Vettones (Hannibal at the Gates) Missile Ship

Missile Raider - Iberian Slingers

Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.

(Iberian 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.

Unit Name Missile Raider - Iberian Slingers

Main Unit Key Ibe_Slingers_Raider

Land Unit Key Ibe_Slingers

Naval Unit Key barbarian_raider_ranged

Soldiers 80

Category Medium Ship

Class Missile Ship

Custom Battle Cost 420

Recruitment Cost 420

Upkeep Cost 84

Missile Damage 20

├ Missile Weapon rome_sling

├ Projectile sling_stone

├ Missile Damage 16

├ Missile Ap Damage 4

└ Base Reload Time 10

Accuracy 5

Range 150

Reload 13

Shots Per Minute 7

Ammunition 25

Ship Health

└ Ship barbarian_raider

Ship Speed

Melee Attack 8

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 3

Melee Defence 37

├ Base Defence 12

├ Shield celtic_round

└ Shield Defence 25

Armour 25

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 10

└ Shield Armour 15

Health 45

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_very_light

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 5

Base Morale 25

Abilities

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 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

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

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

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Harbour (barb_port_military_2) Level 1 Boatyard (barb_port_military_3) Level 2 Raiders' Port (barb_port_military_4) Level 3

Garrison Buildings
x 1	Harbour (barb_port_military_2) Level 1 Boatyard (barb_port_military_3) Level 2
x 2	Raiders' Port (barb_port_military_4) Level 3

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Arevaci Arevaci Tribal Council Arevaci Secessionists Cantabri Celtici Cessetani Edetani Gallaeci Lusitani Lusitani Tribal Council Lusitani Secessionists Iberian Rebels Turdetani
Caesar in Gaul	Ausci (Caesar in Gaul) Sotiates (Caesar in Gaul) Tarbelli (Caesar in Gaul)
Hannibal at the Gates	Arevaci (Hannibal at the Gates) Arevaci Tribal Council (Hannibal at the Gates) Arevaci Secessionists (Hannibal at the Gates) Astures (Hannibal at the Gates) Cantabri (Hannibal at the Gates) Carpetani (Hannibal at the Gates) Celtici (Hannibal at the Gates) Illergetes (Hannibal at the Gates) Tarbelli (Hannibal at the Gates) Vaccaei (Hannibal at the Gates) Vascones (Hannibal at the Gates) Vettones (Hannibal at the Gates) Cessetani (Hannibal at the Gates) Gallaeci (Hannibal at the Gates) Illercavones (Hannibal at the Gates) Lusitani (Hannibal at the Gates) Lusitani Tribal Council (Hannibal at the Gates) Lusitani Secessionists (Hannibal at the Gates) Oretani (Hannibal at the Gates) Celtiberian Rebels (Hannibal at the Gates) Turdetani (Hannibal at the Gates)
Imperator Augustus	Cantabri (Imperator Augustus) Iberia (Imperator Augustus) Iberian Rebels (Imperator Augustus)