8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 1/6

on·-

 €aIb€n

•

Robin Hood is a

new

development in the

wo

rl

d

of

roleplaying games: so mething

more than a supplement - a new game

for which you won t have to learn a book

full

o

rules.

The book.

published

by

ICE, is an attempt to bridge the gap

between new games

with

new rules.

and campaign or adventure supplements

wh.ich are whoUy systemless  and need a

good deal of work before they are usable.

You

won t

need

Robin Hood

10

use

this adventure. Part

of

the idea behind the

book is that it should be a generic

(ie universally useful) work of reference

for garners interested

in

the

early

mediaeval period and in the concept

of

a roleplaying game involving a band

of

outlaws. Although reslricied in the

number

of

roleplaying games

it

can

aCluaUy

mention,

Robin Hood is

co

nceived to be used

with

games

ranging from Kbrhammer antasy

Roleplay and Middle tanh

Roleplaying

to

Advanced Dungeons .

rag

ons

and

anlasy H

uo

SOme Conventions

Robin Hood uses terms and conventions

with which

you

may not be f,mliliar.

Included

in

the book are various st.andard

characters and encounters which may be

lifted

out and used directly in a game.

These include various types

of

soldier and

commoners, along with merchants.

priests. nobles and

th

e like. Robin Hood

IS set in a version

of Cll-

  3 England. so

there is no provision

for

magic-using

characters. However, the book has an

op tional mystical element, based on the

premise

that

any unusual eve

nt

might

have two interpretations: it might be the

w o r ~ of

magic be it deviluy, the Holy

Spin t or white magic) or

il

may have a

Simple and rational explanation , There

is

a very blurred line dividing the natural

and

the

super-natural which only you can

clearly perceive.

The historic

al

setting is supposed to

be exactly that. You and

the

players have

knowledge of

the

period concerned to

help build a realistic atmosphere.

Historical persons such as King Stephen

and King Richard move through the land

and there is a continuous cataJog

ue

of

events outs

id

e

the

characters influence:

wars wilh Frn.nce and Scotland, Crusades.

national and inter-national politics,

cha

nges

in

the Church and the people in

power. even changes in laws and social

life,

Two

campaign ideas

are

detailed in

Robin Hood: one set in the Forest of

Dean CU40-ll55 and the more traditional

one

of

Sherwood Forest in the li

me of

King Richard and King John.

U89-12I6.

It is to the latter that you are now invited.

to pit your wits against Sir Guy

of

Gisburne ..

 

• •

••

.

I ,-

8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 2/6

 

On

Ealden Byrgen:

Plot Outline

The characters in this adventure are

assumed

to be

a known group of outlaws,

acting outSide the law, either for their own

cnds

or

to help others whom the law cannot

protect. As such they are a Ihom in the side

of

the local authority.

Hopefully

this

adventure

will

illustrate how you can easily

adapt

an idea to your own game. Here the

authorities are represented

rj

Robert,

Sheriff of Noningham and his henchman

Sir Guy of Gisbume. In your own game you

may use suitable equivalents for them and

any other charncters (or

places)

mentioned .

The

adventure is set al any time between

1I89-1216 nd takes place

in

the south/ce

ntral

stretches of Sht:rwood Forest. some miles

northeast

of

the town

of

Nottingham. The

dense wood is home to the charncters, and

it

provides them with sanctuary and base

from

which

to

operate. And yet there

are

areas

within the Forest where even they dare not

go

- one

such being

the

Ealden Byrgen

.

low rolling hills topped with mysterious

slOnes lmd b rrow mounds, by turns misty

and eerie

or r i ~ n

wilh howling winds.

Sir Guy has been fruSlmlOO in the paSI

on numerous octasions when he altempred

to capture

or

deal with the outlaws, They

always have managed to evade him or upset

his plans whilst

ca

rrying

OU

outrageous

crimes againsl the rich

nd

powerful. Now

he as a new plan

10

lrap them in an ambush

on the Ealden Byrgen, with a false rumour

of buried treasure hidden from all but the

'Lord

of the Fbrest' - a title designed 10

both flalter and uick the leader

of

the

chlll1lCter's band. However, thete are chances

for the characters

to

avoid the cenain deadly

fate thaI Gisburne ha s prepared for them.

Ultimately the characters stand

to

profit

from the adventure. This is because

Gisburne's plan

h s

a

fatal

, is subconscious,

flaw. His bait for the ambush, the treasure

on Ealden Byrgen, acrually

exists,

whereas

he thinks it is something only in his own

imagination. His lure, the wy o g ~ l s l a n ~

is

a half-remembered

fragment of an

old

AnglO -Saxon poem adapl«l immediately

after the Norman conquest, when

the

English looked IOrward to a time when they

wo uld be freed from the yoke of the new

lords. Some ancien combination

of

the

spirilS

of

the repressed people nd their

Forest has worked a power and truth into

the legend

  .

a power that might lake

~ p r e s s i o n through the

characten

and their

actions. On the other hand, the evenlS

related below might just be coincidence

..

The Man n The Stag

The adventure

starts in

daytime. The time

of

year is unimportant although an autumn

sening might

be

most appropriate.

The

char

acters are in the southern or

CCnlral

area

of

Sherwood Fores\. They might simply be OU

hunting,

or

on

some

mission.

Sherwood Forest, like other Royal

ForeslS

of

the time, is subject to special

laws

in

order to preserve the trees and

wildlife

as

good hunting

land for

the King

and a privileged few he grants the right to

hunt there. The Forest Laws are enforced by

the Verderers, a haled band

of

men under

the overall command

of

a Warden -

currently the Sheriff, although the duties are

generally carried oul by

Sit

Guy

of

Gisburne. For day-to-day purposes, the

Verderers

repon

to Foresters-in-Fee at four

places in Shef\\OOd,

the

centres

of

its

four

Leets or

divisions. There are also Foresters

8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 3/6

in

Sherwood, but th

ey

are concerned more

with tending

the

game than enforcing laws

and troubling

the

people. which

is

what Ihe

Verderers enjoy. Their cruelty is renowned .

Suddenly, out of a leafy brake, a group

of

Verderers on a path meet the ~ ~ h a r a c t e r s

(or those who are visible). These are fo ur of

the SherifFs men. together with two peasant

woodcutters. The Vertierers are oot

immediately recognisable, for they do not

wear a uniform, but

by

their airs

and

beari

ng

are obviously Normans or puffed-up

Englishmen lording (Iller their less domine

eri ng brethren. Each Verderer carries an

oakleaf badge as a sign of tbcir authority.

They wear leathern jerkins beneath thick

homespun cloaks and leggins. Each also

carries a pick-like weapon hanging from a

belt, a sure sign

of

a man with a position in

society. Two of the men have light cross

bows,

the other two had spears. These have

been put

to

anothc.r use ~ they ate

supporting a stag slung by its hoofs. carried

by the tWO woodcutters. lne peasants are

dressed very roughly and have no weapons.

n ~ n e

looking carefuJly at

th

e stag

(make an easy Perceptio IObse n-e check)

will see thai

it

is only a stag's skin. A man's

bloody head protrudes from the neck of

the

beast and the rest of him is bundled up

inside the hide. It appears that the Verderers

have caprured some poor man driven to

poaching

to

feed his family, and the

characters will hopefully au.ack the Verderers

10 rescue him. If they don't lhe

\hderers

may well chaUenge the party and/or

recognise one of them as a wanted outlaw

wolfshead and give chase. Statistics for Ihe

Verderers are given in Robi Hood and at

the end of this adventure.

They

are moder-,u

ely competent but overconfident and will

III

rust

rely on their authority

to

try and make

the characlers cower.

[f

any are killed

or

seriously injured, the o

th

ers are like

to

flee.

The peasants will flee during any

fight,

having been pressed into service by the

Verderers against their will. They play no

further part in the adventure.

The

fight

with the Verderer.; should tak.e

place in a small woodland glade. There is

plenty of room for the particiapants, and

also the chance 10 sneak through the trees

and

undergrCllWth 10

surprise. the opponents.

A clever party should

be

able 10 see

the

Verqerers off without suffering any loss.

Roben FitzOoth

HlWing despatched

th

e Verderers. the

characters will be left in

he

glade with the

body wrapped in the skin of the stag. The

on eaU)en

synGen

hide has been roughly stitched together

Wtth

thongs. and is very fresh. 11 can be easily

cut open with a knife

or

other blad

e.

The

man inside is obviously in a bad way

,

covered

in

the hlood

of

the

stag and beaten

and cut about.

He is

apparently eKhauste(\

and unable 10 say much until he has had

some rest and, hopefully. a refreshing wash.

The ChaJ1lclers do not have to tmvel too fur

to

find a decc.nt stream

or

~ l

pool

suitable for this. Once cleaned up a bi t, the

man can

be

seen

to

have fair hair and a

handsome, if somewhat pinched, face.

When

he

is able to speak, he gives his

name as Roben FitzOolh. His name comes

from his Nonnan paternal grandf3ther. but

he

was brought up in an English village with

nothing orner than his name to su pport him.

He spent a linle while as a soldier. more

time wandering

as

a peddlar and singer on

the contioent, then worked hand-to-mouth in

England. Recently

he

came to a large village

near Sherwood and staned courting

0

pretty

young girl. Her futher got drunk and

at18cked a guardsman one Dight and was

imprisoned , leaving h

er

mother and the girl

herself with no means of suppon. Rumours

spread by a vicious guardsman led to the

family being shunned

by

the rest of the

village. Soon they had no

food

and wen:

starving, only just able \0 live on what lillie

Robert could bring home. In .he eod

he

decided

to

go into Sherwood and try poaCh

ing. After one successful raid. someone in

the village rcported his aClivilies

to

the

Verderers who

U<tpped

him the second limt :

he

went into the Forest. After they captured

him, he heard them say thai the girl

and her

mother had been taken by the Sh

eriffs

men

and hung for eating poached venison, and

no-one in the village rnised a

hand

to help

them.

Hopefully, the characters will take an

interest in

th

e poor man's story and ask him

back to their camp. He. will resist any idea

thai they should go

10

the village.

e.ven

to

take revenge. saying that he has no reason 10

relurn. and its people are in a bad enough

situation without trouble from other outlaws.

Whilst they travel or wait to prepare a meal.

Robert will sing a few snatches of song

aboul grieving lovers

and

the like. Hopefully

this will encourage the characters

10

ask him

10

sing them a proper song later that

evening, He

will

make every attempt to sing

for th

em

the 1..0.)" of /ngdsrane:

On 61klm

f yr;g£'n Slond

a

Ionlie

srane,

FUll eallt cwites heah.

Hit I[}rJ.es fn SUrr ofa tr((JW( King s thegn

Putrid f h e ~ lI\1"aeone he did a 9I

"{aM mqy fo1lk tn t i{yrigcd golden horri

5i:n't

an

maJm

onlie:

Hc

\I"ho would be

Forest

thegn and

hl11ford

nd

who

wry

meahtft< btt

Robert can explain this lay

\

anyone who

is

interested: it is an old ballad about a stand

ing stone (the /olllie stalle) on lhe Old

Barrows

(Eafdm Byrge,,)

of Sherwood. In

the barrow beneath The slOne is the rmllrt

of a bold and strong supporter (the treol...,

Iheg,,) of one of the old English Kings from

the lime before

the

Normans came. The lay

tells that the treasure

may

be

claimed by one

man only,

he

who would

be

the

thegn and

Mt.lford

(thane

and

lord) of The Forest..

The

man who claims the bu

ri

ed golden hoard

must also be very mighty•..

Roben also says that he heard the

lay

from an old local man who claimed that he

knew where the Ingelstane was. This old

man described the stone as a tapering dark

column about 12 high (eahl cubites eight

cubits; I cubit The stone can be

seell if olle follows a tribulllry of the stream

which flows down from the hills through

Sudwelle to the Trent. The tributary is

marked out

by

a great clump

of

overhanging

willows at

its

confluence with the stream,

and

by

numerous large reddish-grey boulders

in its bed.

Robert

is of

course a rogue, charlatan

and mischief-nlak.er. Trapped while trying to

steal from the

wi

ly Shefiff.

he

exchanged a

dismal prison sentence

for an

opportun

it

y

to

work and spy for hi s captor. He is an

8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 4/6

8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 5/6

limall, pale crtatures: the figure(s} are snll

or

move quickly; they bob into sighl from

behind rocks and

c o p s e ~

After the third

such occurencc, those afflicted must make II

Fear

check or refuse [ go on. A long rest,

such IlS for a

meal, will

calm lhem down

suffiden

lly to

proceed

but \'cry shortly they

will stan seeing the figuru aglllD and must

maa:

another, harder.

Pta

check.

The land

here,

being broken. pau:hed

with

mal1lh

y

SWlIthes

and impenerrably

tangled thickets makes for very slow

progress. The day wears on and the light

becomes

very poor and

the way

even harder

to see. You may require the characters 10 ~ s t

vanous slulls such as their

lcnowledge

of

rough terrain.

pathfinding

and so on.

If they

fail they may

get

losl or trapped. or may

give up i f they fail an go RolflWil potWf

check.

They may

also have some dIfficult

~ m e m

rolblRiJk

checks \0

mm.

If

you wish you cou ld Mve the group

encounter a ~ t a r v i n g , SOlitary wolf or sick

wild cal. springing

OUI

from behind cover at

the smal lest or leasl

pml«led

character.

Note also thai a number of mildly POIsonoUS

plants grow

in

tlus area, so If any characler

lries galhenng anYlhing for a meal there

cou ld be problems

The Ingelstane

By mis tune the wind has risen to a gale

agai nst which lhe chanclers

h3\

'e to banle in

addition to

all me

ir olher problems.

However. they are unlikely to wish to spend

the nighl on the Old Barrows, and will in all

likelihood press

on

. It is

OK

for you 10

casoolly remind them of the

many

rales -

all

of

lhem gory - of whal happens to

an

yo

ne on the EaJden Byrgen at night .

Then,

as

the characters

round

a twist

in

the valley.

see

Ihe narrow tooth-like

stone prolruc:hng trom a mound alop the no:l

hill

If

any

characler

asks

10 make a

h ~ p l i o n I O b u n e chttk. there is a small

chance that

they spot

a couple

of

figures

dodging out of sight. These

may be

put

down

10

the

same

source as the shapes seen

earlier, but

they

are a good deal more solid .

The

hill of the ~ J s u l n e is unremark·

able. but its far

side IS ('()'V(red

in scrubby

trees. They are darkly shadowed

in

the

fading lighl.

Rain

beglDs

10

fall

cold drops as me hill is . p r o ' i T ' ,

mound on which the stone

about thirty

feet

broad

and

hIgh, aod Obviously raised l + ' ~ h ' Q i ~

or

man .

Wiry

grass

covers

which stands out

from

the ' ' ' , . ' ' ' ' , c _

bracken,

The

stone itself is over

lwelve

feel tall .

slightly flattened. and broader al the base

than at lhe lOp. "

bears

no inscriPlion

or

other markings. Its base IS firmly embedded

in the mound ,

but

if Ihe plant growth there

is removed

and

some of the earth scraped

liMY, it can be seen that the stone is

supported by a ring

of

Stones wilhin the

mound , the lOps of which can be discerned.

Unfonuna

lel

y. the

c h a r a c : ~ r s will not

ha\'e

the chance 10 invesligate any further at this

POInt . If

they

heeded the warning,

they

may

have

prepared themselves, bul they

are

suddenly faced with a column of men

coming up

the

west side of the hill from the

gloomy

woods. At

the ir

head is

the mounted

figure of Sir

Guy

of Gisburne.

The precautions (if

any

taken by the

group dK:tate

when the

soldiers

are spotted.

At

about

lhi

s time. the sun breaks OUI from

beneath the sullen, grey bands of cloud 10

guardsmen per chancier and

have

the rest

r u ~ lIJ'Ound 10 surround them .

The Stone FaUs

In

the midst

of

the lighting there is a terrific

clap of thu nder almost directly overhead.

All

those fighting pau se momentarily. then a

strong gust of wind rushes pasl . AI

thi

s

point it is necessary thai someone is fighting

at

the

tOp

of

the

hill

by

the

SlOne,

fo

r tnere

is a ternble grinding sound that trembles

through the eBrth. If anyone looks up at the

IngelsUlIle. they will see il gradually til l 10

one

side and then, gathering momentum,

fall. As ;t rushes

10

mtt I the earth. il IJ1jps

a

guardsman who is crushed

10

death.

Lightning

forks

down 5e'o'eraJ limes as the

men-at-arms \cok on

I

. The characters

take Ihis opportunity to launch an attack:

stunned guards. After the Ingelstane

<

.....

fall s, il is only

a

matter of lime

before the men-al-anus begin to

flee

. Gisbume

rides

around

( ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ l ' : , ~ : . 10 rally his

::.

are afraid of lhe

have

bren

awaken-

' ~ ; ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ~ ~ h i ' S g r . u ~ , ~

k i al\Cl Tides

:h;';;,,;';;:,'{;',quickly outdistancing the

lInponant to have an

opponent who returns again

and

again to

cross swords with

the

charllCters.

After the Slone faUs, the stonn begins to

die down. By the time all the men-at·anns

hll\"e fled, there

is

no more lightning

and the

wind and rain

has

lessened. However,

darlmess is rapidly approachinf and if the

characters are to do any more

LDvestigating

they should do

so

immed iately.

If

they

wish

to seek: cover, mere is sheller to be foul\Cl

amongSI the u-ees where Gishume laid his

ambush,

lIS

well

as

wood for

a

fire if they

should desire ;t_

Anyone mounting the barrow mound

after the fighl should make a P e r r ~ p t j o n

Obscrw check ,

TIle

last rnys of the sun

shine througtu he dwindling rain fonning a

rainbow arcning from the EaJden Byrgen

to

me edge

of

the Forest proper. A successfu l

check will bring the viewer's attention a

great oak lree al the

fOOl of

the rainbow.

The

tJ-ee

has been sheared

off

by a bolt of

lightning and its huge wound reflec15

whiteJy. the wei. fresh wood pointing like an

IIJTtJW down into the earth.

I f the chamcters look

at

the base of the

Ingelstane, they will

find

only the six stones

sel deep into the earth. They cannol be

~ . ; ~ ~ ~ : : ,

or moved without

II

major digging

:: 1nere is no ~ s u r e to be found

~ ~ ; ~ ; : ' : n : ~ ~ ~ r i ; ' Y . , sirx:e Gisbume

shed a thick red

light

across the S(ene before

it

sets.

lJ

glints off

the

soldiers' polished

steel helms and casts bloody shadows before

them. There are more than I enty men·llt

arms,

well

anned and armoured, cloaked

against

the

cold rain

and

eager 10 ha\'C at the

outlaws, Gisbume shouts e o ~ e m e n t to

his men and mocks the player characters.

The

men·al·arms engage the characters

as

soon liS

they

ca

n and will DOC worry

about casualties initially. If the characters

look in

disalTll)'.

Oisbume

may

c

ha

se

alkr

one or

1M

himself.

He

is

nm

afraid 10 cross

swords with them . being a skilled fighler

and

the

veteran of many

tourna-ments.

The

lop

of the

hill IS )Iawly eocircled

and

the

player characler;; forced to

remaI

towards

the barrow

and

lhe Ingelstane. Allow two

Truestone

If me cnamcters did

not

see

th

e blasted tree

the night befure, they should be gi

ven

me

chance 10 spot it if they uavel back IC) .I/IIrds

the eaves of Sher.vood in the morning.

Otherwise they

will have missed

it

entirely.

The tree is DOC difficult 10

find.

ADeOl

a

quarter

of its

branches

have

been struck

down and the. Sash, where the

wood

split

and

fell

away, IS about four

feet

wide and Ie.n

feet high.

mllk,ing

il

easily noticeable.

The

blast has also caused the tree

10 be

wrenched somewhat from the eanh, as the

characters dl lCover when they arrive. On

one side

a

number of roots have been

dragged inlO the air. Beneath is a curious

pale stone,

with

the glitter of quartz

scauered in it,

8/19/2019 On Ealden Byrgen

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/on-ealden-byrgen 6/6