Background

Bandits! adheres to many of the conventions in WarCraft III, and these instructions assume basic familiarity with its gameplay. For more information, see the official WarCraft III website

Your mission

In Bandits!, you command a gang of thieves and outlaws in a quest to dominate the towns and trade routes of a destitute kingdom. Three rival bandit clans stand in your way, each of whom would claim these lands as their own.

There are two ways to demonstrate your successful conquest of the realm:

• Eliminate your bandit rivals by razing all of their tents to the ground.
• Take control of 16 of the 37 Towns that comprise the kingdom.

The kingdom

Bandits takes place in a vast kingdom dominated by the tyrranical Sheriff Ailus. Though greedy and merciless, his corruption has weakened the institutions that govern the land. His dominion nominally extends over thirty-seven nearby Towns, but in recent times his control over the backwater hamlets has weakened. You begin your quest in some of the most remote towns, far from the Sheriff's watchful eye.

The Sheriff's oppressive rule has driven the populace into poverty and despair. For many of those eager for salvation, employment in your bandit empire is an attractive proposition. To enlist their support, you must liberate and occupy Towns, by razing the Sheriff's provincial outpost and constructing one of your own tents nearby. Each Town you occupy will provide you with additional food to support a larger army.

Your empire

You begin the game in a humble setting, controlling only a couple of tents, some laborers, and an abandoned vault. From such inauspicious beginnings, you will extend your power, recruiting soldiers and constructing new tents. Among the ranks of your army will be a select number of Heroes, the champions of your campaign upon whom you will come to rely.

The Sheriff's grip

As your influence begins to spread across the kingdom, you will increasingly draw the ire and retribution of Sheriff Ailus. He commands four Citadels at each corner of the kingdom, and a mighty Capital at its center.

Each Citadel maintains a formidible garrison of troops who will attempt to scour you from the land. Each time you liberate a Town from Sheriff Ailus, the nearest Citadel will get +1 Anger, and you will get +1 Notoriety. The higher a Citadel's Anger, the more frequently it will attack nearby players, and the more troops it will send against them. The higher a player's Notoriety, the more apt Citadels are to attack that player in particular.

In time, you will find that you are capable of launching raids on the Citadels. If you can slay their defenders and raze their buildings, you will find an embarassment of gold and arms. You would be wise, however, to strike furiously and depart swiftly, as Sheriff Ailus will surely come to the defense of the Citadel. He, along with his cadre of elite knights, is a formidible opponent. Fight him without adequate preparation, and your armies will meet with oblivion; outwit or outfight him, and you can claim one of his mighty weapons as your own.

Attaining wealth

To fund and arm your fledgling empire, you may seek various avenues of profit:

• All of your units have the Pillage ability, which gives you gold and lumber when you damage enemy buildings. Indeed, destroying a building entirely will reward you with its original value.
• The merchants of the land engage in trade by sending Caravans to and from the Citadels and the Capital. Capturing a Caravan will reap you equipment for your heroes and a sum of gold.
• Sheriff Ailus controls a vast array of weapons and equipment, spread out across his bastions. Whenever you raze one of his buildings, one of his empire's items will be yours for the taking. His most powerful artifacts lay hidden at the center of each Citadel and the Capital.
• Although you can purchase upgraded armaments for your troops at a Jerry-Rigging Shop, they may prove prohibitively expensive. You may find it more profitable to acquire them by pillaging an enemy Barracks, Lumber Mill, or Command Post.
• You may also seek to gain an advantage on your bandit rivals by stealing their meager holdings. The Outlaw hero can steal gold from your opponents, and the Thief unit can steal their heroes' items.