Build A bandit Workshop!

[Minuteman37]

So fellow GMs we've all found ourselves using a particular breed of lowlife that go by the name bandits from time to time and I was just wondering if any of you have any advice about there usage or construction?

[VariousRen]

Originally Posted by Minuteman37

So fellow GMs we've all found ourselves using a particular breed of lowlife that go by the name bandits from time to time and I was just wondering if any of you have any advice about there usage or construction?

What by chance? Modern TL bandits will have different gear from stone men bandits :P

[Minuteman37]

Originally Posted by VariousRen

What by chance? Modern TL bandits will have different gear from stone men bandits :P

Well I was thinking TL3, but any sort of advice concerning the use of low level outlaws who are presented as a martial obstacle to the PCs will do.

[Mailanka]

In Cherry Blossom Rain, I effectively followed something similar to BAD (though I do that more strongly in Psi Wars): Pathetic villains typically land around skill 10, while your elites go all the way up to 16-18 (18 is rare for a mook, though). But the more skill, typically, the more options.

When I build my opposition, I like to do it the way they do it in DF Monster books (or Monster Hunters): You have a list of traits, you have a few unique attacks, and then I usually add some notes or additional details so people will know how they "play." For example, one of the more dangerous mook-antagonists in CBR were a group of armored tetsubo-wielders. They would often slam with their tetsubos and then follow it up with an attack on you while you were down, so I had that approach worked out.

Bandits were typically on the lowest end of this scale. They lacked the money for really great gear, and if they were better trained, they would be full-on soldiers, so they tended to be skill 10 (desperate peasants) to 12 (veteran desperate peasants), with the occasional skill 14 (mercenaries with banditry as a side-job, or ronin who couldn't do better). Preferred weapons were spears, bows, cheap swords and staves. They tended to lack sophisticated talents, often All-Out Attacking because their defense and skill was too low to do much else. As a group, you tended to see some archers on the side, a few guys with swords/spears who would do an All-Out charge, and perhaps a mounted leader with a decent sword, or an unmounted leader with decent staff skill who might actually pose a threat to the samurai.

But usually, given that they were 300-500 points, the PCs would just mow through them.

[mr beer]

Bandits are a threat to my starting PCs and end up as comic relief. Savagely murdering would-be bandits has become something of a trope in my game.

[Minuteman37]

Mail where can I find the BAD system? I remember reading about it a while back, but latter tried finding it and it was no where to be found.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Minuteman37

Mail where can I find the BAD system? I remember reading about it a while back, but latter tried finding it and it was no where to be found.

It's part of the GURPS Action! series.

[Phantasm]

I agree, most bandits (or in one game we called 'em banditos) have their usual stats/skills around 10 for greenhorns or the mooks to be killed with impunity, and 12 for veteran banditos. Named banditos are more likely to have character sheets with their stats around 12 and combat/riding skills at 14 to start, and improving in stats and skills alongside the PCs; these guys represent the Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Gecko Bros., Robin Hood and Little John, etc. kind of BBEGs for the campaign.

Most banditos had one combat skill - Guns (Pistol), Guns (Rifle), and Brawling were most common - with Riding at default. Veterans had Boxing instead of Brawling, and had Riding and Combat Shooting to shoot from the saddle at 12.

Flavor to taste.

[Railstar]

Once I did this for my old setting, which was kind of a New World fantasy setting. I even had full templates/character sheet set up, but I won't post the whole thing unless I get a request. This all copy-pasted, and is more TL4 than TL3, but there should be stuff you can use.

First thought was where the bandits came from. A lot of mine were deserters after being conscripted into the army or even press-ganged on a ship, or were partisans fighting against a foreign governor (either because the governor was unjust or for the principle of self-government).

Weapon skills are equivalent to most part-time militia or relatively raw recruits (10-12), since this is what most of those bandits once were. New World partisans/rebels usually come from settlements that cannot (or will not) rely on their governor for protection, so they have to train their own people to defend the place. Deserters are usually inexperienced soldiers; if soldiering is not the life for you, you figure it out early, and do not become established before leaving. This is the reason they only have low levels of the Soldier skill. Equipment is also much the same as for the raw recruit soldier, reinforced clothing or reinforced padding is more likely than serious armour.

What these bandit-soldiers do have is better wilderness skills for the jungle (Camouflage, Stealth, Survival and Tracking). They rely on Traps to defend their lairs or to hunt, since they rely on avoiding or ambushing patrols instead of fighting them directly, and Tracking less for following people than for concealing their own movements (or leaving false trails into traps). Also, they are not full-time fighters supported by the state in the same way mercenaries are, so they have to feed themselves, hence Survival and Farming/Fishing are major skills.

Gear like dyed camouflage shirts would be used for a +2 bonus to Camouflage.

Intimidation is another main skill for them, as bandits would often much rather rob their targets without a fight. You never know which travellers are packing pistols under their cloaks or wearing a mail shirt or perhaps brigandine armour. Combat is considered a very high-risk approach: yes you can win the fight but still lose one of your buddies to a gunshot if it hits the face or the vitals. Even if it doesn’t hit such a major area, it is still bleeding, infection, and lots of other issues these bandits do not need.

They tend to favour mobility, hence the high Basic Move. This allows them to make easy getaways or move to multiple ambush positions as their target moves. Stealth, Perception & Night Vision lets them see their target first and move to get the advantage.

Bandits typically prefer to fight at long-range rather than up-close if they can help it; Spending 3 rounds aiming gains +5 to hit with a bow, +7 with a braced crossbow, and +6 with a braced and carefully loaded firearm. This means they can take their first shot at distances that mean the target has to stop and aim before having a realistic chance of hitting when shooting back, giving the bandits time for a getaway if the first volley did not have the effect intended.

Beyond that, they tend not to rely on complex moves in a fight, and instead just try to gang up on a single target when close-up. Even then, they only rely on that if shooting their target down fails.

Bandits want to minimise risk. Camouflage & Stealth to set up ambushes, aiming from hiding and then shooting from afar so there is less risk of an immediate counterattack, Intimidation to convince the targets to surrender (unless the goal is an execution), and Traps to cover their escape.

Overall, they are not as good as regular soldiers in a fair fight, but they excel at making their fights unfair. The big thing I would love to see about bandits in combat is their methods of risk reduction. Unless there is a way to lure them into close combat or feign helplessness, the bandits will normally fight from a safe distance. Their key advantage aside from stealth and ambush is to outpace other soldiers, not just for having higher Basic Move but being less encumbered by armour as well – both faster movement and less fatigue from travel allows them to catch regular soldiers off-guard.

Notably, these guys are not particularly evil: No Bully, no Bloodlust, no Sadism, no Greed. Individual bandits can have these traits, of course, but they are by no means standard.

What they do have is grudges. Intolerance represents the hatred or vendetta that makes banditry more appealing than being a professional thug in a mercenary company, along with Idealistic & Proud representing someone who is not willing to stand for mistreatment. Particularly committed examples may have Fanaticism [-15]. The important note is that these bandits do not typically target indiscriminately. They hate you.

They are also not motivated primarily by money: they might steal a lot but that is not all that important when an outlaw is unable to enjoy their wealth. They would need contacts or sympathisers willing to do business with them.

I should note that these guys are motivated by personal resentments and are only gathered into their individual bands. More organised rebellions get a lot more complex, and have a much wider assortment of guys involved in them.

These guys are a LOT more nuanced and sympathetic than I had originally planned.

General notes about bandits for my setting:

It is part-time, not their primary source of income.
Risk reduction is very important.
Complex motivations worth exploring.
Favour darkness and distance when fighting.
Avoiding danger is just as important as fighting.

Some villains will commit banditry against people in areas that lack defences, but these raiders are not typically career-bandits. Instead these predators tend to be a bit better armoured, with less subtle skill sets, and are usually seen by their home society as respected warriors or businessmen rather than outlawed fugitives. For instance, raubritter or robber knights would have the same skills as ‘good’ knights, but with ‘evil’ disadvantages like Bully & Greed instead of ‘good’ disadvantages like Code of Honour & Sense of Duty.

Another note is most places in the New World tend to be defended against regular raiders.

Other more conventional bandits are people who work completely unrelated jobs, but also have a few combat skills and Intimidation to rob people when the opportunity arises. These guys do not have a regular stat block either.

The difference here is that these bandits are there to support themselves with robbery rather than to be massacred while attacking a clearly well-armed group of adventurers. If you're armed to the teeth and armoured to the eyeballs, they don't want to commit to a fight against you.

[Minuteman37]

Originally Posted by Railstar

Once I did this for my old setting, which was kind of a New World fantasy setting. I even had full templates/character sheet set up, but I won't post the whole thing unless I get a request. This all copy-pasted, and is more TL4 than TL3, but there should be stuff you can use.

First thought was where the bandits came from. A lot of mine were deserters after being conscripted into the army or even press-ganged on a ship, or were partisans fighting against a foreign governor (either because the governor was unjust or for the principle of self-government).

Weapon skills are equivalent to most part-time militia or relatively raw recruits (10-12), since this is what most of those bandits once were. New World partisans/rebels usually come from settlements that cannot (or will not) rely on their governor for protection, so they have to train their own people to defend the place. Deserters are usually inexperienced soldiers; if soldiering is not the life for you, you figure it out early, and do not become established before leaving. This is the reason they only have low levels of the Soldier skill. Equipment is also much the same as for the raw recruit soldier, reinforced clothing or reinforced padding is more likely than serious armour.

What these bandit-soldiers do have is better wilderness skills for the jungle (Camouflage, Stealth, Survival and Tracking). They rely on Traps to defend their lairs or to hunt, since they rely on avoiding or ambushing patrols instead of fighting them directly, and Tracking less for following people than for concealing their own movements (or leaving false trails into traps). Also, they are not full-time fighters supported by the state in the same way mercenaries are, so they have to feed themselves, hence Survival and Farming/Fishing are major skills.

Gear like dyed camouflage shirts would be used for a +2 bonus to Camouflage.

Intimidation is another main skill for them, as bandits would often much rather rob their targets without a fight. You never know which travellers are packing pistols under their cloaks or wearing a mail shirt or perhaps brigandine armour. Combat is considered a very high-risk approach: yes you can win the fight but still lose one of your buddies to a gunshot if it hits the face or the vitals. Even if it doesn’t hit such a major area, it is still bleeding, infection, and lots of other issues these bandits do not need.

They tend to favour mobility, hence the high Basic Move. This allows them to make easy getaways or move to multiple ambush positions as their target moves. Stealth, Perception & Night Vision lets them see their target first and move to get the advantage.

Bandits typically prefer to fight at long-range rather than up-close if they can help it; Spending 3 rounds aiming gains +5 to hit with a bow, +7 with a braced crossbow, and +6 with a braced and carefully loaded firearm. This means they can take their first shot at distances that mean the target has to stop and aim before having a realistic chance of hitting when shooting back, giving the bandits time for a getaway if the first volley did not have the effect intended.

Beyond that, they tend not to rely on complex moves in a fight, and instead just try to gang up on a single target when close-up. Even then, they only rely on that if shooting their target down fails.

Bandits want to minimise risk. Camouflage & Stealth to set up ambushes, aiming from hiding and then shooting from afar so there is less risk of an immediate counterattack, Intimidation to convince the targets to surrender (unless the goal is an execution), and Traps to cover their escape.

Overall, they are not as good as regular soldiers in a fair fight, but they excel at making their fights unfair. The big thing I would love to see about bandits in combat is their methods of risk reduction. Unless there is a way to lure them into close combat or feign helplessness, the bandits will normally fight from a safe distance. Their key advantage aside from stealth and ambush is to outpace other soldiers, not just for having higher Basic Move but being less encumbered by armour as well – both faster movement and less fatigue from travel allows them to catch regular soldiers off-guard.

Notably, these guys are not particularly evil: No Bully, no Bloodlust, no Sadism, no Greed. Individual bandits can have these traits, of course, but they are by no means standard.

What they do have is grudges. Intolerance represents the hatred or vendetta that makes banditry more appealing than being a professional thug in a mercenary company, along with Idealistic & Proud representing someone who is not willing to stand for mistreatment. Particularly committed examples may have Fanaticism [-15]. The important note is that these bandits do not typically target indiscriminately. They hate you.

They are also not motivated primarily by money: they might steal a lot but that is not all that important when an outlaw is unable to enjoy their wealth. They would need contacts or sympathisers willing to do business with them.

I should note that these guys are motivated by personal resentments and are only gathered into their individual bands. More organised rebellions get a lot more complex, and have a much wider assortment of guys involved in them.

These guys are a LOT more nuanced and sympathetic than I had originally planned.

General notes about bandits for my setting:

It is part-time, not their primary source of income.
Risk reduction is very important.
Complex motivations worth exploring.
Favour darkness and distance when fighting.
Avoiding danger is just as important as fighting.

Some villains will commit banditry against people in areas that lack defences, but these raiders are not typically career-bandits. Instead these predators tend to be a bit better armoured, with less subtle skill sets, and are usually seen by their home society as respected warriors or businessmen rather than outlawed fugitives. For instance, raubritter or robber knights would have the same skills as ‘good’ knights, but with ‘evil’ disadvantages like Bully & Greed instead of ‘good’ disadvantages like Code of Honour & Sense of Duty.

Another note is most places in the New World tend to be defended against regular raiders.

Other more conventional bandits are people who work completely unrelated jobs, but also have a few combat skills and Intimidation to rob people when the opportunity arises. These guys do not have a regular stat block either.

The difference here is that these bandits are there to support themselves with robbery rather than to be massacred while attacking a clearly well-armed group of adventurers. If you're armed to the teeth and armoured to the eyeballs, they don't want to commit to a fight against you.

Very nice post Railstar and it brings up a problem I have with using bandits in my games.

You see I like to present the goings on and happenings of my game world in shades of gray, and emphasize that there are few if any truly evil people in the world. I do this becouse I think it more accurately mirrors reality and leads to more interesting stories, BUT it also makes things more problematic when it comes to the PCs killing fellow humans since I agree that they're not usually bloodthirsty psychopaths that want to slit your throat, steal your money and rape your wife, but actuarial people who feel that if they could live comfortably and happily without infringing on the well being of others would do so.