Royal Peltasts (Spearmen)
Class: spearmen · Category: infantry · Men per unit: 40
Description
In the armies of Philip II and Alexander the Great, the elite infantry regiments were the Hypaspists and the Argyraspides. While the Argyraspides ended up in the East, in the ranks of the Seleucid army, "Hypaspist" become more of a title for high-ranking officers (as mentioned by Polybios in XVIII, 33, 2). For a long time, there was confusion among historians as to what the elite regiment of the Antigonid army was. In the 1950s respectively 1980s, however, two stones with inscriptions were unearthed in Greek Macedonia, with inscriptions describing the "Peltasts" of the 3rd century BC Macedonian army. The beginning of the first inscription, the so called Drama stone, was restored by Pierre Juhel and Nick Sekunda to: "They shall enrol those well provided with property in the agema and the other peltastai [...]." This tells us that the Peltasts were an elite regiment, recruited from the wealthy and well educated parts of the Macedonian population, and that there was an Agema regiment within them.
Stats
| Rank in roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men per unit | 40 | ███······· 30% |
| Attack | 14 | ███████··· 65% |
| Charge bonus | 12 | ████······ 42% |
| Defence | 51 | ██████████ 95% |
| · armour | 11 | ██████···· 64% |
| · defence skill | 35 | ██████████ 99% |
| · shield | 5 | ██████···· 57% |
| Morale | 15 | █████████· 91% |
| Discipline | Normal | |
| Training | Highly trained | |
| Recruitment cost | 2,649 dn | ███████··· 74% |
| Upkeep per turn | 1,066 dn | █████████· 92% |
| Turns to recruit | 4 |
Weapons
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 14 | — | Charge bonus | 12 | — | Type | melee · blade | — | Damage | piercing | — |
| Properties | Light spear (braced against cavalry charges from the front) · +8 attack against cavalry | — |
Defence
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 51 | — | Armour | 11 | — | Defence skill | 35 | — | Shield | 5 | — |
Condition and terrain
| Hit points | 1 | Ground: scrub / sand / forest / snow | -1 / -1 / -4 / -1 | Charge distance | 30 | Formations | Square |
Technical stats
| Time between blows (primary / secondary) | 2.5 s / — | Extra fatigue in hot climates | 2 | Collision mass per man (1.0 is normal) | 1.22 | Spacing between men: close / loose | 1 × 1.2 m / 2 × 2.4 m |
| Default ranks | 5 |
In battle: Can sap · Very good stamina
Who can recruit it
A core roster unit for one faction, which can raise it anywhere it holds the right building:
Exactly what a settlement must have, route by route (2)
| Building | Also requires | Building | Also requires | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Rule | Tier 3 Military Industrial Complex · Tier 2 Colony | Homeland | Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex |