Mercenary Skutatoi

'Skutatoi' is a development of the Latin word 'scutum' - the classic Roman rectangular, curved shield. The evolution of the Eastern Roman army saw the classic Roman infantry model evolve into 'skutatoi'. These men, unlike the privately-owned bucellarii, were professional soldiers, recruited from among loyal citizens who wished to defend their homes and the Emperor. By the 6th century AD, skutatoi were the armoured bulk of the infantry forces of any Roman army, making up two thirds of every 'chiliarchiai' division - the remaining third being archers who supported the melee troops. Armed with the deadly, three metre-long kontarion - based on the kontos lance favoured by cataphracts - some skutatoi were positioned on the front lines to repel cavalry, with their sword-armed counterparts behind them, ready for the melee that followed the initial charge.

Unit Name Mercenary Skutatoi

Main Unit Key cha_merc_byz_skutatoi

Land Unit Key cha_merc_byz_skutatoi

Naval Unit Key cha_transport

Soldiers 160

Category Melee Infantry

Class Melee Infantry

Custom Battle Cost 520

Recruitment Cost 520

Upkeep Cost 310

Melee Attack 34

Melee Damage 40

├ Melee Weapon att_spatha

├ Melee Base Damage 36

├ Armour-piercing Damage 4

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 17

Melee Defence 72

├ Base Defence 37

├ Shield cha_oval

└ Shield Defence 35

Armour 46

├ Armour cha_mail

├ Armour Defence 46

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity cha_infantry_heavy

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 38

Abilities

• Shield Wall
  The unit moves into a close formation and raises shields.

Attributes

• Disciplined
  This unit does not suffer a morale penalty when the general dies. It can also rally after routing more often.
• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Age of Charlemagne Mercenaries Pool

Mercenaries Pool
No.	Pool	Province	Region	Initial Unit Count	Chance To Replenish	Max Replenish Per Turn	Max Count
1	cha_merc_byz_land	Calabria	Kroton Region Taranto	1	0.025	1	1
2	cha_merc_byz_land	Exarchate	Ancona Bologna Ravenna	1	0.025	1	1
3	cha_merc_byz_land	Sardinia and Corsica	Ajaccio Cagliari Olbia	1	0.025	1	1
4	cha_merc_byz_land	Sicilia	Akragas Panormos Syracuse	1	0.025	1	1