Illyrian Rebels (Imperator Augustus) Missile Ship

Missile Penteres - Slave Slingers

Archers can shoot down upon many enemies from the deck, doing terrible work in the process.

With the right stone even the lowliest slave can bring down a noble warrior.

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.

(Slave Slingers)
Slingers were common in ancient armies. Slings are ancient weapons, dating back to Palaeolithic times. In comparison to bows, they were easy to make and had a greater effective range. Constructed from braided flax, hemp or rushes, a sling has a cradle where the shot is placed. One end has a finger-loop, while the other has a knot or strip giving a firm handhold. The slinger puts his middle finger through the loop and holds the knotted end with his thumb and forefinger. After whirling the shot in the sling it is released with a flick of the wrist. Quick to fire and reload, the sling was widely hated by those on the receiving end. Shot varied from stones collected in rivers to shaped lumps of clay and lead; lead shot could fly over 400 metres. Such missiles were sometimes inscribed with comments such as “Catch!” or “Take that!” Shot was difficult to see in flight, and although it lacked the penetrating power of an arrow it could easily break bone or stave-in armour at short ranges. Famously, the Roman Consul Paulus was killed by a slinger early in the disastrous Battle of Cannae.

Abilities

Missile Penteres

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

Attributes

• Resistant to Fatigue
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• Hide (scrub & forest)
  This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Missile Penteres

• Good hull strength
• Medium crew
• Average speed
• Average ramming
• Poor boarding
• Good missile combat

Slave Slingers

• Very long range
• Average rate of fire
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Illyrian Rebels (Imperator Augustus) Units
General (2)
1.Illyrian Cavalry
2.Illyrian Hoplites
Melee Infantry (2)
3.Illyrian Levies
4.Illyrian Raiders
Missile Infantry (2)
5.Slave Javelinmen
6.Slave Slingers
Spear Infantry (6)
7.Illyrian Hoplites
8.Illyrian Marines
9.Illyrian Noble Hoplites
10.Illyrian Spearmen
11.Illyrian Thureos Spears
12.Illyrian Tribesmen
Melee Cavalry (1)
13.Illyrian Cavalry
Fixed Artillery (1)
14.Greek Bastion Scorpion
Field Artillery (5)
15.Greek Bastion Ballista
16.Greek Ballista
17.Greek Scorpion
18.Greek Bastion Onager
19.Greek Onager
Admiral (2)
20.Scorpion Trieres - Slave Slingers
21.Assault Hexeres - Illyrian Thureos Spears
Melee Ship (7)
22.Assault Tetreres - Illyrian Marines
23.Assault Hexeres - Illyrian Marines
24.Assault Dieres - Illyrian Raiders
25.Assault Tetreres - Illyrian Spearmen
26.Assault Hexeres - Illyrian Thureos Spears
27.Fire Pot Dieres - Illyrian Tribesmen
28.Assault Dieres - Illyrian Tribesmen
Missile Ship (7)
29.Raiding Hemiolia - Slave Javelinmen
30.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Slave Javelinmen
31.Tower Penteres - Slave Slingers
32.Scorpion Penteres - Slave Slingers
33.Missile Penteres - Slave Slingers
34.Scorpion Trieres - Slave Slingers
35.Missile Trieres - Slave Slingers
Artillery Ship (2)
36.Light Artillery Penteres - Greek Ballista (Ship)
37.Artillery Penteres - Greek Onager (Ship)