Draft:Brigand

Omega 0.90.4

b Brigand
Form	Ordinary creature
Attacks	2 attacks: 0–14 physical each before absorption; 1 defense
Special abilities	Physical missiles without ammunition
Base level	3
HP	30
Hit	15
Defense	10
Action interval	5 ticks; lower is faster
Kill experience	75, when death is in sight
Generation	Ordinary and special encounters
Carried items	Crossbow; 0–1 extra random items
Immunities	None innate
Remains	Dead brigand; 50% on normal death
Remains use	Human-corpse food and alignment penalty; no alchemy
Traits Initially hostile and greedy Opens doors; scavenges
Reference	minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 115

A brigand is a hostile, greedy opponent found in the countryside and ordinary random encounters. It carries a crossbow, but its own ranged attack does not use the player's crossbow-loading or ammunition rules.

Generation

Brigands are named in the plains, forest and river countryside encounter tables and can also appear through ordinary random pools. A normally generated brigand carries a neutral +0 crossbow plus zero or one random possession. The fixed equipment does not include bolts.

Attacks and pursuit

The brigand makes two physical attacks, each with raw damage of 0–14, and has one defensive action. It can open doors and, while greedy, collects objects from the ground. It has no innate immunity, swimming or flight ability, even when encountered near a river.

Its ranged attack fires a physical bolt for the same raw damage range without loading or consuming ammunition. At ordinary sensing range, firing is checked from three or four squares while it is awake and hostile, can see you and you are not invisible. Deflection stops the bolt if it reaches you. The crossbow's own player damage value does not determine this attack.

Countryside encounters expand its awareness across the encounter map, allowing missile attempts from farther away than that ordinary sensing range, while still requiring line of sight.

At 1–6 HP, its next ordinary pursuit movement drops its possessions and starts a faster retreat. Normal death also drops carried items.

Payment and remains

A still-greedy brigand accepts 300 Au in one payment, or a non-cursed item worth at least 300 Au intrinsically, to become peaceful and end its greed. Smaller gifts are kept without adding toward a later payment; each accepted gift in this response adds one alignment point. Its demands in conversation do not themselves transfer money.

Half of normal deaths leave a body. Eating it costs ten alignment points. If alignment was positive, food is set to 33; otherwise eight food points are added, subject to ordinary hunger limits. It has no alchemical transformation.

Strategy

Use terrain and line of sight rather than assuming a missile user needs time to reload. Paying 300 Au can avoid a fight, but recoverable equipment may make fighting worthwhile if you can handle two melee attacks and its bolts. The recovered crossbow still needs your own bolts and loading actions. Do not expect the brigand to drop the ammunition it appeared to fire.