Bandosianism

This page addresses information about Bandos, his religion, and his followers as it applies to World 42 roleplaying. Any valuable contributors are welcome to add, especially as new content comes out in-game.

Bandos
Bandos, pronounced Band-Ose, is a god of war. He is the diety of most of Gielinor's less-intelligent races that tend to partake in senseless violence. As such, he is also known as "Big High War God" by most of his followers. Bandos is very powerful, known for defeating many large armies by himself. His symbol is an abstract, jagged, goblin-like shape that shares some resemblance with a spidered lightning bolt.

Brief History
Bandos arrived on Gielinor at some point during the late Second or early Third age, more likely the latter. He was one of the most active fighters in the God Wars. According to goblin religion, he attempted to recruit many of the world's races to fight for him. The dwarves, demons, aviantese, and humans all refused, as they were already fighting for others gods. Eventually, Bandos managed to recruit a number of followers, mainly consisting of many different unintelligent, and bloodthirsty, races, bringing some in from other realms.

During the God Wars, Bandos seemed to fight for the mere sake of battle. His allegiance was ever-shifting, his sole desire to revel in the bloodshed that threatened to destroy the world. While at times he fought alone, he is known to have entered alliances with Armadyl and Saradomin. This was merely so that he could win certain battles and, once these were over, he quickly turned upon them. The Wilderness was one of the main sites where armies of Bandos battled, adding to the chaos and confusion of Saradomin and Zamorak's forces, who were destroying the remnants of Zaros's empire there.

When the God Wars came to an end and the Edicts of Guthix were put in place, Bandos left Gielinor, although he still has a small but ever-growing group of followers. Some goblins say he left for new plans; others say he left because he was scared and could not make some of his followers fight.

Until recently, Bandos was almost completely forgotten by the humans of Gielinor due to his disappearance after the God Wars. In the current year, Bandos attempted to enact his plan to conquer RuneScape by reasserting his authority over his followers and amassing them into a mighty army. His goal was to use the Goblins (the Dorgeshuun tribe in particular) as his heralds to punish them for abandoning him, but his plans were thwarted thanks to the help of The Adventurer.

The Religion
In his followers' religion, it is believed that Bandos will one day send the "Chosen Commander" to Gielinor, who will then lead the Bandosians to victory over the rest of the world (Except by a few who believe the Chosen Commander will bring peace to these races). They are also expected to follow a series of commandments that detail Bandos' demands. The commands were first given during a goblin battle. They are, as follows: It isn't clear whether or not these exact commandments are followed by all bandosians or mainly goblins, although they likely all follow similar rules. Bandosian religion puts great value on war, strength, and subservience to Bandos. His armies consist mainly of unintelligent races that primarily use melee combat, although they do have a smaller number of archers and mages. Though he has one of the largest numbers of followers, they all seem to be depicted as ugly and bad-tempered. It is mainly their stupidity, dispersed numbers, and disorganisation which prevented them from causing serious problems for the rest of the world.
 * Not to run from battle. Cowards must die!
 * Not to show mercy. Merciful must die!
 * Not to doubt Big High War God. Doubters must die!
 * Not to make own plans. Thinkers must die!

Followers and Bandosian Creatures

 * GoblinsGeneral_Graardor.png
 * Ogres
 * Hobgoblins
 * Orcs
 * Jogres
 * Ourgs
 * Mogres
 * Cyclopes
 * Possibly Fayrgs
 * Possibly Raurgs
 * Some humans, but none known in groups or organizations

Common Mistakes
This category addresses traits that players, often new ones, give their Bandosian characters but that aren't actually seen in Bandosians on Gielinor. That is, a character may have these traits, but it would not be expressly due to the teachings of the Bandosian religion.
 * While many Bandosian followers are stupid and ugly, this is not necessarily a teaching of the Bandosian way. It is part of the religion, however, to be bad-tempered, violent, and blindly subservient to Bandos.
 * Very few humans would know about Bandos aside from the information available in the Varrock Museum.
 * Due to the animalistic nature of most Bandosian followers, many members of the Church of Saradomin would be instant enemies of the Bandosian religion just on looks alone - it would be absurd for a traditional Saradominist to try to convert an Orc.

Other

 * Bandos's preferred weapon is a mace.371px-Bandos_avatar2.png
 * Bandos, and possibly his followers, refer to Guthix as "the evil guthix" and the God Wars as "the Great Wars."
 * Bandos is capable of creating pendants that possess his followers and allows them to become sentinels for his power and godhood.