Light Scorpion

The scorpion ballista was the Roman and Greek world's precision artillery — a torsion-powered rapid-fire machine that used twisted bundles of sinew or hair rope to store enormous elastic energy, releasing it through a throwing arm that drove heavy bolts at velocities no hand-drawn bow could approach. Unlike the heavy stone-throwing catapult, the light scorpion was a bolt-shooter: accurate, fast to reload by trained crews, and effective against individual targets at ranges up to three hundred meters. Roman legions carried scorpions on campaign as organic artillery, emplacing them on ramparts and hilltops to suppress enemy archers and pick off officers before an assault. Julius Caesar's commentaries describe their use in Gaul and Britain with unmistakable satisfaction. In game the light scorpion provides the first true artillery support — fast-firing, accurate at range, and murderous against infantry formations and light fortifications, but fragile against any unit that closes to melee distance.