Both follow the same pattern - a timeline of local events, a map and gazeteer of the area (based on Domesday), NPCs and five adventures. IFnally, there are sample castles and monasteries, with floorplans and descriptions. 12 sample encounters, each with several variations on the main theme, are ready-made to provide red herrings or sub-plots in a game there's a quick but effective way of tracking the outlaws' reputations with both the common people and the authorities and a selection of standard NPCs the outlaws are likely to encounter (townsmen, peasants, priests, nobles, foresters and more). This begins with a 30-page overview of life in Norman England, discussing government, arms and armour, languages (with examples given of Norman French, Old English, Welsh, Gaelic, Norse and others), religion, society, wild animals, folklore (which draws upon geniune medieval folktales), herbalism, and a geographical overview of England, broken down into regions.Īnother 30 pages on running an outlaw/medieval campaign contains some of the most useful gaming ideas I've seen. Then comes six pages of history, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the end of the King John's reign in 1216, including a fairly detailed timeline, before we get to the real meat of the book. There are some sample character backgrounds, some drawn from history or legend (Hereward the Wake, Robin of Loxley, Eustace the Monk), others fictitious. The weak area of character generation is in the magic rules - there are some vague hints about the "powers of light and darkness" (pure Robin of Sherwood), and some suggestions about herbalism and prophecy, but nothing concrete. The Fantasy Hero rules, however, are the only ones that are really still current, for even with the Hero 5th rules, the basics of the system remain the same. As befits a book by a MERP guru, the MERP rules are probably most effective, and are heavily modified from the basic rules. There follows a 12-page section on designing characters fro the three supported rules sets (pre-RMSS Rolemaster, MERP, and the first edition of Fantasy Hero). The book begins with a two-page introduction, laying out the basic ground rules of roleplaying, and the premise of the campaign: that the players will be bold outlaws fighting an oppressive Norman regime, that they will become the people's champions, and that they will probably all die in one last, glorious battle. And it manages to do it without assuming the readers have any knowledge of the historical period. Everything in the book is aimed at helping the GM get the right atmosphere for the campaign(s), and passing that atmosphere on to the players. And despite his reseach, Stapleshurst never loses sight of the the fact that he is writing a sourcebook for a roleplaying campaign, not a history book. It helped that, as a Brit, he also had a good knowledge of the areas he was writing about. Why so? Well, it isn't only that Staplehurst is a superb writer, but also that he delved deeply into English history, myth and folklore to produce something that really does have the full flavour of medieval England. Sixteen years on, it remains one of my all-time favourite supplements. It exceeded my expectations in every way. Knowing his output, and being a fan of the Robin of Sherwood TV series, I bought my copy of Robin Hood without hesitation as soon as I saw it in my game shop. This book has not one, but two campaign settings, and one of them - arguably the more interesting one - has nothing to do with Robin Hood at all.Īt the time this book was published, Staplehurst had gained a considerable amount of respect among British RPGers for his classy articles and scenarios for MERP in the White Dwarf magazine (these were the days before it became Games Workshop's house mag). However, it must be said that its title is misleading. As a sourcebook for historical roleplaying, it has only once been equalled (by Columbia Games' Lionheart) and never been bettered. Robin Hood: The Roleplaying Campaign is a true gem among RPG sourcebooks.
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