Raiding Ship

Summary
Available only to Gallic and Illyric factions, Raiding Ships are cheap, fast vessels capable of raiding and missile support, but cannot transport any brigades.

"Small, fast moving ships that can raid coastal resources or provide supporting fire to larger warships."

- In-game Description

History
The in-game design of the Raiding Ship seems to be based on very light vessels that were originally used by Mediterranean pirates such as the lembos, an ancient Illyrian warship with a single bank of oars and no sails.

Besides being used for piracy, the Illyrians also adopted the lembos for larger-scale warfare, and it would eventually be adopted by Philip V of Macedon and soon after by the Seleucids, Rome, and even the Spartan king Nabis in his attempt to rebuild the Spartan navy.

An Illyric tribe known as the Liburni developed the lembos into the eponymous liburna, a somewhat more advanced galley that did sport a sail. The liburna would eventually become the main Roman ship in the days of the Roman Empire, replacing the earlier triremes and quinqueremes. Having already conquered the entire Mediterranean at this point, the Roman empire had little need for massive warships for cataclysmic naval battles so instead adapted its navy for scouting and securing its shipping lines against pirates, for which the lighter liburnians were much more suitable.

Tactics
As the Gauls and Illyrians, raiding ships nicely complement your more defensive light warships, and can be used in combination with them to offer missile support while the light warships keep them safe from melee attacks.

Raiding ships can also be used independently to raid enemy fisheries and perhaps even harass enemy melee brigades that are wandering too close to the coast. Since they lack the ability to transport brigades, however, they cannot be used to launch larger naval incursions. Care should be taken to avoid enemy navies if your raiding ships aren't supported by heavier vessels. While raiding ships are faster than your own Gallic and Illyric light warships, they are not as fast as the more aggressive light warships of other faction groups.