Never Mind The Billhooks: Here’s the easy way in

When we asked Billhooks author Andy Callan if he could provide us with a collection of example Army Lists for Never Mind the Billhoooks Deluxe, he said “But one of the thrills of Billhooks Deluxe is putting together your own army list and selecting which troops to have in your force” we said “… yeah, but can you do it anyway”… he said “go on then”. So, over the following few pages we present the non-thinkers, quick start, no messing guide to putting together a Never Mind the Billhoooks Deluxe army for each of the theatres covered in the rules.

There are no fixed Army lists in Billhooks, so I don't really believe in them!

Especially for the smaller battles, for which this game was originally designed, it seems to me that Army commanders would be happy to take whatever troops were available to them on the day so we shouldn't be too prescriptive about what types of troops you might or might not be permitted to put on the table.

But there have to be some limits, if we want our armies to have a suitably historical 'feel' to them (and to thwart the kind of 'gamey' Players who might otherwise be tempted to field entire armies of Men-at-Arms or the like!). So, each chapter of Billhooks Deluxe gives some basic guidance on the make-up of armies in the eight Theatres & Conflicts covered in the book.

Set out below, you will find a series of example army lists of roughly 120 Troop points and 10 (or more) points of Leaders. This size of army has been successfully used in the ‘Billhooks BASH’ series of Games Days, organised by Pete Harris in Derby. This has proved to be an ideal size for a challenging but relatively quick two-player game.

Albion: The Wars of the Roses

We start with ‘Vanilla’ Billhooks, the game's Core Rules period. The only restrictions set are that Companies of Archers or Billmen (roughly equal numbers of each or as close as you can get) should make up at least half the troop points in an English army, with Skirmishers and Artillery together totalling no more than one-fifth. So, a typical army (either Yorkist or Lancastrian) might be made up of the example below.

Note that the Billmen and Archers here total 60 points (so meeting the requirement to be at least half of the 120 troop points) and Skirmishers and Artillery total 24 points (one-fifth, exactly).

To make effective use of the Light Horse they will need a Leader permanently attached. This is a good use for a Dolt, should you happen to roll a 1 when dicing for your Leader Command ratings!

The Skirmishers could be any mixture of Archers, Crossbowmen, Handgunners, or Irish Kern instead (although only one army can field any of the latter type - do a dice-off if both you and your opponent want to use them).

Opting for a gun (9 points) will usually leave you with an odd 3 points to make up the 120-point total, so you can do this either by giving one of your Handgunner or Crossbowmen Bands some pavises (as here) or by upgrading one your companies of Billmen or Archers to ‘Veteran’ status. This costs 25% extra (3 points) per company, but remember this means that upgrading a company of Men-at-Arms would cost you 6 extra points, which would take you over the limit.

Billhooks is not supposed to be a hyper-competitive game, so you really shouldn't get too fussed if one side exceeds the notional total by a few points. But if both players insist on exact parity you can always take a figure or two off the initial strength of the odd company, just to even up the numbers.

Another way of assembling opposing armies is to use the optional ‘Mustering the Forces’ rule on page 38 – this produces a rather more unpredictable mix and balance of forces and prevents players from putting together a ‘super-army’ ideally suited to their style of play!

Gallia: The Hundred Years War

Billhooks Deluxe includes two scenarios for the Hundred Years' War which already gives you four different army lists. Here are two more, which might be taken as representative of typical English and French armies of the latter stages of the conflict.

Bohemia: The Hussite Wars

The opposing armies in this theatre are very different. Hussite armies must spend at least two-thirds of their troop points on War Wagons and Infantry companies. They can field no more than one squadron of Knights (representing sympathetic local gentry) or Veteran Men-at-Arms (well-armed and experienced Infantry). The Crusaders, by contrast, must spend at least two-thirds of their troop points on Cavalry, since their infantry played only a secondary and subordinate role.

As is the case in the battle Scenario in the book, the Crusaders are allowed to out-point the Hussites by around a quarter, to allow for their need for extra Cavalry Leaders.

Other armies and conflicts

With Billhooks Deluxe, I set out to expand the scope of my original Wars of the Roses rules across the rest of Western European Christendom from c1350 to 1525. Lack of space meant it was never going to be possible to cover everything within that wide historical and geographical remit (Germania and Cambria were early editorial victims, for example), but I believe that within its pages you will be able to find a wide enough range of troop stats and special rules to cater for pretty much any contemporary conflict you care to name. Feel free to ‘mix and match’ from the different chapters and come up with your own period-specific ‘Special Events’.

If you want to share your ideas, you will always find a receptive audience on the Never Mind the Billhooks Facebook page.

A practical note on War Wagons: In Billhooks War Wagons are assigned six crew. 1st. Corps’ Hussite War Wagons come in several different shapes and sizes, the ‘Large War Wagon’ can just about squeeze six figures inside. If you have smaller wagons and are struggling to accommodate six figures in (or around) the vehicle - don’t worry about it - just tell your opponent a couple of the crew have just nipped off to the garderobe.

Owain Glydnwr and his men, impatiently waiting for their chance to shine in *Billhooks.*

The Hussite army arrayed for battle. All the figures seen here are by 1st Corps.

Helvetia: The Swiss-Burgundian Wars

This is another clash of opposing tactical systems – the brute force masses of the Swiss vs the multi-national, combined-arms sophistication of the Burgundians.

At least three-fifths of the points in a Swiss army must be made up of Infantry Companies (Pikemen or Halberdiers) with Skirmishers and Artillery together contributing no more than one-fifth.

Burgundian armies must include at least one unit each of Knights, Light Horse, Pikemen, Archers, Skirmishers and Artillery to reflect their typically complicated orders of battle.

Note that although there is no recommendation in the book that Burgundian armies should be allowed to out-point the Swiss (since they regularly found themselves heavily outnumbered on the battlefield), giving them a few extra points (as here) will help make more of a game of it.

In addition, the optional Swiss deployment rule (on page 80) introduces some uncertainty into Swiss battle plans, since there is always a chance that one of their characteristic outflanking forces might turn up late (or even not at all!).

Italia: The Italian Wars

The battle scenario in the book already gives you army lists for the French and the Spanish so here are two more – for the Imperialists and a generic early Italian city-state army. Armies in this theatre were notably heterogeneous in their make-up, so the only restriction is that Skirmishers (both mounted and on foot) and Artillery should not exceed one-third of the total troop points.

Lusitania: Late Medieval Portugal

The Scenario in the book describes an internecine battle in a mid-fifteenth-century Portuguese dynastic civil war. So, instead, here are two armies from an earlier period when English mercenaries and Spanish armies involved themselves in Portuguese affairs, importing their national tactics in the process.

A Portuguese/Castilian ‘Legitimists’ army.

Northumbria: The Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

This is something rather different, not so much a battle, more of a raid, with the objective being to make off with the loot or prevent the rascally raiders from getting away with it.

At least half of the Raiders (or their Pursuers) must be mounted and at least half of any Defenders must be Infantry.

Hibernia: Warfare in Ireland

The art of war in this theatre had its distinctive character, with an emphasis on small-scale raiding that is ideally suited to the size of game Billhooks was originally designed for. However, since the scenario in the book describes the forces for just such a typical raid here are two armies suitable for one of the rare but deadly pitched battles that were also a feature of Irish warfare. It pits native Irish troops (with Scots and Hebridean Allies) against an Anglo-Irish force which blends English and Irish weapons and tactics.

In a native Irish army, each Company of Gallowglass must have at least two bands of Skirmisher Kern, representing the warriors' attendants.

At least a third of the troop points in an Anglo-Irish force must be made up of native Irish types and no more than a quarter of Archers. It can never have more than one Company of Men-at-arms OR one Squadron of Spears (Cavalry).

Note that native Irish troops cannot operate in two-company blocks so they need rather more Infantry commanders than is usual in other theatres.

Massacre at Dwarven Tower Pass - a view from the other side of the table

Designer’s Notes: Never Mind The Billhooks Deluxe