Sagena - Mercenary Avar Light Boatmen

The 'sagena' - meaning 'arrow' - and its smaller cousin the 'kondura' were the vessels of choice of the Narentine pirates, Slavic pagans who switched fishing for piracy and the slave trade during the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Probably based on the Nordic drakkar, these ships were long, slender and shallow, which made them considerably faster than the opposition. The sagena could carry up to forty warriors and the kondura half that number. The ability to outrun the Byzantine Roman authorities, coupled with their capture of Papal emissaries on their way to Constantinople in AD870, intimidated them to the point where Emperor Constantine VII ordered a large amount for use in his own fleets. The most famous example to be discovered is the so-called 'Condura Croatica', found buried in the town of Nin in 1966, and dated to the 14th century - indicating that the kondura and sagena were hardy and effective enough to remain in production for many centuries.

(Mercenary Avar Light Boatmen)
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 Sagena - Mercenary Avar Light Boatmen

Main Unit Key cha_merc_avar_longship_light_boatmen

Land Unit Key cha_merc_avar_light_boatmen

Naval Unit Key cha_saegna_mis

Soldiers 88

Category Light Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 220

Recruitment Cost 220

Upkeep Cost 130

Missile Damage 49

├ Missile Weapon att_bow_composite

├ Projectile att_arrow_composite_normal

├ Missile Damage 37

├ Missile Ap Damage 12

└ Base Reload Time 17

Accuracy 25

Range 150

Reload 30

Rate of Fire 5

Ammunition 20

Hull Strength 1800

└ Ship att_shp_light_longship_melee

Speed 7

Melee Attack 5

Melee Damage 9

├ Melee Weapon cha_dagger

├ Melee Base Damage 7

├ Armour-piercing Damage 2

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 1

Melee Defence 1

├ Base Defence 1

├ Shield cha_none

└ Shield Defence 0

Armour 6

├ Armour cha_cloth

├ Armour Defence 6

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity cha_infantry_very_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 26

Abilities

• Douse Fire
  Sacrifice your ship's mobility for a short time to focus effort on putting out the blaze.

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