Siege-E-w-Dis-msg - 1/19/19

Acting as crew on SCA siege engines when you have a disability.

NOTE: See also the files: Deaf-History-bib, disabilities-msg, sign-lang-msg, marshalling-msg, armor-chklst-msg, siege-engines-msg, armor-msg, b-battles-art.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From the fb "SCA Siege Combat" group:

Robert M McCallum
November 30, 2018
Tonight I have a gal who is in a wheelchair, ask if she could try siege. 
I don't know why not, but I told her she would need to have a full heave armor set up. 
Anything else I should worry about for her?

Dirk Hermance 
Depends on your Kingdom rules of course, but IMO there is no reason why they could not find a way to help on the right engine.

Marc Chin 
For her safety, I would heavily cover the Kingdom protocol for declaring yourself dead when attacked, in case an ignorant fighter intends to shield-rush her into the ground. Of course, her understanding that this is a possible outcome on the battlefield, even when all precautions are taken, is critical as well.
~ Miklos von Baeker 
DKEM, Siege - Trimaris

Kevin Cline 
Marc Chin, any fighter that shieldrushes a wheelchair deserves to have their card pulled

Erin Kelly 
Nobody should be shield rushing a siege crew anyway.

Marc Chin
 Getting their card pulled is a fair punishment, but the crew needs to be prepared for the possibility of it happening. 

All siege crew must be aware that being unarmed doesn't prevent them from getting hit; neither does the armor they wear. If they are on the field, in armor, they *might* get hit; this understanding is one of the Rules of The Lyst that must be followed to be authorized.

Kevin Cline 
Marc Chin, getting hit, yes. But a shieldrush against an unarmed person anyway, much less someone in a wheelchair is unexcusable

Marc Chin 
Totally inexcusable...but still possible, which we train for.

Arkhai Nekhurin 
In An Tir, we've had a combat archer in a wheel chair. I see no reason why siege couldn't be possible. And I agree with Marc Chin, above. Make sure she's aware that there are ignorant fighters out there. I would think that a reasonable precaution would be to say that she dies with the engine. That is, if anyone gets within five feet and is fighting, or declares the engine dead, she's off as well.

~ Arqai Ne'urin
DKEM Siege - An Tir

Conrad Crews 
My brother was an amputee and did siege. Loved it. 
I was even planning on building a ballista with a seat that swiveled when he passed.
Think 40mm AA on a ship.

Conrad Crews 
Make her the trigger puller on a treb team

Dirk Hermance 
Or an Onager.

Karl Thorgeirsson 
Make a ballista that was a bit lower in height and Ill bet she would have a blast. I agree with the death along with the engine ruling. Although, I think you should also make her a combat archer. No reason she couldn’t shoot someone getting too close to her engine until they closed the range.

Theadora Perplexa 
Totally! Presuming she wants to, of course!

EJ Metzger 
I've seen someone in an electric wheelchair use a crossbow and a pavise on the heavy field, totally doable!

Grover Richardson 
An easy dead indicator could be a short flexible shaft with a dead sign that goes up when pulled. Or hold a ballista bolt up vertically as an indicator. I hold my crossbow over my head when dead in ca.

Theadora Perplexa 
Let her know the dangers and the options. She's lived in that wheelchair for a while and knows her limits.

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	Siege-E-w-Dis-art	2 of 3