Bandits

  Unfortunately, with the collapse of wide-scale social structures over the last century, banditry has become a way of life for many outcasts, dispossessed soldiers, and others for whom producing or trading for necessary goods is less feasible than acquiring them by force of arms. The term 'bandit' generally applies to any itinerant individual or group of individuals who make their living through various forms of robbery, extortion, assassination, or mercenary work and who are not under the regular jurisdiction of a nation-state or permanent employ of another organization.  

Regional Variations

Great Lookout Mountains

In the Great Lookout Mountains, bandit bands tend to be comprised of human, pekori, hengeyokai, or quartz elf members. These bands are typically homogeneous in species makeup - perhaps themselves being the nomadic remnants of small mountain communities dissolved by changes in their environment or the actions of other bandit bands - but may sometimes include a member or two of another species to gain the benefit of diverse skill sets. For example, a band of pekori highwaymen specialized in archery might pick up a hengeyokai battlemage to counter enemy arcanists or a quartz elf illusionist to cover their approach and escape. Individual bandit vagabonds can be of any description, but are generally less bold and less effective overall than organized bands due to the ongoing efforts of High Hedgemont guards and members of the Explorer's Guild looking to curry favor with the Town Council.