diff --git a/docs/changelog.txt b/docs/changelog.txt
index cd3a4a639..4d233a3e1 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.txt
+++ b/docs/changelog.txt
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ Template for new versions:
 ## Fixes
 - `sort`: fix mouse clicks falling through the squad assignment overlay panel when clicking on the panel but not on a clickable widget
 - `sort`: fix potential crash when removing jobs directly from the Tasks info screen
+- `misery`: fix error when changing the misery factor
 
 ## Misc Improvements
 - wherever units are listed in DFHack tools, properties like "agitated" or (-trained-) are now shown
diff --git a/plugins/lua/misery.lua b/plugins/lua/misery.lua
index cd507c9b3..2ad8c06ca 100644
--- a/plugins/lua/misery.lua
+++ b/plugins/lua/misery.lua
@@ -22,17 +22,17 @@ function parse_commandline(...)
     local args, opts = {...}, {}
     local positionals = process_args(opts, args)
 
-    if opts.help then
+    if opts.help or not positionals then
         return false
     end
 
     local command = table.remove(positionals, 1)
     if not command or command == 'status' then
         status()
-    elseif command == 'factor' then
-        misery_setFactor(positionals[1])
     elseif command == 'clear' then
         misery_clear()
+    elseif tonumber(command) then
+        misery_setFactor(tonumber(command))
     else
         return false
     end