Robin Hood - "Final Plan" on page four 4/22/2024 US Style

[FifteensAway]

First point, I already have the miniatures via Splintered Lights delightful 15 mm range of figures - with some supplements (not yet painted).  So no need to discuss figures in this thread.  Rules very likely to be Fistful of Lead though I am willing to entertain other options - if adequately justified by your reasoning.

What I want to know is the approach to the game itself.  What do you need on the table - a forest of course but what else.  Feel free to reference movies since this is more a "cinematic adventure" than anything else.

And, for 15 mm, sources for the "bits and bobs" that make a table come to life - like arrow targets (butts?), and other scatter terrain.

Also, ideas for scenarios with some detail, not just "rob from the rich" but The Shire Reeve moves to the town and requires payment of taxes, and then must exit via one of two routes, etc.  Some detail, please.  Not overwhelming minutia, just enough detail to flesh out.

When I search LAF for Robin Hood it seems to come up with one thread in 2021.  There must be more than that so links to other threads would be great.  Or maybe I'm not searching properly.

I know there are other ranges out there so your answers may serve others as well.

Look forward to hearing what you all have to contribute.

Thanks! 

[Inkpaduta]

You would need a village full of the peasants the Sheriff is ripping off. Maybe a castle that Robin Hood can storm or escape from.
Wagons for the people travelling on the rode for Robin to steal from.

[Hitman]

Interesting that you posted this as I have just finished painti g up Robin and his Sherwood forest brethern and I am finishing painting up some mercenaries hired by Guy of Gisbourne and/or the Sheriff of Nottingham. One scenario that I was thinking of was Robin et al rescuing a loyal knight to King Richard from a prison wagon and its escort travelling through Sherwood Forest. I still need to paint the wagon, oxen and seated drover.

I am still looking for a really good set of rules but may end up using Lion Rampant or tailoring Pulp Alley if that is possible...

Good luck and keep me posted as I too am looking for lots of ideas.
Regards,
Hitman
😎

[FifteensAway]

I acquired this from Forged in Battle: https://www.forgedinbattle.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=86_162&product_id=1051 for my castle and I also got their Saxon and Viking buildings and the associated villagers for both.  I have a plentitude of villagers.

Not sure yet on wagons - I have plenty but perhaps not suitable.  Best wagons in 15 mm that suit the period?  I am eyeing some wicker wagons but not sure if appropriate, also spoked or solid wheels fit the period?  Need to do some research on this aspect.

For Hitman, what are you using for the Prison Wagon, please?

[Hobgoblin]

I am still looking for a really good set of rules but may end up using Lion Rampant or tailoring Pulp Alley if that is possible...

Pulp Alley strikes me as perfect for Robin Hood. You wouldn't need to do much tailoring either: with the Animal rule (which you could rename as the rules suggest - Man-at-Arms, perhaps?), you can create plenty of non-shooting characters (Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham, for example). And most of the Merry Men should be able to shoot anyway.

For scenario ideas, I'd suggest having a look at that staple of 1980s childhoods, Robin of Sherwood. It had all kinds of interesting plots that would be easily adapted for skirmish games. It also threw in lots of supernatural elements, from Herne the Hunter to the Swords of Weyland. Because it was an episodic series, I suspect it offers more scenario ideas than any one of the movies.


There's an RPGNet review here.

[Sunjester]

Hobgoblin beat me on Robin of Sherwood, I've used a couple of episode ideas for Lion Rampant games.

[Wilgut Spleens]

I have written a Robin Hood campaign, a series of linked scenarios for my skirmish game Ruckus. The first scenario is the Tax Collector, can Robin foil the tax collectors plans and restore the money to the villagers? The second is Ambush. Robin and his men waylay a mule train deep in the forest. The third is Retribution. The Sherrif raids the outlaws camp. Fourth is the Golden Arrow, an archery competition. Five is Stop the Drop. The Sherrif has caught an outlaw and plans to hang him in the market square. Six is Rescue yon Maiden. Robin and his band must rescue his beautiful lady from the clutches of the Sherrif.
Ruckus is the perfect game for these sort of engagements,

[FifteensAway]

Wilgut, thanks for the input - are your scenarios/rules available somewhere and do they need any other rules to work?

Pulp Alley is a no go for me - I don't see it handling what I have in mind.

Please keep the scenario concepts flowing.

Another question: just how far out in "left field" would it be if I combined Robin Hood, King Arthur, and Vikings into one game?  I know the Vikings are a bit earlier than some of the Robin Hood inspirational bits and that King Arthur - the potentially historical version - is quite a bit earlier but this is more of a cinematic sort of game than historical which, of course, doesn't apply here since both Arthur and Robin Hood are, at least, as much legend as anything else.

Being based in USA, I don't recall any exposure to the Robin of Sherwood series but I'll do some checking online to see if I can get a peak at it.

Again, keep the ideas flowing.  Everything is appreciated even the stuff I might not use.

Thanks!

[Inkpaduta]

There is quite a time difference between them. King Arthur would be 400s and then Vikings 1000s and finally Robin in the late 1100s to early 1200s.
But, hey, it is your game. Whatever makes you happy playing.

[Wilgut Spleens]

My scenarios are written for my game Ruckus which is due to be published by Wargames Illustrated in May. Initially it will be given away as a freebie with the magazine with plans to publish the full version at a later date. You can read about some of the wily outlaws adventures on my blog at wilgut.blogspot.com

[Bogdanwaz]

For rules, there’s Howard Whitehouse’s Outlaws of Sherwood, a fun and simple set of rules that covers all the bases of gaming Robin Hood. Available as a pdf from Wargames vault 

https://www.wargamevault.com/m/product/125299

[Hobgoblin]

Another question: just how far out in "left field" would it be if I combined Robin Hood, King Arthur, and Vikings into one game?  I know the Vikings are a bit earlier than some of the Robin Hood inspirational bits and that King Arthur - the potentially historical version - is quite a bit earlier but this is more of a cinematic sort of game than historical which, of course, doesn't apply here since both Arthur and Robin Hood are, at least, as much legend as anything else.

The way I'd do this is start with Malory's high-medieval Arthur and build out. That gives you a high-medieval milieu, with "paynims" (Turks and Saracens) as the default foes, which gets you to a Crusades-ish place. That in turn allows you to add in Crusades-era outlaws. And then you can up the foreign threat with Saxon paynims as well as Muslim ones - and the Saxons might as well be Viking in appearance; Dan Mersey's Song of Arthur and Merlin calls for horned helmets and all for Saxons in the ahistorical settings!


Also, TH White sneaks Robin Hood into The Sword and the Stone (as "Robin Wood" - see Chapter X). So there's a classic, cast-iron precedent for Arthur + Robin (a slash-fiction trope if ever there was one ...).

Being based in USA, I don't recall any exposure to the Robin of Sherwood series but I'll do some checking online to see if I can get a peak at it.

It all seems to be on YouTube, though with Polish dubbing. It's also free on Prime Video in the US.

Pulp Alley is a no go for me - I don't see it handling what I have in mind.

Oddly, the mention of Arthur made me think of Pulp Alley all the more, for two reasons. First, the Arthurian tales are full of significant objects and obligations (plot points!): the Grail, Excalibur, the deal with the Green Knight, etc. And second, Pulp Alley's emphasis on wounded/winded/downed heroes being able to recover for further feats of strength, arms or derring-do fits very well into an Arthurian context (think of the end of Excalibur, for example). I've got a slow-burning Arthurian skirmish project on the go, and the two rulesets I have in mind for it are Song of Arthur and Merlin and Pulp Alley. For the latter, I like the idea of a few knights fighting against endless Saxon hordes (using the Gangs rule).

But I put this here just to acknowledge you comment about justifying reasons at the start; obviously, you have a much better idea of what you want from your game!

[DaveCrow]

Irregular Miniatures have all sorts of bits and bobs in their ranges. Always worth a check. Shipping to the US is fast.

For rules I have thought about using Flashing Steel from Ganesha Games for a very swashbuckling Erol Flynn style Robin Hood. 15MM Splintered Light range is what caught my eye. Curious where else you have sourced figures from.

For scenarios I shamelessly crib from all sorts of games, adjusting settings, etc as needed. Movies and tv are also great sources of ideas.

One scenario idea, cribbed from the More Drums and Shakos Napoleonic supplement, is a wagon escort. A road crosses the center of the table along which the sheriff is escorting a tax wagon. The four corners of the table are forest. Robin and his Merry Men deploy hidden in two of the four corner woodlands. Half the sheriffs men start on table, the other half off table. It can be a nail biter with no visible outlaws until they move or attack!

I think Vikings (with horned helmets!), High Medieval Artrhurian knights, and Robin Hood and his Merry Men would make a fun classic Hollywood style game setting.

[Maniac]

For missions/terrain, also consider the following:

1.  A town/village - see Disney's Robin Hood with the Sheriff pounding on the old dog's cast.  Using FFoL as a reference, each house has a set difficulty, either easy or hard.  The Sheriff's men must successfully extort taxes from say 2/3rds of the houses, and then get the money off the table.  The Merry Men have to get in and break up the tax collection, or stop it being moved off table.  Failing a task roll they can try again.  You could add a bonus to the roll if more than one man tries to collect and a negative if the Merry Men are within some proximity.

2.  A Church/Monetary - Preferable to have removable roofs, but church building, cloister, refectory, infirmary, etc.  One of the band was taken ill, or perhaps Friar Tuck is in meeting with the Prior.  The Sheriff has heard about it and come to try and arrest the member.  The Merry Men have to get in and get their man off the board.  No one knows which room the man is in, and they have to search to find them.  The monks could even be a third party player or NPCs who generally try and muck it up for both sides.  Use a random placement to put the target man into one of the rooms along with two monks.

3.  Castle - Prince of Thieves/Errol Flynn/Disney/etc - Similar to the above, rescuing a captive prisoner.  Alternatively, take straight out of the Errol Flynn movie.  Robin has to negotiate his way (avoid combat) into the banquet hall.  Spend time antagonizing the guests (while the Merry Men move up in support), and then fight his way to freedom.  As an added bonus, he has to secure a kiss from Marian, who the Sheriff's side wants to move into her quarters and keep her under lock and key there.

To antagonize the nobility, he can have an easy task roll that increases in difficulty each turn.  So using FFoL again, he starts off on easy task roll, but gets a +1 or something on the first turn.  Each turn he gets -1 to task roll.  Essentially the crowd starts off amused, and it gets harder and harder to avoid them getting angry and attacking Robin.  Robin will want to push his luck as long as he can, but should he fail a task vs choose to start himself he gets penalized in some fashion (again using FFoL, perhaps the Sheriff's men get the +1 to CC Jack and Robin's side treats anything over a 10 as a 10 or less)

4.  Tournament grounds - look up the rules Steed and Steel.  Robin and his men are one side in the tourney structure which caps off with the archery contest.

[Mr. White]

I'm also a fan of the Robin Hood mythos, particularly as depicted in the excellent Robin of Sherwood series as mentioned up thread. I'm also US based, but I find that show pairs well with Boorman's Excalibur, but also...wait for it... Hawk the Slayer. hehehe

Additionally, I've also got a Robin Hood project lined up for this year, where I hope to use the above three influences. I've got the Footsore "Death and Taxes" range for my table. I'm looking to use Lion Rampant not because I think it best fits the theme, but I just like playing that ruleset. Plus, I've got enough models on both sides for "Sheriff Raids the Merry Men" type scenarios. I plan to have a full 24 pt warband of each side using strictly the "historic" unit types from LR, but I'm also going to do two fantasy units for each side that could be swapped in for a bit more fantastical games. The Dragon Rampant options will slot in perfectly for those.