Mounted Gunners

Samurai_Cav_Mounted_Gunner Image

Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)

Recruitment Cost 800
Upkeep Cost 200
Melee Attack 5 14%
Charge Bonus 10 20%
Bonus vs Cavalry 0 0%
Range 100 15%
Accuracy 45 45%
Reloading Skill 25 25%
Ammunition 15 18%
Melee Defence 2 5%
Armour 4 26%
Morale 10 20%

Strengths & Weaknesses

  • Very high missile damage.
  • Good accuracy but slow reload rate.
  • Average in melee.
  • Vulnerable to massed foot missile units.

Requires

  • Resources:

Description

These mounted samurai carry matchlocks, allowing them to fire a deadly volley and then gallop away.

The matchlocks actually make them an effective counter to many other cavalry and, as might be expected, their firepower against all other units is quite formidable. Unlike other musketeers, they can move quickly across the battlefield, and actually use skirmishing tactics to stay out of trouble. They are good shots, but their reloading speeds are on the slow side. Being samurai, they can defend themselves in close combat, but should not be committed to a melee without a good reason. They are, like many horsemen, vulnerable to fire from massed infantry archers. Every army that used muzzle-loading guns from horseback discovered that they were difficult to use well. As might be expected, horses can be a trifle skittish when loud bangs keep happening just behind their heads. Then there is the entirely separate problem of reloading: getting powder, ball and wadding down a barrel while a horse prances about is not easy at the best of times. Ramming home a bullet in a metre-long gun with a metre long stick is painful, and dropping anything just doesn't bear thinking about! Europeans, who stuck with firearms after the samurai abandoned them, eventually developed the short carbine, or equipped their cavalry with anything up to a dozen pistols to avoid reloading in action.