting points under 2" diameter, and no exposed metal or bolts etc.

5. The engine will be tested for the marshals for the use it was designed for without incident.

V. Ammo

1. Ammo should weigh no more than four tennis balls or one pound.

2. Ammo should be constructed of a durable substance that will not shatter, splinter, or break apart.

3. Ammo should be padded to allow 1/2" of progressive give.  (Tennis balls are fine unpadded)

4. Ammo should be securely taped with strapping tape and duct tape.

5. Ammo impact points (i.e. bolt tips, simulated spikes etc.) should be constructed the same as a thrusting tip and be at least 2" in diameter.

6. No counter weights of any type may be inside or outside of the ammo.  (no beans, rebar, rocks, golf balls, etc. are allowed in ammo).

7. Balista bolts shall be at least 3' in length and have a shaft constructed of either a golf tube or 1" schedule 40 pvc.  If made of pvc the shaft must be taped length wise with strapping tape.

8. Balista bolts must be fletched, and the tip must be at least 2" diameter with 1/2" of progressive give.

VI. Combat conventions for Siege engines:

1. Siege engines must have a minimum number of 3 crew members in order to fire.

2. Miss fires of cannons will result in crew death.

3. Un-armed crew members are considered touch kill.

4. Damage to fighters, structures, and engines from ammo is determined by the ammo size and design.

5. Large ammo: three to four tennis balls or equivalent is considered large ammo (big rocks) and destroys everything it touches.  (Except for structures which may require multiple hits.)

6. Small ammo: Single tennis balls or equivalent are called the same as mace shots.

7. Balista bolts are kills anywhere they hit a fighter, including the shield.

8. Balista bolts can destroy pavaises and kill whoever is directly behind.

9. Siege engines are destroyed if they are hit by a large ammo from another siege engine.

10. Cannons and crew are destroyed if hit by a large ammo from another siege engine.

11. Non-firing engines may have multiple hits determined by the marshallate depending on their design.

12. Engines may be protected from archery fire by pavaises, but this does not protect them other siege engine fire.

13. Pavaises are destroyed by siege engine large ammo or balista bolts.

14. Siege engines can be destroyed if they are under control of the opposite force.  Control is defined as replacement of crew members. (in other words, it takes three fighters to destroy a engine, but they have to declare such)

15. When engines are destroyed they are either removed from the field or turned over on their side.

16. Siege engines that are man powered such as battering rams will have a minimum number of personal to be effective.  This number will be decided by the designer and the marshals.

17. Bounce shots off of the ground or rolling shots from siege engines are not counted.

VII. Special Rules:

1. Large rocks dropped from towers are considered the same as small ammo from an engine.

2. Rules for engines or weapons that are not covered by these rules will be allowed or disallowed by the marshallate at the time of inspection.

These Rules are taken directly from Gulf Wars Rules and they deserve the credit for their creation.