Mide Missile Ship

Curach - Wood 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.

(Wood Kerns)
Existing on the fringes of Roman-ruled Britain, early medieval Ireland was by no means a lawless place. However, native Gaels 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.

With no lands of their own, wood kerns fought and lived solely for plunder. The throwing spear or javelin was one such genus of weapons they used, with the thrusting variety not always entirely distinct from the thrown variety. The advantage of the javelin thrower was the ability to potentially pierce through shields and armour from distance, but this was offset by the reduced range and limited output compared to standard archers, since there were only so many javelins a thrower could carry at any one time. Javelin throwing was certainly a unique skill, with the most skilful Viking warriors allegedly even able to catch spears in mid-flight to hurl them straight back!

Unit Name Curach - Wood Kerns

Main Unit Key shp_iri_wood_kerns

Land Unit Key iri_wood_kerns

Naval Unit Key vik_curach_mis

Soldiers 80

Category Light Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 300

Recruitment Cost 300

Upkeep Cost 70

Missile Damage 43

├ Missile Weapon vik_jav

├ Projectile vik_javelin_normal

├ Missile Damage 30

├ Missile Ap Damage 13

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 41

Range 80

Reload 55

Rate of Fire 4

Ammunition 7

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_curach

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 30

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]]Ignore Terrain[[/col]]
  Speed penalties caused by the terrain are ignored by this unit.
• [[col:yellow]]Snipe[[/col]]
  This unit remains hidden while firing.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses