Scythe Chariot
Age: Iron
Train at: Stable
Prerequisite: Nobility, Wheel
Upgrade cost: 1200 wood, 800 gold
Special: High resistance to conversion; double attack against
Priests. Scythed wheels damage adjacent enemy units.
The Scythe Chariot is an upgrade of the Chariot. It has more hit
points, more attack strength, and more armor.
Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength.
Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor.
Chariots went out of favor by the beginning of the last millennium BC in favor of cavalry. But they did
not disappear completely. Some armies continued to use them and they remained a symbol of prestige.
To make chariots more effective and fearsome, scythe blades were attached to the axles. As the
chariot moved, the blades rotated through the air. A foot soldier facing an oncoming Scythe Chariot
faced the prospect of being ridden down by the horse, shot by an arrow, stabbed by the soldier on
board, or hacked by the blades. This could be a terrifying weapon against broken troops trying to flee.
Against steady veteran troops, however, the Scythe Chariot was still a chariot with inherent
weaknesses. If the horses could be wounded, the chariot faltered. The Persians attempted to use
Scythe Chariots against Alexander the Great, but the weapon made little impression on the disciplined
phalanxes.
Slinger
Age: Tool
Train at: Barracks
Special: +2 attack against archers; +2 armor against
missile weapons, Ballista, Helepolis; increased attack
against walls and towers.
The Slinger is an infantry unit used to defend against early archer
and Watch Tower attacks.
Bronze Shield, Iron Shield, and Tower Shield increase piercing armor.
Alchemy increases attack strength. Stone Mining and Siegecraft increase
attack strength and range.
Note: Slingers do not get armor upgrades from Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail.
Slingers were light troops who threw stones at the enemy, causing casualties and disrupting formations.
A barrage of heavy stones could cause wounds and bone fractures. The stone was held in a cloth sling
and swung in a vertical loop to build centrifugal force. One end of the sling was released, launching the
stone. Slingers were an alternative to archers and javelin men. They threw stones of different weights,
depending on the range to the target. Roman art shows slingers throwing rocks the size of grapefruit,
probably at short range. Specially shaped stones could be thrown accurately to a respectable distance.
The best known slinger of antiquity was David, who slew the Philistine champion Goliath in single
combat with a shot to the head. A contingent of Rhodesian slingers were part of the 10,000-man
mercenary force whose march home from Persia is described by Xenophon in his book
Anabasis
.
6 Age of Empires Expansion
