<?xml version="1.0" ?><?encoding UTF-16?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../xsl/unit.xsl"?><unit><full_name>iberian missile slingers</full_name><dictionary>iberian_missile_slingers</dictionary><category>infantry</category><class>missile</class><voice_type>Medium_1</voice_type><soldier><name>african_missile_african_iberian_rhodian_slingers</name><soldiers>30</soldiers><extras>0</extras><mass>0.85</mass></soldier><mount_effect>horse -2, chariot +2, elephant +1</mount_effect><attributes>sea_faring, hide_improved_forest, can_sap, very_hardy, hide_long_grass</attributes><formation><side_spacing>2.8</side_spacing><front_spacing>3.5</front_spacing><loose_side_spacing>3.4</loose_side_spacing><loose_front_spacing>4.8</loose_front_spacing><ranks>5</ranks><formations>square</formations></formation><stat_health><hit_points>1</hit_points><animal_hit_points>1</animal_hit_points></stat_health><stat_pri><attack>1</attack><charge>0</charge><missile_type>stone</missile_type><range>148</range><ammo>25</ammo><weapon_type>missile</weapon_type><tech_type>archery</tech_type><dammage_type>blunt</dammage_type><sound>none</sound><min_delay>15</min_delay><lethality>1</lethality></stat_pri><stat_pri_attr>ap</stat_pri_attr><stat_sec><attack>7</attack><charge>0</charge><missile_type>no</missile_type><range>0</range><ammo>0</ammo><weapon_type>melee</weapon_type><tech_type>simple</tech_type><dammage_type>piercing</dammage_type><sound>knife</sound><min_delay>0</min_delay><lethality>0.04</lethality></stat_sec><stat_sec_attr>no</stat_sec_attr><stat_pri_armour><armour>1</armour><def_skill>7</def_skill><shield>1</shield><sound>flesh</sound></stat_pri_armour><stat_sec_armour><armour>0</armour><def_skill>0</def_skill><sound>flesh</sound></stat_sec_armour><stat_heat>1</stat_heat><stat_ground><scrub>0</scrub><sand>0</sand><forest>0</forest><snow>0</snow></stat_ground><stat_mental><morale>8</morale><discipline>low</discipline><training>untrained</training></stat_mental><stat_fire_delay>0</stat_fire_delay><stat_food>60, 300</stat_food><stat_cost><turns>1</turns><cost>483</cost><upkeep>121</upkeep><upgrade_weapon>40</upgrade_weapon><upgrade_armour>60</upgrade_armour><custom_battle>483</custom_battle></stat_cost><ownership>spain, egypt, slave, britons, gauls, scythia, germans</ownership><description><name>Trokalobutiamm (Shepherd Slingers)</name><short>The Trokalobutiamm are shepherds that have been gathered together to form a unit of slingers. They’re made up of the poorest men of all the peninsular tribes and nations.</short><long>Impetuous
Hardy
Expert at Hiding in Forests

The Trokalobutiamm (Tro-kay-low-boot-i-am; "Herds/Field Worker Combatants") are shepherds that have been banded together to fight as a unit of slingers. They’re made up from the lower classes of all peninsular tribes and nations, who mostly scrape off a living grazing small flocks of sheep and goats on arid hills. Being so poor and with a high demand for slingers, it’s no wonder these hardy highlanders have come down the hills seeking to join bandit groups or to offer their services as mercenaries in urban armies. Armed only with their sling and a knife, they are also largely unprotected besides their small wicker buckler. That makes them extremely vulnerable to any troops that can catch them in a melee and even light cavalry is likely to just run through them without breaking a sweat.

Historically, with the abandonment of the bow by the end of the Bronze Age, the sling was the only long-ranged missile weapon to be found in 3rd century Iberia. It had always been the weapon of choice of the shepherd, who relied on its range and accuracy to keep predators such as wolves and lynxes from threatening his valuable flock. It is no wonder then, that these men constituted the majority of slingers present in battle, driven by their hard-life in the hills into mercenary service. Despite using rounded rocks in their day-to-day life, they were supplied by their lords with clay and lead shot for better performance in battle. So ubiquitous was the sling that its ammunition remains today one of the most numerous finds in military contexts.</long></description></unit>