Mercenary Rhodian Hoplites
Mercenary. Hired from a regional pool, not recruited from a building.
Class: spearmen · Category: infantry · Men per unit: 40
Description
After the death of Kyros the Younger in 401 BC, the mercenary army he had employed, known as the "Ten Thousand”, found itself stranded in Asia Minor, surrounded by hostile forces and with their Cretan archers outranged by the Persian slingers. Xenophon, the newly elected commander of the Ten Thousand, remembered the Rhodian hoplites in his ranks and their expertise with the sling. He employed 200 of them to produce make-shift slings and lead bullets, which could be shot twice as far as the stones used by the Persians (Xen. Anab. 3.3.16-17). The following days, the Persian slingers and archers now found themselves outranged by the Rhodians and stopped harassing the Ten Thousand from afar (Xen. Anab. 3.4.16).
Stats
| Rank in roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men per unit | 40 | ███······· 30% |
| Attack | 10 | ██········ 19% |
| Charge bonus | 14 | ██████···· 60% |
| Defence | 44 | █████████· 85% |
| · armour | 10 | █████····· 54% |
| · defence skill | 29 | █████████· 91% |
| · shield | 5 | ██████···· 57% |
| Morale | 11 | ████······ 39% |
| Discipline | Normal | |
| Training | Highly trained | |
| Upkeep per turn | 667 dn | ██████···· 58% |
Weapons
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 10 | — | Charge bonus | 14 | — | 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 | 44 | — | Armour | 10 | — | Defence skill | 29 | — | 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 | 1 | Collision mass per man (1.0 is normal) | 1.12 | Spacing between men: close / loose | 1 × 1.05 m / 2 × 2.4 m |
| Default ranks | 5 |
In battle: Can sap · Very good stamina
Where to hire it
Mercenaries are hired from a regional pool, not recruited from a building. This unit is offered by 2 pools covering 1 region, at 4,293 dn to hire and 2 experience.
Mercenary pools: Dorian Pentapolis · Rhodes
At least one of those pools sells to any faction that has an army in range, with no faction restriction.