

Barbed Lancers
What these men lack in style, they make up for with sheer power.Developed during their early part of the 1st century AD by the eastern empires of the time, the ‘kontos’ lance was at least four metres long. Designed to be used by cavalrymen, it was initially fielded by the cataphracts and clibinarii of Parthia and its successors, the Sassanid Persians. In fact the Parthian cataphracts who annihilated the Roman army at the Battle of Carrhae in 55BC may also have used an early version of the kontos. Literally as long as a bargepole, from where it gets its Greek name, a kontos was generally used two-handed whilst its wielder controlled their horse using both knees to indicate speed and direction. Later on, Rome faced this deadly new cavalry weapon again at the hands of the brutal steppe nomads who raided its borders during the 3rd century AD. As a reaction to having faced lance-armed warriors and come off worse, the Romans soon had their own version, spelled ‘contus’. The contus lance was still in use 1,000 years later by the Roman Empire’s successors - the Byzantines in the east and the Germanic peoples in the west.
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Unit Name Barbed Lancers |
Main Unit Key att_ger_barbed_lancers |
Land Unit Key att_ger_barbed_lancers |
Naval Unit Key att_lon_light_tra_ger |
Soldiers 80 |
Category Cavalry |
Class Shock Cavalry |
Custom Battle Cost 600 |
Recruitment Cost 600 |
Upkeep Cost 295 |
Melee Attack 30 |
Melee Damage 12 |
├ Melee Weapon att_barbed_lance |
├ Melee Base Damage 7 |
├ Armour-piercing Damage 5 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Attack Against Cavalry 10 |
├ Attack Against Elephants 0 |
└ Attack Against Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 215 |
Melee Defence 40 |
├ Base Defence 10 |
├ Shield att_round_small |
└ Shield Defence 30 |
Armour 32 |
├ Armour att_scale |
├ Armour Defence 27 |
└ Shield Armour 5 |
Health 232 |
├ Man Entity att_infantry_medium |
├ Man Health 90 |
├ Bonus Hit Points 17 |
├ Mount att_ger_barbed_lancers_horse |
├ Mount Entity att_horse_medium |
└ Mount Health 125 |
Morale 45 |
Abilities
Barbed Lancers- Wedge
The unit moves into a wedge-shaped attack formation.
Attributes
- Disciplined
This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often. - Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
No Strengths and Weaknesses
Faction Availability | |
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Grand Campaign | |
The Last Roman |