The Holy Purge
Description
Purity and freedom from supernatural influence - these are the core goals of the Holy Purge. This elitist group believes that beings like Tieflings and others mixed with supernatural entities are an abomination, and need to be eradicated. But this is only the beginning: They believe immortal beings have no right to mess with the lives of mortals. They don't just want to get rid of their offspring, their ultimate goal is to free the mortal world from the influence of any supernatural entity. The only exclusion they make are the gods, believing that the divine beings are meant to be protectors and guides for mortals. Rumours are that a demigod created the organization, and secretly still influences it. Some clues point towards Bruthon the Divider, but no real proof has been found yet. The organization was almost destroyed about 20 years ago when they tried to kill Shadar Khuravi - and with him, his childhood friend Marisha Veilbreaker. It was the beginning of the Halfling's adventuring career, and ended in the death of the Purge's leaders. The surviving members scattered throughout the world, and for over 12 years, the Holy Purge was considered to be gone. But those fanatics that endured kept working in secret, hiding until they regained enough strength. They banished and destroyed extraplanar creatures, and focused on killing mixed offspring that nobody would miss. Gathering new members, growing in power and resources, they finally felt ready to show themselves to the world. As a powerful devil took control of a village in the frozen land of Varua, they showed up with a dozen members - clerics and wizards. And the Holy Purge not only managed to defeat and banish the devil, they kept every single citizen in the town alive - except for two tieflings, who were executed by them after the battle.Goals
Despite their ruthlessness, the members of the Holy Purge see themselves as protectors of the mortal world. They fight for the independence of every sentient mortal being, and they would die to protect someone from the influence of a devil or demon - or, for that matter, from an angel or elemental. Their most important goal is to create a world free from the meddling of supernatural entities, including the already existing changes they made in the world. This, of course, includes the tainted progeny, as they call them - tieflings and similar races.Rules and Laws
The rules of the Holy Purge are pretty simple: Protect innocents, eradicate the influence of supernatural entities and kill or banish such creatures wherever you can. Aside from that, there's only one rule: Protect the Purge - the organization itself, and its long-term goals. They lived like that for years, and gained countless enemies and supporters that way. But with Marisha Veilbreaker and Shadar Khuravi becoming two of the most important people in the new world of Ashandri, many of the organization's members have gone into hiding again. Those who still openly show they are part of the Holy Purge have to cut all ties to the hidden members.Organization structure
The Purge is run by the so-called Holy Council, four clerics who were original members of the organization. The other members split into Seekers and Eradicators. The Seekers look for targets and gather as much helpful information as they can. Armed with that knowledge, the Eradicators go hunting. The independent groups that have stayed public are run by a so-called Holy Servant. Within these smaller groups, their word is law. The Holy Servants often serve a deity one way or the other, but a few ones don't care about gods at all.Relationships
The Holy Purge has never forgiven Marisha Veilbreaker for defeating them so many years ago. But they also realize that the world depends on her now. As they see themselves as protectors, they have no other chance but to protect her, too. This situation not only makes them mad, it has also created massive conflict within the organization. Right now, the Purge is almost paralyzed when dealing with the halfling paragon. Things are a bit different with The Voidguard. They acknowledge their role as protectors, but the organization is led by the one Tiefling they want dead more than any other. The Purge would love to be allied with the Voidguard, but only after they’d kick out or kill anyone “impure”. The Arcanists are a thorn in the side for the Holy Purge. The organization is so powerful that it can’t be ignored, but they are meddling with extraplanar forces, and many of their members have planar blood. If they had the resources, the Purge would wipe the Arcanists from the face of the earth. The Arcanists, on the other hand, barely know who the Holy Purge are, viewing them as just one of the many less important groups in Ashandri. The Chainguards are a group the Holy Purge doesn't fully understand yet. They seem to be protective about the world, but the fact they're more focused on the World-Chains just doesn't make much sense to the fanatics of the Purge. They have similar reservations as with the Voidguard, but so far there haven't been any conflicts between the two groups.Important locations
The Bright Blade is a shop selling adventuring equipment, spells and magic items in Sharloc's Trade. It’s run by a Human wizard called Andruthon, but he rarely shows up here. He leaves the daily business to his four staff members, led by the halfling Erembylle. There seems to be nothing unusual here - at least, not for a magic shop. What not even his employees know is that Andruthon is a member of the Holy Purge. He has a couple of divination items hidden in the store to spy on customers - and find new targets. From a safe location in the basement, the Seeker gathers the relevant information, and shares it with the five Eradicators working with him. If he considers a target to be too dangerous, he often casts a spell on Erembylle to make her think of a particular item to sell to a customer. Such things appear like a real bargain, but turn out to be cursed items, or they are far less powerful than promised. Erembylle honestly believes she’s doing the clients a favor, while in reality she gives the Eradicators a serious advantage. The Blessed Fortress is a fortified tower that the Purge has been using for decades. After the creation of Ashandri, the residents of the tower decided to create a permanent teleportation circle in the uppermost level. Something went wrong, but in the best possible way: When the circle is activated, the entire tower moves to the intended location. Today, the Blessed Fortress is one of the organization's most valued belongings. Not only can they travel anywhere in the world with it. Sometimes they can attack dangerous enemies without ever leaving their fortified and well-protected home.Important members
Gavain Aridan is a Dwarf traveling the world of Ashandri and preaching the teachings of the Holy Purge like a religion. He never lays a hand on anybody, but he owns a ring that can banish extraplanar creatures to their home plane once a day. As a Seeker, he avoids direct confrontations (making those who attack him look like the bad guys), but if necessary, the former dwarven soldier is entirely capable of defending himself - even against demons and devils, to a certain degree. Aside from fighting, Gavain is known for his diplomatic skills. He’s got friends in the highest ranks in cities like Bridgepoint, Hag’s Rest and The Shadow Sanctuary. With resources like that, Gavain is one of the most important Seekers in the organization. Haelbroga is a female giant living in Carivar. Ten years before the apocalypse, her home town in the Ember Wastelands (still called Larysh back then) was attacked by Efreeti. The elemental creatures captured many of her friends and family members. Haelbroga barely escaped. Fleeing Larysh, the giant returned to the land of giants. On her way back to Carivar, she met a Human knight working for the Purge as an Eradicator. Together, the two established the first outpost of the Purge in Carivar, and their main goal is to free the Ember Wastelands from extraplanar influence. From their fortress near the border, they regularly organize quests to slay fire elemental creatures. But their most important project is to find a way to close all portals in the region - forever.Rumours and news
- A group called the Blazing Flame of Corathil recently appeared in Blackbed. They were part of the Holy Purge, but decided not to hide. After becoming independent, their leader Corathil drove them to become ever more fanatic. By now, they consider every being and race touched by magic to be impure. Some of their members went on a murder spree on the Ashfolk Quarters, declaring their group will wipe out all Ashfolk and other changed races to “purify the world”. Most of the attackers were killed, but a few escaped. The city has given out a high reward for their heads.
- A group of Ember Orcs has decided to stop Haelbroga once and for all. They are gathering willing warriors and spellcasters to take her fortress by storm and kill the giant.
Type
Military, Paramilitary/Militia
Antagonists
The two groups oppose each other. But while the Voidguard clearly sees the Hole Purge as enemies, the Purge considers the Voidguard to have great potential - if only they weren't infiltrated by "tainted" people.
Suspicious
Both groups only had superficial contact with each other. The Holy Purge is still suspicious of the Chainguards. The latter see how dangerous the Purge can be, but they also realize the fanatics might be useful in protecting the World-Chains.
Antagonists
The Holy Purge would love to eradicate the Arcanists. The Arcanists, on the other side, don't really care much about the fanatics of the Purge.
Comments