Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
| Recruitment Cost | 1300 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 200 | |
| Melee Attack | 2 | 5% |
| Charge Bonus | 5 | 10% |
| Bonus vs Cavalry | 0 | 0% |
| Range | 450 | 69% |
| Accuracy | 20 | 20% |
| Reloading Skill | 25 | 25% |
| Ammunition | 10 | 12% |
| Melee Defence | 1 | 2% |
| Armour | 1 | 6% |
| Morale | 3 | 6% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Explosive shot very good against buildings.
- Very long range.
- Slow reload time and very low accuracy.
- Very weak if engaged in melee.
Description
A mangonel is a small catapult used in siege warfare to launch projectiles over castle walls, spreading chaos behind the enemy's defences.
Because of its small size and limited throwing ability, the mangonel does not have the "punch" of a cannon, so rather than destroying the walls of a castle, it simply ignores them by hitting what's on the other side. The mangonel's projectiles are small earthenware bombs, filled with gunpowder and placed in the bucket at the end. The fuse is then lit and the bomb is thrown in an arc over any obstacle. Hopefully, when the bombs hit the ground they explode, spreading flames everywhere, panicking anyone nearby and setting fire to any surrounding buildings. Once deployed, a mangonel must be defended, as its crew are few and vulnerable to attack. Historically, the Japanese built isolated fortresses rather than walled towns, rendering the siege warfare perfected by the Chinese and Mongols impractical. Instead of trying to batter the walls down, Japanese attackers would storm a fortress and the defenders would sally out to meet them. This was much more in keeping with their idea of honourable warfare where enemies would meet face-to-face on the battlefield! When siege weapons were used, such as traction trebuchets or mangonels, they would more often be used for anti-personnel purposes rather than to directly aid the siege.