Mercenary Tarantine Cavalry
Mercenary. Hired from a regional pool, not recruited from a building.
Class: heavy · Category: cavalry · Men per unit: 30
Description
The "Tarantines" are typical of traditional Greek cavalry, in that they used javelins and fought as mounted skirmishers (‘hippakontistai’). What makes them distinctive, however, is that they use a large round shield; next to the protection that is already offered by their Linothorax armour and Attic or Boiotian helmets. The shield used by Tarantine Cavalry is a heavily rimmed and bowl-shaped Argive aspis (Ueda-Sarson, Tarantine Cavalry, 2004). Their main tactical role is that of mounted javelinmen, typically brigaded with other light cavalry, serving as "experts in wheeling and retreating”. However, their heavy shield enables the Tarentines to not just resist the missiles of enemy skirmishers, but also to better engage in close combat when required (i.e. Diod. 19.39.5).
Stats
| Rank in roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men per unit | 30 | █········· 8% |
| Attack | 11 | ███······· 34% |
| Charge bonus | 23 | ████████·· 80% |
| Defence | 28 | ████······ 37% |
| · armour | 9 | █████····· 50% |
| · defence skill | 16 | ███······· 28% |
| · shield | 3 | ████······ 37% |
| Morale | 12 | ██████···· 57% |
| Discipline | Normal | |
| Training | Untrained | |
| Recruitment cost | 2,973 dn | ████████·· 83% |
| Upkeep per turn | 798 dn | ████████·· 78% |
| Turns to recruit | 2 |
Weapons
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 11 | 11 | Charge bonus | 23 | 25 | Type | thrown · archery | melee · blade | Damage | piercing | slashing |
| Projectile | javelin | — | Range | 60 | — | Ammunition | 7 | — | Properties | Thrown | — |
Defence
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 28 | — | Armour | 9 | — | Defence skill | 16 | — | Shield | 3 | — |
Condition and terrain
| Hit points | 1 | Mount | light horse | Ground: scrub / sand / forest / snow | 0 / -1 / -3 / -1 | Charge distance | 40 |
| Formations | Square |
Technical stats
| Time between blows (primary / secondary) | 2.5 s / 2.5 s | Extra fatigue in hot climates | 2 | Spacing between men: close / loose | 2.2 × 5.2 m / 3.3 × 7.8 m | Default ranks | 5 |
In battle: Very good stamina
Where to hire it
No mercenary pool on the campaign map offers this unit, so it cannot be hired.