Arbalest Dromedaries

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"[H]orse cavalry possesses the additional gear ratio which permits it to attain sufficient speed through mountainous country to get behind and hold the enemy..."

— George S. Patton, American WW2 general

In game[edit | edit source]

Arbalest arab ico.png
Arbalest Dromedaries — Vital statistics
Arbalest Dromedaries

Unique light cavalry unit, slower but tougher than normal Palace Gamekeepers and also able to resist attacks by melee cavalry.

Prereq: Build time HP LOS Attack Attack speed Movement
speed
Upgrade of
Level 3: Heraldry and Code of Honour Military
15s
(225t)
70 9 15 2.3s
(35t)
34
Cost Created from Armour Weapon range Specialty
Base Ramp Pop
Timber: 60;
Wealth.jpg: 40
Timber: 1;
Wealth.jpg: 1
1 Stable.jpg 1 0–5
  • Can attack units whilst pursuing.
  • Defensive bonus versus horse cavalry.

Saracens.jpg

Overall strategy[edit | edit source]

Combining the stopping power of the Frankish Arbalest with the speed of camels, Arbalest Dromedaries may highly useful support units with regard towards skirmish work and infantry support. Not only do they have the speed and anti-horse resistance of most camelry, they now are even more devastating against melee infantry owing to the far reach of their primary weapon, the Arbalest. Thus they can be used not just against melee infantry, but units with inferior weapons, such as simple Archers and Horse Javelineers. Even Mounted Cranequin cavalry don't stand a chance against these units.

Unit summary[edit | edit source]

  • Insurance Policy — Although slower than most missile cavalry units, Arbalest Dromedaries have a good deal of hitpoints and some armour to help them best other units, making them somewhat useful in raiding, as the extra hitpoints and armour can protect them when running away.
  • No One Best Solution — For maximum results, team up your Arbalest Dromedaries with your other units, as no one unit in the Saracen arsenal can really work on its own.

History[edit | edit source]

Despite being slower and much less temperate in behaviour than horses, camels had their uses. The first was their durability — on the march, camels can store all the fat and moisture that they will ever need in the hump on their body. The second was that their scent often spooked horses, which was both a blessing and a curse for the military-minded. Arabs and Asians were not the only ones to recognise the tactical use of camels: a long list of empires, beginning with the Romans, often tried to create their own dromedary squads when venturing into the Middle East and Asia — with mixed results. While Napoleon found dromedary units useful in his Middle Eastern campaigns, attempts at creating dromedary units in America failed for the reason that they caused problems for more conventional cavalry, and camels imported into America for that purpose were released into the wild, ending experiments to create camel units for the US Army.