The Why of Bandit Chiefs

Tables for generating an NPC bandit chief.

This chief hides among the (1d6):

1. Forests
2. Mountains
3. Islands
4. Friendly clans
5. Ruins
6. Swamps

And attacks (1d6): 

1. Isolated farmsteads
2. Merchant caravans
3. Travellers in their claimed lands
4. Rival clans 
5. Townships of another race
6. Temples
   

The chief is (1d6):

1. An ex-soldier
2. An exiled clan chief
3. A city criminal
4. A former poacher
5. A farmer whose lands were confiscated for unpaid taxes
6. A renegade priest

They recruit (1d6):

1. Mercenary fighters
2. Unemployed farm labourers
3. Enslaved convicts
4. Hunters
5. Social outcasts
6. An uneasy mix of two of the above

Their secret advantage is (1d6):

1. A magic item
2. A monstrous or supernatural ally
3. A hidden route only they know about
4. A cache of supplies
5. An informant in a nearby settlement
6. An elite assassin follower
   

Their secret danger is (1d6):

1. A wasting illness
2. A lover among the enemy
3. A debt to someone powerful
4. Blackmailed by one of their band
5. They're not who they say they are
6. Haunted by the ghost of their first victim
   

The chief has sworn not to harm (1d6):

1. Unarmed women or children
2. Their own extended family
3. Followers of the same religion
4. Anyone who swears allegiance
5. Scholars
6. Anyone who fought in a specific military battle

Their biggest problem is (1d6):

1. A price on their head
2. Disease among their followers
3. Their  hidden camp has been burned out by soldiers
4. A curse
5. A brewing mutiny in their crew
6. A rival band of thieves

But they have a plan to (1d6):

1. Take over a township before winter comes
2. Make a massive score and retire
3. Send their followers into a hopeless battle and escape with all the loot
4. Sign on with a nearby kingdom as forest rangers
5. Bribe a local ruler for amnesty
6. Go out in a blaze of glory