Massed peltast +50% javelins

[vakarr]

Massed peltasts: protected medium infantry with light spear, 50% sword, and 50% javelins.
(an alternative would be to make them bounce more often like cavalry if a charge failed)
I've been trying out giving massed peltasts 50% javelin shooting in my updated Thracian campaign, and I think it works well.

They don't cause many casualties or get many opportunities to shoot but that's not the point. It doesn't make them super troops and you get to use peltasts more like peltasts, and are encouraged to do so.

It really irks me when a heavy infantry unit (for instance) is able to sit on clear terrain next to difficult terrain, and thumb its nose at any massed peltasts in the difficult terrain. The massed peltasts are unable to charge because they would be suicide, as they are disordered but the opponents in the clear terrain are not. The two units thus may sit facing each other, right next to each other, for some time. They could be outside a forest, or on a road inside a forest, or at the bottom of a difficult slope, on the other side of a difficult stream, or outside a marsh. Giving the massed peltasts even a limited opportunity to shoot means that they can do what they did historically, i.e. march up to an enemy unit and shoot at it instead of charging it. This means that they can ambush those troops marching down the road in the forest or along the bottom of a hill or outside a marsh. It means that those troops outside the difficult terrain will make more effort to avoid them, and you don't have to do suicide charges with the massed peltasts. Most of the time they don't get an opportunity for a flank charge, as that's something your opponent will avoid at all costs. Anyway you will be able to see what it's like when I finish updating the FOG Odrysian Empire campaign.

[SimonLancaster]

It is a waste of a heavy infantry unit to ZoC a peltast unit in general.. but maybe some tweaks for peltasts could be good.

[Paul59]

I know that Richard is dead against equipping Medium or Heavy Foot with javelins. I can't remember exactly why, but I think it is something to do with previous problems with other rule sets that had this feature.

[vakarr]

I know that Richard is dead against equipping Medium or Heavy Foot with javelins. I can't remember exactly why, but I think it is something to do with previous problems with other rule sets that had this feature.

Yes, "too much like 6th or 7th edn WRG" but massed peltasts didn't work as well under 6th or 7th edn WRG as there was no break-off move and the turn/no turn/flanking features. Light infantry peltasts worked better under those rules, but I wouldn't want to go back to them. I don't see that there's much difference from medium infantry equipped with bows, which were also allowed with those rulesets, and medium infantry with javelins except for the lower morale of bowmen. I think that for heavy infantry the "light spear" category covers them well, since they didn't rely on javelin shooting at all, except when charging.