Spanish Hostigadores – Blood & Plunder Unit Overview
Last Updated on October 10, 2026
The Spanish Hostigadores is an excellent alternative to their workhorse Miliciano unit. While costing a bit more and lacking the potential punch of a Ruthless and Drilled volley of musketry, the Hostigadore unit is much more adept at combat in rough terrain, benefiting from both a solid Shoot Save, the option for Scouts, and some free movement opportunities with Skirmishers. Every Spanish player of Blood & Plunder should be familiar with the Hostigadore unit for their land games, and maybe even some shenanigans at sea.
Hostigadore Description
These militia troops specialize in scouting and hit and run tactics. Often made up of mixed races, Spanish Hostigadores sometimes put up resistance movements for years. Such is the case in Jamaica where they are a constant nuisance to the English.
Milicianos painted by Julian Nault
Hostigadores Unit Stats & Abilities
The Spanish Hostigadore has a unique stat line. The biggest draw here is the Shoot Save of 6 which very welcome compare to the Shoot Save of 8 on the Milicianos
Hostigadores cost 4 points per model and have the following stats (Skill/Save):
Fight 6/7 Shoot 7/6 Resolve 6
Their Shoot Skill of 7 is standard for Spanish militia style units, but their Ruthless ability can bring that down to 6, which can give them a leg up. The 6 Resolve number is also standard for the Militia class of unit, and with the Spanish it’s even more important to keep Fatigue off so Ruthless can trigger.
The Special Rules for the TEMPLATE include:
Ruthless
Skirmishers
Poorly Equipped
Ruthless is a standard Spanish rule here. Most Spanish units have slightly underpowered stats, but they have Ruthless that can make up for it. But it only helps if you can get Fatigue on the enemy and keep it off your units! Investing in a Grizzled Veteran or a solid Commander with Inspiring or Very Inspiring will be helpful in making sure you get value out of this Spanish flagship ability.
The Skirmishers rule grants Hostigadores a free move back to their starting position if they have moved and fired or charged an enemy unit while activating on a Spade or a Heart. This can be a bit tricky to trigger, but can be effectively used if you have terrain that can block line of sight to your unit. Running out, shooting, then disappearing can be delightfully frustrating for your opponent.
With a Trained unit, you’ll get two actions off a Heart so you can easily Move and Shoot/Charge. But on a Spade it can be a little harder to make use of Skirmishers unless you upgrade the unit to Veteran. Giving Hostigadores Quick through a Commander or Local Guide can help you get extra value out of Skirmishers as well. The best combo is a Quick move on a Spade, use your one action to Shoot, then use Skirmishers to fall back, effectively reducing the range to your enemy by 4″ for your Shoot test. And if you can get Ruthless to apply to your Shoot, you can basically get a -2 bonus to your attack compared with what your enemy might be able to shoot back with.
Avoid Shooting on a Club activation card as the Poorly Equipped rule will force you to take an extra Reload token. Hostigadores like to spend actions on moving and sneaking, not reloading 3 times in a row! The Poorly Equipped rule is another standard Spanish rule that you have to be careful to play around. Consider using Clubs on units like Lanceros or Milicianos Indios that can avoid Reloads altogether.
Unit Weapons
This unit comes armed with the Matchlock musket. They function very similar to the basic Firelock Musket in the game, but they have a slight drawback in that their lit matchcords can be seen during scenarios set at night. You can put them out, or start the game with them unlit, but it takes a Dedicated Action to light them before you can shoot.
This unit has no special options for melee weapons, so you’ll just be looking for that Ruthless bonus in melee to help out your 6 Fight Skill.
Unit Options
This unit has two options:
Unit may exchange Matchlock Musket for Matchlock Carbines and gain the Scouts rule at no cost.
Unit may upgrade to Veteran for 1pt per model.
The weapon trade for the Matchlock Carbine is very tempting. Gaining the Scouts rule is really helpful for a unit that needs to skirmish. Increasing your movement speed to 4″ in Rough Terrain is very valuable and this option is usually a smart choice. The downside is that you forfeit the Extended Range ability of the Musket that can reach out to 24″, even if the target number is higher than 10. With a 7 Shoot Skill, that means the Hostigadore has a max range of just under 16″ unless Ruthless is helping.
The upgrade to Veteran is tempting, but it really depends on what kind of force you’re building. Five points is a lot to spend on a model with a 7 Shoot skill and limited melee abilities! I you’re doubling down on making your Hostigadores fast and slippery, upgrading to Veteran can be great. But you need to count the cost! And carefully build your force so that it functions well without every unit counting on Spades and Hearts.
Factions that Include Hostigadores
This unit comes up in several of the land based Spanish Factions in No Peace Beyond the Line:
And they are prominantly featured in the Rise of the Buccaneers: Jamaica book!
Spanish Guerrillas
Issasi’s Jamaican Resistance Fighters
Hostigadores Gallery
Here are some units of Spanish Hostigadores painted up by various members of the Blood & Plunder community.
Other Comparable Units
The Hostigadore kind of fills the “woodsmen” unit type for the Spanish. The English have the Indian Fighter, the French have the Courier to Bois and Canadian Militia, the Dutch have the Bosloper. The Spanish Hostigadores is generally a little poorer quality than these other units that are skilled at maneuvering and fighting in rough terrain, but they are also 1pt cheaper.
Final Thoughts on the Hostigadore
The Hostigadore can either fill the role of a skirmishing support unit in a Spanish force, or they can function as the core of a Spanish force like Spanish Guerrillas or Issasi’s special Legendary Force that has some additional rules that combo well with this unit type. Spanish Guerillas gain the Hidden rule making them even better in cover and Issasi’s force gives them the Evade rule making them even more slippery!
The Shoot Save of 6 makes them worth their 4 points, especially when your usual alternative is the Miliciano with the dreaded 8 Shoot Save. That Save number Hostigadores a solid choice on ships, even if you don’t use their land based skills like Skirmishers and Scouts!
