Kingdom of the Danes (Age of Charlemagne) Melee Ship

Dragonship - Housecarls

The drekkar or 'dragon ship' takes its name from the detailed carvings that decorated its prow. Adorned with dragons or snakes, it was designed to ward off the terrifying sea creatures that many people believed inhabited the dark places of the oceans - creatures like the kraken, a terrifying giant squid that could pull whole ships down to the depths, or the undead draugen. These reanimated corpses were men lost at sea that legend states appear during storms and on rough seas to sink boats. Some say that they could alter their size to monstrous proportions, others that they were covered in seaweed or were in fact headless.

(Housecarls)
The Scandinavian housecarls or huscarls were professional, trained soldiers in service to a lord or king - the word literally meaning 'household man' or, more crudely put, 'manservant'. They were retainers to their lord or king - his personal bodyguard who fought close to and protected him on the battlefield in the same way as the 'hearth friends' of old Celtic and Germanic 'barbarian' Europe. Relics of the time now unearthed, such as the Turinge Stone, carry inscriptions calling these men the "best in the land", again reinforcing their elite status. Following the conquest of much of central and northern England by the Danes during the 10th century, huscarls also became an integral part of Anglo-Saxon armies. As such, they famously defeated their Norwegian counterparts at Stamford Bridge and held the line at Hastings, protecting King Harold's body to the very last man.

Unit Name Dragonship - Housecarls

Main Unit Key cha_vik_dragonship_housecarl

Land Unit Key cha_vik_housecarls

Naval Unit Key cha_dragonship

Soldiers 128

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 1100

Recruitment Cost 1100

Upkeep Cost 100

Hull Strength 2000

└ Ship att_shp_heavy_longship_melee

Speed 6

Melee Attack 75

Melee Damage 50

├ Melee Weapon cha_dane_axe

├ Melee Base Damage 20

├ Armour-piercing Damage 30

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 95

Melee Defence 25

├ Base Defence 25

├ Shield cha_none

└ Shield Defence 0

Armour 60

├ Armour cha_mail_heavy

├ Armour Defence 60

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity cha_infantry_very_heavy

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 54

Abilities

• Douse Fire
  Sacrifice your ship's mobility for a short time to focus effort on putting out the blaze.
• Wedge
  The unit moves into a wedge-shaped attack formation.
• Use the Whip
  Improved defence and fatigue resistance for a short time at the cost of overexertion.

Attributes

• Disciplined
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• Encourage
  This unit provides a morale bonus to nearby allies.
• 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

Recuitment Requirement
Required Technology Cost 200 Upgrade From

Faction Availability
Age of Charlemagne	Kingdom of the Danes (Age of Charlemagne) Viking Rebels (Age of Charlemagne) Viking Separatists (Age of Charlemagne) Danish Separatists (Age of Charlemagne)