Café de Nuit

Let's gather examples of the Dark Powers being merciful. I can think of one off the top of my head. In King of the Dead, the spirit of Azalin's son Irik is replaced by an imposter spirit that would continue to torment Azalin in the guise of Irik and allow Irik to pass on to the afterlife.

Any other examples?

I guess it's debatable if that counts as mercy, of it's just not punishing the innocent. The DPs are all about punishment, but mostly only for those that deserve it. They usually aren't as careful about avoiding innocents in the crossfire as they were with Irik (see Tatyana, for example). But one could say that every time they create a domain (either a copy of a real place (Barovia) or a brand-new one (Falkovnia)) instead of ripping the darklord's original home from the Prime Material (Forlorn) that they are showing a similar "mercy" to the original inhabitants of the Prime Material location.

Personally, I'd reserve the word "mercy" for a reduced punishment for someone who was actually guilty of a crime/sin. I'm not sure what to call not punishing the innocent. (restraint?)

I guess releasing Nathan Timothy from darklordhood might be seen as mercy? it's a stretch, though.

Kitiara's spirit escapes through the portal on Soth in Where Black Roses Bloom.

Part of/the real? Tatyana was dumped in the Forgotten Realms in Vampire of the Mists.

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:I guess it's debatable if that counts as mercy, of it's just not punishing the innocent. The DPs are all about punishment, but mostly only for those that deserve it.

Similarly the same could be said for Lord Soth. The DPs didn't show him mercy. They got bored because his curse no longer bothered him because he just didn't care.

Epically wrote:Similarly the same could be said for Lord Soth. The DPs didn't show him mercy. They got bored because his curse no longer bothered him because he just didn't care.

Always thought that was interesting...the domain actually started to break apart because he didn't care. Makes you wonder if the DP's need something from the DL's in order to sustain the domains around them.

The whole "I am the Land" thing might not just be Strahd. Maybe the darkklord being invested in their torment is part of what makes the prison to begin with. They are trapped *because* they care. Soth just zoning out and staring into space/daydreaming about things didn't give him the torment, thus things fall apart? Maybe I'll ask Lowder about it if I run into him at Gencon again this year. He is an awesome guy.

Depending upon how you perceive the Church of Ezra and its relation to the Demiplane Plane of Dread, its existence might qualify.

Resonant Curse wrote:The whole "I am the Land" thing might not just be Strahd. Maybe the darkklord being invested in their torment is part of what makes the prison to begin with. They are trapped *because* they care.

In Neither Man Nor Beast, Markov also says "I am the land!" during the final battle.

Resonant Curse wrote:Maybe I'll ask Lowder about it if I run into him at Gencon again this year. He is an awesome guy.

Yes, he is. Way back when, probably around 2005 or so, he was nice enough to answer some questions that I had via email. Its a pity that TSR/WotC didn't ask him to write some more books.