Wolf Bandit

Biodata

Appearance

Ordinary Gale Wolf Bandits stand around two meters tall. The leader encountered during the hunt stands roughly two and a half meters tall and has cyan-streaked fur 23.

• Fangs and claws — bandits bare their fangs at captives; the leader uses its claws to gesture during its challenge to Ban Shu 22 23.
• Leader’s markings — cyan streaks distinguish the leader from the rest of the pack 23.

Behavior and Abilities

• Innate strength — Wolf Bandits possess formidable combat strength from birth and reproduce rapidly 21.
• Raiding — packs attack villages and take captives. Qian Xunji says villages they encounter rarely survive 21 22.
• Pack coordination — a howl rallies scattered bandits into an organized attack; the leader can also cow other bandits into obedience 22 23.
• Leader’s tactics — the cyan-furred leader challenges Ban Shu to a duel, probes his defenses and feigns retreat to set up a kick 23 24.
• External control — a Fallen One’s martial soul can summon Wolf Bandits. The Spirit Hall party links him to the pack’s unusual capture of villagers alive; he retains control over remaining bandits after the hunt 24 25 26 28.

Story Role

Spirit Hall conducts periodic Wolf Bandit Hunts to protect settlements. Ban Shu and Bibi Dong join one such operation as their first mission after training 21.

The party finds that a pack has attacked a village and is taking its residents toward a lair. This is unusual: Yue Guan’s past experience suggests Wolf Bandits normally keep no captives alive except women. Spirit Hall’s knights ambush the pack while other squads move to rescue the villagers 22.

Ban Shu kills the larger, more intelligent leader in a duel. A cyan-glowing spirit bone, judged to be at least a thousand years old, is found in its leg. The surviving bandits flee into Yue Guan’s reinforcements 24. Investigation of the lair then reveals mummified victims and a Fallen One connected to the pack 25 26.