I really enjoy the late Antiquity/Dark Ages setting of this game, but while the two-handed cavalry spear known as the kontos (or Cataphract lance ingame) was indeed used by the Romans and their Persian foes, it was not contemporary with couched lance use. Once that technique began to be used, XI century Byzantine Cataphracts used their Kontarion lances couched, not two handed. It is very hard to imagine anyone would continue using lances two handed once stirrups and couched lance tactics came into widespread use.
So I would either get rid of couched lances (which historically, did not come into use until XI century), or of two handed lances. And given the time frame of this game, I would favour dropping lance couching. If so, we would have lighter, nimbler western cavalry armed with shorter spears, shields and swords and heavier, much slower Calradic Cataphracts with two-handed Kontos lances but also bows. The Vlandians would need to be a little less High Middle Ages in style, and more Carolingian Frankish in order to be true to the setting.
So I would either get rid of couched lances (which historically, did not come into use until XI century), or of two handed lances. And given the time frame of this game, I would favour dropping lance couching. If so, we would have lighter, nimbler western cavalry armed with shorter spears, shields and swords and heavier, much slower Calradic Cataphracts with two-handed Kontos lances but also bows. The Vlandians would need to be a little less High Middle Ages in style, and more Carolingian Frankish in order to be true to the setting.
