Gastraphetes
(Crossbow Infantry)This unit is the forerunner of medieval arbalesters. The gastraphetes crossbow, however, is more a handheld siege weapon than a battlefield weapon. The army of Syracuse was one of the first to use this weapon, with one unit of psiloi under the tyrant Dionisyus I. Later, this weapon would find its way into the Macedonian army of Alexander, used during several sieges by specially trained soldiers to kill city defenders.
Although archery was not highly thought of as a military skill in Greece, Crete produced truly excellent archers who were able to sell their services to the highest bidder as mercenaries. Firing bronze-tipped arrows from their heavy self bows, Cretan archers tended to carry shields, indicative of some additional prowess in melee, which must’ve made them an even more enticing proposition for a general hiring mercenaries for campaign. Their finest hours came when Alexander the Great hired Cretans directly into his army to support its unbeatable phalanx. Commanded by Clearchus, 500 Cretans accompanied the Macedonian phalanx into battle at Granicus, off-setting the Persians' numerical superiority on the day and enabling Alexander’s subsequent victory. Whereas the Romans didn’t traditionally use archers in their forces, once they conquered Greece Cretan archers began to appear as auxiliary troops in their armies. Notably, they fought in Caesar’s campaign in Gaul against Vercingetorix, causing him to rally the best archers the tribes could provide to range against them.
Unit Name Gastraphetes |
Main Unit Key AOR_10_Crossbows |
Land Unit Key AOR_10_Crossbows |
Naval Unit Key pel_transport |
Soldiers 175 |
Category Missile Infantry |
Class Missile Infantry |
Custom Battle Cost 1112 |
Recruitment Cost 1112 |
Upkeep Cost 222 |
14 |
├ Missile Weapon att_crossbow |
├ Projectile att_arrow_crossbow_heavy |
├ Missile Damage 12 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 2 |
└ Base Reload Time 20 |
Accuracy 15 |
Range 200 |
Reload 23 |
Shots Per Minute 4 |
Ammunition 15 |
Melee Attack 26 |
10 |
├ Melee Weapon gsword2 |
├ Weapon Damage 10 |
├ Weapon Deadliness 0 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Cavalry 0 |
├ Bonus vs. Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 8 |
34 |
├ Base Defence 18 |
├ Shield none |
└ Shield Defence 16 |
8 |
├ Armour arm4 |
├ Armour Defence 8 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
20 |
├ Man Entity light_medium |
├ Man Health 20 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 0 |
Base Morale 45 |
Abilities
Gastraphetes- Stamina (excellent)
Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat. - Concentrate Fire
The unit fires its missiles towards a spot causing damage to everyone in the area of effect
Attributes
- Improved Stamina
This unit type has an improvement on the base stamina stat. - Hide (scrub & forest)
This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close. - Hide (scrub & forest)
This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Long range
- Average rate of fire
- Good damage but low armour penetration
- Very weak in melee
- Very poor morale
Recuitment Requirement | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum Number | 12 | |||||||||
Unit Resouces | DEI_Sicily | |||||||||
Grand Campaign Regions
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Requires Buildings | ||||||||||
Lv. 0 |
Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3) Level 2
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3_fort) Level 2
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_3_trade) Level 2
Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4) Level 3
Fortified Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4_fort) Level 3
Commercial Syracuse (Occupied)
(dei_main_city_SYRACUSE_4_trade) Level 3
Garrison Settlement
(east_town_garrison_2) Level 1
Garrison Town
(east_town_garrison_3) Level 2
Garrison Large Town
(east_town_garrison_4) Level 3
Trade Settlement
(east_town_trade_2) Level 1
Trade Town
(east_town_trade_3) Level 2
Trade Large Town
(east_town_trade_4) Level 3
Eastern Kerta
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_3) Level 2
Eastern Karka
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_4) Level 3
Eastern Garrison Kerta
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_fort_3) Level 2
Eastern Fortified Capital
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_fort_4) Level 3
Eastern Trade Kerta
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_trade_3) Level 2
Eastern Economic Center
(rom_EASTERN_city_major_trade_4) Level 3
Eastern Small Town
(rom_EASTERN_city_minor_grain_3) Level 2
Eastern Town
(rom_EASTERN_city_minor_grain_4) Level 3
Eastern Village (Iron)
(rom_EASTERN_city_minor_iron_2) Level 1 |
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Samnite Wars | |
Caesar in Gaul | |
Hannibal at the Gates | |
Imperator Augustus |
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