Bandits

For the specific unit, see Bandit (Unit).

Bandits are neutral criminals that roam Calradia. Bandits engage everyone, including the player, small kingdom parties, caravans, village farmers, and any other parties smaller than their own. They usually demand money from the player character and will attack if not paid. If the player has slain multiple groups of bandits and is accosted by them, they will reject payment and simply attack the player.

The many bandit types in Calradia can usually be found in or around their home areas. For instance, Steppe Bandits roam the steppes and Desert Bandits roam in the desert.

Manhunters are law enforcers who patrol the northern parts of Calradia, hunting for bandits and taking them prisoner. They only use blunt weapons to knock enemies unconscious. In With Fire & Sword, Manhunters are replaced with Marksmen of the Secret Department. In Viking Conquest are replaced by five different units (an entire troop tree, starting from Young Warriors and ending with Slaver Chiefs)

Types of bandits

Pre-release

These bandits were removed from the game before release and only exist in beta versions.

• Dark Knights - These soldiers belonged to the outlaw faction and were removed from Mount&Blade in version 0.95x. They were incredibly powerful and dangerous, possessing powerful weapons and the most powerful armor in the game. They were nearly impossible to beat, crushing both player and main faction parties.

• Black Khergit Raiders - These bandits were removed with the advent of the Khergit Khanate and generally had the same equipment as higher tier Khergit cavalry. They operated in the same way as Steppe Bandits; however, their equipment and stats were drastically better than most other bandits. They were the steppe equivalent of Sea Raiders in terms of strength and equipment but were dangerous because every bandit was mounted.

Mount&Blade

The following types of bandits were introduced in the original Mount&Blade.

• Looters, also called "River Pirates" in earlier versions, are the standard type of lawless scum. They are weak and exist all over Calradia. While mildly difficult to defeat at first, they become nearly powerless later in the game. All Looters are footmen, and their standard equipment is nothing more than knives and throwing rocks.

• Steppe Bandits primarily live in the Khergit steppes and always ride Steppe Horses. They are difficult to defeat at the beginning of the game, due to their maneuverability and speed. They are equipped with typical Khergit weapons like lances, small one-handed swords, and throwing weapons.

• Forest Bandits live close to forests and are often encountered in Rhodok or Swadian lands (in Warband, only in Swadia lands). These bandits always carry a Hunting Bow or Short Bow, along with two-handed axes, hatchets, or quarter staffs.

• Mountain Bandits live in the mountains, especially in Vaegir territory (in Warband, only in Rhodok lands). Their primary strength lies in their numbers, with an average group of Mountain Bandits consisting of approximately 17 men, although they can gather into packs as high as 60. They can be both footmen and cavalry in Mount&Blade, but they lose their mounts in Warband.

• Sea Raiders live on the shores of Calradia, mostly in the lands of the Kingdom of Nords or around Rivacheg in the Kingdom of Vaegirs. They are very strong, possessing very good armor, long bows, battle axes, and high stamina. Defeating these bandits can be a good, mid-game source of money and armor.

• Deserters consist of trained faction troops. They are soldiers who have abandoned their leaders and have taken to lives of crime. Deserters can be the most difficult bandits to defeat, depending on what tier of troops you encounter. More often, they are in the lower tiers of a faction's upgrade tree.

Upgrade Tree

Looter		Steppe Bandit	Sea Raider
Forest Bandit	Mountain Bandit	Khergit Tribesman	Nord Recruit
Swadian Recruit	Rhodok Tribesman

Warband

Mount&Blade: Warband added several new bandits not seen in the first game.

• Desert Bandits primarily wander the Sarranid desert. While somewhat weaker than Steppe Bandits, they are mounted and still pose a threat to new players.

• Taiga Bandits are encountered on the snowy eastern side of the Vaegir kingdom, replacing the Mountain Bandits from the previous game.

• There are also units simply called "Bandits". The only time you can encounter these is during certain quests. They can be upgraded into Brigands if you manage to recruit some.

Upgrade Tree

Desert Bandit	Taiga Bandit	Bandit (Unit)
Sarranid Recruit	Vaegir Recruit	Brigand

With Fire & Sword

With Fire & Sword shares some of the same bandits as Warband, but the game's new setting also introduces new bandits.

• Tatar Raiders are weak mounted units with low armor. They wield a saber and cavalry lance, so when facing them try to avoid being a couched lance target. They are mainly found around the Crimean Khanate.

• Rebels are a type of unit similar to the bandit. They possess nearly identical gear but different armor. They are relatively weak, but their possession of a Handmade Firearm can make them somewhat dangerous.

Viking Conquest

Bandit parties in Viking Conquest can be separated in two main categories: ones that you find on land, and ones that you find on sea.

• Land bandits, unlike other M&B installments, will occasionally raid a specific village (will not attack towns even if lightly defended).
• Land bandits (and possibly sea ones as well), will occasionally join the player's army for a price (if the proper dialogue option is used when meeting them, and if renown is big enough).
• If having more than 60 prisoners and a Bandit Leader, you can instruct the Bandit Leader to raid a specific village (after the mission is completed, the bandit party will turn into Masterless Men).
• You can see the generic bandit tree if you go to Camp -> Troop Tree -> Ruffian though in does not include all possible bandit troops and bandit parties could potentially include almost any type of troop (either by default or though winning battles with parties which have prisoners who in turn will join the bandit party).

Types of bandit troops:

• Ruffian is the basic and weakest bandit unit, can be upgraded to Bandit or Footpad. They have low armor, no shield, a polearm and a sling, basically a weak archer unit.
• The Bandit unit is only slightly better than the Ruffian, but not much more. Can't upgrade further.
• Footpads are the weakest true infantry bandit unit, they have a shield. The Footpad can be upgraded to Robber or Brigand.
• The Robber is a pure melee unit (One Handed+Polearm), gets also a Helm and medium armor. Robber can be upgraded to Highwayman.
• The Brigand also gets a Helm but no better armor then the Footpad, however it maintains the missile option (sling/javelin). Can be upgraded to Reaver
• Highwaymen are last tier units, which get better armor (possibly mail) and otherwise better stats then the Robber.
• Reavers are last tier units, though still with medium armor, they have the best stats from the shown bandit tree.
• Vikingarnir are the weakest viking troops, still quite strong (comparable to higher level troops of the factions). They have shields and medium armors.
• Danish Elite Vikingarnir are elite viking troops, one of the strongest melee unit in the game, slightly stronger in one handed. They will spawn in sea raiding parties or from longphorts.
• Northmathr Vikingarnir are elite viking troops, on par with Danish and Svear, slightly stronger in polearms and athletics then the rest. They will spawn in sea raiding parties or from longphorts.
• Svear Elite Vikingarnir are elite viking troops, on par with Danish and Northmathr, slightly weaker in melee but compensating on Health. They will spawn in sea raiding parties or from longphorts.
• Bandit Leaders are the strongest non-viking bandit unit, often found in raiding parties on land in small numbers (generally 1 per party). They have a dialogue option (when prisoners) that will allow you to create a bandit unit with a specific one-time mission, if enough prisoners are present.