Sodkillers
The Sodkillers are a minor Faction from the Planescape setting of Dungeons & Dragons. They are an ancient faction who date back before the Great Upheaval, when the Lady of Pain decreed that Sigil would tolerate only a small number of the then-prolific Factions to reside within its streets. The Sodkillers responded by hooking up with another Faction with relatively compatible beliefs, the Sons of Mercy, and the united groups rechristened themselves as the Mercykillers. In the wake of the Faction War, they broke back up again.
Philosophy[edit | edit source]
In the Faction War adventure module, the Sodkillers' philosophy is summarized as "any problem can be resolved with the right kind and right amount of physical violence".
In "Riven Justice: The Mercykillers", it is instead summarized as "Absolute Order", with the following quote and expanded information:
- “Chaos wins if we permit free thinking and subversive ideas.”
- Civilization requires stern laws. The Sodkillers enforce those laws at the expense of personal freedom. Provided crime is held in check, it doesn’t matter how many liberties the people must sacrifice; a stable and functioning society is far more important than individual happiness. Justice must be dispensed swiftly and should always outweigh the severity of the crime, to deter others from subverting the established order. Thus, the Sodkillers hack off hands from thieves, torture and then execute killers, and engage in other cruel activities in the name of justice.
Post-Faction War[edit | edit source]
After separating from the Sons of Mercy, the Sodkillers rebranded themselves as "The Minder's Guild", a band of bounty hunters, mercenaries and bodyguards characterized by their acceptance and valuing of shows (and acts) of force. Ironically, their reputation for ruthlessness, efficiency and great success, combined with the fact that they have more legal weight to their actions than the Sons of Mercy do, means the Minder's Guild is generally regarded with greater acceptance and faith by the average denizen of Sigil. They have great hopes for becoming a new faction in their own right once the Lady of Pain allows factions to return to the City of Doors again.
Sources[edit | edit source]
The Sodkillers as a revived proto-Faction debuted in the Faction War adventure module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition. Unlike their counterparts, they were mostly ignored in 3rd and 4th edition, until the article "Riven Justice: The Mercykillers" in Dragon Magazine #370 expanded upon the lore for all three factions - Sons of Mercy, Sodkillers and Mercykillers - in the World Axis.
