Characters for Pike & Shotte

This is my attempt to bring useful characters of all types for use with the excellent Pike & Shotte rules from Warlord Games. My rationale being that not only does this add to the flavour of the game and period but it also serves to find a use for some of the splendid vignettes and character figures available from all sorts of manufacturers other than being purely aesthetic.

I will over the course of the next few weeks or months be adding many characters as I write rules for them and also paint up my own versions of each for use within my own ECW games. Most characters would be of beneficial use for the army but I also have some ideas for characters that the opponent plays on you in order to cause mischief and mayhem in your army.

If anyone has similar ideas for new characters  please let me know and I will put them on here and obviously credit you for them.

Okay with further ado here is my first offering.

The Preacher/Agitator

This Character figure is based as a single foot or mounted figure and obviously if he is on foot he will be with a unit of foot or if mounted he will be with a mounted unit. He must be placed next to a unit at the start of a game which he remains with until the end of the game, unless he is killed. He can only affect one unit this being the unit he is attached to and he will affect them in the following manner:

At the start of each turn during the unit's command phase roll 1 d6 and if the score is a 6 the Preacher/Agitator has made a stirring speech that rouses the troops in the unit he is with, roll another d6 for the effect in the table below.

d6   Effect

1    The unit gains the Eager trait for the rest of the battle

2    The unit gains the Steady trait for the rest of the battle

3    The unit gains the Brave trait for the rest of the battle

4    The unit gains the Valiant trait for the rest of the battle

5    The unit gains the Stubborn trait for the rest of the battle

6    The unit gains the Fanatic trait for the rest of the battle

If the unit already has the trait that it has just received on the above table, then the roll is wasted as you cannot have the same trait twice.

The Barber Surgeon

This Character figure is based as a single vignette with the tools of his trade, an assistant and probably also an unwilling patient. He must be placed next to the baggage, camp or similar defensive position at the rear of the army that would be suitable for him to ply his trade. Once in this position he may never move unless the baggage train is fleeing the table in which case he may move off the table too. If a commander figure has fallen casualty place the commanders base next to the base of the Barber Surgeon and in the next orders phase for the commanders battalia roll 1 d6 for the effect in the table below:

d6    Effect

1     The commander dies from his wounds, remove him completely

2     The commander his too badly wounded to recover for this battle, remove him completely

3-4  The commander is being treated, roll again in the next command phase

5-6  The commander has had his wounds treated, he may make his way back to his battalia

Whilst the commander is being treated a substitute commander will obviously be leading his troops, once he is back the substitute will be removed from play. It may take the commander several turns to be treated and several more turns to get back to his battalia afterwards, but this is simply the price of being incapacitated.

The Barber Surgeon only ever treats command figures and no other characters or figures, this is because only commanders were of a high enough importance to receive any sort of medical assistance.

The Sniper

This character is based as a single vignette with a suitable long barrelled musket. He must be placed in a suitable vantage point (a church tower is always good) before the game begins and stays there until he is needed. His weapon has a range of 24 inches and he always hits on a score of 4+ with one d6 for shooting purposes each turn. He can target any unit as well as command figures and other character models.

If foot, mounted or artillery are hit the Snipers shot they must attempt to save as per normal for being shot at, if they fail their morale save the unit becomes disordered rather than actually taking a casualty. This simulates the confusion caused by him shooting at officers etc. within the unit.

If command figures are hit by the Snipers shot they receive a -1 to their command rolls for the next turn, this simulates the confusion and panic caused by the musket balls whizzing past the commanders ears. If the command figure is hit on a score of 6 he has fallen casualty and removed from the battlefield or taken to the Barber Surgeon if you have one.

If any other character is hit by the Snipers shot then they take cover and are not allowed to use their special abilities in their next turn, again this simulates the confusion and panic caused by the musket balls whizzing past the characters ears. If the character is hit on a score of 6 he has fallen casualty and removed from the battlefield.

A Sniper cannot be targeted by any unit or other Sniper until he has revealed his position to the enemy by firing a shot or his position is contacted by an enemy foot or mounted unit.

To hit a Sniper with shooting from any foot, mounted or artillery a 6 is required to hit them and once done they are assumed to run off or be killed, so remove them from the battlefield.

If the Sniper is contacted by a unit as per hand to hand combat, he is assumed to run off, be captured or killed, so remove the figure from the battlefield.

If the Sniper is shot at by another Sniper then he follows the rules as per any other character being shot at by a Sniper.

Below is a PDF link so that you can download them as fancy dandy character sheets for your Pike & Shotte Games.

Characters PDF

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