


Assault Hexeres - Hillmen
These magnificent ships are both intimidating and extremely dangerous.Unschooled in formal warfare, these hillmen are canny fighters if used correctly.
As centuries passed, naval tactics and needs changed across the Mediterranean. There was a move towards larger ships, partly as an expression of national or dynastic power: the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt were particularly fond of large ships to show their wealth and influence in a physical way. These 'polyremes', a term meaning many oared, were not suitable for ramming work in battle. In practice many of them had no more oars than smaller ships; what they had were more rowers per oar than smaller ships. A Roman hexareme or Greek hexeres would have a couple of banks of oars with three men per oar, and appear to be an over-sized version of a smaller ship. Even so, thanks to being tremendously heavy and strongly constructed, they were slow moving, and hardly capable of the quick turns needed to take advantage of enemy mistakes. Instead the large ships made use of their wide decks and plentiful carrying capacities and became fighting platforms for infantry and artillery. Boarding or long-range bombardment were the methods to be used to defeat the enemy; naval warfare had come full circle in terms of fighting methods, even if ships had grown significantly.
(Hillmen)
Eastern hillmen tended to be light infantry skirmishers that excelled in mountainous and difficult terrain, as a result of defending their homelands against outsiders. Many hill tribes, including the Bithyni - after whom Bithynia was named - were descended Thracian migrants who crossed the Bosporus into Asia Minor; each had a fierce attachment to their own lands and a suspicion of plains folk and outlanders. Equipped in much the same manner as peltasts, they carried spears, javelins and daggers and their only protection was a shield, made from wicker, wood or hide. As a fighting force, they were fast moving and extremely manoeuvrable and not above trickery and deceit.
![]() |
Unit Name Assault Hexeres - Hillmen |
Main Unit Key Eas_Elite_Archers_Six |
Land Unit Key Eas_Hillmen |
Naval Unit Key persian_six |
Soldiers 160 |
Category Heavy Ship |
Class Melee Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 1290 |
Recruitment Cost 1290 |
Upkeep Cost 258 |
Missile Damage 32 |
├ Missile Weapon rome_javelin_precursor |
├ Projectile javelin_prec |
├ Missile Damage 20 |
├ Missile Ap Damage 12 |
└ Base Reload Time 15 |
Accuracy 5 |
Range 40 |
Reload 0 |
Shots Per Minute 4 |
Ammunition 2 |
Ship Health 1281 |
└ Ship persian_six |
Ship Speed 5 |
Melee Attack 25 |
Weapon Damage 26 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_eastern_axe |
├ Melee Damage Base 16 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 10 |
├ Armour Piercing Yes |
├ Bonus vs. Large 0 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 0 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 12 |
Melee Defence 36 |
├ Base Defence 11 |
├ Shield pelta |
└ Shield Defence 25 |
Armour 15 |
├ Armour cloth |
├ Armour Defence 10 |
└ Shield Armour 5 |
Health 45 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium_fast |
├ Man Health 40 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 5 |
Base Morale 35 |
Abilities
Assault Hexeres- Row Hard 30
Increases speed for 30 strokes.
Ship speed
Attributes
- Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close. - Resistant to Heat
This unit tires less quickly in the desert.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Assault Hexeres- Very good hull strength
- Heavy crew
- Slow speed
- Strong ramming
- Very good boarding
- Average attack
- Poor defence
- Low damage but good armour penetration
- Poor morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Imperator Augustus |