Firelock Games released an organized play kit for this year’s Summer of Plunder campaign with 6 brand new sculpts for commander profiles in the Raise the Black expansion. Daniel and Emily really did a great job on these sculpts and we’d like to showcase the British Commander, Woodes Rogers, in this post.
Woodes Rogers Model
Daniel, Firelock Games’ lead sculptor, did a great job on this new mini! And he got yanked around a good bit on this one Here’s some of the inspiration and progression on this miniature sculpt.
There are not many period depictions of Woodes Rogers.
The primary image is Rogers relaxing in a wig and finery.
While not a period depiction, there is a very dynamic statue of Woodes Rogers in Nassau that ended up being the primary inspiration for this model.
The model with through a couple variations before it’s final form. The pose changed, and, very prominantly, the hair changed.
Daniel made sure to give him his facial scar he received in combat with a Spanish galleon. A huge thanks to Daniel for doing an awesome job with this mini for Summer of Plunder this year!
Who Was Woodes Rogers?
Expulsis piratis restituta commercia.
Pirate expelled, commerce restored. Woodes Rogers is best known for his high profile campaign to rid Nassau of pirates and reform it as a productive colony.
But he had a notable career as a privateer captain before his time in Nassau. As captain of the Duke, he circumnavigated the globe with William Dampier, clashing with Spanish ship several times during his voyage. In spite of the success of the expedition, Rogers faced financial problems on his return. He created several ambitious plans before finally settling on sailing to Nassau to quell the piracy there.
You can read his own memoir of his circumnavigational voyage in A Cruising Voyage Round the World. The Raise the Black expansion for Blood & Plunder has an excellent short biography of him ending with “Rogers is often vilified in fiction and film In fact, he was an effective privateer and pirate hunter.” You hear that Dan? Don’t let fiction and film cloud your perception of him!
We recently gave away Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean: The Adventurous Life of CAptain Woodes Rogers by David Cordingly as a prize during the Summer of Plunder.
Woodes Rogers in Blood & Plunder
In Blood & Plunder, Woodes Rogers is a high powered British Commander who can lead the British Privateers and British Militia factions (which has the Pirate Hunter force option that is perfect for him).
At 32 points, he is near the top end of commander, but he has some rules and stats!
He comes with the 3 Command Points you’d expect from a 30+ cost commander, plus a large 16″ Command Range. He’s armed as a gentleman should be armed with a brace of pistols.
He has 5 Special Rules:
- Commodore
- Broadside!
- Very Inspiring
- Tough
- Indomitable
The most notable here is the Very Inspiring rule that allows all his men to re-roll failed dice in Rally attempts any time they’re within his Command Range. This is one of the most highly prizes rules in the game! Indomitable is another rare rule that removes a point of Fatigue from his own unit every time it activates. This can be huge as it can allow his unit to go from Shaken at 3 Fatigue to a more normal activation with only 2 Fatigue. His Tough rule only helps his unit, but is very reliable with his Very Inspiring rule to back it up. Stacking Indomitable and Tough and Very Inspiring is kind of insane. He will rarely struggle with Fatigue on his unit!
Commodore and Broadside! make him a solid commander of larger ships and even small fleets at sea.
His two factions are both solid English fare.
British Privateers are a great, aggressive choice at sea, with a +2, a hand mulligan, and the Hard Chargers buff on all Trained and Veteran units. Able Seamen with Hard Chargers and Brawlers and 4 Resolve are pretty scary. Add Indomitable and Tough to that! Yikes.
British Militia is one of the most flexible Factions in Blood & Plunder with 4 diverse Force Options. The Pirate Hunter option is a thematic choice, adding Able Seamen and Sea Dogs as Core Units, while retaining that British ability to re-roll one Fatigue Test per turn without spending a Fortune Token.
Painting Woodes Rogers
I tried to not be too influenced by the Black Sails Woodes Rogers in my paint job. I found an early 18th century outfit I liked and used that as my color scheme for Wooders Rogers. It’s a little floofy, but I wanted something more interesting that brown and grays.
I liked the shiny silk “gros-de-Tours” and attempted to represent that texture and sheen by adding some metallics to my greens and ochres for the coat and trousers.
It was difficult to choose a color for his sash, but it it’s hard to see anyway.
My scar effect on his right cheek came out looking pretty heavy handed through the camera lens. But it looks ok on the table.
I used a couple different colors of gold, one for the trim and another for the buttons.
Overall, a fairly simple project to paint, once you’ve committed to a color scheme.
Dr. D’s Woodes Rogers
Dr. D painted up a complete set of the commanders from the Organized Play Kit and has donated them as prizes during the Summer of Plunder campaign!
I love the blue waistcoat under the brown coat! Beautiful paint job.
Prototype Woodes Rogers from Riley Faulk
Riley got one of the only “wild hair” prototypes! Check out that heartthrob!
Kitbashed Woodes Rogers from Jason Klotz
Jason worked up a great Woodes Rogers using the Firelock Games plastic sprues. You can find a tutorial for making your own Governor Woodes Rogers in this article from Jason.
Woodes Rogers Scenario in The Summer of Plunder
The final scenario in the Summer of Plunder booklet features Woodes Rogers attempting to stop a pirate fleet from escaping Nassau harbor. This is a big scenario designed for 6 players, but its always a good time!
Check out some of the Nassau scenario pictures from the final week of the 2026 Summer of Plunder campaign.
We did a full battle report video for this scenario on YouTube if you’d like to participate vicariously.
I believe Kurtis Fraley is running this scenario at Nova Open in early September this year!
You can find the 2026 Summer of Plunder scenario book that includes Charles Vane’s Escape from Nassau on the Firelock Games Download page.
Gallery of Pictures of Woodes Rogers
Here are some more pics of Stool in the light box.
And some shots of Rogers on the job.
Final Thoughts
It’s great to have a new sculpt Woodes Rogers! Thanks to Firelock Games and chief sculptor Daniel for doing all these new commander sculpts as part of the Summer of Plunder Organized Play kit this year.
You can still pick up the kit on Firelock Games’ website here.
This new sculpt breaks the mold for English Commanders standing very formally!
Article written and mini painted by Joseph Forster.
I’ve finished 5 of the six minis! René Duguay-Trouin, Wooders Rogers, Chief Gray Lock, Pieter Stool and Zuniga. Only Benjamin Hornigold left!
Special thanks to Dr D and Riley Faulk for sharing photos of their Woodes Rogers.
Additional Recommended Reading
- Rogers’ Memoir of his Privateer Voyage around the World
- Wikipedia entry on Woodes Rogers
- Dr. D’s Summer of Plunder Commander Mini Prizes
- 2026 Organized Play Kit that includes the Rogers Model
- Raise the Black expansion book that includes Rogers and his Faction
- Jason’s Kitbash guides, including Woodes Rogers
- Gallery of English Commanders from Community Painters