Head: VvV Swamp Rat
Torso, Arms, Waist, Legs: VvV Gung-Ho (some modifications)
Harness: POTC Liz Swan
Knives: Random Joe figures
Mace: Custom made
Sword: SW Cortosis Blade


Brigands, bandits, raiders and thieves--all are the scourge of the Theran traveler, rough men and women who skulk about the shadows along the roads and the back alleys of her towns and cities, ready to waylay the unwitting and unwary. They have little or no sense of honor and equally little conscience, often killing those they rob for no other reason than having the power to do so.

Brigands and their ilk are especially dangerous to the traveler in the early spring, when the snows have cleared and merchants heading north are still sparse; the bandits are hungry by this time, lean from winter and wild in their viciousness, willing to rob anyone of what they have. They know as well that many merchants tend to skimp on good protection, especially at that early time, in hopes of increasing the size of their purses and consider the risk worthy. This simply emboldens brigand bands and makes them more ruthless.

Brigands tend to come from all walks of life, from ruffians to former soldiers, to common men and nobles who have lost everything; they most often act in small groups, but have been known to attack individually, and there are some very well-organized and very large bandit gangs known to ply the roads of the north, always managing to avoid the patrols of the more civilized areas, or the bounty hunters sent to take their heads. Skills vary, as do their weapons and armor, much of it taken from fallen victims. Most brigands prefer to carry at least one blunt weapon, the better to bludgeon a victim to death to steal their intact armor rather than slice it up with blades. In any case they should never be underestimated, and no mercy should ever been given, or expected.


Design Notes:

I built this guy last spring; he marked my first Thera custom to use (almost) entirely Joe parts and was created for a short "intro" story I was writing (still am, really.) The Swamp Rat face makes an ideally wicked-looking masked head, and the Gung-Ho body, with some paint (acrylic inks in this case) and modification, made for a suitable rough-looking bandit wear; the harness I had to cut and glue to the body to make it fit. The knifes were chosen for size and variation to show how bandits tend to pretty much pick up whatever weapons they use.

The mace is actually one end of a three-piece ninja weapon, with Green Stuff used to make the head and tip.

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