| Taejas Kudva |
Just started running Stolen Lands a few weeks ago and having a blast. So far, the guys have only (recently - last session) explored a couple hexes around Oleg's, but they've also ventured out into unexplored lands and dealt with the Kressel's small bandit camp and a few of my plot points.
Last session was the first time we dropped into a macro-time frame and let about a week go by. Between that and the characters' week and a half of adventuring, I figure that the Stag Lord will finally have heard about Kressel's death, so the characters will have a bit of reprisal coming soon. But other than that...
What does "bandit activity in the area" mean? Other than Oleg getting extorted, what sort of banditry are the characters (and the locals, and Brevoy?) having to deal with? The PCs have killed more than 6 banditos, so they've received the reward from Restov and "bandit activity has been notably reduced" but what activity was there in the first place? I don't want to populate the area with scores of bandits beyond the module, but how much trouble could the few bandits mentioned really cause? I mean, if they killed 6 guys and now the Stolen Lands are safe, that feels a little cheap.
For that matter, what the heck are bandits doing out here? I suppose that they could simply be an encampment of bandits who had fled the law in more populated areas, but the book makes it feel like there was ongoing activity other than Oleg that required the PCs' aid. Yet, they are miles and miles from anything worth banditing. Are the bandits doing hit and run forays into Brevoy? They are kind of far south for that to be pragmatic, and Sherwood has to be close enough to Nottingham for the Merry Men to cause some trouble. Besides which, they are just as low level and as limited by the hazards of the area as the PCs. Bandits could travel in strength, I suppose, to scare off monsters, but there was that original concern about inflating the amount of bandits too much.
And who are the bandits bothering, anyway? Even if a band of 15 or so bandits could terrorize an area of some 30 hexes, who are they terrorizing? Are you/did you have little pockets of folk here and there? Homesteaders and pioneers ekeing out a subsistance existence, maybe? Tiny villages squirreled away in forgotten hamlets and valleys? Ranchers driving cattle or oxen? (I know River Kingdoms fluff puts a high value or food producers) Maybe these are the bandit's victims, but how many can you put in, still have the area feel like a mostly unexplored frontier, but still be able to justify an area rife with brigands?
Long story made short, I need some advice/GM-level justification for these bandits, because it's fine to mark the map with "banditos aqui," but now that we've started playing, I'm having trouble seeing a scope that feels real. I feel like I need some events and news to have as a context, even if it's only in the background as far as PCs are concerned.
Thanks!