Gothic 3 Bandit cave near Montera

near Montera, shortly after the cave with wolves, there is a big cave with scores of bandits. what is their part in the story-line? is it quest related or just an excuse to add up on the XP points?

They're not quest related AFAIK, but I believe there is a "special" chest in the cave.

then it's just another XP-laden cave, just like the one near the grain thieves.. but i can't recall finding anything special in the chests..

The loot system in G3 is rather badly done. Basically the loot you get depend on how many "special" chests you open. These chests are often located next to trolls on a mountainside or in remote caves (I found less than half of them in my last playthrough), and the special items found there are barely better than a self forged sharpened bastard sword, a nimrod bow, and a worn paladin shield, that all can be gotten fairly easily and early...

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2682 has all the info needed on this rather retarded design decision.

thanks for the link, Zaleukos.. that thread contains a lot of info but i'm scared to read ahead because of the abundant spoilers..