This character class has been culled from a back issue of Dragon(tm) Magazine and details a character classes for use in a 1st Edition AD&D game.

BANDITS!

The Bandit is a non-player-character class containing aspects of both the fighter and thief classes. Bandits practice their profession of thievery by force rather than by stealth, as do normal thieves. Bandits operate in the open countryside, making them similar in some ways to rangers. Bandits can (and successful ones do) develop wilderness survival skills and certain thief-like abilities to enable them to further their ends. Bandits are typically involved in highway robbery, raids on small villages or isolated habitations, kidnapping for ransom, and similar sorts of activities.

Humans, half-orcs, and half-elves may become bandits. Humans, naturally, are unlimited in level advancement. Half-orcs may advance to 8th level (Brigand). Half-elves may achieve 10th level (Bandit) if they have a strength of 18 or higher, 9th level (Robber) with a strength of 17, and 8th level with a strength of 16 or less. A bandit must have minimum ability scores in four areas: strength 12, intelligence 10, dexterity 12, and constitution 12. Bandits with scores of 16 or higher in strength, intelligence, and dexterity gain a 100/o bonus to all experience points earned.

Bandits may be of any neutral or evil alignment. On rare occasions and in special circumstances, neutral good bandits may be found (in the tradition of Robin Hood), either as individuals or in small groups. Alignment is a major factor in determining how a particular bandit or group of bandits operates. Those of neutral alignment (with respect to good and evil) are most likely to allow their robbery or kidnap victims to live, preferring to collect their possessions (or a ransom) and then release them, avoiding a possible death penalty for murder and at the same time leaving open the possibility of victimizing the same people all over again. Evil bandits have no such reservations about killing. Generally, they will take fewer captives than neutral bandits, unless they are sure that a victim is worth enough (in ransom) to make the trouble and risk of kidnapping worthwhile. In such cases, they will usually wait until after the ransom has been paid before killing their victim.

When neutral good bandits are found, this is frequently in the territories of evil kings or dictators, where the bandits attack evil persons and donate the "earnings" to the poor and needy of the area, or to charity (but never to a player character). Lawful bandits tend to operate in large groups, chaotic ones in small bands or singly. No matter what the size of a group of bandits, the rule is "Leadership by the strongest."

Bandits roll different hit dice than fighters or thieves, reflecting the fact that, while not as good in close combat as regular fighters, they are better than thieves in such respects. They use an eight-sided die plus one point per level up to 9th level and add 2 hit points per level after the 9th. The hit-point average for a bandit is very close to that of a fighter of equal level, but a bandit's maximum number of hit points is lower than a fighter's.

Special abilities

1. Bandits can climb walls as a thief of equal level. Bonuses for high dexterity apply.
2. They can hide in natural terrain using camouflage techniques and concealment as well as a thief of the same level can hide in shadows. Bonuses for high dexterity and race also apply here. (For instance, a half-elf bandit with dexterity of 17 has a 20% chance of hiding in natural terrain at 1st level.) This ability is not usable indoors or in subterranean environments.
3. Pits, snares and other traps set outdoors may be detected and removed by bandits with the same chance for success as a thief of equal level has to find and remove traps. Again, racial and dexterity bonuses apply to this ability. A bandit may only attempt to find and remove any given trap once. This ability cannot be used indoors or underground, and does not apply to traps on chests, doors, etc.
4. Bandits are adept at covering their tracks when passing through the countryside. In some ways, this ability is similar to the druidic spell Pass Without Trace; however, the source of the bandits' ability is not magical. A first-level bandit has a 50% chance for success in covering tracks, and that base chance is increased 3% per level thereafter.

   When this ability is used successfully, the bandit can pass through any sort of terrain (grass, snow, ash, dust, sand) without leaving any footprints or other visible evidence of the passage. To make the ability work, the bandit must first reduce his movement rate to one-half of his current normal rate. (He is presumed to be taking the time to conceal or obscure his tracks as he goes.) Then a successful dice roll.(equal to or less than the required percentage) enables the bandit to keep covering his tracks in this manner for a maximum duration of 1 turn per level of experience per day. As many attempts as desired can be made each day, as long as the total elapsed time of all the successful attempts does not exceed the daily maximum. To discontinue the covering of his tracks, all a bandit needs to do is resume his full normal movement rate.

   Each individual bandit can only employ this ability on his own behalf; in other words, one cannot cover the tracks of many, and one bandit may be betrayed by another one's failure to cover his own tracks if the two are traveling close together. Although most or all of the visible evidence of his passage can be covered, the bandit will leave a scent that can be followed by such creatures as bloodhounds or minotaurs. Rangers, bounty hunters, or other bandits tracking a bandit who has successfully covered his trail must take a -50% penalty when rolling to see if they can accurately follow a covered trail.

   A character or creature with no particular skill at tracking or with no acute olfactory sense has a 10% chance of correctly following a covered trail (thanks to blind luck) in the first round, and if that attempt succeeds, the same 10% chance must be rolled in each and every round during which the tracker is attempting to follow the trail; otherwise, the trail is lost and can only be relocated by remaining in the same spot (searching) for one round and then rolling the 10% chance all over again.

5. Bandits surprise others on a roll of 1-4 on a six-sided die, and are themselves surprised only on a roll of 1.
6. Bandits can track persons orcreatures in the outdoors as a ranger can, but they have a base 75% chance to succeed. This percentage increases by 2% per creature in the group being followed, decreases by 10% for every 24-hour period since the trail was made, and decreases by 25% for each hour that precipitation (rain, snow, etc.) has fallen on the trail. Bandits cannot track characters or creatures indoors.
7. When a bandit is evading pursuit in an outdoor environment (see the AD&DTM Dungeon Masters Guide, page 69), 10% is added to the bandit's chance of escape. This does not apply to any and all non-bandits in the evading party, so it is possible for the Dungeon Master to determine that, while the party the bandit is with cannot avoid the posse, the bandit (who is assumed to have dodged into the underbrush at the last moment) has escaped. This ability applies only when the bandit is not already covering his trail.

Combat and other characteristics

Bandits will use all sorts of missile weapons (bows, slings, darts, crossbows), but will only use hand-held weapons under 5 feet in length that will not encumber them or be awkward to use in combat. This excludes all polearms as well as such weapons as two-handed swords and great axes. Permissible hand-to-hand weapons include: the hand and battle axes, club, dagger, hammer, mace, morning star, military pick, scimitar, and long, short, and broad swords. Bandits will use magical forms of the weapons permitted to them. They can employ oil as a weapon, but their use of poison is up to the Dungeon Master and the character's alignment.

Because bandits must be able to move quickly, they will avoid wearing any armor heavier than chain mail. Acceptable armor types are: padded, leather, studded leather, ring, and chain mail. Magical armors of these sorts may be used as well, but bandits will not wear other types. The minimum movement rate a bandit will accept is 9", and his armor should weigh 30 pounds or less. Bandits will not wear great helms or use large shields, preferring skullcaps or no helm with small shields. Some have been known to use medium-sized shields. Any magic item not prohibited to fighters may be used by bandits, within the restrictions on armor and weapons noted above. However, much as a ranger limits his personal belongings to those his steed can carry, so will a bandit limit his goods to those he and his horse can carry with them. Excess treasure and/or goods must be gotten rid of as soon as possible so as not to slow him down. Bandits will never load their mounts over the unencumbered load limit (3,000 gp weight for a light warhorse, the favorite mount of bandits).

A bandit will not build a castle, but may establish a stronghold in an isolated area. In such a case, the bandit may retain sufficient treasure to finance construction and upkeep. He/she will still restrict the number of personal items retained. A bandit may gain hirelings and/or henchmen at any level. These will never be of good alignment, except for an occasional neutral good found in the camp of a non-evil leader. Bandits who establish a stronghold will not automatically attract a body of men-at-arms as do normal fighters, but they are free to hire men-at-arms on their own as desired. Bandits do not receive a revenue from the inhabitants surrounding their stronghold, either, though this does not preclude the possibility of raiding or extorting the locals. Henchmen and hirelings of a bandit who are also bandits add +5% to all morale checks. Bandits tend to worship deities who are involved with the outdoors, thieves, luck, or the weather. top of page

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