Bandos is a villain in RuneScape. He is one of the gods. His followers consist of goblins, hobgoblins, ogres (and their variants), orks, and trolls.
History[]
Wishing to become a god, Bandos decided to seek the sleeping god that rested in his homeworld. He was warned that killing the god would end all life in his world, but he decided to do so anyway.
After destroying his homeworld, Bandos discovered the land of Yu'biusk. He corrupted its peaceful inhabitants into the warlike races that remain on Gielinor today and manipulated them into turning on each other, as well as discouraging them from negotiating to end the conflicts between them. There were some residents of Yu'biusk that were concerned that Bandos's actions would eventually lead to the destruction of their home world (which was proven to be entirely justified), but Bandos told the rest of the residents to ignore them, referring to them as cowards.
Bandos arrived in the world of Gielinor to take part in the God Wars. However, Guthix banished him due to the threat that he posed to said world and what he had done to Yu'biusk. He was not allowed to take his followers with him, as Guthix felt that they would be better off without him. He decided to destroy what was left of Yu’biusk in a rage.
During the god wars, one goblin tribe (the Dorgeshuun) decided to rebel against him. They realized that they would have no future if they continued to follow the big high war god, as he intended to make them fight a battle that they had no chance of winning. So they retreated to their city of Dorgesh-kaan.
Bandos found a way to get past the edicts of Guthix by forming an avatar of himself, which would come to life if one were to wear a pendant. This avatar would influence their actions, as shown when Zanik chose to wear it.
Zanik was eventually persuaded by the player to remove the pendant (but not before she killed Sigmund, partly due to the pendant's influence but partly due to the horrid way he treated her when she was his prisoner), but the high priest of Bandos put it on instead. The Avatar of Bandos then proceeded to attack Dorgesh-kaan. The Dorgeshuun would have to return to Bandos or be destroyed.
However, Zanik and the player were able to defeat the avatar and destroy the pendant. This drastically weakened Bandos.
Following his failure to reclaim the Dorgeshuun, Bandos was allowed to return to Gielinor after Guthix's death. He attempted to win the Stone of Jas from Sliske's game. He intended to kill Armadyl, as he knew that Armadyl was his polar opposite. However, he ended up underestimating Armadyl and was slain by him instead, though this was partly due to being weakened by his pendant's destruction.
Following his death, his followers attempted revenge on the Dorgeshuun, but after the events of The Mighty Fall they decided not to attack Dorgesh-Kaan regardless of whether the player wins or forfeits the Kyzaj Tournament.
Legacy[]
Following Bandos' death, his followers decided to attack Dorgesh-kaan, as they knew the Dorgeshuun had played a role in Bandos' death due to their defiance and thwarting his plan to return to Gielinor. Zarador decided to have a Kyzaj Tournament to decide who would replace Bandos as leader, which the player won.
Personality[]
Bandos represents everything Guthix attempted to prevent by banishing the gods. He revels in war and wishes to spread it across Gielinor. This is due to his environment, in which he was encouraged to battle others. As a child, he would use his toys to simulate battles, and in his adulthood would imagine his followers as his toys.
He showed a lack of care for his father, as he decided to give him what he felt he deserved (a warrior’s death) when he was crippled in combat.
Bandos views his weak followers as being expendable, though he will reward his followers if they prove themselves to be strong.
Unlike Guthix, who became a god purely by accident, or Zamorak (who became a god as a side effect of overthrowing Zaros), Bandos not only willingly chose to be a god, but was willing to sink to any length to obtain it, even if it meant ending all other life on his homeworld. Additionally, when he was given a chance to obtain the Stone of Jas by killing other gods, Bandos was fully willing to participate, a move which cost him his life.
Bandos views the other gods as hypocrites, such as Armadyl. Ironically, he himself shows hypocrisy when he claims to be a merciful god to the Dorgeshuun, even though he decided not to show mercy to a calf even after he gave him valuable information about the god he was searching for.
He is shown to be manipulative, as he manipulated the races of Yu'biusk to go to war with each other. He is also wrathful, as he destroyed what was left of Yu'biusk when he was thrown out of Gielinor by Guthix and lost many of his followers as a result.
Trivia[]
- His personality provides a contrast to Armadyl, who he fought during the world event "Bird and the Beast". Armadyl deeply cares for his followers, while Bandos himself does not. Armadyl wishes for peace, whereas Bandos wishes for war. This contrast is similar to Saradomin and Zamorak, who are the gods of order and chaos respectively.
- Due to being written to be unlikable, Bandos ended up losing the Bird and the Beast world event, where players could vote on who they wanted to win. Armadyl is portrayed as being nothing but heroic (lacking the corruptive qualities that Saradomin had), so players chose to support him over the villainous Bandos.