Sir Guy of Gisbourne — Hunter of Sherwood

Tracker, swordsman and ruthless contractor: Guy is the man sent into the greenwood when warrants, patrols and rewards have failed.

Sir Guy of Gisbourne is a professional hunter of people. He reads churned mud beside a ford, notices which cottage has bought too much flour and remembers the face of a stable boy who looked away too quickly. Soldiers can sweep a road or burn a camp; Guy works more patiently. He narrows choices until his quarry discovers that every familiar path has become dangerous.

In Nottingham he is an armed gentleman with legal cover. In Sherwood Forest he becomes something more dangerous: a rival woodsman who understands how outlaws survive. His pursuit of Robin Hood is professional, political and increasingly personal.

At a Glance

• Race: Human
• Role: Hunter, enforcer, tracker and forest fighter
• Base: Nottingham and the roads around Sherwood
• Employer: Usually William de Wendenal, Sheriff of Nottingham
• Primary quarry: Robin Hood and the Merry Men
• Behaviour: Patient, proud, coercive and relentlessly practical
• Strengths: Tracking, ambushes, interrogation, mounted pursuit and reading a trail
• Weaknesses: Pride, grudges and a growing need to defeat Robin personally
• Campaign use: Pursuer, rival tracker, dangerous temporary ally or the face of an abusive manhunt

Game Statistics

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

5.5e / 2024

Sir Guy of Gisbourne
Medium Humanoid (Human), CR 7
Armor Class 18 (mail, shield)
Hit Points 110
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	18 (+4)	16 (+3)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	12 (+1)

Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +7, Wis +6
Skills Athletics +7, Insight +6, Investigation +4, Perception +6, Stealth +7, Survival +9
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages English, French
Proficiency Bonus +3

Quarry Master. After Guy sees a creature or spends 1 minute examining its tracks, he can designate it as his quarry. For the next 8 hours he has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to follow that creature and on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to notice signs of its passage. Once on each of his turns, Guy deals an extra 1d6 damage when he hits his quarry with a weapon attack.

Forest Stalker. Difficult natural terrain in forests does not cost Guy extra movement, and he has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made among trees, brush or broken woodland.

Relentless Pursuit. Guy can take the Dash or Hide action as a bonus action while pursuing a creature he has designated as his quarry.

Actions

Multiattack. Guy makes two attacks with his longsword or longbow.

Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10 + 4) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.

Hamstring Shot (Recharge 5–6). Guy makes one longbow attack. On a hit, the target takes normal damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or have its Speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn.

Reaction

Parry. Guy adds 3 to his AC against one melee attack that would hit him, provided he can see the attacker and is wielding a melee weapon.

Tactics

Guy avoids a fair fight when a better one can be arranged. He scouts first, chooses ground with restricted escape routes and attacks the least mobile member of a group to force the rest to react. If Robin or another named quarry is present, Guy tries to separate that target from allies rather than simply dealing the most damage.

Pathfinder 1e

Sir Guy of Gisbourne CR 8
Human fighter 4/ranger 5
Init +4; Senses Perception +14

DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 14, flat-footed 18
hp 92
Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +6

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 longsword +15/+10 (1d8+7/19–20)
Ranged composite longbow (+4 Str) +15/+10 (1d8+4/×3)
Special Attacks favored enemy (humans +4), quarry hunter

STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +9; CMB +13; CMD 27
Feats Endurance, Improved Initiative, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longsword), Deadly Aim
Skills Climb +12, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (geography) +9, Perception +14, Ride +12, Stealth +16, Survival +17
Languages English, French

Favored Terrain (Forest) +2. Guy gains his ranger bonuses to initiative and relevant Knowledge, Perception, Stealth and Survival checks while in forest terrain.

Quarry Hunter (Ex). After examining a trail for 1 minute, Guy gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to track that individual and on weapon damage rolls against that target until he abandons the pursuit or chooses a new quarry.

Tactics. Guy uses terrain and distance to weaken a group before closing with the longsword. He reserves Power Attack for trapped or isolated opponents and withdraws rather than becoming surrounded.

D&D 3.5e

Sir Guy of Gisbourne CR 8
Male human fighter 4/ranger 5
Init +4; Senses Listen +11, Spot +11

DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 17
hp 78
Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +6

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Base Attack +9; Grapple +13
Melee +1 longsword +15/+10 (1d8+6/19–20)
Ranged composite longbow (+4 Str) +14/+9 (1d8+4/×3)

STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12
Feats Endurance, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Track, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Skills Hide +16, Intimidate +10, Listen +11, Move Silently +16, Ride +12, Search +9, Spot +11, Survival +17
Languages English, French

Favored Enemy (Humans) +4. Guy gains his favored enemy bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot and Survival checks and on weapon damage rolls against human foes.

Woodland Pursuit. When tracking a known individual through forest terrain, Guy gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks and may move at his normal overland pace without taking the usual penalty for following tracks.

Tactics. Guy begins at range, uses cover aggressively and closes only after an enemy is isolated or wounded. He is willing to retreat, circle and resume the hunt later.

What Is Guy of Gisbourne Doing Now?

Guy is trying to break the greenwood network instead of merely chasing Robin from glade to glade. He has begun mapping food deliveries, ferries, deer trails, charcoal burners’ paths and households suspected of carrying messages. Patrols under his direction are no longer wandering at random: they are checking crossings, questioning carters and forcing villages to account for strangers.

He has also started paying for information. Some informants are frightened, some greedy and some convinced that the outlaws bring retaliation down on ordinary people. Guy does not need every rumour to be true. He only needs enough of them to make Sherwood’s safe places uncertain.

Encounters

• The Empty Camp: Guy reaches an outlaw hideout minutes after the party and assumes they warned Robin.
• The Same Quarry: Guy and the party are hunting the same killer for entirely different reasons.
• The False Trail: Someone is feeding Guy information that points toward innocent villages.
• The Narrow Crossing: Guy has quietly occupied the only safe ford and is checking every traveller moving toward Sherwood.
• The Bought Guide: The guide hired by the party has already accepted Guy’s money.
• The Wounded Pursuer: Guy appears alone and badly hurt after encountering something in Sherwood he could not kill.

Personality

Guy is patient on the trail, controlled in public and quick to treat mercy as weakness. He respects competence more readily than virtue and prefers people whose motives he can understand. Bravery impresses him; defiance irritates him; humiliation stays with him.

He is not reckless. Guy will bargain with enemies, release a prisoner or abandon a fight when doing so improves his chances of winning later. The exception is Robin Hood. Each failed hunt makes Robin less a contract and more a challenge to Guy’s judgement, pride and standing.

Relationships

William de Wendenal, Sheriff of Nottingham: employer, patron and source of legal cover. Guy serves him effectively but does not confuse service with loyalty.

Robin Hood: quarry, rival and the man whose continued survival damages Guy’s reputation. Guy wants Robin captured, but increasingly wants to prove that he can beat him in his own country.

Maid Marian: a courtly opponent he cannot simply treat as another outlaw. Her influence, independence and ability to move between respectable society and the greenwood make her especially dangerous to him.

Little John: a physical threat Guy would rather isolate than face beside Robin.

Tuck of Sherwood: troublesome because he can move through communities that would immediately distrust an armed outlaw.

Will Scarlet: the Merry Man Guy considers most likely to be provoked into an avoidable mistake.

Adventure Hooks

• Three Names on a List: Guy’s latest suspects include one genuine outlaw contact and two innocent families.
• The Prisoner Exchange: Guy offers a surprisingly fair exchange because the prisoner he wants back knows something important.
• A Worse Thing in Sherwood: Guy proposes a temporary truce when something in the forest begins killing both his men and the outlaws.
• The Broken Informant: An informant wants out before Guy discovers they have been feeding him carefully altered information.
• The Public Challenge: Guy announces that he will meet Robin at a chosen place, but the challenge is meant to draw out everyone who carries word to the Merry Men.
• The Wrong Robin: Guy has captured a hooded outlaw and intends to make an example of him even though he knows the prisoner is not Robin.

Equipment

Guy carries a well-kept longsword, longbow, hunting knife, manacles, tracking cord, wax tablets, charcoal for marking trees and a weatherproof field cloak. He normally wears mail or heavier harness when expecting a fight and keeps a trained horse nearby whenever the ground allows it.

He also carries a purse reserved for informants and guides. That purse is often more dangerous than his sword: a frightened ferryman or hungry woodcutter can close a road to the outlaws without ever drawing a weapon.

Related Places and People

• Sherwood Forest — Royal Woodland and the Outlaw War
• Nottingham — Robin Hood, Sherwood & Adventure Hooks
• William de Wendenal — Sheriff of Nottingham
• Robin Hood — The Hooded Man of Sherwood
• Marian Fitzwalter — Maid Marian
• Little John — Giant of the Greenwood
• Tuck of Sherwood — Greenwood Holy Man
• Will Scarlet — Reckless Blade of Sherwood
• British Isles NPCs

Sources and Adaptation

Guy of Gisbourne comes from the public-domain Robin Hood tradition. This version uses the old outlaw cycle as a starting point and presents Guy as a capable hunter, political enforcer and recurring field antagonist. It does not reproduce any modern copyrighted screen or prose interpretation.