Robin Hood is one of the most famous and endearing heroes from the history of England,
battling the Norman regime with his trusty band of Merry Men. In this article for Wargames
Journal’s Age of Blood rules, Little John and Will Scarlet lead a daring mission to rescue
Robin from the clutches of Guy of Gisbourne. You can download the Age of Blood rules for
free at www.wargamesjournal.com
THE LEGEND
Along with King Arthur, Robin Hood is one of the most enduring
quasi-legendary figures from British history. The famed outlaw
of Sherwood Forest supposedly robbed from the rich to feed the
poor beneath the backdrop of Norman-ruled England.
Perhaps it would be better to describe him as a character, as,
like King Arthur, there has yet to be conclusive proof that the
man we know as Robin Hood really did exist as we have been
led to believe.
The Robin Hood of legend is not a simple brigand but a gallant
outlaw who fought the tyrannical reign of Prince John, the Sheriff
of Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisbourne. With his band of merry
men hiding out in Sherwood Forest, Robin was a local hero
whose adventures have captured people’s imaginations for the
last seven hundred years.
The England of the 13th century was a divided land with the
Saxons, who had been in Britain for around eight hundred years,
living under the rule of a Norman aristocracy. There was a clear
class divide and with a poor repressed populace it is not hard
to see how a legend such as that of Robin Hood would grow in
such a period. The people needed a hero figure.
Though originally made famous by medieval verse, most people
know the name of Robin Hood from the world of cinema where
such actors as Kevin Costner, Errol Flynn and Sean Connery
have played Nottingham’s favourite rogue. Whether or not Robin
Hood was a real man of history or a product of medieval fiction
is something of a moot point. We will never really know one way
or the other, but, unlike Arthur, there is a fair chunk of evidence
to at least suggest that a person or persons not only bore the
name Robin Hood but also in some way performed the deeds
that spawned legend.
There are a number of candidates for the basis of the character
of Robin Hood, who first appeared in songs and poems as early
as the 14th Century. Our main sources of the legend come from
these original ballads but historians have made some compelling
finds that lend weight to the reality behind the myth.
In the 13th Century there are several individuals who may
have started the myth, one of which, though called William
Robehod, bore the nickname Robinhood. Like I said, compelling
if unfortunately not conclusive. Robinhood would become a
common nickname for outlaws in the second half of the 13th
century, but was this because there was once a Robin Hood, or is
Robin Hood merely the amalgamation of all those Robinhoods? I
guess we’ll never know.
BACKGROUND
In this scenario the valiant Robin Hood has been captured by
Norman men-at-arms and has been taken to the castle of Sir
Guy of Gisbourne. Thrown into the stinking dungeon beneath
the castle, Robin awaits the arrival of the Sheriff of Nottingham
and his entourage who plan to take him back to Nottingham
castle where he will be publicly executed at dawn.
However, Robin’s Merry Men, now led by
Little John, have been informed of Robin’s
capture and fate by one of Guy’s cooks, who
sympathises with Robin’s plight. Knowing
they have but little time to act, John gathers
what outlaws are available and with the help
of Will Scarlet sets off to Guy’s castle where
a daring rescue ensues.
Having captured the elusive master
rogue himself, Guy’s men take to some
hearty celebrations in the local village,
leaving Guy and his bodyguard
alone in the castle to watch Robin.
Unfortunately for them, Robin, ever
the wily trickster, doesn’t plan to
just sit in the dark waiting for his
doom…
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Robin of Loxley and his pal Little John escape the fort
THE SCENARIO
THE RULES
The game begins when Robin tricks his jailor into entering the
dungeon he is being held in by toying with a gold coin he had
hidden on his person. The jailor cannot resist the chance at
nabbing some easy money and, sword in hand, ventures into
Robin’s cell to take the coin for himself. Robin has other ideas
and launches himself at the jailor.
We used Wargames Journal’s own Age of Blood rules for this
scenario as they work well with almost any heroic skirmish game
and are completely free. The only change to the rules we made
was to take into account the mighty English longbow. Longbows
perform just like regular bows, except they do not suffer the
penalties against armour, making them lethal Norman killing
weapons. In addition, ignore Fate cards for this scenario.
At the same time Little John and Will Scarlet have arrived and
both wait with their loyal outlaws in the trees near to Guy’s
castle. They can see that the Norman fort is lightly defended but
nearby, in a local village, Guy’s tough men-at-arms are getting
drunk and feasting.
THE MAP
Meanwhile, Guy himself is in his study preparing himself for the
Sheriff’s arrival and the huge reward he must surely receive for
capturing England’s most wanted man. As a deft and dangerous
swordsman, he represents Robin’s most difficult obstacle to
freedom.
Today Sherwood Forest is less than 500 acres in size but in the
13th century it occupied a massive 100,000 acres. That’s a lot of
trees. Though the game takes place within the Sherwood Forest
area it is set inside the boundaries of Sir Guy of Gisbourne’s
estate, which has been mostly cleared of woodland. Therefore,
the only scenery requirements for trees are at the two opposite
corners as shown on the map. These areas are where Little
John, Will Scarlet and the Merry Men are hiding at the start of
the game.
The Sheriff himself is galloping to Guy’s castle and will arrive
before long with a force of men-at-arms strong enough to repel
any outlaw attack. Therefore, if Robin is to escape he must do
so quickly, else one of England’s most loved heroes will be
executed before his name can be immortalised.
The scenario’s more specific requirements are Guy’s castle and
the local village. The village is nothing more than a collection of
huts and there is no hard and fast requisite number of buildings.
The castle, however, is more important. We used the Norman
Fort from Grand Manner but any castle or fort-like piece will do
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Gripping Beast Normans defend their fort (Grand Manner) from the the outlaws known as the Merry Men ...
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This way men ...the Norman defenders charge to the main gate and are hit by deadly longbow fire ...
the job. If you don’t have access to such scenery a hill could be
used to replace the castle, which is not particularly large.
THE TWO FIGHTS
Robin’s attempted escape and the outlaws’ attempted rescue
occur simultaneously and until both meet they need to be played
out separately. Now there are two ways of doing this depending
on your own personal preference. Either both can be played side
by side, or one at a time, with Robin’s escape being played out
first.
Playing out Robin’s escape first is the easiest way of running
the game if you have one person playing the Normans and one
the outlaws. But, if you are comfortable with running things
simultaneously, or if you have another player to control Robin,
then having both battles going on side by side is probably the
most fun to play.
ROBIN’S ESCAPE
Robin’s attempt to escape the castle falls into three phases – his
fight with the jailor, then with whatever guards the Norman player
sends to intercept him, before the final duel with Sir Guy. If he
accomplishes all these things, or manages to perform some feat
of heroics and escape in some other way he gains his freedom.
To play out the escape you don’t need interior detail for the castle,
or even a separate gaming area, you can just run the escape in
an unused section of the board. Place your Robin Hood model
in one spot and when he fights the jailor put the figure in base
contact. Do the same when he fights the guards and again when
he fights Guy. There is no need to bother with phases with the
escape, merely wait until the combat phase of the turn. Assume
any moving through the castle has already been done.
His first test is the fight with the jailor, who, though not a hero like
Robin, is armed with a sword while Robin has no weapons of his
own. However, with his higher ability scores and Valour he will,
unless he is desperately unlucky, overcome his foe. Because he
is unarmed the Jailor receives +1 Prowess (in profile). After that
Robin can arm himself with the jailor’s sword. Normans beware!
After the jailor has been defeated Robin must fight his way past
Guy’s men-at-arms. At this point, the amount of enemies he has
to face depends on how many warriors the Norman player sends
to fight him. This is entirely up to the Norman player as he will
have to divert men-at-arms from the castle’s defence to fight
Robin. He may decide to send all the guards to fight Robin, or
he may send none at all.
Once Robin has defeated the jailor the Norman player must
decide how many of the castle’s guards he sends to intercept
Robin. Once he has stated this, he cannot send more guards at
a later time. Because of the cramped confines of the castle only
two guards may fight Robin at any time. If the Norman player
diverts more than two guards, at the start of each turn more
guards, if they are available, can be placed into base contact
with Robin.
The last feat Robin has to achieve is the duel with Sir Guy himself
on the castle’s high roof. Guy is a hero like Robin and though not
as strong with Valour, should prove a match for him after he has
fought his way through the castle.
Once Robin has defeated Guy he is free to enter the fray and
try and join up with his men. To do this he either dashes back
through the castle and enters the courtyard or performs some
feat of heroic daring and scales the castle wall. In either case he
must spend a full turn moving, after which he can begin the next
turn inside the courtyard.
THE RESCUE
Robin’s best friend and trusted lieutenant, Little John, is leading
the outlaws with the assistance of Will Scarlet. They have no idea
of Robin’s escape attempt and so will lay their lives on the line
to save their beloved leader. Even with the two heroes to bolster
their strength, the outlaws are outgunned by the well armoured
Normans and will have to use cunning and skilful tactics if they
are to succeed. Luckily they are equipped with the fearsome
longbow with which to help even the playing field.
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DEPLOYMENT
THE NORMANS
The outlaw player can divide his forces between the two areas
of woodland any way he sees fit. This will depend on what, if any
plan, he attempts. He could decide to launch an all-out attack on
the castle with every man he can find, or maybe try and take out
the Norman men-at-arms in the village first before trying to help
Robin. It’s entirely up to the player.
The goal of the Normans is simple: to prevent Robin Hood
escaping. Now this would have been easy to achieve had the
Norman men-at-arms not decide to head to the local village to
get drunk, leaving the castle woefully undefended. In total there
are 24 Norman men-at-arms, 16 in the village and eight at the
castle.
ASSAULTING THE CASTLE
In the village men-at-arms are deployed in base contact with
the buildings, spread between them as evenly as possible. This
represents the fact that the battle begins when the alarm has
been sounded and the soldiers have just exited the building they
are next to. They have been partying inside. The castle guards
can be deployed anywhere within the castle grounds.
Guy’s castle is a Norman motte and baille fort and as such is
As the men-at-arms in the village have been celebrating their
capture of the infamous Robin Hood they have been downing
wine and ale like it’s been going out of fashion. As a result some,
if not all, of the Normans are in varying stages of drunkenness.
When you attempt to perform an action a Norman figure must
roll a D10 and consult the table below to see how drunk he is at
that moment and how it affects him for the rest of the turn.
easy to defend but not impregnable. How easy it is to get inside
will depend mainly on how many Normans there are defending
it. As it’s up to the Norman player how many guards fight Robin,
the outlaws might find the walls heavily or lightly defended.
Normans behind the palisade count as being heavily obscured
for the purposes of shooting, and in melee combat they count as
being in shieldwall so receive +2 Fortitude if they are wounded,
but they do not suffer the associated Prowess penalty. Outlaws
can scale the walls as per the normal climbing rules and those
who attempt to do so within the threat range of a Norman model
suffer a free attack.
If either Little John or Will Scarlet successfully gets over the wall
they can aid Robin in his fight with the guards and Guy. To do
this, once over the wall they are assumed to have avoided any
enemies and rushed off to help Robin, which takes them two
actions to achieve. If when they have climbed the walls they
have no actions left, they must spend the whole of the next turn
getting to Robin, otherwise they spend one action in the current
turn and one in the next turn to reach him. Only Little John or Will
Scarlet can do this.
FREEING ROBIN
To free Robin two goals must be achieved. The first is that Robin
must defeat Sir Guy of Gisbourne either on his own or with
the help of his friends. Once this has been achieved he
must escape off any board edge, via the two woodland
areas. If he can manage this then he escapes, but if too
many of his friends died to save him then the victory will
be a hollow one indeed.
“Give me a bow!”
Robin is the Legolas of the real world and his deadly
skills with the longbow are legendary. Unfortunately
in this scenario he doesn’t have a bow, or at least he
doesn’t begin the game with one. However, should
he move into base contact with any of the Merry
Men, they will gladly hand over their own longbow
for him to use. If this happens, as well as now having
the weapon, Robin is subject to the following special
rule when using the bow. As a special action Robin
may shoot twice (two Shoot actions), albeit it
with -2 Deftness to each shot.
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D10 Roll
Drunkenness
1
2-3
4-6
7-10
Seeing Double: -2 Agility, -2 Prowess.
Staggering: -1 Agility, -1 Prowess.
Tipsy: -1 Agility.
Sober as the day is long: No effect.
FATE CARDS
It is up to you and your opponent whether you use Fate Cards
in this scenario as they are more fantasy than history and are
designed with Vikings and their beliefs in mind. However, there
is no reason why you cannot use them, even the more magical
and god-related cards. To get into the swashbuckling mood try
and think of reasons to explain the bonuses the cards grant your
warriors. So, instead of the god Tyr granting improved Agility
and Fortitude to Will Scarlet, just assume he’s received a bit of
luck. Maybe his belt buckle stopped an arrow (the +1 Fortitude)
or maybe his fine deerskin boots gave him extra purchase on the
grass (+1 Agility).
A CAMPAIGN?
Why not use this scenario as a springboard into a Robin Hood
campaign? One player might control Robin and his band of
Merry Men whilst the other player controls the Sheriff, Sir Guy
and the bad guys in general. The campaign could just be a
series of independent scenarios or they could be linked, with the
outcome of one affecting the rules of the next.
The other famous characters from the legend, such as the vile
Sheriff of Nottingham, will need to be created for any campaign
and new scenarios could be inspired by your favourite Robin
Hood moments from literature and film. Maybe the Sheriff
discovers Robin’s Sherwood lair and sends mercenary
Celts to attack (Robin Hood Prince of Thieves). The
possibilities are, if not endless, vast.
ENDING THE GAME
The battle ends after the end of turn 10, at which
point the Sheriff of Nottingham arrives with a host of
Norman soldiers. When this happens any chance of
Robin escaping vanishes and the Norman player has
won the day. If Robin escapes off a board edge with
at least half the outlaws (including Little John and
Will Scarlet) then they have achieved a heroic victory.
However, if he escapes in time but if either Little
John or Will Scarlet die to save him, or if less
than half the outlaws survive, the escape is a
hollow one and the game is considered a draw.
Robin Hood
Wargear
Traits
Agl
Bra
Def
For
Pro
Str
Val
4
5
5
3
5
3
4
Nothing initially, then sword (add +2 Str)
Keen Eye, Lightning Reflexes, Lucky and Charismatic
Jailor
Wargear
Agl
Bra
Def
For
1
2
1
3/4
Sword and leather jerkin
Pro
3/4
Str
3/5
Val
-
Sir Guy
Wargear
Traits
Agl
Bra
Def
For
2
4
1
4/7
Sword and chain hauberk
Armour Proficiency, Precision
Pro
5
Str
4/6
Val
2
Little John
Wargear
Traits
Agl
Bra
Def
For
Pro
1
5
3
4/5
4
Axe, longbow and leather jerkin
Huge Stature, Frenzy and Axeman
Str
5/8
Val
3
Will Scarlet
Wargear
Traits
Agl
Bra
Def
For
Pro
3
4
4
2/3
4
Sword, longbow and leather jerkin
Devious and Skald
Str
2/4
Val
2
Outlaws (x12)
Wargear
Agl
Bra
Def
For
2
3
2
2
Sword or spear and longbow
Str
2
Val
-
Men-at-Arms
Wargear
Pro
2
Agl
Bra
Def
For
Pro
Str
Val
1
2
1
3/7/9 3
3/5
Chain hauberk, helmet and either sword and shield
(x16) or sword and bow (x8).
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