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HomeHome / Total War SAGA: Thrones of Britannia / Irish Usurpers / Units / Mounted Kerns
Mounted Kerns Irish UsurpersIrish Usurpers Missile Cavalry

Mounted Kerns

The swiftness to be everywhere at once, hurling javelins with breakneck speed, can be decisive.

The Middle Irish word ‘ceithern’, pronounced ‘kern’, refers to a group of fighters who were one of two essential components of medieval Irish armies, the other being gallowglasses. Often found fighting as light infantry and occasionally light cavalry, the role of a kern was to provide skirmishing support to their heavy infantry counterparts. However, the training afforded them and the eventual roles they filled very much depended on the needs of their clan, which did not exclude them from the cut and thrust of melee warfare. Kerns would frequently be the first or last to launch attacks – their mobility meant that they were well-suited to initiate swift ambushes, after which they would melt back behind the gallowglasses, while later in battles they could also easily run down any fleeing routers.

On the battlefield, kerns wore a light leather coat which ensured unrestricted movement and agility. Avoiding the open plains where they were at a disadvantage against heavier cavalry, they sometimes operated on horseback in a similar style to early Roman skirmishers. Unarmoured horsemen would ride without stirrups or a saddle on a smaller, more agile mare, equipped with up to three throwing spears, ready to hurl while mounted. These tactics were honed from the prevalence of hit-and-run cattle-raiding, since the main causes of conflict in Gael-dominated areas was loot. Although their techniques were primitive for the era, Gaelic warriors were still able to conquer large parts of Caledonia with the help of their skirmishing cavalry tactics.

Mounted Kerns

Unit Name

Mounted Kerns

Main Unit Key

iri_mounted_kerns

Land Unit Key

iri_mounted_kerns

Naval Unit Key

vik_curach_mis

Soldiers

60

Category

Cavalry

Class

Missile Cavalry

Custom Battle Cost

400

Recruitment Cost

400

Upkeep Cost

125

Missile Damage

57

├ Missile Weapon

vik_jav_cav_elite

├ Projectile

vik_javelin_cavalry_elite

├ Missile Damage

37

├ Missile Ap Damage

20

└ Base Reload Time

30

Accuracy

36

Range

80

Reload

30

Rate of Fire

3

Ammunition

7

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

3

Melee Defence

23

├ Base Defence

8

├ Shield

vik_small

└ Shield

15

Armour

7

├ Armour

vik_cloth_helmet

├ Armour Defence

7

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

150

├ Man Entity

vik_inf_med

├ Man Health

100

├ Bonus Hit Points

0

├ Mount

vik_horse_sword_med

├ Mount Entity

vik_horse_medium

└ Mount Health

50

Morale

28

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

  • [[col:yellow]]Hide (forest)[[/col]]
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
  • [[col:yellow]]Fire Whilst Moving[[/col]]
    This unit can fire when mounted and moving.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses
Recuitment Requirement
Required Technology Trained Cavalry Cost 150 Upgrade From Horse Boys
Upgrade
Required Technology Master Horsemen Cost 150 Upgrade To Kern Raiders