Thought to have been invented simultaneously in both Greece and China during the 5th century BC, various forms of crossbow spread rapidly across Europe, even appearing on Pictish standing stones in the far north of Britannia. An early attempt to automate the simple bow, the crossbow works by mounting a bow horizontally on a barrel or stock that, once fitted with a ‘bolt’, can be drawn with a ratchet mechanism to much greater tension than a man alone can generate before being braced against the shoulder for firing. This means that, despite the superior accuracy and rates of fire afforded by the traditional bow, the crossbow can penetrate heavy armour more effectively. Also, unlike the bow, which takes many years of training and practice to master, an unskilled man can be taught to use a crossbow well within a week. Comparably poor accuracy was the weapon’s only real downside, but since it could be held in tension for a much longer period of time, crossbowmen often had time to pick and choose their shots carefully.
Strength and Weaknesses[]
Very Poor Armour
Poor Rate of Fire
Low Health
Base Stats[]
Celtic Crossbows
Unit
Number of Men:
160
Morale:
34
Bonus HP:
3
Melee Attack:
5
Melee Defense:
1
Charge Bonus:
1
Reload:
30
Ammunition:
12
Very Light Infantry
Human
Hit Points:
75
Mass:
70
Walk Speed:
16
Run Speed:
40
Charge Speed:
55
Charge Distance:
35
Weapons and Gear[]
Dagger
Melee Weapon
Damage:
5
Armour Penetration Damage:
1
Bonus vs Infantry:
0
Bonus vs Cavalry:
0
Bonus vs Elephants:
0
Building damage:
0.033
Crossbow
Missile Weapon
Normal Shot
Flaming Shot
Heavy Shot
Whistling Shot
Damage:
15
75
5
15
Armour Penetration Damage:
50
25
75
5
Base Reload Time:
43
60
60
60
Range:
125
125
125
125
Bonus vs Infantry:
0
0
10
0
Bonus vs Cavalry:
0
0
0
0
Bonus vs Elephants:
0
0
0
0
Special Effects:
Cloth
Armour
Armour:
3
Abilities[]
Attributes[]
Resistant to Fatigue
Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
Guerrilla Deployment
This unit can deploy outside of the deployment zone.
Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.