Bandits and Warders (Level 8 - 14)
Objectives: Ghulam Bracers, Sleeves, Cap and Pants, Talisman of the Flame, Hero's Shroud
As soon as you reach 10, go and train one point in dodge; then at 12, in meditate.
Once skeletal brigands and Loda Kai brigands turn dark blue, it is time to earn the rest of your Ghulam armor. Brigands of both types will drop skulls, and live brigands also drop earrings; collect four of each. Thugs drop insignia, and are slightly higher level than most brigands. Any Loda Kai can drop the rather rare remains, which should be collected for another quest, for the Talisman of Flame (see Hymnist Omiyad). The live Loda Kai will also give you your first experience of getting money from a kill. On a recent check, the drop rate of the bandit earring seemed lower than I remembered - I had dozens of skulls, several sets of remains, two sets of thug insignia and three of the four saurek fangs before I had one earring, and it took three play sessions to get the set of four. Collect two extra earrings to wear; these have +10 hit points, which is a good stat to have for the level at which you can obtain them.
All of these, and poachers too, can be found most frequently in the area of land between the Gor Taku camp (just follow the path from the crossroads sentry to the West), the skeletal brigand camp (further northwest from there), and some point roughly half way from that base line northwards towards the Paludal entrance.
By the time that you are happy to pull brigands and thugs from the skeletal camp, poachers will also be good hunting. These are found most commonly in the valley between the brigand camp and the entrance to the trader cave (towards the Gor Taku camp), and on the higher ground just north of this. From poachers, collect poached hides for the Champions Cape quest, and ruined cat pelts should you need any for tailoring. The weapons they drop should be given to beastlord newbies if at all possible, as they only sell for a couple of silver. Talk to Sentry Ferrin, near the zone entrance from Shar Vahl, to start the quest for the Hero's Shroud.
The last of the ghulam armor pieces come from collecting saurek fangs, which are dropped by saurek claw beasts (around level 14); you will need four. These spawn sometimes in the bandit camp, and can also be found in the north-south plain west of the path leading to the Paludal entrance. Bloodbulks are also in this area, but are extremely rare, as well as extremely tough, and don't often drop carapaces, which are for the ghulam tunic. I have heard that bloodbulks spawn in the cave system near the Paludal entrance, so if you are set on a tunic, try killing bugs in here until they spawn - I haven't had a chance to verify this.