Dungeons & Dragons: How To Use Siege Weapons

It’s surprisingly rare when siege weapons are utilized in Dungeons & Dragons. But when they are, you want to ensure you know what you are doing. Siege weapons allow players the chance to take down a Stronghold’s walls, repeal an impending threat, or help capture creatures where simple ropes and chains fail.

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Siege weapons, although intimidating to incorporate as a Dungeon Master, can help add flavor and style to your combat encounters. As for players, learning how to properly use them to succeed in combat often shows as half the battle!

What Are “Siege Weapons”?

Siege Weapons in Dungeons & Dragons are massive, devastating weapons meant to be used against large structures, invading armies, or gargantuan creatures. They can be used lethally, for entrapment, or any other way with enough creativity.

In the Dungeon Master’s Guide for Dungeons & Dragons 5e, there is a whole section dedicated to Siege Equipment, with some of the most popular being utilized, including:

Siege Equipment

Armor Class / Hitpoints

Attack / Damage

Ballista

AC15 / 50HP

+6 / 3d10 Piercing

Cannon

AC19 / 75HP

+6 / 8d10 Bludgeoning

Siege Tower

AC15 / 200HP

NA

Trebuchet

AC15 / 150HP

+5 / 8d10 Bludgeoning

The key that makes Siege Weapons viable in combat is teamwork. Nearly all of them require multiple people to operate, and it also takes a bit of coordination between the Dungeon Master and their players to make sure things flow smoothly during gameplay.

Incorporating Siege Weapons As A Dungeon Master

As the Dungeon Master, you first should question whether adding Siege Weapons will truly better your game or be a waste of energy. Setting up battle grids, tracking combat, learning the rules, and doing the many tasks of a Dungeon Master can already be exhausting enough, so carefully consider if you can add this element of combat.

If you’re ready to add Siege Weapons, start with which Siege equipment will be used. Is your party planning to invade a fortress? Stop a Dragon? Ask yourself what kinds of Siege Weapons would be in the area in the first place.

Once you have a general list of available options (or at least the ones your players would really like to use), plot out where they will be utilized. They can be scattered along a castle’s walls or hidden in the trees waiting to ambush a target.

Also, consider what kinds of ammunition your players can use if they want to get creative. When firing a massive projectile from a ballista would be jaw-dropping, maybe they will want to instead capture something with a giant net that can be launched from the same weapon.

On a battle grid, Siege Weapons normally are around 2-3 tiles wide (given each tile is a five-foot square), but they can sometimes be even bigger. Also, remember that most Siege Weapons are mobile when enough people push them, so giving them their own tokens may be necessary instead of marking them with a dry-erase marker.

When marking them in the initiative, they can be used in correlation to the “firing player’s” turn or on its own separate initiative if other NPCs operate them. The latter is more common if multiple armies are involved in the fight and the players can only focus on aiming and coordination.

Using Siege Weapons As A Player

As a player, Siege Weapons should be used carefully; don't accidentally destroy something you never intended to hit. Coordinate your intended target with your team, and be sure your Dungeon Master knows exactly how you want to use it.

For example: voice if you want to use a regular cannonball or an exploding barrel to add fire damage. Do you want to sling normal projectiles with a Trebuchet or jugs of toxic gas to smoke a target out from their location?

When using Siege Weapons, they will take an additional turn to reload and aim before being able to fire again. Have one player reload the Siege Weapon while another adjusts and aims the Siege Weapon on the same turn so you can quickly fire again.

A helpful tip for players is to have someone keep track of external threats. With at least two players controlling a single Siege Weapon, be sure that other enemies don’t reach them, throwing off all your plans.

Like other ranged weapons, Siege Weapons also have a maximum range of five hundred to one thousand feet to hit something (varies from weapon to weapon). In addition, if a target gets too close, the siege weapon may not be able to hit them as it is too close to their range.

This reinforces the point that Siege Weapons are used to keep targets away from your location as much as possible because they only have a minimum distance of so far before you will need to engage with your opponents in one-on-one combat.

If you are setting up an ambush, you can load and aim a Siege Weapon while holding your action, meaning you can trigger your attack simultaneously from multiple Siege Weapons to surprise a target.

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