Three Robin Hood Scenarios for Feudal Patrol.
The legend of Robin Hood is generally an archetype for a number of outlaws who fought against the Crown before and during the Baron’s Wars era. According to the site HistoricMysteries.com, “The legend of Robin Hood swims with historical figures and folk heroes, but the reality of Robin remains contested. The world that gave rise to the hero lies in the tumultuous political landscape of thirteenth-century England. The stories of Robin Hood we know today are the products of 16th to 19th century literary and poetic traditions. They are centuries divorced from the historical era that produced the original outlaws.” Historic Mysteries goes on to say that, “Robin Hood was rediscovered in the 19th century after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s enormously popular medieval tale of Ivanhoe. In this era, medieval heroes like Robin Hood were given new life in plays, ballads, and festivals.”
Apart from the classic Erol Flynn movie, my first literary exposure to Robin Hood was in fact the novel
Ivanhoe, the character of Loxley generally being omitted from movie adaptations of the book. In this article, I describe three Robin Hood-inspired scenarios, playable with the Feudal Patrol system, published (and trademarked) by Sally 4th.
Feudal Patrol (FP) is a skirmish game based on the popular game engine used in Combat Patrol (Mr Surdu wrote this for use with WWII games and the like. Ed.). Players control two to four four-figure groups and a leader figure. The rules are suitable for two-player games and multiplayer convention participation games. I find the “sweet spot” is the four to six-player game. As with Combat Patrol (CP), a number of free supplements are available for FP on the rules’ website. More supplements are in the works, including an early Viking supplement.
The most unique feature of FP is the card-based mechanic. Many people are familiar with card-based activation. FP refines card-based activation, using the bespoke Double Random Activation. Each four- to sixfigure unit rolls a d6 at the beginning of the turn, as do single leader or hero figures. Then cards are drawn from an Activation Deck. These are numbered one to six in both red and black, plus a reshuffle card, thirteen cards in all. As cards are drawn, all units whose activation die matches the drawn card activate. In this way, several players can be acting at the same time. If there are two units opposing each other that activate at the same time, who goes first is determined randomly. All of the sixsided dice are re-rolled, and all the cards are reshuffled when the reshuffle card is drawn, ending the turn. These two sources of randomisation – hence the name – provide the drama of random activation sequence, but allow many to act at the same time, so that the game doesn’t devolve into one person doing stuff while everyone else watches. There are additional nuances like pinning units and die swapping that further enrich the system.
HIT THE DECK
But beyond card-based activation, FP and CP use cards for everything else, including movement and combat. The heart of the game is the Action Deck. Each Action Deck contains fifty cards that look like those in the illustration These are multi-functional and are used to resolve movement, shooting, melee, and morale tests. It looks like there is a lot of information on the cards, but after you have played a couple of turns of a game you focus on the appropriate part of the card, and they provide a fast and streamlined mechanism.
MOVEMENT
When a player decides that one or more figures in his unit are going to move when activated, he draws a card from the Action Deck and consults the movement indicator section of the card. The player looks at the section of the arrow corresponding with the figures’ level of encumbrance: light, medium, or heavy. So heavily armoured figures, on average, will move more slowly than lightly armoured figures.
FIREPOWER
Shooting, for example, is a two-stage process; first we identify if we have hit a target then we identify
the results of that hit. Like in real life, fire is directed against a target area rather than a particular figure. All of the usual tactical modifiers are incorporated in the system, such as training, range, and whether the target or shooter are moving.
To resolve a shot, the player draws a card and consults the hit indicator section of the card., looking at the target icon that corresponds with the accuracy of the firing figure. Shifts to the right are applied for tactical modifiers such as range to target. If the resultant target icon is colored, the shot was a hit; if the resultant symbol is a “greyed out,” the shot was a miss. When a hit is indicated, the shooter draws another card and consults the middle section of the card to determine which figure in the target area was hit, whether he was wounded or incapacitated, whether his armour or shield provided protection, and whether the figure that was hit is protected by cover.
TAKE COVER
Cover is represented explicitly. If the figure hit by the shot is behind a tree or in woods and the tree icon appears on the card, the cover protected the target figure and instead of being wounded or incapacitated, it is stunned, or ducks back behind the cover. Fire is conducted into an area, not at a specific figure. In this way, players may not snipe at key figures. Firing into an area in other systems sometimes creates ambiguous situations in which some of the target figures are in cover and some are not, so what modifier is applied? In FP if the randomly selected figure is behind cover and that cover icon appears on the card, the figure is protected. Once players get used to the unique method of conducting fire in FP shooting is resolved very quickly.
CLOSE QUARTERS
Melee is conducted similarly. Figures look for their Melee number in the hit indicator section of the cards, but a different set of modifiers (or shifts) are applied. If the target icon is in colour, the figure hit his opponent. If not, the strike did not hit. Again, cover, armour, and shields are indicated in the hit location indicator.
Any time a figure is hit, even if cover saved the figure, the unit accrues a morale pip to represent the effects of coming under effective enemy fire. When a unit activates, it must make one morale check for each morale pip accrued. Players do this by drawing a card from the Action Deck for each morale pip and reading the bottom portion of the card. Once all morale pips have been removed, any figures in the team that did not move or fire as a result of the morale check may then perform actions as normal.
BOOKS & THE SILVER SCREEN
I have devised three scenarios inspired by the myriad Robin Hood movies and books. Each can be played with two player or can be played with up to four players. The first scenario is best played with three players. The maps show one-foot squares as well as the location of woods, hedges, hills, and other terrain features. The figures start the game where indicated on the map by the small squares or circles.
For all three scenarios, here are the Feudal Patrol values to assigned to the various attributes. You will have to adjust this for other rules systems, but that should be fairly straight forward.
SCENARIO 1: FALSE FLAG OPERATION
In this scenario, the Sheriff tries to erode public support for Robin Hood by dressing some of his men as Merry Men and attacking a wagon of food generously provided by the sympathetic Sheriff and bound for a nearby village. Robin hears about the operation and mounts an attack. This scenario runs for seven turns.
This scenario is best with three players: Real Merry Men, Imposter Merry Men, and the Guards of the food wagon. The wagon guards are unaware of the ruse, and so they will fight against the real and imposter Merry Men with equal vigour. The Imposters will fight the real Merry Men to protect themselves and still accomplish their mission of capturing the wagon. The real Merry men must defeat both the wagon guards and the Imposters to maintain the good name of Robin Hood. The winner is the side with possession of the wagon at the end of the scenario.
SCENARIO 2: CAPTURE OF ROBIN HOOD
After successfully defeating the Imposters and delivering the wagon of food to the villagers (one hopes! Ed.), Robin and his men stop for a small respite in a roadside inn. The Sheriff’s men mount a surprise attack to kill as many Merry Men as possible and bring Robin to the Sheriff for justice. If the Robin Hood figure is incapacitated or killed, he is marked as unconscious instead. Robin cannot be killed. This scenario runs for six turns.
If the Sheriff’s Men capture Robin, they win the scenario; otherwise, the Merry Men win. To capture Robin, he must be incapacitated, touching the base of one of the Sheriff’s men, and within six inches of any table edge. When one of the Sheriff’s men is carrying Robin, his level of encumbrance is “heavy.”
SCENARIO 3: RESCUE OF ROBIN HOOD
Robin is wounded and taking refuge in a small farmstead. Robin starts the scenario with his Endurance reduced to three, and he moves at half speed. He is able to melee and shoot as if not wounded.
The Sheriff’s Men attack with the objective of capturing him, but Robin’s Merry Men are rushing to the rescue. This scenario lasts seven turns.
The Sheriff’s Men get credit for capturing Robin if he is incapacitated, controlled by one of the Sheriff’s Men as described in Scenario 2, and within six inches of any table edge. If these conditions are not met, the Merry Men win. ■
LINKS
Rules support websites: bucksurdu.com/feudalpatrol/ and bucksurdu.com/combatpatrol/