Tuck of Sherwood — Greenwood Holy Man

Healer, wrestler, mediator and keeper of the greenwood’s old customs: Tuck is the person Robin trusts when a quarrel needs judgement rather than another arrow.

Tuck of Sherwood moves easily between outlaw camps, forest clearings and village hearths because he belongs wholly to none of them. He knows old hospitality laws, local oaths, healing herbs and the sort of stories that tell a frightened household whether a stranger means danger. He can settle a dispute with a joke, a meal or a hard stare; when that fails, he is strong enough to end it with a staff or a wrestling hold.

He serves no distant institution. Tuck’s authority comes from remembered custom, sacred hospitality, woodland shrines and the trust he has earned among the communities around Sherwood Forest. That makes him difficult for officials to dismiss: even people who would never shelter an outlaw may still listen when Tuck says that a promise has been broken.

At a Glance

• Race: Human
• Role: Greenwood holy man, mediator, wrestler, healer and Merry Man
• Base: Sherwood Forest and the roads between friendly villages
• Beliefs: Woodland powers, local gods, ancestral custom and sacred hospitality
• Allies: Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian and the forest communities
• Behaviour: Warm, irreverent, stubborn and protective
• Strengths: Mediation, healing, grappling, local knowledge and reading people
• Weaknesses: Cannot ignore abused hospitality, cruelty toward the helpless or needless pride
• Campaign use: Mediator, healer, guide, comic foil or unexpectedly dangerous defender

Game Statistics

5.5e / 2024 Pathfinder 1e D&D 3.5e

5.5e / 2024

Tuck of Sherwood
Medium Humanoid (Human), CR 6
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 96
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	14 (+2)	18 (+4)	13 (+1)	18 (+4)	16 (+3)

Saving Throws Str +7, Con +7, Wis +7
Skills Athletics +10, Insight +7, Medicine +10, Nature +4, Persuasion +6, Survival +7
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages English, Thieves’ Cant
Proficiency Bonus +3

River Wrestler. Tuck has advantage on checks and saving throws made to grapple, escape a grapple or resist being shoved or knocked prone.

Greenwood Counsel. As a bonus action, Tuck chooses one ally within 30 feet who can hear him. That ally adds 1d6 to the next Wisdom or Charisma ability check or saving throw it makes before the start of Tuck’s next turn.

Herbal Aid. Tuck can spend an action tending a creature within 5 feet with prepared herbs and bandages. The creature regains 13 (2d8 + 4) hit points. A creature can benefit from Tuck’s Herbal Aid once per Short Rest.

Actions

Multiattack. Tuck makes two quarterstaff attacks.

Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Shoulder Throw. One Large or smaller creature grappled by Tuck must succeed on a DC 15 Strength or Dexterity saving throw or take 9 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage, fall prone and be moved to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of Tuck.

Call for Peace (Recharge 5–6). Each creature of Tuck’s choice within 20 feet that can hear him must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature cannot make opportunity attacks until the start of Tuck’s next turn and has disadvantage on its next attack roll before then.

Reaction

Interpose Staff. When a creature Tuck can see within 5 feet is hit by a melee attack, Tuck reduces the damage by 1d8 + 3.

Tactics

Tuck begins by talking. If a fight is unavoidable, he protects wounded or vulnerable allies, grapples dangerous opponents and tries to turn lethal chaos into a controlled brawl. He prefers to pin, disarm or throw an enemy rather than kill one unless someone under his protection is in immediate danger.

Pathfinder 1e

Tuck of Sherwood CR 7
Human brawler 4/expert 4
Init +2; Senses Perception +13

DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16
hp 84
Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +9

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee quarterstaff +13/+8 (1d8+6) or unarmed strike +13/+8 (1d6+4)
Special Attacks brawler’s flurry, maneuver training +2

STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 16
Base Atk +7; CMB +13 (+15 grapple); CMD 26 (28 vs. grapple)
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Persuasive, Skill Focus (Heal), Toughness
Skills Diplomacy +15, Heal +16, Knowledge (local) +12, Perception +13, Sense Motive +16, Survival +13
Languages English, Thieves’ Cant

Greenwood Healer (Ex). Tuck may treat deadly wounds in 10 minutes rather than 1 hour. Once per day per creature, a successful Heal check to treat deadly wounds restores an additional 1d8 hit points.

Hospitality Keeper (Ex). Tuck gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks made while mediating disputes involving guests, hosts, sworn safe-conduct or village custom.

Tactics. Tuck uses grapple and reposition maneuvers to protect allies, avoids lethal force when possible and focuses on ending the fight rather than winning glory.

D&D 3.5e

Tuck of Sherwood CR 7
Male human fighter 4/expert 4
Init +2; Senses Listen +10, Spot +10

DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16
hp 72
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +8

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Base Attack +7; Grapple +13
Melee masterwork quarterstaff +12/+7 (1d6+4) or unarmed strike +11/+6 (1d3+4)

STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 16
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Negotiator, Skill Focus (Heal), Toughness
Skills Diplomacy +15, Heal +14, Knowledge (local) +12, Listen +10, Sense Motive +14, Spot +10, Survival +12
Languages English, Thieves’ Cant

Keeper of Custom. Tuck gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy, Knowledge (local) and Sense Motive checks involving village law, hospitality, oaths and safe-conduct.

Tactics. Tuck closes quickly with the most disruptive opponent, grapples or trips them and uses his position to shield less capable allies. He retreats from a fight only after those in his care have a route out.

What Is Tuck of Sherwood Doing Now?

Tuck is moving between outlaw camps, forest shrines and sympathetic villages, trying to stop the growing pressure around Sherwood from turning ordinary people against one another. He is hearing more stories of informants, confiscated food and frightened guides, many of them connected to the expanding hunt led by Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

At the same time, Tuck is warning the Merry Men that desperation is not permission. A hungry outlaw who robs a poor household or threatens a traveller under safe-conduct can do more damage to Robin’s cause than a dozen sheriff’s patrols.

Encounters

• The River Test: Tuck refuses passage until the party proves it can keep its temper while being mocked and inconvenienced.
• Hospitality Broken: Someone attacked a traveller under a village’s protection; Tuck wants the guilty party found before a blood feud begins.
• The Quiet Bargain: Tuck needs neutral adventurers to carry terms between Robin and an official who cannot be seen negotiating with outlaws.
• The Sick Camp: A hidden camp is suffering from fever and Tuck needs herbs gathered without revealing its location.
• The Unwelcome Guest: A dangerous enemy has claimed sanctuary under an old local custom. Tuck insists the custom still matters.
• The Staff at the Ford: Tuck is blocking a crossing because armed men on both banks are moments away from turning a dispute into a massacre.

Personality

Tuck is warm, irreverent and almost impossible to impress with rank. He enjoys food, strong drink, argument and puncturing self-importance. Much of his humour is deliberate: laughter gives angry people a chance to change direction without losing face.

The humour stops when someone abuses a guest, harms a helpless person or uses hunger and fear as tools. Tuck is forgiving about foolishness but far less forgiving about deliberate cruelty.

Relationships

Robin Hood: friend and captain, but not beyond criticism. Tuck is one of the few people willing to tell Robin that a clever plan has become a bad one.

Little John: favourite sparring partner and one of the few Merry Men who can turn a friendly wrestling match with Tuck into a genuine contest.

Maid Marian: trusted intermediary whose courtly access complements Tuck’s influence among villages and travellers.

Alan-a-Dale: friend, storyteller and frequent source of information carried in songs before anyone realises the news matters.

Will Scarlet: someone Tuck likes but watches carefully; Will’s temper can turn a small insult into a large problem.

Sir Guy of Gisbourne: dangerous because he understands communities as well as trails. Tuck opposes him by keeping frightened people from becoming isolated.

Adventure Hooks

• The Broken Bowl: A household has violated hospitality law, but the reason may justify what would normally be unforgivable.
• Carry These Terms: Robin and a local official both trust Tuck enough to negotiate, but neither will meet the other.
• The False Holy Man: Someone is using Tuck’s reputation to collect food and money from villages.
• The Boar Path: Tuck knows a route through Sherwood that avoids every patrol, but it passes through territory claimed by something dangerous.
• The Captive Hunter: Tuck has prevented angry villagers from killing one of Guy’s men and needs the party to move the prisoner before vengeance wins out.
• A Promise to the Dead: Tuck asks the party to complete an obligation made by someone who died before they could fulfil it.

Equipment

Tuck carries a stout quarterstaff, travelling clothes, herb pouch, bandages, cooking gear, rope, a wineskin and small tokens recognised by friendly forest communities. He keeps little money and usually spends what he has on food, medicine or someone else’s lodging.

His most useful possessions are less obvious: names of households that will offer one night’s shelter, paths that disappear in wet weather, remembered obligations between families and an excellent sense of which argument a person actually needs to hear.

Related Places and People

• Sherwood Forest — Royal Woodland and the Outlaw War
• Nottingham — Robin Hood, Sherwood & Adventure Hooks
• Robin Hood — The Hooded Man of Sherwood
• Little John — Giant of the Greenwood
• Marian Fitzwalter — Maid Marian
• Alan-a-Dale — Minstrel of the Greenwood
• Will Scarlet — Reckless Blade of Sherwood
• Sir Guy of Gisbourne — Hunter of Sherwood
• William de Wendenal — Sheriff of Nottingham
• British Isles NPCs

Sources and Adaptation

Tuck comes from the later public-domain Robin Hood tradition, where the character is commonly presented with a specifically Christian title and institution. Here he is instead a greenwood healer, wrestler, mediator and keeper of local sacred custom, preserving his familiar role in the outlaw cycle while fitting the setting’s polytheistic religious world.