Spearman

Spearmen are units featured in every Stronghold game but Kingdoms. However, in Stronghold Legends they are called men-at-arms and have different capabilities. They are basic soldiers equipped with a spear which are weak. However, en masse they can destroy heavy infantry such as the swordsman no problems.

History
The first spears were used in the prehistoric world. They were crude sticks with carved flint stones on the end. Spears were used as javelins for hunting will animals and waging primitive war with other tribes. As time progressed and bronze was discovered the sticks were beginning to become carved into shape and the primitive spearheads were then created out of forged bronze. Spear hunting was starting its gradual die down towards farming. Because of this the spears were then primarily used in warfare. During medieval times the spear evolved into the javelin, the halberd, the pike and other long weapons.

Stronghold
In Stronghold the spearman is the first available infantry unit. Although spearmen are weak, they are fast and are good at raiding villages. They are cheap to recruit, costing only a peasant from the keep, a spear (you will need to construct a poleturners workshop to do this) and a meagre 8 gold.

Overview
 * Resources - 1 Spear, 8 Gold
 * Damage - Low vs soldiers, medium vs buildings
 * Defence - Weak
 * Peasants - 1

Stronghold Crusader and Stronghold Crusader Extreme
The Crusader spearman remains completely unchanged.

Stronghold 2
The Stronghold 2 spearman gets a completely different look and speaks with a Birmingham accent instead of a West Country accent. They still remain unchanged in the stats area though.

Stronghold Legends
In Stronghold Legends the spearman is replaced with the similar Man-at-Arms. They will throw their spear like a javelin so they become a ranged troop, comparable (but weaker) to the outlaw. They will then fight with a shortsword before their spear eventually regenerates itself.