Amazons: Total War - Unit Description Geothe Faction
Description below contains some original anthropology theses developed by Parthian Shot and her partner (not a TWC member). Written permission is needed to quote or use the information, in part or as a whole.
This thread is to provide detail description of Amazons Total War units from a cultural perspective.
This thread specifically covers the main Amazon faction called the Geothe Theocracy.
BACKGROUND
As discussed in the factional paper, the author's theory is that Amazon is not a people, but rather a priestess sisterhood who have sworn oath to protect their community and friends.
[For Geothe's Amazon Oath, please refer to Factional Background paper here]
In the goddess culture before animist polytheism (like in the ancient Egypt) or monotheism (such as Christianity), the main icon of worship is about Mother Earth, or Fertility Rite focusing on Women as the Life Giver.
A Goddess Temple is really a community onto its own. For the reason of pilgrimage, economy, and festivity, a temple needs to develop its roots among the local people, as well as performing public relationship campaign with people from afar. To develop the roots among the locals, there must be indoctrination and subjugation of local community. To perform PR campaign with other communities, there must be heraldry and missionary work within other communities.
For these reasons the priestess caste is sometime the de facto ruling house of the local community, other times, the parallel government or the shadow government, sharing power with whomever is claiming to be in charge at the time.
There is also the necessity to have communication network between these temples, so the priestess sisterhood is aware of events unfolding in other temples communities. This is, in effect, a theocratic confederation. The Cults of Isis, Artemis, or Aphrodite are the prime examples.
Geothe Dispatcher Corp
These warrior are mounted archers of the Amazon, the most common cavalry unit Geothe faction fields. The ancient Amazon communities are linked by networks of message dispatchers. While the messengers are mounted dispatchers, they are trained with necessary martial skills for all the mortal dangers they might face. In peace time, they typically travel at night and evening during high moon phase of the lunar cycle, and early in the morning during the new moon, they wear pelts fashioned into hooded coats to protected them from the elements as well as from the prying eyes. During war time, they are called to form bands of cavalry troops. Because any pelt or garment they wear would be deemed as a hindrance in combat, not to mention there is a lack of uniform for unit identification, these warriors would disrobe, donne their helmets (which are tipped with plume on top for easy battlefield identification), put on their lamellar shoulder/limb armors, grab their reinforced light-weight shield, and they are ready to fight. These warriors are the de facto building blocks of the Amazon Priestess fighting group.
They are armed with the powerful manu-ballistae embedded within their shield. They are well-trained archers/arbalests on horseback as well as adept sword fighters.
Although Geothe faction possesses great knowledge in horse-breeding, and can field race quality fast horses, their dispatchers ride selected Caucasus Mountain ponies which is similar to Connemara ponies and these are not prime stock. These ponies are selected as mounts for the dispatches so they can run fast and survive the harshest of environment with minimum amount of provisions and can still deliver the messages.
Equipment List:
Helmet:
These are the small cap helmet made of heat treated and hardened beryllium bronze, with chain mail drape behind the neck to protect attack from the back. Because of the lack of iron resources, Geothe opted to use beryllium bronze metal for most of their protective gear. The heat treated and hardened helmet is almost as tough and hard as steel, a metallurgy secret Geothe took from the Orient. This makes bronze alloy equipment almost as hard as iron without the worries of rust.
Unlike most contemporary helmets of other armies, the helmet is padded to protect the wearer from blunt force trauma.
Body Armor:
There is no main body armored issues but there are a pair of shoulder guards to protect the warrior from long range (straight down) arrow shots.
Because this unit is mounted on a "light horse" (ponies to be exact), a major consideration is weight reduction.
Skirt Armor:
The skirt armor (or more of a waist wrap, as the skirt was not a popular fashion for women, more for men) is made of lamellar armor, which is basically a net with triangular leather pockets at each thread intersection, the beryllium bronze plate is then insert and secured in each pocket.
The armor is lightweight, allows great deal of body movement, they are cheap to produce and easy to repair.
Limb Armor:
Meticulous attention is paid to protect the fighter in this unit with reasonable protection while affords her great freedom of body movement.
Her upper arms are lino-laminated armor with chain-mail, bronze ring fasten the chain-mail to the wearer's upper arm.
Her front sides of the thighs are protected with lino-laminated armor chainmail, whilest the backs of the thighs are exposed.
There are knee and shin guards made of thin beryllium bronze, backed by toughened leather inner layer.
Shield:
Thin beryllium bronze shield with toughened leather makes this shield light weight yet very effective against missile attacks. But not so much on close quarter combat.
The shield has two lino-laminated layers of padding which are similar to modern day kevlar armor.
Close Quarter Combat:
This unit is armed with spear-tipped Amazon battle ax, since Amazons (other than Gorgon) are not from iron rich areas, this is one of the few items the fighter has which is made of iron.
Stand-off Combat:
This unit is armed with double-bow which allows powerful shots without stress out the limbs of the bow or the archer.
Instead of shooting a bolt or an arrow, the shooter uses tempered iron cylinder the diameter of the thumb, it is filled inside with lead. Although it is not fast, the projectile will retain its velocity far, far down range, and can go through most armors at unheard of distance. The rear of the cylinder is fluted so as to cause the projectile to spin to improve accuracy.
Mount:
The riders of this unit mount on light horse which makes weight of the rider a major consideration.
The combination of the payload and the horse does allow the unit to out run most of the units on the battlefield.
Personnel:
The troopers of this unit originally came from raw recruits in the Temples of Camilla who prove to be expert equestrians. Their peace time work is to form dispatch network to allow Geothe Camilla Priestess sisters in separate Amazon communities to relay important news and messages. The ideology of Camilla were about heroines who love and know how to handle animals, and knows how to shoot on the move, so these riders are honed in horseback archery, horseback close quarter combat even during peace time to protect them from any threats during their travel in strange place and in foreign land.
The raw recruits underwent standard temple martial training, those with best horse archery skills are made members of the unit, and the rest are assigned to none equestrian, or lancer units.
When their training is complete, these horse archers are already expert equestrians, and arbalests capable of great shots with their mano-ballista or double-bow, and excellent close-quarter fighters on horseback.
Super fast mount and long range armor piercing double-bow makes this unit a key fighting force in any battlefield.
Geothe Scout Horse Archers
These women are mounted archers of the Amazon, a brigandine armored cavalry unit of which the Geothe faction fields. They are armed with the powerful manu-ballistae. They are great shooters as well as excellent sword fighters on the horseback.
Equipment List:
Helmet:
These are the small cap helmet, with chain mailed drape behind the neck to protect attack from the back. The helmet is made of iron, one of few equipments used by the Geothe rank actually made of iron.
Unlike most contemporary helmets of other armies, the helmet is well padded to protect the wearer from blunt force trauma.
Body Armor:
There is a front body armor which consisted of beryllium bronze breast cups, with beryllium bronze studded tough leather backed by linothorax laminated armor, and there are a pair of shoulder guards to protect the warrior from long range (straight down) arrow shots.
The lack of full armor other than leather for the rider's back is an often used method to ensure that the line fighting unit does not easily turn tail and run away from the enemy and that they will fight facing the enemy until all is lost.
Skirt Armor:
The skirt armor is made of lamellar armor, which is basically a net with triangular leather pockets at each thread intersection, the beryllium bronze plate is then insert and secured in each pocket.
The armor is lightweight, allows great body movement and yet low cost to produce and easy to repair.
Limb Armor:
Meticulous attention is paid to protect the fighter in this unit with good limbs protection while affords her great freedom of movement.
Her upper arms are chainmailed with paddings with bronze ring fasten the chainmail plate to the wearer's upper arm.
There are knee and shin guards made of beryllium bronze, backed by toughened leather inner layer.
Shield:
Thin beryllium bronze shield with toughened leather makes this shield light weight yet very effective against most missile attacks. But not so much on close quarter combat.
Close Quarter Combat:
This unit is armed with tempered iron arm-length fighting sword, since Amazons (other than Gorgon) are not from iron rich areas, this is one of the few items the fighter has which is made of iron. The sword can cut through most armors except that is made of plate mail.
Stand-off Combat:
This unit is armed with powerful manu-ballistae, which is loaded on the horseback with the rider tuck the front of the ballista (the stirup of the ballista) under her foot and with one arm drawing the bow string. This makes the manu-ballistae almost as fast loading as most horse bows.
Instead of shooting a bolt or an arrow, the shooter uses tempered iron cylinder the diameter of the thumb, it is filled inside with lead. Although it is not fast, the projectile will retain its velocity far far down range, and can go through most
armors at unheard of distance. The rear of the cylinder is fluted to cause the projectile to spin during flight to improve accuracy.
Mount:
The riders of this unit mount on race horse which allows more weight to be carried, yet can catch up with most light units.
Personnel:
No fighting force is defined solely by its equipment. A fighting unit is more about its warriors in the ranks than just the appearance.
The warriors of this unit are recruited from the Light Horse Virgin Archers. The ideology of Camilla were about heroines who love and know how to handle animals, and knows how to shoot on the move.
Only the seasoned Light Horse Virgin Archers warriors are allowed to enter into this unit's rank.
Fast mount and long range armor piercing manu-ballistae makes this unit a key fighting force in any battlefield.
Geothe Elite Scout Corp
These women warriors are elite mounted archers of the Amazon, the most elite unit of which a non-aristocratic warrior can gain her rank. They are armed with the powerful mannu-ballistae. The warriors are great archers as well as sword fighters, and rare Amazon unit where they are armored front and back with no shield.
They are seasoned members of the sisterhood who are also often undercover agents in the outer communities. Like temple elders, they have the authority to dispatch messages, summon helps from nearby temples, or act as Judge to deal with local crimes. They are also sent in pair as missionaries to communities identified as places for potential converts.
Equipment Description:
Helmet:
These are the famed Winged Helmet Horsewomen, with chain-mail hair-dress draped behind the neck to protect attack from the back. The helmet is of semi-thick beryllium bronze, a metallurgy secret Geothe took from the Orient. This makes bronze equipment nearly as hard as iron without the worries of rust.
Unlike most contemporary helmets of other armies, the helmet is padded to protect the wearer from blunt force trauma.
Body Armor:
The armor is double layered, the inner layer is of leather and the outer layer of beryllium bronze, with a shoulder guards to protect the warrior from long range (straight down) arrow shots.
The armor is designed so the wearer can quickly drop the body armor assembly over her head, tie up the side buckles and she is ready for combat. Because this is not an aristocratic unit, the armor is not custom tailored, therefore the sides of the armor are slightly open and left exposed. Still, the fighters in this unit are far better protected than most of similar units on the battlefield.
Skirt Armor:
The skirt armor is made of toughened cow hide leather, with beryllium bronze plate insert hanging from the outside.
Limb Armor:
Meticulous attention is paid to protect the fighter in this unit with good protection while affords her great freedom of movement.
Her upper arms are chainmailed with paddings, bronze ring fasten the chainmail to the wearer's upper arm.
Her front sides of the thighs are protected with padded chainmail, whilest the backs of the thighs are exposed. Bronze chainmail, after all, is still expensive to make and heavy.
There are knee and shin guards made of semi-thick Beryllium bronze, backed by toughened leather inner layer.
Shield:
This unit carries no shield so as to free up the rider's upper torso for better movement in combat.
Close Quarter Combat:
This unit is armed with arm-length fighting sword, since Amazons (other than Gorgon) are not from iron rich areas, this is one of the few items the fighter has which is made of iron.
Stand-off Combat:
This unit is armed with powerful manu-ballistae, which is loaded on the horseback with the rider tuck the front of the ballista under her foot and with one arm draw the bow string. This makes the manu-ballistae almost as fast loading as most horse bows.
Instead of shooting a bolt or an arrow, the shooter uses tempered iron cylinder the diameter of the thumb, it is filled inside with lead. Although it is not fast, the projectile will retain its velocity far far down range, and can go through most
armors at unheard of distance. The rear of the cylinder is fluted to cause the projectile to spin to improve accuracy.
Mount:
The riders of this unit possess race horse for their mount. Which allows light horse speed with heavy horse stamina and capacity for greater load. The greater load allows the horse to be armored at the front of its head and this provides heavy cavalry like
protection yet allows the cavalry to out-speed most other mounted units in the field. The higher weight accommodation also allows more shots to be carried, along with longer range ballista to be used.
Personnel:
The warriors of this unit are recruited from seasoned or "retired" dispatchers. The ideology of Camilla were about heroines who love and know how to handle animals, and knows how to shoot on the move.
Only the best of the courier dispatchers are allowed to enter into its ranks. Members of this unit are not noble-born, and the unit is commanded by a member of the patrician household of Geothe. Famous heroines are usually befriended by her commander and her personal trait and qualities reported directly to the Chief Priestess.
This means that valors of the warrior can possibly gain her a royal adoption and therefore make her a future Patricians. This would make the individual member eligible to join an aristocratic unit.
Super fast mount with more than reasonable armor protection, and long range armor piercing manno-ballistae makes this unit the dominant fighting force of any battle field.
Recruitment:
This unit is available for the Summon if any other Amazon faction has recovered and deciphered the Stelae code.
Geothe Pathfinder
The Pathfinder is the elite of the elite in Geothe Military Hierarchy. Their members are usually of patrician lineage and can afford the best weapons, horse, and armors, but their preference of fighting is combat with minimum gear and usually doing so naked.
Their shield and wrist bracelets are made of special black phosphorus allotrope which is light but will hold off almost all forms of weapon attack except for the thermite weapons.
Their stealth capability is a lot like the German Night Raiders, except they are also experts at allowing the horse to hide in open battlefield, where possible, they prefer to surprise the enemy than fighting them head on. This unit is perhaps the most skillfull killers on the battlefield, but they have none of the heroism antics like most male units. They are very singular in purpose on the battefield, that is, render the enemy dead anyway they can.
The unit is armed with the most powerful thermite jars horse-cavalry can carry coupled with a large mano-ballista embedded with the Black Phosphorus shield.
The legend of the Amazon Pathfinder is what makes the Amazon unique, when a network of Amazon communities decide to link up with a new community, they send a pathfinder to determine the best route of communication. The pathfinder is like an engineer, an explorer, a field marshal, a diplomat, all rolled into one person. It is not uncommon for a successful pathfinder to be the next chief high priestess.
Geothe Noble Maiden
These warrior are noble born whose wealth allow them to wear custom tailored full lamellar (scale) armor suit. This is an aristocratic unit of Geothe faction fields. They are armed with iron sword. They are well trained in shooting fire-bombs to super long range using mannu-ballistae. The fire-bomb is made of phospher mixed with magnesium powder and can burn through enemy's armor.
Equipment List:
Helmet:
Unlike most contemporary helmets of other armies, the head gear is well-padded to protect the wearer from blunt force trauma. These are well padded conical helmet, with small chain-mail draped behind and on the sides of the neck to protect attack from the unexpected directions.
A special feature of this helmet is that it has a nose guard similar to the Armenian and Parthian and provides better protection for the wearer's face in close combat.
Body Armor:
The lamellar armor suit (often referred to as scale armor) which allows great flexibility of movement but with full all-around protection. The armor is made of a net of leather string with triangular pocket along all the intersections of strings. small rectangular beryllium-bronze plates were then inserted into and attached to each pocket. The armor is easily repaired and maintained, yet alows the wearer a great degree of freedom, and still protect the wearer from almost all lethal blows. It also features two breast cup, and there are a pair of shoulder plate-mail to protect the wearer from long range (straight down) arrow shots or overhead blow to the upper torso.
Limb Armor:
Meticulous attention is paid to protect the warrior in this unit with good protection while affords her great freedom of movement.
Her upper arms are chainmailed with paddings, bronze ring fasten the chainmail to the wearer's upper arm. the shoulder armor plates is linked to the Upper arms with laminar (not to be confused with lamellar) beryllium bronze guards, which allow the wearer easy rotation of her upper arms yet provides plate-mail like protection. The fore arms are fitted with beryllium bronze bracelets.
Her thighs are exposed but there are knee and shin guards made of beryllium bronze, backed by toughened leather inner layer. As with the custom of the Geothe Amazons, only matronly women are supposed to wear long skirts, so the armor suit does not cover the wearer's thighs.
Shield:
There are no shield needed.
Close Quarter Combat:
This unit is armed with arm-length iron swords, since Amazons (other than Gorgon) are not from iron rich areas, This is one of the few items the fighter has which is made of iron. Just because Geothe Amazons are not from the iron rich areas, it does not mean they don't have iron metallurgy expertise. This unit's fighting swords are temperd and forged iron, and are made longer to compensate for shorter reach of female arms. The swords are of better quality than most major faction issued fighting swords.
Stand-off Combat:
This unit is armed with secret fire bomb which is a small milk-bottle sized earthen jar where the front is filled with white phospher, benzene, and a secret solvent, The back is filled with magnesium powder, lead, and fine powdered rust. Launched using the manu-ballistae launcher, this allows long range hit of enemy.
The fire-bomb is tipped with iron arrow tip with an iron stop attached to the jar. Upon impact, the iron tip will puncture the shield, armor, or flesh, and the iron stop would shatter the earthen jar which would cause the phospherus to burst and burn with extreme high heat and burn through target's armor. This is the ancient form of thermite grenade.
It was often observed that enemy combatant hit with this frightful device would see a hole burnt through his or her body from the front to the back. While record shows warrior can keep on fighting with arrow hits, or spear wounds, but no warrior can withstand the painful agony of the thermite burnt, which usually is fatal.
The armor piercing bomb causes great casualty as well as confusion amongst the enemy.
Mount:
The riders of this unit possess race horse for their mount. Which allows light horse speed with heavy horse stamina and greater load. The greater load allows the horse to be armored at the front of its head and this provides heavy cavalry like
protection yet allows the cavalry to out-speed most other mounted units in the field. The higher weight accommodation also allows more shots to be carried, along with longer range ballistae to be used.
Personnel:
No fighting force is defined solely by its equipment. A fighting unit is more about its warriors in the ranks than just the appearance.
The warriors of this unit are raw recruits of noble born or seasoned veterans who are adopted into noble families. The ideology of Camilla were about heroines who love and know how to handle animals, and knows how to shoot (ie archery) on the move.
A member must demonstrate great proficiency in equestrian as well as archery skill and fencing skill to stay with the rank. As this unit is frequently reviewed by the Geothe Queen and the High Priestess, their readiness is unequaled in the Geothe army.
When the Great Summon occurs, the faction who discovered the Amazon secret, will be able to recruit Geothe units, even though the Geothe faction no longer exists.
Super fast mount, advanced armor, and armor-piercing fire-bomb makes this unit a dominating fighting force in any battlefield.
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