I’m assuming an Alexandrian sort with super long sarissas to be used with both hands and small shields strapped on that have no need to be held with the hands so that the phalangites can focus on weilding the huge sarissas.
Presumably they’d have some supporting forces sent along to protect the flanks of the phalangites, also.
Those forces are called peltasts(a assortment of people with throwing spears, bows and melee weapons mostly comprised of lower class citizens)
Or cavalry or slingers. The greeks were known for those as well as their hopolites (or phalanites in this game)
Phalangites were historically the next step up from the hoplites, I think. The longer spears made a very big difference in battle, provided that they weren’t overrun at the sides.
The forces at the sides of the phalanx in history weren’t always peltasts, so I’m keeping that open with the term ‘supporting forces’ as ‘peltast’ doesn’t do too great a job at describing, say, the companion cavalry and the hypaspists.
The Macedonians had the only actual real organized cavalry units.
All other Greek city states just had rich people in cavalry mode.
Well most of them Sparta was all infantry and nothing else… I suppose they covered that weakness by successfully utilising their allies and helots who want to be free or become honorary Spartans.
Shouldn’t Karagons do the same by the way?
Hi guys, quick answer is that I’m still deciding how far the Phalangites have evolved (in terms of tactics and equipment) given the very different combat challenges they’ve been facing for the past couple of centuries – the Byzantines didn’t fight opponents who could fly, or disrupt a close formation with a fireball. So while their origins are definitely in Greek-style phalanx units (and indeed Macedonian-style heavy pike units), I’m not sure they’re still a lot like that. Watch this space for more details as I work them out.
The few Karagond city-states that had a tradition of granting citizenship to heroic helots lost it when the development of Theurgy led to the universal use of helots as blood supply.
“The few Karagond city-states that had a tradition of granting citizenship to heroic helots lost it when the development of Theurgy led to the universal use of helots as blood supply.”
Stop promoting the ammo, guys! I mean really?!
@Havenstone
when will the next part be out
Havenstone I still without a study strategy in history, but I could imagine the close formations to protect against ballistas and arrows could help against some air attacks . Another could be addressed similarly when people cast Greek fire or launched firing scorpions and poisonous snakes to the other army.
Scorpions and venomous snakes seem like awfully inefficient weapons to be thrown. So much care and expense in gathering them for relatively little benefit.
The phalanx offered some protection from missiles as all the layers of sarissas held over and to the front of phalangites (the back rows leaned them forward in preparation for replacing the frontal rows) tended to deflect most of the arrows flying around all those poles. I’m not sure how well this would work out for fireballs, though.
Is there a core of sorts to these fireballs, something that would bounce around? Does it explode into flames upon contact with something instead? If so, how large is the blast and would that tend to set anything else on fire?
@Golgot inefficient you say? I recommend you read Herodoto history tomes. Where typical defensive use drop jars of animals due the fear cause in horses and men . The Greek fire exploded to contact the most similar modern warfare is napalm. Sadly, we lost all info about how in hell create Greek fire, but there are ruins affected for it so archeologist knows that was deathly and really existed one of their ingredients seem to be petroleum.
I wasn’t talking about the greek fire, obviously.
As for the jars of animals, sure it was effective in some cases but most of the time it’s not worth nearly so much of the work to collect them as it is to use that effort for more conventional weaponry outside of very select scenarios. Thus, inefficient.
And I thought you were talking about the artillery…
Whenever someone uses a blood phial they break it or pour its contents into their hand. Does that mean physical contact with the blood is necessary to use it for Theurgy? If so, why?
Yes, physical contact with the blood is necessary. You don’t (yet) know why.
Interesting. I take it that the explanation is more than “it’s magic!”
There’s a reason intrinsic to the magic system, yes.
I was wondering @Havestone If i poisoning the blood using king cobra venom that destroys blood the magic could be sabotaged? Or make them harrowing hemophiliac people?