Steppe Lancers
A well-timed charge from a company of nomadic lancers may just be enough to save the tribe from destruction.Developed from the cavalry skills of their ancestors, the steppe lancers of the Scythian, or Saka, tribes and the Sarmatians were a type of heavy cavalry comparable to their Hellenic counterparts. They wore scale armour to protect themselves and their mounts, and used a long lance known as a kontos. This enabled them to deliver devastating charges in a fashion comparable to the Alexandrian Companion cavalry. The scale armour was made from horn, or later metal, and allowed the wearers to run down their western counterparts. They were still vulnerable to dense pike or spear-armed formations. Archery provided a solution: sustained volleys from skirmishing foot and horse archers were used to thin and spread out the enemy. At the Battle of Carrhae in 53BC, the tightly-packed Roman infantry were forced to spread out by Parthian archers, which enabled their cataphracts to charge and break an overconfident Roman force four times their number.
Unit Name Steppe Lancers |
Main Unit Key GAR_Ste_Garrisoned_Lancers |
Land Unit Key GAR_Ste_Garrisoned_Lancers |
Naval Unit Key barbarian_transport_small |
Soldiers 120 |
Category Cavalry |
Class Shock Cavalry |
Custom Battle Cost 840 |
Recruitment Cost 1050 |
Upkeep Cost 100 |
Melee Attack 22 |
9 |
├ Melee Weapon lance2 |
├ Weapon Damage 9 |
├ Weapon Deadliness 0 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Cavalry 0 |
├ Bonus vs. Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 2 |
Charge Bonus 30 |
35 |
├ Base Defence 19 |
├ Shield none |
└ Shield Defence 16 |
18 |
├ Armour carm9 |
├ Armour Defence 18 |
└ Shield Armour 0 |
20 |
├ Man Entity heavy_heavy |
├ Man Health 20 |
├ Bonus Hit Points 0 |
├ Mount rome_scythian_horse_lance_m |
├ Mount Entity rome_horse_medium_shock |
└ Mount Health 0 |
Base Morale 55 |
Abilities
Steppe Lancers- Stamina (good)
Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat. - Flying Wedge
The unit assumes a wedge formation that increases charge speed and bonus
Attributes
- Fire Whilst Moving
This unit can fire when mounted and moving. - 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. - Resistant to Cold
This unit tires less quickly in snow.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Light Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Average charge
- Low damage but average armour penetration
- Weak in prolonged melee
- Poor morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Imperator Augustus |