Wargamers are always on the lookout for terrain! I recently discovered a couple products from Wizkids that impressed me and I thought I would share them here. Wizkids has been producing massive amounts of miniatures over the past few years and they've recently started releasing some fun terrain elements as well. I've bought some of … Continue reading Easy Terrain – Wizkids Homestead
By Guy Rheuark Based on Saint-Domingue and a smattering of other islands, France controlled some of the most wealthy sugar plantations in the Caribbean. The people who lived in these towns were well acquainted with defending themselves from the Spanish. It is in these towns the Boucaniers retired and thrived, lured by the French crown … Continue reading Faction Overview – French Caribbean Militia
A couple people asked me for some details on the the paints I used on my Galleon so I'm putting together a "rough guide" for painting this big ship. This isn't a super detailed guide since I didn't take notes or appropriate pictures as I worked on it over the last few months but I … Continue reading Galleon Painting Guide
This game was a test game for a new scenario coming out in the next rule book that will be covering more 18th century forces and scenarios. This was a casual 200 point land game with my friend Guy. The Forces I've been playing English in our current campaign so I took this chance to … Continue reading Battle a Report – Spanish Tercios vs. French Caribbean Militia
At long last I've finished the massive galleon! I've had it since I got my NPBtL Kickstarter package 15 months ago and I've been working on it here and there for a long time. It was a big project that kind of intimidated me and took up my entire painting desk so I ended up … Continue reading Finished Galleon
Historically it appears the Pirate Hunters were a diverse lot, ranging from Militia volunteers, Royal Navy veteran to Boucaniers who were likely nearly as lawless as the pirates they hunted. In Blood & Plunder, this faction is represented by a mix of seamen, Militia and Buccaneers. Their faction ability improves their melee ability which makes … Continue reading Faction Overview – English Pirate Hunters
The Sloop is the fastest, the Galleon is the biggest, the Light Frigate is the toughest and the Brigantine is the "mediumist". It can sail reasonably fast, turn reasonably well, it's reasonably tough and it can deliver a reasonable broadside. It's a flexible mid-sized ship that doesn't particularly specialize but does decently in all areas. … Continue reading Ship Overview – The Brigantine
The Fluyt isn't the most fearsome or powerful in Blood & Plunder, but it's an impressive and eye-catching ship that can be effectively used in a variety of ways. The Fluyt is a large 3 deck ship that's moderately armed, can hold a lot of men, but is fairly slow and doesn't like going upwind. … Continue reading Ship Overview – The Fluyt
My current local campaign has progressed to round 5. This is a non-standard campaign with Guy Rhueark, our "Campaign Master," playing NPC Spanish that players encounter if they fail to bump into another player's ship in our campaign map of the Caribbean. This round, my Pirate Hunters commanded by Thomas Clarke had the task of … Continue reading Battle Report: Campaign Game 5 – Pirate Hunters vs Spanish Militia
This isn't the typical Redcoat English militia color scheme but I've painted a bunch of these militia in red and I wanted to do something different. This is a quick guide using my standard approach of Base/Wash/Highlight. Step 1 - Prep and Prime Standard practice for metal minis. I detail the model with a knife, … Continue reading English Militia Painting Guide
I've had a couple gun emplacements hanging around my painting desk for months now and it's time to get them painted! This is a resin terrain miniature piece from Firelock Games and it costs $20. I bought two of these terrain pieces and they are fine quality. They didn't take any cleanup but I did … Continue reading Gun Emplacement Painting Guide
Firelock has a wide range of vessels available for Blood & Plunder now and I hope this can be a helpful summary and guide for which ships you may want to add to your fleet and how to use them. I'm still working on compiling in-depth articles on each ship but this will be more … Continue reading Blood & Plunder Ship Guide
My local custom campaign has proceeded to round 4 where my English Pirate Hunters encountered a Spanish Corsair Corvette. This is 200 point naval game again featured my custom commander vs Guy, who is running our campaign and playing NPC ships which the players might encounter The ForcesThe Corsair corvette was much different than any … Continue reading Battle Report – Campaign Game 4: Pirate Hunters vs Spanish Corsairs
I just finished a second pair of Heavy Cannons and I thought I'd post up a couple pictures. These cannons are impressively large. The Medium Cannons seemed pretty big before but these heavies dwarf the them. It's a good thing too because two heavies cost as much as six medium cannons! I have to say … Continue reading Completed Heavy Cannons
This was an interesting campaign game. It was planned as a 2v2 naval encounter but coordinating 4 players can be difficult! The first 2 turns were just 1v1 and the 3rd and 4th ships can onto the board on turn 3 as reinforcements. It made for an interesting (and somewhat chaotic game)! The Forces I … Continue reading Battle Report – 2v2 Campaign Naval Encounter
By Guy Rheuark The Firelock Games longboat is a great way to add inexpensive and easy to paint terrain to any Blood & Plunder game you might play. Whether you place it next to a building and load it up with crates and barrels, to tell a story with your scatter terrain, or have a … Continue reading Ship Overview – The Longboat
After clashing with the English Buccaneers Commander Thomas Clarke sailed North hunting the Spanish treasure ship. Instead of finding a helpless merchant ship full of plunder my English Pirate Hunters came head to head with a patrolling Spanish warship! This second encounter in this campaign was fought against Guy, who is running the campaign and … Continue reading Battle Report – Campaign Game 2, Pirate Hunters vs Armada de Barlovento
By Guy Rheuark The Light Frigate is the best warship in Blood & Plunder. I have seen it out gun smaller vessels, and out maneuver larger ones. I plan to describe why this ship is effective as a warship, and outline the pitfalls that you might have building a list for it. First though, let’s … Continue reading Ship Overview – The Light Frigate
This 200 point land game was a "make up" campaign game for Nick, another player in my local group. Nick is playing the Spanish Armada faction through the campaign and his trajectory through the Caribbean didn't cross with any other ships on this first turn of the campaign. Instead of fighting a sea battle like … Continue reading Battle Report – Armada Landing Force vs French Buccaneers
My local group has just started up a new custom campaign and this was my first game. We played this game at Oregon City Geeks & Games, a great store that fully supports Blood & Plunder. The campaign in No Peace Beyond the Line is excellent and I encourage anyone with a local group to … Continue reading Campaign Battle Report 1 – Pirate Hunters vs English Buccaneers
I just recently finished my Brigantine alternate rig Sloop of War and I thought I'd keep my momentum going and reduce my pile of unpainted ship hulls by throwing together a Sloop with the Heavy Bark alternate rig found in No Peace Beyond the Line. The picture in the rule book of this alternate rigging … Continue reading Completed Heavy Bark
This was a 200 point naval Encounter with Nick, used as a "warm up" for an upcoming campaign. My local club is about to start its third full campaign and we've taken liberties with the campaign rules. This time were simplifying it a bit and adding some story elements. I love the campaign as it's … Continue reading Battle Report – English Pirate Hunters vs Armada de Barlovento
This was a 200 point land game and part of our "project" to see if the Native factions, specifically the Native factions with Poisoned Arrows, could be defeated with some sneaky French factions. The Forces Both forces are very similar to the forces used in my last battle report with the French fielding lots of … Continue reading Battle Report – French Canadian Militia vs Caribbean Tribes
By Dan Carlson Author’s Note Ahoy thar ye swabs! Yer ordinary author has tasked me with givin’ an overview of the Pirates Faction! All the points made in this here piece are commin’ from my own experience as a sailor (player). If ye be havin’ any disagreements on the usage of the Faction, ye can … Continue reading Pirates – A Faction Breakdown
One of the really cool things Firelock Games has done as a Company is release new rules and material that adds value to product that players already own. When Firelock basically doubled the depth of the game with the free New Factions & Units pdf, I knew there was a great group of people running … Continue reading Completed Sloop of War
I've painted most of my Native models with a fairly "brown" skin tone, mimicking the Firelock promotional models. This easy Tan Earth+Seraphim Sepia paint job works fine and I did a painting guide on the Warriors using this method but this guide will be using a different set of paints with the goal of a … Continue reading Warrior Musketeers – A Painting Guide
I've been playing the Natives for almost a year now and they have proved to be a fun and strong "nationality". They have proved strong enough that for a while, no one in my club was really enthusiastic about fighting them. That has progressed to a point where a couple players have become focused on … Continue reading Battle Report – Caribbean Tribes vs French Canadian Militia
The Warriors are here! It's great to finally fill out the model options for the Native factions with these melee-focused Warriors. This painting guide will help you get your minis looking a lot like the examples Firelock Games uses for promotional material, although I'll be aiming to imitate the general look of the Natives in … Continue reading Native Warriors – A Painting Guide
After playing a quick 2-turn game pitting the Natives vs the French Buccaneers, Bryan and I decided to play again but I would swap out my Natives for a 200 point Guarda Costas Force. The ForcesBryan ran essentially the same French Buccaneer Force as the last game except he swapped out the Carpenter for a … Continue reading Battle Report – Guarda Costas vs French Buccaneers
I'm slowly getting to my Dutch models! The Zeelieden are some of the best sailors/artillery crew in the game and I'm eager to get some painted up so I can use them in my unaligned forces and play some Dutch Privateers and Dutch Navy factions as well. With Expert Artillery Crew, Expert Sailors, the hardiness … Continue reading Zeelieden – A Painting Guide
I took a break from playing Native factions after playing through an entire campaign with the South American Tribes but it's time to bring them back out! I had a chance to play a 200 point naval with my friend Bryan and since I've never won a naval encounter with the Natives, I thought it … Continue reading Battle Report – Kalinago vs French Buccaneers
Ever since the post-NPBtL errata came out, I've been eager to play William Kidd again! With a new version of Strict available, he's much more attractive as a commander for larger naval game. The following report covers a 350 point naval game vs my friend, Guy. I mentioned to him that I wanted to play … Continue reading Battle Report – Kidd’s Privateers vs English Buccaneers
My friend Guy Rheuark has been working on a set of rules for solo and co-op play and I recently got to play through a game using those rules. These fan-made rules are still in development but they look like they could be a lot of fun, especially for players who have difficulty finding players … Continue reading Fan-Made Solo/Co-Op Rules Test Run
It's been a while since I got a game in! Summer is a busy time for family events which cuts out some of my gaming opportunities. I was able to get together with my friend Bryan recently and play a 100 point land game on his dining room table. This is the first competitive 100 … Continue reading 100 Point Battle Report – Logwood Cutters vs Portuguese-Brazilian Militia
So you're interested in Blood & Plunder! Great! I hope this introduction article helps you jump in and enjoy yourself. I'm not an official representative for the game or Firelock Games so this article is all just the opinion of one gamer, but I really enjoy this game and I want to see others enjoy … Continue reading Getting Started With Blood & Plunder
