The Ragers

Life is battle, from the moment we are born to the final beat of our hearts. A warrior can’t be measured by how much money he has - huh! I spit on money! Cowards and weaklings can hoard gold. A warrior can’t be measured by some leatherhead’s philosophy - I spit on philosophy! It’s the pastime of those who are afraid to act! No, young hawk, there is only one thing to life, one reason for you to be. You are here to try your strength in battle. If you are worthy, if you are strong, if you are brave, you will survive. If not . . . then you were a coward and a weakling.

- Ulfgang Skardall, Rager of Ysgard

  Ask any blood in Sigil, and she’ll tell you that the Ragers are a band of addle-coved bashers who’re a menace to anything in their path. Then she’ll tell you what she really thinks, in words that can’t be repeated here. What’s there to say about a gang of glory-seekers who believe life’s one battle after another? Stand up to a Rager, and a cutter’s got a duel to the death to deal with. Let him blow on by, and a cutter’s got to live with a fountain of scorn and ridicule. Ragers might just be some of the most annoying berks in the multiverse, and they’re proud of it.   The Ragers probably got their start somewhere in Ysgard, but they’re more widespread now. They turn up just about anywhere. Not too long ago, the Ragers built a great arena in Sigil’s Lower Ward, and they looked like they were on their way toward becoming a faction. But in an unprecedented spree of random bloodshed and violence, they managed to anger every other faction in the Cage. The Ragers were declared too leather-headed and dangerous to stay in Sigil and were thrown out of the Cage one by one. And one by one they’ve been coming back, demanding honorable combat with whatever cutters happened to throw them out. Most bloods get a headache just thinking about the Ragers.   So, how did such an unpopular band ever get so large? Well, there’s no dark to the fact that an old Rager’s rarer than a toothless tanar’ri. They lead lives that’re nasty, brutish, and short, picking one fight after another until finally some high-up gets bothered on the wrong day and squashes one like a bug. It’s a sad statement about the quality of heroes today that there’s always another berk with more muscles than brains, his head filled with dreams of glory and conquest, who’s willing to sign up.   Ragers come in all shapes and sizes, but as a mark of their beliefs they tattoo themselves with records of all of their personal victories. They range from hulking axemen to slim, graceful fencers - any school or method of personal, hand-to hand combat is possible among a gang of Ragers. In addition to their tattoos and obvious armament, Ragers also wear red cloaks, capes, or shirts to distinguish themselves.  

Habitat/Society

Ragers constantly test themselves and everyone around them. In their own wordsm they want to know whether a basher's got "the heart of a warrior, or the liver of a coward." A Rager sees no honor in fighting someone weaker than himself, and won't issue a challenge to everyone he meets - just the bashers that look about as tough or tougher than himself. Ragers never attack without issuing a ritual challenge and offering their potential opponent the opportunity to decilne on the spot, acknowledging the Rager's superior strength and honor. Therefore, it's possible to avoid a duel with a Rager by a little shameless begging, pleading, or weeping. Of course, a rager's free to defend himself immediately without any rigmarole if suddenly attacked.   A group of Ragers travelling together won't attack en masse; rather, the individuals prefer to undertake honor matches with any bloods they run accross. one Rager at a time will challenge, and a cutter who won't back down might have to fight every one of the Ragers before he gets his point accross.   Fortunately for the rest of the multiverse, Ragers spend a great deal of time challenging and killing each other.

Sect Membership

Not so tough, were ya, berk?

- The Rager called Slayer, to th corpse of Agnossus, a former member of the Dispossessed

  As noted above, ragers believe that the point of the universe is to find out where a body stands in the cosmic pecking order, and that the way to do that is to treat life as one big tournament ladder: Challenge the next blood, and see who winds. the Ragers (actually, they call themselves the Brotherhood of Glory) are common in Ysgard, Limbo, and Arborea, and scattered throughout the rest of the planes.

Eligibility

Bloods who want to join the Ragers must first defeat one of the Brothers and take his place. Once that's done, the prospective candidate is paired with an older, wiser Rager for a year of study and training. During this time, the student and master are considered off-limits to challenges from other Ragers, although they can still take on any other bashers they run across. At the end of a year of training, the prospective candidate masters the abilities of the Ragers and becomes free to choos his own path.   A character is also required to be of the Barbarian class to join this faction. Additionally they need to be of chaotic alignment.

Allies and Enemies

Ragers aren't well-liked by most common folk: after all, they're violence waiting to happen. they're on excellent terms with the Doomguard, Xaositects, and Fated. On the other hand, they're regarded as dangerous lunatics by the Harmonium, Guvners, and Mercykillers. Some of the powers of Ysgard and any deity whose portfolio deals with personal combat or battle tend to look favourably upon the Ragers, so long as it's not their own proxies the Ragers're killing.

Benefits

Members of this faction roll an additional CON Save whenever they would gain the exhausted condition, when they succeed they don't obtain the exhaustion level. The DC is equal to 10 + previous saves against exhaustion since the last long rest. They also gain an additional use of the rage feature.

Restrictions

Members of the Ragers can never retreat from a fight and needs to fight until there is no one to oppose.