Raise the Black!

It seems that I've developed something of a tradition; come summer and it's time to get the pirates out for a spot of 'Blood and Plunder'. Previously, I've started a couple of solo campaigns, set in the buccaneering era, using the campaign system in the 'No Peace Beyond the Line' supplement. Whilst these have been great fun, I always seem to run out of steam after a few games. I also never get around to writing the games up.

Spanish under Don Lardo raid the Logwood Cutters camp

Logwood Cutters emerge from the jungle

Big punch up on the beach

Spanish flee back to the boats

Hence, this time, I've decided to come up with my own system that hopefully  allows me to maintain the momentum and drop in and out as needed. This campaign will be set in the 'Golden Age of Piracy' and use real events, with a nod to 'Black Sails', as a backdrop. This will be very much a freeform system and won't have any formalised campaign rules as such. Instead I will play as a single ship's captain and follow his adventures through the height of the Golden Age. The narrative will be guided by a sort of choose your own adventure system. I will come up with a series of decision points for our would be pirate captain and dice for which action is taken. The only book keeping will be to track the status of the ship and crew, the captain's popularity and how much booty has been amassed.

The actual games will be played using 'Blood and Plunder', 'Oak and Iron' or 'Port Royal', depending upon the scenario.

The campaign begins in 1715, in King's Town, Jamaica. The War of the Spanish Succession (or Queen Anne's War in that part of the world) has ended, putting a large number of privateers out of work. In an attempt to prevent them turning to piracy, the governor of Jamaica, Sir Archibald Hamilton, has issued a number of Letters of Marque to hunt down pirates.  

So we start with our Captain, Bartholomew Pea, in command of a privateer sloop funded by Fezziwig the merchant. The first step is to fit out the ship.

 Vessel - Bermuda sloop with reinforced bulkheads.

Equipment - 6  light cannon, 4 swivels, sweeps

Officers - Bartholomew Pea (Experienced Pirate Commander, Brawler); William Manderly (Bosun); Jack Brass (Scheming Quartermaster); Barnaby Bowles (Sailing Master); Chippy Woodes (Carpenter)

Crew - 8 Veteran Sea Dogs, 8 Jamaican Privateers (2 with blunderbusses and a grenadoe), 7 Jamaican Privateers, 7 Pirates (2 with blunderbusses)

Putting this through the Firelock Force Builder comes to 195 points. It's not the optimal crew as many of the unit abilities overlap with the officers but I wanted 'characters' for narrative campaign purposes.

The action starts in July 1715 - hurricane season. Probably not the best sailing conditions but this covers the hurricane that wrecked the Urca de Lima treasure ship and kickstarted the Golden Age (also a major plot point in Black Sails).

Weather Bahamas    Oct - April north-easterly, mild, dry

                                 May - Sept south-easterly, hot, wet

                                 June - November hurricane season

July 1715

King's Town

Jamaica

Dear Uncle Ebeneezer,

I have grave tidings to import. Father has been arrested as a Jacobite. Truly he has been outspoken concerning the Hanoverian king but I don't believe they have any actual evidence of Jacobiteism. Nevertheless, they have taken him to England and I am afeared he will swing. Our properties in Jamaica have all been seized and I am left destitute. A friend of father's, Captain Bartholomew Pea, has taken me in and I am to be his clerk. The Captain is an experienced privateer from the recent war but I suspect he is not a man of letters.

Pea is in possession of Letters of Marque and Reprisal, issued by Lord Archibald Hamilton, and is authorised to hunt down pyrates. I am to repair on board The Fancy, a 6 gun Bermuda sloop that Pea ahs outfitted for the voyage. He has reinforced the bulheads and added four swivels and sweeps.

The officers seem a friendly crowd and consist of the Quartermaster Jack Brass, Bosun William Manderly, Sailing Master Barnaby Bowles and Carpenter Chippy Woodes.

The crew number around 26 and are all sailors of various experience. About half are Jamaican Privateers trained in the last war. The next largest group are all experienced sailors from various sources but veteran Sea Dogs all. The final group are mostly Nassau men, an unruly bunch and usually to be found in their cups.

I am told that we will soon sail on our first cruise and I hope to make my fortune.

                                                                                                            Your Nephew, Jeremiah Quilp

Hornblower and the Pirates

 Actually, despite the title, this was two games: the first, the last of our Blood and Steel tests, and the second, Blood and Plunder.

For the Blood and Steel game, we stayed with the Napoleonic period. As the last game featured Sharpe, it only seemed right that this one should feature Hornblower. Once again, we discarded the Missions in favour of a narrative style scenario.

The action was to centre around a British attack on a French shore battery. The French battery would begin on table and the British would deploy from boats. 

A French battery overlooks the Mediterranean.

The French artillery position - I really must get some actual artillery crew!

The Royal Navy make their appearance and a unit of sailors leap ashore.

The landing's underway, with the main thrust of Marines on the right.

The French respond with some accurate shooting and hot dice.

It's only turn two and I've used all three bite the bullet rolls.

Needless to say, my dice are definitely not hot!

Two successive calamity rolls see the Marines flounder on the beach. 

Eventually, a group of sailors doggedly advance up the beach and charge the guns.
Five hits on 4 crew - surely the battery is mine!

Saving on 7s - what could go wrong? French hot dice, that's what!

The French fight back but the sailors hang in there.

The sailors are finally driven off, but a second sailor group take the battery.

Only to be assaulted by Voltigeurs. The Marines have finally made it off the beach but it's too late.
I have 3 Attrition points (1 for not being in contact with the battery and 2 for casualties).
I pass the Resolve test but concede anyway - it's just not my day.

British casualties.

French casualties. At least, I suppose. it's three times those of the previous game.

GAME TWO

For the second game, it was back to Blood and Plunder, with Spanish Militia versus English Buccaneers. We diced for the scenario, and it was to be the Plunder scenario from the 'No Peace Beyond the Line' supplement.

The premise is that the defender has secreted some plunder in one of two buildings and the attacker must recover the loot. We rolled for attacker and, despite the English having a +2 bonus, the Spanish (i.e. me) won. Well, the English did roll a one! Perhaps my luck has turned for his game?

Spanish advance towards the buildings whilst  Milicianos Indios skulk in the trees.

A unit of Hostigadores make a dash for one of the buildings.
Sadly, for photography purposes, most of the subsequent action was to be in the shadow of the building!

The Hostigadores find the loot, first go, but are attacked by Forlorn Hope, whilst attempting to escape.

The Hostigadores are driven off, dropping the loot. Note the hand of the English commander, ' begone foul Spaniard!'

Lanceros counterattack and snatch the loot.

Sea Dogs prime themselves for a charge, covered by fire from the Militia

Sea Dogs charge in but the Lanceros hold on.

Don Lardo appears and orders the Lanceros to keep fighting.
The Sea Dogs are eliminated.

As a final blow, the English commander is hunted down by Milicianos Indios.
The English surrender.

Titus Thwarted in Games Day Shocker

Well I was on holiday and the weather was naff, so what was I to do? Get the toys out of course. 

I managed to get 3 games in; two solo and one at the club. The latter being the culmination of this season's Infamy campaign.

But first off, it was Blood and Plunder; a personal favourite and one that I don't get to play enough. This was my first attempt at an amphibious scenario and, as I was playing solo, I used the solo 'AI' system, available, as a free download, from Firelock Games.

This game saw an English Buccaneer force attempt a landing, against a Spanish militia force, in the 'Breakthrough' scenario.

English holiday makers approach the Spanish resort

Last one off the boat gets the drinks in!

Spanish employ pointed sticks

English militia, out in the midday sun, foolishly start a firefight in the open 

Lucky Jack Quilp and his Freebooters clear the woods for an English win.

A great game and a lot of fun, but wait there's more........

I recently bought into another Firelock games system - Blood and Steel; a skirmish level game set in the Victorian era.

This was only my second game with the rules and was more a test of the mechanisms than a proper game. I played with my 20mm Sudan collection - although I can see the temptation to get some 28mm figures is going to be strong.

Sudan playtest with Blood and Steel

Mounted Infantry about to meet their maker

The Mahdists swarm forward in game two

The British firing line holds firm

After only two games I'm still learning the subtleties, but the two games gave completely opposite results. In game one, the British were massacred on their baseline. In game two successive waves of Mahdist attacks were beaten back by disciplined fire. 

I wasn't sure about the rules, at first. These are much simpler than Blood and Plunder (although some might say more streamlined) and I thought I'd miss some of the nuances of the original game. However, after 2 games I'm well impressed and can see these being my rules of choice for colonial skirmish gaming.

And finally, it was off to the club to play out the next scenario in our Infamy campaign.

This time the Romans were 'attacking' and were tasked with escorting a cartload of wine through German territory. 

The route. Romans enter top right. Germans enter centre left - plus their 6 Ambush points of course. 

A spot of luck for the Romans and they get to remove the nearest German Ambush point.

Vorsprung deploys to block the Roman's passage. Auxilia archers protect the flank
while skirmishers race for the nearest Ambush point. Meanwhile Sextus' legionaries plod on.

Furius Tempor and his group of Auxiliary skirmishers run to close down the German Ambush point.

But Curius Decurius and his cavalry aim to get there first.

Sextus stays with the wine

More Germans appear ahead and on the flank and the Romans are now surrounded.
Titus' boys are bothered by slingers, archers and javelineers.

Titus forms up whilst Sextus hides in the woods

Titus protects the cart, Furius deploys to protect the flank and Sextus is still hiding in the woods. 

Vorsprung skulks in the marsh and gets all fervoured up

Titus is attacked by javelineers - what can 6 blokes with sticks do? 3 dead and a shock - are you kidding!!

The Germans close in.

Furius falls.

Titus fills ranks in a vain attempt to postpone the inevitable - and is wounded in the process.

Sextus finally gets his arse into gear.

But cannot prevail against Vorsprung's mighty dice.

With Furius dead and both Titus and Sextus wounded, the Romans were pushed back on all fronts. As Force Morale was down to 4 we called it a day and conceded a defeat.

However, in the campaign events, Vorsprung failed to rise further up the wall and Sextus also remained in his current position. As for Titus - well I drew one of  those bloody Infamy cards again didn't I. Someone in Rome really has it in for Titus and back down the wall he goes!

There's probably another 2 or 3 games left, this campaign season, but real life means we won't be able to finish the campaign this time. Nevermind, we can resume at a later date and I have a few ideas to streamline the campaign games a bit next time. Anyway, at this rate, I may need the time to paint up some Germans!