The Mercykillers

Source: Factol's Manifesto p.100

The Fist of Justice

Ask a Mercykiller why he’s joined a Faction that's also called the Red Death and a berk’ll get one answer: Justice is everything. It's absolute and perfect, but it's got to be correctly applied if it's to mean anything. The Mercykillers set out to do just that, reasoning that if someone (meaning them) does it right, then the multiverse will be cleansed of evil, and thus he made perfect - the true culmination of this Faction’s work.

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 or Justice

1. I will uphold Justice before ail 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.

The faction embraces these tenets wholeheartedly some would say too much so. But the Red Death is committed to punishing any and all lawbreakers. As such, they form a perfect triumvirate with the Harmonium and the Guvners. The Hardheads make the arrests, the Guvners convict the criminals, and the Red Death metes out the punishment. Likewise, the Doomguard is sympathetic toward the Mercykillers, finding in the process of punishment - especially long periods of wasting incarceration - ultimate entropy. The Indeps, of course, think otherwise, but they generally just avoid the Red Death whenever possible.

The faction has regular run-ins with members of the Signers, the Sensates, and the Anarchists, though rarely with the Fated. Alisohn Nilesia has not hidden her growing involvement with Duke Darkwood from her people, and her Faction is inclined to look Favorably on the Takers as a result.

Factol Alisohn Nilesia

Female tiefling planar

Alisohn Nilesia, the new Factol of the Mercykillers, is quite mad and more than a little dangerous. Only 19 years old, the girl - part human and part something-more-fiendish was born in the Prison she now commands, the daughter of a thief who died during childbirth. She grew up in the Prison under the care of a ward matron, learning the chapter and verse of every law in Sigil - as well as the Red Death's punishment for each infraction. After the mysterious death of her surrogate mother. Nilesia tried to join the faction as a full-fledged member, but Factol Mallin stubbornly refused to allow an eight-year-old child to become a Mercykiller. Three years later, though, her persistence paid off - she was allowed to join the faction at the age of 11.

The child’s convictions were preternaturally strong; nothing shook her beliefs. Detractors tried to have her expelled from the faction, but Nilesia merely smiled and bided her time. Before long, her excellent organizational skills acquired her the post of Justice Dispenser, where she wrote up the duties and orders for all the Mercykillers in the faction.

Interestingly, most of Nilesia’s detractors were given assignments that cost them their lives. Those few left who’d bad-mouthed the child quickly learned to keep their concerns to themselves; a number of them accepted posts on Acheron for fear of her reprisals. These Mercykillers have watched from afar the girl's rise through the faction hierarchy. (Since Nilesia became factol, a mysterious illness has struck many of the exiles on Acheron, and the ranks of her original detractors are dwindling. - Ed.)

Fortunately for the young factol, all the remaining members of the faction are staunchly devoted to her. In the eight years that she's served in the Mercykillers, Alisohn Nilesia's risen quickly to the rank of factol, watching the faction expand until its ranks in Sigil numbered approximately 25,000. And while a few members of the Red Death view her rapid climb with envy, most feel a sense of pride, believing they've helped mold this very accomplished woman. Fact is, many Mercykillers have developed a Fanatical devotion to their new factol. Anywhere from 20 to 30 faction members accompany her at all rimes; all would gladly give their lives if Nilesia so requested it.

The intensely driven young woman is so obsessed with justice that she makes many Mercykillers' devotion seem like a passing interest. Restless and high-strung, she sleeps perhaps 15 minutes out of every four hours. Her body's used to this relentless pace, and 10 of her closest Mercykillers have also adapted to this routine (the best known among them is a gloomy basher named Shander Mountpool(PL/♂tiefling/F8/Mercykillers/LE)). When asked once why she slept so little, Nilesia replied coldly; "Justice doesn't sleep. Why should I? Why should you?" The questioner disappeared shortly after that.

Nilesia's talents lie in organization and coordination. She devotes nearly 24 hours of every day to planning and implementing her schemes. In the two months since she became factol, she's approved the punishment of thousands of inmates at the Prison, the faction's headquarters. A body can't accuse her of too-hastily performing her duties, however. Nilesia reviews the file on each case, catching and clarifying any and all discrepancies. (A number of Guvners at the City Court and some record-keepers at the Hall of Records have begun to grumble at all the extra work Nilesia's causing, correcting their mistakes. - Ed.) Only when she's properly satisfied that the prisoner before her is guilty and has been properly tried will Nilesia approve a punishment.

The Prison

The Prison's located in The Lady's Ward, the richest and most powerful in all of Sigil. It's a forbidding (and foreboding) structure fully seven stories high. Unlike a lot of Sigil’s architecture, there’s nothing very graceful or soaring about its roofline. Systematically placed guard towers are the only enlivening feature of the roof. The effect s somewhat dampened by searchlights that sweep the area constantly, day and night. (The searchlights consist of translucent gems on which continual light spells have been cast, with the resultant glow magnified through treated glass. - Ed.) Armed Mercykillers patrol the roofs walkways at all hours; they lead packs of Aoskian hounds that bay the moment they scent a prisoner outside his cell.

The walls are slate-gray stones, completely regular and symmetrically placed. The structure's built on a ten-block square area of land, and from the outside it looks like a solid building. However, the Prison's actually built around an open square, where some of the prisoners are allowed to take exercise and others are forced to perform drills or work details. It's a bleak courtyard - treeless, shrubless, grassless, and generally devoid of any possible aesthetic relief. All that's in the square is a single wide pathway culling across the center: only Mercykillers are allowed to walk on the path. All inmates must walk on the dirt, which can be a lot trickier than it sounds when Sigil's brown, oily rains turn the yard into a greasy pit.

As grim and miserable as the square is. the interior of the Prison's worse. Save for a portion of the first floor that's devoted to business offices, the factol's quarters, and the like, the remainder of the prison aboveground is entirely given over to cells. All seven floors surrounding the square contain cells that house anywhere from one to Four prisoners at a time, depending on how fast the Guvners can try the sods. Each cell is a tiny area, no more than 5 feet wide by 10 feet long, and perhaps only half have windows. ('Course, no one but a pixie could escape through these windows - and the pixies are held in a special cell just for them. - Ed.) All told, the Prison can hold up to 24,000 inmates at a time.

Though the cells are bitter and terrible, there's still a place that's even worse: the underground portion of the Prison known as the Cellars. Down there are mess halls, bathing rooms, and workrooms - all grim places the inmates must visit daily. And down there are also the Sentencing Rooms, where death or torture is meted out. It's even said that die Cellars are filled with "forgotten" cells that house an additional 8,000 prisoners. Inmates live in terror of being called to the Cellars, because they never know if it's to mend some overalls or to have their fingers lopped off for shoplifting.

Faeiol Nilesia has instituted some new procedures regarding sentencing, but the Mercykiller guards keep prisoners in the dark as much as possible. Nevertheless, word can't be entirely concealed in a place the size of the Prison. It's plain that a few lucky sods - a very few - have actually been set free. Others've been sent off to powers only know where. Few sods hope for the rumored pardons the factol's passing out - hope only makes their suffering that much worse.

The Mercykillers have at ways carted off "special" prisoners to Petitioner’s Square, a public place where jeering crowds can watch a berk get bung, beheaded, or eaten. (For more information on such dubious gatherings, refer to In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil - Ed.) But most of the inmates met their deaths in the deepest, quietest comer of the Cellars. By the time sods learned where the execution chamber was, they were already standing in line.

Now, though, Factol Nilesia's mandated that the inmates be put to death in the open square inside the Prison's four walls. During her first month in office, she had a tremendous gallows built in one corner of the square, directly above a heavily guarded pit said to lead to the Cellars. Deaders get dragged underground and sent through portals to a special area in the Mortuary that handles executed prisoners.

The daily hangings are mandatory viewing for prisoners. Each day, inmates from one floor of the Prison file our to the square. Under heavy guard, they’re forced to witness the hangings of fellow inmates whose crimes fall under the death punishment in the new sentencing procedures. Nilesia Feels the example will help them avoid making similar mistakes in the future.

Visiting the Prison

Most folks who enter the Prison don't come back out again - at least, not till their sentences have ended. But some cutters actually volunteer to set foot inside. Mercykillers visiting Sigil are strongly encouraged to work a guard detail in the Prison every other fortnight. Those Mercykillers assigned to guard duty have the run of the Prison, including the Cellars, (Other factions are another matter entirely; under no circumstances will outsiders be allowed to "help" patrol. - Ed.) Likewise, Mercykiller priests may enter the Prison once a fortnight to address the spiritual needs of the inmates. The priests enjoy Free access to the Prison, save for the Cellars.

Sometimes comrades of berks who’ve been locked away come to see their friends or petition on their behalf. In the past, they would have been turned away, but Factol Nilesia's instituted a few new policies.

All visitors with business at the Prison are allowed to enter via the main door. They’re taken to a large, dismal waiting area, sparsely furnished with wooden chairs and patrolled by armed guards.

Factol Nilesia, surprisingly, attends to most visitors herself. Of course, she’s surrounded by a number o bodyguards and attendants, most of whom do the actual work. (Should any PCs attack her, anywhere from 20 to 30 Mercykiller guards will respond in like fashion instantly.) The factol's available at any time of the day or night for a short audience. She'll listen to pleas about wrongly incarcerated family members and friends; if there's any proof, she'll study the case and get back to the party involved.

Nilesia also allows prisoners visitation privileges on the First day of every month. Of course, there are certain limitations: The prisoner is brought to a special holding room in the back of the visitors' hall and given all of 15 minutes. Oddly, one member of Nilesia's trusted circle is opposed to this reform: a paladin named Arwyl Swan's Son. He's got his suspicions about Factol Nilesia, but thus far he’s kept them to himself. He thinks Nilesia is letting the inmates have visitors as some son of twisted torture. He's adapted his schedule to Nilesia's and is with her nearly every hour of the day. The factol trusts him implicitly, for he holds the position of Ward Monitor of The Lady's Ward (the most powerful position behind factol),

Nilesia frequently lets Arwyl Swan's Son deal with good-aligned parties, rightly believing that they would be more inclined to trust the paladin. As such, he has a good deal of power, and is likely to meet with adventurers looking for falsely imprisoned comrades. He won’t go so far as to help a prisoner escape, of course, but he’ll listen to heroes plead a friend's cause. Under no circumstances will he let sods from other factions enter the Prison proper. Even lawful good Mercykiller PCs must eloquently state their case before Swan's Son will consider letting them enter the Prison. If they do, and if he's convinced of their willingness to obey the rules, he and another Mercykiller will escort the PC through the Prison to see an inmate. The paladin will bend the rules no further, not far anything.

Arwyl Swan's son
Male human prime

Arwyl Swan's Son hails originally from Cormyr in the world of Toril. As a young (and zealous) paladin, he chased a succubus all the way to the Outlands, where he caught the fiend before she could return to the Abyss. It was a desperate battle, but Swan's Son persevered. He was badly injured, however, and unable to return home.
A nameless Justiciar (see "Mercykiller Membership") happened upon the injured young man and tended his wounds, regaling the paladin with tale after tale of justice brought to wrongdoers. When the Justiciar left, Swan's Son was hale and imbued with a strong desire to embrace justice in the extreme; he promptly became a devout member of the Mercykillers in Sigil. But he’s had some trouble adjusting his desire for justice with his belief in the lawful good. Often it seems to him that the Red Death stretches the bounds of goodness in the name of justice - and even commits acts of out-and-out evil. So he tries to ensure that not a single sod goes to the gallows for a crime he didn't commit. Recently, Swan's Son has begun trying to increase the number of lawful good Mercykillers, putting them in positions of greater responsibility and importance in the Prison.

Within the Ranks

As is the case with Arwyl Swan's Son, the Mercykiller faction allows player characters to interpret the abstract concept of justice according to their personal ideals. Of course, this can lead to arguments between two Mercykillers, not to mention between a Mercykiller and another character - say, a thief who steals to feed the poor. But, as a lawful faction, the Red Death also offers strict regimentation to those who seek it After all, sometimes the easiest way to live is just to do as you're told and follow the rules - even blindly.

Role-playing 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, 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 Arwyn Swart'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 be punished - that’s the official faction line. But when two Mercykillers butt heads - well, something's got to give. If they can't come to a mutual compromise quickly, one that satisfies both sides’ sense of justice, the DM is free to impose the following faction penalties:

• Spellcasters cast spells at half their actual level; they can't cast spells that aren't available above their penalized level.
• Fighters receive only one attack per round and lose any specialization bonuses.
• Rogues perform all thief functions at half their usual percentages.

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

Of course, being a Mercykiller 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 he 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 devoted Mercykillers go on to become factors. Anti an elite few may even become Justiciars (a special kind of factor) and be assigned to track escaped criminals.

Alignment. While the Red Death requires only that its members be lawful, only those whore 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 these two potentially conflicting attributes. A Mercykiller's got to find a 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 rogue to join the faction after all - provided the berk's willing to take an oath foreswearing all thieving activities that break the law. Thus, a Mercykiller rogue could hide in shadows, but not pick pockets, (A thief who constantly tries to suppress his cross-trading tendencies should make for good role-playing. - Ed.)

Other classes might also pose conflict for a Mercykiller. Clerics, for instance, might try to punish the guilty 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.

Mercykiller Membership

Cutters looking to join the Mercykillers face some pretty stiff restrictions. All members most be lawfully aligned, whether good, evil, or neutral. An applicant with any criminal taint in his past is usually tossed out into the street, with a warning never to return. For those who measure up, though, joining the Red Death is a simple matter. The faction holds enlistment days once per fortnight, and an applicant need only present himself at the Prison, The day's candidates gather in a room for a lengthy discussion of the Eight Tenets of Justice. At the end of the day, any berk who still wants to join must swear to each of the tenets. Doing so means he's henceforth considered a Mercykiller.

Faction Abilities
Once per long rest Mercykiller members can cast zone of truth as a 1st level spell. In addition, they can spend Inspiration to deliver a blow for justice against a known criminal, turning a hit into a critical hit.

Another benefit is the faction's tendency to turn a blind eye to its own violations of the law - to a point. If a Mercykiller commits a crime while pursuing or punishing a known criminal, he’ll consider himself innocent, of course. Justice takes precedence over all. On the other hand, if he commits a crime outside of his punishment of a felon, he's subject to the full weight of the law. (To date, not a single Mercykiller has ever refused such sentencing, even if the pronouncement is death. - Ed.)

The faction’s also developed a dark red liquid that intensifies a body’s guilt; they call it the blood of justice. The stuffs said to be made of the blood of the great wyvern kept in the faction’s Tower of the Wyrm. (See In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil for details on the wyvern and the tower. - Ed.) If the blood enters the target's body, whether he drinks the liquid or gets cut by a sword coated with it, on the next round the berk starts confessing to any and all crimes he's knowingly committed in the past 24 hours. If the target makes a successful constitution saving throw the blood has no effect, One of the guard captains at the Prison, a basher named Reggia Pylk (Pl/♀human/F10/Mercykillers/LN), controls the faction’s supply of the blood of justice.

Any Mercykiller factotum of 5th level or higher who shows an extreme aptitude for dispensing justice may be chosen by the factol to become a Justiciar. Only the most resolute and responsible Mercykillers are picked for Justiciars are the bloodhounds of the multiverse, tracking down and bringing to justice heinous criminals who somehow slip through the wheels of law. They're excused from all other duties and assignments, and they can command any resources or assistance from other Mercykillers as necessary in pursuit of their prey. Even if the quest takes a lifetime, Justiciars are fanatically devoted to bringing in their quarry. Many have died in the attempt.

A Mercykiller who’s chosen to become a Justiciar must undergo three steps. First, he swears an oath to pursue his assigned target, which he signs in blood, Second, he's linked to his target by a magical binding ceremony. Finally, he's equipped with a magical warrant of holding to serve bis prey.

The binding ceremony serves two purposes. First, it provides the Mercykiller with an innate sense of distance and direction regarding his opponent. Even the planes don't distort this special sense; likewise, no spells or magical items can disguise or hide the target. Second, it announces to the quarry that the hunt is on, often saddling the criminal with a sense of impending doom. The material component of the binding ceremony is a piece of evidence from the crime, or something belonging to the criminal. She Justiciar must keep this item on his person for his special sense to operate.

Justiciars don't chase everyday criminals like pickpockets: they're sent after only the most dastardly villains that somehow give the Red Death the laugh. Accepting an assignment as a Justiciar tan be an excellent jumping-off point for an adventure, as Justiciars may bring any desired companions along on their quests.

Justiciars gain the following feat:

The Chant

The Mercykillers have posted declarations all over the Cage announcing their sentencing reforms, which they claim have "simplified" the process of punishment. Henceforth, all crimes committed in Sigil fall into one of three categories, and all crimes committed in the past get reclassified according to the new structure. For all felonies (such as murder, rape, burglary, or arson), the Mercykillers' new punishment is death. For all misdemeanors (such assault, embezzling, jaywalking, begging, or vagrancy), the new punishment is 10 years' hard labor in the Lower Planes, And for all other rules Infractions (such as failure to pay fines, falsifying reports, and so on), the new punishment is 10 years' incarceration in the Prison.

Factol Nilesia's said to have some sense of fairness, though. For instance, a berk who’s already served more than 10 years for operating a tavern without a license is now free to go. But sods serving life for previously sentenced felonies are getting the hangman's noose. The chant says that 3,200 prisoners have been led to the gallows since Nilesia’s takeover. Now she even wants to hold a special monthly hanging, open to the public - figuring the best method to deter future crime is by showing the results ahead of time.

No one knows yet what the other factols'll do about Nilesia's new punishments and procedures, but it's a safe bet thieor response'll be a strong one. The prisoners, on the other hand, have made their feelings known: Eight guards are said to have lost their lives in a massive cell block riot last week. The Mercykillers have since cracked down even harder, but word leaked to the outside of a "kingpin" among the inmates - a baatezu erinyes called Lygess the Cruel (PI/♀fiend/LE) - who's uncovered a dirty secret about Alisohn Nilesia, a secret that'd pull the factol down faster than quicksand.

More troubling resistance to Nilesia's plans might come from a bit closer to Home - within the Red Death itself. Plenty of faction members learned to hate and fear Nilesia as she rose to power, watching their friends flee to Acheron or disappear altogether. Rumors among Prison guards mention a band of lawful good Mercykillers led by a high-up in the faction - perhaps even Arwyn Swan's Son himself - that's planning a secret trip to Acheron. They want to check out reports that "inconvenient" members of the faction're being jailed in the fuming city of Vorkehan, the faction's base on the evil plane. (For more information on Acheron and Vorkehan, refer to the Planes of Law Campaign Expansion boxed set, - Ed.)

Some folks say the sods locked up in the Prison aren't as bad off as many think. A cross-trading berk named Baggerblade (Pl/♂githzerai/Ro5/Revolutionary League/CE) is boasting at a few taverns that his sentence was cut short in exchange for exotic fruits and ales he procured for weary guards. Baggerblade also claims to have learned that prisoners are allowed to exercise solely to keep them in good shape - they're going to he used as the front line in an upcoming war for the heart of Sigil, a war that'll be fought not by Nilesia or her Mercykillers, but by Duke Rowan Darkwood, factol of the Fated.

Fact is, Darkwood and Nilesia have begun an odd courtship of sorts, one that seems likely to end in some sort of marriage. The factols haven't kept their relationship dark from the rest of their factions, but no one knows if their affection is real or if it's just a from for a more sinister deal.