Roman Light Artillery Quinquereme, Dacian Ballista (Ship)

Recruitment Cost 640
Upkeep Cost 128
Ship Health 817
Ship Speed 3
Missile Damage 180
Range 420
Shots Per Minute 2
Melee Attack 9
Weapon Damage 24
Melee Defence 14
Armour 10
Health 45
Abilities
  • Flammable Round
Strengths & Weaknesses
  • Average hull strength
  • Skeleton crew
  • Average speed
  • Average ramming
  • Abysmal boarding
  • Exceptional missile combat
  • Very accurate
  • Very long range
  • Fast rate of fire
  • Lower damage than other artillery
  • Easily destroyed
Description

The 'five', called a quinquereme in Latin and a penteres in Greek, was a ship first used by the Syracusans against the Carthaginians sometime around 398BC. Like other polyremes, a term meaning many-oared, the chances were that it did not have five banks of oars but that the word 'oar' was used to mean 'rower'. In such a case, the arrangement of rowers would be two-two-one going up from the waterline. It makes sense to keep as much weight as possible low in the vessel to help its stability; a high centre of gravity makes any ship liable to capsize if struck from the side. The quinquereme, then, would be a formidable vessel both in terms of appearance and combat value. With a large fighting contingent aboard and plenty of deck space, this heavy vessel could cope with most enemies and threats.

At close targets, a ballista could be aimed effectively but accuracy came at a cost in range; it could fire around 500 metres. The machine used two torsion springs with levers inserted into twisted ropes made from animal sinew, giving incredible power for its size. Firing either solid shot or bolts, it was equally effective against infantry or cavalry, but could also be deployed to destroy light fortifications during sieges. Originally developed by the Greeks around 400BC, and based on the oversized Oxybeles composite bow, ballistae were widely used by many cultures of the period, including the Romans. Later Roman versions included adjustable caps that enabled crews to quickly alter the tension of each sinew bundle to provide balance and therefore improve accuracy.

Faction Availability