Holystone - Witch Hunters

Witch Hunters

Witch hunters make their living rousting out mages and accusing them of various crimes. They often catch demon cultists, necromancers, and other evil mages. However, they will happily catch a hedge wizard that is healing the locals, if they are in a bad mood. They operate legally in the city.

Witch hunters kill the mages they capture, often after a big show trial. They perform the execution in a public place, and either burn the witch at the stake or behead them. 

Clerics of Luna, the goddess of magic, do not like witch hunters at all. They might use them to find cultists, but that’s the extent of their relationship. If a witch hunter gets too sloppy, killing off relatively harmless mages, the Lunar clerics will send for the Silent Sisters and have the witch hunter eliminated.

Witch hunters tend to be either Fighters or Thieves. They almost always have a number of followers, including warriors, thieves, and some laborers or craftsmen.

A witch hunter generally sends in a spy or two to all of the surrounding villages or city districts. These people keep an eye out for any magical activities. If they see anything flagrant, they will report back to their master. A few days later, he will arrive with a contingent of followers and attempt to capture and try the identified mage. 

Witch hunters have been known to fight each other. If they feel their territory is being impinged upon, they will accuse the other hunter of witchcraft and attempt to capture and kill him. This often leads to small skirmishes between each group of followers, with many killed. 

Not all witch hunters are in it for the fame and rewards. Some actually are trying to do good, being very careful to only capture real cultists. They are in the minority, though. A successful witch hunter becomes something of a hero to the uneducated, and can expect free lodging and gifts in most locales.

Local Witch Hunters

Aric the Magehound (T7) – Aric has a villa in the North Ward. He is retired. He was very successful at his work, but he was also very meticulous about only going after evil mages. He is a minor celebrity within the city.

Zeke Strongprow (F4) – Zeke has a residence in South Harbor. He has spies throughout the lower portion of the city, and considers it to be his territory. He is definitely in it for the money. The Silent Sisters may be dispatched to end him soon.

Sara Goodfellow (T4) – Sara lives in Tent City. She watches over it and the surrounding farmlands. She tries to do good work, but has eliminated a few relatively harmless mages when she was low on funds.

Torrence (F3) – Torrence lives in The Triangle, and he has had some success killing evil mages. He has also eliminated some non-mages for the gangs, using his profession as a cover for murder. Zeke would love to kill him, but the local gangs protect Torrence.

There are no witch hunters active in the Lord’s City. If they tried to work there, the local nobles would kill them.