Dropping Missiles from Walls

Rocks: One of the most effective and easiest defenses against escalading attackers was a large, weighty piece of rock or stone dropped from above onto the heads of the besiegers. A rock dropped down a ladder will kill the first climber, and the second and third men on the ladder must roll a die to see if they survive, 1-3 saving the second and 1-5 saving the third. When thrown down on top of siege equipment and war machines rocks will do 1 point of damage.

Note: Men active on the castle wall can at best claim the protection of soft cover from missiles being fired at them from outside the walls.

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A unit can be listed in a scenario description as being armed with weapons that can be dropped on an attacker. Alternately, certain walltop positions within a defense can be protected with such weapons, usable by any unit garrisoning that location.

The roster notation for an attack with dropped missiles—rocks, cauldrons of oil, and so forth—is an AD number in parentheses.

Missiles can be dropped during the Melee Combat Step by any defending figures that are not in contact with enemy figures (because of the defender's higher elevation) but have those figures adjacent to them at the bottom of a wall or other precipice. This attack must be made instead of a figure's normal melee attack.

Also, dropped missiles can be used as pass-through fire during the enemy's movement step when enemy figures are scaling a wall or other barrier that a friendly unit is attempting to hold. Figures that make this pass-through attack are still eligible to fight in the Melee Combat Step of the same turn.

Dropped missiles can sometimes negate the armor protection of the target unit. If the missiles are small rocks (less than 1 foot in diameter) or regular weapons (such as spears), the defender is allowed normal armor checks. But if the missiles are large rocks, or hot (boiling oil) or corrosive (acid, green slime) substances, the defender is allowed no armor checks.