A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement 20 Things #35: Bandits & Brigands (System Neutral Edition)

20 Things #35: Bandits & Brigands (System Neutral Edition) by Creighton Broadhurst is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press. The supplement is stated to be system neutral, but also compatible with any version of Dungeons & Dragons, and is therefore covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result.

The supplement is available for $3.45 from DriveThruRPG, although it was bought at a reduced price thanks to a special offer, and comes in three versions. One version is a text file; the other two are 11-page PDFs. One PDF is intended for print and high-end devices, the other for low end devices and mobile. Two pages are the front and rear covers, two pages are ads, one page is the front matter, Contents and some notes on using the supplement and one the Open Game License.

Using this Book explains that the tables can be used on the fly by rolling on the desired table and describing the result.

1: Bandits & Brigands has brief descriptions of eight bandits. Each is given reasons for being a bandit, a personality overview, a brief description, mannerisms, a hook and brief stats covering alignment, sex, level and class.

2: Camp Dressing has a d20 list of things to describe a bandit camp.

3: Bandit Loot has a d12 table covering things that bandits have looted. Most are not given values and many are large. There is a second d12 table, this time covering items that could be found on a bandit’s body.

4: Complications, Hooks & Opportunities are essentially six adventure hooks and ways of making bandit encounters more interesting.

20 Things #35: Bandits & Brigands (System Neutral Edition) in Review

The PDF is bookmarked, with most sections linked, but not every bookmark links to the right place. The Contents is more thorough and is hyperlinked. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are several pieces of black and white stock art. Presentation is okay.

As with many entries in this series, “20 Things” doesn’t mean that it’s a collection of 20 things; only one table has twenty entries. The supplement does provide a decent amount of material for making bandits more interesting, and bandits can be a common part in fantasy campaigns. Though it may be aimed at D&D and variants, most of it is transferrable to other systems, too. 20 Things #35: Bandits & Brigands (System Neutral Edition) is a nice addition and it can be found by clicking here.