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Principes (Late) RomaRoma Melee Infantry

Principes (Late)

(Polybian Heavy Sword Maniple)

Re-armed with mail, pila and a gladius, the reformed Principes are even more aggressive!

During the 4th century BC the Romans abandoned the phalanx in favour of armies consisting chiefly of hastati, principes and triarii. These were deployed in maniples: compact blocks of men, arranged in a checkerboard formation. This allowed flexibility when moving across the battlefield, particularly when compared to the sluggish movements of a solid pike phalanx. Like most sophisticated city-states of the ancient world, Rome expected its men to fight, and supply their own war gear when they did so. A cynical observer might be tempted to note that the manipular Legion also made sure that the hierarchy of Rome was preserved. The youngest and least wealthy became hastati, the first line of battle in a Roman Legion. Behind them came the second line of principes, older and richer men, and finally came the triarii, the most experienced warriors. “Going to the triarii” was a Roman saying that came to be used in all kinds of situations, implying that everything else had been tried and found wanting.

Principes (Late)

Unit Name

Principes (Late)

Main Unit Key

Rom_Principes_Late

Land Unit Key

Rom_Principes_Late

Naval Unit Key

pel_transport

Soldiers

200

Category

Melee Infantry

Class

Melee Infantry

Custom Battle Cost

1180

Recruitment Cost

1180

Upkeep Cost

236

Missile Damage

15

├ Missile Weapon

pilum1

├ Projectile

pilum1

├ Missile Damage

12

├ Missile Ap Damage

3

└ Base Reload Time

6

Accuracy

5

Range

80

Reload

0

Shots Per Minute

10

Ammunition

1

Melee Attack

38

Weapon Damage

10

├ Melee Weapon

gladius3

├ Weapon Damage

9

├ Weapon Deadliness

1

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Cavalry

0

├ Bonus vs. Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

10

Melee Defence

79

├ Base Defence

21

├ Shield

shield6

└ Shield Defence

58

Armour

14

├ Armour

arm8

├ Armour Defence

14

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

20

├ Man Entity

medium_heavy

├ Man Health

20

└ Bonus Hit Points

0

Base Morale

60

Abilities

Principes (Late)
  • Stamina (low)
    Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.
  • Throw Pila (light)
    Orders the unit to throw their pila towards a spot causing damage to everyone in the area of effect
    NOTE: you cannot throw pila when you are inside a formation
  • Hollow Square
    The unit forms a hollow square formation to cover all four sides and improve morale and defense but renders itself unable to move with lower attack
  • Repellere Equites (Repel Cavalry)
    The soldiers raise their shields in defense, increasing bracing and ability to fight against mounted units; however, in this formation the unit cannot move

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

Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
Principes (Late)
  • Good attack
  • Average defence
  • Average damage but low armour penetration
  • Normal morale
Recuitment Requirement
Required Technology Roman Unit Upgrades Cost 450 Upgrade From Principes (Early)
Upgrade
Required Technology Roman Unit Upgrades Cost 435 Upgrade To Legionarii
Requires Buildings
Principes (Late) Lv. 0 Field of Mars
Field of Mars
(rom_ROMAN_military_main_1)
Level 0
Roman Barracks
Roman Barracks
(rom_ROMAN_military_main_heavy_2)
Level 1
Elite Roman Barracks
Elite Roman Barracks
(rom_ROMAN_military_main_heavy_3)
Level 2
Principes (Late) Lv. 1 Provincial Barracks
Provincial Barracks
(rom_ROMAN_military_main_heavy_4)
Level 3