Not all is well in the lands of Pagonia. Yes, most of the time your Pioneers can do their jobs without trouble, but every now and then a ne'er-do-well will show up to ruin the day. If you're not prepared to deal with these brigands they can really mess up things for your settlement. So, y'know... better prep.
This guide will help you deal with Bandits and Thieves in Pioneers of Pagonia. They muck up matters for your settlement in different ways, though how you manage both is about the same.
Bandits
The more violent enemies you'll face are Bandits. These fellows live in Bandit Camps, and appear on the map as ominous, cloaked figures. Bandits spend most of their time wandering around near their Bandit Camps, and only cause trouble when one of your units gets too close. Occasionally, though, they will go walking, and Bandits who get too close to your settlement will invariably raise a ruckus.
How a Bandit responds depends on the unit who got too close. If a combat unit approaches a Bandit they will probably get into a fight. The stronger unit usually wins these confrontations, and the loser dies. If a non-combat unit approaches the Bandit they will get scared away, which interrupts the unit's current task and sends them panicking. Neither confrontation is great.
Bandits appear as plain 'ol Bandits, Veteran Bandits, and Elite Bandits. Your Guards have about a 50 / 50 chance of defeating a Bandit on their own, but Veteran Bandits are too powerful for a normal Guard to handle. You'll either need Veteran Guards or some brand of Soldier to deal with Veteran Bandits. Elite Bandits require Advanced or Veteran Soldiers.
It's worth noting that Bandits will, if given the chance, steal resources from your settlement and walk away with them, if given the chance. They are far less subtle about this than the next enemy on the list, however, and you'll know when a Bandit is strolling around your settlement, based on all the screaming people fleeing for their lives.
Thieves
The better-concealed cousin of the Bandit is the Thief. Appearing as normal Carriers when they're away from their Thief Camps, Thieves will slip into your settlement undetected if you don't have any Guards. The only way to tell a Thief apart from a normal Carrier is to highlight them with your mouse cursor and check their title. Even then, if there are no Guards nearby there's nothing you can do about a Thief.
Thieves will look for resources to steal. Once they have something they will grab it and meander back out of your settlement, returning to the wilds. Once they get away your item is gone. The only way to deal with a Thief is to have a Ranger nearby who can ID the vagabond for everyone else. You can train Rangers at Adventurer's Guilds, and assign them to Guard Towers and Garrisons.
Thieves appear as Thieves, Cunning Thieves, and Master Thieves. Similar to Veteran Bandits, Cunning Thieves put up more of a fight when caught, and are more difficult to catch in the first place. The same goes for Master Thieves.
As you progress further into a map you'll find more and more Thieves streaming towards your settlement, usually in huge packs. These Thieves tend to hang out at the far ends of the map, as far away from your settlement as is possible. If you attack a camp and it does not appear, there are probably Thieves attached to it that are currently raiding your settlement. They will come back, eventually.
Thieves drop everything they've stolen at their camps. Once you've gotten rid of the camp you can enfold that land into your territory. Once you do, your Carriers will slowly head out and grab everything off of the ground.
Dealing with Bandits and Thieves
To handle either type of enemy you'll need a surplus of martial units. These include the run-of-the-mill Guards you use to expand your borders, but you'll also need more advanced troops. You'll want to set up the following:
- A Military Academy, where you can train additional Guards, Veteran Guards, and Soldiers
- An Adventurer's Guild, where you can train Rangers and Fearnaughts
- A Weaponsmith, where you can make weapons for your units
- An Armorsmith, where you can make armor for your units
- A Wood Workshop, where you can make weapons and armor for your (less-powerful) units
- Lots of Carriers that you can convert into warriors
- Garrisons, which you can staff with your military units
Your ideal approach for both Bandits and Thieves is to set up your settlement such that you protect all of the prominent entry points. Try to narrow the approach to your settlement using buildings or geography, so Bandits and Thieves will need to pass through a single point. Then build a Guard Tower or Garrison near that point and wait for your Guards to catch incoming troublemakers. If you click on the Guard Tower / Garrison you can also choose specific points for your units to actively patrol. Adding a few Rangers per Guard Tower / Garrison will help them spot, and root out, any incoming Thieves.
Bandits and Thieves will keep sending more units to cause trouble from their camps, and it can be annoying to have to deal with either on a regular basis, so you may want to get rid of the camps altogether. To do this you'll need to set the camp as the Focus Point for the nearest Guard Tower / Garrison. This will send your Guards and Veteran Guards over to expand your border, and once the camp is within your territory it will disappear. Voila, no more bad guys.
The alternative is to launch an all-out offensive on the camp. If you set a Patrol Route that's outside your borders your Guards won't leave your territory - but Soldiers will. Set the Patrol Route to an enemy camp and any Soldiers assigned to that Garrison will rush in and attack. If the camp runs out of Bandits or Thieves then it crumbles.