So I'm sitting here drinking a beer and looking at my unpainted Games Workshop dwarves. I believe they are laughing at me b/c they drink better beer than I do. Actually, it is more appropriate to say that they are laughing at me because they drink better beer than I did (I just finished my beer and don't have anymore). Ho hum....
Seriously, what makes the bandit tick? It sounds silly, but what is the motivation behind Bob the bandit? We all use them, those nameless, swarthy individuals dressed in black with dark hair and oily features. Whether they are a simple adventure hook, a side adventure, a simple means of relieving the party of treasures or their lives, we use them.
The problem exists for me in that, why the heck is Bob being a bandit in the first place? Okay, he doesn't want to be a farmer, he's a runaway slave, a deserter, a down-on-his-luck freelancer or maybe he's just a bloodthirsty sociopath. Whatever the reason, why is he putting his life on the line to rob our beloved party? Does he have a home? Does he have a family? Does he have dreams? If given the chance, would he learn a skill or craft? Why is he hanging out with men who would soon as murder you than give you the time of day?
Certainly Bob has made a little money robbing people. Sure, he's spent it on bad booze and even worse women, gambling and a life filled with debauchery. Hasn't Bob woken up one day, running his stained hands through his greasy hair and dirty beard and said to himself, "I'm 30 yrs old and going nowhere. Maybe if I could make one good score, I could retire, find me a woman and make family. Yeah, a family like I never had."
Take this post with a grain of salt But, what are the motivations of your bad guys and henchmen? I will soon have my party run into a group of bandits and what should I do if the group takes prisoners or a bandit pleads for mercy? Who is this Bob and what makes him tick? Let's have some insight into one of the World of Greyhawk's most used and overlooked villans (hero?).
Bob the bandit in this setting is probably one or more of three varieties that I can guess off the top of my head.
1) Bandit by peer pressure: Such a rogue profession is so common in the Bandit Kingdoms who would even blame Bob? Ideologically being a LG Cleric would cause more a stir!
2) Bandit by need: In places like Keoland or even Iuz places with regular patrols of soldiers and knights Bob is likely from the unemployed or poor minority and has to bandit to make ends meet because society has no better option for him.
3) Bandit by design: Some nobles in feudalistic nations would like to hire Bob to disrupt their rivals to get an edge. Some may have even got their title by such means (i.e. robber barons).
For contemporary examples of banditry, look at the Warlords of Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and even the rebels of Columbia.
I imagine a lot of bandits are people from the wrong side of the tracks, who have criminal records and/or powerful enemies in other states. They thus turn to banditry because they really aren't very skilled at anything else, or robbing, raping and killing people has always been their way to make a living. Adventurers who are down on their luck might also turn to banditry if they have no other way to survive. These thugs and vagabonds are the ones most likely to be bandits, and they also live in the poorer sections of town whenever they stop off in an urban setting.
Wealthy young noblemen might turn to banditry to slum with the "filthy lower classes", and also get off on some excitement at the same time. Men might be driven into it out of a desire to avoid anything resembling honest work, and subsequently enjoy the thrills of staying one step ahead of the law. Drug addicts and alcoholics might need money for their fix, while street gangs who find things are getting too hot in town could head into the wilds until the heat dies down. Criminals and other scum may not be able or willing to find any other type of work.
Chances are, most of these men wouldn't want to settle down and raise a family if they had the chance. Either they love the chance to cause mayhem, lack a decent work ethic, or maybe can't conceive of any sort of life beyond the hazards of the open road. Besides, most highwaymen probably have lots of enemies, and any of these could slit Bob the bandit's throat if he settled down, to say nothing of what they might do to his family. Not that most bandits would make good parents anyway-the only children they'd have would be by-blows of their raids or their assaults on their slaves and hostages, and wouldn't care one bit about the death of any child. Simply put, a lot of bandits risk their lives because they lack the skills or imagination to aspire to anything better, enjoy bullying and terrorizing others, or have too bad a reputation and past to do anything else, the only company they can keep being other scum like them.
Of course, there are exceptions. Robin Hood-types probably just enjoy the freedom and the chance to tweak John Law's nose before skipping off with the local baron's tax revenue, or the jewels his wife had just bought. Others are dissidents against whichever state they dislike, and so turn their talents to undermining its interests and working against its agents. The 83 boxed set had encounter tables for "good" bandits in places like the Lone Heath, the Grandwood, and the Hestmark Highlands. Other bandits might work in the Gamboge Forest against Nyrond and the Pale, in the Udgru Forest against Ekbir and Tusmit, etc. These guys are less likely to harm innocents and independent travelers passing through their area, although some might be extra vicious against anyone from the state or power they oppose, regardless of who those people are. Someone who lost family members to the Pale might be willing to return the favor to any citizen of the Pale unlucky enough to run into him.
In real life, IIRC, some pirates actually had written charters and codes of honor that covered such things as the dividing of plunder, the treatment of hostages, and punishment for such crimes as cheating and rape. Exceptional bandit troupes might be the same-they might castrate anyone who soils the band's reputation by harming a lady, flog anyone who beats on a defenseless old man, etc. They are robbers, not thugs, and may simply rob the wealthy as opposed to just anyone. In some cases, they might even use web or sleep spells and nets or mancatchers to restrain and disable guards, rather than kill them-the guards have families too, after all! _________________ <div align="left">Going to war without Keoland is like going to war without a pipe organ. They both make a lot of noise and they're both a lot of dead weight, so what's the point in taking them along? </div>
I will soon have my party run into a group of bandits and what should I do if the group takes prisoners or a bandit pleads for mercy?
It sounds unprepared on my part, but I usually don't get into detailing bandits before-hand. I just go on the fly when such situations as the above example arise and ad lib. All that soap opera watching tends to help. My PC's once captured a random bandit whose roleplay just kept going and eventually she became a loyal NPC addition to the party. _________________ Never get into fights with ugly people, they have nothing to lose.
Well all the motivations are valid generally it's a lack of work ethic and a healthy dose of avarice in my opinion.
How about the bandit who impulsively started down a road he can't get off anymore?
Take Bob perhaps he started as a dumb kid who had friends (petty crime) through experience developed skills, a rep and got some coin to finally lead the gang in his 30s.
Can he quit?
CSL amply showed society will hardly welcome him and how does his skills help him in a lawful society...condemed to menial labor the reason he chose the path of the bandit in the first place.
If law abiding society won't embrace him the criminal society will be loath to release him and probably kill him to protect itself.
The "bandit gang" is not going to let bob walk away with a retirement dinner because he is obviously a successful leader and knows too much such as corrupt contacts, names, hide outs the first things the law will want bob to give up to show he has turned over a new leaf.
Plus the ever present temptation to backslide as now honest bob is shovelling the stables for an small but honest wage and being mocked for his labor as 30ish "stable boy bob" hardly inspires the fear and respect of "bandit bob" knows by robbing a wealthy traveller or ransacking a hayseeds business he can can get a months wages in minutes.
Loss of status and mortal danger from within the criminal world for going soft and scorn by the lawful world plus the constant lure of easy wealth, it is easy to see why "going straight" is hard to do for the criminal personality even in the fantasy world.
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But, what are the motivations of your bad guys and henchmen? I will soon have my party run into a group of bandits and what should I do if the group takes prisoners or a bandit pleads for mercy? Who is this Bob and what makes him tick? Let's have some insight into one of the World of Greyhawk's most used and overlooked villans (hero?).
My PC's once captured a random bandit whose roleplay just kept going and eventually she became a loyal NPC addition to the party.