Modern Sodkillers

A revised faction awaiting the judgement of the community. Some major changes here, I think they're pretty reasonable but I'm willing to take critiscm.

The Sodkillers

Salinger stashed himself away under his heavy bomber jacket guarding himself against the strangely chilly air of the abandoned factory. Although Salinger was never the savory sort, even he had to admit the old abandoned industrial districts were creepy, and it made him feel distinctly uncomfortable to be hanging around like a bad smell instead of driving through the neighbourhood as fast as damn possible.

"Hey, Caesar?"

"Mmhm?" replied Caesar in his bored manner.

"Next time, when you arrange the meeting with our Doomguard pals, can ya take to us a place where I don't feel like I'm being watched constantly?"

"Well," said Caesar, "I picked this here locale for some particular reasons."

"Like what?"

"For instance, this place is real secret like. None knows about this place, it's just one abandoned factory in a whole ocean of 'em. It's a dodgy place, which is conductive to my sorta business and to intimidating people. Plus, the walls block sound, in case I'm forced to use this here pistol," said Caesar, smiling mildly.

"Don't tell me your planning something, Caesar."

"As a matter of fact, I am." There was a faint click behind Salinger's back.

"What the hell? Is that what I think it is? Caesar, you can't do this, we're on the same side!"

"This isn't Hell. It's a gun. I can do it, and we're not on the same side. And if you don't want a hole in your back, you'll get on the same side with me. From now on, you work for me and Vincent Aldos. If you don't, you'll get violenced real bad. Do you need anymore compelling reason?"

Ever since their split from the Sons of Mercy, the Sodkillers have fallen from a faction which resembled a gang of thugs to a gang of thugs that resembles a faction. Though complex thought is not a strength of the Sodkillers, even the factotum fail to realize the Sodkillers are grounded in philosophy and is not just a confederacy of armed gangs. It's no surprise to anyone that the Sodkillers are now recruiting those on the chaotic side of the ring.

Some Sodkillers say it's time for a change. A few charismatic leaders may eventually bring the Sodkillers to their own renaissance, but unfortunately they are too busy fighting each other for the future of the faction.

Philosophy: Might makes right.
Nicknames: Gangers, Brutes, Hardjaws.
Headquarters: Vorkehan in Acheron.
Majority Races: Bladelings, githyanki, half-orcs, humans, khaasta, tieflings.
Favored Classes: Strong Hero, Tough Hero, Fast Hero
Faction Prestige Classes: Sodkiller Enforcer, Sodkiller Mercenary, Street Tough
Factol: Rick Corvaire (NE Male Human, Strong 1/Tough 3)
Prominent Members: Babaloth (CE Male Glabrezu), Gareth Saros (LN Male Human, Strong Hero 4/Tough Hero 4/Charismatic Hero 5/Soldier 5), Jean Xicimis (LN Female Aasimar, Fast Hero 3/Charismatic Hero 5/Personality 5), Vincent Aldos (LE Male Elf Charismatc Hero 5/Strong Hero 5/Soldier
Alignment: Any non-good except Chaotic Neutral
Symbol: A rust-red colored fist on a blood-red colored disc, surrounded by a border of green serpents.

Philosophy
There is a difference between right and wrong, and it's called "consequences". Whatever you can get away with is right, and whatever you get pounded for is wrong. In the end, fists, swords and guns determine what's right and wrong, so it's a good idea to be better armed than your neighbor, cutter.

It's not difficult to understand, but it's also where the Sodkillers stop agreeing. You see, the lawful Sodkillers say that justice should be doled out in a predictable fashion. If you're just randomly beating people in it doesn't further your own goals. Beating someone in for looking at you ugly-like is one thing, if you beat enough people in, maybe they'll avoid looking at you all together. But killing and fighting for the sake of killing and fighting doesn't achieve anything.

Chaotic (and always evil) members, on the other hand, claim that beating people in doesn't need to achieve something. They can do it because they're mighty, and creatures that can't defend themselves are toys to be played with. If they don't like being toys, they can fight back, and then it's their problem. Chaotic Sodkillers are the ultimate power abusers.

Brief History

After the Sodkillers were re-founded, the faction had a brief revival. As the faction gained power, it became clear that it would not last, and when Nijul P'iuy died the Sodkillers came to civil war, each leader claiming more worthy of being Factol than the other. At that time, the Sodkillers had entire mercenary companies at their control, and battles were quick and deadly. The war, however, turned out to be completely indecisive, and each side backed down, knowing that there wouldn't be much of a faction left if the fight continued. In the Sodkiller fashion, an tournament every ten years would decide the Factol.

Politically, the Sodkiller factol was weak, and the faction, as they say, went to the dogs. Invariably, the Sodkiller method of election had the best fighters in charge rather than the best leaders, and the faction split into a multitude of gangs and interests. The Sodkillers became a confederacy, to fight against the influence of other factions. For a vast expanse of time, these were the Sodkillers.

Without anyone to say otherwise, the Sodkillers began to accept chaotic members into their faction. Most had been arguing that Sodkiller philosophy had a strong chaotic element. The fact that demons had believed that might makes right long before the Sodkillers were founded had been an uncomfortable truth that was difficult to ignore. Soon enough, the taanar'ri glabrezu Babaloth declared his open support for the faction.

The lawful side of the faction was righteously pissed. The Sodkillers had members across the strata of Sigil society, from the law-enforcement to the cartels that ruled the Sigil underworld, and while they were above the law they were still ethically grounded in it. Despite the shock, civil war would only weaken the faction further and plant the seeds of Chaos. The 10 year tournament was fixed so that Rick Corvaire would win, thinking that he'd lend some unity (and perhaps some Law) to the faction.

Three years had passed since Rick Corvaire's election, and everyone's forgotten why they supported him in the first place. Every blunder Rick Corvaire had caused the faction to hemorrhage members, he turned out to be a weak-spined slimeball, a politician of the sleaziest sort. When someone leaked that Rick Corvaire has been magically buffed before the tournaments, the Sodkillers almost dissolved from shame, but a miracle held them together.

The Fraternity of Order declared a bounty on thousands of member of the Order of Being, and the Sodkillers jumped at the chance to make some jink. The Sodkillers herded the Order of Being like cattle, hanging them in the Lady's Ward like pieces of meat to dry. They smoked them out of sewers and drove them from safehouses, even raiding Anarchoburg for more bounties. In what would be called the Hunt, an entire quarter of the Order's membership was executed in the Lady's Ward. Because of public appeal, the Fraternity of Order dropped the bounty on the Order of Being, citing that they had learned their lesson and enough was enough.

For the first time, the incident actually caused the Sodkillers to gain members, Rick Corvaire was prepared to bribe the Fraternity in order to continue the bounty. New life was breathed into the faction and many wondered what the Sodkillers would do with this new inertia. For some the answer was obvious: depose the Factol, and replace him with someone better. Each Sodkiller gang has their own vision for what the faction needs to become, and all they need is the arms to make it happen.

Goals

The goal of every Sodkiller is to make the faction as powerful as it was under Nijul P'iuy, even the Chaotic Evil Sodkillers. With a lot of fresh blood in the faction, many of the Sodkiller leaders are desperately recruiting and bullying the other gangs into joining their own. The Sodkillers in the know soon expect another civil war, but one a lot smaller than the first. Little do they know, should war arrive, both sides of the Blood War are planning to get involved.

When it boils down to it, there are four candidates for the leadership of the faction, and it will be between these five forces that will fight the Civil War: Rick Corvaire, Babaloth the Glabrezu, Gareth Saros, Jean Xicimis, and Vincent Aldos.

Few like Rick Corvaire, but some still think he is the best candidate for factol. Corvaire claims that his neutrality makes him the best candidate for peace, since he neither aligned with Chaos nor Law. This is a compelling reason enough for those whom want the faction alive, but most Brutes have no respect to someone who panders to both sides. For whatever reason, the Yugoloths are giving Rick Corvaire money and weapons in exchange for his secrecy.

Babaloth the Glabrezu has his own vision for the faction, albeit a chaotic and evil one. If he wins he considers it a victory for his side in the Blood War, so he expects a Baatorian fly in his soup. Babaloth is considered a cut above other demons because he doesn't terrorize the weak much, but this is because Babaloth is concentrating gaining power among the Sodkillers. Graz'zt and a few other Demon Princes have promised him troops should war erupt. The Yugoloths have also promised Babaloth support, granted that he keep it a secret.

Vincent Aldos was the patriarch for Sigil's biggest cartel and is has been preparing to take control of the faction for a long time. Many powerful factotum have pledged their support to him and most outsiders expect Vincent to win. The Baatorians have been funneling money to him. The Yugoloths are also fueling Vincent Aldos's war machine, provided their involvement is kept secret.

Gareth Saros is the police chief of Sigil, and has been seething ever since the fiend Babaloth somehow got into the faction. While he's a damn good and (relatively) uncorrupted police chief, he can't resist the temptation to hurt Babaloth's sub-faction in underhanded ways. He's recieved a couple of checks from the Yugoloths, one of which he cashed in a moment of weakness, and which he's too embarrassed to admit he's done.

Jean Xicimis is one of the most respected Sodkillers, and her Sodkillers maintain law and order in the Lady's Ward. They're the kind of people you'd want to come to your party, if you wanted to make any berk that tries to ruin it gets the crap beaten out of him in a back alley. Their tendency to wear red carnations with their black suits and ties have earned them the nickname "bloody roses" and "black-ties". Her army is the smallest of the four sub-factions, but it is made up of crack troops and blood war veterans which make up for the lack of quantity. Out of all the factions, Jean is considered the closest philosophically to the old Sodkillers. She has a pile of checks from Yugoloth sources she hasn't cashed in yet, suspicious of their motives.

Allies and Enemies

The Harmonium and the Sodkillers have had an uneasy partnership safeguarding Sigil's streets. At this point, neither faction has the power to police Sigil completely, so they do rely on each other a lot. That being said, there is a huge difference in their philosophies, and some day one of them will want complete power over the Sigil law enforcement, so their alliance is uncomfortable at best.

The Sodkillers see the Order of Being as a bunch of weak-willied pretentious drug addicts. They still owe the Order a bunch for saving their faction from the brink and haven't yet repaid their debt. Their re-education will be from the barrel of a gun and the business end of an axe, it'll certainly teach them to take the Sodkillers more seriously!

The Doomguard have provided the Sodkillers with a variety of destructive weapons. The Sodkillers are aware that it's in the hopes that they'll destroy one another, but the Sodkillers think they've got the safeguards from total annhilation, so the joke's on the Doomguard, as far as most Brutes are concerned.

Sodkillers hate Xaositects, the Bleak Cabal, the Revolutionary League, and so they persecute them whenever possible. Some Sodkillers aren't above framing members of these factions, so they're especially dangerous. Out of those factions the Revolutionary League has a serious beef with the Sodkillers in return, and the Anarchists certainly have some members stationed inside Sodkiller ranks.

The Mind's Eye and the Transcendant Order, and to some extent the Athar smells a lot like pathetic touchy-feely mysticism to the Sodkillers, and few members even try to get to know the philosophies of these factions. Each member of these factions is dealt with in a case-by-case basis, so they'd better not break any of the Sodkiller's laws or else the Hammer of Justice might have to crush someone's skull.