Mercykillers

[Flession]

The Mercykillers (Red Death)



Justice, the Mercykillers’ ideal, is a two-edged blade: it punishes the guilty just as it defends the innocent. Depending on a Mercykiller’s alignment, they may be more concerned with issues of social justice (good), or derive satisfaction in punishing the guilty (evil). They include bounty hunters, guards, anyone with a vendetta, and legal advocates. In Sigil they are based in the Prison, while on the planes their headquarters are split between Bytopia and Acheron.

Prerequisite: Only Lawful characters can join the Mercykillers.

Philosophy: Justice must be carried out. Perfection is the goal of the multiverse.

Plane of Influence: Acheron

Headquarters: The Prison

Allies: The Harmonium, the Guvners, the Doomguard and the Mercykillers.

Enemies: Signers, Sensates and the Anarchists.

Restrictions:

• No thieves, no criminals.
• If you break a law, you must subject yourself to the full punishment.
• They execute the guilty.

Rising in the Ranks:

• No tests to join. They just hear the cold, hard facts about law.
• Many Mercykiller guards have Aoskian Hounds, two-headed dogs.
• Factotum are known as Justices. They must train and study to learn the law thoroughly. They are free to take on a crusade against rulebreakers.
• They can go through a ritual to become a justiciar (see below).
• Some people who are sentenced to death are devoured by the Mercykiller Wyrm, a dragon-like creature that lurks in the bowels of the prison.

Background:

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Investigation
Tool Proficiency: Navigator's Tools, Poisoner's Kit

Equipment: Navigator's tools, poisoner's kit, manacles, a set of traveler's clothes including a faction badge sewn into them, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp.
Feature: Enlisted. You have taken an oath to uphold the Eight Tenets of Justice before your peers, and are entitled to the duties and privileges of a Mercykiller. This means that you may (and are encouraged to) volunteer for guard duty at the Prison in the Lady's Ward, and here you essentially have the run of the prison, including the Cellars where the "forgotten" prisoners are kept. You are also able to visit the prison on other occasions, and have permission to visit prisoners there. You also have knowledge of a portal that leads to Vorkehan, City of Fumes, which is the Mercykiller stronghold on the plane of Acheron. You possess a key to that portal as well.
Inspiration: Compel the Truth. If you gain a point of Inspiration for adhering to your faction philosophy, you may use it to automatically detect the first lie told before your next short rest. It's hard to deceive a Mercykiller. Activities that might potentially earn you Inspiration may include:

• Dispensing justice at great personal or emotional expense to yourself.
• Taking the time to properly investigate the guilt or innocence of a prisoner.
• Allowing another to fairly punish you, though it hurts you.

Suggested Characteristics: Mercykillers tend to be a harsh lot, dispensing and demanding justice, but their ultimate goal is fairness, to make the multiverse a more equitable place. There are some in the Red Death that focus on the "mercy" aspect of their faction, trying to identify and confront injustice or perverted justice, but there's many who are simply happy to define justice and fairness on their own terms, and apply it rigidly.

Additional Information

The Mercykillers are a bit on the newer side, as far as factions go. During the Great Upheaval, when the Lady of Pain passed down her mandate culling the number of factions, a lot of groups faced disbanding. Two groups, the Sons of Mercy and the Sodkillers, joined forces. The Sons of Mercy were a band of lawful good bloods who kneaded the laws of Sigil like dough, finding loopholes for criminals who were wrongfully accused or faced outlandish punishments. The Sodkillers, on the other hand, were strictly lawful evil. Little more than hired muscle, they offered to avenge perceived "wrongs" for the right amount of jink. Neither faction was very large, and it was unlikely that either would survive the Lady's edict. So the two factols met secretly and hashed out a charter that merged their factions, combining elements of their respective beliefs. The charter as written up some 600 years ago - known as the Eight Tenets of Justice - is still in effect today for the Mercykillers.

THE EIGHT TENETS OF JUSTICE

1. I will uphold Justice before all else, purging the multiverse of those who break the law.
2. In all situations I shall weigh the rights and wrongs with a clear and impartial mind.
3. I shall decide where Justice must fall under the law, and I will mete out that Justice with a firm and unyielding hand.
4. I believe in the righteousness of my faction: we alone answer to the higher law of Justice.
5. I will not pass judgment on good or evil, only on law-abiding and law-breaking, for therein lies wrongdoing.
6. I will punish the guilty as the crime demands.
7. I will be diligent in my pursuit of the guilty, and while so engaged I will remain innocent of any wrongdoing in the eyes of others.
8. I will never release a lawbreaker until his sentence has been carried out.

[Flession]

Renown

Renown	Rank	Special Abilities	Min. Character Level
3	Mercykiller (Namer)	Meryckiller Restriction, Justice Strike, Zone of Truth	N/A
10	Justice (Factotum)	Sense Guilt	5th
25	Justicar (Factor)	Bonded Quarry	10th Level

Meryckiller Restriction. Mercykillers who let the guilty go without justice, or who present false testimony against the innocent betray their faction. Should you betray the Mercykiller’s beliefs you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction.
Justice Strike. You can spend Inspiration to deliver a blow for justice against a known criminal, turning your hit into a critical hit.
Zone of Truth. You can cast Zone of Truth once per day as a 2nd level spell. Wisdom is the spellcasting modifier.
Sense Guilt. When observing or interacting with a creature for 1 minute, you can make a Wisdom (Insight) check to determine how much guilt they feel (none, a little, some, a lot) regarding a specific topic raised by you, another, or the environment.
Bonded Quarry. When you swear to pursue an escaped criminal or prove a wrongfully accused innocent, you can sign a document in blood, magically bonding yourself to your quarry. Your quarry becomes aware of this bond; a criminal is filled with dread while a wrongfully accused innocent is filled with hope. You have a flawless direction sense to your quarry, which spans across planes. During a day of downtime you may change who your quarry is via another ceremony, though only if the situation with your previous quarry is resolved. Additionally, you receive a scroll of Hold Person (which you can use even if you’re not a spellcaster, Wisdom is the spellcasting modifer) and a potion of truth (which Mercykillers call “blood of justice”) to aid in bringing your quarry to justice. Both of these items are specifically attuned to the quarry and cause them to have disadvantage to save against the effects.