Where does Bandit live?

Bandit doesn't tie to a specific biome — the DM places it where the campaign needs.

Bandit

· · CR Unknown

Ranges across any; Bandit lists at CR 1/8 as a medium humanoid (neutral). AC 12, 2 hit dice, 30-ft speed. Speaks common and thieves' cant. Sourced from Monster Manual (5.5e 2024) and Monster Manual (5e 2014).

Stat Block

Challenge Rating: Unknown
Type: —
Size: —
Alignment: —
Speed: —
Habitats: Any
Sources: Monster Manual (5.5e 2024), Monster Manual (5e 2014)

Ecology

Bandits are not a profession so much as a circumstance. Most were peasants, conscripted soldiers, or laborers driven off their land by war, taxation, or famine, who took to the woods or roads when no other living was available. Bands cluster around natural ambush sites — a river ford, a mountain pass, a ruined keep — and prey on travelers. A typical band runs eight to twenty members under a captain, holds a defensible camp, and rotates raiding parties out for two- or three-day cycles. Women, children, and the old often live in the camp itself.

Behaviour

Bandits are pragmatic, not sadistic. Most prefer threats and surrender to actual violence, because casualties on either side bring the local lord's attention. They will kill if resisted, but they greatly prefer a wagon driver who hands over the goods and walks home alive. They drink heavily off-duty, gamble constantly, and maintain a strong internal code about sharing loot — captains who skim too much are quietly replaced.

Origin

Banditry follows the failure of the state. Whenever a kingdom collapses, a war ends without resettlement, or a famine displaces a generation, bandit numbers swell. Some bands persist for decades and develop local relationships with villages — a kind of shadow taxation where the village pays a fixed tribute and the bandits keep more aggressive rivals away. Distinguishing 'bandit' from 'unsanctioned militia' is often a matter of which lord won the last war.

Any