Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
| Recruitment Cost | 900 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 50 | |
| Marines | 40 | 33% |
| Seamen | 10 | 5% |
| Hull Strength | 100 | 1% |
| Morale | 16 | 32% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Small, fast-moving vessel.
- Crew armed with bows and swords.
- Excellent in ranged combat.
- Strong in boarding battles.
Abilities
- Battle Speed - This increases a ship's rowing speed for a short period of time.
- Whistling Arrows - Whistling arrows have an unsettling effect on both enemy and friendly crews, reducing their morale and combat ability for a short period when they fly over them.
Description
These small vessels are excellent for swiftly picking off vulnerable enemy ships.
Samurai light ships are the "cavalry" of sea-battles: quick, nimble and capable of striking down unwary enemies. Their samurai crews are armed with bows and swords, meaning that they can attack their targets during the approach, and be surprisingly strong during a boarding action too. Better still, as samurai they have good, solid morale and are unlikely to waver in battle. However, they are vulnerable if fighting larger ships, simply because the respective numerical crew strengths that can be brought to bear. A light ship carries fewer men, and can therefore sustain fewer casualties. A wise commander uses these ships to attack and possibly capture stragglers in an enemy fleet. Their speed means that, against heavier, slower enemy ships, the light ships have the advantage in choosing where and when to fight. Given their relative high speed in action, they can decide whether or not to accept battle at close quarters, engage in an archery contest, or even harass enemies and then withdraw when pursued. Their "bite" when brought to battle is more than adequate thanks to the samurai aboard.