[ChalkLine]

Originally Posted by Ursus Maior

That and then the question: "What is a marauder really?"

Marauder is more of a foreign appellation. Most groups wouldn't call themselves that, unless you're looking for a fancy name for your military unit. Thus, marauder is more a catch-all term for bandits and raiders, possibly ex-military, but also could just an armed gang.

So, where do they come from and what did they do before? Marauders fill up a power vacuum and usually don't stay marauders for very long. It's a hazardous occupation, so you either establish an area where you can run a different, less dangerous scheme, or you become a roving party. Those usually end messy, once someone else claims the territory as theirs and achieves some local support.

Once marauders have their hide-outs known, they're usually hunted down pretty quickly. It's really a no-brainer for local power structures to do so: lines of communication and commerce become safer, local people happier and you get to show your strength, keep the weapons and re-distribute the possessions and stolen goods of the marauders.

Absolutely.
I have an almost-finished scenario where you deal with marauders who are sure they are freedom fighters and even have a banner, a manifesto and a justification for everything shitty they do.