Hounds of Culann are a type of heavy infantry unit available to the Celts in Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion.
Description[]
They must make an effort tot drive themselves into the right state of mind, although some prefer stimulants to build up to their killing frenzy. Having driven themselves into a state of blind rage, hounds of Culann will attack anyone who stands nearby. They feel no pain, feel no fear and simply do not understand the concepts of mercy or restraint. Once the red mist has descended across their sight, there is no stopping them. They usually fight without armour, and it's not unknown for them to fight without weapons from time to time, hurling themselves on enemies and trying to bite them!
Tactics[]
Hounds of Culann are one of the most 'out there' units in the entire expansion. Cloaked in purple paint and yellow dye, they're terrifying to see on the battlefield and have little to compare to as they're just so unique. The closest other infantry to them are the other two handed barbarian units such as fellow Celtic Gallowglasses or the Lombard Berserker and Chosen Axemen used by the Lombardi, Alemanni and Burgundii. They're very strange compared to the organised Western Roman Comitatenses or even more 'civilised' barbarian infantry like the Frankish Francisca Heerbann.
These men are the very definition of 'blast from the past', resembling the crazy Gaul and Brittonic warriors of old. Their two handed club deals massive damage and can quite literally send a man flying. It's not unusual to see enemy soldiers being sent flying in the air where Hounds of Culann are fight, which makes it easy to spot them. They can even make heavy infantry think twice about attacking them, as what they lack in armour and numbers they make up for in raw power and damage, making all that Roman armour useless when a giant club comes crashing down on their skull. They're unique to the Celts due to their shrines and gods, so seeing them is something of a rarity unless you directly border the Celts. Their big drawback is poor protection, no shields and a complete lack of armour. They're very soft and squishy targets which makes them an arrow magnet for any archer on the battlefield. All their power and attack is useless when stuck in a rainstorm of arrows while close combat makes the Roman swords and shields able to easily find the unarmoured body of these solider.
Hounds of Culann are available from pretty much the start of a Celtic game at turn 1. It requires a specific shrine but said shrine is the most basic (level 1) shrine you can build and it's available to pretty much any settlement that has some people in it. They take 2 turns to build, though, and having a shrine for them in every single settlement is not the best idea. They have a relatively cheap upkeep, however, to fielding armies of them is not too harmful on the pocket. Hounds of Culann are best kept in the rear lines of a Celtic army, where the archers will struggle to reach them, since they can be easily picked off and killed by missile units. If fighting an attack in a siege, Hounds should be kept away from arrow towers to attack using siege towers, where they can be let loose on the walls to forge a path through the defenders. Likewise, if defending, Hounds are well placed on the walls behind a cheaper unit, where their berserk ability means they can cut through the enemies trying to get onto the walls. If the enemy army lacks missiles, however, Hounds really show their worth. They deal massive damage and can easily kill an early game spearman unit like Runaway Slave Spearmen or Spear Warband from Barbarian factions or Roman Limitanei. Their berserk ability really makes them a danger, however, as they'll become enraged and attack with even more vigour, sending even the most heavily armoured Comitatenses flying into the air. When this happens, however, they will not respond to orders for the rest of the battle, even if the enemy unit they were fighting has broken and ran. They will gain infinite stamina and become 'heroic' which means their morale will never break and they will fight to the death quite literally, running around the map until either they die or every enemy unit has either been killed or fled the battlefield. They're also vulnerable to cavalry, as their low soldier count and no defence whatsoever makes them highly susceptible to cavalry charges from even light cavalry units.
Trivia[]
- This unit is unique to the Celts. No other faction can recruit or field Hounds of Culann under normal circumstances. That said, the unit makes an appearance in one of the two historical battles featured in Barbarian Invasion, the Battle of Badon Hill, where the Romano-British get two units of Hounds of Culann in their army, something normally not possible.
- The unit is inspired by the mythological Irish hero Cú Chulainn, the "hound of Culann", who could enter a terrifying battle frenzy ("ríastrad") transforming into a monster capable of killing hundreds of warriors.
Gallery[]
