Peasants

I was thinking a little while ago "If Empire get Free Companies, why can't Bretonnians have Peasants?". After thinking about it for a while I decided that I would make up some rules for them. These rules are NOT supported by Games Workshop and are purely fan rules. The Peasant rules have now been updated, to make them different from the 6th Edition Men-At-Arms.

These rules are by no means fully playtested so don't expect them to be perfectly balanced.

PEASANTS:

Catagory: Core
Cost: 2 points
Statistics: M(4) WS(2) BS(2) S(3) T(3) W(1) I(3) A(1) Ld(6)
Unit Strength: 20+
Starting Weapons And Armour: Hand Weapon.
Options: Any unit may be given shields (+1 pt per model) or an additonal hand weapon (+2 pts per model), any unit may be upgraded to Militia(+2 pt per model). Models may also be armed with Shortbows (+1 pt per model) or Bows (+3 pts per model)
- One model may be upgraded to Musician for +5 points.
- One model may be upgraded to Champion for +10 points.
Special Rules: Peasantry, Untrained.

PEASANTRY: Peasants and Militia cannot be joined by Characters (except Lowborn Champions), Peasants do not count towards the minimum Core units needed but Militia do. Peasants cannot use the General's Leadership but Militia can. A unit of Peasants or Militia do not make other non-Peasants and non-Militia forces test for panic if they flee or are destroyed.

UNTRAINED: Peasants and Militia have very little, if any, experience in battle and it is unlikely that they will hold their ground when under a full-scale attack. If the Peasants or Militia are charged by a unit that has an equal or greater Unit Strength than the Peasant or Militia unit itself, the charged Peasants/Militia must take a panic test. If they pass, they do not flee (unless the player chooses Flee as a charge reaction, of course), if they fail the test, they turn tail and flee from the charging enemy, just as if the player had chosen Flee as a charge reaction.

There are two exceptions to this rule. Firstly, if the unit is attacked from across a Defended Obstacle whilst the Peasants/Militia are defending it, they do not need to take the panic test for being charged by a unit with equal or greater US than themselves. It is imagined that they decide to make their last stand behind the obstacle, and give their lives to protect it. Lastly, if the unit is joined by a Lowborn Champion, they will not need to take the panic test for being charges by a unit with equal or greating US than themselves. It is assumed that the courage of the Lowborn Champion inspires them to hold their ground.

Often unexpected raids come from Orcs, Dark Elves or even the Empire and the only defense towns have against such sudden attacks is to fight for their own homes with pitchfork, mallet and axe alongside the town guard. Sometimes a few people in a town train to be Militia, who are more likely to stay in the fight due to their discipline.

Handling Peasants And Militia:

Peasants are a rabble of men who have armed themselves with whatever comes to hand and have no military training whatsoever. They cannot be trusted to stay on the battlefield for long periods of time and nor should they be expected to, they are just normal folk.

Militia on the other hand are trained but are not up to the standard of Men-At-Arms. If armed with Shields they can take a bit of damage before routing off the board. They can use the General's leadership, unlike Peasants, so if in they are the area of a couragous leader, they will give it their all.

Peasants and Militia are not very good fighters and cannot hold out against most other units, they can however help protect your better trained men's flanks by following along and helping out in times of need.

Peasant Miniatures:

As Bretonnian Peasants are not a real unit, no GW minatures are around and thus it can be a bit hard to portray these men on the battlefield with the proper minatures. The Empire Militia Boxed set and the Mordheim Human Mercanaries set are great for putting together your Peasants or Militia.

Converting is a good way too, although it is way more expensive, you could ransack your bitz box (to those who don't know, a bitz box is somewhere where you keep spare bits and pieces of other minatures) for parts and try to put together a couple of peasants.

Hoard Tactics Vs Militia Force:

Considering that a Peasant with only a Hand Weapon and Shield costs only 3 points, you could have a unit of 20 for just 60 points! This makes them almost free but, like Goblins (who are comparable in skill, toughness and leadership) they tend to do a runner if the battle turns against them. Also like Goblins, if a battle goes badly and panic is caused to other Peasant or Militia units your horde of Peasants can suddenly all be running the wrong way!

On the other hand, if in the area of a good General, Militia can make a great force of warriors that can backup your other, better trained fighting men.

A new Battle Report, featuring the new rules for Peasants and Militia, can be found Here.

Go to the Battle Reports section to read a skirmish battle report using the old rules for Peasants and Militia.

On a final note, it can be fun to have a hoard of troops to just charge and see what happens, and at 60 points for a big unit it doesn't really matter what happens to the unfortunate chaps (how caring of me).

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