| Gnoll Spearmen | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Race | Gnolls | |
| Req. Town Buildings | None | |
| Construction Cost |
 10 | |
| Upkeep Cost |
 1 | |
| ||
| # of figures |
 8 | |
| Moves |
 1 | |
| Melee Attack per figure |
 3 | |
| Defense per figure |
 2 | |
| Resistance |
 4 | |
| Hit Points per figure |
 1 | |
Gnoll Spearmen are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Gnoll Towns, for a Construction Cost of 10. Spearmen are the most basic combat unit available to most Races, and require no special Town Buildings to create. They generally don't pose much of a threat to more advanced units, although they can become somewhat stronger through 
Experience.
Gnoll Spearmen require an Upkeep Cost of only 1 to maintain. However, failure to pay this does result in the unit being disbanded automatically.
Unit Properties[]
Physical Description[]
Gnoll Spearmen are a group of fur-covered humanoids, more akin to upright jackals than to humans. They wear the blue tunics that are a standard part of the Gnoll army uniform. Gnoll Spearmen carry spears – long shafts of wood tipped with sharp metal points. These are used for stabbing at enemies within hand-to-hand combat range.
Gnoll Spearmen are a Multi-Figure unit, containing up to 8 soldiers.
Attack Properties[]
Thanks to the Gnolls' racial bonus of +2, Gnoll Spearmen possess a much stronger initial Melee Attack than most other Spearmen, comparable to the next tier unit of other Races: Swordsmen. While this is still not too impressive, it does have some potential against lightly-armored enemies. Each Spearman attacks with a strength of 3, which has an average "raw" 
damage output of 0.9. With 8 figures, Gnoll Spearmen have a high chance of scoring at least a couple of hits. However, opponents with decent Armor will still be able to shrug off most, if not all of this damage. Naturally though, this attack improves with Experience. At the 
Elite level, the maximum normally attainable, it has an average "raw" damage output of 5 × 
40% = 2 instead – over twice the initial value.
Defensive Properties[]
The Gnoll Spearmen possess a Defense score of 2. They can deflect about 0.6 points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average. Unfortunately, this is rarely enough to save them from anything but the weakest attackers. As with most common foot soldiers, each Gnoll Spearman also has only 1 Hit Point. In other words, each point of Damage inflicted on this unit will kill off one of its 
figures. Their base Resistance score is also quite terrible – with 4, they will easily fall prey to most Unit Curses and combat maledictions. However, all three of these statistics improve with Experience.
Other Properties[]
Gnoll Spearmen move at a slow 1, and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties.
Basic Strategy[]
Spearmen are the most basic, and typically weakest Normal Unit available to most Races, Gnolls included. However, they are also the cheapest to produce and, most importantly, maintain, as they are unique in that they require no 
Gold to be paid for their Upkeep. This makes Spearmen ideal as garrison troops, particularly in non-contested areas of the map. Because of their high figure count, they also scale well with both Experience and other enhancement effects, although their low initial statistics prevent them from becoming overly powerful.
On the other hand, the racial +2 of Gnolls, combined with the minimal Construction Cost of Spearmen, actually makes Gnoll Spearmen a very effective early "rush" unit. When produced in large numbers, they can often overwhelm stronger opponents, although they may suffer heavy losses in the process. While their usefulness declines as the game progresses, since high-tier units are typically way out of their league, effects that boost the attributes of multiple units at once can significantly prolong this curve.
Experience Table[]
The following table illustrates how Gnoll Spearmen improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by Experience in any way.
| Level Icon | Level Name | EP | Melee | To Hit | Defense | Resist | Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Recruit | 0 - 19
|
3
|
30%
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
|
Regular | 20 - 59
|
4
|
30%
|
2
|
5
|
1
|
|
Veteran | 60 - 119
|
4
|
30%
|
3
|
6
|
1
|
|
Elite | 120
|
5
|
40%
|
3
|
7
|
2
|
|
Ultra-Elite | 120 *
|
5
|
50%
|
4
|
8
|
2
|
|
Champion | 120 **
|
6
|
60%
|
4
|
9
|
3
|
* To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the 
Crusade spell must be in play.
** To achieve this level, both Warlord and Crusade must be in play simultaneously.
Average Damage Output[]
The table below details the average amount of "raw" damage that each figure in a Gnoll Spearmen unit will deliver based on 
Experience Level. It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target.
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">Acquisition[]
Gnoll Spearmen may be recruited in any Gnoll Town, and require no special Town Buildings in order to create. The Construction Cost of this unit is 10. Gnoll Spearmen may also appear as Mercenaries. In this case, they cost between 20 to 30 to hire per unit, based on their Experience – or half that much for Charismatic Wizards.