Jefferson wrote: >Andrew Janssen wrote: > > >>No, they use leather. The apron is actually a number of leather strips >>with metal plates riveted on, and with small bronze weights at the ends. >> >> > >I admit I'm not extensively familiar with the Roman period, but I don't see >how this is lighter, cheaper, or more protective than a skirt of mail. >Mercenary pikemen c. 1300 used something similar, albeit with much less metal, >as a jerkin and switched to mail as soon as they could afford it. > > > The leather straps are only in front of the groin, and they are suspended from the legionary's belt. Most soldiers tucked the ends of the straps into the belt. The center of the Roman's tactical doctrine was the ability of the legionaries to move quickly--to further that end, Roman soldiers wore no leg protection. Similarly, the use of the narrow apron of metal-covered leather straps rather than a chain skirt. >>I assumed that it would be understood that "some assembly is required". >>And it is an onager, not a trebuchet. >> >> > >Each onager requires about 1/4 mile of twisted animal sinew, with all the >problems involved with animal products. With the level of technology avalable >on Qaiyore a counterweight-driven trebuchet is lighter, cheaper, and more >effective. > > > Hm, good point. I might make the change. However, which one would be quicker to set up? The Cedonians would definitely prefer whichever weapon takes less time to set up in the field, because even though the onager is considered a siege engine, it was also used as an anti-personnel weapon. Also, as far as I can tell from my source material, the Roman onagers used rope rather than sinew to provide the onager's torsion coil. >>There are no seperate specialist >>units in the army. Legionaries with specialist skills are called >>'immunes' and are exempt from being assigned heavy fatigues by the >>centurions; they also receive 1.5x the pay of an ordinary legionary. A >>short list of immunes would include surveyors, medics, ballista & onager >>crews, smiths of all sorts, clerks, butchers, and millers. All >>legionaries are expected to know how dig a proper ditch. If heavier >>siege equipment than the legion normally carries is needed, the >>appropriate immunes can construct it. >> >>Spring-ballistae would be a better description--the projective power >>comes from two vertical torsion coils at the front, the bow arms then >>being winched back, and the bowstring held by a catch. >> >> > >There are two types of ballistae, called "bolt throwers" and "stone throwers" >in some sources. In the first a simple rope is stretched between the two >torsion arms (line ballista). The second uses a more complicated arrangement >where multiple ropes are attached to a sort of leather sling (sling ballista). > Personally, I prefer the sling ballista for my concultures. It can't throw >a bolt as far, is more expensive, and more likely to fail, but a line ballista >can't throw stones or similar objects at all. (The two different types are >seldom-to-never used together because using a bolt designed for the other >machine is likely to wreck the firing machine.) > > > Cedonians would definitely use line ballistas, then. From their point of view, they want range and reliability in a field engine. Specifically, they use what the Romans called the Chieroballista, which has a spring frame made of steel, and bronze cylinders encasing the torsion coils. >Jefferson (Exquaestio) >http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/Exq_Main.html >---------------------------------------------------------------- >To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
