Description:
Total War: ROME II – Beasts of War
Marshall your savagery, and strike primal fear into the hearts of your enemies with the Beasts of War unit pack for ROME II. Comprising seven new battlefield units, Beasts of War brings further variety to ROME II’s already diverse unit roster.
Terrorise your enemies and slow their progress with beehive, scorpion and snake-pot ballistas, or crush them under the weight of heavily-armoured Cataphract Camels and Mercenary Syrian Armoured Elephants. And when their will is broken and they flee the field, run them down with two new breeds of ferocious war-dogs.
Beasts of War brings introduces the following recruitable units to ROME II:
• Molossian Dogs
Can be recruited by: Epirus
A heavily muscled beast from western Greece, the now-extinct Molossian is considered to be the predecessor of many of today’s larger breeds, such as the Rottweiler and Great Dane. Used as both a guard dog and in battle, Virgil remarked “never, with them on guard, need you fear for your stalls a midnight thief, or onslaught of wolves, or Iberian brigands at your back.” These vicious dogs do not tire easily, and never lose the scent of an enemy.
• Beehive Onager
Can be recruited by: Athens, Epirus, Macedon, Sparta, and Syracuse
Whilst large-scale beekeeping for agricultural purposes was a later innovation, the humble honeybee nevertheless held an important place in ancient Greek culture. A trio of mythical nymphs, the Thriae or ‘bee maidens’, were loved by Apollo and Poseidon, bearing their children. Bees also have a practical application in battle, as a swarm of angry bees will always cause troops to stall and panic.
• Scorpion Pot Ballista
Can be recruited by: Pontus, Parthia
Home to the most lethal scorpions in the known world, whose sting can paralyse and kill a man within an hour, it was only a matter of time before a wily Middle Eastern general used them against his enemies. Spare a thought, then, for the Roman emperor Severus; whilst besieging the Parthian city of Hatra, his army was showered with pots of scorpions from atop the city walls. Like Trajan before him, Severus failed to breach the defences, even after two attempts.