Try our affiliated browser extension - redirect to BreezeWiki automatically!

Catapult

Three views of a large wooden catapult against a background of snowy hills and trees under a dull blue sky. The catapult has a wide base made of brown wood with four darker wooden plank wheels. A wooden framework supports a wide horizontal tension bow of dark brown material with pointed tips. Its tan string is secured at the top corners of the support and juts upward to the top of a thin black launching arm with tan reinforcement and a dark brown receptacle suitable for a projectile. The launching arm is in a vertical position and appears unloaded. The catapult is pictured at a slight angle, from the side, and from the front, and the screenshots are of different widths and displayed over a white background..

The catapult is a massive moredhel siege weapon in Betrayal at Krondor. It appears in Chapter 5 and also figures in the game's novelization, Krondor: The Betrayal.

Geography

The catapult is located just north of the road east of Raglam, behind a magical trap.

Overview

The heavy wooden device was commissioned by Kroldech for the upcoming moredhel assault on Northwarden. It was built by an engineer in Raglam who, when refused his due pay, removed a vital component, loaded the machine with a magically poisonous payload, and left it aimed at Kroldech's headquarters, intending to kill Kroldech as an act of revenge.

Though similar to models used in the Kingdom, it is a marvel of moredhel engineering, making up for a lack of artistry in precision craftsmanship.

Chapter 5

James, Patrus, and Locklear stand in front of a magical trap on a bluish white snowy field with a light blue grid overlaid to display distance. The trap consists of an opaque crystal between two transparent crystals; a fireball cannon at far left, pointing right; a set of two electric poles topped with round red crystals; and a second fireball cannon at far right, pointing left toward the area between the two poles. Patrus is standing in front of the opaque crystal, which can be pushed one space to activate the left cannon without deactivating the poles. Locklear is standing in front of the right transparent crystal, which can be pushed forward until it no longer blocks the way as the opaque crystal blocks the left cannon and the poles block the right cannon. Beyond the trap, the four wheeled wooden base of a massive catapult stands against the snowy background.

Coming upon the catapult on their way to Raglam, the party is awed to find a marvelous catapult standing at the side of the road. Approaching it triggers a trap, which they can disarm by pushing the opaque crystal one space forward, pushing the rightmost transparent crystal forward until it is possible to move left, and proceeding left and forward until the trap is cleared.

They conducts a thorough examination of the catapult's firing and trigger mechanisms and observes that while it is in generally good condition, one of its torsion gears is broken. Realizing that it is aimed at Raglam, they speculate that since the broken gear is not a difficult repair, it might be the work of a moredhel clan displeased at fighting under Murmandamus's old colors, readied for a swift strike at Raglam if they decide to back out of the Kingdom invasion. They can learn its actual history, along with the location of the missing gear, by visiting the engineer in Raglam.

After retrieving the gear, the party takes two hours to replace it and fix the mechanism. They can then choose to launch the catapult's payload, killing Kroldech, and retrieve vital battle plans and a Sword of Lims-Kragma from his headquarters. If they interact with it the catapult again, they can repeat the launch and admire the mechanism's smooth operation, though doing so has no further practical effect.

Trivia

  • The catapult can be found with the Eyes of Ishap spell, indicating that it is a "vessel." This may be because the catapult gear is placed into it, though this does not make the catapult a cache and the gear cannot be retrieved.
  • The gear's role in the catapult's operation is unclear. As the sprite has tension arms resembling those of a ballista, it is likely that the gear is part of the winch by which the bow is drawn and held in place before firing.