+7 Combat Strength when defending.

Artillery crews – those manning the catapults and cannons – tended to be killed quickly if enemy troops reached them. The crew’s specialty was long distances, not hand-to-hand combat. But, most artillerists were lightly armed in the eventuality of things going horribly wrong; Roman artillery crew, for instance, had pilum to defend against enemy foot-soldiers that reached them, hopefully holding them off until other legionnaires could arrive. With the arrival of gunpowder, and advances in tactics (where cavalry were seen as the primary counter to field artillery), artillery crews were armed with pistols and short swords, and could of course use their tools (ramrods, spikes, shovels, and such) to fend off the unwanted attentions of enemy soldiers.