Dungeons & Dragonsmay have a plethora of monsters from multiple planes of existence, including demons, devils, elementals, and celestials, as well as fantasy creatures, such as the famous Owlbear, the Beholders, and, of course, dragons. Still, there’s some beauty to a story where the villains are just people, isn’t there?
Roleplaying complex characters with nuanced goals and complicated moralities is just a fun endeavor, which makes crime organizations an excellent way to start your story. And, with the 2025 Monster Manual, you can go beyond the low levels of play with your crime gangs thanks to the new bandit options you have at your disposal. Which are the best ones, though?
We ranked based on their overall design and how well they function against a party of an appropriate level, and not necessarily based on which one is the strongest.
5Bandit
The Minions
If all you need is someone who can attack, then look no further than the basic Bandit. They’re perfect enemies to appear in small groups and attack your low-level party, or even in larger groups for a mid-level party, though keep in mind that they’ll likely die in a single hit from mid-level groups. Even a level one barbarian can kill them, depending on the roll.
Still, with an armor class of 12 and 11 hit points, they’ll do one attack per turn - which can be melee or ranged - and that’s about it. They’ll get obsolete after a while, but they work well as minions during a higher-level Bandit boss, too - if the players are wasting actions killing minions, it means they’re not hurting the boss - unlessthey’re using a Fireball,of course.
Because they’re weak and won’t be taken seriously as the campaign goes, we recommend roleplaying them in a silly matter, too. Stupid henchman who have no idea what they’re doing is a funny trope, after all.
4Bandit Captain
The First Boss
The Bandit Captains retain the same idea of attacking and not much more, but hey, they hit harder. Both their health and AC are higher, and they have access to multi attack, attacking twice per turn, and you can use whichever weapons you want.
Pistols are a standard for them, too, as they are now part of the default weapon list among martial weapons. This means they’ll hit harder, too, but it also means that if a player wants to use guns but can’t get them due to their price, having a Bandit Captain boss fight is a nice way for you to give them a gun - if they beat the boss, of course.
Lastly, they can use their reaction to give their AC a boost just in case, though it’s not a big boost, and it only applies to the attack that triggered the reaction. Essentially, this NPC is a wonderful option for alow-level bossand could even be the first one the party faces.
3Bandit Crime Lord
Add A Little Rogue To Your NPC
The Bandit Crime Lord isn’t too different from the Captain, but they hit extremely hard - as expected from the challenge rating. They have three attacks per turn, using the same weapons as the Captain: a scimitar and a pistol.
That said, they both hit harder due to having poison in them. This means that both attacks have their regular damage and secondary damage of the poison type. Their scimitar also rolls an extra die per hit, which is a nice way to keep them deadly.
As a bonus action, they can give themselves an advantage in their next attack, and if this attack hits, it’ll deal significant extra damage. It’s similar to the Rogue’s Steady Aim, and this extra damage is also similar to their Sneak Attack. Crime Lords also have Evasion as a reaction, meaning they take no damage when succeeding dexterity saving throws and half damage when they fail. For a mere mortal in a fantastical world, they’re quite terrifying.
2Bandit Deceiver
Now With Magic
Even if we’re talking about common criminals of your world, if magic is that common, it makes sense that magic bandits would be a thing. Thus, we have the Bandit Deceiver, and the standout here is their spellcasting.
They can freely cast Disguise Self, Mage Hand, and Minor Illusion, allowing them to pretend to be other people or create easy distractions during combat or other situations. They can also cast Mage Armor, Major Image, and Hold Person at the fourth level. They can use each of these once a day, and Hold Person, in particular, can be a game-changer during combat.
When they’re not casting spells, they can do three dagger attacks per turn, with a blade that also has poison in it for extra damage. They also have Blinding Flash, which is essentially a flash grenade, forcing people into a constitution saving throw where they’ll take radiant damage and get the blinded condition for a full round.
1/2
4
Assassin
8
Though the Bandit ‘family’ only has four NPCs, there are manyhumanoid creaturesin the 2025 Monster Manual. And sure, you’re able to use any of them and re-skin according to the situation - nothing is stopping you from making a Druid bandit. However, some of these are more fitting for gangs than others.
Thus, if your gang needs some extra muscle, our first recommendation would be the Tough and its stronger variant, the Tough Boss. Their attacks are decent for their levels, but both of them come with Pack Tactics, which makes them significantly more lethal when they’re fighting with friends.
Then, you can surprise your players by having an Assassin go after them, whether they’re part of the gang or just a hired freelancer whose job is to take care of these meddling adventurers. Their weapons also have poison, meaning they hurt a lot, and they have both Evasion and Cunning Action, making them difficult to hit and pin down. Their stealth bonus is also a +10, so sneak around as much as you can.
