Therefore, you’ll recognize names, but the stat blocks
won’t be the same. I know that’s going
to be an issue for some, but it’s one that’s easy to fix, so I don’t feeling a
burning need to include the “official” stats.
This also gives me the opportunity to contemplate new
spins on traditional monsters, which can be a lot of fun, if much slower. And while I truly intend this to be a
megadungeon, I’m going to continue to err on the side of quality over quantity.
The bandits have been using the edge nearest their tents as a latrine. Anyone trying to sneak up to the camp through the dry river during daylight hours will almost certainly be seen by the bandits standing guard on the ziggurat.
The bandits improvised a corral here inside the ruins of a large building.
Strong smell of horse and oats.
Repaired ruin walls.
Wooden fences to mark the edges of the corral.
An undyed canvas tarp stretched out over the corral to give the animals shade.
Inside the corral are:
2 warhorses.
Outside the corral and in front of the ziggurat, hobbled, are:
16 riding horses.
21 mules.
The animals are well taken care of (peasants know a thing or two about caring for animals) but are also worked hard.
The barrels hold oats and water. The hay pile is on the other side of the wall from the barrels.
There are always at least 2 bandits here during the day standing guard, and 3 at night with the campfire out front lit up, if the horses are here. If the horses are out on a raid, there might be only 1 guard here if some horses or mules got left behind, or no guards at all if the beasts are all out.
The tack for the horses is piled up near the wall and includes blankets, halters, and saddles for the horses, and halters, blankets, and pack saddles for the mules.
Early in the morning, just after dawn, one of the youngest of the bandits will be in here mucking out the corral. In the early afternoon, three or more bandits will be here caring for the tack.
The dung from the horses and mules is allowed to dry and then used in the bandits’ campfires.
Map made with Inkarnate and GIMP. Each square is 5’ across.
Until recently.
A priest has moved into the ziggurat and is attempting to uncover its forgotten secrets. (I’m describing him as a castrated priest of Hekate, but any Chaotic/Neutral Evil deity willing to countenance human sacrifice will do). To aid him in his work, he’s hired a few mercenaries who have themselves gathered a group of disaffected peasants they’ve armed and trained. The mercenaries, backed up by the peasants, have been hitting desert caravans. The primary goal has been collecting water and sacrificial victims, though the mercenaries have been happy to appropriate for themselves any portable loot. The rest, including the bodies of men and beasts, has been buried in the desert. They prefer to hit caravans leaving from a nearby fortified caravansary, as these will have the most water to steal and will take the longest to be missed.
While the priest has taken up residence himself inside the Ziggurat of Potent Waters, the mercenaries and their newly-minted bandits live in tents in the ruins outside the ziggurat.
There are 32 peasant bandits:
PEASANT BANDIT: AC 10; HD <1; HP 2; #ATT 1; DMG by dagger or heavy crossbow; ML 6; XP 5.
Art made with Stable Diffusion and GIMP.
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