Raise the Black! – Week 6 Summer of Plunder Objective

/ josephforster86

Last Updated on July 9, 2023

Summer of Plunder post! The week 5 update will be out Monday this week, but we’re trying to get the week 6 objective out there in a more timely manner this week. Timing for everything has been a little tricky this year!

Raise the Black Expansion for Blood & Plunder

The objective for the 6th week of the Summer of Plunder is to play a scenario from the newest expansion for Blood & Plunder, Raise the Black. We realize that not everyone might have this expansion and while the obvious solution is for everyone to buy this expansion, we are going to share a few of them here so you can participate, no matter your situation. If you’re interested in picking up this expansion, the pdf of this expansion was recently released at an affordable $18 (compared to $39 for the print version).

Scenarios from Raise the Black

There are 15 scenarios in Raise the Black, and it’s organized slightly differently than in the Core rule book or in No Peace Beyond the Line. There are 5 Sea, 5 Amphibious, and 5 Land scenarios, but they aren’t all variations on the same 5 scenarios as in previous books. Overall these scenarios tend to be a little more “story driven,” and some of them are a little more complex. Also, each scenario has 2-3 optional rules you can add for additional flavor. Some of these scenarios would not be the best tournament scenarios, but they have plenty of “theme.”

We are sharing a set of these scenarios with Firelock’s approval.

Sea Scenarios from Raise the black

The sea scenarios in Raise the Black include;

  • A Wanted Man
  • Anchored
  • Chase’s End
  • Listless
  • The Storm

These are all fun scenarios worth exploring! We’re going to spoil 2 of them here: Wanted Man and Anchored.

A Wanted Man Scenario for Blood & Plunder

A Wanted Man is one of my new favorite scenarios. The Commander is so important to most Blood & Plunder forces, and this scenario just doubles down on that. The Attacker has to hunt down the Defender’s Commander, eliminate him, and then claim the body. This is a great scenario to represent something like Blackbeard’s last stand. Knock out the commander, take the head!

The Leaders of Men variation of this scenario is Dan’s favorite: you can use any commander available to your faction for no cost! Bring out the big boys!

My most memorable game of Wanted Man included Jack Rackham with no Command Points (Schemer is gonna scheme) getting hunted down by Maroons. It did not end well for Jack.

Anchored is a great scenario for exploring the sailing part of sea games in Blood & Plunder. The Defender starts anchored while the Attacker starts moving slowly towards their prey. Including an impassible edge and an escape edge, this scenario rewards skilled sailing on both players’ parts. The optional rules add more fun terrain challenges to encounter, and some limited visibility options.

Amphibious Scenarios in Raise the Black

The Amphibious scenarios in Raise the Black include:

  • A Wanted Man
  • Capture the Surgeon
  • Capture the Settlement
  • Total War
  • Beached Ship

I bet you can guess how A Wanted Man goes! A couple of these scenarios are atypical in that both sides must include a ship. Here we’re going to spoil the Beached Ship scenario where both sides must have a ship, but the Defender’s ship is beached and not really functional.

Beached Ship Scenario for Blood & Plunder

The several possible options can change this scenario up a lot, but basically the Defender has to defend their vulnerable vessel along the coastline. Maybe its a ship being careened, or maybe its a wreck, but the Attacker wants to capture or destroy that ship!

I like this scenario because it gives the Attacker more options than just “land as quickly as possible” and the Defender has some fun choices as well.

Land Scenarios in Raise the Black

The Land Scenarios in Raise the Black include:

  • A Wanted Man
  • Ambush
  • Hostage Raid
  • Capture the Settlement
  • Total War

Hostage Raid and Total war are pretty involved scenarios that include the fun/terrible new Civilian unit. Those scenarios always create unforgettable story! Capture the Settlement requires some buildings you get to fight over, and you can probably guess how A Wanted Man plays!

Ambush Scenario for Blood & Plunder

You may recognize the Ambush scenario if you own the Fire on the Frontier book. This scenario represents a very common tactic used during the King William’s War, King Philip’s War, and Queen Anne’s War. While it could be a “pirate scenario,” this leans towards the frontier and colonial corner of Blood & Plunder.

In this scenario, the Defender is walking down a road, peacefully minding their own business when they are attacked from the cover of the trees by a smaller, but better prepared force! This is always a dramatic scenario, but it can go either way. The Attacker starts with a smaller force, but the Defender is caught in the open. That first turn can be pretty crazy! And then the Attacker needs to get those reinforcements on the field or they could be in danger of being overwhelmed!

Optional rules for Ambush can flavor it as a raid on a Spanish silver train, or a unpredictable guerilla action, or as a winter raid. Whatever option you use, it will be a memorable game!

A Wanted Man for Oak & Iron

For Oak & Iron this week, Jason has made up a version of A Wanted Man and has shared it over on Timber & Sail! This scenario shares the essential elements with the Blood & Plunder version with the goal being to take the enemy’s flagship and claim an objective on it. The Defender will not Strike no matter how bad it gets, and forces suffer an immediate Fatigue penalty if their Admiral is killed.

One of the things I like about this scenario is it forces you to protect your Commander/Admiral a little more than usual. Some Admirals lead from the front and some function more in a fleet support manner, but here, you really don’t want your Admiral out there taking all the fire!

Jason even has the 3 scenario options translated over for Oak & Iron players!

Final Thoughts

Raise the Black! That’s the objective to get those bonus points in the Summer of Plunder campaign this week. I hope you enjoy all the scenarios in Raise the Black and if you don’t already have the book, pick it up! Or just enjoy these scenarios for now! 🙂

Watch for the full weekly Campaign update on Monday. In spite of the holiday week there were over 200 entries this week with lots of awesome games getting played!

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