Kingdom of the Lombards (Age of Charlemagne) Melee Ship

Dromon - Lombard Marines

The word 'dromon' is derived from the Greek word ‘dromao’, which means ‘to run’, and was applied to light, swift vessels built in a variety of forms and sizes. At the very minimum a dromon had a crew of 200; 50 men to the lower bank of oars, 100 on the oars above, and 50 combat marines. It is thought that lateen sails were used rather than square ones, and that for some reason it was armed with a spur at the bow of the ship, rather than a ram. Some were reported to carry pipe-like weapons used to project Greek Fire onto enemy ships.

(Lombard Marines)
In the past, naval warfare was just another way for infantry to fight one another. The earliest documented naval battles are those of ancient China, 'grapple and hook' battles where boarding operations and close-quarters combat decided the victor. During the early Middle Ages, the Frankish navy was of no real distinction, yet Charlemagne did maintain a sizeable navy to defend against Viking raids, which was something other kingdoms generally failed to do. At the time, the distinction between fighting on land and at sea was small, yet chiefly a matter of 'sea legs' - maintaining balance whilst toppling your opponent.

Unit Name Dromon - Lombard Marines

Main Unit Key cha_lom_dromon_marines

Land Unit Key cha_lom_marines

Naval Unit Key cha_dromon

Soldiers 128

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 500

Recruitment Cost 500

Upkeep Cost 150

Hull Strength 2000

└ Ship att_shp_dromon_melee

Speed 6

Melee Attack 29

Melee Damage 40

├ Melee Weapon att_spatha

├ Melee Base Damage 36

├ Armour-piercing Damage 4

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 14

Melee Defence 54

├ Base Defence 29

├ Shield cha_round

└ Shield Defence 25

Armour 6

├ Armour cha_cloth

├ Armour Defence 6

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity cha_infantry_medium

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 36

Abilities

• Douse Fire
  Sacrifice your ship's mobility for a short time to focus effort on putting out the blaze.
• Use the Whip
  Improved defence and fatigue resistance for a short time at the cost of overexertion.

Attributes

• Resistant to Fatigue
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Upgrade
Required Technology Cost 120 Upgrade To
Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Dockyard (cha_bld_port_military_1) Level 1 Shipwright (cha_bld_port_military_2) Level 2

Garrison Buildings
x 1	Dockyard (cha_bld_port_military_1) Level 1 Shipwright (cha_bld_port_military_2) Level 2

Faction Availability
Age of Charlemagne	Duchy of Benevento (Age of Charlemagne) Kingdom of the Lombards (Age of Charlemagne) Italian Rebels (Age of Charlemagne) Italian Separatists (Age of Charlemagne) Lombard Separatists (Age of Charlemagne) Duchy of Spoleto (Age of Charlemagne)