The Sassanids (Empire Divided) Artillery Ship

Light Artillery Penteres - Eastern Ballista (Ship)

Ballista bolts or stones are a powerful tool for destroying an enemy's will to resist.

If a man can be seen, he can be hit. If hit, killed.

The 'five', called a quinquereme in Latin and a penteres in Greek, was a ship first used by the Syracusans against the Carthaginians sometime around 398BC. Like other polyremes, a term meaning many-oared, the chances were that it did not have five banks of oars but that the word 'oar' was used to mean 'rower'. In such a case, the arrangement of rowers would be two-two-one going up from the waterline. It makes sense to keep as much weight as possible low in the vessel to help its stability; a high centre of gravity makes any ship liable to capsize if struck from the side. The quinquereme, then, would be a formidable vessel both in terms of appearance and combat value. With a large fighting contingent aboard and plenty of deck space, this heavy vessel could cope with most enemies and threats.

(Eastern Ballista (Ship))
At close targets, a ballista could be aimed effectively but accuracy came at a cost in range; it could fire around 500 metres. The machine used two torsion springs with levers inserted into twisted ropes made from animal sinew, giving incredible power for its size. Firing either solid shot or bolts, it was equally effective against infantry or cavalry, but could also be deployed to destroy light fortifications during sieges. Originally developed by the Greeks around 400BC, and based on the oversized Oxybeles composite bow, ballistae were widely used by many cultures of the period, including the Romans. Later Roman versions included adjustable caps that enabled crews to quickly alter the tension of each sinew bundle to provide balance and therefore improve accuracy.

Abilities

Light Artillery Penteres

• Row Hard 20
  Increases speed for 20 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Cannot Run
  This unit cannot run and will only move at walking pace.
• Resistant to Heat
  This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Light Artillery Penteres

• Average hull strength
• Skeleton crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Abysmal boarding
• Exceptional missile combat

Eastern Ballista (Ship)

• Very accurate
• Very long range
• Average rate of fire
• Lower damage than other artillery
• Easily destroyed

The Sassanids (Empire Divided) Units
General (4)
1.Armoured Indian War Elephants
2.Gyan-Avspar
3.Royal Sassanian Archers
4.Zhayedan Immortals
Melee Infantry (5)
5.Daylamite Infantry
6.Hamspah Infantry
7.Immortal Infantry
8.Immortal Infantry Guard
9.Persian Light Infantry
Missile Infantry (4)
10.Anatolian Slingers
11.Kurdish Archers
12.Persian Skirmishers
13.Royal Archers
Spear Infantry (4)
14.Immortal Spear Guard
15.Immortal Spears
16.Persian Spearmen
17.Sassanian Levy Spearmen
Melee Cavalry (7)
18.Camel Spearmen
19.Daylamite Cavalry
20.Eastern Scouts
21.Elite Savaran Cavalry
22.Savaran Cavalry
23.Zhayedan Immortals
24.Zhayedan Immortals
Missile Cavalry (7)
25.Armoured Camel Archers
26.Camel Archers
27.Eastern Horse Archers
28.Eastern Horse Skirmishers
29.Persian Horse Archers
30.Royal Sassanian Archers
31.Royal Sassanian Archers
Shock Cavalry (6)
32.Camel Cataphracts
33.Grivpanvar Cataphracts
34.Gyan-Avspar
35.Gyan-Avspar
36.Pushtigban Cataphracts
37.Savaran Cataphracts
Elephant (3)
38.Armoured Indian War Elephants
39.Armoured Indian War Elephants
40.Indian War Elephants
Fixed Artillery (3)
41.Eastern Giant Ballista
42.Eastern Scorpion (Fixed)
43.Eastern Bastion Scorpion
Field Artillery (7)
44.Eastern Ballista
45.Eastern Bastion Ballista
46.Eastern Scorpion
47.Eastern Large Onager
48.Eastern Onager
49.Eastern Bastion Onager
50.Scorpion Pot Ballista
Admiral (2)
51.Assault Hexeres - Immortal Infantry
52.Missile Penteres - Kurdish Archers
Melee Ship (6)
53.Assault Dieres - Hamspah Infantry
54.Assault Hexeres - Immortal Infantry
55.Assault Hexeres - Immortal Infantry
56.Assault Tetreres - Persian Spearmen
57.Fire Pot Dieres - Hamspah Infantry
58.Assault Hexeres - Immortal Spears
Missile Ship (8)
59.Missile Penteres - Kurdish Archers
60.Missile Penteres - Kurdish Archers
61.Missile Trieres - Anatolian Slingers
62.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Persian Skirmishers
63.Raiding Hemiolia - Persian Skirmishers
64.Scorpion Penteres - Kurdish Archers
65.Scorpion Trieres - Anatolian Slingers
66.Tower Penteres - Kurdish Archers
Artillery Ship (2)
67.Artillery Penteres - Eastern Onager (Ship)
68.Light Artillery Penteres - Eastern Ballista (Ship)