Cultist

You have spent your life worshiping a single being, be it divine or worldly. You live unconventionally under the rule of your charismatic leader. Some people scour at your ways of life, but it is all you have ever known and you cherish the security it brings. The strict rules for behavior control every aspect of your life, something you do not know how to live without. 

Choose an unusual religious, philosophical, or spiritual belief system and work with your DM to detail the nature of your religious service.  Were you a lesser functionary in the cult, raised from childhood to be delivered at your leader's feet when you come of age? Or were you a child of the leader who suddenly experienced a call to serve your god in a different way? Perhaps you were excommunicated by your cult for questioning their beliefs, unable to speak to your family and friends. Or are you destined to be a part of an important religious sacrifice and are living numbered days, looking for a way out? 

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Religion

Languages: Two of your choice

Equipment: A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the cult), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a [item]clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp.

Suggested Characteristics

Cultists 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 idolize the leader of my cult, and constantly refer to that person’s deeds and example.
2	I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace.
3	I see omens in every event and action. My god tries to speak to us, we just need to listen.
4	Nothing can shake my pessimistic attitude.
5	I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation.
6	I am intolerant of other faiths and condemn the worship of other gods.
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 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 my god is constantly working in the world. (Chaotic)
4	Power. I hope to one day rise to the top of my faith’s religious hierarchy. (Lawful)
5	Faith. I trust that my leader will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful)
6	Aspiration. I seek to prove myself worthy of my god’s favor by matching my actions against his or her teachings. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	I would die to recover an ancient relic of my faith that was lost long ago.
2	I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic.
3	I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my parents died.
4	Everything I do is for the common people.
5	I will do anything to protect 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 leader sometimes leads me to blindly trust 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.