Roleplaying: The Mercykillers

Post Reply
*Bloodlines
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am

Posted by *Bloodlines »


The Red Death are one of the most feared factions of the Cage. Seeing as they're the bashers who lock up cross traders and hang stag turners from the leafless tree, a body oughtn't be too surprised at that. Nothing about the faction is more grim than their headquarters, however. They make their lair in Sigil's Prison, and a more foreboding structure you never will find. Even the weather there seems less forgiving than elsewhere in the city; almost as if it's punishing the faction itself.


As a rule, the Mercykillers are a secretive faction. That mightn't even be intentional though, berk; it's just that its members are so sodding unapproachable. Perhaps it's their somewhat hypocritical philosophy that rubs bashers up the wrong way: All crime should be punished, unless you're a Mercykiller. See, laws that get broken in the pursuit of catching a criminal don't count. A cynic would say that so long as a Mercykiller factioneer can come up with a plausible excuse, he could get away, quite literally, with murder.

I'd be careful around 'em if I were you...

Roleplaying the Mercykillers

The pursuit of justice ain't easy. First and foremost, a player must realize that Mercykillers don't arrest or try a berk, no matter what he's accused of. It falls to the Harmonium to arrest lawbreakers, and to the Fraternity of Order to conduct trials for the accused. Only when a sod's been found guilty of a crime under the law may a Mercykiller carry out punishment.

In an adventuring party inside of Sigil, that means a Mercykiller PC can't automatically punish a fighter for slaying an innocent peasant, or kill a thief for picking a noble's pocket. The Mercykiller's got to stay his hand until the "criminal" has been duly arrested, tried, and found guilty. 'Course, if the party has both a Hardhead and a Guvner, the Mercykiller might be able to convince them to hold a quick court. Failing that, the PC can only keep track of crimes that go unpunished, hoping to see justice done at the earliest possible opportunity.

The most profound conflict for a Mercykiller usually arises over the specific interpretation of justice. After all, what might seem wrong to one member of the Red Death may not seem so to another, especially when the two have different alignments. Lawful good Mercykillers - like Arwyl Swan's Son - often are less troubled by an escaped criminal than they are by a poor sod who's been wrongfully imprisoned or faces a staggeringly inappropriate punishment. Many Mercykillers, inspired by the high-up paladin's commitment, have likewise chosen to seek out and correct examples of gross injustice.

But infighting only hinders the cause of justice, and the faction strives for internal harmony. They seek to rely on the letter of the law, not its spirit, as their mediator. Any sod who doesn’t follow the law is a criminal and must he punished - that’s the official faction line. But when two Mercykillers butt beads - well, something’s got to give. If they can’t come to a mutual compromise quickly, one that satisfies both sides' sense of justice, a DM can determine an appropriate penalty, the following being examples:

 * Wizards and priests cast spells at half their actual level; they can't cast spells that aren't available above their penalized level.
* Fighters recieve only one attack per round and lose any specialization bonuses
* Rogues perform all thief functions at half their usual capabilities

These penalties represent the internal conflict of the character, distraacting him from the task at hand. The DM shouldn’t impose these restrictions for more than a day unless a Mercykiller ardently ‘refuses to put justice before all, including his alignment. Some Mercykillers choose to live with these restrictions, hying to maintain a precarious balance between their own viewpoint and the ideals of the faction. 

Of course, being a MercykiUer requires more than a simple love of justice - no matter what his class, a Mercykiller must undertake a lengthy period of training and study if be wants to progress beyond the rank of namer. Those who do learn the law to an exacting degree - the factotums of the faction - are called Justices by the Red Death. They carry out the day-to-day functions of running the Prison and maintaining the faction’s outposts on Acheron. The most elite become Justicars, who are assigned to track down the most dangerous of criminals. The most devoted Mercykillers go on to become factors.

ALIGNMENT. While the Red Death requires only that its members be lawful, only those who’re lawful neutral may truly understand the final goal of justice above all else. Lawful evil and lawful good characters, if they properly play their alignments, allow the distracting factors of good and evil to cloud their judgment and search for justice.

Of course, some players may feel that their faction goals override their alignment ideals. But truly exciting role-playing can take place when a character tries to meld those two potentially conflicting attributes. A Mercykiller's got to find the compromise that satisfies his inner turmoil. Otherwise, he might face the faction penalties described above - or end up in the Gatehouse with the other barmies who couldn't handle the strain of the multiverse.

CLASS. Though the book A Player’s Guide to the Planes in the PLANESCAPE Campaign Setting restricts rogues from the ranks of the Red Death, a generous DM might allow a thief to join the faction after all - provided the berk’s willing to take an oath forswearing all thieving activities that break the law. Thus, a Mercykiller rogue can hide in shadows, but not pick pockets. [A thief who constantly tries to suppress his cross-trading tendencies should make for good role-playing. - DMs.)

Other classes might also pose conflict for a Mercykiller. Priests, for instance, might try to punish the guy in the name of their power, rather than in the name of justice. But they’d be missing the point; justice ain’t beholden to any power. Most Mercykiller priests learn quickly to place justice above all else. Any cleric who wants to punish lawbreakers in his power’s name had better keep his actions dark from the faction high-ups - unless, of course his god's a power of justice.

FACTION ABILITIES
RP Abilities only: Requires consent of a DM/EM or all players involved/affected by its use if no DM/EM is present. (per Server Rules)

Detect Lie: Once per day
 
Mercykillers are immune to committing a crime while pursuing or punishing a known criminal. However, if the crime is committed outside punishing the criminal, the Mercykiller is subject to the full weight of the law.
 
Blood of Justice: If the target is cut by a blade coated with this substance, or injests it, then the next round they will start confessing to any and all crimes he's knowingly committed in the past 24 hours. The target must make a successful will save vs spell for the blood to have no effect. The DC for this substance is 25.
 
Arrest Warrant: When granted by the Factol, a Mercykiller Justicar or higher is given a specialized warrant that contains a powerful Hold Person ability per the wizard spell. The spell works only against the criminal named on the warrant. The spell imposes a -10 penalty to the target’s saving throw and creatures that are normally immune to Hold effects are still subject to this power. The warrant’s effect lasts for 5d4 rounds. The DC is based on the Hold Person spell and the Mercykiller's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (whichever is highest).
Post Reply