The Herbivorous Assembly

(The Vegetarians)

"Be kind to the animals. Or else."
Factol Du’liddel of the Herbivorous Assembly

Faction philosophy: The Herbivorous Assembly consists of berks who have decided to never eat meat. And they think nobody else should be eating meat, either. They think the dark of the multiverse is that the so-called dumb animals are the repositories of great wisdom. Oh, maybe not all animals are fonts of knowledge, but some are, and it’s better to not eat any of them. If a cutter (a leaf cutter, in this case) can live in harmony with the animals, talk to the animals, then she’ll learn the dark of things. So, the Vegetarians don’t eat animals, though a few namers in the
faction might eat some animal products, like milk, cheese, or eggs. And to make sure they can get along with the animals some day, they have to keep others from eating them or bothering them as well. This means animals can’t be hunted for any reason, for food, or to provide raw materials for clothing, or for any other reason. Rabid Vegetarians have been known to attack unlucky sods just for wearing leather. A cutter can’t expect to advance very far in the ranks of the Herbivorous Assembly if he wears leather or any other product taken from an animal. One day, says the Herbivorous Assembly, when every living being in the multiverse has given up eating meat, everyone will live in peace and harmony, and the dark of everything will be revealed. Of course, this means the Herbivorous Assembly also is devoted to wiping out all carnivores. However, they can fight predators only when those predators attack innocent herbivores. Thus, a lot of Vegetarians hang around in the forests of the various planes, watching herds of plant-eaters, waiting for a predator to attack.

Primary plane of influence: The Vegetarians have a headquarters in the Beastlands. In Sigil, they run a chain of "health food" inns, where "gourmet vegetarian dishes" are prepared.

Allies and enemies: The Vegetarians try to get along with most of the other factions, though they have a strong distaste for the Wizards of the Black Teddy, because of the excessive amounts of leather they wear. (It's not they don’t. It’s just that leather is all they wear.) The Vegetarians also go around rattling their bone-boxes about the evils of eating meat, and annoying almost everybody. Most factions consider the Vegetarians to be pretty harmless, if a little barmy. The Sensates think their views are too restrictive: to really experience life, one should eat a few animals, say the Sensates; this makes the Vegetarians think ill of them. The Dustmen think the Vegetarians are all barmy; death is a part of life, and hunting and killing a part of the grand scheme. Finally, the Veggies have a very strong dislike of the Vegetarians, and the two factions have constant skirmishes in Sigil and elsewhere. Lately, the Veggies have begun attacking inns run by the Vegetarians, to “free political prisoners.”

[Editor’s note: Eventually, the Herbivorous Assembly and the Free Flora Collective declared war on one another and wiped each other out.]

Eligibility: Anybody can join the Herbivorous Assembly, as long as they never eat meat again. The faction is open to all races and alignments, but humans and elves fill most of their ranks.

Benefits: A Vegetarian gains the ranger’s ability to befriend and calm animals. A Vegetarian ranger gets a free nonweapon proficiency in Animal Training.

Restrictions: A Vegetarian can never attack an animal, but can defend himself or another animal. This has been the cause of much consternation to adventuring members (and their companions), because the Vegetarian is restricted from helping in many combat encounters. They can defend companions from predators, but won’t help anyone who eats meat, because it’s a fight between predators.