Order of Saint Hieronymus
⚔️ Order of Saint Hieronymus
"To judge the world is not arrogance—if the world is already condemned."
Origins
The Order of Saint Hieronymus was founded nearly a century before the fall of Mordheim, in the borderlands between Ostermark and Talabecland, after the discovery of a ruined monastery said to contain the incorruptible body of Saint Hieronymus of Judex, a warrior-priest who once denounced both Empire and Chaos for their shared hypocrisies.
According to scripture, Hieronymus received a vision at the edge of death: a comet with twin tails, streaking toward a city of decadence, followed by a tide of fire and judgment. He died in exile, forgotten. But when the comet came, and Mordheim fell as foretold, his name was written anew—this time in blood.
The Order rose rapidly, gathering disillusioned warriors, zealots, monks, and inquisitors who saw the fall of Mordheim not as a tragedy, but a revelation. They believe the city must remain fallen—not rebuilt, not looted, not exploited. To them, Mordheim is a holy site of reckoning, and anyone who enters it with greed, magic, or ambition is a heretic.
Doctrine
The Order is governed by the Codex of Ash, a brutal and uncompromising litany of judgment. Its three central tenets are:
- Corruption is not to be cleansed, but consumed in flame.
- No warband is righteous unless proven by fire and oath.
- Mercy is a heresy of the weak. Only justice is eternal.
They burn wyrdstone when they find it, smash relics of forbidden gods, and execute the "tainted" without trial. They do not torture—only sentence. Their courts are swift and mobile, their “Judgment Circles” often set up on ruined altars or scorched ground.
They consider even Sigmarite priests too lenient. They openly denounce witch hunters for “weaponizing suspicion without sanctity.” The only faction they begrudgingly respect are the Priests of Morr, whom they call “keepers of the final truth.”
Presence in Mordheim
The Order of Saint Hieronymus maintains a fortified cathedral-fortress on the outskirts of the inner city—The Chapel of Red Glass—constructed over the crater of a destroyed noble estate. Pilgrims, madmen, and flagellants flock to its iron gates seeking absolution. Few return.
From here, the Order dispatches Cleansing Units—small, elite groups of knight-monks, torchbearers, and judgment scribes—to patrol the city ruins. Warbands may encounter them unexpectedly—or be summoned before them.
They may offer warbands conditional alliances—but always at a price. Failure to uphold an agreement results in a Purge Mandate: the warband is marked for destruction.
Beliefs About Other Factions
- Priests of Morr – "Their silence honors death. Let them bury the world, but not interfere in its burning."
- Penitent Cultists – "They wear white for innocence and bleed for monsters. Fools worshiping shadows."
- Knights of St. Lazarus – "Worthy, perhaps, if they remembered that the sick must still be judged."
- Repentants – "Abominations. No act of god, only twisted reflections of unchecked sin."
- The Undead – "To defy death is to declare war on order itself. No trial needed."
- Civilians – "If they remain in Mordheim, they are either guilty or hiding guilt."
- Warbands – "Each enters the city for selfish reasons. Few prove otherwise."
Visual and Symbolic Themes
- Robes and surcoats of off-white and crimson, stitched with passages from the Codex of Ash
- Helmets often inscribed with the “Eye of Hieronymus”—a sigil that never blinks
- Burn marks and brands are seen as signs of purification
- Carry red-edged prayer books, flamethrowers, hammers, and torches
- Their relics are often bone fragments or melted candle wax shaped into sigils
Comments