Bastarnae

Bastarnae
Class	heavy Infantry
Unit Size	160 men
Weaponry	Rhomphaia
Morale	10
Melee Attack	14
Ranged Attack	N/A
Defence	6
Charge Bonus	6
Accuracy	N/A
Range	N/A
Ammunition	N/A
Region	Global
Recruitment Cost	790
Upkeep Cost	130
Turns to Build	2
Unit Limit	Unlimited
Building Requirements	Army Barracks
Technology Requirements	None
Attributes	Can hide in forests 2 Hit points Fast Moving Good Morale

Fierce warriors adept at close quarters against other infantry, Bastarnae may attack without orders.

Overview

The Bastarnae are a particularly ferocious tribe from the northern Balkans who rejoice in man-to-man combat. Some scribes would have it that there are no fiercer men in battle, and they are a formidable resource for any Thracian commander: they are highly unlikely to break and run. Even their weapon of choice - the rhomphaia - is a cruel looking, curved blade sharpened on the inner edge, like a sickle. With one blow, this weapon is capable of severing an arm or leg.

Each Bastarnae warrior also carries a small shield, which other than his helmet is his only protection, not that this lack of armour worries these fearless fighters for a moment!

Often tattooed and with blue-dyed hair, the only concern with such battle-hungry fighters is that they are liable to fling themselves into the fray at the earliest opportunity.

Details

Bastarnae are a barbaric unit only available to Thrace. Their strong attack makes then quite dangerious to units with low defence. They will struggle against the elite units of other factions such as Spartan Hoplites or Royal Pikemen due to their low defence, this is despite their 2 hit points. The Bastarnae are not for holding the frontlines, while they may do well on the frontline against weaker infantry by the time they will be available to Thrace most factions would likely have armies with stronger units.

This is not to say the Bastarnae are not without their uses, a good method to use them is to have attack a unit in the flanks or a unit already engaged with another, while hammer and anvil tactics are more suited to cavalry the Bastarnaes strong attack can make short work of most units. Overall While the Bastarnae are not a unit with staying power they can be considered more of a glass cannon but not as fragile since their 2 hit points help negate that somewhat.

Factions

Thrace