"Pike & Shotte, different frontages. " Topic

I'm struggling to find specific advice in the book about frontages for pike blocks vs other infantry in P&S.

When you look at the example of how batallia are organised, the pike units have a smaller frontage that the shot. But I can't find anything specific about why. I can understand why this might look okay on the table for ECW and similar conflicts, but what about the Italian Wars, for example? My feeling from an initial read is that frontages should perhaps be the same.

What do you think? I can't settle on a good answer and it would be good to have a better idea before I start basing and painting!

Not specific to the Pike & Shotte rules, but this site may offer you some understanding from an historical perspective:

link

I don't think frontages are a particular issue in Pike and Shotte. You simply need to define the " standard" unit size. I use 4 28 mm figures on a 40mm x 40 mm base for pike, usually three or four such bases make up my standard unit. Some of my Shot are on similar bases, others on slightly bigger 50mm x 50mm bases and others on individual bases. There is a new supplement out (To Kill a King), that may have more specific advice, but I would base them the way you think they look best.

Condottiere: That's a good link, thanks!

Dave: Thanks for that. Sounds like it's probably not an issue. I play Black Powder, but obviously this hasn't come up as a question in those rules. There's no extra info in TKaK as far as I have seen so far.

There's no extra info in TKaK as far as I have seen so far.

There is nothing new in TKaK on this.

Same frontage for both. Stop worrying and paint.

If you want to create a more historically accurate aesthetic and also want to use the same base size for both you should attach more pikemen than musketeers, so it's then a matter of deciding what the smallest frontage that can accept a workable number of both is. Depending on the figures you're using it might be possible to squeeze three pikemen into a 40mm frontage, for a base of six figures in two ranks – or you might prefer/need to go to 45mm. A musketeer base would have four figures in two ranks.

Baccus: Wise words. I fear I may be asking as a form of procrastination!

Henry Martini: Indeed, something else to consider!

" I can't settle on a good answer"
Look at the weapons. The muskets are to be loaded with powder from the apostles, and fired with a burning fuse. Surely no one wants to have the burning fuse of the man next to him close to his supply of powder ! This is also the reason why artillery in the ECW was protected by firelocks instead of matchlocks. Ans since in the earlier period musketeers operated in formations ten men or more deep, between two files was a space needed for walking back and start loading again.