New Roman unit on .com

[ShadesWolf]

Praetorian Cohort

http://www.totalwar.com/community/images/prae.jpg

The Praetorian Cohort are heavy infantry, hand picked from the bravest troops of the Legions. They are the only military units allowed to remain within the city of Rome. They are fierce soldiers, dedicated to their mission as an elite bodyguard for the mightiest of Romans. On campaign, they are equipped in the same fashion as the Legions, with legionary lorica segmenta armour, pila and gladius and these are of the finest quality. Historically, Scipio Africanus created the Praetorians from his most trusted troops, and exempted them from all duties except that of guarding his person. The Praetorians have better conditions than ordinary Legionaires, and need only complete 16 years under arms before retiring. Tribunes command the Praetorian Cohort and two Praetorian Prefects command the whole Corps. The Praetorians are the political elite of the Roman army, bodyguards to the powerful in Rome, but not always used to the rigours of campaigning.


Link to page - Rome Units page at .com (http://www.totalwar.com/community/unit1.htm)

[Stormer]

I CANT WAIT NO LONGER, IM GONNA HAVE A NEVEOUS BREAKDOWN http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pissed.gif

[Knight_Yellow]

Hmmmmmm

interesting i want to go into a coma and waker up on the day of romes release.

cant wait must have my .... my .... MY PRECIOUS

[Basileus]

com eon ppl relax it will be here in a year or 3-4 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif muhihi

[Stormer]

Quote[/b] ]com eon ppl relax it will be here in a year or 3-4 muhihi

DO U KNOW HOW LONG THAT IS http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/redface.gif

[Shahed]

Nice Thanks

[Shahed]

OOOOOO MY GOD

Aftershock

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

[Knight_Yellow]

Ha ha ha hes wearing a skirt http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif


oh wait a minute ......

~~~~~~~~~scottish kilt~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



bollox

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Remember this, KY?

http://www.t-army.com/pics/London%20Scots%20at%20Latvia%20Border.jpg

[ShadesWolf]

Men is skirts http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif now thats scares me http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Leet Eriksson]

Hmmm Preatorians will probably trash anything that goes H2H with them,except elephants maybe,unless they carry pigs http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

In the last line it indicates that they are not used to the rigours of campaigning does that mean we'll have to wait for a while before commiting them to another battle?

[ELITEofGAZOZ]

very interesting

[Sir Black Raven]

Indeed Praethorians cohortes were fierless warriors; the cream of the cream among roman troops. But they were not equiped with a pila but i think pilum? and do u know that in portuguese the word pila means ....hehehehe the one and only dick...(sorry for the use of this word). http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Aelwyn]

I think Pila might be the plural for Pilum....well it would make sense anyways.

[lonewolf371]

It is the latin plural for pilum, and even as is they both describe an... hermmm... stick.

[Hakonarson]

Here's a post on the Praetorians I made to the other thread dealing with the same subject:

Hmmmm....well maybe Scipio did form some, but he did NOT form the Paetorian Guard as it's described here.

Praetorian simply means headquaters, and many (most/all) Roman generals had a praetorian unit of some sort from the earliest times.

But until Augustus raised the Guard in 31BC after the battle of Actium they were essentially no different from any other troops - merely the HQ guard taken from a line unit, probably the general's favourite veterans, and probably with no special terms of service. Scipio is said to have paid his 6 times as much as ordinary soldiers and exempted them from various duties, but the source for this is a relatively unknown historian Festus and isn't supported by anyone else.

Praetorian units could be infantry or cavalry, and were often "estraordinarii" - the best of hte Latin allies.

When Auggustus picked his guard he did choose the best veterans - both foot and horse, and both his and his opponents'. But it didn't take long before it became the preferred service for rich young Romans.

And of course Lorica Segmentata was not in use during the time RTW covers at all It is first attested in the early years AD - the first known examples of any segmentata are from Teutonberger Wald - 9AD.

Given that RTW finishes in 10BC for all of the period of RTW Roman body armour should be mail.

Even then mail stayed available in the East for a century or more, and in the West heavily armoured Romans equipped specially to fight Dacian falx-weilders reverted to mail for more complete coverace in 102 AD

History of the Praetorian Guard #1 (http://www.clanpraetorian.com/real_praetorian_guard.htm)

History of the Praetorians #2 (http://www.ku.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Praetoriani.html)

Oh - and the comment that they're not used to the rigours of campaigning is also highly anachronistic and applies in the later 2nd and 3rd centuries AD only It's typically accepted that they'd grown soft because they were defeated by German legions at Milvians Bridge in 312 AD, after which they were disbanded.

The early Praetorian guard accompanied the Emperor on all his campaigns, and were well used to the rigours of campaigning

Hisory of Praetorians #3, incl reference to Scipio's cohort. (http://www.ku.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Praetoriani.html)

[Nelson]

Quote[/b] (Hakonarson @ May 01 2003,18:42)]Praetorian simply means headquaters, and many (most/all) Roman generals had a praetorian unit of some sort from the earliest times.


And of course Lorica Segmentata was not in use during the time RTW covers at all It is first attested in the early years AD - the first known examples of any segmentata are from Teutonberger Wald - 9AD.
I believe the HQ tent/building in a castra was in fact called the praetorium.

I was bothered by the lorica segmentata description until I examined the picture where it seems as though the figure is in fact wearing mail after all. Hopefully the picture is correct and the text bogus.

[NightRider]

Hi all...

Basileusthanks for reminding me http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif (ouch too long to wait) get the straight jackets out http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

Anyway sounds like these P(rest of word) guys are going to be you lancer unit in RTW...?

Hmmm sleeps "wakes up" still ages to wait "hits head with hammer" repeatdly

[Hakonarson]

Yes - i see you're right about the picture on closer examination. IIRC mail is lorica hamata, and later scale is lorica squamata

[shingenmitch2]

my bad... as a late unit this is fine.

Would still like to see more (any?) focus on the multitude of different cultures and peoples from this era rather than specialty (and rediculous -- in the case of the Ordered Gladiator) Romans.

[some_totalwar_dude]

Come on, we only saw 3 units out of 100 (? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif )
and always remember it's a game not a 100% accurate simulation.

About segmentata, IIRC that you maby could play on after 10 BC. this would justify the Lorica segmentata.

[Stormer]

u dont wanna see all the units or u wont be suprised when u get ingame will ya http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Kongamato]

http://www.galacticquest.com/images/comicbookguy3.jpg

Worst Totalwar Ever


http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Stormer]

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Hakonarson]

Shingen you should go read some history about the Praetorians - they were far from as useless as you make out, and were indeed battle hardened veterans when first raised in 31BC - which IS within the time frame of RTW.

That they made emperors is largely a function of their position and has nothign to with their fighting ability.

For most of their existance they were very good troops and quite used to campaigning.

[Spino]

Quote[/b] ]And so FANTASY Rome continues...

Nice... the praetorians... the only things these troops were good for was sitting on their a$$, marching in parades and assassinating Emperors. They were NOT battle hardened vetrans... They weren't from this time period, and are dressed in appropriately anyway...

So far

FANTASY 2 -- Praetorians, Gladiators

PSEUDO - REALITY 1 -- Spartans (even though they are far past their prime by the time this game is supposed to cover)

HISTORICAL ACCURACY 0

In the last 100 years or so of the period depicted in RTW (264BC-14AD) the Praetorians are the proverbial badass professional soldiers of their day, and draw favorable comparisons to Napoleon's Old Guard in their abilities and usage. As others have said, the Praetorians won't lose their battlefield edge until much later on when they become heavily involved as the militant wildcard of Roman politics. "I heard that Little Boots squealed like a girl when he died. Now where did Claudius run to? Hey, who's the stuttering bastard hiding behind this curtain?"

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

The Spartans to be depicted in RTW are not the Spartans of old but representative of the social reform that sought to restore Sparta's ancient Lycurgian constitution and bring back the 'glory days'. This small but effective Spartan army did draw from the training and methods that made their ancestors so successful in battle. Under Cleomenes III the Spartan army pasted the Aetolian league and it took a combined Macdeonian/Aetolian army to beat them at the battle of Sellasia. While the Spartan army of this period may not have been the embodiment of martial perfection like their ancestors I do believe they should be considered above average in abilities and excellent in terms of morale. In terms of RTW I don't know whether the Spartan hoplites will be buildable units or whether Sparta will be a resurgent faction like the Swiss and Burgundians of MTW or an aggressive rebel faction meant to give the Greeks and Macedonians something to sweat over.

[Stormer]

Yes i dont think no barbarians would of F**ked with them http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif so they payed em too kill the emperior, which they did with plesure http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Hakonarson]

Spino the Spartans ahouls be around in some form or other - they were atill powerful enough to win a couple of battles as you said, and in 225BC had enough of a state to make a concious decision to abandon hoplites for pikemen.

I'm not sure when they disappear - presumably when Rome takes over as "prtector" of greece.

But certainly up to 225BC they were still considered formidable, although few in number.

[Nowake]

If I'm not mistaken, Spino, Claudius ran to his german guard, the ones who put him on the throne.

[Heraclius]

I'm pretty sure the Praetorians set up Claudius.

Speaking of Claudius anyone who is at all interested in roman history should read the book I, Claudius by Robert Graves and the aproximately 13 part miniseries by PBS. Both very good although it does embellish on history to make a good story better.

[Longshanks]

Quote[/b] (pr Fire @ May 06 2003,08:52)]If I'm not mistaken, Spino, Claudius ran to his german guard, the ones who put him on the throne.
You are thinking of Caligula. He kept a bodyguard of German mercenaries. He knew of a plot to murder him, so he trusted the Germans rather than other Romans. In fact some of the conspirators were caught by Caligula and tortured, but he was never able to find out about the lead conspirators. Finally Caligula was murdered while leaving the arena. I believe his bodyguards were cut to pieces too. Caligula's family met a brutal end as well. Imperial troops stormed the palace right after Caligula's assassination, butchered his wife, and then smashed the royal children's heads in.

Claudius was found hiding behind a curtain in the palace, and was declared Emperor by the Roman soldiers who found him.