Rome Melee Ship

Assault Bireme - Auxiliary Sabaean Spearmen

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.

(Auxiliary Sabaean Spearmen)
The warriors of the Sabaean region were light infantry, cavalry and archers as mercenaries and auxiliaries for the Roman Empire. Dressed desert-fashion, they were entirely familiar with and comfortable in arid places. This was secondary however, to their reputation as mostly reliable fighters, of far more worth than ordinary citizens or levies. This was due to the independence that the Sabaean kingdom maintained from the 8th century BC to AD275. This record was based on military might as well as diplomacy and the spice trade including frankincense and myrrh. Never conquered by Rome, Sabaean warriors still found work as mercenaries and auxiliaries in Roman service.

Unit Name Assault Bireme - Auxiliary Sabaean Spearmen

Main Unit Key Aux_Afr_Spr_Two

Land Unit Key Aux_Afr_Spr

Naval Unit Key roman_two

Soldiers 60

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 230

Recruitment Cost 230

Upkeep Cost 46

Ship Health 501

└ Ship roman_two

Ship Speed 6

Melee Attack 13

Weapon Damage 25

├ Melee Weapon rome_spear

├ Melee Damage Base 20

├ Melee Damage Ap 5

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Bonus vs. Large 20

├ Bonus vs Elephants 20

└ Bonus vs Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 11

Melee Defence 34

├ Base Defence 24

├ Shield tower

└ Shield Defence 10

Armour 45

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 10

└ Shield Armour 35

Health 45

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 5

Base Morale 30

Abilities

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

• Square
  The unit moves into a close square formation.
  Bracing, morale, melee defence
  Can't move

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

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

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

Recuitment Requirement
Unit Resouces	Auxilia_Sabaean
Grand Campaign Regions Provinces Regions Aethiopia Aksum Meroe Ptolemais Theron
Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Shipwright (rome_port_patrol_2) Level 1 Docks (rome_port_patrol_3) Level 2 Coastal Patrol (rome_port_patrol_4) Level 3

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Rome Senate loyalists Senate Secessionists Slaves
Samnite Wars	Lucania (Samnite Wars) Rome (Samnite Wars) Rome (Samnite Wars)
Hannibal at the Gates	Rome (Hannibal at the Gates) Senate loyalists (Hannibal at the Gates) Senate Secessionists (Hannibal at the Gates)
Imperator Augustus	Antony's Rome (Imperator Augustus) Antony's Rivals (Imperator Augustus) Antony's Secessionists (Imperator Augustus) Lepidus' Rome (Imperator Augustus) Lepidus' Rivals (Imperator Augustus) Lepidus' Secessionists (Imperator Augustus) Octavian's Rome (Imperator Augustus) Octavian's Rivals (Imperator Augustus) Octavian's Secessionists (Imperator Augustus) Pompey's Rome (Imperator Augustus) Pompey's Rivals (Imperator Augustus) Pompey's Secessionists (Imperator Augustus) Latin Rebels (Imperator Augustus)