You have spent most of your life devout to a cult. You may have been born into worship or came into it at a later date due to a monumental event. Maybe your family has cast you aside for leaving the cult, or perhaps you are a high ranking official of the cult aiming to become its leader.
Are you still a part of the cult or have you cast it aside? What acts did you commit in the name of the cult? Is the cult well known or does it operate in the shadows? All these are questions that should be considered when choosing this background. Work with your DM to come to a conclusion on these questions and lay out details on the nature of the cult.
- Skill Proficiencies: Performance, Religion
- Languages: One of your choice.
- Equipment: Cultist robes or their ashes, a ritual dagger, a token of your cult, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp
What was the goal and nature of your cult. Perhaps it was formed on the perversion of a pre-established faith, that took their religious practices too far or maybe it was a shadowy political organization hellbent on controlling the nations cities from the shadows.
| d6 | Cult Type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Faith - A group that focuses on worship of a being, whether that be a perversion of an existing faith, service to a creature of the night, or anything in-between. |
| 2 | Political - A cult that has branches in many nations and cities bending their leaders to the will of the group. Often cults with political goals will operate in the shadows manipulating people of power to provide members of the cult with their desires. |
| 3 | Blood - A cult whose primary operations are that of sacrifice. They may sacrifice their own members or seek out certain groups to preform sacrificial rituals upon. They may commit these sacrifices in the name of a creature or to the creature itself. |
| 4 | Pyramid - A cult whose top members are lavished and live lives of luxury, Whilst the runts of the cult may be delegated to such menial tasks as door to door sales with the false promise of one day achieving great wealth. |
| 5 | Occult - Some cults sole purpose is to worship a specific kind of magic. Perhaps this magic is outlawed or is seen as a dark power by the mass populous. |
| 6 | Transformative - Cults hellbent on transformation of self. These cults may worship were-wolfs and vampires, seeking to join their race, or they may simply believe in alteration of mind hellbent in their decision that one mindset is correct. |
As a current or ex-cult member it is likely you will posses a symbol that identifies you as such. A particularly violent cult may singe you with a brand for example or scar you in a specific way. Less violent cults symbol may be a verbal identifier, a phrase or call word only uttered by those belonging to the group . Symbolic objects could also fill this role. Examples of these would be items such as a special playing card marked in a secretive way or a holy symbol slightly tweaked so as to not draw symbol by the general populous.
This symbol may grant you access to locations and resources that are controlled by your cult. It may allow you to intimidate individuals that have been harmed in some form by the cult in the past or that are fearful of the groups power. Counter to this however, enemies to the cult such as law law enforcement may treat you unfavorably if they notice this symbol or in some extreme cases may take violent or political action against you.
Suggested Characteristics
Cult leaders may be charming, charismatic and intimidating causing others to follow in their wake. These leaders are likely to be evil individuals who have know problems manipulating others. Cult followers however are more likely to be subservient and tend to be less commanding, these individuals tend to follow power wherever it may guide them. It is likely cult followers may be easily manipulated and you should consider this when taking this background.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am devout to my cult, I believe in their values and goals wholeheartedly. |
| 2 | I realize that my cult has its negatives but stick with them regardless. |
| 3 | I preach my cultist beliefs whenever I can and desire others to join my cult. |
| 4 | I hate my cultist origins and do all I can to distance myself from the group. |
| 5 | I am unable to function without the support of my cult. |
| 6 | I am tolerant (or intolerant) of traditional faiths and respect (or condemn) the worship of their gods. |
| 7 | My cult provided my everything. |
| 8 | I’ve spent so long as a part of my cult 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 preserved and upheld. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Aid. I use my cultist ties in any way I can to help those in need. (Good) |
| 3 | Change. The ways of tradition are outdated we must change if we are to survive. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. I plan to rule my organization as the cult leader. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Destruction. I wish to bring about the end of the cult of which I was once a part of. (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Manipulation. I aim to force people into my cult through both physical and mental abuse and manipulation. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I give my life in the service of achieving a specific goal for my cult. |
| 2 | I will take revenge on the cult that tainted my life. |
| 3 | I owe my life to the cult that raised me. |
| 4 | Every goal I have is rooted in furthering the cults power and increasing its influence. |
| 5 | I will ensure anyone and everyone I meet praises my cult no matter the consequences. |
| 6 | I aim to cut all ties I have with the cult I once belonged. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I cannot be controlled, I must be the one in command. |
| 2 | I am extremely gullible and thus blind to the sister intents of others. |
| 3 | I have an unwavering loyalty to my cult and will follow their every instruction. |
| 4 | I am subservient to a fault and will follow power blindly. |
| 5 | I am suspicious of organizations and powerful groups, expecting the worst of them. |
| 6 | Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life. |
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