Ultimate Guide to the Natives Faction for Oak & Iron

This article presents a new homebrew Natives faction for the Oak & Iron game. The faction is a conversion of the Natives from Firelock Games other “pirate game” Blood & Plunder. The Natives faction is meant for use in very small squadron battles. It has not been playtested at large scales and will likely be “broken”, use these rules “wisely”. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to contact us with suggestions. Because of its different style of play, it is a bit of a novelty. The Natives definitely FUN to play and give you a new set of tactics for your gameplay.

Historical Background

If there is one phrase that might best epitomize Native Americans in the seventeenth century, it is “the beginning of the end”—the beginning of the end of freedom, of self-governance, and for some tribes, of existence. Many coastal tribes are being forced inland, are under a European yoke, or have disappeared entirely. As European expansion grows, so does the forced retreat of Native Americans.

Even so, many Native American peoples stand their ground. In some instances, they are aided by geography, in others by alliance with competing European nations. Often, both geography and alliance play a role. The colonial expansion of European powers is both hindered and abetted by Native Americans, inevitably to the detriment of these peoples. On a smaller scale, sea rovers—pirates and privateers—often benefit from an alliance with various Native Americans, but also exploit many as slaves, and often enough find themselves on the receiving end of Native American weaponry.

Why should you play the Natives Faction?​

• Why? Because you like the Natives faction from Blood & Plunder of course.
• You want to earn points in the Summer of Plunder Campaign
• You want to try something “fun” and different.

Special Rules

Because of their unique nature, there are a few new rules related to Natives and rules for the new ship classification of Boats.

Rules for Natives

• Native forces were rarely involved in large naval battles, so purely Native fleets work best in 20 to 40-point games. Larger matches can still include Natives by using the ALLY option, pairing them with another faction that provides most of the points. This reflects historical conflicts in which Native groups fought alongside European powers rather than fielding major fleets on their own. When using this option, you may select and upgrade ships from one additional faction following normal rules. In 50 and 100-point games, at least half of your total points must come from Native ships and Native Admirals. In 200-point games, at least one quarter of your points must come from Native ships and Native Admirals.
• When building your Native force, adjust the maximum number of ships allowed in the game due to the lower point cost per ship: Skirmish = 10 ships, Patrol = 16 ships, Engagement = 24 ships.
• Both of the Natives’ ships are a new classification of vessel known as a “Boat” (see rules below),

Rules for Boats

• Boats are a new classification of ships that have a base size of 40mm x 40mm, which is half that of the larger vessels. Except for minor adjustments to the rules provided here, Boats follow all the standard rules for Ships in Oak & Iron. Any rule, event, Initiative Card, etc that refers to a Ship also applies to Boats
• Boats do not qualify as valid Ships when determining if ships are in Formation.
• Because of its smaller size, when a Boat causes a Collision it does suffer damage.
• Boats may not have sails, but they may still change speed using the standard Change Sail Setting, Seamanship, and Crew Action rules.
• Boats without sails cannot be attacked via Target Rigging attacks or suffer sail-related effects.
• Because they lack artillery, when making Partial Attacks, boats may only inflict Fatigue, but do no Damage unless the damage is the result of a Critical Hit. (Yes, it is theoretically possible to damage rigging, kill an admiral or kill the guy who drops the fire that causes the powder magazine to light.)
• Boats do not add the normal +3 Dice to Close Combat attacks because of their smaller crew size.
• Boats do not earn Strike Points for being Crippled.
• You earn a max of 1 Strike Point for each Boat that has sunk, is Captured, or Out of Action (the statuses do not stack for multiple strike points).
• Boats that are Out of Action automatically sink during the End Phase

Faction Abilities

• SCOUTS: Immediately after ships have been deployed before the first round of the game, you may move each of your Native ships using the Speed 2 tool. Ships do not benefit from upgrades or special rules for this move. This may stack with the initial deployment benefits.
• HOME TURF: You always have the first choice to be the Attacker OR Defender. If both players are Natives, the highest Admiral chooses or resolves with a Challenge Test if tied.
• LIE IN WAIT: Up to half (round down) of your Native ships (excluding Allied ships) may deploy in Round 2 before the Movement begins. All ships start within Pistol Shot range of any board edge, but at least Cannon shot range from enemy ships.
• ALLY: If you add a non-Native ship to this Squadron, you may also select 1 Initiative card from the allied faction per 100 pts of the allied force (e.g. 1-100 = 1 card; 101-200 pts = 2 cards).

New Ships

Be sure to check out the Canoa Boat Guide and Piragua Boat Guide for an in-depth review of the Canoa & Piragua boats, where we do an analysis of each boat/ship, break down the stats, discuss tactics, and do a Pros/Cons of each boat.

Download Ship Stats, Tokens & Initiative Cards for Printing

Below is a download link to a print-ready PDF containing:

• 1 Canoa Stat Card
• 1 Piragua Stat Card
• 5 Native Initiative cards
• 12 Canoa Ship Tokens
• 12 Piragua Ship Tokens

Download the Natives Ships and Initiative Cards PDF

Ship Miniatures

As these ships aren’t official Oak & Iron ships from Firelock Games, you will have to use proxy tokens for your ships — unless– you have a 3D printer. We have built low-resolution, proxy miniatures in the proper scale for use in Oak & Iron. These miniatures are available for free, at no cost to you.

Initiative Cards

Card	Initiative Value	Description
War Drums	5	All opposing ships within Musket Shot of a ship in this Squadron must immediately roll a Skill Test with 3 fewer dice. Each ship that fails this test takes 1 point of Fatigue. Discard this Initiative Card instead of returning it to your hand during the end phase.
War Cry	4	After rolling a Close Combat Attack, this ship may roll 1 more dice for each 1 Sword result.
Rain of Arrows	3	Ships in this Squadron may spend a Crew Action to re-roll 1 dice during their next Attack.
Stalwart	2	When making an Attack, treat all ships as if they have 1 less point of Fatigue.
Poison Arrows	1	If this ship scores a Critical Hit in during Partial Attack, the target takes 1 additional point of Fatigue.

Admirals

Captain Peter

Captain Peter, a Carib lieutenant under Captain Tabary, helped lead the 1681 attack on Barbuda with roughly 240–300 warriors. He approached an English house with forty men, a parlay broke down, and fighting erupted. Accounts conflict, but Peter killed an Englishman with an axe, was shot in the hand, shot his attacker in return, and was ultimately killed as Captain Nathan Francis arrived with reinforcements. The English lost eight people, including three children and Captain Francis; the Caribs lost three warriors. Unusually, Peter’s body was left behind instead of carried away. He had once lived on Barbados with Colonel Morris and spoke English well.

Admiral Level:	1
Point Cost:	3
Abilities:	CLEVER After revealing an initiative card, increase or decrease its printed value by 1. An event card is still drawn if the printed values are tied. GREAT WARRIOR: Once per turn you may add 1 Die to any roll made by this ship.

King Oldman

Oldman was the Miskito hereditary chief from around 1650 to 1687 and was well known to the English. His father may have pledged loyalty to Charles I, and Oldman himself reportedly traveled to England after 1655 to meet Charles II. Under his leadership, the Miskito often worked with buccaneers as skilled hunters, navigators, and fighters. They traveled long distances by canoe, raided neighboring groups, and were respected by buccaneers for exceptional accuracy with both firearms and bows.

Admiral Level:	1
Point Cost:	10
Abilities:	INSPIRING: Remove 2 points of Fatigue when taking a Rally action. BUCCANEER TACTICS: May include 1 card with the faction symbol in your initiative GREAT WARRIOR: Once per turn you may add 1 Die to any roll made by this ship.

King Golden Cap

King Golden Cap became a legend after Captain Sharp claimed his commission came from the king of Golden Island during his 1680 trial. Buccaneer accounts describe Golden Cap as a striking and determined Cuna leader who joined their expedition after years of resisting Spanish control and after his daughter was abducted. He helped the Buccaneers capture Santa Maria, then executed captured Spaniards in retaliation until the English intervened. He continued with the expedition until he could go no farther and sent his son and nephew to continue in his place. His later fate is unknown, but his name endured as a symbol of Cuna resistance and sovereignty.

Admiral Level:	3
Point Cost:	11
Abilities:	GOD’S BLESSING OR THE DEVIL’S LUCK: Start the game with +1 Fortune Token. DOGGED: This ship counts as 2 ships when checking for Withdrawal. GREAT WARRIOR: Once per turn, you may add 1 Die to any roll made by this ship. VENDETTA (Spanish): When fighting against any Spanish force, treat this ship’s Skill values as 1 higher (to a maximum of 3).

King Philip

Metacom, called King Philip by the English, was the second son of Massasoit and became Sachem of the Pokanoket and Grand Sachem of the Wampanoag. As English settlement expanded, conflict grew unavoidable. After years of tension, war broke out in 1675 when the English executed three Wampanoag men. Metacom led a broad Native alliance and won early victories using effective tactics based on stealth, ambush, rapid withdrawal, and fighting from difficult terrain. Over time, food shortages, mounting losses, the collapse of the alliance, and a betrayal weakened his position. He was killed in his final battle, ending one of the most significant Native resistance movements in early New England.

Admiral Level:	2
Point Cost:	6
Abilities:	INSPIRING: Remove 2 points of Fatigue when taking a Rally action. VENDETTA (Spanish): When fighting against any English force, treat this ship’s Skill values as 1 higher (to a maximum of 3).

Matamaha

Matamaha was a Yamassee chief who led about sixty warriors on a 1687 raid with William Dunlop against Spanish targets. Armed and encouraged by the Scots at Port Royal to raid for slaves, the Yamassee under Matamaha still acted independently. When Dunlop urged him to attack the Spanish directly, Matamaha refused because the recent Spanish attack had harmed other Yamassee groups, not his own. He may even have warned the Spanish to protect his relationship with Saint Augustine. He was willing to rob Spanish property but would not fight them unless his own people were attacked first.

Admiral Level:	2
Point Cost:	6
Abilities:	TACTICIAN After revealing an initiative card, you may spend a Fortune Point to replace it with another card in your hand with the same initiative value or 1 value lower. PERSISTENT This ship may remove 1 point of Fatigue each time its Squadron earns 1 or more Strike Points.

Errata since release:

• Clarification that Strike Points for boats have a limit of 1 rather than 2 like Ships, and do not stack
• LIE IN WAIT no longer allows deployment within Cannon shot of an enemy ship, and clarified that units move normally after they deploy in Turn 2.
• Ally Initiative cards changed to 1 per 100 pts of the Ally force to differentiate from Pirates’ Multi-National.
• King Oldham, Captain Peter, and King Phillip rebalanced for points based on reverse engineering the existing Admirals in the game.