Breaching the Walls

Sometimes an attacker has no options but to breach the castle’s walls. In medieval times, this was attempted using a wide variety of siege engines--catapults, rams, and the like--which are discussed in more detail in a later section. Generally speaking, these siege engines had minimal effect on a well-built and stoutly-defended castle.

In the early Renaissance period, however, matters changed. Cannon appeared on the battlefield, and the days of the castle were numbered. Most AD&D game campaigns take place in worlds where gunpowder either doesn’t explode or hasn’t been discovered. The BATTLESYSTEM rules bring in arquebusiers, however, and thus open the door for other firearms…including cannon, used by both defender and attacker. Details on siege guns are given in a later section.

The BATTLESYSTEM rules (page 82) list the number of hits certain building features can take before being destroyed. While the information provided there is fine for most miniatures games, it must be expanded upon for use here.

The figures given for walls refer to sections 3” (30’ scale) long. When the section is reduced to zero hits, a breach 1” wide appears in the middle of the 3” section. This isn’t an instantaneous matter, of course, and if two breaches are created 1” or less apart, the wall between the breaches collapses as well.

When an object such as a gate or a wall is reduced to zero hits, it doesn’t simply disappear: wreckage or rubble is inevitably left behind. In the case of doors or gates, the wreckage is considered to be an obstacle (i.e., it costs 4” of movement to cross it). Troops receive a -1 modifier to their AR against missile fire that passes through such an obstacle.

When a wall is breached, it collapses into rubble. This pile of shattered rock is considered as rough/rocky terrain for movement and combat purposes. Troops “holding the breach” will almost always be at a higher elevation than troops attacking into the breach. A breach is nobody’s “favored terrain.”

Note: This method is quite different from the system described on page 76 of the AD&D 2nd Edition DUNGEON MASTER Guide. While the latter method is useful for “quick and dirty” situations where the DM has to decide the results of a PC’s or NPC’s actions, the system described above and in the BATTLESYSTEM rules is a more thorough and consistent treatment of the subject.