You once belonged to a cult. Perhaps it was brief, embracing the rebellious spirit of youth and curious where this path may take you. You also may have felt alone and lost, this community offers a welcome you had been subconsciously seeking. It’s possible you were raised from the beginning to pray to the gods of shadow and death. Then one day the veil was lifted and the cruel truth shook your faith, sending you running from the false promises and seeking redemption.
You have been freed from the bindings of these dangerous philosophies, but few secret societies find comfort until those who abandon their way are rotting beneath the soil.
- Skill Proficiencies: deception, Religion
- Languages: Two of your choice
- Equipment: A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp
| 1 | Markings (tattoos, scarification, branding…) |
| 2 | Self-Mutilation (fingers or ears cut off, missing eye(s), split tongue…) |
| 3 | Accessories (rings, medallions, bracelets, piercings…) |
| 4 | Clothing (distinct color or type of clothing…) |
| 5 | Language (password, phrase, cipher, non-verbal signs…) |
| 6 | Multiple layers of identification - roll twice on this table, reroll any 6s |
| d6 | Cult Members’ Identification |
|---|---|
| 1 | Markings (tattoos, scarification, branding…) |
| 2 | Self-Mutilation (fingers or ears cut off, missing eye(s), split tongue…) |
| 3 | Accessories (rings, medallions, bracelets, piercings…) |
| 4 | Clothing (distinct color or type of clothing…) |
| 5 | Language (password, phrase, cipher, non-verbal signs…) |
| 6 | Multiple layers of identification - roll twice on this table, reroll any 6s |
Thanks to your long affiliation with a cult community, you can very easily identify anyone who is a member of a commune similar to your own. All cults are essentially the same and their members exhibit the same behavioral patterns. By extension, you can also easily recognize any drug addicts, compulsive liars and people with various behavioral disorders.
Suggested Characteristics
Acolytes are shaped by their experience in temples or other religious communities. Their study of the history and tenets of their faith and their relationships to temples, shrines, or hierarchies affect their mannerisms and ideals. Their flaws might be some hidden hypocrisy or heretical idea, or an ideal or bond taken to an extreme.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am obsessed with a particular hero of my faith, and constantly seek to destroy everything that person’s accomplished. |
| 2 | I can't find common ground between my enemies, despising them and always working toward their end. |
| 3 | I see omens in every event and action. The gods try to speak to us, i just need to block them out.. |
| 4 | Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude. |
| 5 | I disgrace the sacred texts and proverbs of my cult in almost every situation. |
| 6 | I am intolerant of my former faith and condemn the worship of my god. |
| 7 | I’ve enjoyed fine food, drink, and high society among my temple’s elite. Rough living grates on me. |
| 8 | I’ve spent so long in the temple that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tradition. The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be destroyed and defaced. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 3 | Change. We must help undo changes the god is constantly working in the world. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. I hope to one day take over my former faith’s religious hierarchy. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Fear. I think that my deity will interfere my actions. I have hope that if I work hard, things will go well. (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Defiance. I seek to prove myself worthy of my former god’s hatred by defying his or her teachings. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I would die to recover and destroy any relic of my former faith. |
| 2 | I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic. |
| 3 | I owe my everything to the priest who showed me the truth. |
| 4 | Everything I do is for the common people. |
| 5 | I will do anything to destroy the temple where I served. |
| 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 those who wield power within my temple’s hierarchy. |
| 3 | My prejudice leads me to blindly hate those that profess faith in my god. |
| 4 | I am inflexible in my thinking. |
| 5 | I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them. |
| 6 | Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life. |