Mercenaries on the road

The mercenaries in fact are a group of bandits, robbing traveleres and merchants on the road.

If the players decide to confront them, they will find that the bandits are well-prepared and that they have a clear tactical advantage. They are cunning and well-organized and will not be easily tricked or cowed.

Seeing that the adventurers could be though to rob, the bandits will try to sneak into the players camp at night, fleeing to their encampment if a fight breaks out.

The leader of the group is a grizzled mercenary named Captain Grigore and if questioned, gives the players the following information:
– They have been here for a couple of weeks
– They did not build the structure, but repaired it
– There are about [number of party members * 3] members in his group (lie, Int/History/Survival DC 15camp to small, there are only 5 including him)
– They have seen multiple groups of bandits in the area (lie, Insight DC 10)
– They have been hired by the guard's of a town nearby (lie, Insight DC 15)

If the players are able to defeat the bandit's leader and his men (or drive them away), they will find a hidden stash of coins and valuables, as well as a note indicating that the bandits were hired by a mysterious figure called “Goldmane“. It is not clear who this figure is or what their motives are, but it is clear that they are up to no good.

Depending on the level of the players, scale the number of bandits accordingly

Use the Bandit (CR1/8) stats-block for basic enemies and Bandit Captain (CR2) for Captain Grigore.

For party level 1 and 2 there could be 1d8 Bandits (4: easy, 8: hard).

For party level 3 and 4 there could be 2d8 Bandits or 1 Captain and 1d8 Bandits (8: easy, 16: hard).

For higher level parties, feel free to use the stat-blocks of: Master Thief (CR5), Gladiator (CR5) or Assassin (CR8)