Dyflin Melee Ship

Dreki - Eastmen Hirdmen

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.

(Eastmen Hirdmen)
In the centuries following the eighth-century appearance of the first recorded Viking raiders in the Irish Sea, those of the Norse who chose to settle in the region came to be known as the ‘Ostmenn’, or more literally, ‘the men of the east’. This was how the settled Norse-Gaels contrasted themselves from the native Gaels, who they referred to as ‘Vestmen’, unsurprisingly, ‘the men of the west’. Combining local traditions with their own, the Norse-Gaels were culturally distinct from both the Gaels and their Scandinavian forefathers. Their hybridisation of traditions took place against the setting of their coastal defensive strongholds, many of which were the nuclei of the powerful independent kingdoms of later years. Norse-Gaelic powerbases would eventually be established in places like Dublin, Galloway, and Mann, amongst other places.

As with many facets of their culture, the martial traditions of the Norse-Gaels retained both Viking and Gaelic elements. Much like the Roman ‘comes’, in the Viking world there emerged a culture of heroic champions flanked by chosen companions. The ‘hirdman’ was the highest rank amongst such warriors, and in later times the rank carried with it a seat on the king’s council, enabling them to advise their rulers on non-military aspects of government. In Old Norse and Old English, the term translates to ‘household man’, originally referring to an armed retinue for a warlord but eventually morphing into ‘housecarl’ or ‘huscarl’, specifically referring to a royal guard. Following the ninth-century Danish settlement of England, huscarls also became an integral part of Anglo-Saxon armies, famously defeating their Norwegian counterparts at Stamford Bridge and protecting King Harold's body to the very last man at Hastings.

Unit Name Dreki - Eastmen Hirdmen

Main Unit Key shp_est_hirdmen

Land Unit Key est_hirdmen

Naval Unit Key vik_dreki

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 900

Recruitment Cost 900

Upkeep Cost 250

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_dreki

Speed

Melee Skill 45

Melee Damage 42

├ Melee Weapon vik_sword_elite

├ Melee Base Damage 36

├ Armour-piercing Damage 6

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 30

Melee Defence 75

├ Base Defence 45

├ Shield vik_medium

└ Shield 30

Armour 22

├ Armour vik_mail

├ Armour Defence 22

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_heavy

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 50

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]]Disciplined[[/col]]
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• [[col:yellow]]Encourage[[/col]]
  This unit provides a morale bonus to nearby allies.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses