— Leo VI the Wise, Tactica Ch XIX.4 Although only marginally better as regards to armour, speed and hitpoints to the cog, the strength of the lantern galley ingame is in fact its armament. With its complement of long-bore, forward-facing guns known as sakers, the lantern galley has the strongest non-siege, non-suicide attack available to many ships. A fleet of lantern galleys bearing superguns is as fearsome as the cost required to maintain them — only nations with a strong degree of centralisation of power may arm and deploy such weapons of mass destruction, due to the need for a professional rower corps (and possibly impressment when rowers become costly). Lantern galleys are the favourite units of Sicilians and Andalusians, because of the lack of political penalty incurred in furnishing