Most of the bandits in Skyrim and Solstheim have been replaced by NPCs from this mod. The distribution of new bandits follows the same pattern as in the vanilla game, but the variety of enemies that can be encountered has been increased.

All bandits have received a number of upgrades that make them tougher and more complex to deal with:

• Bandits now have perks that boost their attack and defense according to their levels in the weapon and armor skills.
• New combat styles have been added, so different bandit types will make the most out of the equipment they have.
• Vanilla bandit types have been modified, and new classes have been added for increased variety.
• Bandits can use special attacks that inflict injuries or other debilitating effects on opponents. Different bandit classes have access to different special attacks.
• Most bandits have special abilities that improve or support their combat skills. These abilities are restricted to specific classes.
  

You can find more information about bandits and their new abilities in this article.

NOTE: The following information outlines my plans for magic-oriented enemies. At this point in time, only part of what is listed has been implemented. The rest of the changes will be added gradually over multiple updates.

In the vanilla game one can encounter three types of enemy mages - Necromancers, Conjurers and Warlocks, who are divided further into fire, frost and shock mages. This mod overhauls these groups and adds three new ones, giving each faction its own distinct identity.

Rogues 'n Raiders makes the following changes to enemy mages:

• Each of the six main mage factions is divided into multiple sub-classes, with each variant having its own specific skills and abilities.
• Each faction has access to a set of signature spells which are not available to other mages.
• Each faction has spells and enchantments that counter rival mages' strengths. Many of these can be obtained and used by the player character.
• Mages have perks that boost different aspects of spellcasting and combat.
• Mages can inflict magic debuffs and injuries in a variety of ways.
• Mages are equipped with new clothes and armor that make it easier to distinguish between different factions and classes.
  

The Mage Factions are listed below. If you want detailed information about a faction click on its name to be taken to the relevant article.

• Necromancers - These Disciples of the Dark Arts use their knowledge of Conjuration to subjugate and control the Undead.
• Conjurers - Masters of Conjuration who summon Daedra to serve them and fight for them.
• Elementalists - Experts of Destruction magic, these mages usually specialize in one specific element.
• Magi - Scholars of Alteration and Enchanting, these mages rely on their unique spells and magical artifacts to gain advantages over their opponents.
• Sorcerers - Practitioners of Illusion magic, these mages sow confusion in their enemies' minds before destroying them.
• Warlocks - Trained in Restoration, Illusion and Destruction, these mages can adapt to and prevail against a wide variety of opponents.
  

Rogues 'n Raiders adds an optional penalty system which gives NPCs the ability to inflict debuffs on their opponents, making combat more
challenging and interesting. The Penalty System encourages a smart playing style – simply tanking hits and spells will result in your character gaining multiple debilitating effects, which could make fights harder, longer and more dangerous than they need to be. The Penalty System also helps to diversify enemies, and increases synergy between different enemy types.

The Penalty System is disabled by default. The mod works fine without it, but some enemies will not have access to their full range of abilities. To enable the Penalty System install and activate one of these two optional files:

RnR Optional File - Penalty System (Lite):

• Injuries and magic debuffs have a short duration.
• Spells, scrolls and potions that heal injuries work instantly.
  

RnR Optional File - Penalty System (Full):

• Injuries and magic debuffs have a long duration.
• Spells, scrolls and potions that heal injuries work over time.
• This is the version Rogues 'n Raiders was originally built around. It is recommended for challenging gameplay, and to get the most out of the mod.
  

Injuries:

• Different enemies can inflict different injuries, as determined by their level, class and equipment.
• Injuries are categorized into five tiers. An injury's tier determines its severity, how it is affected by armor and magic, and how it can be treated.
• Blocking melee attacks with a shield or a weapon will prevent most injuries.
• Blocking with a shield will prevent most injuries caused by ranged weapons.
• Wearing the appropriate armor pieces and having a high enough armor rating will reduce the chances of getting injured, or prevent injuries completely.
• Shield spells provide protection against injuries, though they will not cure any injuries you may already have.
• Injuries can be treated with spells, scrolls or potions. If left untreated, injuries will eventually heal on their own.
  

Magic Debuffs:

• Magic debuffs are grouped into three categories - Hexes, Curses and Sorceries.
• Hexes are caused by raw magical energies clinging to a target, or seeping into their equipment.
• Curses corrupt their victims' bodies, damaging their health and skills.
• Sorceries act on their targets' minds and souls, warping their perception and thoughts.
• Player characters with low magic skills will need to learn about debuffs in order to be able to identify their effects.
• Magic debuffs can be blocked by wearing the appropriate enchanted equipment.
• Magic debuffs can be dispelled using spells or scrolls, or left to expire on their own.
  

For more information about injuries and magic debuffs read the relevant articles.

Q. Is this mod lore-friendly?
A. Yes. This mod was designed to be vanilla plus and lore friendly. The new NPCs and equipment it adds don’t contrast with the game’s original style and content, or contradict the lore. No were-dragon bandits in Daedric armor wielding Lightsabers here!

Q. Is this mod balanced? How tough can I expect enemies to be if I install this mod?
A. Enemies will be tougher than vanilla, though probably not as tough as with some other enemy overhauls. I don't believe in making opponents more challenging by turning them into damage sponges and cranking up their attack values, or giving them overpowered spells and equipment. I tried to go for a more complex approach where some strategies work better than others against specific types of opponents. Depending on your gameplay style and what other mods you have installed, you will cut some enemies down with ease and struggle with others.

Q. What’s the point of the Penalty System?
A. Injuries, curses, special skills and abilities are my way of improving enemies without boosting their stats and damage output to ridiculous levels. Most debuffs will not kill you outright, but the penalties they inflict may sway the odds in your enemies’ favor.

Q. Those bandits look rough! Some of them are grimy! And have SCARS!!! Can't you pretty them up a bit?
A. That's what bandits are supposed to look like, but if they're so hard on the eyes I'm sure someone will step up to change their appearance to something more agreeable.

Q. Will my NPCs look the same as the ones in your screenshots?
A. More or less. If you use any texture mods for faces, hairs, makeup, scars, etc. they will affect the NPCs' appearance somewhat.

Q. Is Rogues 'n Raiders compatible with <insert name of mod here>?
A. Check the Compatibility section on this mod's description page. I will update this section as more information becomes available.

Q. Will you make a patch for <Popular Enemy Overhaul Mod>?
A. No. Running multiple enemy overhauls together will result in an inconsistent experience at best, and a plethora of conflicts at worst. You're better off choosing the one you like most and using only that.

Q. Will you make a patch for <AI Overhaul Mod/Tougher Enemies Mod/Combat Overhaul Mod> then?
A. No, because in most of these cases a patch will not be necessary. Rogues 'n Raiders already upgrades the enemies' AI and toughens them up, and should be compatible with most combat mods.

Q. Will you make any patches AT ALL?
A. That depends on what would need patching. My free time is very, very limited, and I'd rather use it to work on my mods than to make patches for mods that I most likely don't even use. However, anyone who wishes to make and upload patches for RnR is more than welcome to do so.

General Notes:

This mod edits a number of vanilla leveled lists, primarily the ones that spawn enemies, but also the lists for healing potions, scrolls, and spell tomes. If you use other mods that make changes to these leveled lists you will need to create a patch for compatibility.

Several popular mods add injury systems of their own. If you use any such mods with Rogues 'n Raiders keep in mind that injuries from those mods cannot be healed by methods from RnR, and vice versa. It is recommended to either disable the injuries from the other mods, or deactivate RnR's Penalty System.

Enemy overhauls like OBIS and Heritage will definitely conflict with Rogues 'n Raiders. You can run those mods alongside RnR with patches, but you'd get many inconsistencies, with enemies from different mods having different skills, abilities and levels. I would recommend choosing one enemy mod and using only that.

Patches:

BasPeeters1 has given RnR's NPCs a makeover, using High Poly Heads and KS Hairdos. You can find the patch here.

Compatible mods:

"Blade and Blunt" by SimonMagus616 - Compatible, but some changes (e.g. combat styles) will not carry over.
"Faction Warfare" by TwinCrows - Fully compatible, no patch required.

Incompatible mods:

Mods from the "Populated" series are incompatible since they use their own leveled lists for NPCs.

"Hi-Res Vanilla Warpaint" by tbowers1.
"High Res Warpaint and Dirtmaps for Men" by Geonox.
"Xenius Character Enhancement Complete" by Xenius.
"NordWarUA's Vanilla Armor Replacers" by NordWarUA and JDJ3.
"Scale Nord Armor" by NordWarUA.
"Masked Orcish Helmet" by Shodan44.
"aMidianBorn Book of Silence" by Cabal120.
"Molag Bal Laugh Shout" by Ghosu.