Medium Assault Raider - Mercenary Illyrian Hoplites

Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.

(Mercenary Illyrian Hoplites)
Although called Illyrians by Greeks and Romans, these seafaring people from the Adriatic coast were actually not a single nation or tribe. The Greeks first had dealings with them during the Bronze Age, and the name was then applied to everyone in the area. The Illyrians were actually several petty, and not-so-petty, kingdoms that warred with each other when not fighting Greeks or their Macedonian neighbours. The Illyrians could not be lightly dismissed as barbarians: under powerful warlords such as Bardyllis, king of the Dardanians, they conquered Macedon and installed a puppet ruler in 393BC. It was Phillip II and Alexander the Great who eventually ended Illyrian interference in their affairs. The Illyrians were also pirates, and terrorised the Adriatic for centuries; this was what eventually prompted their subjugation by the Romans.

Unit Name Medium Assault Raider - Mercenary Illyrian Hoplites

Main Unit Key inv_barbarian_medium_raider_melee_mercenary_ill_hoplites

Land Unit Key inv_mercenary_ill_hoplites

Naval Unit Key barbarian_medium_raider_melee

Soldiers 80

Category Medium Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 600

Recruitment Cost 600

Upkeep Cost 450

Ship Health

└ Ship barbarian_medium_raider

Ship Speed

Melee Attack 35

Weapon Damage 26

├ Melee Weapon rome_hoplite_spear

├ Melee Damage Base 20

├ Melee Damage Ap 6

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Bonus vs. Large 15

├ Bonus vs Elephants 15

└ Bonus vs Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 20

Melee Defence 49

├ Base Defence 34

├ Shield hoplite

└ Shield Defence 15

Armour 105

├ Armour bronze

├ Armour Defence 60

└ Shield Armour 45

Health 60

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_hoplite

├ Man Health 45

└ Bonus Hit Points 15

Base Morale 45

Abilities

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

• Hoplite Wall
  The unit moves into close wall formation.
  Bracing, melee defence, shield strength
  Acceleration, speed

Attributes

• Expert Charge Defence
  This unit’s melee attack and damage are increased against charging enemies.
• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Good hull strength
• Medium crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Good boarding

• Good defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Average attack
• Normal morale

Rise of the Republic Mercenaries Pool