Beastmen Swordsmen | ||
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Race | Beastmen | |
Req. Town Buildings |
Barracks, Smithy | |
Construction Cost | 40 | |
Upkeep Cost |
1 1 | |
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# of figures | 6 | |
Moves | 1 | |
Melee Attack per figure | 4 | |
Defense per figure | 2 | |
Resistance | 5 | |
Hit Points per figure | 2 | |
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Large Shield |
Beastmen Swordsmen are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Beastmen Towns containing at least a Barracks and a Smithy. Swordsmen are a basic combat unit available to all Races. They are better defended against Ranged Attacks than other low-tier units, but generally don't pose much of a threat to more advanced units. They can become somewhat stronger through Experience though.
Beastmen Swordsmen have a Construction Cost of 40, and require an Upkeep Cost of 1 and 1 to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically.
Unit Properties[]
Physical Description[]
Beastmen Swordsmen are a group of humanoid animals, covered entirely in fur and dressed only in dyed loincloths. They each carry a sword for up-close-and-personal combat, and a large dark-red buckler that protects them from enemy arrows and other ranged attacks. Beastmen are physically resilient, stronger than the average human, and their inherent magical nature gives them some protection from ill effects.
Beastmen Swordsmen are a Multi-Figure unit, containing up to 6 soldiers.
Attack Properties[]
Thanks to their inhuman strength, Beastmen Swordsmen possess a more powerful Melee Attack than the average. They have an Attack Strength of 4, which yields an average "raw" damage output of 1.2 per Swordsman. While this is fairly decent against lighter armor, it's still not quite enough to consistently hurt well-protected opponents. Beastmen Swordsmen do get better with Experience though, both in strength and accuracy. At the Elite level, the maximum normally attainable, their attacks will exactly twice this much – 2.4 points of "raw" damage, on average, per Swordsman.
Defensive Properties[]
Beastmen Swordsmen are lightly armored, possessing a Defense score of 2. They can deflect about 0.6 points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average. Unfortunately, this is rarely enough to avoid anything but the weakest attacks. Like all Swordsmen however, they carry Large Shields, which grant an extra +2 against all types of Conventional Damage that is delivered at a range. This brings their average damage reduction up to 1.2 against Missile-, Boulder-, and Ranged Magical Attacks, as well as Thrown Attacks, Breath Attacks, the hidden Conventional component of most Gaze Attacks, and all spells and effects that deal Conventional Damage, including Area Damage.
Beastmen are quite resilient, having 2 Hit Points, and will not lose a figure for every point of damage they take like most other Swordsmen. Their base Resistance score does leave something to be desired though – with 5, they have a fair chance at avoiding the weakest Unit Curses and combat maledictions, but will easily fall prey to stronger ill effects. Their Defense, Resistance, and even Hit Points improve with Experience however.
Other Properties[]
Beastmen Swordsmen move at a slow 1, and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties.
Basic Strategy[]
Beastmen Swordsmen are a step up from the basic Beastmen Spearmen. Stronger on the attack, and better defended against spells and ranged opponents, they can serve as a decent main-line unit in the early stages of the campaign. The Barracks and Smithy required to recruit them are typically cheap enough to build in every Town, especially since the latter is also needed for some of the economical Town Buildings, and is likely to be constructed sooner rather than later.
Because of their defensive advantage, Swordsmen are often a better choice than Spearmen for garrisoning frontier Settlements and contested areas. However, it should be noted that unlike Spearmen, they also cost Gold to maintain in addition to Food, and their lower figure count makes enhancements effects slightly less pronounced for them.
Ability Overview[]
Large Shield[]
- This unit receives a Defense bonus of +2 against all types of Conventional Damage delivered at range – including all Ranged Attacks, short-range attacks, and Spell Damage.
Experience Table[]
The following table illustrates how Beastmen Swordsmen improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by Experience in any way.
Level Icon | Level Name | EP | Melee | To Hit | Defense | Resist | Hits |
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Recruit | 0 - 19 | 4 | 30% | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
Regular | 20 - 59 | 5 | 30% | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
Veteran | 60 - 119 | 5 | 30% | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
Elite | 120 | 6 | 40% | 3 | 8 | 3 | |
Ultra-Elite | 120 * | 6 | 50% | 4 | 9 | 3 | |
Champion | 120 ** | 7 | 60% | 4 | 10 | 4 |
* To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the Crusade spell must be in play.
** To achieve this level, both Warlord and Crusade must be in play simultaneously.
Average Damage Output[]
The table below details the average amount of "raw" damage that each Figure in a Beastmen Swordsmen unit will deliver based on Experience Level. It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target.
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Acquisition[]
Beastmen Swordsmen may be recruited in any Beastmen Town that has both a Barracks and a Smithy already built. The Construction Cost of this unit is 40. Beastmen Swordsmen may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Myrror. In this case, they cost between 80 to 120 to hire per unit, based on their Experience – or half that much for Charismatic Wizards.