Bandits

"Members of the criminal underworld who came to the Zone for different reasons: to make money by selling artifacts, hide from the law or trade in weapons. The Zone is full of bandits, ranging from common thugs to serious criminals, most of whom are members of one gang or another. Although the Zone gangs frequently fight among themselves, the criminal element still poses a serious problem for normal stalkers."

- Encyclopedia

 are a faction encountered in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Lost Alpha on most levels.

History
The Bandits are raiders and marauders of the Zone, ranging from petty thugs and gangsters to organized crime syndicates. Apart from Freedom, which treats them with marginal contempt, everyone hates the Bandits due to their nefarious acts of robbing and exploiting honest Stalkers. Most Bandits are unorganized and leaderless; there are only a few known Bandit leaders and camps, and even then their groups are still fairly disorganized, with underlings always trying to take control by overthrowing the previous leader. Their unit size is mediocre, and their equipment is cheap and shoddy; because of this they've adapted to a guerrilla style of warfare, ambushing small groups with large numbers by camping in locations just off the normal paths.

Description

 * The faction attracts the dregs and lowlife from the civilized mainstream and members usually have a criminal past.
 * Their principal tenet is to rob, loot, kill and pillage from the members of other Factions, advancing their betterment at their victims' expense.
 * Their gangs will frequently attack opposing factional groupings without provocation or quarter given.

Armour

 * Most of the lower ranked Bandits dress in Bandit jackets which afford minimal protection within the Zone.
 * Higher ranked members dress in Trenchcoats which provide slightly more but still insufficient protection.
 * A Mail jacket exists but no Bandits ever seem to wear this improved armour.

Weaponry

 * Bandits have quite an extensive repertoire of hardware ranging from humble PMms and Sawn-off Double-barrel Shotguns up to Marthas and the occasional Tunder S14. NATO weaponry is confined to IL 86 and TRs 301 units. The use of pump-action shotguns is rare but any Bandit may be equipped with slug or dart ammunition for shotgun use.
 * The use of RGD-5 Grenades is common, less so the F1 Grenade variant.