Last Kataphract
Recruit
Well Kataphracts historically were heavy armored cavalry used by Sarmatians, Dacians, Scythians, Persians and a few other cultures. They used segmented armor from crown to hoof and all weilded a lance. As a side arm they generally had a sword or mace. From my study most also carried a bow. The epitome of Kataphracts to me are the ones Romans used during the "Byzantine" era since the Romans had experience with both the best of the west and east. A common tactic against the less armored nomads in the east was for the Romans to line up their kataphracts and exchange arrow volleys with the enemy while they could shrug off most incoming shots. They were the end all be all of cavalry highly trained and basically deciding the outcome of the battle much the same way Companion cavalry did during Alexander's conquests.
So i'm just sharing my M&B version of the Kataphract and hopefully I can get some ideas as well.
Armor wise I use Lammelar. The silver metal segmented look is perfect as well as it being lighter weight than plate. As a helmet I used the spiked helmet. I wish there was something similar in that manner with mail covering the face. I use leather gloves and splinted greaves for the rest.
As a horse i'm having a bit of trouble here. Since i'm using a lance and couching it you need to use a warhorse or a charger. I've found that the charger looks better for a kataphract look but the war horse can pretty much do the same thing for charging but it is faster.
Weapon wise I use a balanced heavy lance. I generally like balanced weapons for their speed. I use a strong bow because it's fast enough at shooting but is stronger than a khergit bow. I have a large bag of khergit arrows. As a melee weapon I use a spiked mace or scimitar. My issue is that I wish we could use 5 slots for weapons so I could carry a shield which would be Kite or Steel. Sometimes i'll drop the melee weapon and use a shield with a lance along with bow and arrow.
My tactic would be to advance over charging terrain and advance slowly as I let off arrows into grouping. Then as I pick up speed, I lower the lance and charge into the enemy. Continue on as I shoot the bow behind me, get myself enough distance as I keep shooting and do it all over again.
So i'm just sharing my M&B version of the Kataphract and hopefully I can get some ideas as well.
Armor wise I use Lammelar. The silver metal segmented look is perfect as well as it being lighter weight than plate. As a helmet I used the spiked helmet. I wish there was something similar in that manner with mail covering the face. I use leather gloves and splinted greaves for the rest.
As a horse i'm having a bit of trouble here. Since i'm using a lance and couching it you need to use a warhorse or a charger. I've found that the charger looks better for a kataphract look but the war horse can pretty much do the same thing for charging but it is faster.
Weapon wise I use a balanced heavy lance. I generally like balanced weapons for their speed. I use a strong bow because it's fast enough at shooting but is stronger than a khergit bow. I have a large bag of khergit arrows. As a melee weapon I use a spiked mace or scimitar. My issue is that I wish we could use 5 slots for weapons so I could carry a shield which would be Kite or Steel. Sometimes i'll drop the melee weapon and use a shield with a lance along with bow and arrow.
My tactic would be to advance over charging terrain and advance slowly as I let off arrows into grouping. Then as I pick up speed, I lower the lance and charge into the enemy. Continue on as I shoot the bow behind me, get myself enough distance as I keep shooting and do it all over again.
