Holmes Monsters Illustrated: Bandit

One of the neat things about Holmes Basic D&D is that it barely has any illustrations. We have nothing but the text to go on, so we get to exercise our imagination a bit (or perhaps our googling skills), and take some liberties.

As an exercise, I'm going to attempt to go through each Holmes monster entry, and find a picture or illustration to accompany it. I'll add some additional stream-of-consciousness notes wherever possible as well. It's really just a brainstorming exercise to help give my Skullfuck Mountain game a simplistic sort of depth, but hopefully you will find it entertaining as well.

So without further ado, I present you with our first specimen - the Bandit.

Bandits are usually encountered in smallish groups that work together to relieve passersby of any valuables they may be carrying. They are not true warriors, so they will generally only attack when they can stage an ambush and gain surprise.

These bandits you just encountered are (50% chance of each):

• A ragtag group of 4-24 unskilled, out-of-work men who need to feed their families. They wear ill-fitting leathers and wield a variety of makeshift weapons (clubs, 2x4's, fireplace pokers, crowbars, brick-in-a-sock, segment of chain, modified pitchforks, and so forth). Their morale is generally low.
• A smaller group of 2-12 sadists that just likes taking people's stuff for the sheer fun of it. Given the opportunity, they will seek to humiliate and possibly even torture their victims. These kind will generally be wearing studded leather armors and wielding decent-quality military weapons. The leader will usually have a whip and fine clothes from a previous victim.

In both cases, there is an 80% chance that one of the bandits will have a sixgun loaded with 3-6 bullets. This guy will attempt to stay hidden until the second round of combat, at which point he will emerge and begin firing (from behind cover if available) 2 shots per round, first at any wizards he can identify, and secondly at any fighter types.

Sixgun Mechanics

All shots are fired as if against leather armor.

The first shot fired always causes an immediate wandering monster check.

Hits on enemies 3 HD and up cause 1d6+1 damage.

For hits on enemies less than 3 HD, roll the hit location die (or just a regular d12) to determine effect.

1. Right Arm: 1-3 damage, any held item dropped, arm disabled until magically healed or 1-6 weeks bed rest.
2. Left Arm: 1-3 damage, any held item dropped, arm disabled until magically healed or 1-6 weeks bed rest.
3. Right Hand: 1-2 damage, any held item dropped, hand disabled until magically healed or 1-3 weeks bed rest.
4. Left Hand: 1-2 damage, any held item dropped, hand disabled until magically healed or 1-3 weeks bed rest.
5. Head: Instantly killed
6. Body: 1-4 damage. Disabled. Die in 1-20 rounds unless magically healed.
7. Stomach: 1-4 damage. Only bare minimum of movement/actions possible. Any strenuous action taken, such as trying to attack an enemy, requires a save vs. death ray to avoid passing out from the pain. Die in 2-12 hours unless magically healed.
8. Chest: 1-6 damage. Only bare minimum of movement/actions possible. Any strenuous action taken, such as trying to attack an enemy, requires a save vs. death ray to avoid passing out from the pain. Die in 3-18 rounds unless magically healed.
9. Right Leg: 1-3 damage. Fall prone. 1/4 movement speed. Leg disabled until magically healed or 1-6 weeks bed rest.
10. Left Leg: 1-3 damage. Fall prone. 1/4 movement speed. Leg disabled until magically healed or 1-6 weeks bed rest.
11. Right Foot: 1-2 damage. Need assistance to walk. Foot disabled until magically healed or 1-3 weeks bed rest.
12. Left Foot: 1-2 damage. Need assistance to walk. Foot disabled until magically healed or 1-3 weeks bed rest.