Pergamon Missile Ship

Pursuit Trihemiolia - Javelinmen

Fast, relatively powerful pursuit ships, well able to hunt down pirates and other seagoing scum.

Lightly-armed javelinmen, intended to harass and disrupt the enemy battle line.

It is thought that the Rhodians, a significant naval power in the eastern Mediterranean, developed the 'trihemiolia' or 'two-and-a-half' as a vessel for pirate hunting. Given that Rhodes is an island entirely reliant on the sea and shipping this is a believable theory. Pirates used the hemiola, a handy little vessel developed from the dieres or bireme, a ship with two rows of oars; it makes sense that pirate hunters would think of taking a trieres, or trireme, with three rows of oars and modifying it in a similar fashion. A trihemiolia still had three rows of oars on each side, but the top row was reduced to only half the number of oars, positioned midships. The result was a faster, handier vessel that provided a height advantage over a hemiola for any archers on board. There was also a strategic benefit to the Rhodians, who could only draw on the manpower of one island: they could have six trieres warships with full complements of rowers, or seven trihemiolias for the same number of men. The useful design was soon adopted by other maritime powers around the Mediterranean.

(Javelinmen)
The javelin is among the oldest weapons in the world. Equipped with javelins and little else, skirmishers harried their opposite numbers and peppered hoplite phalanxes before quickly retreating. This was the typical tactic of all unarmoured, javelin-armed troops: to engage at range and then fall back behind more heavily-armoured infantry, or continue attacks while trying to stay just out of reach of the enemy. Such harassment could be highly effective, in 391BC at the Battle of Lechaeum, a force of Spartans, lacking the support of skirmishers or cavalry, were severely punished by javelin-armed Athenians who refused to meet them at close quarters. Over time, shields became common, such as those used by Thracian and Greek peltasts, but in turn these were rendered obsolescent by the Hellenic thureophoroi. Nevertheless, javelinmen and other irregulars continued to play a part in many armies throughout antiquity.

Abilities

Pursuit Trihemiolia

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

Attributes

• Resistant to Fatigue
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• Hide (scrub & forest)
  This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Pursuit Trihemiolia

• Poor hull strength
• Medium crew
• Uncatchable
• Weak ramming
• Poor boarding
• Average missile combat

Javelinmen

• Short range
• Fast rate of fire
• Very good damage and armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Pergamon Units
General (3)
1.Agema Spears
2.Pergamenes Noble Cavalry
3.Pikemen
Melee Infantry (2)
4.Galatian Swords
5.Mob
Missile Infantry (6)
6.Archers
7.Javelinmen
8.Light Peltasts
9.Peltasts
10.Picked Peltasts
11.Slingers
Pike Infantry (2)
12.Levy Pikemen
13.Pikemen
Spear Infantry (5)
14.Galatian Spears
15.Agema Spears
16.Hoplites
17.Militia Hoplites
18.Thureos Spears
Melee Cavalry (2)
19.Light Horse
20.Citizen Cavalry
Missile Cavalry (2)
21.Skirmisher Cavalry
22.Tarantine Cavalry
Shock Cavalry (2)
23.Hippeus Lancers
24.Pergamenes Noble Cavalry
Fixed Artillery (4)
25.Greek Giant Ballista
26.Greek Polybolos
27.Greek Bastion Scorpion
28.Greek Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
29.Greek Bastion Ballista
30.Greek Ballista
31.Greek Scorpion
32.Greek Heavy Onager
33.Greek Bastion Onager
34.Greek Onager
Admiral (2)
35.Tower Penteres - Archers
36.Assault Hexeres - Thorax Swordsmen
Melee Ship (4)
37.Assault Tetreres - Hoplites
38.Fire Pot Dieres - Peltasts
39.Assault Dieres - Peltasts
40.Assault Hexeres - Thureos Spears
Missile Ship (6)
41.Scorpion Penteres - Archers
42.Missile Penteres - Archers
43.Raiding Hemiolia - Javelinmen
44.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Javelinmen
45.Scorpion Trieres - Slingers
46.Missile Trieres - Slingers
Artillery Ship (2)
47.Light Artillery Penteres - Greek Ballista (Ship)
48.Artillery Penteres - Greek Onager (Ship)