Scooper

Looking every bit like a catapult, this curious device is designed to help sapping attempts by literally scooping off a wall’s foundations.

Ultimate Equipment Guide II

Author Greg Lynch, J. C. Alvarez
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2005

The device is exactly the same as a catapult, in appearance and size; it even requires the same amount of soldiers to man. The only difference is a scooper’s mechanism allows for a different kind movement, by which the scooper can dig into the earth with its arm and actually dig out the foundations of a fortress. It is possible to modify a normal catapult and turn it into a scooper, or vice versa, by a relatively simple process costing 250 gold pieces.

A scooper is totally ineffective at a distance, so it must rely on surprise and distraction to approach its target enough to be effective. Once it is within ten feet of a fortress wall, beginning a digging task takes two full-round actions; one to move the scooper in position and another to start digging out the earth. From this point on, a scooper deals 1d6 points of damage to the affected wall for every two rounds it keeps digging. A wall’s hardness does not count against this damage, as it is directed not at its structure but at sapping the earth it stands on.

At least four crewmen are required to begin and maintain the scooper’s digging function. For every crewmember below four, double the number of rounds required to deal 1d6 points of damage to the structure.

Scooper: 750 gp; Dmg 1d6 (every 2 rnds); Critical -; Range -; Typical Crew 4