Etruscan League Melee Ship

Assault Quadreme - Italian Spearmen

Ramming attacks from these ships will inflicting terrible damage.

Angry Italians with spears should never be dismissed lightly.

There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.

(Italian Spearmen)
Before Rome controlled the whole of Italy it shared the peninsula with others, such as the Etruscans and Samnites. These various petty kingdoms, cities and tribes often fought each other, but also united against common external threats. It was as the Etruscans waned and Greek influence fell away that the Romans began steadily accumulating land and power. After three wars against the Samnites, Rome finally became the dominant power in Italy, and extracted pledges of loyalty and military aid from the 'Socii Latini', its Latin allies. There were further rebellions against Rome’s dominance, the most significant being the Allied War of 90-88BC, when many of the Socii turned on Rome. Clearly, this gave the Romans pause, as the peace settlement after was surprisingly generous: it gave the Socii the right of full Roman citizenship, giving them a stake in Rome's continued survival and effectively uniting the whole of Italy under their rule.

Abilities

Assault Quadreme

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

Italian Spearmen

• Rapid Advance
  Improved unit movement speed over an extended period.
  Speed, acceleration, charge speed
  Exertion: fatigue

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

Assault Quadreme

• Average hull strength
• Medium crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Average boarding

Italian Spearmen

• Good defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Average attack
• Normal morale

Etruscan League Units
General (4)
1.Italian Noble Cavalry
2.Italian Noble Infantry
3.Italian Noble Swordsmen
4.Etruscan Honoured Cavalry
Melee Infantry (11)
5.Mob
6.Italian Swordsmen
7.Illyro-Italian Infantry Cohort
8.Italian Noble Swordsmen
9.Italian Veteran Swordsmen
10.Revered Thorax Swordsmen
11.Etruscan Reformed Infantry
12.Etruscan Noble Warriors
13.Etruscan Fierce Axes
14.Tarquinian Swordsmen
15.Italian Legionaries
Missile Infantry (5)
16.Levy Skirmishers
17.Levy Slingers
18.Illyro-Italian Bow Auxiliaries
19.Scout Archers
20.Etruscan Peltasts
Pike Infantry (2)
21.Etruscan Pikes
22.Etruscan Thorax Pikes
Spear Infantry (10)
23.Italian Noble Infantry
24.Italian Spearmen
25.Italian Veteran Spearmen
26.Italian Royal Spears
27.Etruscan Heavy Spearmen
28.Etruscan Thorax Spearmen
29.Etruscan Veteran Hoplites
30.Etruscan Spearmen
31.Etruscan Citizen Hoplites
32.Etruscan Hoplites
Melee Cavalry (5)
33.Italian Cavalry
34.Italian Noble Cavalry
35.Etruscan Honoured Cavalry
36.Medium Spear Cavalry
37.Warrior Horse
Missile Cavalry (1)
38.Etruscan Cavalry
Chariot (1)
39.Chariot Nobles
Field Artillery (3)
40.Roman Bastion Ballista
41.Roman Ballista
42.Roman Scorpion
Admiral (2)
43.Scorpion Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
44.Assault Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
Melee Ship (5)
45.Assault Quadreme - Italian Spearmen
46.Fire Pot Bireme - Italian Spearmen
47.Assault Bireme - Italian Spearmen
48.Harpax Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
49.Assault Hexareme - Italian Swordsmen
Missile Ship (5)
50.Scorpion Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
51.Missile Trireme - Levy Skirmishers
52.Raiding Hemiolia - Levy Skirmishers
53.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Levy Skirmishers
54.Missile Quinquereme - Levy Slingers
Artillery Ship (1)
55.Light Artillery Quinquereme - Roman Ballista (Ship)