The Why of Bandit Chiefs

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{%data_block hides_among%}
Forests
Mountains
Islands
Friendly clans
Ruins
Swamps
{%end%}

{%data_block and_attacks%}
Isolated farmsteads
Merchant caravans
Travellers in their claimed lands
Rival clans 
Townships of another race
Temples
{%end%}

{%data_block the_chief_is%}
An ex-soldier
An exiled clan chief
A city criminal
A former poacher
A farmer whose lands were confiscated for unpaid taxes
A renegade priest
{%end%}

{%data_block they_recruit%}
Mercenary fighters
Unemployed farm labourers
Enslaved convicts
Hunters
Social outcasts
An uneasy mix of two of the above
{%end%}

{%data_block secret_advantage%}
A magic item
A monstrous or supernatural ally
A hidden route only they know about
A cache of supplies
An informant in a nearby settlement
An elite assassin follower
{%end%}

{%data_block secret_danger%}
A wasting illness
A lover among the enemy
A debt to someone powerful
Blackmailed by one of their band
They're not who they say they are
They're haunted by the ghost of their first victim
{%end%}

{%data_block sworn_not_to_harm%}
Unarmed women or children
Their own extended family
Followers of the same religion
Anyone who swears allegiance
Scholars
Anyone who fought in a specific military battle
{%end%}

{%data_block biggest_problem%}
A price on their head
Disease among their followers
Their  hidden camp has been burned out by soldiers
A curse
A brewing mutiny in their crew
A rival band of thieves
{%end%}

{%data_block a_plan_to%}
Take over a township before winter comes
Make a massive score and retire
Send their followers into a hopeless battle and escape with all the loot
Sign on with a nearby kingdom as forest rangers
Bribe a local ruler for amnesty
Go out in a blaze of glory
{%end%}

This chief...

...hides among the {{ hides_among |> lower }} and attacks {{ and_attacks |> lower }}.

The chief is {{ the_chief_is |> lower }} who recruits {{ they_recruit |> lower }}.

Their secret advantage is {{ secret_advantage |> lower }}, but their secret danger is {{ secret_danger |> lower }} .

The chief has sworn not to harm {{ sworn_not_to_harm |> lower }}, yet although their biggest problem is {{ biggest_problem |> lower }}, they have a plan to {{ a_plan_to |> lower }}.