Marian Fitzwalter — Maid Marian
Marian Fitzwalter (known as Maid Marian) is a maternal cousin to the sovereign this high-ranking lady of the court is an orphaned noblewoman under the protection of the King.
At a Glance
- Gender – Female
- Race – Human
- Occupation –
- Religion – Celtic Pantheon
- Allies – Friar Tuck
- Enemies – Sheriff of Nottingham
- Abode/ Base of operations – Kingdom of England, Nottingham, Sherwood Forest
- Nationality – English
- Languages – English
- Alignment –
- Affiliation (s) – Merry Men
- Significant others – Robin Hood
Marian is a courageous noblewoman who moves between courtly society and the greenwood without belonging wholly to either. She is an ally of Robin Hood, but not his subordinate: her access to households, servants and formal gatherings gives her an intelligence network the outlaws cannot reproduce.
Game Statistics
Maid Marian — 5.5e / 2024
Medium Humanoid (Human), Chaotic Good
Armour Class 16 (reinforced leather); Initiative +4 (14); Hit Points 68; Speed 30 ft.; Challenge 3 (700 XP; proficiency bonus +2).
STR 10 (+0), DEX 18 (+4), CON 14 (+2), INT 16 (+3), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 18 (+4).
Saving Throws Dex +6, Cha +6; Skills Deception +6, Insight +4, Investigation +5, Perception +4, Persuasion +8 (expertise), Stealth +6; Senses passive Perception 14; Languages English, French.
Traits
Court’s Hidden Ear. Marian has Advantage on Charisma checks to gain access to servants or audiences in a household where she has an established contact.
Subtle Strike (1/Turn). Marian deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage on a Rapier or Shortbow hit if she has Advantage on the attack or a willing ally stands within 5 feet of the target and she does not have Disadvantage.
Actions
Multiattack. Marian makes two Rapier or Shortbow attacks.
Rapier. Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) Piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Attack Roll: +6, range 80/320 ft. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) Piercing damage.
Bonus Actions
Courtly Diversion. One willing ally within 30 feet who can see or hear Marian gains Advantage on its next Dexterity (Stealth) or Charisma (Deception) check made before the end of its next turn.
Reactions
Parry. Marian adds 2 to her AC against one melee attack that would hit, provided she can see the attacker and holds her Rapier.
Social influence, allies and disguised access are campaign tools, not automatic additional CR. Use her personal CR 3 to budget an encounter; any Robin Hood allies are separate creatures.
Maid Marian — 5e / 2014
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good
Armor Class 16 (reinforced leather); Hit Points 68; Speed 30 ft.; Challenge 3 (700 XP; proficiency bonus +2).
STR 10 (+0), DEX 18 (+4), CON 14 (+2), INT 16 (+3), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 18 (+4).
Saving Throws Dex +6, Cha +6; Skills Deception +6, Insight +4, Investigation +5, Perception +4, Persuasion +8 (expertise), Stealth +6; Senses passive Perception 14; Languages English, French.
Traits
Court’s Hidden Ear. Marian has advantage on Charisma checks to gain private meetings or information from a household where she has a willing established contact.
Subtle Strike (1/Turn). Marian deals an extra 7 (2d6) piercing damage when she hits a creature with a finesse or ranged weapon while she has advantage on the attack roll, or when a willing ally is within 5 feet of the target and she doesn’t have disadvantage.
Actions
Multiattack. Marian makes two rapier or shortbow attacks.
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions
Courtly Diversion. An ally within 30 feet that can see or hear Marian gains advantage on its next Dexterity (Stealth) or Charisma (Deception) ability check made before the end of its next turn.
Reactions
Parry. Marian adds 2 to her AC against a melee attack that would hit, provided she can see the attacker and holds her rapier.
Original 2014 campaign conversion of a skilled ally and covert organiser. Her personal combat CR excludes other outlaws and the effects of her social network.
Maid Marian — Pathfinder 1e
CR 6; XP 2,400; female human aristocrat 3/rogue 4; CG Medium humanoid (human); Init +8; Senses Perception +12.
Defense
AC 19, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 +1 studded leather, +4 Dex, +1 deflection); hp 55 (7 HD, including Toughness); Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6; Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge.
Offense
Speed 30 ft.; Melee +1 rapier +10 (1d6+1/18–20); Ranged masterwork shortbow +10 (1d6/×3); Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6.
Courtly Diversion (Ex; 1/Encounter). As a move action, Marian helps one willing ally within 30 ft. who can hear her. The ally adds +2 on its next Bluff or Stealth check made before the end of its next turn; this bonus does not stack with an aid another bonus on the same check.
Statistics
Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 18; Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 19.
Feats Improved Initiative, Negotiator, Toughness, Weapon Finesse; Rogue Talents fast stealth, combat trick (GM chooses a legal combat feat).
Skills Bluff +14, Diplomacy +16, Disguise +12, Knowledge (nobility) +13, Perception +12, Sense Motive +13, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +14; Languages English, French, Latin.
Equipment +1 studded leather, +1 rapier, masterwork shortbow and 20 arrows, ring of protection +1, signet seal, coded household correspondence and travelling cloak.
Tactics
Before Combat Marian arranges witnesses and escape routes. During Combat She uses cover and deception, fighting only to protect allies. Morale She withdraws to protect an endangered messenger rather than risk unnecessary casualties.
Original Pathfinder 1e NPC design. Influence and allies do not alter her personal CR; use their own statistics and encounter XP.
Maid Marian — D&D 3.5e
CR 6; female human aristocrat 3/rogue 4; CG Medium humanoid (human); Hit Dice 3d8+4d6+14 (47 hp); Initiative +8; Speed 30 ft.
Defence
Armour Class 18, touch 15, flat-footed 14 (+3 studded leather, +4 Dex, +1 deflection); Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +6; Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge.
Offence
Base Attack/Grapple +5/+5; Attack masterwork rapier +10 melee (1d6/18–20) or masterwork shortbow +10 ranged (1d6/×3); Full Attack masterwork rapier +10 melee (1d6/18–20), or masterwork shortbow +10 ranged (1d6/×3); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6.
Courtly Diversion (Ex; 1/Encounter). As a move action Marian can assist one willing ally within 30 ft. who can hear her, granting +2 on that ally’s next Bluff or Hide check before the end of its next turn. This is a custom encounter ability, not an ordinary aid another option at range.
Statistics
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 18; Feats Improved Initiative, Negotiator, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Weapon Finesse.
Skills Bluff +14, Diplomacy +16, Disguise +12, Hide +14, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +13, Listen +11, Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +13, Spot +11; Languages English, French, Latin.
Possessions studded leather, masterwork rapier, masterwork shortbow with arrows, ring of protection +1, documents under seal and hidden correspondence.
Tactics
Before Combat Marian warns nearby outlaws and hides sensitive papers. During Combat She distracts hostile guards, uses cover and assists allies. Morale She leaves the fight to preserve the messenger or a vulnerable witness when escape is possible.
Original D&D 3.5e NPC conversion. Initiative, grappling, full attacks, class skills and saving throws use 3.5e conventions, not Pathfinder combat manoeuvre rules.
What Is Maid Marian Doing Now?
Marian is using court invitations, household servants and respectable travel to learn what Robin cannot discover from the trees. She passes warnings about warrants and troop movements into Sherwood while keeping enough distance from the band that officials cannot easily prove her role.
Encounters
- The Sealed Invitation: Marian invites the party to a feast because speaking to them openly elsewhere would be suspicious.
- The Missing Maid: One of Marian’s servants vanishes after carrying information toward Sherwood.
- Hostage Courtesy: Marian is being treated as an honoured guest in a household that has quietly stopped allowing her to leave.
Personality
Composed, observant and far less sheltered than opponents assume. Marian is comfortable with etiquette but judges people by what they do with power rather than how elegantly they speak.
Relationships
Robin Hood: trusted ally and emotional complication, not her commander. Friar Tuck: discreet intermediary. The Sheriff: an official she can meet publicly while opposing some of his actions privately.
Equipment
Fine court clothing, travelling cloak, rapier, shortbow, signet and seals, coded correspondence, small purse, riding horse and access to servants who can carry messages without looking like spies.
Adventure Hooks
Marian is ideal for adventures where the party must move between lawful society and outlaw country without belonging wholly to either.
D&D 5E Mythological Figures: Maid Marian
Among the Merry Men Maid Marian was respected for her courage, independence, and loyalty—one of English literature’s earliest positive portrayals of a strong female character. Though she doesn’t appear in his earliest tales, Robin Hood’s paramour became a part of the legend by at least 1600. Like Friar Tuck she gets into the mythology through the May Games (and may even have tried to solicit herself to him!), and it’s generally believed that France has more to do with her inclusion than anyone else does (in Le Jeu de Robin et Marion in 1283 there’s a shepherdess named Marion and she’s got a shepherd lover named Robin). She’s not Robin’s first lover though—that’d be Clorinda, the Queen of the Shepherdesses—but over time the two characters become one in the same. Or maybe it’s a confusion bred by The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon and its real world parallels to Robert Hood of Wakefield (who married a woman named Matilda who, like the woman in the play, changes her name to Marian after marrying him). Perhaps even it’s from another play but in any case, by the 1500s all that shepherd business was out the window and Maid Marian became a noblewoman (the only child of the Earl of Huntingdon), albeit not a terribly proper one.
Like so many of the Merry Men her first meeting with Robin Hood begins with a fight because she’s disguised, ending when he loses and begs for mercy (at which point Marian recognizes who he is). After that it’s a matter of which author and stories you’re reading—or watching as she’s quite popular in film adaptations—but in general she’s a good person with a position of some limited authority, disdaining the more criminal elements of Robin Hood’s crusade against the rich but ultimately supporting him and his band of Merry Men against the evils imposed by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Maid Marian
Medium humanoid (human), neutral good ranger 1/rogue (swashbuckler) 11
Armor Class 16 (studded leather, defensive fighting style)
Hit Points 79 (1d10+11d8+24)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 10 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 17 (+3) |
Saving Throws Str +4, Dex +7
Skills History +9, Insight +9, Perception +9, Persuasion +11, Stealth +11; thieves’ tools
Senses passive Perception 19
Languages English
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Background: Noble. Due to her place as a woman of noble birth, Marian is treated with a measure of respect wherever she goes. She is treated as royalty (or as closely as possible) by most peasants and traders, and as an equal when meeting other authority figures (who make time in their schedule to see her if requested to do so).
Combat Footing. Whenever she makes a melee attack against a creature on her turn, Marian doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of her turn.
Cunning Action (1/Turn). Marian can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Evasion. When Marian is subjected to an effect that allows her to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, she instead takes no damage if she succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if she fails.
Favored Enemy. Marian has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track beasts, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Feat: Diplomatic. Marian can make a Charisma (Persuasion) check contested by the Wisdom (Insight) check of a creature that can understand what she says during 1 minute of talking. On a success, as long as Marian remains within 60 feet of it (and for 1 minute afterward) the target is charmed by her. Marian automatically fails on the check if she or her companions are fighting the target.
Feat: Maneuver Master (1d6 Maneuver Die/Short Rest). Marian can expend a maneuver dice to perform a single maneuver with an attack.
- Command. Marian uses her bonus action to forgo one of her attacks and direct a friendly creature who can see or hear her. The creature uses its reaction and makes a weapon attack, dealing 1d6 additional weapon damage on a successful hit.
- Feint. Marian can use her bonus action to feint against one creature within 5 feet. She has advantage on her next attack roll against that creature as long as it is before the end of her turn. On a hit she deals 1d6 additional damage.
Natural Explorer: Forests. When Marian makes an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to the forest, her proficiency bonus (+4) is doubled if she is using a skill that she’s proficient in. While traveling for an hour or more in her favored terrain, Marian gains the following benefits:
- Difficult terrain doesn’t slow her group’s travel.
- Marian’s group can’t become lost except by magical means.
- Even when she is engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), Marian remains alert to danger.
- If Marian is traveling alone, she can move stealthily at a normal pace.
- When she forages, Marian finds twice as much food as she normally would.
- While tracking other creatures, Marian also learns their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Reliable Talent. Whenever Marian makes an ability check that lets her add her proficiency bonus, she can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Sneak Attack (6d6, 1/Turn). Marian deals an extra 21 (6d6) damage when she hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Marian that isn’t incapacitated and she doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll, or when the only creature within 5 feet of Marian is her target.
Stylish. Marian makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check opposed by the Wisdom (Insight) check of a creature able to hear and understand her.
If the creature is hostile, on a success for the next minute it can’t make opportunity attacks against creatures other than Marian, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than Marian. This effect ends early if the creature is more than 60 feet away from Marian, or if one of Marian’s allies attacks the creature or targets it with a spell.
If the creature is not hostile, on a success for the next minute it is charmed by Marian, regarding her as a friendly acquaintance. This effect ends early if Marian or an ally of hers harms the creature.
Swashbuckling. Marian adds her Charisma modifier (+3) when rolling for initiative.
ACTIONS
Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.
REACTIONS
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker Marian can see hits her with an attack, she can use her reaction to halve the attack’s damage against her.
Related Places and People
Sources and Adaptation
Adapted from the public-domain Maid Marian and Robin Hood folk tradition. The page treats Marian as an active agent in the greenwood network rather than borrowing from any modern copyrighted screen or prose version.
Keep this reference growing
If this page helped with your reading or game, you can support its upkeep or explore the curated books.
Explore the Bookshop — epics, classics and stories behind imagined worlds.