The Sword and Laser discussion

Like Saga and the other Bands from Kings of the Wyld, Who is your favourite Ragtag Band of Misfits from Fantasy books? (Fantasy TV shows & Movies are fine too)

They can be heroic-ish mercenaries or bumbling fools. Fighting for Good or Evil, Right or Wrong, or just to survive to their next meal and pay day.

As long as they are a group who strive for a common purpose.

Mine would have to be the "Gentlemen Bastards" as featured in February 2012 Book pick The Lies of Locke Lamora

They are a ragtag group of thieves who target the rich through elaborate con jobs.

Interesting question… so many to choose from. If forced to pick just one, though, I’d have to go with the crew of the airship Ketty Jay in Chris Wooding’s series. First one is Retribution Falls. You’ve got your scoundrel captain with Frey, not one but two hotshot pilots, a new girl with a secret, a rich scion who consorts with demons, a towering metal golem, a doctor with… issues, and Slag, a monstrous, ill-tempered watchcat.

My runner-up would be the criminal gang from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology. Adapted by Netflix as Shadow & Bone, they’re the perfect mix of cool and crazy.

Can they be regular army? My vote would be for the Bridgeburners under Sergeant Whiskeyjack in the Malazan Book of the Fallen (Gardens of the Moon.) Down to a handful of members, being sent on suicide missions because somebody in the Empire wanted them killed off.

Originally cobbled together from decimated squads to hunt down the remnants of a cabal of mages they eventually became one of the emperor's elite divisions. But when the new emperor took over she inverted the command structure and busted down those loyal to her predecessor.

They are the dream team that are underachievers at heart and have been deliberately defenestrated because the new leadership doesn't trust them. Their sergeant was previously commander of the entire 2nd army. The squad mage could really be a high mage reporting directly to the emperor but wants no such thing. The special ops guy was once an elite assassin. And a handful of sappers and soldiers, given the dirtiest jobs in the army.

3 posts in and nobody has mentioned the Ankh-Morpork City Watch yet? Shameful. I can’t think of a more rag tag crew than humans, dwarves, werewolves, trolls - and whatever Nobby is.

There's the obvious ones. Firefly's crew. The original Battlestar Galactica. Star Wars with Han, Chewy, Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan and two robots with an agenda.

I'm'a have to go non-genre tho. Black Sheep Squadron, the cast of Ba Ba Black Sheep as led by Paddy Boyington. World War II pilots who break every rule in pursuit of the mission's goals. Hilariously, the military sent an efficiency expert to determine how they had such a high success rate in one ep. Boyington let him observe everything and the expert concluded he couldn't possibly report it. He decided to say it was due to attention to discipline and order. A coverup as the brass would never be able to handle it and even to report on Boyington's methods would be to destroy the squadron and its effectiveness - still needed at the height of the war.

A-Team. Ragtag band made me think of the original Battlestar Galactica too. The original Avengers wouldn't be too far off.

It is December. I almost forgot the ragtag band of misfit toys from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special. Including the elf, Hermey, who wants to be a dentist instead of a toymaker and Yukon Cornelius, hapless prospector.

lol

The Fellowship from Lord of the Rings.

John (Taloni) wrote: "the cast of Ba Ba Black Sheep as led by Paddy Boyington.."

I loved "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and the "Black Sheep Squadron"

Though not Fantasy 😉 They did actually exist, even though the TV show was based on their stories.

I am prepared to accept Sci-Fi and real life if you all want to go down that direction.

One out of left field.

Andy's toys from Toy Story 2.

Buzz, Slinky Dog, Mr Potato Head, Hamm & Rex on a mission to rescue Woody.

Well along that same path, I always liked the Dirty Dozen movie because of that sort of grouping.

Anime does tend to have a lot of them as well. A bit of an old school favorite of mine was the grouping from Robotech (or as originally known Genesis Climber) MOSPEADA.

Did anyone say the Scooby Gang from Buffy the Vampire Slayer yet?

Ruth wrote: "Did anyone say the Scooby Gang from Buffy the Vampire Slayer yet?"

Sounds like Meddling Kids which is a great example of the "getting the band back together" genre.

In a fantasy setting I'm going to bend the rules and choose the playable characters from the game Planescape Torment. (Yes, they're better even than Baldur's Gate.)
Nameless One - An immortal, amnesiac with a missing soul
Morte - A wise cracking floating skull
Dak'Kon - A gith from a limbo plane where matter is malleable and *knowing* is all important
Fall-from-Grace - a succubus who runs a brothel for intellectual, rather than physical, stimulation
Ignus - a pyro mage forced to channel eternal flame as punishment but sustains himself by revelling in the pain
Vhailor - an intractable avatar of justice that animates an empty suit of armour...
I've forgotten some. They're all amazing.

Edit: There are novellisations! No rules broken!
Planescape Torment: The Unofficial Torment Novel
Planescape: Torment

In a sci-fi setting you won't beat Hitchhikers Guide. It's debatable that they meet the shared goal criteria.

The crewmates in Mass Effect 2 come close though.

Pumpkinstew wrote: "In a fantasy setting I'm going to bend the rules and choose the playable characters from the game Planescape Torment. (Yes, they're better even than Baldur's Gate.)
Nameless One - An immortal, amne..."

Are you the same Pumpkinstew who’s on my team in Marvel Puzzle Quest?

Trike wrote: "Are you the same Pumpkinstew who’s on my team in Marvel Puzzle Quest?"

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If you're in Gamma Storm then ... yes!

Yeah I am. Small world!

My mind went immediately to The Old Guard, vol. 1: Opening Fire but I would say it's a close tie with City Watch.

The The Black Hawks by David Wragg and Never Die by Rob J. Hayes are two that come to mind. Also the book covers have the same design as Kings of the Wyld. I will also give a shout out to Josiah Bancroft's Book of Babel series whose main character gains a group to help him in his quest over the life of the series.

I noticed most of these are heavy on the fantasy so started to look thru my SciFi leaning reads for 'ragtag' crews and found several
-Leviathan Wakes the crew from Expanse series
-Ringworld
-To Be Taught, If Fortunate
-Ready Player One
- and of course the Bobs We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

Mer wrote: "I noticed most of these are heavy on the fantasy so started to look thru my SciFi leaning reads for 'ragtag' crews and found several
-"

Well, Dave did specifically request Fantasy groups which is why I didn’t mention the crew from Firefly or any of its innumerable knock-offs. But I agree with you that SF is chock-a-block with ragtag rebels and found families, and Taloni hit most of the ur-examples. Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings is another example, as is the Guardians of the Galaxy movie series. Oh, and Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes. Then there’s the comic Saga, Volume 1.

I have some lesser-known motley crew stories in my TBR:
The Keiko trilogy by Mike Brooks (Dark Run)
The Paradox Trilogy by Rachel Bach (Fortune's Pawn)

The Millennium Falcon crew seems pretty rag tag. Particularly in the beginning, but they never really seem to shake that vibe, even after they pick up a homeless princess.

Trike wrote: ".Well, Dave did specifically request Fantasy gro..."
Ooops