Building Brigands Beyond

 If you are looking for a unique adventure location for your next session, take a look at the Hovering Island Generator, or check out the Abandoned Temple Generator instead. 

Building Brigands Beyond:

Utilizing the Brigand to its Fullest Extent as a Campaign Adversary.

When wracking my brain the other day for a worthy adversary to throw at my party of doughty adventurers, I opened up my copy of the OSE Referee’s Tome and quickly stumbled upon the entry for the brigand. Now, like some of you, I probably flipped past this entry a bunch of times without giving it much thought. After all, in a game where your players can find themselves in combat with dragons, demons, and monsters from our wildest nightmares, the humble brigand seems a minor consideration. In the low magic worlds of the old-school renaissance, however, a host of brigands can be a formidable foe indeed! Under the entry for the brigand, their number appearing is given as 1d4 x 10, meaning that you could encounter anywhere form 10-40 armed brigands in a random encounter.

For a higher-level party, ten brigands isn’t much, but 40? That can become a challenge, especially when you consider that half of any given band of brigands is wielding short bows while the other half is charging PCs on horseback. Add that all up, and the idea of your PCs easily steamrolling the brigands starts to seem like less of a forgone conclusion. While the numbers appearing are given for aid in making random encounter tables, we see at the end of the brigand entry that they can sometimes combine into camps that range from 60-300 brigands. This is the sort of size we’re talking about now! 300 brigands isn’t just one or two small encounters, but a true campaign-level threat.

Let’s explore this “army of brigands” idea and see what we can make of them! Below, you’ll find some tables and advice to help you flesh out how a brigand warband comes to be, why they pose a menace to your campaign world, and what sort of tactics and strategies they may employ to push them from an occasional road menace into a full-blown army at your PC’s doorstep!

 

Why are they gathering?

Though usually led by a charismatic leader, be that a respected former officer of an army, a wealthy noble, or even a politically savvy warrior with a taste for the good life, masses of men don’t gather in the wilderness to risk their lives for nothing. Use the table below to flesh out your brigand army’s reasons for assembling.

1	The brigands are from a hostile nation and mean to disrupt the local region prior to a planned invasion. Though they are being paid well, they have also been guaranteed land in the area once the invaded nation has been pacified.
2	The brigands have been hired by a rival noble house who are trying to destabilize the region for the benefit of their lord. They are being paid extravagantly and plied with alcohol and companionship.
3	The brigands are zealots of an evil god and wish to spread their faith through violence and subjugation. They wish to gain the favor of their god and be granted magical and temporal power.
4	The brigands are being clandestinely employed by a local lord as cover for his own evil plan. (1. Sacrifice the town’s folk for arcane power. 2. Sacrifice the town’s folk to his dark god. 3. Kill a rival and his household. 4. Sacrifice the town for immortality). They are being paid well and suspect nothing of the lord’s true plans.
5	The brigands are under the influence of a powerful fey creature who wants to use them to clear out the region and claim it for itself. They are under the sway of the fey creature and believe they are building a better world.
6	The brigands view themselves as an oppressed underclass and want to overthrow the local lords and institute a system of communal land ownership and democratic rule. They are motivated by deep political convictions and feel like they have expended every remaining resource they have save violence.

 

Where are they gathering?

A brigand’s stronghold must be well protected and well hidden if the brigands wish to succeed. They will often pick an already fortified location or a location that can be easily fortified after the fact. To aid in maintaining their freedom, the stronghold is often located in the wilderness no more than a day or two’s ride from a well-traveled road. Use the table below to decide where the brigand’s stronghold can be located and what sort of defenses may be present.

1	A former watch fort atop a hill, surrounded by a field of boulders and brush. Fortified walls. Towers. A secret sally port. scalding sand poured down from the walls.
2	The ruins of a long-abandoned human city. Makeshift deadfall traps. Pits. Watch towers. Toppling stones down on top of PC’s heads.
3	A wilderness camp deep in the woods, protected on one side by a massive boulder. Watchmen in the trees. Pit traps. Trip lines. A roaming pack of wolves.
4	A cave complex behind a waterfall. Hidden lookouts. Alarm traps. Treebound sentries. Drowning in the pool below the waterfall.
5	The derelict chateau of a now dissolved noble house. Guard dogs in the overgrown vineyards. Sentries atop the roof. Trenches. A gated entrance. Half-walls that surround the compound.
6	A wasteland waystation built by a long-ago empire. The deleterious magical effects of the wasteland itself. Walls. Towers. Catapults. Scorpions.

 

Tactics and Strategies

Brigand bands of 40 or less are usually too small to do much other than rob travelers on the highway. They may get lucky and snag themselves a noble, and then they can hold them hostage until a ransom is paid. Otherwise, a group of 40 or less won’t stand much of a chance against an organized military force. Most try not to trouble the powerful too much lest they incur the wrath of a regional overlord and are dispersed forcibly. It is not until small bands start banding together into true bandit armies with forces upwards of 300 fighting folk that they start to become a true danger to the countryside.

A force of 200-300 armed and trained men assisted by magic both arcane and divine can bring much danger and destruction to a kingdom. There have been more than a few kingdoms over the centuries that have been created and destroyed by dynasties of bandit kings and their pretenders. The marchlands are replete with petty chiefdoms and principalities built on the strength of arms of a bold brigand leader and his loyal army. Below you’ll find a few tactics and strategies that you can apply to your bandit armies to provide a challenge and properly motivate your players to rise up and stop them. If players continue to ignore the threat posed by the brigands, try escalating the current strategy or adding another to the brigand’s repertoire.

1	War parties from the bandit camp have been breaking into local temples and absconding with the wealth and (more importantly) the religious idols of the temple gods. (Escalates to destroying the temples and/or killing the priests.)
2	Brigands are raiding outlying farmsteads, stealing all the food and valuables, and then burning the farmsteads to the ground. (Escalates to burning of much of the countryside and croplands, culminating with the salting of the fields.)
3	Brigands have been seen capturing dangerous wild animals and then letting them loose near towns and villages in the area. (Escalates to driving bears and other large predators out of the forests and wildernesses with controlled burning. Going further, large herds of wild animals (elk, ox, aurochs, etc.) are being directed toward villages and towns.)
4	Brigands have been using illusion magic to create images of giant flaming skeletons that chase travelers down the road and frighten them. (Escalates to illusions of invaders raiding from airships, illusions of natural disasters, etc.)
5	Bands of brigands have been stopping up rivers and tributaries, leading to a drought in the region. They are threatening to unleash the dams and flood the area. (Escalates to a full flood of the countryside, lots of death, homes destroyed, towns and villages wiped from the map.)
6	The brigands have joined forces with a dragon who is targeting an area on the other side of the region from the brigands to split the forces arrayed against them both. (Escalates to the dragon destroying whole towns and eventually laying claim to a small fiefdom in the now burned wasteland.)
7	The brigands have made an alliance with a force of orcs, goblins, or some other evil race of demihumans. (Escalates to a complete invasion by the demihumans, slaughter, eating of humans for meat.)
8	Brigands have been targeting magic users and spellcasters looking to steal spellbooks and magical items to use in their schemes. (Escalates to the use of powerful magic items (wands and staffs) being utilized against heroes and magical tricks of all sorts.)
9	It is rumored that brigands have been slowly infiltrating towns and villages by posing as drovers, teamsters, and peddlers. (Escalates to massacres in towns and villages, gates being left open for invasion forces, distrust, and fear.)
10	The brigand leader has seduced the smitten teenaged offspring of a local lord and is holding the youth in their camp as a “hostage”. (Escalates to the local lord being usurped by the brigand leader and the former hostage who have married in secret. The teenager will be killed once the brigands have what they want.)

 

Special Resources

The threat of an army of brigands comes primarily from their martial power. They are a large group of heavily armed men with at least rudimentary military training that makes them formidable to the average village or town. When these groups start to grow, they sometimes gain access, whether through superior leadership or luck, to a different caliber of weapons or magic. Below is a list of various resources that you can give to your large brigand armies to make sure they are a genuine threat to your party’s interests.

1	The leader in your brigand force is equipped with a shield +1 and a sword+2. His second in command is wielding a sword +1 as well.
2	The Magic User in the army has a Wand of Lightning Bolts with 4 charges left.
3	The brigand leader has a network of spies in town that report back to him the comings and goings of notable citizens, including any PCs that may reside in town.
4	The brigands have come into possession of 4d6 black powder bombs (takes 1d4 +1 rounds to explode after being lit, deals 1d10 damage.)
5	The brigand’s Cleric is equipped with a Staff of Withering and chainmail +1.
6	The brigands have trained and equipped 2d6 War Dogs with barding to fight alongside them.
7	The brigands have two Ebony Fly figurines that they will use as flying mounts in combat.
8	The brigands have gotten hold of a Decanter of Endless Waters and plan on utilizing it to disrupt the battlefield.

 

Brigand Leaders

Below you’ll find a few OSE/BX stat blocks for your brigand leaders and their Magic User and Cleric captains. Feel free to throw them into your brigand armies!

Rolf, Brigand Leader

AC 3[16], HD 2(8hp), Att 1 x battle axe (1d8) or 1 x lance (1d6),

THAC0 19[+0], MV 60’(20’),

SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (2),

ML 8, AL Chaotic, XP 20, NA 0(0), TT A

• Rolf has a greasy face with a prominent nose, a long droopy mustache, and a sneer. He always mutters to himself when he’s angry or nervous. 

 

Lemuel, Brigand Commander

AC 2[17], HD 4(16hp), Att 1 x sword (1d8) or 1 x lance (1d6),

THAC0 16[+3], MV 60’(20’),

SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (4),

ML 9, AL Chaotic, XP 75, NA 0(0), TT A

• Lemuel has bristly eyebrows and a hearty laugh. He would gladly send his men to their deaths if it meant he could avoid his.

 

Hrogar Longstrider, Brigand Second in Command

AC 2[17], HD 5(20hp), Att 1 x sword+1 (1d8+1) or 1 x lance (1d6) or 1 x short bow (1d6),

THAC0 15[+4], MV 60’(20’),

SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14 (5),

ML 10, AL Chaotic, XP 175, NA 0(0), TT A

• Hrogar has a long brown beard, piercing green eyes, and is missing two of his front teeth. He keeps his men in line through fear and violent threats.

 

Sir Ethelred the Lesser, Brigand General

AC 1[18] (shield +1 and platemail), HD 9(40hp), Att 1 x sword+2 (1d8+2) or 1 x lance (1d6) or 1 x short bow (1d6),

THAC0 12[+7], MV 30’(10’),

SV D8 W9 P10 B10 S12 (9),

ML 10, AL Chaotic, XP 900, NA 0(0), TT A

• Sir Ethelred is the fourth son of a distant lord. He has long red hair and freckles and always dresses neatly, even on campaign. Sir Ethelred feels great affection for his men and sees their survival as his responsibility.

 

Nuata of Zinge, Magic User

AC 9[10], HD 9**(36hp), Att 1 x dagger (1d4) or 1 x spell,

THAC0 12[+7], MV 120’(40’),

SV D11 W12 P11 B14 S12 (magic user 9),

ML 7, AL Chaotic, XP 1600, NA 0(0), TT A

• Spells: Nuata has prepared Shield, two uses of Magic Missile, two uses of Invisibility, Web, Dimension Door, Fireball, and Feeble Mind.
• Nuata has a Cube of Frost Resistance hidden on their person.
• Nuata has beady eyes and a continual smirk on his face. He always wears gloves to cover up his missing pinky finger on his right hand.

 

Rhadou the Zealous, Cleric of Zhulmach the Blackened

AC 2[17], HD 8**(32hp), Att 1 x mace (1d6) or 1 x spell,

THAC0 12[+7], MV 60’(20’),

SV D9 W10 P12 B14 S12 (Cleric 9),

ML 7, AL Chaotic, XP 1200, NA 0(0), TT A

• Spells: Rhadou has prepared Protection from Good, two uses of Cause Fear, Bless, two uses of Hold Person, two uses of Striking, two uses of Cause Serious Wounds, and Finger of Death.
• Rhadou wears a white-gold ring with a small peridot in it, this is a Ring of Spell Turning (6 charges).
• Rhadou has bushy eyebrows, an unkempt beard, and eyes of pure madness. He to mutters darkly to Zhulmach under his breath whenever his leader shows mercy to brigands that break the rules.