Skjaldmaer of Haleth

Lore:

Lady Haleth (F.A. 341 – F.A. 420, aged 79 years) was the daughter of Haldad and twin sister of Haldar. In time she became leader of the Haladin, one of the Three Houses of the Edain. In F.A. 375, the Haladin crossed the Blue Mountains, the second group of Men to do so. They settled in Thargelion, the land of the Elf Lord Caranthir. Though they dwelled in Caranthir's land, they did not swear allegiance to him and remained free men. After her father and her twin brother were slain in a raid by Orcs, Haleth became Chieftain of the Haladin. She kept her people alive for seven days while the Orcs laid siege to the encampment, until Caranthir finally arrived with reinforcements. Impressed with her bravery, he offered her a fiefdom in his land and the protection of his soldiers. Haleth, however, was proud and refused his offer. Haleth instead led her people to the relative safety of the Forest of Brethil in the lands of King Thingol. In exchange for defending the Crossing of Teiglin, King Finrod made use of his friendship with Thingol to allow the Haladin to remain freemen. Years later, when Haleth died, her people raised a monument to her, the Haudh-en-Arwen. While her father had been elected Chief of his people, the Haladin chose to establish a ruling line from the descendants of Haldad. Because Haleth did not marry and had no children, her brother's son Haldan became Chieftain of the Haladin. The Haladin remained in the Forest of Brethil for the duration of the First Age, and in time were known as the House of Haleth.

Etymology: The name Haleth has no known meaning. In the language of the Haladin, hal means "chief" or "guard". Sindarin also has the feminine ending -eth.

Shield maiden in old Norse.

Summary:

The Skjaldmaer of Haleth are the Haladins legendary company. They are a axe throwing unit with the thrown trait which makes them a hard counter to elephants, chariots, Ents, Balrogs, Uruloki, and Sauron. This makes them very useful against Angband in particular. The Skjaldmaer have good melee stats which allows them be an average melee unit after they use up their throwing axes. The Skjaldmaers lower numbers at 60 women per battalion is their greatest weakness and this units cost of 1300 florins makes them quit expensive as well.

Strengths/weaknesses:

Strengths:

-Armor piercing give this unit an extra bite against heavily armored units.

-Locked moral and a moral score of 19 will allow this unit to fight to the last women.

-High melee defence at 12 which allows this unit to deal excellent damage against units with low melee defense.

-Thrown trait which allows you to hard counter elephants, chariots, Ents, Balrogs, Uruloki, and Sauron.

-Above average speed at 1.075 allows this unit to cover ground quickly.

-2 hit points make this unit extra tanky and somewhat makes up for this units lack luster numbers.

-Expert at hiding in woods makes ambushing easier.

-Combat bonus in wood makes ambushing in woods more advantages.

-Frighten enemy infantry trait can be used to rout an enemy's flank or attack in a siege.

Weaknesses:

-Low numbers at 60 makes this unit vulnerable to being overrun.

-May charge without orders sometimes leads to this unit charging into melee before using up its throwing axes.

-High cost at 1300 florins limits your army budget.

Classification: Axemen

In Silmarillion Total War axemen enjoy higher attack than sword infantry however they have lower skill to compensate for this advantage.

Gallery: