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Celtic Onager ScordisciScordisci Field Artillery

Celtic Onager

While generals sneer at enemy onagers, their soldiers do not.

One of the simplest forms of one-armed catapult, the onager relied on twisted skeins of animal sinew which provided the power to hurl either rocks or shot. Inaccurate but powerful, it was an effective siege engine against buildings and fortifications, but was of far less use on the battlefield unless firing into massed infantry ranks. First mentioned by Philon of Byzantium in his treatise ‘Mechanics’, the onager had a sling-like cradle attached to a firing arm. This arm was inserted and twisted to propel its shot through torsion. As the firing arm was released, the sling-like cradle would unhook, firing the projectile. A padded beam was incorporated into the housing frame to restrain the arm. Larger machines could require as many as eight or ten crewmen, and the incredible recoil meant that they could not be easily or safely mounted on walls or towers. Quickly constructed wherever wood was readily available, onagers soon became a staple of ancient siege warfare.

Celtic Onager Celtic Onager Celtic Onager
Celtic Onager

Unit Name

Celtic Onager

Main Unit Key

Cel_Onager

Land Unit Key

Cel_Onager

Naval Unit Key

barbarian_transport_small

Soldiers

40

Category

Siege Engine

Class

Field Artillery

Custom Battle Cost

1580

Recruitment Cost

580

Upkeep Cost

120

Missile Damage

200

├ Engine

onager

├ Missile Weapon

rome_onager

├ Projectile

rock

├ Missile Damage

100

├ Missile Ap Damage

100

└ Base Reload Time

20

Accuracy

5

Range

350

Reload

4

Shots Per Minute

3

Ammunition

15

Melee Attack

9

Weapon Damage

24

├ Melee Weapon

rome_shortsword

├ Melee Damage Base

20

├ Melee Damage Ap

4

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Large

0

├ Bonus vs Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

6

Melee Defence

14

├ Base Defence

14

├ Shield

none

└ Shield Defence

0

Armour

10

├ Armour

cloth

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

45

├ Man Entity

rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health

40

└ Bonus Hit Points

5

Base Morale

40

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

  • Cannot Run
    This unit cannot run and will only move at walking pace.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Light Transport
  • Very poor hull strength
  • Very slow speed
  • Weak ramming
Celtic Onager
  • Long range
  • High damage with its different rounds
  • Hard to destroy
  • Inaccurate
  • Average rate of fire
Requires Buildings
Celtic Onager Lv. 0 Carpenter
Carpenter
(barb_craftsmen_wood_3)
Level 2
Builder's Hall
Builder's Hall
(barb_craftsmen_wood_4)
Level 3
Faction Availability
Grand Campaign
Samnite Wars
Caesar in Gaul
Hannibal at the Gates
Imperator Augustus