Map of the Alder and Terran Continents

As a nation prospers and gains wealth leeches in the form of criminals will attach themselves to it's underbelly. Bandits didn't appear until after the Western War when the then small kingdom proved it's ability to ward off attack. As other kingdoms found trade with Heartland worthwhile the bandits began to form in the west on the trade routes. Whenever the nation's prosperity suffered otherwise good men would bend their morals to steal for coin.

Historically speaking the worst plague of bandits occurred after the failed invasion by Terra. With the nation's military weakened and moved east to ward off any follow up attack the west was ripe for the picking. Worse an armored bandit named Harold Hammersmith was the leader of the Rock Smashers, a brutal gang that made several daring raids, even ransacking Hightower City.

The Rock Smashers was enough of a threat to send a full division to hunt them down. However as much as they chased Harold through the forests he always evaded them. The division sent had numbers cut down gradually, and at least seven raped captured military women gave birth to his children, much to King Richard's dismay. However they eventually got a tip that the Rock Smashers would hit Earthbound City...

Sure enough, they did, but with the army ready they countered the offensive, crushed the Rock Smashers to the man and captured Harold Hammersmith.

As well as Harold Hammersmith...

And Harold Hammersmith...

As it turned out, Harold had four of his men dress and impersonate him during the battle, one of which was killed during the conflict. None of the ones captured were the real Harold Hammersmith. After four days of interrogation one of them led the Heartland forces back to their lair...

Only to find the lair emptied. They could only assume what happened, but it seemed as the men were sent out none of them knew which of the Harold Hammersmiths was the real one and everyone assumed he accompanied them. The Heartland commander believed he stayed behind and ransacked the lair with one or more helpers and left. And to ensure the Rock Smashers wouldn't chase him down, he tipped off the military...

No one has ever found where Harold Hammersmith and his riches or accomplices, if any, have gone to.

There is no honor among thieves...

While most bands of bandits arise as thieves or hoodlums come together, over the past two hundred years Terra and it's agents have moved into the Heartland west to stir up trouble; either forming and leading bandits to weaken the prosperity of Heartland, or funding them in an effort to maintain current bands.

After the humiliation handed to them by Harold Hammersmith, King Richard did his best to move troops to the west to ward off further attack. Once a second invasion from Terra was clearly not coming more troops moved west, the others going back to their usual posts.

Basing the counter bandit forces at Fort Blaine and Hightower City they are meant to stamp out bandits whenever they pop up. Combined with a recruitment campaign to get sufficient numbers the average lifespan of a band is now measured in months, sometimes weeks.

For the most part they hide out in the western forests, sometimes the northern or southern ones. They use either camps hidden among trees or caves to hide in, while the odd band has hidden in old, abandoned forts that predate Heartland. Right now there are three major bandit bands, and around half a dozen smaller ones...