: Re: Painting ritualistic murder in a "good-guy" light? My good guys murder people. They slowly carve runes onto them to help defeat the bad guys. Sure they try to use "society's worst" people for

@Berryessa137

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You shouldn't have your MC think they are "good". In the context they may be necessary, but there's no society where torture and murder are good acts. The unapologetic torture-murder you describe will be a moral event horizon for every reader.

Perhaps the faction can negotiate for what they need. Offer a deal to death row inmates, those about to die of disease, or die of old age their life in exchange for something they need more than their brief remainder of time on Earth with a "your life cannot be taken, it can only be given" requirement to the ritual. Essentially the faction promises to help undo their criminal wrongdoings or ensure a loved one left behind will be taken care of in exchange for the victim's ultimate sacrifice. An offer to be a hero with their dying gasp.

This would not make the faction good, they're still horrifically killing people who don't deserve to be tortured to death. But it makes them sympathetic, distances them from cold-blooded taking of a life against the victim's will, and paints a picture that they value and honor those who they sacrifice no matter how wicked they were in life.

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