Spartan Gerousia Artillery Ship

Light Artillery Penteres - Greek Ballista (Ship)

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.

(Greek Ballista (Ship))
At close targets, a ballista could be aimed effectively but accuracy came at a cost in range; it could fire around 500 metres. The machine used two torsion springs with levers inserted into twisted ropes made from animal sinew, giving incredible power for its size. Firing either solid shot or bolts, it was equally effective against infantry or cavalry, but could also be deployed to destroy light fortifications during sieges. Originally developed by the Greeks around 400BC, and based on the oversized Oxybeles composite bow, ballistae were widely used by many cultures of the period, including the Romans. Later Roman versions included adjustable caps that enabled crews to quickly alter the tension of each sinew bundle to provide balance and therefore improve accuracy.

Unit Name Light Artillery Penteres - Greek Ballista (Ship)

Main Unit Key Gre_Ballista_Five

Land Unit Key Gre_Ballista_Shp

Naval Unit Key persian_ballista_five

Soldiers 40

Category Medium Ship

Class Artillery Ship

Custom Battle Cost 640

Recruitment Cost 640

Upkeep Cost 128

Ship Health 1090

└ Ship persian_five_art

Ship Speed 5

Missile Damage 180

├ Engine ballista_medium_ship

├ Missile Weapon rome_ballista_shp

├ Projectile shp_stone_flammable

├ Missile Damage 120

├ Missile Ap Damage 60

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 40

Range 420

Reload 4

Shots Per Minute 2

Ammunition 1

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

• Row Hard 20
  Increases speed for 20 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

No Attribute

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Average hull strength
• Skeleton crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Abysmal boarding
• Exceptional missile combat

• Very accurate
• Very long range
• Average rate of fire
• Lower damage than other artillery
• Easily destroyed

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Military Wharf (greek_port_military_2) Level 1 Drydock (greek_port_military_3) Level 2 Military Port (greek_port_military_4) Level 3

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Athens Athenian Boule Athenian Secessionists Syracuse Syracusan Nobles Syracusan Secessionists Baktria Baktrian Nobles Baktrian Secessionists Cimmeria Cimmerian Nobles Cimmerian Secessionists Colchis Colchian Nobles Colchian Secessionists Epirus Epirean Nobles Epirean Secessionists Ardiaei Ardiaei tribal council Ardiaei Secessionists Daorsi Dalmatae Illyrian Rebels Macedon Macedonian Nobles Macedonian Secessionists Massilia Massilian Nobles Massilian Secessionists Pergamon Pergamenes Nobles Pergamenes Secessionists Hellenic Rebels Seleucid Seleucid Nobles Seleucid Secessionists Arachosia Aria Drangiana Media Parthava Persia Sagartia Sardes Spartan Rebels Sparta Spartan Gerousia Spartan Secessionists
Samnite Wars	Greek Cities (Samnite Wars)
Caesar in Gaul	Massilia (Caesar in Gaul)
Hannibal at the Gates	Syracuse (Hannibal at the Gates) Syracusan Nobles (Hannibal at the Gates) Syracusan Secessionists (Hannibal at the Gates) Massilia (Hannibal at the Gates) Hellenic Rebels (Hannibal at the Gates)
Imperator Augustus	Illyrian Rebels (Imperator Augustus) Hellenic Rebels (Imperator Augustus) Spartan Rebels (Imperator Augustus)