Even though I have not bought new miniatures this year, it takes a while for old kickstarter purchases to come in. One such venture was Firelock Games’ Raise the Black campaign for Blood & Plunder. I’d played a few games with Friend Colton’s forces and decided this kickstarter would be a great entry. I got in late so I didn’t have to wait years like those that originally went into the campaign but it still took time to get things.

I only picked up the main box but it is still a substantial offering. 2 plastic sloop ships, 24 sailor minis, 2 captains, and all the rules/cards/dice/templates/tokens you need. The minis are similar to North Star Frostgrave minis with optional weapons and styles to kit together. This was a little daunting as the rules allow for a lot of variation and the idea is to play WYSIWYG. In practice, I don’t think this is very viable so eventually I gave up and just built whatever I wanted.

The minis painted up quick and I soon had a full set of 12 sailors and 1 captain per side, as per the box: British Privateer Maynard vs Pirate legend Blackbeard. I didn’t really go for a scheme except to keep 12 sailors with hats and 12 without to make them separate if doing a small demo game but the general random color scheme would make them all pirates in my mind for when I do a full versus game against someone who also has a collection.

Next up was the boats. They come together easily but with spartan instruction so I had to look online to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Before the masts were glued in, I did all my base coating with the airbrush using cardstock to serve as ad hoc masking. Then later, I cleaned up the overspray and blocked in the black detail. I gave the non white pieces a wash in Earthshade and then put the masts in (already painted brown and washed.

Next up were some sails. I went cheap and easy, grabbing thin foam craft sheets and dirtying them up with some Sepia wash through the airbrush. I drilled little holes in the corners and strung thin stretchable nylon cord through and tied them to the masts to very simple rigging.

Repeat with the other ship and both sloops were ready to sail. A local friend in Austin was interested in the game so I brought out the set and we played through a small session.

I also built a system to house the entire set plus the boats in the original box (more on that later). I brought that box up to Colorado during our summer trip and Friend Colton and I got in our first sea game of Blood & Plunder. It went well and was great to see the game and friend in the configuration that first drew us to the system in the first place: epic boats battling out on open seas.

Since the initial push to get the Raise the Black set complete, I’ve moved on into building up my land terrain in the hopes of getting to play the most expansive version of the game: an amphibious assault. This style uses the entire system’s rule set, from sailing ships, to landing watercraft, to assaulting fortifications, using artillery, skirmishing on land in tight units, and fulfilling epic objectives. I’m really excited to see that and I’ve almost completed my land terrain.