Warfare! (CSH)

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The assault and siege rules provided in the Castle Guide can be used for most battles over space strongholds. The effects of investment and assault are identical in space as they are on the ground. Some new tactics are available to spaceborne besiegers, however, and a few approaches are ineffectual against strongholds that float in the Void (or the phlogiston). This section discusses the differences and provides the DM with additional guidance in handling the special conditions found in space.
==Battles Involving Fortifications==
This section discusses new options available to the attacker in a space-based siege, and new problems that the attacker must face in a three-dimensional environment.
Throughout these rules, it is assumed that the BATTLESYSTEM™ rules for siege warfare are being used in combination with the rules found in the Castle Guide. In those rules, damage is expressed in BATTLESYSTEM rules hits. For simplicity, one BATTLESYSTEM rules hit is deemed equivalent to one SPELLJAMMER® campaign hull point of damage.
Bombing. An obvious method of attacking a space-based stronghold is to drop heavy objects on it. Given the availability of large rocks in space, finding materials for bombing is not difficult.
A ship can launch a rock of up to half its tonnage at a stronghold. To do this, it must tow the rock into the air envelope of the stronghold and remain stationary for one full SPELLJAMMER® campaign turn to aim and drop the stone. The stone falls at the end of the turn. The helmsman of the dropping ship must make an attack roll against AC 6. If the hit is successful, the stone does three BATTLESYSTEM™ rules hits of damage for each 10 tons it weighs. (This is equivalent to the stone traveling at SR 3.)
Stones can also be hurtled at higher speed. In general, a ship can tow a stone one-quarter of its own tonnage at its full spelljamming movement rate. The stone can be launched in a bombing pass, where the ship flies straight toward the stronghold for one full SPELLJAMMER® campaign turn, releases the stone, and then veers off. If the stone hits (vs. AC 2), it does one hull point of damage for every 10 tons of the stone times the launching SR.
Stones hurled at walls inflict damage in accordance with the BATTLESYSTEM™ rules. Stones hurled at roofs inflict 30 points of structural damage (for stone roofs) or 10 points of damage (for wooden roofs), with the remaining damage being inflicted on whatever lies below the damaged roof.
It is up to the DM to decide the availability of rocks for bombing runs. It takes one spelljamming turn to pick up a stone of the correct size.
Ramming. Ships can also be rammed directly into strongholds. While this is a desperation measure, it can be quite effective.
A ship ramming attack against a stronghold is treated as a crash. The stronghold takes damage equal to the crashing ship's current SR plus the ship's current hull point total; the ship is presumed destroyed. (For more information, see Chapter 4 in either the Concordance of Arcane Space or the War Captain's Companion: Book 3.)
Mining. One of the methods of attacking a groundling castle is mining: digging tunnels under the walls to collapse them. Such attacks on space-based strongholds are very difficult, as the area of ground from which a mine might be started are usually within view of the walls and subject to direct attack.
One exception to this, however, is the stronghold that is built on one side of a planetoid. The opposite side, if left unguarded, is an ideal site for starting a mine. While it may be necessary to dig through the gravity plane to reach the walls, this technique is just as effective as on the surface of a world.
Using Large Weapons. As with planet-bound siege warfare, large weapons are generally effective engines of destruction against fortifications. The effects of catapults and ballistae on fortifications are described in the BATTLESYSTEM rules. The effects of rams are described under Ramming, above. Bombards inflict as many BATTLESYSTEM rules hits against fortifications as they inflict hull points of damage against ships. Greek fire projectors are effective against wooden fortifications only, but they inflict as many hull points as hit points damage against these. Jettisons inflict no damage against fortifications.
Critical hits against fortifications are suffered as described in the Concordance of Arcane Space, except that Ship Shaken, Loss of SR, Maneuverability Loss, and Spelljammer Shock! critical hits are inapplicable to large, stationary strongholds. If any of these are rolled, move to the next entry on the list.
Of course, fortifications can also mount large weapons of their own. A small tower can support a greek fire projector or a light catapult, ballista, or jettison. Medium towers can support medium weapons, and large towers can support large weapons and bombards. A large tower can also support two small weapons. Turrets may be mounted on any size tower.
Attacking the Plants. Space strongholds are as vulnerable to the effects of bad air as any ship. On most strongholds, green plants refresh the air envelope continuously. One way to ensure the eventual collapse of a stronghold is to destroy its plants.
As mentioned previously, the atmosphere of a stronghold will normally last a year without needing to be refreshed. Thus, destroying the plants is a very slow way of capturing a stronghold. It is, however, inexorable. Once the air envelope begins to deteriorate, there is little that can be done (short of bringing in more plants) to stop it.
One problem with this technique is that if the besieged hold out until the air is deadly, the stronghold becomes useless to the attackers. It would take special equipment and a large supply of green plants to even begin the task of restoring the atmosphere, and such work would take years.
Each BATTLESYSTEM rules hit directed at plants destroys one 10'x 10' area of plant life, regardless of type.