Ardiaei Melee Ship

Assault Dieres - Illyrian Tribesmen

The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.

(Illyrian Tribesmen)
Although called Illyrians by Greeks and Romans, these seafaring people from the Adriatic coast were actually not a single nation or tribe. The Greeks first had dealings with them during the Bronze Age, and the name was then applied to everyone in the area. The Illyrians were actually several petty, and not-so-petty, kingdoms that warred with each other when not fighting Greeks or their Macedonian neighbours. The Illyrians could not be lightly dismissed as barbarians: under powerful warlords such as Bardyllis, king of the Dardanians, they conquered Macedon and installed a puppet ruler in 393BC. It was Phillip II and Alexander the Great who eventually ended Illyrian interference in their affairs. The Illyrians were also pirates, and terrorised the Adriatic for centuries; this was what eventually prompted their subjugation by the Romans.

Unit Name Assault Dieres - Illyrian Tribesmen

Main Unit Key Ill_Tribesmen_Two

Land Unit Key Ill_Tribesmen

Naval Unit Key greek_two

Soldiers 60

Category Medium Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 300

Recruitment Cost 300

Upkeep Cost 70

Ship Health 467

└ Ship greek_two

Ship Speed 6

Melee Attack 12

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 7

Melee Defence 59

├ Base Defence 24

├ Shield celtic

└ Shield Defence 35

Armour 57

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 27

└ Shield Armour 30

Health 55

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health 55

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Base Morale 20

Abilities

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very poor hull strength
• Very light crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Good boarding

• Average defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Weak attack
• Poor morale

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Fishing Village (barb_port_fishing_3) Level 2 Fishing Port (barb_port_fishing_4) Level 3 Harbour (barb_port_military_2) Level 1 Boatyard (barb_port_military_3) Level 2 Raiders' Port (barb_port_military_4) Level 3

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Ardiaei Ardiaei tribal council Daorsi Dalmatae Illyrian Rebels
Imperator Augustus	Illyrian Rebels (Imperator Augustus)