You have come from humble beginnings and a knack for intuiting people's needs to cultivating a following of downtrodden individuals. You are holy, and your flock follows your teachings to the best of their understanding and ability. Whether a religious cult or a cult of personality, your followers serve you and maintain a respectable compound to raise children and provide for everyone's basic needs.
Perhaps you have an ultimate goal, maybe you are just overcompensating for feelings of inadequacy by surrounding yourself with bootlickers - but whatever the motivation, you've gained a bit of notoriety and the notice of local authorities as your flock grows.
- Skill Proficiencies: Two of the following: Sleight of Hand, History, Nature, Religion, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival, Performance, or Persuasion.
- Tool Proficiencies: One of the following: Alchemist's Supplies, Brewer's Supplies, Calligrapher's Supplies, Carpenter's Tools, Glassblower's Tools, Mason's Tools, Painter's Supplies, Potter's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools, Forgery Kit, Herbalism Kit, Poisoner's Kit, Playing Card Set, Lyre, Pan Flute, Viol, Lute, Vehicles (Land), or Dragonchess Set
- Languages: One of the following: Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Elvish, or Infernal
- Equipment: A holy symbol (for use in spellcasting and/or to represent your cult), a prayer book of your cult's doctrines, vestments, a set of common clothes, equipment for sustaining your flock, and a pouch containing 15 gp.
As a cult leader, you have the faith and adoration of your flock - the members of your cult that work on your compound and obey your commands. You and your adventuring companions (if you instruct your followers to acknowledge them as part of your cabal or brain trust) can expect to receive free lodging, food, and entertainment at your compound and any pockets of your cult located in the various towns and cities you travel through. If you provide gold for services, you can also utilize any of your flock's professions or skills in return for (moderately) just compensation. Your lodgings at the compound can range from modest to wealthy, depending on DM discretion.
You likely will have made some enemies (or at least attracted the suspicion) of the various local governments and temples near your compound. Your cult members often leave their families and workplaces behind, and hurt feelings, broken homes, or outright anger may follow in the wake of those decisions. Guiding your flock to do services in their communities and gaining personal notoriety with heroic (or infamous) deeds will have much more widespread repercussions for your than for adventurers without an already established social following.
Spell List
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | friends |
| 1st | charm person, dissonant whispers |
| 2nd | calm emotions |
You can learn the Friends cantrip and the Charm Person, Dissonant Whispers, and Calm Emotions spells.
Suggested Characteristics
Cult Leaders have a forceful personality that collects weaker-willed individuals into their flocks. Whether this is through empathy or manipulation, your strengths and flaws likely color what your particular cult following looks like.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I welcome those who would idolize me, and actively pursue new followers. |
| 2 | I can identify the problems an individual struggles with, empathizing with them and welcoming them to my flock. |
| 3 | I see omens in every event and action. Truth will come to us, we just need to listen to me. |
| 4 | Nothing can erode my expectations of grandeur. |
| 5 | I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation. |
| 6 | I am tolerant (or intolerant) of other religious groups and respect (or condemn) the worship of beings other than me. |
| 7 | I’ve come from struggle, persecution, and ostracism. Rough living is no trouble. |
| 8 | I’ve spent so long among my flock that I have trouble talking to people who don't idolize me. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tradition. The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be preserved and upheld. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 3 | Change. We must help bring about the changes the gods are constantly working in the world. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. With enough followers I can become a conqueror. (Evil) |
| 5 | Faith. I trust that my designs will ultimately succeed. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I seek to prove myself worthy of my station by matching my results against society-at-large. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I would die to recover an ancient relic significant enough to bring my cult great notoriety. |
| 2 | I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic. |
| 3 | I would give my life for the people I shepherd. |
| 4 | Everything I do is for the common people. |
| 5 | I will do anything to protect the children my cult is raising. |
| 6 | I seek to preserve a sacred text that my enemies consider heretical and seek to destroy. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely. |
| 2 | I put too much trust in my followers to support my schemes. |
| 3 | My sense of self-importance leaves me wide open for flattery and manipulation. |
| 4 | I am inflexible in my thinking. |
| 5 | I am suspicious of strangers and expect them to try to steal my flock. |
| 6 | Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life. |
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