Warband (Angons and Swords)
Class: heavy · Category: infantry · Men per unit: 40
Reforms: Unlocked by Spoils of War
Description
Continuous warfare against Romans and other Germanics gave rise to a new type of warrior organization: The warband. It appears the warband emerged as a military unit in the first century AD. And by the time of Tacitus, the warbands were an integral part of Germanic warfare. These warbands consisted of professional soldiers who did not work, but solely fought – and feasted. Somewhat paradoxically, these full-time soldiers seems to have been less coordinated than the traditional freemen formations. Instead they prioritized individual martial prowess and battlefield heroics. Still, man for man, they were better fighters than the average freeman, even if their armaments initially differed little from that of the freemen armies. Yet, later warbands were much better armed than the ones Tacitus described and had begun resembling small armies. These men represent a later form of warband and therefore armed with swords and angons. According to Agathias, Germanic soldiers used their armor-piercing angons in a similar way to how the Romans had once used their pila: To pierce and disable shields (Agathias, Histories, II.v.2-8).
Stats
| Rank in roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men per unit | 40 | ███······· 30% |
| Attack | 19 | █████████· 92% |
| Charge bonus | 15 | ██████···· 64% |
| Defence | 43 | ████████·· 84% |
| · armour | 12 | ███████··· 69% |
| · defence skill | 26 | ████████·· 78% |
| · shield | 5 | ██████···· 57% |
| Morale | 14 | ████████·· 79% |
| Discipline | Normal | |
| Training | Trained | |
| Recruitment cost | 2,378 dn | ██████···· 64% |
| Upkeep per turn | 827 dn | ████████·· 80% |
| Turns to recruit | 3 |
Weapons
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 19 | 17 | Charge bonus | 15 | 22 | Type | thrown · blade | melee · blade | Damage | piercing | slashing |
| Projectile | pilum_imperial | — | Range | 40 | — | Ammunition | 1 | — | Properties | Armour-piercing (counts only half the target's armour) · used just before charging into combat · thrown | — |
Defence
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 43 | — | Armour | 12 | — | Defence skill | 26 | — | Shield | 5 | — |
Condition and terrain
| Hit points | 1 | Ground: scrub / sand / forest / snow | 0 / -2 / 0 / -2 | Charge distance | 30 | Formations | Square |
Technical stats
| Time between blows (primary / secondary) | 2.5 s / 2.5 s | Extra fatigue in hot climates | 4 | Collision mass per man (1.0 is normal) | 1.58 | Spacing between men: close / loose | 0.8 × 1 m / 1.6 × 2 m |
| Default ranks | 5 |
In battle: Can sap · Very good stamina
Who can recruit it
A core roster unit for 13 factions, each able to raise it anywhere they hold the right building:
Bastarnae · Chatti · Chauci · Cherusci · Frisii · Gothones · Hermunduri · Langobardi · Lugii · Marcomanni · Quadi · Semnones · Sugambri
Exactly what a settlement must have, route by route (2)
| Building | Also requires | Building | Also requires | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Rule | Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Spoils of War · Tier 2 Colony | Homeland | Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Spoils of War |