Mercy Island will quickly become familiar to aspiring villains of all persuasions, as it forms the arrival point for all new recruits to Arachnos.

Just as quickly, you’ll come to realise that its rubble-strewn streets, shanty towns and once-glorious squares are anything but merciful. Rival gangs fight for scraps, and the mysterious Snakes - vicious and powerful creatures who have managed to survive multiple attempts to wipe them out - lurk everywhere, ready to prey on the unwary.

Read on to learn more about this proving ground for new villains…

Mercy Island
In the days before Arachnos, Mercy was a lone town resting on the low banks of a large island. It was home to some fishing outfits and more than a few wintering pirates, but frequent disappearances and tales of bizarre snake-like creatures kept the population to a minimum.

Lord Recluse claimed this lonely spot of land shortly after his rise to power. Fort Cerberus was erected and patrols dispatched to discover the truth of these “snake-men.” The creatures were found in great numbers, but Arachnos’s overwhelming firepower quickly pushed them back into their warrens.

Over the next decade, Mercy grew and the snake-men were forgotten. They were far from dead, however. They had simply retreated deeper into the bowels of the earth. Lord Recluse knew full well the “Snakes” remained, but he was content to leave a few survivors for future study and possible use in his plans of world conquest.

The Rikti War and the many opportunities it presented changed Recluse’s focus in the new millennium. The Snakes were forgotten and allowed to multiply. A year after the Rikti defeat, they rose from their warrens and rampaged through Mercy. Arachnos repulsed the mutants, but Lord Recluse mysteriously—and quietly—left the lower end of the island to the Snakes. The creatures had proved quite powerful, and he felt they could be studied and put to use in many of his secret operations.

The Snake-infested area of Mercy also provided Lord Recluse with another useful purpose—a proving ground for super-powered beings. Those with promise are brought here and tested with a series of tasks to determine whether they have what it takes to survive. Those who do are tracked for possible recruitment into Arachnos’s ranks. Those who don’t are left to fend for themselves, becoming prey to the stronger.