The bandits of Redoran Retreat are hazardous, but thankfully few in number. Their cave is also surprisingly well-stocked with food and has a cooking spit, so there’s a bit of a reward in that at the end of the cave.
When you enter the cave, you’ll find yourself in a bit of a passageway leading to the first cavern. This area is patrolled by one archer and a dog; they usually stay towards the back. This makes it very easy to snipe them from the entrance, though one archer and a dog certainly isn’t enough to keep you from charging in, sword swinging. If you’re especially loud or careless you might draw the other two bandits off from the back room, but it’s unlikely. If you are a sneaky type, be aware that killing the archer causes the dog to go straight for you, and the dog for some reason won’t be fooled by your already being hidden. Then again, it’s a dog, so it’s far from the most dangerous thing you’ve faced in combat.
With the two guards killed, collect the various mushrooms from all over the floor, check the sacks and barrels for food and salt, and grab a bit of money off the table by the stone pillar.
The hallway to the second half of the cave is short, but thankfully twisty- making it easy to stay hidden in there.
The end cave is shallow, with its low roof bridged to the ground by something of a stone wall in the middle of the area. While you can see the bandit chief through a hole in this wall, it’s vertically a very small hole, and so really difficult to shoot an arrow through. Worse, the chief is rather powerful and unlikely to be taken out by a sneak attack arrow. Just to push things even farther, the other competent bandit is patrolling on your side of the wall, though she starts out where you can’t see her from the entrance.
It’s possible to sneak into the room, but you need to wait for the guard to pass first or she’ll stub a toe on you and then it’s all over. You also need to beware of the two chains of bones hanging on the sides of the entryway, as touching them will cause a lot of noise and probably reveal you to the bandits.
Those players who are operating by assault rather than stealth should still sneak here, but only so they can get the jump on the guard as she passes the entryway.
Either way, once the chief is alerted things get very dangerous- he is very tough, wearing heavy armor, and wields a massive axe that does quite a lot of damage with his frequent power attacks. Do not let him pin you in a corner, as he’ll hack you up alarmingly fast. He’s thankfully a touch clumsy in the hallway, so you can usually back down it and keep him in a running battle that’ll stop his power attacks hitting you, but it’s very easy to accidentally catch yourself in the windy passage when you’re going backwards. All of this gets worse if you haven’t taken out the guard first, as while she’s far less armored and wielding a much smaller axe, she’ll get in your way a lot. It’s a tough fight and probably will require you to use more potions or food than anything else you’ve done so far (assuming you headed out to Redoran Retreat right away), but you should be able to manage it with a little care.
Be careful when going for the chief’s chest of loot, as there’s a bear trap in front of it. Also, make sure you check the treasure map he’s been keeping there.
