The Path Nobody Sees — Clym has learned how to pass through a guarded valley without touching the road. The path has started taking travellers somewhere else.
At a Glance
- Name: Clym of the Clough
- Species: Human
- Role: Greenwood outlaw, scout, trap-maker and companion of Adam Bell
- Age: Adult; exact age unknown
- Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Base: Inglewood Forest and the Cumberland border roads
- Present status: Legendary outlaw, active in the campaign
- Encounter: Clym has learned how to pass through a guarded valley without touching the road. The path has started taking travellers somewhere else.
Adam Bell is the archer everyone remembers. Clym is the outlaw who knows where the archers must stand, how to cross a ford before the dawn patrol and which peasant will lend a barn without asking payment.
Clym (also Clim) of the Clough is one of the three outlaws of the medieval ballad of Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough and William of Cloudesley. The setting treats him as active in the campaign alongside his legendary companions.
Game Statistics
Original campaign NPC statistics, not official published creature blocks. The four rulesets represent the same character at different tables.
Clym of the Clough
Medium Humanoid (Human), Chaotic Good
AC 16; Initiative +4; HP 67; Speed 30 ft.
Saving Throws Dex +4, Wis +3; Skills Insight +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +5, Stealth +7, Survival +6; Senses passive Perception 15; Languages English; CR 4; PB +2
Traits
Local Influence. In territory controlled by this character’s faction, an allied guard who can hear this NPC has advantage on checks to notice suspicious activity.
Actions
Multiattack. Clym of the Clough makes two Shortbow attacks.
Shortbow. Attack Roll: +6; Hit: 8 (1d6 + 4) piercing.
Disappearing Trail (Recharge 5–6). Clym and one ally within 30 feet can immediately attempt to Hide, provided each has suitable cover or obscurement.
Clym of the Clough — 5e (2014)
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good
Armour Class 16; Hit Points 67; Speed 30 ft.; Challenge 4
STR 12 (+1), DEX 18 (+4), CON 14 (+2), INT 13 (+1), WIS 16 (+3), CHA 12 (+1)
Skills Insight +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +5; passive Perception 15; Languages English
Actions
Multiattack. Two Shortbow attacks, each +6 to hit and dealing 8 (1d6 + 4) piercing on a hit.
Disappearing Trail (Recharge 5–6). Clym and one ally within 30 feet can immediately attempt to Hide, provided each has suitable cover or obscurement.
Clym of the Clough — Pathfinder 1e
CR 5; XP 1,600; Human ranger 4/rogue 2; Init +4; Senses Perception +10
Defence
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14; hp 57; Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +5
Offence
Speed 30 ft.; Melee handaxe +6 (1d6+1); Ranged shortbow +9 (1d6)
Statistics
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12; Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 20; Skills Diplomacy +10, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Survival +13, Stealth +14
Clym of the Clough — D&D 3.5e
CR 5; Human ranger 4/rogue 2; Init +4; AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14; hp 52; Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +5; Speed 30 ft.
Base Attack +5; Grapple +6; Attack shortbow +9 (1d6/×3); Abilities Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12; Skills Diplomacy +10, Spot +10, Listen +10, Sense Motive +10, Hide +13, Move Silently +13, Survival +12
What Is Clym of the Clough Doing Now?
A search party is sweeping Inglewood after soldiers were slain by arrows marked with Adam Bell’s fletching. Clym knows the marks are forgeries. His best witness is an outlaw too frightened to enter a village or speak above a whisper.
Encounters and Adventure Hooks
- A bog crossing that Clym uses every spring now opens into the Otherworld at moonrise.
- The party must rescue a prisoner from a road patrol without killing a single guard; Clym can show them how.
- Someone has used Clym’s snare-signs to lure a band of refugees toward a murderous ambush.
Personality and Relationships
Wry, loyal, practical and sharply suspicious of grand vows. He respects clear plans and hates men who confuse the poor with expendable supplies.
Adam Bell trusts his reconnaissance; William of Cloudesley shares his outlaw oath. The local foresters may bargain with him when the alternative is a pointless fight.
The Ways Through Inglewood
Clym knows which tracks flood after rainfall, which clearings hide watchers and which foresters can be trusted with a small secret. He will not reveal every path at once. Adventurers who spare a frightened poacher gain access to a hidden ford; those who rob the villages supplying his band may find that every safe hollow has been abandoned by nightfall. His greatest fear is that the forged arrow-signs will send soldiers into homes that never sheltered outlaws.
| Route | Danger |
|---|---|
| Old charcoal path | Fresh traps placed by an impostor |
| North ford | Patrols waiting after rain |
| Boundary hollow | A trail that leads into the Otherworld |
Equipment and Rewards
Shortbow, hatchet, rope, snare wire, bone whistles, rough winter cloak and a leather pouch of concealed trail-markers. A suitable reward is intelligence, safe passage or practical assistance, never automatic political immunity.
People and Places
Adam Bell · Inglewood Forest · Robin Hood · British Isles NPCs
Historical and Literary Sources
Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough, and William of Cloudesley
Historical dates and literary associations are source-based; dialogue, supernatural threats, encounters and game statistics are original campaign adaptations.
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