Date: 22/09/2009
Post-Apocolyptia
Hey there, once again fellow Wastelanders…
Anyone who’s be living on this planet Earth for a good few years will know that there are people out there who like to mooch off others and live off their backs- whether that be in a “ahh… someone else e’ll do it” or a “I’ll be taking that!” way. Problem is, there’s a lot of these moochers of our hard work and efforts and then the rewards we reap off putting the blood, sweat and tears into making them. Even more so, a fair few of them use violent methods to get what they want, even though they don’t deserve them. So, just put that into the perspective of the Wasteland and the fact that there’ll be no laws holding them back from doing what they want and becomes… discouraging.
In the Wasteland, everyone is out for themselves. Some may be out for the good of the group they are with or for much bigger factions in the Wasteland. Some may be just your average wanderer or lone wolf. But, it is quite likely that some may be out for taking the hard-earned efforts of others and living off the almost broken backs of others. And those people are the Bandits…
Bandits don't look strictly like this, but they're just as dangerous if not more so. Image taken from http://evertb.files.wordpress.com/
Now, we can all imagine the archetypal highwayman on his horse, robbing stagecoaches and shooting those who dare oppose him. The highwayman gets rich, while the wealthy folk get a little less rich in their wallet than in the bank. Thing is, out in the Wasteland, it doesn’t go that way- usually ever. The highwayman will normally be a stinking, filth-ridden, shifty guy, armed with a weapon of some kind – knife, bat, tool, even a gun, ready to kill you as soon as you pose a threat- which could be anything, including almost all, if not all, reflexes or twitches. You’ll be a dirty, ravaged and grizzled wanderer on the prairie, but you may find yourself robbed, beaten, even murdered because of a thug or two wanting to get something for nothing…
Bandits will be the universal enemy to absolutely everyone in the Wasteland who isn’t one themselves or is not in a deal with some of the larger Bandit groups. They are the ones who will be the main criminal element in the Wastes and will normally be pretty much confined to being solo or in small groups of 2-4. A frequent encounter to travellers and caravans, makes them a threat that’s not to be messed with lightly. Many are determined to get those goods and/or supplies off of you and they will do it! They will be armed and ready to ambush you and take your goods and possibly kill you if necessary.
A classic version of an experienced Bandit. Masked, with a heavy leather jacket on and a sawn-off shotgun. Dangerous, eh? Image taken from http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/
Due to them being a bit of a threat to the young and/or inexperienced Wastelander, many of those who don’t understand how things work out in the Wastes away from those may find that when they are faced with the proposition of having themselves beaten up by a bunch of the scum, that they join them without question. Without thinking ahead, they will have recruited a poor sap into helping them out and being the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong during a robbery or ambush. We get that kind of thing now with older guys hanging outside schools, waiting to recruit young and naive kids into committing all sorts of crimes. In the Wasteland, however, there are no people to stop this- which results in a high amount of Bandit Jr.s hanging around.
There’s even the off-chance that a Bandit group will grow and possibly even cultivate into a bas*ard, criminal fraternity/society of some sort and will become a real threat to everyone, not just the small camps and individuals dotted about the place, but the larger organisations and societies and clans that exist as well. It will normally take a few dozen to several dozen years, but eventually there will be a Bandit clan of some sort that will be loosely organised and coordinated for large scale criminal activity. Normally though, these guys won’t last that long and will be extremely lucky to last to a stage where they are a real force ot contend with.
This might end up to be you if you're not careful in dangerous, known Bandit areas... Image taken from http://www.globalresearch.ca/
Just a quick note on what to expect with regards to what they’ll be armed with. Pretty much, like any other wanderer in the Wastes, Bandits will be armed with whatever comes to hand, which may end up being guns quite easily due to them stealing them off others and the ammo as well- although it’s unlikely the Bandits will have any spare ammo to reload the gun with after it’s run out. They’ll be clothed in whatever they can find, which again will be stolen and normally be of poor quality, due to damage taken and poor care taken of it. Finally, supplies-wise, anything they can rob off of others is absolutely fine for them and means that they don’t have to do the hunting and foraging and scavenging for the supplies they need- which really makes the point about them, in the end…
Anyway, that’s enough for now. I’ll probably talk more in-depth about these guys later. Probably something to do with how they might form and hold and cultivate a society for their own kind, but for now, I’m off. Until next time, I guess… Unless the bombs hit first…
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