Blood & Plunder - Commanders

Time for me to ramble some more about Blood & Plunder. Specifically, Commanders, how they work, and what options there exist for them. Commanders can roughly be divided into generic, historical and legendary Commanders, and most factions have access to some version of these.

Spanish Commander. Image from Firelock Games.

Each Commander is defined by his Command Points, Command Range and eventual special rules. He must be joined with a unit (specifically, a Core Unit) when the game begins, and cannot voluntarily leave that unit while it is alive. He gains all the special rules of the unit he's joined to and that unit in turn gain all applicable special rules of the Commander (there are a few rules that only applies to the commander himself), as long as he's part of that unit. He also gains the stats of the unit he's part of, such as Shoot value, Saves and Resolve, but not the equipment. Instead, he has his own equipment, in most cases a Standard Melee Weapon and one or several Pistols.

Command points are extra actions that can either be used by the Commanders unit, or given out to other units within the Commanders Command Range, who then act during the activation of the Commanders unit. This allows for several more or less sneaky things. An extra chance for units to rally and come back into the fight, fire their weapons without potential negative effects, fight a melee combat outside of their turn and thereby be ready to do smething else (or charge into a new melee combat) when they activate are only some of the possibilities.

English Commander. Image from Firelock Games

First of, the generic Commanders. These come in 3 different versions for each faction (and every faction have these, with the Unaligned factions sharing Generic Commander with the English or French)

• Untested Commander for no points, who provides the bare minimum 1 Command Point, minimal Command Range and no special rules
• Experienced Commander for some points, who has 2 Command Points, better Command Range and one Special Rule
• Seasoned Commander, more expensive, also with 2 Command Points, but even better Command Range and additional Special Rules

French peacock commander.
Image from Firelock Games.

Then, there are the Historical Commanders, based on real people who commanded militia, buccaneers or what have you. These are roughly comparable to Experienced or Seasoned Commanders, both in cost and abilities. Most factions have two to choose between. The Brethren of the Coast are limited to one Historical Commander, who they share with the French Buccaneers. The French Caribbean Militia and the Logwood Cutters, possibly due to being a late web-based addition, have none. Rumour has it that the currently ongoing kickstarter (I'll write a blogpost to gush about that later) will have more Historical Commanders for all the factions, both new and old.

The Historical Commanders who are currently in the game, and some of their abilities, are

• Don Francisco can command the Spanish Guarda Costa and provides an option of a spanish force that is more resistant to battle, at the cost of them being not as merciless once the enemy is on the ropes.
• Philip Fitzgerald, an Irish catholic privateer in spanish service, can command the Spanish Guarda Costa, and offers a force that truly hates the English, gaining a bonus whenever they're fighting any of the English factions.
• Mateo Alonso de Huidobro is an option for the Spanish Militia, and provides that force with some much-needed nautical help if one is so inclined. He's also one of only two non-Legendary Commanders with 3 Command Points.
• Cristobal Arnaldo de Issasi offers a sneakier option for the Spanish Militia, with several special rules that promotes a hit-and-run tactic.

Alternative English Commander
Image by Firelock Games.

• Robert Searle can command the English Buccaneers and his force will gain some additional bonuses in melee combat, promoting a force willing to get in close.
• Barnard Speidryke, strictly speaking a Dutch privateer, but under English flag, offers an alternative for the more nautically inclined English Buccaneers, capable of unleashing deadly broadsides from any ships.
• Colonel Edward Morgan (possibly an uncle of the Captain Morgan) can be in command of an English Militia, and is able to motivate and push that force to do it's utmost, even to the point where he himself may go under from the pressure (not to mention heat).
• Sir Thomas Whetstone, in command of the English Militia, is the other non-Legendary Commander with 3 Command Points. He also provides significant nautical support for the militia, as well as some native allies.
• Alexandre Bras de Fer (Iron Arm) can command the French Buccaneers, and offers a force that can rely a bit more than average on their luck.
• Monbars the Exterminator can command a force of either French Buccaneers, or Brethren of the Coast. In either case, the force can be supplemented by a few (or many, if the player's inclined that way) formerly spanish Milicianos Indios/Native Caribbeans. The force will also hold a burning hatred for the spanish, getting a bonus whenever fighting those factions.

The Lengendary Commanders, finally, are characters that were larger than life and living legends already during their lifetime. They provide an abundance of special rules (most, but not all of them positive) as well as 3 Command Points. Of course, this does not come cheaply, and the Legendary Commanders are the most expensive models one can field. Currently, 3 exist, but more are on the way (5 more are promised in the kickstarter previously alluded to).

Manuel Rivero de Pardal. Image by Firelock Games.

First is Manuel Rivero de Pardal, a portugese privateer who by all appearances saw himself as a bit of a medieval knight. While he himself was by all accounts a great fighter, if a braggart and mediocre poet. The men under him, however, not so much. In one of his most famous battles, against Barnard Speidryke, de Pardals forces suffered significant casualties despite outnumbering them 70 to 18. Numbers still won the day, and Speidryke, as well as half his force, were killed,

He can be in command of any Spanish faction, including his own Los Corsairos de Pardal, a poorly equiped and less experienced version of the Guarda Costa.

Francois L'Olonnais. Image by Firelock Games.

Francois L'Olonnais, real name Jean-David Nau, was a French pirate, well known for his violence and cruelty. He's famous for supposedly, while interrogating (torturing) spanish prisoners, cutting one of them open, pulling out his heart, taking a bite out of it and forcing anothe prisoner to do the same. Needless to say, escapades like this gave him a certain reputaion, and few liked to go against him. Interrestingly enough, his own life was ended when he was captured, killed and subsequently himelf eaten by hostile natives.

L'Olonnais can be chosen as commander for either French Buccaneers or his own Flibustier Nau, a more brutal and close-range alternative to the Buccaneers.

Henry Morgan. Image by Firelock Games.

Last, and arguable greatest, of the Legendary Commanders is Captain sir Henry Morgan. Yes, the Captain Morgan. You might know of him from certain bottles of beverages. He was real. He began his career as a privateer, fresh from Wales to the Caribbean, and he ended his life as Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. During it, he was the only one who managed to sack Panama City (well, strictly speaking, the Spanish burned Panama to not have it fall into his hands whole).

Morgan can command either English Militia, English Buccaneers, Brethren of the Coast (making him the Legendary Commander for the Unaligned, by dint of recruiting a lot of pirates for his expeditions) or his own Morgan's Buccaneers, who can best be described as English Buccaneers with less focus on sailing ships and more on fielding land forces (though still not by all means useless at sea).

Alternative Spanish Commander.
Image by Firelock Games.

There are some Special Rules that are very common among Commanders. Most Experienced or Seasoned Commanders have Inspiring, allowing them to easier get their force back into fighting shape. A few Historical Commanders, as well as the Legendary Commanders, are Very Inspiring, making it even easier. English and French Buccaneer Commanders have a rule named Lead by Example, allowing them a similar but greater effect whenever they and their command unit manage to finish of enemy units. Finally, Seasoned Commanders for the more piratical factions (Guarda Costaand any Buccaneer force), most Historical and Legendary Commanders, as well as, interrestingly enough, the Experienced Guarda Costa Commander, have Broadside, allowing them to better coordinate artillery broadsides from any units activated by their Command Points.

If I can be allowed a bit of theoretical list optimisation (I am yet to play a naval battle, sadly), I suspect that Broadside will be a rule that one will definetely want to have in their force when fielding
larger ships. This will probably provide a significant advantage to the Spanish, who can get by with a cheaper Commander while still having this rule. The difference in cost will not be greater than 2-3 models, but combined with the generally cheaper Spanish units, it might allow the Spanish to field larger ships more easily at lower points.

What I do know is that Inspiring is a very useful rule, allowing a Commander to change a unit from broken and almost beyond their ability to fight at all, into once more being fit for fight and ready to give the enemy a good kicking.