
Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Dacian Bowmen
These swift, manoeuvrable ships are a useful scouting force for any admiral.A little gold sometimes goes a long way.
The 'one-and-a-half' or 'hemiolia' was a light galley which was much favoured by pirates in the ancient world. It developed from the bireme, a ship that had two full decks of oars along its entire length. The hemiola reduced the number of oars on the upper level, leaving roughly half the number of oars and rowers in the midship section. The smaller number of rowers had little effect on overall speed because the laden weight of the vessel also dropped. Because it used both oars and sails, and the crew could rapidly change propulsion method, it was an ideal vessel for chasing down fat, wealthy merchant ships. Boarding attacks were mounted from hemiolas; ramming was not a useful tactic as loot ended up with the fish rather than enriching the pirates! The speed and handiness of hemiolas made them useful as scouts, supply boats and vessels used to pick off damaged enemies at the edge of battles.
(Mercenary Dacian Bowmen)
The exact origins of the Dacians are something of a mystery. Dacian lands were centred around the Carpathian Mountains but, unlike their Thracian neighbours, they seldom got involved in the conflicts of others. The Dacians fought almost entirely on foot, and usually looked to their Sarmatian allies when serious cavalry were needed. Many Dacian infantry fought as peltasts, equipped with javelins, short swords and oval shields, but they also fielded archers. However, the Dacians were most feared because of a weapon called the 'falx', which they used with deadly, limb-lopping skill. A two-handed sword with a forward-curving blade, a falx could cut a man in two from the top of his head to his breastbone. This weapon was so effective that the Romans improved their legionary armour to cope with it. The brow-ridge on later legionary helmets was there to stop a blow from a falx. Rome’s eventual victory in the Dacian Wars (AD101-106), celebrated by Trajan’s Column, finally dealt with the warlike Dacian tribes once and for all.
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Unit Name Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Dacian Bowmen |
Main Unit Key Mer_Thr_Galley |
Land Unit Key Mer_Dac_Bowmen |
Naval Unit Key greek_one_halfer |
Soldiers 80 |
Category Light Ship |
Class Missile Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 370 |
Recruitment Cost 370 |
Upkeep Cost 270 |
Missile Damage 35 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_bow |
├ Projectile arrow_normal |
├ Missile Damage 31 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 4 |
└ Base Reload Time 12 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 125 |
Reload 13 |
Shots Per Minute 6 |
Ammunition 15 |
Ship Health 402 |
└ Ship greek_one_halfer |
Ship Speed 6 |
Melee Attack 8 |
Weapon Damage 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 3 |
Melee Defence 12 |
├ Base Defence 12 |
├ Shield none |
└ Shield Defence 0 |
Armour 10 |
├ Armour cloth |
├ Armour Defence 10 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
Health 45 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_very_light |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 5 |
Base Morale 25 |
Abilities
Raiding Hemiolia- 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
Raiding Hemiolia- Very poor hull strength
- Light crew
- Very fast speed
- Weak ramming
- Very poor boarding
- Poor missile combat
- Long range
- Average rate of fire
- Good damage but low armour penetration
- Very weak in melee
- Very poor morale
Faction Mercenaries Pool
Mercenaries Pool | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Pool | Faction | Initial Unit Count | Chance To Replenish | Max Replenish Per Turn | Max Count |
1 | rom_faction_pool_naval_thracians | 1 | 0.15 | 1 | 1 |