I also believe it would be illegal...

okay, another , my old account is working again!!!

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Ours is the fury!

My correction:
Dwarf Ballista have a 3" scatter with their Accurate benefit/special ability.

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Free speech carries with it some freedom to listen. -B.M.

I would say yes due to playing repeated play against my friend's non-thematical, LoME-illegal, giant phalanx of Uruk-hai and Goblins. He rarely takes Heroes when playing Evil and Trolls even less which allows him to outnumber most lists I play (Rohan still owns Phalanx without Dwarf Seige Weapons). The Twin Ballistae works nicely in tandem with my cavalry as I upgrade them with Superior Construction and start punishing the Phalanx from Turn One. Yes, I only hit half the time, but when firing at a giant blob of warriors in close formation I only need a four on the scatter chart so that I hit someone.

Then that sorry little Uruk goes flying D6 backwards knocking everyone behind him prone (possibly killing the occasional one) and dies. Then my opponent either a) struggles to reform the phalanx b) scatters to the four winds or c) tries rushing the seige engines.

Option A just leaves him stranded, taking casualties and being battered until my cavalry feels like putting him out of his misery.
Option B has my cavalry rushing in and routing the enemy while avoiding heavy resistance(further softened by Ballistae).
Option C is the most dangerous for both of us as often the mad rush at the Ballistae makes a juicer target than the phalanx and I have to be wary not to let him get too close.

Again, this is against a less experienced player who doesn't adapt very quickly. I prefer the Ballistae to Dwarf Rangers (which are very un-dwarven things) as it has superior range and power against heavily armoured blocks of infantry as well as a decent Defense value. It also makes a good anti-cavalry tool. Just watch bolts plow through horse and rider alike, blunting a charge in an entertaining manner. However, it depends on both who you play and what they play.

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I've been wondering what would happen if a ballista weapon hit a calvery unit would do. Do you roll to hit the horse and rider, and if so and the horse is hit and flung back, does the rider come with or just end up like a cartoon all and then fall 2 feet to the ground where his steed was standing? Or do you just fling back both and call the hit on the rider?

Correction: Scatter Chart says I'd still hit an Uruk if I roll above a 2 and specifically targeted uruk on a 6.

The Seige Rules state that the mount, rider and all passengers are hit and knocked to the ground (but wounds rolled separately) if a seige engine hits a cavalry model. I'd assume that like Sorcerous Blast, a bolt with the Piercing Shot special rule would throw both mount and rider D6 inches back before they are knocked to the ground.

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http://knightscharge.wordpress.com/
- My miniature gaming blog, sorry for lack of LOTR content right now.

The ballistae are like many high-point things. They can either be very good and totally worth the points, or very bad and a huge waste. In one game against my friend who uses dwarves, his ballista did almost nothing the entire game. The next time, in a massive 2v2 game, one of his ballistae hit my ally's Mumak howda. Unfortunately, after looking through the rules, we determined that the howda was a battlefield target, and so it was destroyed outright. For the rest of the game, that riderless Mumak plagued my entire team, stampeding toward us half the time and causing us to take the long way around. (My ally's entire army was actually 2 Mumaks with a bunch of upgrades for fun, so that effectively destroyed half her army!). The entire rest of the game the ballistae did almost nothing.
So it really depends on the game. They aren't exactly reliable, but when they do work, it's pretty epic. I would probably use them more for friendly games, or only use one in a tournament-type setting.

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God bless you!

Forth Eorlingas!

I have to disagree with all of you guys. If the opponent has his troops in more than one rank and in a tight formation, then the ballista can be deadly. It will certainly hit something no matter what since all the enemy troops will be within range of the scatter chart plus its special rule will ensure that it hits beyond the first line. And I think we underestimate the fact that it can take out heroes in one shot. I believe what's most important with the ballista is the targets you choose and where you place the ballista initially. If you manage these to I strongly believe that it's more that worth it's points.