Unit officers and banner bearers

[Wingman]

What's the deal with the little guys standing to the side of a unit. Do they confer any special bonus? Why do some units have them and others don't? Why keeps them from dying along with the rest of the front rank in a prolonged combat?

[Severous]

I wondered this for ages.

The little banners are from experience, weapon/armour upgrades. If you have 2 red chevrons of experience and a red shield you will see three small banners in the unit.

I think they fight like any other soldier. Like the standard bearer the banners switch to another soldier if the one holding them is killed. So they appear to be the last standing.

SPQR army has some experience troops...5 small banners clearly visible. My Carthage ruffians have only 2 experience...you can only see one of their small banners.

https://img267.imageshack.us/img267/129/ahorn1668cy.th.jpg (https://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ahorn1668cy.jpg)

[Conqueror]

I think Wingman was talking about the centurions and standard-bearers (IIRC they are wearing wolf pelts) that some units include.

[Ludens]

What's the deal with the little guys standing to the side of a unit. Do they confer any special bonus? Why do some units have them and others don't? Why keeps them from dying along with the rest of the front rank in a prolonged combat?
As far as I can see their only function is decoration. They appear to have two hitpoints, and possibly a high defense/armour level, which allows them to survive prolonged melee.

Historically, banners were useful to keep units together, but sometimes they were prestige-objects (like the Roman eagles) so not every unit got them. Off course, no Roman game would be complete without centurions and SPQR-standard bearers.

[Nelson]

In the Roman army they are signifiers. Each century had one.

IIRC, these guys were so reliable and trustworthy that they handled the mens’ saving accounts.

[Wardruid]

The banner bearers were supposed to have at least a gladius and a pugio (a stabbing knfe) I always wondered why the developers didn't give one.
:oops: << developer
Anyway these guys are supposed to be the one who take over the century if the centurion is unable to continue carrying out his duties

[Ludens]

The banner bearers were supposed to have at least a gladius and a pugio (a stabbing knfe) I always wondered why the developers didn't give one.
:oops: << developer
I am not quite sure what you are saying here. The signifiers do have a sword, however due to a graphical glitch they sometimes lose it and fight (seemingly) with their bare hands. This happens to centurions and captains as well, though I have not seen it sofar with family members. If you are talking about the pugio, many legionaries would have one too, but CA has not given one to them either. The units even lack swordsheaths. CA apparently decided to go for a rather low level of detail when it comes to making units. I consider this a pity, but I suppose they would have difficulty with giving an equal level of detail to all units.

[orangat]

Do those officers have any effect on morale? Would morale drop if they die?

[Seasoned Alcoholic]

Morale will only dip if the commanding officer falls on the battlefield. Most of your units will probably suffer the dip in morale immediately after, but it only lasts for a short period of time. It also depends upon the quality of the unit in question.

Keep your units close to a commanding officer / eagle standard bearing unit to provide a boost to nearby units morale. When you hover your cursor over a unit, the text box graphic lets you know what frame of mind the unit is in, which is influenced by a whole host of activities on the battlefield.

[professorspatula]

I've wondered if the officer confers any kind of morale bonus or penalty when killed, but from my experience it doesn't appear to be the case. The officers have multiple hitpoints which gives them a small bonus over other troops in the unit, although whether or not they have the same combat skills (or better) than the other soldiers I have no idea. It's a shame there wasn't a separate unit entry officers where you could give them individual stats.

Personally I think CA missed a trick with officers. I think a unit with an officer alive should have a rally command for that unit, and that unit only (like in MTW). Actually perhaps officers help rally the unit automatically anyway. Who knows, except for CA.

[Nelson]

I don’t recall ever noticing a drop in effectiveness for any unit whose officer went down. I always miss them because along with the signifers they look good.

Since I always turn off the big garish ID banners any vexillum is more obvious.