Mierce Melee Ship

Draca - Thegns

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.

(Thegns)
During the era of Viking settlement in Britain, an integral part of the fyrds was a class of noblemen-warriors who owned land granted from lords or kings by right of a provided military service. They were known as thegns, who in the earliest times of Saxon migration were exclusively defined by that military service. The first Anglo-Saxon leaders kept ‘gesiths’ as they were formerly known in their retinues, who were better trained and more highly motivated due to a close relationship with their warmongering lords. By the later Saxon era, they had developed into a middle-ranking land-owning ‘officer class’ with major roles in organising and leading the fyrds. Danish rule over conquered English lands meant that some thegns fought for their conquerors in return for being able to keep their lands within the puppet kingdoms.

Thegns were much better equipped for war than most other troops. Many of them strove to master the broadsword, given its unique ability to maim and kill in the right hands. Sword fighting was generally practised by men of status who could afford the costly weapon, with blades commonly passed between generations as symbols of family honour. The dominant types of swords in north-western Europe were the broad-bladed two-edged forms that were up to 90 centimetres long. Most included a pommel on the hilt to keep the sword from slipping out of the hand when used from horseback, and also handy to dish out blunt-force trauma when the situation required it.

Unit Name Draca - Thegns

Main Unit Key shp_eng_thegns

Land Unit Key eng_thegns

Naval Unit Key vik_draca

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 600

Recruitment Cost 600

Upkeep Cost 175

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_draca

Speed

Melee Skill 34

Melee Damage 38

├ Melee Weapon vik_sword

├ Melee Base Damage 32

├ Armour-piercing Damage 6

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 23

Melee Defence 64

├ Base Defence 34

├ 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 45

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]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses