Am I the only one that hopes Skyrim, should it be attempted by the developers to once more portray bandits and highwaymen, does so in a way where they are more realistic to the role rather than simply being random thugs of no organization or implied franchise? Even naming them would be a step in the right direction. Remember Nels Llendo?

Also, the big bad evil guys and the denizens of the creeping dark of which fear and legend are scribed should be able to put up a good fight and surprise the player a bit when they encounter them. I am put off when such entities are sold short. This image sort of portrays the issue: http://i.imgur.com/XUpmg.jpg

It's not quite the same sort of game environment, but I have to admit it's pretty funny when certain highwayment bandits in DAO first demand a toll, then after you almost kill them they yield and ask you for mercy - you get to choose in the dialogue whether you will finish them off or be merciful.

Would be interesting to see alternative NPC behaviors during combat other than attacking or running away.

The GI article did mention dialogue choices before combat, right? Or am I mixing people's wishes from the forums with the actual confirmed content...

yeah, it always annoyed me that highwaymen and bandits would attack you and fight to the end even if you were the grand champion of the arena, crusader, madgod, champion of cyrodiil and wielder of the goldbrand and famus beyond reconning.

That would be great.

Fleshed-out bandits, with a motivation (why do they feel the need to be bandits? Because they were farmers, but the civil war destroyed their livelihood),
goals (why are they camped in these ruins right now? They heard there is a big trade caravan going past. Why do they have a rich girl tied up in the dungeon? Because they have sent a hostage note to her parents... etc.), and an oppurtunity to speak to them (maybe linked to fame, infamy, speechcraft, whether you are carrying a massive sword), would make everything to do with bandits feel so much more meaningful.

Maybe give the player the option to become a bandit for a while, work with a group and share the spoils.

Maybe give the player the option to join some kind of town watch, and take part in missions where the surroundings of a town are swept for bandits.

Definitely have some better logic for the bandits when choosing their targets. They should not attack just anybody, and smaller groups should flee from Imperial guards (or whatever the Skyrim equivalent is).

That is wonderful. :laugh:

I like this. It could be one for the first things you encounter after exiting whatever form the introductory portion of the game is. Like a battle between some bandits and people carrying a shipment of something. If you help the bandits you get a few missions with them or if you help the other guys and get a chance to gain some experience with them. Or just kill everyone.

ohmigod, the OP is talking sense. In amongst 120 000 posts about riding mammoths and dual wielding steam powered crossbows with an army of permanent summoned undead, we get to the heart of the matter. Believable hostile NPCs and monsters that hurt. What more could a cynical, burned out gamer want. Using a charm spell on a bandit should open up better conversation than 'I have no greeting'. Some guys want reams of stats or archery based on character skill alone, imho it's all about NPC behaviour, running when they're beaten, talking instead of attacking if you are of the same race ( now and then. ) This is the heart and soul of a game, not the level scaling or the pretty views or the dynamic snow. A troll should scare the life out of you, a Bandit should be an intelligent foe. Now you are talking.

Bandits on the road had better have a reason for being in Skyrim.

Skyrim doesn't sound like the kind of place where you'd want to jump out in front of the average traveller and demand money. Nords don't seem like the "just give them the money, dear" type of people.

Bear in mind that if the bandits are preying on Nords, they're probably Nords too. After all, a warlike race in a country which is distracted by civil war? Sounds like an opportunity to plunder. I can envision a lot of banditry going on, and it'll all fall down to who has the biggest enchanted axe.

Either that, or Dunmer refugees driven to murder out of desperation? I dunno.

Agreed 100%

And by god that image is hilarious :laugh:

They should definitely try to link bandit activity to some on-going sub-plot - maybe bring back the Skooma trade and have the protagonist thwart it (or take over it). Showler's right - having lone bandits wandering the roads of Skyrim won't feel right at all.

But there's a civil war going on, correct? Maybe the protagonist has to parley with a bandit group to get them to pledge allegiance to one Nord House or another....

Agreed.

FONV at least gave the different groups of raiders names and most had quests or some kind of interaction attached to them. Plus you could gain different levels of “reputation” with each one. Its a nice touch.

Id be sort of surprised if they didn’t apply that to V as well.

i prefer the random bandits type i dont really care about them i just kill them and take they stuff end off story.

The inherent problem with bandits is that they're bandits and most of us are playing heroes which are destined to become far more powerful than the average person. Therefore you get to choose between bandits only serving their purpose very early on in the game, or bandits serving their purpose later on, but being ridiculously over powered for the game world and not making sense at all. Bandits attack people who are easy prey, not soldiers.

Bandits should only attack the player if they look like a commoner or someone they can take advantage of. If they want to use bandits later on, then they should be bandits attacking commoner NPCs and a successful encounter for the PC would be saving the innocent NPC.