Norse Melee Ship

Dreki - Thrall Axemen

For most of history the only way to move cargoes and people over long distances at any kind of reasonable speed was by water; this remained true until the invention of the railway. Trading vessels carried goods, following the coastlines for the most part, and up navigable rivers. The pattern of settlement and colonisation was almost entirely based on where ships could go. It was also considerably easier to move armies by sea than march them long distances. Trade ships were hired or requisitioned for such tasks, and this was an added incentive for generals to reach a quick conclusion to a campaign: war hurt trade, and used up ships needed for vital food supplies.

(Thrall Axemen)
Thralls were the slaves taken by the Nordic peoples as they raided the coastlines of northern Europe. As a result, most were captured from the coast of Britannia or on the Vikings' forays down the Volga River, where the Norsemen became known as ‘Slavs’. The men who captured the thralls were known to the Mediterranean peoples as the ‘Rus’ – whose land eventually became Russia - or the ‘Varangians’, who of course served as unbiased Imperial bodyguards in the Byzantine Empire that succeeded the Eastern Romans.

The lowest of the low in Nordic society, thralls were pressed into fighting and were often poorly-armed and armoured – the idea behind their use being that they would increase a Nordic army’s size until its opponents were overwhelmed by superior numbers, rather than their skill at arms. For some, the one-handed axe would have been the weapon of choice, since swords were costly and axes would have been already widely available as domestic tools. Various adaptations of axes were used in battle, such as the smaller throwing francisca made famous by the Franks, and the slightly larger versions primarily used as part of axe-and-shield war getups. Axes granted a unique form of damage output – although swords were ideal for slashing and stabbing, an axe could hack and chop with relatively less effort, and in the right hands was particularly useful for piercing armour, decapitation, and dismemberment.

Unit Name Dreki - Thrall Axemen

Main Unit Key shp_vik_thrall_axemen

Land Unit Key vik_thrall_axemen

Naval Unit Key vik_dreki

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 300

Recruitment Cost 300

Upkeep Cost 70

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_dreki

Speed

Melee Skill 22

Melee Damage 26

├ Melee Weapon vik_axe_levy

├ Melee Base Damage 11

├ Armour-piercing Damage 15

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 24

Melee Defence 47

├ Base Defence 22

├ Shield vik_medium_wood

└ Shield 25

Armour 5

├ Armour vik_cloth

├ Armour Defence 5

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 26

Abilities

• Shield Castle
  "Heads down, lads, things are about to get a little hairy around here!"
  Units cannot move in this formation.

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Expert Charge Defence[[/col]]
  This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• [[col:yellow]]Raider[[/col]]
  This unit may set buildings on fire, cause more fire damage with torches and capture faster than other units.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses