- Main article: Enemies (Dungeon Siege)
Bandits are a type of enemy in Dungeon Siege. They are among the very few evil-aligned Humans in the game. Bandits are encountered in the Dark Forest of Ehb and in an analogous setting on the Utraean Peninsula, the Cloud Forest. This article describes the basic melee fighter bandit. The Bandit classes are:
- Bandit
- Bandit Archer
- Rogue Bandit (miniboss)
- Bandit Boss (miniboss)
History[]
When times are desperate, or in the cases of those not cut-out for honest work, humans may resort to banditry. They will form organized gangs in places that promise human traffic while offering concealment from the long arm of the Legion— ideally, in forests. So it was, when adventurers encountered these bands of merry men in the forests of Ehb and the Peninsula.
Melee fighter bandits constituted the grunts and primary strength of the organization. But canny adventurers backed-up by magic and superior tactics proved more than the bandits could handle; their leaders were slain, the followers scattered, and the forests were rendered safe for a time.
Physical Description[]
The melee fighter-bandit wore a mishmash of chain and leather garb. They favored shortswords, which common sense dictates would be better-suited for a tight space in the trees than a large weapon. The fighters also bore evil-looking face masks and a small chestplate embossed with a skull. These trappings marked them as part of a group effort and made them highly intimidating.
Fighters could be found lurking around chokepoints in the roads or guarding stacks of stolen crates in caves and campsites. They never stopped to issue threats or negotiate; they just charged in and tried to hack their victims to pieces, while their comrade Archers backed them up.
Combat[]
Bandits are a significant relative step up in difficulty from foes previously encountered. Bandits are the only evil-aligned actors in the official release of DS and DSX that share the base_farmboy template (the human model) of NPCs and playable characters. This is troublesome because the melee Bandit therefore has same physics of a melee fighter Hero, with fast overland speed and a relentless attack-swing pattern.
Expect to be in close combat practically as soon as the mook detects the character(s), and to sustain an unbroken, withering assault from their swords. Tactics for engaging groups of bandit fighters and archers will vary depending on party composition. For a lone mage character in the multiplayer setting, the tactic is simply not to do it. Use a very long-ranged spell, like Explosive Powder, to pull them into range one or two-at-a-time.
Thanks to the wonders of artificial intelligence, it is possible to retreat from bandits when in need of a breather. Even though they move exactly as fast as a player, they will disengage.
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