Missile Trireme - Auxiliary Thracian Peltasts
A large contingent of archers can make short work of enemy crews.Light infantrymen, able to move swiftly to counter the enemy, are a useful tool for a Roman general.
Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.
(Auxiliary Thracian Peltasts)
There were some forty tribes of Thracians who shared a common language and culture, inhabiting a vast area north of the Greek city-states. They were seen as war-loving, rebellious, rambunctious, bad enemies, and good allies in a fight. Many Greeks dreaded a time when they would be united under a single leader and sweep southwards. Such a turn of events never happened, but Thracians could be found across much of the Greek and Persian world fighting as mercenaries; they often specialised as skirmishers and light troops. At the Battle of Raphia in 217BC there were Thracians in both opposing armies, ready to do bloody work. The forward curving rhomphaia with its razor-sharp blade and long handle could lop off limbs in the hands of a skilled user, and Thracians were certainly skilled. The most famous Thracian 'general' of all never actually fought an action in Thrace or in command of a Thracian army; he was Spartacus, the commander of the last great slave rebellion against Rome in 73-71BC.
Unit Name Missile Trireme - Auxiliary Thracian Peltasts |
Main Unit Key Aux_Thr_Peltasts_Three |
Land Unit Key Aux_Thr_Peltasts |
Naval Unit Key roman_three |
Soldiers 80 |
Category Medium Ship |
Class Missile Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 600 |
Recruitment Cost 600 |
Upkeep Cost 85 |
32 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin_improved |
├ Projectile javelin_improved |
├ Missile Damage 18 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 14 |
└ Base Reload Time 8 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 70 |
Reload 23 |
Shots Per Minute 10 |
Ammunition 18 |
585 |
└ Ship roman_three |
Ship Speed 6 |
Melee Attack 9 |
32 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_balkan_sword |
├ Melee Damage Base 24 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 8 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 5 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 5 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 5 |
Charge Bonus 4 |
32 |
├ Base Defence 6 |
├ Shield pelta |
└ Shield Defence 26 |
52 |
├ Armour cloth |
├ Armour Defence 27 |
└ Shield Armour 25 |
55 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_light |
├ Man Health 50 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 5 |
Base Morale 30 |
Abilities
Missile Trireme- Row Hard 10
Increases speed for 10 strokes.
Ship speed
- Quick Reload
Improved reloading for an extended time.
Shots per minute
Exertion: fatigue
Attributes
- Resistant to Fatigue
Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit. - Hide (scrub & forest)
This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Missile Trireme- Poor hull strength
- Light crew
- Fast speed
- Weak ramming
- Poor boarding
- Average missile combat
- Short range
- Fast rate of fire
- Very good damage and armour penetration
- Very weak in melee
- Very poor morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Samnite Wars | |
Imperator Augustus |