Dyflin Missile Ship

Byrdingr - Eastmen Kerns

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 Kerns)
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. Those who by some sequence of events ended up landless and not tied to a lord – particularly those with an aptitude for fighting – sometimes ended up living as outlaws in the mountains and woods. Such combatants were known as ‘widcairns’ or wood kerns, and were feared and hated by sedentary peoples in equal measure. Using their terrain and knowledge of swift ambush tactics, they were formidable fighters who took what they needed from those unfortunate enough to venture into their woodland territories. They operated under the leadership of fiery spirits among the youthful gentry and former nobility of Ireland, pushed to the edges of society with resentments and bravado that made them Robin Hood figures to their followers.

Unit Name Byrdingr - Eastmen Kerns

Main Unit Key shp_est_kerns

Land Unit Key est_kerns

Naval Unit Key vik_byrdingr_mis

Soldiers 80

Category Light Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 250

Recruitment Cost 250

Upkeep Cost 60

Missile Damage 37

├ Missile Weapon vik_jav_levy

├ Projectile vik_javelin_levy

├ Missile Damage 28

├ Missile Ap Damage 9

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 36

Range 80

Reload 50

Rate of Fire 4

Ammunition 7

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_byrdingr

Speed

Melee Skill 8

Melee Damage 9

├ Melee Weapon vik_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 2

Melee Defence 23

├ Base Defence 8

├ Shield vik_small

└ Shield 15

Armour 7

├ Armour vik_cloth_helmet

├ Armour Defence 7

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_mis_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 28

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Resistant to Fatigue[[/col]]
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• [[col:yellow]]Snipe[[/col]]
  This unit remains hidden while firing.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses