Massilia Missile Ship

Pursuit Trihemiolia - Celtic Skirmishers

Fast, relatively powerful pursuit ships, well able to hunt down pirates and other seagoing scum.

Even the poorest of the tribe can fight for its honour and glory.

It is thought that the Rhodians, a significant naval power in the eastern Mediterranean, developed the 'trihemiolia' or 'two-and-a-half' as a vessel for pirate hunting. Given that Rhodes is an island entirely reliant on the sea and shipping this is a believable theory. Pirates used the hemiola, a handy little vessel developed from the dieres or bireme, a ship with two rows of oars; it makes sense that pirate hunters would think of taking a trieres, or trireme, with three rows of oars and modifying it in a similar fashion. A trihemiolia still had three rows of oars on each side, but the top row was reduced to only half the number of oars, positioned midships. The result was a faster, handier vessel that provided a height advantage over a hemiola for any archers on board. There was also a strategic benefit to the Rhodians, who could only draw on the manpower of one island: they could have six trieres warships with full complements of rowers, or seven trihemiolias for the same number of men. The useful design was soon adopted by other maritime powers around the Mediterranean.

(Celtic Skirmishers)
As far as the Celts were concerned, the best way to kill a man was in hand-to-hand combat. The Celts thought there was great value in personal bravery and there was no honour in killing from a distance. Even so, slingers, javelinmen and archers still had their place on the battlefield. It was often the only way that some Celts could go to war: Celtic warriors paid for their own equipment, so only the wealthy could afford, or had the right to carry, fine armour and weapons. Skirmishers were usually the poor: freemen who served as clients to the noble class. While they could never hope to achieve the same status as their noble masters, they could still prove their worth in the cut and thrust of battle.

Abilities

Pursuit Trihemiolia

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Resistant to Fatigue
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• Hide (scrub & forest)
  This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Pursuit Trihemiolia

• Poor hull strength
• Medium crew
• Uncatchable
• Weak ramming
• Poor boarding
• Average missile combat

Celtic Skirmishers

• Short range
• Fast rate of fire
• Very good damage and armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Massilia Units
General (3)
1.Hippeus Lancers
2.Hoplites
3.Massilian Hoplites
Melee Infantry (3)
4.Axe Warriors
5.Celtic Warriors
6.Thorax Swordsmen
Missile Infantry (3)
7.Celtic Skirmishers
8.Celtic Slingers
9.Peltasts
Spear Infantry (7)
10.Levy Freemen
11.Celtic Tribesmen
12.Citizen Hoplites
13.Hoplites
14.Light Hoplites
15.Massilian Hoplites
16.Massilian Thureos Spears
Melee Cavalry (3)
17.Light Horse
18.Citizen Cavalry
19.Massilian Cavalry
Missile Cavalry (2)
20.Skirmisher Cavalry
21.Tarantine Cavalry
Shock Cavalry (1)
22.Hippeus Lancers
Fixed Artillery (4)
23.Greek Giant Ballista
24.Greek Polybolos
25.Greek Bastion Scorpion
26.Greek Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
27.Greek Bastion Ballista
28.Greek Ballista
29.Greek Scorpion
30.Greek Heavy Onager
31.Greek Bastion Onager
32.Greek Onager
Admiral (2)
33.Greek Missile Penteres - Celtic Slingers
34.Assault Tetreres - Hoplites
Melee Ship (3)
35.Assault Dieres - Celtic Tribesmen
36.Assault Tetreres - Hoplites
37.Assault Hexeres - Thureos Spears
Missile Ship (7)
38.Raiding Hemiolia - Celtic Skirmishers
39.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Celtic Skirmishers
40.Scorpion Penteres - Celtic Slingers
41.Tower Penteres - Celtic Slingers
42.Greek Missile Penteres - Celtic Slingers
43.Scorpion Trieres - Celtic Slingers
44.Missile Trieres - Celtic Slingers
Artillery Ship (2)
45.Light Artillery Penteres - Greek Ballista (Ship)
46.Artillery Penteres - Greek Onager (Ship)