Scout

The Bronze Age Scout is among the earliest mounted warriors — a light horseman armed with a simple wooden lance and leather armor, tasked with ranging ahead of the army to map terrain, locate enemies, and report back before the main battle line advanced. Bronze Age armies relied on such riders because maps were nonexistent and commanders blind beyond the nearest ridge. The scout's horse was small by later standards, bred for endurance over power, and his lance was a thrusting weapon rather than a true cavalry charge implement. Tactically he punishes isolated or retreating units caught in the open and can screen the movements of larger forces. His fragile armor and light weapon make him a poor choice for frontal engagements against formed infantry; his value lies in speed, field-of-vision expansion, and rapid exploitation of broken enemy units.