Kalin
Unwanted
The bandit camp is really tough, I pretty much always have to do the Aurelian outpost first to get skill points to boost dodge and crafting. It might be easier to take on the bandits if you have good block, though I have yet to try it. Usually, I need masterwork iron armour (auxiliary, phrygian or leather) and/or at least 5 in dodge and some luck. Force-attacking is a bad idea since the enemies tend to get an extra turn for some reason. Instead, I always start by taking out the bandit leader with critical strike (need 4), after which I go for the healthy axe-dude since he tends to dish out the most damage. It is tempting to kill off the injured ones first, but the axe guy is away from the rest (and farther from those damn archers). If you manage to net him on your first turn you can usually mess him up plenty before the rest show up.
When the injured ones do close in and surround you together with the axe-dude, whirlwind is a great way to dish out some serious punishment and kill them off quickly (especially if used together with poison). I often use whirlwind instead of running away, and I particularly like that it can cause knockdowns and throw enemies back. Also, top-tier spears like the krokspar actually work with this attack, so you don't need the normal 1-tile distance. You still won't get counter-attacks unless they attack you diagonally, but the damage from the krokspar's whirlwind is so brutal it hardly matters. Alternatively, you can just run away and pray for auto-attacks as they approach you.
Once the archers begin to close in, I typically run north into the woods past the cage. The archers will be farther away then and tend to miss more. Basically, I just run from them until their arrows run out and they rush forward to engage in melee.
Finally, if you ever get into serious trouble, you can use two burning oils (needs 3 alchemy) to deal some minor damage and create a fire barrier around yourself. The enemies are too stupid to realise the extent of such powerful sciencemagjifiks, and after being pushed back by the flames, they happily stand there allowing you to safely gut them at your leisure. Also, even if they are outside your range, or if you don't use spears, a single point in throwing will allow you to hit armoured foes reasonably often with throwing knives (and it goes without saying that bow/crossbow users will have the time of their lives).
When the injured ones do close in and surround you together with the axe-dude, whirlwind is a great way to dish out some serious punishment and kill them off quickly (especially if used together with poison). I often use whirlwind instead of running away, and I particularly like that it can cause knockdowns and throw enemies back. Also, top-tier spears like the krokspar actually work with this attack, so you don't need the normal 1-tile distance. You still won't get counter-attacks unless they attack you diagonally, but the damage from the krokspar's whirlwind is so brutal it hardly matters. Alternatively, you can just run away and pray for auto-attacks as they approach you.
Once the archers begin to close in, I typically run north into the woods past the cage. The archers will be farther away then and tend to miss more. Basically, I just run from them until their arrows run out and they rush forward to engage in melee.
Finally, if you ever get into serious trouble, you can use two burning oils (needs 3 alchemy) to deal some minor damage and create a fire barrier around yourself. The enemies are too stupid to realise the extent of such powerful sciencemagjifiks, and after being pushed back by the flames, they happily stand there allowing you to safely gut them at your leisure. Also, even if they are outside your range, or if you don't use spears, a single point in throwing will allow you to hit armoured foes reasonably often with throwing knives (and it goes without saying that bow/crossbow users will have the time of their lives).
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