Fire Pot Dieres - Peltasts
Fire pots, hurled onto enemy decks, are a terrible threat to wooden ships.These javelin-armed light infantry are used to harass slower, heavier enemy units.
The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.
(Peltasts)
These skirmishers were named for their small crescent-shaped leather or wicker shields or 'peltai'. It was a common habit to name troops for their shield style in the Greek world. They wore little or no armour and carried three javelins. After harassing the enemy by flinging javelins, they would hastily retreat before any counter-charge or flanking move could be carried out. As armies developed and tactics became more complex, peltasts were expected to take part in hand-to-hand combat: with such expectation they were given stiffened linen cuirasses and short swords. They were still expected to use javelins, but could then join in the close fighting. Eventually, peltasts even exchanged their characteristic shield for the heavier thureos. Their name and battlefield function remained unchanged.
Unit Name Fire Pot Dieres - Peltasts |
Main Unit Key Gre_Peltasts_Two_Fire_Pots |
Land Unit Key Gre_Peltasts |
Naval Unit Key greek_fire_pot_two |
Soldiers 60 |
Category Light Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 540 |
Recruitment Cost 540 |
Upkeep Cost 108 |
32 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin |
├ Projectile javelin_normal |
├ Missile Damage 20 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 12 |
└ Base Reload Time 10 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 80 |
Reload 18 |
Shots Per Minute 7 |
Ammunition 7 |
501 |
└ Ship greek_two |
Ship Speed 6 |
Melee Attack 18 |
24 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_shortsword |
├ Melee Damage Base 20 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 4 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 0 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 10 |
40 |
├ Base Defence 15 |
├ Shield peltast_thureos |
└ Shield Defence 25 |
65 |
├ Armour spolas |
├ Armour Defence 35 |
└ Shield Armour 30 |
50 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_light |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 10 |
Base Morale 40 |
Abilities
Fire Pot Dieres- 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
Fire Pot Dieres- Very poor hull strength
- Very light crew
- Fast speed
- Very strong initial ramming
- Good boarding
- Short range
- Fast rate of fire
- Very good damage and armour penetration
- Large shield
- Very weak in melee
- Poor morale
Upgrade | |
---|---|
Required Technology Cost 150 Upgrade To | |
Requires Buildings | |
Lv. 0 |
Military Pier
(east_port_military_2) Level 1
Naval Yard
(east_port_military_3) Level 2
Drydock
(east_port_military_4) Level 3 |
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Hannibal at the Gates | |
Imperator Augustus |