Norse Melee Ship

Dreki - Thrall Spearmen

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 Spearmen)
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. Armed with spears, they were arguably wielding the oldest purpose-built weapon in existence. Given its comparative cheapness and ease of construction, the spear was one of the most commonly used weapons among all classes of fighting men before and throughout medieval times. Its notable advantage was the longer reach it afforded its bearer, enabling effective engagement with a larger or mounted enemy who might otherwise be out of reach. The Viking tendency to emblazon spears with ostentatious decorative carvings indicates that some were primarily used for thrusting rather than throwing, reducing the possibility of losing what were obviously prized weapons.

Unit Name Dreki - Thrall Spearmen

Main Unit Key shp_vik_thrall_spearmen

Land Unit Key vik_thrall_spearmen

Naval Unit Key vik_dreki

Soldiers 160

Category Heavy Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 100

Recruitment Cost 100

Upkeep Cost 40

Hull Strength

└ Ship vik_dreki

Speed

Melee Skill 22

Melee Damage 28

├ Melee Weapon vik_spear_levy

├ Melee Base Damage 20

├ Armour-piercing Damage 8

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 20

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 15

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_med

├ 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.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses