Bandits

Outlaws of the Roads and Wilds

Bandits are opportunists gnawing away at the grand fabric of civilization, thriving anywhere trade moves and law grows thin. A rotting bridge, a narrow pass, or a busy dockside all make perfect hunting grounds for those desperate or unscrupulous enough to take to banditry.

A caravan master might hear a friendly voice from the roadside, only to find a crossbow at his chest and half a dozen more in the brush. Flush with loot, the bandit's camp rings with raucous songs, stolen wine, and outlaws toasting freedom with every swaggering verse. Their motives range from survival to greed, but their tools are constant: ambush, intimidation, and enough violence to make victims remember the lesson for the next toll. Against a well-placed ambush, even the boldest traveler learns that coin is lighter than blood.

Bandit Lore

• Bandit gangs usually operate in lawless or remote areas like forest highways, mountain passes, and city slums. Anywhere a watch patrol is late or easily bribed. They excel at exploiting terrain and local knowledge, setting up concealed camps and escape routes that the tax collectors somehow never find.
• Banditry thrives when the people are desparate. Often, otherwise honest folk turn to banditry due to oppression, famine, or war. In rare cases, bandits can even be principled exiles or freedom fighters driven by a personal code.
• Leadership among bandits tends to fall to the toughest, the craftiest, or the one with enough charisma to convince everyone else to do the dangerous work.
• Charismatic bandit leaders keep their gangs loyal through intimidation, tall tales, and the occasional feast, promising riches, freedom from tyranny, or at least a fuller belly than honest labor would provide.

Bandit Tactics

• Bandits fight dirty and exploit tricks that honorable soldiers wouldn't. Many carry sand, dirt, or filth to fling in opponents’ eyes, using abilities like Cheap Shot, Smoke Bomb, and Fling Filth to catch their opponent off guard
• Most prefer to strike from hiding and surrounding their targets at range. Abilities like Deadeye Shot, Overwatch, and Sharpshooter's Shot are a great way to punctuate a hail of crossbow bolts coming from the bushes.
• Bandits flee or surrender if a fight turns against them. Abilities like Feign Death and Grovel and Beg are perfect to showcase their finely honed sense of self-preservation
• Bandit leaders bark orders, threats, or signals to direct their crew and keep them in line, using abilities like Kick the Lickspittle, Command the Attack, or Stay In Formation

Bandit Statblocks

From ragged highway footpads to notorious outlaw kingpins, bandits come in many tiers of power. These statblocks scale from lowly CR 1/8 cutpurses up to a legendary bandit lord who commands respect through fear. Bandits make excellent early-game enemies in roadside skirmishes, and their higher-level counterparts can challenge even experienced parties with cunning tactics and coordinated assaults.

Bandit

A desperate footpad or highway robber, usually working with a small gang. The basic Bandit is weak alone but dangerous in numbers. They rely on stealth and deceit, often pretending to be harmless travelers or lying in ambush.

Bandit Veteran

A hardened brigand who has survived a few close calls. Bandit Veterans are tougher and craftier, possibly serving as a gang lieutenant. They often carry a firearm and can open fire with deadly accuracy. Bandit veterans aren't above dirty tricks, showing that with experience comes an even dirtier fighting style.

Bandit Captain

A cunning outlaw leader who commands a bandit crew through fear and charisma. The Bandit Captain coordinates raids and ambushes, often planning escape routes in advance. In battle, they fight as well as direct their allies. Ruthless and pragmatic, a bandit captain will withdraw if defeat seems likely, but if cornered they might bargain for their life with promises of hidden loot (or threats against a hostage).

Bandit Crime Lord

A legendary Bandit Crime Lord has amassed wealth, henchmen, and a fearsome reputation. They are as much a folk tale as a foe, often known by a colorful epithet (e.g. "Blackarrow" or "The Red Raven"). A crime lord combines deadly aim, tactical genius, and ruthless charm. Fighting a bandit crime lord should feel like battling a criminal mastermind - they always have another trick ready, and seldom fight alone.

Bandit Encounter Ideas

These bandit encounter ideas bring the outlaw threat to life: perfect for ambushes, tense negotiations, or chaotic roadside brawls in your 5E campaign.

• A column of greasy smoke curls into the sky ahead. The smell of roasting meat mingles with the sharper tang of burning wagon wood. Around the flames, bandits pick through a half-looted caravan, laughing and drinking from stolen casks. They greet the party with mock toasts, inviting them to "join the feast", while others wait hidden in the bushes.
• At night, the party is approached by a sly Bandit Veteran who tells the party that a cruel Bandit Captain has set up an ambush site nearby that the PCs will certainly fall victim to. He offers to share information about the ambush, in return for help overthrowing his boss.
• The party hears a voice call out to them as they are halfway across a rickety bridge over a deep gorge. A rogueish Bandit Captain flourishes a dagger and threatens to cut the bridge unless they pay the crossing toll.
• In a clearing ahead, a Bandit Crime Lord, acting as a judge, has set up a crude "court" with tree stumps for benches. A trembling merchant is on "trial" for crimes against the people. If the party is spotted, the judge calls out and asks the party to join the jury

Bandit Adventure Ideas

From back-alley syndicates to roving raiders, these bandit adventure hooks give you ready-made plots for one-shots or multi-session 5E arcs.

• A disgraced Knight hires the PCs to clear his name and hunt down and deal with his former subordinates, who all deserted and turned to banditry. These Bandit Veterans call themselves the Scarlet Soldiers, and have taken to pillaging the countryside.
• A former companion of one of the PCs writes a letter begging for help - the small village that this friend lives in has fallen under the sway of a terrible Bandit Captain, who demands frequent "protection" payments.
• The PCs are hired by a local magistrate to hunt down a famed Bandit Crime Lord who has thrice stolen the magistrate's tax harvest. It turns out the bandits are stealing from the magistrate, who is woefully corrupt, and distributing the loot back to the local populace.
• A spate of daring burglaries has left the city guard baffled. Valuables vanish from locked rooms with no sign of forced entry. The culprit is a network of agile Bandit Veterans who travel via the city's rooftops and sewer grates, striking in the dead of night.