Bandos
| “ | I am War! I am Power! I am Bandos, the rightful god of all goblins, and through this puppet commander, I shall become god of all RuneScape! | ” |
— Bandos through Zanik
|
Bandos ( also known as the Big High War God, Goblin God and Sky Goblin by the goblins, although Bandos is not actually a goblin, but a different currently unknown race of 'goblin-like' humanoid) is a god of war and the deity of many of Gielinor's less intelligent races such as goblins and ogres, although orks and some ogres at least know his name (according to the High Priest in Land of the Goblins). Until recently, Bandos was almost completely forgotten by the humans of Gielinor due to his disappearance after the God Wars. Bandos is very powerful, known for defeating many large armies by himself.
Bandos and the God Wars
Bandos was one of the most active fighters in the Third Age battles, also known as the God Wars. It would seem Bandos arrived during the wars, and according to goblin religion, he attempted to recruit many of the world's races to fight for him. The dwarves, demons, elves, aviantese, and humans all refused, as they were already fighting for other gods such as Armadyl, Saradomin, Seren, Zamorak and many other gods who arrived to fight. Eventually, Bandos managed to recruit a number of followers, mainly consisting of many different unintelligent, and war-like, races.
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' empire there.
Bandos' army is one of the five combatants in the God Wars Dungeon battle, which is even today being fought over the mighty Godsword. Despite the fact that the God Wars ended over 4,000 years ago, the battle is still raging on, as its combatants were frozen during combat. His army consists mainly of unintelligent races that primarily use melee combat, although they do have a smaller number of archers and mages.
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.
Return
In the Chosen Commander quest, Bandos attempted to enact his plan to conquer RuneScape by reasserting his authority over his followers (Ogres, Orks, Goblins, etc.), and amassing them into a mighty army. His goal was to use the Goblins (the Dorgeshuun tribe in particular) as his heralds. By using the peaceful Dorgeshuun for his warlike purposes, he hoped to punish them for abandoning his cause in the God Wars. However, his "Chosen Commander," the one to lead this army, broke free of his control. She, with help from some fellow Dorgeshuun and the player, launched a counterattack against the War God, and succeeded in destroying the pendant Bandos had been using to exert his will on the Goblins of RuneScape. With the pendant destroyed, and much of Bandos' power with it, it currently seems unlikely that Bandos will be able to rebuild his strength for another assault in the foreseeable future.
The Goblins
Bandos found the first goblins during his search for followers that would fight for him in the God Wars. He discovered them in a separate world known as Yu'biusk. This massive world was large and marshy, with massive mushrooms and other strange plants and structures covering the surface; overall, it was rich and fertile. Bandos forced the goblins to come with him to Gielinor, training them in the ways of combat and ultimately turning them into brutal and violent warriors. Yu'biusk and all that remained were all but destroyed; the once rich land was charred black, covered in craters and poisoned sludge. By the end of Bandos' reign, it was completely uninhabitable. The goblins, who were much stronger and more numerous than they are today, fought for Bandos in twelve different tribes:
- Thorobshuun
- Ekeleshuun
- Garagorshuun
- Idithuun
- Rekeshuun
- Narogoshuun
- Drogokishuun
- Dorgeshuun
- Huzamogaarb
- Horogothgar
- Saragorgak
- Yurkolgokh
The tribes served him unquestioningly, referring to him as the "Big High War God". Bandos used the goblins wastefully, sending them to battles that they could not possibly win for mere sport. Today many of the tribes have been wiped out entirely.
One tribe, the Dorgeshuun, fled his rule, realising that they would be forced to extinction if they followed him any longer. The Dorgeshuun fled underground in the swamps near the River Lum, hiding in fear from Bandos, and cutting off all contact with outside civilization, in hope that Bandos would never find their civilization, because they knew he would destroy them for their treasonous ways. Bandos never did find the Dorgeshuun tribe, and over many centuries the Dorgeshuun adapted to their peaceful life underground and founded the city of Dorgesh-Kaan. The Dorgeshuun now oppose violence in all its forms and are amongst the most peaceful races in Gielinor.
As the ages passed, most goblin tribes were either wiped out or combined forces for survival. Most have even forgotten the names of the tribes they hailed from. Goblins today are still similar to their ancestors, although their strength has greatly diminished and their violent ways have eased slightly.
They have even started to settle down in smaller civilizations such as The Goblin Village near Taverley .
The ogres
Little is known of Bandos' involvement with the ogres. Bandos is believed to have led the ogres into the Feldip Hills during the God Wars, where they established Gu'Tanoth and enslaved the peaceful skavids. It is noted that in Oo'glog there is a pool of copper-infested water known as the "Bandos pool" which could signify the Ogres' allegiance to him.
Religion
In Goblin religion, it is believed that Bandos will one day send the "Chosen Commander" to Gielinor, who will then lead the goblins to victory over the rest of the world (Except by Grubfoot who believes the Chosen Commander will bring peace to the goblin race). The Dorgeshuun goblin Zanik was the Commander. The Goblins are also expected to follow a series of commandments that detail Bandos' demands. The commands were given at a battle with goblins. They fought the 'Beardy-Short-People', (Dwarves), here, as well as the evils of the 'God of Dark Flame' (Zamorak). They are, as follows:
- 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!"
Whether or not these exact commandments are followed by Bandos' other followers is unknown, although they likely follow similar rules. Bandosian religion puts great value on war, strength, and subservience to Bandos.
Followers
Bandos has one of the greatest amount of followers in all of RuneScape. Most of his followers are depicted as ugly and bad-tempered beings with low intelligence. It is mainly their stupidity, dispersed numbers, and disorganisation which prevented them from causing serious problems for the rest of the world. It is notable that Bandos actually bred a few of his followers for specific purposes. For example, he bred a special breed of ogres for jungle survival, now known as Jogres. He also bred Mogres, ogres adapted to surviving underwater. Prior to recruiting the goblins, he attempted to recruit the dwarves and demons, but was unsuccessful. These followers include:
These are also possibly followers of Bandos:
Affiliated Items
- Book of War
- Bandos Chestplate
- Bandos warshield
- Bandos helmet
- Bandos gloves
- Bandos Godsword
- Bandos Tasset
- Bandos Boots
- Ancient Mace
- Granite Mace
- Bandos Platebody
- Bandos Platelegs
- Bandos Full Helm
- Bandos Kiteshield
- Bandos Plateskirt
- Bandos Vambraces
- Bandos Body
- Bandos Chaps
- Pendant of Bandos
- Bandos Vestment set
- Bandos coif
Trivia
- There is a gravestone which bears the Bandos symbol. This type can be purchased only in Keldagrim, the dwarven capital city.
- Bandos is the first major God to directly converse with a player character during quests, followed by Zaros. Prior to this, players had encountered lesser deities during the desert quests, like Amascut/The Devourer and Icthlarin. Previous instances were while wearing an item dedicated to a different god in a waiting room in the Castle Wars activity.
- Unlike other gods, Bandos appears to be a purely melee-concentrated god. For instance, Armadyl, Zamorak, Saradomin, Guthix and Zaros all have magic spells associated with them as well as ranged and melee items. Even Seren is magical, since examining a Crystal bow results in "A nice sturdy, magical bow".
- According to Bandos's Ultimatum, Bandos' preferred weapon is the mace.
- During The Chosen Commander, in the boss battle against the Bandos Avatar, while he explains his plans to the player and Zanik, he refers to Guthix as "the evil Guthix", and the God Wars as "the Great War".
- The Bandosian symbol appears in the old Construct. cape emote.
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The Ancient mace used by the Goblins in the past.
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A male character wearing some parts of the Bandos armour set.
References