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This cult formed when someone charismatic:
- discovered a long-hidden holy book handed down by their ancestors.
- had a vision while meditating/feverish/starving/poisoned by bad mushrooms.
- made a cynical deal with an extraplanar/infernal being.
- experienced a mental snap.
- was helped out of a bad situation by a supernatural entity and wanted to show their gratitude.
- thought deeply about mainstream religious practices and came to a different conclusion.
They are trying to:
- recruit influential worshippers
- obtain magical texts
- practice unspeakable rites
- infiltrate positions of power
- extort a specific group
- blackmail powerful individuals
In order to:
- gain political influence
- build wealth
- suppress dissent
- drive out other religions
- maintain secrecy
- develop in mystical power
Which will result in:
- the apocalypse.
- a breakaway state.
- wealth and privilege for members.
- the return of a forgotten god.
- revenge for an ancient grudge.
- fulfilment of a prophecy.
They recruit by:
- drugging prospective members and showing them visions
- taking in the destitute
- offering protection and clandestine support
- encouraging prospects to commit vile crimes
- threats and violence
- exposing people to mind-warping magic
And maintain secrecy by:
- targeting a betrayer's family
- magically cursing betrayers
- sending agents armed with a drug that causes madness
- rewarding loyalty with money and authority
- geasing recruits not to talk about cult business with outsiders
- hypnotising acolytes to forget their activities during daily life
Which has caused:
- a culture of suspicion and paranoia among acolytes.
- a string of unexplained deaths in the community.
- a rash of weird events and sightings.
- rumours and whispering.
- an unexpected shift in the social pecking order.
- a wall of silence against outsiders to the community.
Cult members:
- learn to speak an unusual language.
- submit to ritual scarring or tattoos.
- learn a few simple cantrips.
- carry the same superstitious charms.
- perform a simple routine task in an unusual way.
- refuse to say the names of common gods.
The cult is:
- reluctantly tolerated.
- feared.
- despised and ridiculed.
- dismissed as a rumour.
- respected.
- ignored.
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