Missile Trieres - Mercenary Etruscan Archers

Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.

(Mercenary Etruscan Archers)
According to Rome's foundation myth, as recounted by Livy, the Etruscans attacked the Latins, leading to the former's defeat and a peace settlement which made the River Tiber the common boundary between them. Following Rome's founding, on the banks of the Tiber in 753BC, conflict between the Etruscans and Romans continued for another five centuries, both militarily and politically. Veii, Fidenae, Tarchuna and Clusium each fought and were defeated by on Rome multiple occasions. The last three kings of Rome were actually of Etruscan descent, a result of the post-war peace treaties between the two states. When the Gallic warbands first defeated the Roman army at the Battle of Allia, prior to the sacking of Rome, the Etruscans tried to capitalise on Rome's disarray, seizing the opportunity to capture Roman lands for themselves. They began by besieging Sutrium, a Roman ally. On the same day that Sutrium fell, the Roman dictator Marcus Furius Camillus marched on the inferior Etruscan forces, compelling them to surrender and offering to spare their lives.

Unit Name Missile Trieres - Mercenary Etruscan Archers

Main Unit Key inv_greek_three_mercenary_etr_archers

Land Unit Key inv_mercenary_etr_archers

Naval Unit Key greek_three

Soldiers 80

Category Medium Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 400

Recruitment Cost 400

Upkeep Cost 300

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 693

└ Ship greek_three

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 4

Melee Defence 20

├ Base Defence 20

├ Shield none

└ Shield Defence 0

Armour 10

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 10

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 50

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_light

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 10

Base Morale 30

Abilities

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

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Poor hull strength
• Light crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Poor boarding
• Average missile combat

• Long range
• Average rate of fire
• Good damage but low armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Rise of the Republic Mercenaries Pool