Fleshing Out the Faction: Sharkey's Rogues (and The Chief's Ruffians)

Hey Reader!

Welcome back to the blog! Having recently run Sharkey's Rogues at our 2024 Spring Zephyr Tournament, I've been thinking a lot about this faction and what it could use to make it...not more competitive, because I don't think there's anything you can add to make you better at the scenarios where you're starting heavily down-handed without going beyond the theme and written source material of the army, but I do think these few new additions would help to fill a few (read: three) of the gaps currently in the force.

We don't do these very often, but let's be real: post The Scouring of the Shire, I don't think Sharkey's Rogues is going to get any more love than they've already gotten (and admittedly that book was just a beautiful labor of love for two factions I love running, so I'm not complaining about that book), but I do think that these few additional profiles will offer quite a bit of versatility that is much needed in this faction.

We'll start by looking at the "why" behind these additions before looking at the "what," and then look at what changes these make to a few typical Sharkey's Rogues / The Chief's Ruffians lists at common points levels.

I.  Why Does Sharkey's Rogues Need Some Love?

This faction is very small in terms of overall profiles (though admittedly up 100% from pre-Scouring, so no complaints here!): Ruffians with access to whips, bows, and knives/clubs (and possibly Hobbit Militia) for your warriors, and then a smattering of F4 and lower heroes, all D3-4, with 1-2 Attacks, and no access to Heroic Strike or Defence, both of which would be very, very helpful.

But there are three primary gaps in their inventory that could be plugged without imbalancing the faction: low Defense without good shooting, low Defense with low mobility to close the distance with enemies (plus like no Heroic March, so...), and low Strength with no access to two-handed weapons beyond Sharkey, and we don't want Sharkey being our only means of being able to wound high-Defense models.

And to be clear: we can't fix the D3-4 issue, nor should we.

But we can give them a few thematic options that will allow them to at least mitigate the weakness of the D3 everywhere, and we intend to do that with two new profiles, both taken directly from the book.

II.  New Units and Profiles

Our first new unit is a minor hero, mentioned when the Four Travelers return to the Shire and attempt to cross the Brandywine Bridge. Hob Hayward is a hobbit that works for Lotho Sackville-Baggins and the ruffians, guarding the bridge with a few other hobbits. He knows Merry, and seems to be one of those "Lawful Neutral" guys who will follow the rules regardless of whether it's right or wrong. This is probably motivated by fear of what will happen to him if he doesn't, but still, it means he's willing to tell Merry and the rest to leave and stands with Sharkey.

So here's our take on Hob, and what he offers the faction:

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Hob Hayward (Hobbit, Infantry, Minor Hero): 20 Points

Mv     F     S     D     A     W    C    M / W /  F

4"    2/3+   2     3      1      1     3      1 /  1  /  1

Heroic Actions: Heroic Accuracy

Wargear: Hand-and-a-Half Club

Special Rule: Keeper of the Bridge: Hob and his men guard the Brandywine Bridge for Sharkey. Hob may include Hobbit Archers or Hobbit Shirriffs in his warband.

Hob Hayward may be taken as a hero choice for Sharkey's Rogues, and is also added to the list of available heroes in The Chief's Ruffians legendary legion. If Hob Hayward is taken in The Chief's Ruffians legendary legion, you may take Hobbit Archers and Hobbit Shirriffs in his warband in that legendary legion.

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This gives you 1) another cheap hero, 2) access to Heroic Accuracy (not worth much, but here we are), 3) the ability to take up to 6 archers with a 3+ Shoot Value (though only an 18" range), and/or 4) the ability to take up to 6 F3 models with hand-and-a-half clubs (which he also has), so it can give you a bit of extra punch against even-numbered Defense models.

Is this guy going to break the meta? Nowhere close, but it does at least give you a few more options. And hard to abuse, since he's only a Minor Hero, and can't lead many models.

And then there's a new warrior option: the paddywagon (or Slave Cart, as we're calling it)! In the book the ruffians use a wagon to carry off hobbits to the Lockholes (their improvised prison), and the ruffians near it were confident beyond the norm.

Not only does this give us an option for a faster model, it gives us access to something that few factions have in this game: transport capability.

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Slave Wagon (Ruffian, Cavalry, Warrior, 60mm base): 30 Points

Mv     F     S     D     A     W    C

8"    2/5+   3     5      2      4     2

Wargear: Clubs and Whips

Special Rule: Wagon: The wagon may carry up to 4 man-sized models in it in addition to its crew; models spend half their movement to be placed in base contact with the wagon, and then may continue their move normally. While being transported in the Wagon, ranged attacks must succeed on an In the Way (4+) to target the occupants of the wagon. Models in the Wagon do not count as having moved if they perform shooting attacks in the Shoot Phase, and they do not contribute their attacks (nor can they be attacked) in close combat if the Slave Wagon is charged or charges into enemy models.

Special Rule: Gloating Laughter: The drivers of the slave wagon revel in the captives they take, instilling confidence in those around them. Allies within 6" of the Slave Wagon add +2 to their Courage Value when performing Courage tests.

Special Rule: Take 'Em to the Lockholes: When a man-sized infantry model loses a combat against the Slave Wagon, the riders of the slave wagon may attempt to put the model in chains. Both players roll a D6, and add their Strength to it. The drivers add +1 to their roll. If the Slave Wagon rolls equal to or higher than the target's roll, the target is chained: it counts as paralyzed, and is moved directly behind the wagon (as if chained to the chain behind the Slave Wagon). When the Slave Wagon moves it drags all chained models behind it, though its Move distance is reduced to 6" while dragging one or more models. Additional models after the first are added to the "end" of the "chain" in a line behind the wagon.

The Slave Wagon may be taken as a warrior choice for Sharkey's Rogues, and is also added to the list of available warriors in The Chief's Ruffians legendary legion.

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So what does this do for us? Several things. First, it's a cavalry model, which not only means you get a model with more than 6" of movement (only 8" so not that much more, but it is technically faster), but you can also use it to "counter" enemy cavalry to avoid taking as many casualties from enemy cavalry.

Second, it's an archer magnet, as it carries up to 4 men in them (providing an In the Way against those shots), so a good thing to get rid of, and at only D5 wounding it with archery is not unreasonable. And while it costs as much as 5-6 ruffians (depending on whether or not you give them gear), by providing In the Ways (if not completely removing line of sight) to models behind it, it's more than making up for its cost in terms of lives it saves.

Third, while its chances of winning a fight aren't great, with 2-3 Attacks against infantry you at least stand a decent chance of winning a fight and potentially imprisoning enemy models that get in your way. And by moving them automatically behind you, the rest of your men can shank the paralyzed enemies while the battle wagon rolls on.

And at the same cost as a Khandish Chariot, but lacking the F4, Trample, and high Defense of that unit, the added utility from the Slave Wagon is a good trade for the same points cost.

III.  Army Lists and Enhancements

So what can we do with these new options? A few things to round out your average list. We'll look at a 500pt list and a 700pt list, as these are pretty common points levels for casual and tournament play.

At 500pts, our list would look something like this:

Warband 1

-Sharkey and Worm (Army Leader): 60pts

-11 Ruffians with Whips: 60pts

-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts

-1 Slave Wagon: 30pts

Warband 2

-Sid Briarthorn: 45pts

-8 Ruffians with Whips: 48pts

-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts

Warband 3

-Rowan Thistlewood: 45pts

-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts

-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts

Warband 4

-Harry Goatleaf: 40pts

-4 Ruffians with Whips: 24pts

-2 Ruffians with Bows: 12pts

-2 Ruffians: 10pts

TOTAL: 500pts, 52 Models, 5 Might

This is a decently well-rounded list at 500pts; it has some support/utility from Sharkey, Harry, Sid, and the Slave Wagon, some board control with Rowan, and over 50 models at 500pts (which is the baseline for a proper horde) while still having a battle transport and support options. Naturally we could drop one of the heroes, but it's actually not horrible as-is in terms of numbers and options.

As we move on to the 700pt list, we're going to start adding some hobbit collaborators:

Warband 1

-Sharkey and Worm (Army Leader): 60pts

-12 Ruffians with Whips: 72pts

-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts

-1 Slave Wagon: 30pts

Warband 2

-Sid Briarthorn: 45pts

-9 Ruffians with Whips: 54pts

-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts

Warband 3

-Rowan Thistlewood: 45pts

-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts

-6 Ruffians with Bows: 36pts

Warband 4

-Harry Goatleaf: 40pts

-6 Ruffians with Whips: 36pts

-4 Ruffians with Bows: 24pts

-2 Ruffians: 10pts

Warband 5

-Lotho Sackville-Baggins: 30pts

-10 Ruffians with Whips: 60pts

-2 Ruffians with Bows: 12pts

Warband 6

-Hob Hayward: 20pts

-3 Hobbit Archers: 15pts

-3 Hobbit Shirriffs: 15pts

TOTAL: 700pts, 81 Models, 7 Might

Note that these are exactly full warbands: we can run this as either The Chief's Ruffians or Sharkey's Rogues; we haven't used any of the warrior-only warbands yet, so you can run these as either as desired. Personally if you're not running the legion I'd probably drop a number of the whips and pad your numbers (at all points levels, honestly), but I've kept it this way so that it's easy to port between legendary legion and standard list, as desired.

This list gives you a VERY large army, access to some F3 warriors to accompany your heroes (or F4 if Lotho pays your shirriffs), Lotho for paying people off (either as a second option for passing Courage tests beyond the wagon, or causing enemies to fail a charge), a small handful of 3+ Shoot archers, and everything we had in the first list, so still very utility-heavy while still bringing the numbers to bear.

And at more than 700pts you still have room for more wagons (to provide more In the Ways and transport to far-flung objectives), Ted Sandyman for padding your numbers even more, and once again, still haven't used any warrior-only warbands yet, so your numbers can EXPLODE as needed.

Conclusion

Is this a game-breaking inclusion for one of the hardest factions to learn to master? No - it covers a few bases, but the low Fight Value + low Defense + low Strength combo is always going to be hard to overcome. But does this give more options to keep things interesting and give you a shot at traveling across the board, speedbumping cavalry, and shielding your men from archery? Yes. And that means you at least stand a chance in the Reconnoitre, Contest of Champions, etc. missions that might appear at a tournament.

Let me know what you think below! Until then, you know where to find me,

Watching the stars,

Centaur 

"Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze, as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor.  "These are no more significant than the scurrying of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements." ~ Firenze, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix