Arcane Ballista

"READY!!!" said Commander Ishil ir'Vorn to no one in particular.

"You do realize that no one can hear you shouting from way over here?" ask his bewildered apprentice as the two looked over the valley below and at the forces of Breland and Thrane pitched in a heated battle for the past three days.

"True, the troops below might not hear me, but that is not who I am barking orders at." Ishil leaned down and pointed so his apprentice could see the clearing on the far side, barely visible from the valley floor. There, hidden among the trees were a dozen of them. Covered in tarps and with noone manning them, twelve animated ballista rolled silently into position at the mouth of mountain pass.

"AIM!!!" shouted the Commander, almost deafening his apprentice's ears. As one, the ballista turned into position, their fiery bolts now lit and ready to mow down the impudent Brelish troops. As the commander straightened his back and drank some of the warm soup his apprentice had been cooking, he handed the young girl the medallion of office he always wore. The medallion of command.

"Sire, are... are you sure?"

"Go ahead. You'll be graduating in a month. What better story to tell your peers..."

The young girl didn't know any of the Brelish troops. Didn't know why they would dare invade the holy land of Thrane. She couldn't imagine that they were bad people as all the other knights and priests keep shouting. But she did know about the burnt villages along Thrane's southern border. She did know that, somewhere out there in the muck, was her father, fighting for his life. And that the Brelish had foolishly put their backs to a dozen loaded siege engines. She knew that too.

"FIRE!!!"

Arcane ballista are animated siege weapons, used throughout the history of the Last War. Given their ability to move, reload and fire upon their own, they were often used in situations were cover fire was needed, but at the cost of loosing valuable resources. Since the end of the Last War, many of this magical war machines were destroyed, but some can still be found in the Mournland or at Cannith outposts.

Construction:

Arcane ballistas are crafted around a masterwork heavy ballista mounted on a mobile stand. The body itself costs a total of 1,000 gp (850 for the masterwork ballista and 150 gp for the stand). As part of the initial crafting, the arcane ballista must have a total of a +5 enhancement bonus (including at least one special weapon quality) under the same rules as enchanting a masterwork ballista. By default, arcane ballista are enchanted with +3 Flaming Burst, but this is only one of hundreds of possible combinations. It is possible to improve on this enchantment, up to the normal +10 maximum, but it will increase the necessary cost and caster level appropriately for the upgrade. Lastly, a pint of blood must be donated from the creature that the arcane ballista will call master. Arcane ballista an be created with additional Hit Dice, each additional an additional 5,000 gp to the base cost.

Caster Level: 12th; Price: 75,000 gp

Requirements: Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Geas / Quest, Telekinesis and the spells necessary for its weapon enchantments (usually Flame Blade, Flame Strike or Fireball); Skill: Craft (weaponsmithing) DC 25; Cost: 38,000 gp.