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Gastraphetes Gallic Rebels (Caesar in Gaul)Gallic Rebels (Caesar in Gaul) Missile Infantry

Gastraphetes

(Crossbow Infantry)

This unit is the forerunner of medieval arbalesters. The gastraphetes crossbow, however, is more a handheld siege weapon than a battlefield weapon. The army of Syracuse was one of the first to use this weapon, with one unit of psiloi under the tyrant Dionisyus I. Later, this weapon would find its way into the Macedonian army of Alexander, used during several sieges by specially trained soldiers to kill city defenders.

Although archery was not highly thought of as a military skill in Greece, Crete produced truly excellent archers who were able to sell their services to the highest bidder as mercenaries. Firing bronze-tipped arrows from their heavy self bows, Cretan archers tended to carry shields, indicative of some additional prowess in melee, which must’ve made them an even more enticing proposition for a general hiring mercenaries for campaign. Their finest hours came when Alexander the Great hired Cretans directly into his army to support its unbeatable phalanx. Commanded by Clearchus, 500 Cretans accompanied the Macedonian phalanx into battle at Granicus, off-setting the Persians' numerical superiority on the day and enabling Alexander’s subsequent victory. Whereas the Romans didn’t traditionally use archers in their forces, once they conquered Greece Cretan archers began to appear as auxiliary troops in their armies. Notably, they fought in Caesar’s campaign in Gaul against Vercingetorix, causing him to rally the best archers the tribes could provide to range against them.

Gastraphetes

Unit Name

Gastraphetes

Main Unit Key

AOR_10_Crossbows

Land Unit Key

AOR_10_Crossbows

Naval Unit Key

pel_transport

Soldiers

175

Category

Missile Infantry

Class

Missile Infantry

Custom Battle Cost

1112

Recruitment Cost

1112

Upkeep Cost

222

Missile Damage

14

├ Missile Weapon

att_crossbow

├ Projectile

att_arrow_crossbow_heavy

├ Missile Damage

12

├ Missile Ap Damage

2

└ Base Reload Time

20

Accuracy

15

Range

200

Reload

23

Shots Per Minute

4

Ammunition

15

Melee Attack

26

Weapon Damage

10

├ Melee Weapon

gsword2

├ Weapon Damage

10

├ Weapon Deadliness

0

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Cavalry

0

├ Bonus vs. Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

8

Melee Defence

34

├ Base Defence

18

├ Shield

none

└ Shield Defence

16

Armour

8

├ Armour

arm4

├ Armour Defence

8

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

20

├ Man Entity

light_medium

├ Man Health

20

└ Bonus Hit Points

0

Base Morale

45

Abilities

Gastraphetes
  • Stamina (excellent)
    Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.
  • Concentrate Fire
    The unit fires its missiles towards a spot causing damage to everyone in the area of effect

Attributes

  • Improved Stamina
    This unit type has an improvement on the base stamina stat.
  • Hide (scrub & forest)
    This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
  • Hide (scrub & forest)
    This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
Gastraphetes
  • Long range
  • Average rate of fire
  • Good damage but low armour penetration
  • Very weak in melee
  • Very poor morale
Recuitment Requirement
Maximum Number 12
Unit Resouces DEI_Sicily
Requires Buildings
Gastraphetes Lv. 0 Syracuse (Occupied)
Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3)
Level 2
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3_fort)
Level 2
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3_trade)
Level 2
Syracuse (Occupied)
Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4)
Level 3
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4_fort)
Level 3
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4_trade)
Level 3
Barbarian Hundred
Barbarian Hundred
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_3)
Level 2
Barbarian Oppidium
Barbarian Oppidium
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_4)
Level 3
Barbarian Garrison Hundred
Barbarian Garrison Hundred
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_fort_3)
Level 2
Barbarian Fortified Oppidium
Barbarian Fortified Oppidium
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_fort_4)
Level 3
Barbarian Trade Hundred
Barbarian Trade Hundred
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_trade_3)
Level 2
Barbarian Economic Oppidium
Barbarian Economic Oppidium
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_major_trade_4)
Level 3
Barbarian Town (Grain)
Barbarian Town (Grain)
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_minor_grain_3)
Level 2
Barbarian Pagus (Grain)
Barbarian Pagus (Grain)
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_minor_grain_4)
Level 3
Barbarian Village (Iron)
Barbarian Village (Iron)
(rom_BARBARIAN_city_minor_iron_2)
Level 1
Faction Availability
Grand Campaign



Samnite Wars
Caesar in Gaul
Hannibal at the Gates
Imperator Augustus