The Bandit Thread

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Bandits are a very broad group, as the OP implies. At the low end, we have "common" people who have turned to banditry for any of a number of reasons, though the usual motivation is desperation of some sort.

Actually, the low end is probably the incidental bandits: common people who don't see anything wrong if an occasional stranger disappears while passing near their territory and his possessions wind up in their cellars (incidentally, wiping out this sort of bandit will rarely make you more popular with the locals, though people passing through will appreciate the service).

[ULFGARD]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, the low end is probably the incidental bandits: common people who don't see anything wrong if an occasional stranger disappears while passing near their territory and his possessions wind up in their cellars (incidentally, wiping out this sort of bandit will rarely make you more popular with the locals, though people passing through will appreciate the service).

Not sure I'd call them bandits, but either way, that's fine by me. I'd agree.

Welcome to Hardinthorpe! Thank you for coming by. My, that's a nice horse you've got there, and some nice shoes...

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Not sure I'd call them bandits, but either way, that's fine by me. I'd agree.

Welcome to Hardinthorpe! Thank you for coming by. My, that's a nice horse you've got there, and some nice shoes...

CLARK W. GRISWALD: So, how much do I owe you?
MECHANIC: How much you got?
CLARK W. GRISWALD: No, really, how much do I owe you?
MECHANIC: [slapping palm with tire iron] How much you got?
CLARK W. GRISWALD: What does your local Sheriff think of your business practices?
MECHANIC: [displays badge and $#!%-eating grin]
CLARK W. GRISWALD: I see...

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Sindri

This is a thread about bandits.

Bandits, highwaymen and brigands. Who doesn't love them? They are classic foes or running gags depending on power level for PCs and generally no one objects to people taking out the local bandits.

Except when the local bandits are the locals. It wasn't unknown for poor fishing villages, say, to hide a longship in the brush and sink the occasional ship full of strangers passing nearby. Then there are robber baron situations where the local authorities take what they please from passers-by. I've used the later one or two times in a game ...

[Flyndaran]

The eventual "possible" punishment does not mean as much as we would like it to. The chance of getting caught matters far more according to recent studies, I believe.
No one commits crime thinking they'll get caught after all.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

The eventual "possible" punishment does not mean as much as we would like it to. The chance of getting caught matters far more according to recent studies, I believe.

Both punishment and perceived (not actual, except as that plays a role in perception) risk play a role, but both seem to be highly nonlinear in the way people assess risk.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Both punishment and perceived (not actual, except as that plays a role in perception) risk play a role, but both seem to be highly nonlinear in the way people assess risk.

Humans suck at instinctive risk assessment. It's why I wish that basic statistics was mandatory for high school. It's the one kind of math that is useful in everyday life.

Otherwise you get the jaded self destructive, "Well, everything's dangerous. I might as well keep doing what I want without thinking about consequences." or the painful to even right, "YOLO" crud.

[Blood Legend]

YOLOSTTMIASAP


You only live once, so try to make it as short as possible.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

The eventual "possible" punishment does not mean as much as we would like it to. The chance of getting caught matters far more according to recent studies, I believe.
No one commits crime thinking they'll get caught after all.

Those two things don't exist in a vacuum, though. Going back to the death penalty for bandits example, assuming a pre-forensics society that doesn't have similar capabilities provided by magic or whatever in which witnesses are vital to prosecuting anyone who wasn't caught red-handed, a lot of bandits are going to figure that they might as well kill everybody they rob because the punishment for doing that is no worse than the punishment for the robbery itself, and it eliminates the witnesses for a dramatic reduction in the chance of being caught at all.

[Sindri]

Great responses so far. Does anyone know about the frequency of running into highwaymen? I know that some times and places had a lot more than others but is there any information on how common being held up by a highwayman was in specific places and times?

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

Responsible bandits only attack targets half their number or size, or when the enemy isn't at full force (half of them are sleeping). They usually have cheap or improvised gear, with the best stuff going to the most senior members (or other established pecking orders). Their best skill is stealth.

If they have some wealth at their back, expect very fine versions of very cheap weapons.

Very fine very cheap weapons seems like they would be difficult to acquire for even comparatively successful bandits. I suppose it depends on the prevalence of very fine weapons but I'd expect them to just use less cheap weapons.

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Depends on the legal realities of the setting. Times and places IRL that have established a death penalty for banditry have quickly discovered that it's a good way to get a very significant fraction of all bandit victims killed, but not-always-so-quickly backtracked from the position.

Yes some problems with incentives can emerge once someone reaches the nothing left to lose if caught stage and there are still things you would prefer they didn't do.

Originally Posted by Dustin

Some Anglo-Saxon legal codes set forth that if a person or group was off the road, they were required to sound a horn, or cry out periodically to indicate they were hunters and not sneaking bandits. Failure to do so could be taken by travelers as sufficient proof to defend themselves.

Interesting. Since it's not something they would be wanting to do while actually hunting how far did the law extend from the road?

Originally Posted by Dustin

I expect that successful long-term bandits in somewhat settled areas are very sensitive to the balances of cost and risk involved in traversing their hunting grounds. They may try to avoid killing in favor of a 'toll road' approach that's more sustainable. It's probably not brought to an end without either infighting among the bandits, the absorption of the bandits into the local power structure, or a military authority with a larger picture, who realizes that the bandits' toll is a drain on trade profitability and affects his taxation resources. The Uxians are an interesting case, they were arguably more of a semi-sovereign state within the Persian Empire, but might serve as a model for high end banditry.

That is an interesting situation. Yeah it would seem likely that the main way to get rid of an infestation of bandits is to march some of the military over and clear them out. In some cases like the Uxians they are imposing logistical costs in addition to affecting taxation resources.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, the low end is probably the incidental bandits: common people who don't see anything wrong if an occasional stranger disappears while passing near their territory and his possessions wind up in their cellars (incidentally, wiping out this sort of bandit will rarely make you more popular with the locals, though people passing through will appreciate the service).

Yeah I didn't think of this before but that's a good point. Might make an interesting situation if PCs are challenged by locals who don't realize exactly how outmatched they are and have to decide how to handle things without getting robbed or becoming too unpopular with the locals.