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Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen Mercenaries Missile Ship

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen

These swift, manoeuvrable ships are a useful scouting force for any admiral.

The desert kills the weak; it does not train the living to be soldiers.

The 'one-and-a-half' or 'hemiolia' was a light galley which was much favoured by pirates in the ancient world. It developed from the bireme, a ship that had two full decks of oars along its entire length. The hemiola reduced the number of oars on the upper level, leaving roughly half the number of oars and rowers in the midship section. The smaller number of rowers had little effect on overall speed because the laden weight of the vessel also dropped. Because it used both oars and sails, and the crew could rapidly change propulsion method, it was an ideal vessel for chasing down fat, wealthy merchant ships. Boarding attacks were mounted from hemiolas; ramming was not a useful tactic as loot ended up with the fish rather than enriching the pirates! The speed and handiness of hemiolas made them useful as scouts, supply boats and vessels used to pick off damaged enemies at the edge of battles.

(Mercenary Arabian Spearmen)
The Arabian peninsula was not a state, but a land occupied by inter-related tribes and powerful families. The nomadic Bedouin raised sheep and traded goods across the desert, while farmers were settled around the oases. The camel helped the nomadic tribes to grow in power, and the variety of tribes produced many different fighting styles but infantry remained important in Arab armies. Unarmoured slingers were fast and effective skirmishers, and Arabs also prided themselves on their close-combat skills. Traditionally, they fought as raiders looking for loot rather than conquest. Raids or 'razzias' brought honour to victorious warriors, as well as livestock and goods for their tribes. Conflicts were usually small in scale and casualties were largely avoided as a fighting retreat in the face of great odds was not considered shameful. After the conquest of Egypt, Rome had to cross the Arabian Peninsula in order to secure the lucrative trade with India, but the Romans never fully conquered the desert or the desert peoples.

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen

Unit Name

Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen

Main Unit Key

Mer_Ara_Raider

Land Unit Key

Mer_Ara_Spear

Naval Unit Key

persian_one_halfer

Soldiers

80

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost

320

Recruitment Cost

320

Upkeep Cost

140

Ship Health

459

└ Ship

persian_one_halfer

Ship Speed

6

Melee Attack

16

Weapon Damage

29

├ Melee Weapon

rome_spear

├ Melee Damage Base

19

├ Melee Damage Ap

10

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

15

├ Bonus vs Elephants

16

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

11

Melee Defence

67

├ Base Defence

30

├ Shield

oval

└ Shield Defence

37

Armour

60

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

27

└ Shield Armour

33

Health

65

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health

55

└ Bonus Hit Points

10

Base Morale

30

Abilities

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed
Mercenary Arabian Spearmen
  • Frenzied Charge
    Increases the effectiveness of the unit's charge for an extended period. The unit will suffer a large fatigue penalty after the charge is over.
    Charge speed, charge damage, acceleration
    Melee defence, fatigue

Attributes

  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
  • Resistant to Heat
    This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Raiding Hemiolia
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Very fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Very poor boarding
  • Poor missile combat
Mercenary Arabian Spearmen
  • Average defensive unit
  • Low damage but average armour penetration
  • Weak attack
  • Poor morale

Faction Mercenaries Pool

Mercenaries Pool
No. Pool Faction Initial Unit Count Chance To Replenish Max Replenish Per Turn Max Count
1 rom_faction_pool_naval_arabians 1 0.15 1 1