Border Raiders

The Scots rode beyond the Wold and [appeared] before York, and committed destruction at their pleasure without resistance from any, until it seemed good to them to retire.

— The Scalacronica, trans Sir Herbert Maxwell'

In game

Border Raiders — Vital statistics
	Scottish unique light cavalry unit, neither as strong nor swift as Light Cavalry, but with very good line of sight, making it an excellent armed scout. Strong versus light and medium infantry Weak versus heavy cavalry; heavy infantry; buildings
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrade of	Upgrades to
[2];	11.7s (175t)	135	9	12	2s (20t?)	36
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 60; : 40	: 1; : 1	1		2	Melee	Inferior but cheaper heavy cavalry unit. Armour-piercing attack. Bonus damage versus light infantry. Defensive bonus versus Archers. Slight attack penalty versus camel cavalry, and elephants.

Overall strategy

A Scottish unique light cavalry unit, the Border Raider is distinguished from generic Light Cavalry by its sacrificing hitpoints, offensive strength and speed for added line of sight. Of course, their poor armour and attack, alongside their poor speed, means that against most cavalry-heavy civilisations they might have many problems, but they well make up for it by helping you avoid trouble as opposed to fighting it whenever it comes. For the Scots who are wholly dependent on Caterans and Sciltrons by the Castle Age, the Border Raider can be a useful unit if used as a supporting unit against archers, since it can spot them quicker than most other units.

Due to the terrain which alternated between wooded mountain passes and open riparian plains, the inhabitants of northern Britain developed a unique style of cavalry which was best suited for sneak attacks, which eventually gave rise to armed men known as "reavers" or "reivers", named so for their predatory way of life which often involved livestock rustling, banditry and even abducting people for ransom. Unlike other cavalrymen, Reavers preferred to use strong nags or ponies as opposed to full-sized destriers, given the terrain they operated in, with Irish ponies or "hobies" being seen as the premium choice of mount in such conditions. For the Welsh in the Imperial Era, the most desperate of these people, known as Broken Men, are the only advanced light cavalry element recruitable to them.

Unit summary

• Border Bother — Although they perform poorly in battle, Border Raiders make up for it by functioning as a cavalry spotter, capable of seeing further than any other light cavalry unit.
• Broken Men — These are an exact replica of Border Raiders, being available to Wales in the Imperial Era and are the best light cavalry available to them since they have no access to Castle Age Light Cavalry.
• Eye Spy — the extensive line of sight of the Border Raider marks it as the best cavalry unit for surveillance and raiding.

CtW information

Most Barbarian factions that you meet in Rise of Chivalry don't train knights, preferring instead to raise Retinue Cavalry.

History

By the onset of the Intermediate Middle Ages, the use and power of cavalry were making themselves more extensively felt throughout the Old World, most notably embodied in the form of the spirit of chivalry, in which dedicated bands of warriors served as both soldier and governor: the miles or knightly class, which was drilled to perfection to live, fight and die in the saddle. Although the mediaeval knight dominated much of Europe's mediaeval history, there were vast areas in the world where heavy cavalry continued to be used but did not always reach the same standards or numbers as the European knight, for a variety of reasons: either there was a lack of proper terrain for true heavy cavalry to fight in (such as Wales, Scandinavia, or the Middle East), or there was simply a lack of proper horses to go by (such as in post-Tang China).