Pirate War Band - Noob needs some advice (Pirates)

hey fellows!

I've been diving through many threads now but information on pirates seem to be quite scarce even in this awesome forum. :-/ We're soon to start our very first campaign in our club and as most club members don't really have a clue about the game I'm relying on you guys

Pirates really claimed my heart and when I saw kromlechs goblin pirates I could not resist anymore and immediately (ok negotiated like 6h with myself ^^) purchased the crew. as we play strict WYSIWYG I'm trying to create a fun-to-play, fluffy warband.

given the fact that gunnery is expensive and might even be not as useful I'm currently at this list here. What do you guys think? right direction (given the models the bundle offers)?

CAPTAIN 110g
Helmet, Cutlass, Duelpistol, Dagger

MATE 1 75g
Helmet, Duelpistol, Dagger

MATE 2 78g
Helmet, Duelpistol (or 2 normal pistols?), Mace

CABINBOY 1 45g
Helmet, 2 cutlasses, Dagger (or is this gone thanks to the 2nd cutlass?)

CABINBOY 2 44g
Helmet, hookhand, peg leg, dagger, mace

BOATSWAIN 1 28g
mace/Hammer, dagger

BOATSWAIN 2 47g
Axe, Cutlass, Dagger (or is this gone thanks to the 2nd weapon?)

BOATSWAIN 3 47g
Cutlass, Axe, Dagger (or is this gone thanks to the 2nd weapon?)

total: 474g for 8 guys

I've considered taking crew instead of boatswains but thought the ropes might come in handy!? would have loved to take the swivel gun but it's super expensive. what do you think?

thank you very much! looking forward to interesting fights, discussions and much fun with this game :-)

cheers,

epu

Hey,
You get to keep your daggers even if you have two other melee weapons.
I would go with a dueling pistol rather than two pistols, due to extra range and accuracy.
and swivel guns are worth their weight in gold i recommend taking one if you can.

Ahoy mate, welcome to the forum!

I usually let my cabin boys grow into hook hands and peglegs myself. No use rushing things. With all those edged weapons lying about, they are bound to come to harm sooner or later.

For armament I am fond of cat o' nine tails and blunderbusses, with as many cutlasses and axes as the law will allow.

Swivel guns are indeed deadly, but rarely in the beginning of a campaign. Your beginning gunner is going to be lucky to hit anything with that expensive shot you bought him, and if his first advance is attacks or leadership or initiative... Well he still isn't going to be much use behind a sawed off cannon. And finally, that's a horrible expense for someone who dies on a roll of 1 or 2.

That said I like gunners for my first choice of henchmen. They cost as much as crew and can use all sorts of interesting weapons that just get better if you roll a Lads Got Talent. In the mean time they can use blunderbusses to keep the riff raff off.

Bosuns have disappointed me in the past and I would spare you that.

Pirates are a hell of a lot of fun, so good choice there.

I agree with VK about letting the cabin boys "earn" their hook hands and peglegs, as otherwise they're essentially starting off with disabilitiles. The cat o' nine tails and blunderbusses are always good choices, though I'd be less apt to take axes right off the bat, as armor will probably be rare at the beginning of a campaign. Also, unless you guys have house ruled it, theres no advantage to taking two swords, as it doesn't allow a second parry or a re-roll like a buckler and sword would. Granted, the advice on armament is moot if your models are already put together and you guys are doing full wysiwyg.

thanks a lot guys. that's a good amount of tips here! will definitely consider those!

yeah "unfortunately" the minis are kind of fixed. will have to wait for the box to arrive to see how much you can change. :-)