Did the Sons of Mercy make it into the UP era? Anybody know?
Thanks
Luc "Curious" French
The Sons of Mercy status?
Wed, 2006-08-30 21:28
#1
The Sons of Mercy status?
Fri, 2006-10-06 00:26
#3
The Sons of Mercy status?
I would imagine that the Sons of Mercy would be one of those factions that would be easy to fragment, but never truely die.
Whereever there are good people that want to make a difference, defend the downtroden and meek, people that genuinely want to help without all the back-stabbing politics or shoving their believes down the throats of the people that they are helping; the Sons of Mercy will always exist in some shape or another. After all, Good is a force that is just as persistent as Evil. The Sons of Mercy may have had false start at the end of the Faction Wars, but that was merely because they were still adjusting to operating without the support of the Sodkillers. They were mocked, laughed at, kicked down and finally suffered devestating loses to their already thin numbers toward the beginning of the Pantheon War.
It was believed that the few Sons that survived the slaughter had disbanded. Some, left bitter and full of rage at their failure, were absorbed into the Sodkillers. Others, now convinced that they had to save the ungrateful masses from themselves, were absorbed into the Harmonium. Many of the more scholarly Sons joined together with a rogue faction group of Sensates, Guvners & Anarchists and were among those that had helped form the radical organization that would later become the truth-seeking faction of The Revealing Light.
But, amazingly, a few Sons of Mercy stayed true to their ideals. It was a long a painful road, but they managed to pick themselves up and begin the slow process of rebuilding in hiding. However, this new incarnation of the Sons of Mercy had learned some hard lessons on the road to recovery. They learned that to employ the same tactics that they used millenia ago (before fusing with the Sodkillers) would only lead to another disaster and more failure.
In secret alleys and dark corners, they carefully observed, watching for noble souls. And while the world seemed bleak and unforgiving, kindred spirits would slowly begin to show themselves. For, while there was evil in all creatures, they're was also a capacity for good that was equally insidious. A street tout would go out of her way to defend an old man she didn't even know from being mugged. A nobleman would take a begger into his home to bathe, feed and clothe him just for the sake of giving this begger another chance at life. An apothecary would risk his life to steal a rare herb from a dangerous fiend to make medicine for his sickened community. It was people like these that would be approched in secret by Sons of Mercy recruiters and offered the chance to do some real good, to truely make a difference.
And it was through these tactics that the Sons of Mercy were reborn. Stronger, smarter, more willful and passionate than they ever were before. Gone were the bright shiny armor and gleaming swords. The pomp and circumstance were shed to reveal a more practical and down-to-earth faction. Their zeal to do good was not lessened one iota, but it was cleaned and sharpened to a fine edge. They were no longer a wannabe police force, but good samaritans... with clubs and an almost overwhelming hate for those that would victimize the weak...
After all, knights on white shining horses would only get you so far...
Thoughts on my ideas?
Fri, 2006-10-06 01:26
#4
The Sons of Mercy status?
Thoughts on my ideas?
Yes; I suspect that the Order of Knights Errant (my proposed sect/faction) were founded by a surviving Martyr (along with a former Cipher and a character to be named later), and many of its early members would have been Martyrs; since then, any attempt to revive the Sons would have been co-opted by the Wanderers, as they directly derive large chunks of their code from the philosophy of Sons of Mercy, and the failures thereof.
In other words, I'd suggest that the Order of Knights Errant is all that's left of the Sons of Mercy. They fit your description of what the result would look like, with some possible exceptions; it's late, and I haven't read your post in great detail.
Really, the reason I asked the question in the first place was because I wondered how they would interact with the Order of Knights Errant; if they were wiped out, that gives a better context for my own ideas of the history of the Wanderers.
Thanks
Luc "Suggested" French
Fri, 2006-10-06 13:23
#5
The Sons of Mercy status?
Well, from what I've read of Order of Knights Errant, they wouldn't be so much the remains of the Sons of Mercy, but more of a splinter group of the newly reformed Martyr faction. The Sons of Mercy, in general, are not a groups of warriors. They still believe is teaching good through example, they're just a little more.... proactive in their efforts now. And they employ a wide range of tactics in spreading their ideals, ranging from the honorable Warriors of the Knight Errant, to theft of riches and medicine for the poor and sick, to convert espionage.
Some have even tried to help some unwitting recruits risk the hugely dangerous task of deserting the Blood War.
Fri, 2006-10-06 20:46
#6
The Sons of Mercy status?
I like the new direction for the Sons...
Might I suggest an outside nickname for the resurrected Sons? like the "The Shining Terror." This would be a derogatory nickname for the more 'politically active' Sons, but one muttered almost as a sign of respect. It might also bleed over on the Knights and similar groups with heavy ties to the more militant groups within the Sons.
Plus, they could be an interesting parallel to groups like the IRA, which have both political arms and paramilitary arms, which occasionally have conflicting goals.
I like making evil groups have some aspect of 'good' and good groups some aspect of 'evil'. I prefer it best when that element comes from one's own personal outlook.
In the Harmonium's case, it would certainly be the fact that they occasionally tend to be more Lawful than Good, and will on occasion do evil in the process. In the case of the Knights, it is their concept of duty that gets them into trouble. Finally, for the Sons, it would be a slight 'hunted' aspect many of the eldest Sons have and their tendency to now go farther than what is necessary or even recommendable in the name of doing good. If the Sodkillers are LE and tend towards LN, the Sons are LG but tend towards LN. If a militant Son hears of a serial murderer, they might go and hunt that person down... not even really thinking about the fact that what they are doing could be called murder. More philosophical Sons would recognize that, but might self-justify it.
Fri, 2006-10-06 23:04
#7
The Sons of Mercy status?
Well as much as I like a little conflict in the factions, we need to be careful that the Sons of Mercy don't end up looking too much like Mercykillers 2.0 or the Harmonium Junior.
It's entirely possible that a few rogue members of the Martyrs might resort to lethal force, but remember that their main goal is to spread good through example. Killing is, more often then not, out of the question... but that not to say that some don't mind roughing up a criminal a little "to teach them a lesson in respecting their fellow man". *evil grin*
Sat, 2006-10-07 00:51
#8
The Sons of Mercy status?
Here's something I whipped together in about an hour. It demonstrates a bit of how I think the Sons of Mercy are now:
Freto laid on the cobblestones of some dark, wet back alley. He had tried to get to his feet or even just to move away from his attacker, but his head was still swimming from that punch he took to his cranium. Looking up, he saw his attacker, but he could only make out a few features before something dripped over his eyes.
What it blood or sweat? God, he hoped it was sweat.
The man who had assaulted him leaned against a dumpster, folded his arms and gave him a fierce look. The man shook his head and rubbed his nose while breathing slowly to calm himself down. Whoever this man was, he was mad. After a few moments, he pushed himself off the dumpster and began to pace back and forth. As he paced, he finally spoke to the battered Tiefling. The sound of his voice was nothing like Freto was expecting. It was calm and articulate, almost like his old school teacher.
"Agatha Hazelbranch," his attacker spoke. "Age 286. Mother of three. Grandmother of five..."
Freto tried to lift his head, "T-That what this is about? That nasty old bag that I---?" His sentence was cut short by a sharp kick in the side. There was a stabbing pain in his chest and sickening snap. Breathing suddenly became very painful.
His ribs. Oh gods, that berk broke his ribs.
The man cleared his throat, "Please, don't interrupt. It's rude. Now as I was saying," he continued. "Grandmother of five, with another grandchild on the way. She liked to knit clothes for her neighbor's children in her spare time and had a pet felldrake named Mittens."
The man stopped pacing and stood over Freto menacingly. "You, sir, broke into this nice elderly lady's home, beat her within an inch of her life, killed her pet and stole everything that wasn't nailed down. And for what? A little petty jink?" The man reach into the Tiefling's pocket, pulled out his money pouch and jiggled it in his face. "How much did you get for her knitting needles, hmm? 2 copper? 4 copper?" His face twisted into a mask of anger.
"HOW MUCH!" he screamed. "HOW MUCH JINK WAS WORTH VICTIMIZING A SWEET OLD LADY?!"
Freto tried to crawl away from this man's fury, but it was still too painful to move, even more so with his newly broken ribs. With no other option, he began to plead.
"Oh, gods. Please don't off me! I swear I didn't know that lady had connections! I'll do anything you want, just don't---", the man held his finger to Freto's lips to shush him.
"Relax," He said. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have put a bullet in your head hours ago instead of lecturing you like I'm doing now." He took the thug's money pouch and emptied it into his hands.
"What you did was wrong and you don't deserve this money." He slipped the coins in his pocket and stuffed the money pouch in the robber's mouth. "Now, while I use this money to pay for Ms. Hazelbranch's hospitial bills, I want you to think about what you've done."
The man calmed down slightly, knowing that his message had been delivered and rose to his feet. As he walked away, he looked over his shoulder and a slight smile touched his lips, "And don't you pull anything like this again. I'll be watching you... Freto..."
Hearing the man walk away, the thug could do nothing but look at the alley wall and wonder how that man knew his name. He was just too hagard and beaten to do anything else.
Maybe... just maybe... this was how Ms. Hazelbranch felt... Freto thought to himself as his injuries finally forced him to lose consciousness.
Sat, 2006-10-07 01:03
#9
The Sons of Mercy status?
An alternate suggestion is that among the prisoners freed by the Lady of Pain at the dawn of the Revelationary Era were roughly a thousand Sons of Mercy who had attempted to break out prisoners from various Mazes (the Lady, on this one occasion, had appearantly repayed Mercy with a different kind of Mercy); they come out to find their faction relegated to the history books, and decide to start afresh.
Thanks
Luc "Obvious" French
Sat, 2006-10-07 03:52
#10
The Sons of Mercy status?
It's entirely possible that a few rogue members of the Martyrs might resort to lethal force, but remember that their main goal is to spread good through example. Killing is, more often then not, out of the question... but that not to say that some don't mind roughing up a criminal a little "to teach them a lesson in respecting their fellow man". *evil grin*
Those I mentioned would be the hyper-militant sub-group (like most paramilitary groups, these would be extremists amongst extremists).. most members probably wouldn't consider going anywhere NEAR that far. However, the problems of extreme groups generally only are at their worst when those who are true fanatics show up... The equivalent of violent Greenpeace activists for the environmental movement, or the Minutemen for the anti-illegal immigrant movement. The cause may itself be reasonable. The MEMBERs sometimes aren't. I was also referring to mostly elder Sons, who have been around for a series of purges, and might be reactionary as a result. The type who, believing in being an example, tend to go a bit farther than the rest.
Much like the Harmonium's problems came as a result of being too fanatical about Law and losing sight of the greater good in the process, the fanatical arm, Sons problems come in their devotion to being an example of 'justice' and 'being examples of good', and making the punishment fit the crime. Those who are circumspect or have had some time to think won't generally do anything TOO bad, but it's when the members are impulsive, simply short-sighted , or ignorant of a greater purpose that things crop up.
Thus, the "Shining Terror" is derogatory... it's almost a way of saying "I think the Sons of Mercy go too far" or "I dislike them on general principles." Plus, if the Harmonium have gotten less military and prone to physical action (as it appears they have) we need a faction (the Order and the Sons are both good candidates.. thus the problem of levels) who IS more prone to direct action on a LARGE scale. (The Order's not currently set up as being capable of doing a lot of coordinated effort. The Sons are, and I'd imagine they would have picked up some of the Sodkillers' techniques along the way.) Thus, you have the main body of the faction (say 90%) favoring relatively peaceful works. The others (say 10%) are those who favor more direct actions a larger percentage of the time. They would consider mercy to be a quick death. Likewise, each faction would have a fanatic sub-group.. as those would be the best to put as antagonists for the PCs.
An early casualty list of the Pantheon War had the SoM getting dead booked when they tried to get between the dwarven and gnomish armies. Of course, if someone comes up with a good idea for UPS, then a few of them survive the War.