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[Lore] Explosive Ballista Bolt


oblivionsbane
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Explosive Ballista Bolts

 

-Introduction-

 

          During my characters recent life he has come across the conundrum that fitting his ship with sizeable trebuchets and using them would be nearly impossible. The sweeping of the heavy counterweight alone with the ship being so high off the water could potentially capsize or compromise the righting of the ship. Additionally, during this event the trebuchet could potentially fall off the ship. It is because of this that my character solely uses ballistas on his vessel. The firepower of ballistas is somewhat lacking, however, even when simply attacking other vessels. This is primarily because only a handful of heavy ballistas can be deployed due to their size. The answer my character came to was to attach explosives to the ballista bolts and light a fuse to ignite the explosives well after it had landed and come to rest.

 

-Design-

 

          The design of these bolts is nothing that impressive or complicated in design, and that is what makes it so useful. First, a hole is bored just after the middle of the bolt to a very slight angle. Then, another hole is bored that meets up with the one just bored a bit of a ways away from the first. This is where a jacket of explosives will be placed. Once it is fitted the fuse will go down into the hole and out of the other a safe distance away from the actual explosives. The explosives will then be secured to the bolt using two tightly bound leather belts. Finally, the bolt is loaded into the ballsta, ready to fire. Just before firing the bolt's fuse is lit and is allowed to burn until it recedes into the hole. This is to protect it from any water, air, or other contaminants that could potentially put the fuse out. The bolt will either bust through or stick into whatever it was shot at. The fuse will burn into the explosives and they will explode causing additional damage.

 

-Storage-

 

          The explosive jackets, although not immediately sensitive to water, need to be stored in a dry and cool place. It is because of this that these jackets will be stored in a chest and only be brought out when a fight is assured. The installation of a jacket onto a bolt if both are prepared would only take a little over a minute for someone used to doing so. They are also stored in a chest this way to avoid saboteurs and other risks of the explosives exploding while still aboard the ship. 

 

-Risks-

 

          As you might expect, there are certain risks involving the use of this ammunition, the most obvious being explosive hazard. Although this has already been touched on it should be noted that this ammunition, once fully prepared, is a serious hazard. The bolts would commonly be stored together, and should a serious flame or explosion reach them then an explosion capable of significant destruction would occur. This is a serious risk when employing these weapons. Not only that, however, but it is perfectly acceptable that there would occasionally be a dud among bolts fired. That said, there is a 10% chance of the bolt not exploding once it has reached its target. 

 

-Advantages-

 

          These bolts, when everything goes correctly, are capable of significant destruction rivaling or even exceeding that which is able to be done using a large trebuchet. Although, being ballistas, they still aren't capable of the range of a trebuchet. Thus, they would not be as useful as one might expect during a siege.

 

-Summary-

 

Pros:

-Allows around the same destructive power as a large trebuchet

 

Cons:

-Generally hazardous to use

-Have a small chance of not exploding

-More expensive than a normal ballista bolt

-Needs proper preparation and storage to be used safely and effectively

Edited by oblivionsbane
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Eh, it's cool.

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I'm happy to say that this lore has been Accepted!

 

Go boom.

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