D&D 5E King Arthur vs Robin Hood - how would you do it in 5e?

[Shades of Eternity]

Continuing my strange storytelling, we got the two most common tales of middle ages fantasy.

So I'd like a pitch where we pitch these two against each other.

How would you do it?

How would you spin it to make it your own?

Would coconuts be involved?

Let's hear your tales of epic adventure.

 

[77IM]

Well it's tricky because they were from vastly different time periods, but here goes...

With Arthur and his knights returning from the Crusades, where they've been searching for the holy grail, conditions at home have worsened. Robin and his merry men are fomenting open rebellion across the land, with a special emphasis on Nottingham and its cruel Sheriff. But the Sheriff was lawfully appointed by Camelot so Arthur must ride to his aid.

Secretly, this plot was hatched by Arthur's estranged half-sister Morgan leFey, and her lover Prince John, the younger brother of the Richard I, King of France. They wish to subvert England for conquest by France, in the hopes that Richard (who is Arthur's staunch ally) will die in the Crusades, making John the King of England and France.

British folklore is full of tons of super creepy evil monsters, so this campaign will totally tap into that, too. Many of them already exist in D&D (ogres, sprites, hags, banshees, elves, revenants, green dragons...). You can also pull in mythical and historical figures from other periods. The English nobility must fend of vikings invading from Denmark. Robin Hood is allied with the pookas, pixies, etc. Maybe Cuchulain is traveling through England on his way to train with Scathach. And Merlin is just friggin' everywhere in British mythology (as a later addition to the tales).

 

[Don Durito]

I was going to post something similar to poster above but I'd replace Prince John with Mordred (Perhaps call him John Mordred) and have him left behind as regent when King Arthur goes on Crusade.

Do you really want them to be opposed to each other or just be in the same time period?

Alternatively you could have Arthur as a kind of wounded fisher king like in the Excalibur movie and Robin Hood as a bandit fighting for justice in the period of chaos when the knights are away looking for the grail and Arthur is too ill to rule effectivel, and so it feels like no one is really in charge in England.

 

[Wiseblood]

The evil King Arthur with the help of his court wizard Merlin use a magical round table to enslave Knights of the realm and bind them to service eternal as Death Knights. Chief among them is Lancelot.

The vile Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Harvest the souls of the peasantry in an attempt to overthrow Arthur and rule the kingdom. Maid Marion the ironically dubbed succubus and the Friar Tuck prey on the poor sinners of the land.

Good Prince John and his trusty companion the Sheriff of Nottingham are all that can protect the people.

 

[Jd Smith1]

King Arthur, the sister-molesting son of a murderer, and killer of his own son, versus Robin Hood, a thief, murderer, and tax evader.

I could do a lot with that.

Arthur, obsessed with a quest for an artifact, taxes his peasant cruelly (because questing ain't cheap, and neither are lavish round tables and hordes of knights). Robin Hood takes advantage of the King's preoccupation to unleash a reign of terror upon the local landowners who are defenseless with the King's dispersal of his military might.

Enter the PCs, who have just cleared out Roman ruins and are flush with loot. Soon the tax collectors and Robin's band of murderous cut-throats will come a'calling...

 

[jsaving]

I think it would be much more interesting to portray this as a LG versus CG conflict, sort of a "Civil War" among heroes. One side sees bringing all vigilantes under the aegis of the Round Table as the only way to ensure an orderly society while the other just wants to help people as their consciences dictate. You don't have to make one of them evil to have a solid campaign.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

There was a movie where Robin Hood, played by Sean Connery becomes king Richard Lionheart's enemy. In a episode of Hercules: the legendary journey, King Arthur travels to the past, in the beggining as villain, but Merlin's vision shows him KA will become a true leader.

In a D&D game the answer is easy, using "ersatz" characters.

 

[Eltab]

Robin Hood successfully defeats the Sheriff of Nottingham (see the Kevin Costner movie) and is leading a rebellion against "King" John - actually a regent whose ego got big - with the idea of forcing John to sign Magna Carta. At this juncture, King Arthur with the few survivors of the Round Table and the Holy Grail return from their quest. The nobility is fractured; Queen Gueneviere is missing. Some Robin-inspired peasant revolts would endorse Magna Carta if they knew what it was.

 

[Don Durito]

Robin Hood stole the holy grail.