Saba Missile Ship

Missile Penteres - Sabaean Archers

Archers can shoot down upon many enemies from the deck, doing terrible work in the process.

The ability to kill enemies at a distance is always welcome.

The 'five', called a quinquereme in Latin and a penteres in Greek, was a ship first used by the Syracusans against the Carthaginians sometime around 398BC. Like other polyremes, a term meaning many-oared, the chances were that it did not have five banks of oars but that the word 'oar' was used to mean 'rower'. In such a case, the arrangement of rowers would be two-two-one going up from the waterline. It makes sense to keep as much weight as possible low in the vessel to help its stability; a high centre of gravity makes any ship liable to capsize if struck from the side. The quinquereme, then, would be a formidable vessel both in terms of appearance and combat value. With a large fighting contingent aboard and plenty of deck space, this heavy vessel could cope with most enemies and threats.

(Sabaean Archers)
The warriors of the Sabaean region were light infantry, cavalry and archers, and fought 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.

Abilities

Missile Penteres

• Row Hard 20
  Increases speed for 20 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.
• Resistant to Heat
  This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Missile Penteres

• Good hull strength
• Medium crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Poor boarding
• Good missile combat

Sabaean Archers

• Long range
• Average rate of fire
• Good damage but low armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Saba Units
General (5)
1.Noble Swordsmen
2.Ma'rib Camel Cataphracts
3.Ma'rib Royal Guard
4.Royal Camel Archers
5.Royal Ma'rib Cavalry
Melee Infantry (4)
6.Noble Swordsmen
7.Desert Levy
8.Mercenary Maas Gat Marauders
9.Sabaean Swordsmen
Missile Infantry (4)
10.Levy Skirmishers
11.Slingers
12.Tribes People
13.Sabaean Archers
Spear Infantry (5)
14.Caravan Guard
15.Desert Spearmen
16.Ma'rib Royal Guard
17.Mercenary Ma'rib Guard
18.Sabaean Spearmen
Melee Cavalry (6)
19.Camel Spearmen
20.Arabian Cavalry
21.Desert Cavalry
22.Armoured Camel Spearmen
23.Mercenary Himyar Cavalry
24.Royal Ma'rib Cavalry
Missile Cavalry (2)
25.Camel Archers
26.Royal Camel Archers
Shock Cavalry (4)
27.Desert Heavy Lancers
28.Camel Lancers
29.Ma'rib Camel Cataphracts
30.Sabaean Camel Cataphracts
Chariot (1)
31.Desert Chariots
Fixed Artillery (3)
32.Eastern Giant Ballista
33.Eastern Bastion Scorpion
34.Eastern Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
35.Eastern Bastion Ballista
36.Eastern Ballista
37.Eastern Scorpion
38.Eastern Large Onager
39.Eastern Bastion Onager
40.Eastern Onager
Admiral (2)
41.Assault Hexeres - Noble Swordsmen
42.Tower Penteres - Sabaean Archers
Melee Ship (3)
43.Fire Pot Dieres - Desert Spearmen
44.Assault Dieres - Desert Spearmen
45.Assault Hexeres - Noble Swordsmen
Missile Ship (7)
46.Missile Trieres - Levy Skirmishers
47.Scorpion Trieres - Levy Skirmishers
48.Raiding Hemiolia - Tribes People
49.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Tribes People
50.Scorpion Penteres - Sabaean Archers
51.Tower Penteres - Sabaean Archers
52.Missile Penteres - Sabaean Archers
Artillery Ship (2)
53.Light Artillery Penteres - Eastern Ballista (Ship)
54.Artillery Penteres - Eastern Onager (Ship)