Bretonnia has a long tradition of outlaws—those cast outside the protection of law. Anyone may strike them down without crime, and there are many paths into outlawry.
The most common outlaws are peasants who flee their lords. These desperate folk steal food and hunt illegally but rarely kill. Townsfolk and foreigners often pity them, but nobles see only cowards who abandoned their station. Villagers despise them too, as they suffer reprisals when hunted game or stolen food is traced back. Still, such fugitives may find redemption by performing great deeds, like defending a village from Beastmen.
Others are hardened criminals—murderers and brigands who prey on nobles, merchants, and travellers. They kill for coin, fence stolen goods, and show little mercy. Even peasants shun them, and most fall to bounty hunters or knightly patrols.
The most hated of all are outlawed nobles and Chaos cults. When discovered, they are stripped of protection, and knights and peasants alike are urged to destroy them. Some hole up in fortresses, but most flee to the wilderness, ruling by terror until rival nobles or other outlaws bring them down.
Most famous are the Herrimaults—bands of hooded rebels who rob the rich, aid the poor, and strike against cruel lords. In peasant tales, all are led by a mysterious figure known only as The Faceless, though in truth many groups exist across Bretonnia.
The Herrimaults are made up of many kinds: disillusioned soldiers, peasants condemned for resisting injustice, women forced to flee the courts for living as men, and even nobles turned against their peers. They follow a Code of Honour—never harming innocents, staying loyal to each other, and never asking about a comrade’s past.
Joining them is perilous. Aspirants must declare themselves in the forest where a band hides, risking Beastmen and Greenskins until the Herrimaults appear. Those who survive swear the Code and prove themselves under watchful eyes. To guard against spies, groups keep separate hideouts and limit knowledge of gatherings.
Herrimaults enjoy immense popularity among peasants, who beg them to rescue the condemned, raid tax caravans, and shield villages from monsters. They are equally ruthless in guarding their reputation: impostors or false claimants to the name are executed without mercy.
To most nobles and merchants, the Herrimaults are dangerous criminals and rebels to be crushed. Yet some of Bretonnia’s more honourable lords quietly admire them, and a few secretly offer aid. Rumours even whisper that certain Faceless leaders still dine in castles by night, living as both noble and outlaw.