Assault Hexeres - Basilikoi Peltastai
A hexareme is a 40 meter long oared warship with two decks of oars, each oar powered by three oarsmen. Developed around 360 BCE by the Syracusans, this huge dreadnought is rare and mainly used as a flagship. It can even hold archer towers at each end of the deck.(Royal Peltasts)
The king's own skirmishers are an infantry force to be reckoned with.
As centuries passed, naval tactics and needs changed across the Mediterranean. There was a move towards larger ships, partly as an expression of national or dynastic power: the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt were particularly fond of large ships to show their wealth and influence in a physical way. These 'polyremes', a term meaning many oared, were not suitable for ramming work in battle. In practice many of them had no more oars than smaller ships; what they had were more rowers per oar than smaller ships. A Roman hexareme or Greek hexeres would have a couple of banks of oars with three men per oar, and appear to be an over-sized version of a smaller ship. Even so, thanks to being tremendously heavy and strongly constructed, they were slow moving, and hardly capable of the quick turns needed to take advantage of enemy mistakes. Instead the large ships made use of their wide decks and plentiful carrying capacities and became fighting platforms for infantry and artillery. Boarding or long-range bombardment were the methods to be used to defeat the enemy; naval warfare had come full circle in terms of fighting methods, even if ships had grown significantly.
(Basilikoi Peltastai)
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 Assault Hexeres - Basilikoi Peltastai |
Main Unit Key Gre_Royal_Pel_Six |
Land Unit Key Gre_Royal_Peltasts |
Naval Unit Key greek_six |
Soldiers 160 |
Category Heavy Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 2040 |
Recruitment Cost 2040 |
Upkeep Cost 408 |
12 |
├ Missile Weapon prec2 |
├ Projectile prec2 |
├ Missile Damage 12 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 0 |
└ Base Reload Time 10 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 80 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 6 |
Ammunition 1 |
1046 |
└ Ship greek_six |
Ship Speed 4 |
Melee Attack 42 |
10 |
├ Melee Weapon gsword4 |
├ Weapon Damage 10 |
├ Weapon Deadliness 0 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Cavalry 0 |
├ Bonus vs. Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 10 |
78 |
├ Base Defence 26 |
├ Shield shield7 |
└ Shield Defence 52 |
12 |
├ Armour arm7 |
├ Armour Defence 12 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
20 |
├ Man Entity medium_heavy |
├ Man Health 20 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 0 |
Base Morale 65 |
Abilities
Assault Hexeres- Row Hard 30
Increases speed for 30 strokes.
Ship speed
- Stamina (average)
Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat. - Throw Javelin (medium)
The unit throws its javelins towards a spot causing damage to everyone in the area of effect
NOTE: you cannot throw javelins when you are inside a formation
Attributes
- Disciplined
This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often. - Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Assault Hexeres- Very good hull strength
- Heavy crew
- Slow speed
- Strong ramming
- Very good boarding
- Very good attack
- Average defence
- Average damage but low armour penetration
- Good morale