User blog:El Alamein/The Merry Men vs. the Knights of the Round Table

It's the best battle the Middle Ages has never seen! The Merry Men, devious tricksters clad in green who fought agaunst tyranny and were led by the clever Robin of Locksley, and the Knights of the Round Table, valiant armor-clad men who went on quests of fortune and glory and were led by the brave King Arthur! It's a battle between men of honor and those who have no hesitation to scrap theirs to win a fight!

The Merry Men
The Merry Men in Tights were a band of outlaws and other rejects of society that rallied under the cause of Robin of Locksley, better known as Robin Hood. Hiding in the Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, they ambush the rich traveling nearby (careful to leave them unharmed) and take their money to give to the poor. Of course, a certain amount of funds is kept for the Merry Men's own survival, and as such they are relatively well-armed and decently trained. This doesn't mean that the Merry Men won't kill to survive, though; they are viciously hunted by the Sheriff of Nottingham and they will attack and kill any guards he sends to weed them out.

The Merry Men dive into battle with:
 * 1) The English Longbow and the Shortbow
 * 2) The Quarterstaff
 * 3) The Shortsword and Dagger
 * 4) The Longsword
 * 5) The Buckler and Hardened Leather body armor

The Knights of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table are nearly polar opposites of the Merry Men - they are nobility and very, very rich - the type of people the Merry Men would love to pick a fight with. They are led by King Arthur but other members are known for their own acts of heroism (Sir Lancelot, Sir Bedevere, Sir Galahad and Brave Sir Robin come to mind). They are known by their name for the table they would sit at, symbolizing that no one would sit at the head of the table, and therefore that no one could order the others what to do. The Knights of the Round Table fight witches and dragons and the like, and have been trained from a young age.

The Knights of the Round Table stride into combat armed with:
 * 1) The Crossbow
 * 2) The Pike
 * 3) The Spiked Mace and Combat Knife
 * 4) The Broadsword (and in King Arthur's case, Excalibur)
 * 5) The Round Shield and Chainmail body armor

X-Factors:
Training:

Merry Men: 78 / Knights of the Round Table: 87

The Merry Men are mostly common outlaws who have experience committing acts of violence but against a civilian body, and while they are experienced, formal training is lacking and mostly consists of sparring and target practice in the forest. The Knights of the Round Table have been trained since a very young age and have been trained superbly in nearly all aspects of combat. They were prepared since they first stepped onto the field of battle, while the Merry Men had to gain experience first.

Stealth:

Merry Men: 89 / Knights of the Round Table: 81

The Knights of the Round Table are skilled in all aspects of combat and can set up an ambush if need be, but the Merry Men operate around a guerrilla warfare system of fighting. They can quickly disappear in the grass and up the trees and pop up behind the enemy who was pursuing them. The deeper you follow the Merry Men and the longer you don't see them, the greater the chance that you're walking into their trap. Stealth is the Merry Men's area of expertise, while the Knights of the Round Table are a little less skilled in that area.

Experience:

Merry Men: 84 / Knights of the Round Table: 86

This was very close but the Knights of the Round Table have fought supernatural enemies and have gone on army-on-army battles of conquest. The Merry Men are always fighting for survival but they're adapted comfortably to fending off small numbers of city guards in their own turf. The Knights have fought on all corners of the globe against enemies of different sizes, races, and skill sets. Even so, it is a very, very close call.

Precision:

Merry Men: 90 / Knights of the Round Table: 79

When it comes to skill with the bow and landing accurate, quick hits up close with light weapons, the Merry Men have a huge advantage. Their skill with the bow is one of the biggest reasons they've made it untouched so long; they can end the fight before it starts with a simple accurate volley of fire. Meanwhile, up close they can target the neck or chest, or the limbs for incapacitating shots, with a quick ferocious ease. The Knights of the Round Table are trained with the crossbow but that's not a weapon they rely on and it's possible that in the heat of an ambush that they'd likely walk into it would be very hard to hit the Merry Men with the bulkier ranged weapon.

Brutality/Killer Instinct:

Merry Men: 78 / Knights of the Round Table: 87

The Knights of the Round Table butcher every enemy whether it be a one-on-one fight or a grand army battle, and move on to the next foe with the same brutal determination. The Merry Men will kill and do so on a regular basis, but civilian targets passing through are just hostages or victims of a robbery. They operate on an agenda that forces them to kill with discrimination, while the Knights can usually ignore this and ask questions later.

Battle:
If seven Merry Men led by Robin Hood came against seven Knights of the Round Table led by King Arthur in an ambush scenario in the Sherwood Forest, who would win? The Knights have a full-body chainmail armor except for their head, which has no helmet. Their hands are also exposed. The Merry Men have the element of surprise and have their shields and leather armor, but are less protected against the Knight's heavier weapons. Who will win? Leave comments below.

A full vote, backed with edges and/or solid reasons in paragraph form can be considered as one full vote.

Anything less, even a "copies vote", will not be counted for anything, not even a half vote. So make sure you just put some effort into the vote, and I'll put some effort into the battle. Sound fair?