| Draconian Swordsmen | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Race | Draconians | |
| Req. Town Buildings |
Barracks, Smithy | |
| Construction Cost |
 50 | |
| Upkeep Cost |
 1 1 | |
| ||
| # of figures |
 6 | |
| Moves |
 2 | |
| Melee Attack per figure |
 3 | |
| Defense per figure |
 3 | |
| Resistance |
 6 | |
| Hit Points per figure |
 1 | |
| ||
 Fire Breath 1 | ||
Draconian Swordsmen are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Draconian 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 – although their flight and Breath Attack still give Draconian Swordsmen a distinct tactical advantage against most 
ground units. They can also become somewhat stronger through 
Experience.
Draconian Swordsmen have a Construction Cost of 50, 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[]
Draconian Swordsmen are a group of dragon-kin, humanoids descended from dragons. They are covered in thick green scales from head to toe, they have long thin tails, reptilian heads, and two great dragon wings that enable them to fly. They each carry a sword for up-close-and-personal combat, and a large purple shield that protects them from enemy arrows and other ranged attacks.
Draconian Swordsmen are a Multi-Figure unit, containing up to 6 soldiers.
Attack Properties[]
Draconian Swordsmen possess a Melee Attack that will initially only be threatening to other low-tier Normal Units. They have an Attack Strength of 3, which yields an average "raw" 
damage output of 0.9 per Swordsman. While this can be decent against lighter armor, it's still not quite enough to consistently hurt well-protected opponents. Draconian Swordsmen do get better with Experience though, both in strength and accuracy. At the 
Elite level, the maximum normally attainable, their attacks will do over twice this much – 2.0 points of "raw" damage, on average, per Swordsman.
Characteristic to their Race, Draconian Swordsmen can also 
Breathe Fire at their opponents. Whenever they initiate a Melee Attack against an enemy unit, they will precede the "mutual melee" with a short-range attack. This has an initial strength of only 1 though, as indicated by the magnitude of the Draconian Swordsmen's 
Fire Breath ability. As a result, it only has a base 30% chance to yield any "raw" damage at all – which the opponent may then reduce through a Defense Roll. However, this attack is executed before the enemy could retaliate, which means that any damage it causes may reduce the amount of enemy 
figures that can strike back at the Draconian Swordsmen during melee. On the other hand, this Attack Type only works on voluntary attacks – the Draconians can't use it when Counter Attacking against an enemy assault.
Defensive Properties[]
Draconian Swordsmen are lightly armored, and have a Defense score of 3 with their racial bonus. They can deflect about 0.9 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 a respectable 1.5 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.
As with most common foot soldiers though, each Draconian Swordsman has only 1 Hit Point. In other words, each point of Damage inflicted on this unit will kill off one of its figures. Their Resistance score is not too high either. Even with their racial bonus, they only have 6 – just enough for a fair chance at avoiding the weakest Unit Curses and other ill effects. Defense, Resistance, and even Hit Points improve with Experience however.
Other Properties[]
Like all units of this Race, Draconian Swordsmen possess the ability to fly at a steady pace of 2, both overland and in battle. This allows them to not only travel anywhere on the campaign map, but also to avoid being attacked by ground units without special abilities in melee combat. As a result, they can often pick their fights to maximize the use of their Breath Attacks.
Basic Strategy[]
Draconian Swordsmen are a step up from the basic Draconian 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.
Fire Breath 1[]
- Whenever this unit makes a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy target, it also delivers a Fire Damage Breath Attack with a strength of 1 per figure.
- As a Breath Attack, this damage is delivered before the enemy gets the chance to retaliate. Any figures in the target unit that are killed by the attack do not get to deliver any Melee Damage.
- This attack does not occur when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant.
- Targets possessing Fire Immunity or Magic Immunity, or enchanted with Righteousness are considered to have a Defense of 50 against this attack. It also triggers the conditional protections granted by Bless ( +3), Resist Elements ( +3), or Elemental Armor ( +10); in addition to that of the Large Shield ability ( +2).
Experience Table[]
The following table illustrates how Draconian 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 | Breath | To Hit | Defense | Resist | Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Recruit | 0 - 19
|
3
|
1
|
 30%
|
3
|
6
|
1
|
|
Regular | 20 - 59
|
4
|
2
|
30%
|
3
|
7
|
1
|
|
Veteran | 60 - 119
|
4
|
2
|
30%
|
4
|
8
|
1
|
|
Elite | 120
|
5
|
3
|
40%
|
4
|
9
|
2
|
|
Ultra-Elite | 120 *
|
5
|
3
|
50%
|
5
|
10
|
2
|
|
Champion | 120 **
|
6
|
4
|
60%
|
5
|
11
|
3
|
* 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 Draconian Swordsmen unit will deliver with each type of attack, 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[]
Draconian Swordsmen may be recruited in any Draconian Town that has both a Barracks and a Smithy already built. The Construction Cost of this unit is 50. Draconian Swordsmen may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Myrror. In this case, they cost between 100 to 150 to hire per unit, based on their Experience – or half that much for Charismatic Wizards.