Heroes of Sherwood Forest

While King Richard was away fighting in the crusades, his scheming younger brother took control
Author
Richard Woolcock

System
Tricube Tales <

Background
of London in an attempt to usurp the throne. Prince John exiled or executed those loyal to the king
Figu Design
and appointed his flunkies to positions of power, including the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham.
Yet not everyone fled or stood by idly. Some chose to defy the cruel prince and take a stand against his Story Symbols
Delapouite, Lorc, Skoll,
oppressive rule, becoming champions of the people. The most famous of these heroes were Robin Hood Caro Asercion
Game-icons.net <
and his Merry Men, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor—but many others took up the noble
cause as well, fighting back against the prince’s tyranny and the sheriff’s petty cruelty. Illustrations
Dean Spencer
You are a band of outlaws living in Sherwood Forest. After escaping the tender mercies of the Sheriff
Some artwork © Dean Spencer, used
of Nottingham, you vowed retribution and swore to protect the common folk. with permission. All rights reserved.

Character Creation Resolving Challenges Heroic Adventures

Each player creates a character as follows:
1. Choose a trait: Agile (used for reflexes, dexterity,
stealth, and ranged combat), brawny (covers strength,
vitality, athletics, and melee combat), or crafty (covers
smarts, charm, alertness, and mental/social combat).
2. Select a concept: Outlawed noble, cook, tinker,
forester, defrocked monk, minstrel, or poacher.
3. Pick a perk: Exceptional archer, swordmaster,
enormous strength, rogish charm, lightning fast,
highly perceptive, or remarkably sneaky.
4. Select a quirk: Overconfident, jovial, vengeful,
thrillseeker, naive, stubborn, or hot-headed.
5. Grab 3 karma tokens and 3 resolve tokens.
6. Make up a name and introduce yourself to the
band (e.g., “I’m Robin Hood, an agile outlawed noble
who is an exceptional archer and a thrillseeker”).
If a player attempts something risky, they roll 1-3 Roll on the following tables to generate the latest
six-sided dice and must equal or beat a difficulty adventure (see the next page for examples):
of 4-6 on at least one die. Succeed on multiple dice The outlaws decide to...
for an exceptional success (narrate an additional A Steal from the rich D Protect the innocent
benefit). Rolling “1” on all dice is a critical failure B Win a contest E Go on a hunt
(introduce a complication to the scene). C Rescue a prisoner F Help those in need
The GM chooses a trait and difficulty for each In or near...
challenge. Most are difficulty 5, but a particularly A Sherwood Forest D A church or abbey
easy or hard task might be difficulty 4 or 6. Some B A castle or manor E A town or village
challenges (e.g., combat) require multiple rolls. C A mystical landmark F A natural cave
Players usually roll 2 dice, but roll 3 dice if the While dealing with...
challenge matches their trait. If a challenge falls A Sir Guy of Gisbourne D Bounty hunters
completely outside the scope of their concept (e.g., B Rival outlaws E An injured civilian
a forester picking a lock), they lose 1 die. C Templar knights F A witness or spy
Karma and Resolve Running the Game
Each player has 3 karma and 3 resolve. Spend 1 The GM should describe the opening scene, react
karma after rolling to reduce the difficulty by 1, if to the players’ decisions, and assign the traits and
you can justify how your perk helps you. Recover difficulties for challenges. Offer players karma in
1 karma if you increase the difficulty by 1 before return for complications based on their quirks!
rolling, narrating how your quirk hinders you. The players should make all the rolls, narrate
If you use a quirk and succeed at the challenge, the outcome of their actions, and drive the story
you may recover 1 resolve instead of 1 karma. forward whenever possible. They can also spend
For dangerous actions (such as combat), failure 1 karma to influence the story or discover a clue
costs 1 resolve (or 2 on a critical failure). If a PC through their perk, at the GM’s discretion.
runs out of resolve, they are eliminated from the If a challenge is potentially deadly (i.e., running
scene—but death is primarily a narrative conceit, out of resolve results in death), the player should
and the PC usually returns later at full resolve. be warned before they roll.
 Objectives Locations Complications
Described here are examples of objectives for the Described here are examples of locations for the Described here are example complications for the
adventure generator (first table): adventure generator (second table): adventure generator (third table):

1. For a Noble Cause 1. Sherwood Forest 1. Sir Guy of Gisbourne

The outlaws learn that a wealthy nobleman plans
to travel through Sherwood Forest to visit Prince
John. It would be a perfect opportunity to relieve
another aristocrat of his purse and jewelry!
2. Golden Arrow
The Sheriff of Nottingham announces an archery
contest and offers a magnificent golden arrow to
the winner. The competition is almost certainly a
trap, but the prize is too tempting to resist!
3. Witchcraft
A woman is accused of witchcraft after rejecting
the sheriff’s advances. She’s been arrested and is
being dragged away by a group of soldiers.
4. Bad Bandits
Several peasants seek help after being attacked by
bandits—but one victim claims he saw a soldier’s
uniform underneath a brigand’s scruffy jerkin!
5. White Stag
A white stag was sighted in Sherwood Forest, and
the sheriff has offered a big reward for its hide.
6. Wedding Hells
A wandering minstrel visits the heroes and pleads
for help—his sweetheart is being forced to marry
a cruel old knight against her will.
This huge royal forest covers around a fifth of the
county of Nottinghamshire. It stretches from the
village of Edwinstowe to the walls of Nottingham
Castle, and the region is plentiful with game.
2. Nottingham Castle
This imposing stone castle is the residence of the
villainous Sheriff of Nottingham.
3. The Druid Stone
Situated near the village of Blidworth in the heart
of Sherwood Forest, many believe this great rock
is an ancient altar or perhaps a place of magic.
4. Rufford Abbey
Founded on the eastern edge of Sherwood Forest
by Gilbert de Gant, this Cistercian abbey sustains
a small community of pious monks.
5. Edwinstowe
This village sits at the heart of Sherwood Forest.
The nearby Church of St Mary’s provides a place
of worship for the surrounding villages.
6. Creswell Crags
The cliffs of this limestone gorge contain several
large caves, some of which could serve as secret
hideouts for the characters—as long as no other
outlaws have already staked their claim!
The Sheriff of Nottingham’s right-hand man, Sir
Guy of Gisbourne, is personally leading a squad
of soldiers. He hopes to capture the outlaws!
2. The Three Yeomen
Three yeomen were recently caught poaching in
Sherwood Forest. They managed to escape before
they could be hanged, and now they’ve turned to
a life of banditry. The heroes may wish to recruit
them—or perhaps drive off the competition.
3. Homecoming Heroes
A group of veteran knights loyal to King Richard
is returning from the Holy Lands. However, the
sheriff’s soldiers have set an ambush for them!
4. Flemish Mercenaries
The sheriff has hired a band of ruthless Flemish
mercenaries to find and kill the outlaws.
5. Arrow in the Back
Someone is badly hurt while fleeing the sheriff’s
soldiers, and they will likely die if not taken to a
healer for proper treatment.
6. Tattletale
Someone recognizes the heroes and reports their
presence and activities to the sheriff. They could
be motivated by greed—or perhaps a grudge.

Adding a Twist to the Story

For further inspiration, roll two dice on the table below and use the symbol as an improvisational prompt (you don’t need to interpret it literally). For example,
A E might indicate tracks or tracking, a hunter, or a poacher, while rolling C E could symbolize strength, loyalty, power, a knight, punishment, oppression, or
a challenge, and E D might represent a battle or conflict, a contest or competition, military strength, aggression, victory, or a warrior.
AA AB AC AD AE AF BA BB BC BD BE BF CA CB CC CD CE CF DA DB DC DD DE DF EA EB EC ED EE EF FA FB FC FD FE FF