Catapult

The onset of the Dark Ages saw the glory days of Greco-Roman-era siege engines come to an abrupt end. The catapult, named after the Greek word ‘katapultos’ meaning ‘shield piercer’, was one such siege weapon used to great effect by groups in antiquity. Having been so successful for the Roman Empire, numerous European war leaders of the early medieval period attempted to imitate the technology of one genus of Roman catapults called onagers. They originally took the form of large, torsion-powered missile throwers made entirely of wood, sat upon a kind of chassis supporting an ‘arm’ with a sling attached to it. Rotational forces would be harnessed into strands of thick, sinewy, coiled rope using a winch and ratchet, then the throwing arm was pulled back using a windlass and considerable brute strength, which was then secured in place as close to ground level as possible with a slip hook. The cocked arm held an incredible amount of potential energy and could be loaded with a payload – usually large rocks – waiting to be released and launched over vast distances.

Unfortunately, the high-maintenance catapults of the early Middle Ages were troublesome machines and far inferior to those seen in antiquity, with the revived technology not able to match the strength, resilience, or accuracy of the onagers of the distant past. In time, however, medieval siege techniques eventually surpassed their forebears with the development of the twelfth-century European trebuchet, using technology thought to be similar to that used in China over a millennium earlier.

Unit Name Catapult

Main Unit Key eng_catapult

Land Unit Key eng_catapult

Naval Unit Key vik_sae_wylfing

Soldiers 40

Category Siege Engine

Class Field Artillery

Custom Battle Cost 600

Recruitment Cost 600

Upkeep Cost 200

Missile Damage 200

├ Engine att_onager

├ Missile Weapon att_onager

├ Projectile vik_catapult_rock

├ Missile Damage 100

├ Missile Ap Damage 100

└ Base Reload Time 30

Accuracy 6

Range 350

Reload 20

Rate of Fire 3

Ammunition 9

Melee Skill 8

Melee Damage 9

├ Melee Weapon vik_dagger

├ Melee Base Damage 7

├ Armour-piercing Damage 2

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Attack Against Cavalry 0

├ Attack Against Elephants 0

└ Attack Against Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 2

Melee Defence 8

├ Base Defence 8

├ Shield vik_none

└ Shield 0

Armour 5

├ Armour vik_cloth

├ Armour Defence 5

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 100

├ Man Entity vik_inf_light

├ Man Health 100

└ Bonus Hit Points 0

Morale 28

Abilities

No Ability

Attributes

• [[col:yellow]]Cannot Run[[/col]]
  This unit cannot run and will only move at walking pace.

Strengths & Weaknesses

No Strengths and Weaknesses

Faction Availability
Thrones of Britannia	Cent Defena Dorsaete East Seaxe Hwicce Mierce Northleode English Rebels English Usurpers Mierce Usurpers West Seaxe Usurpers Suth Seaxe West Seaxe Westernas Westmoringas

Faction Pool

Pool
No.	Pool	Faction	Initial Unit Count	Chance To Replenish	Max Replenish Per Turn	Max Count
1	wessex	West Seaxe Usurpers West Seaxe	1	0.025	1	1
2	mercia	Mierce Mierce Usurpers	1	0.025	1	1
3	anglo_saxon	Cent Defena Dorsaete East Seaxe Hwicce Northleode English Rebels English Usurpers Suth Seaxe	1	0.025	1	1