Caverns of Thracia and Evil Fantasy Cults

If you’re going to be in my Caverns of Thracia game, don’t read this one!

I finished reading Fight Club recently, which means the idea of cults and what makes them tic has been floating around in my brain. I am about to start running Caverns of Thracia over on Prismatic Wasteland’s Discord server, so I decided to do some writing about one of the factions in that adventure. As written, there aren’t really any details on how the cult operates, and the only details we get on any NPC are their combat stats. Mostly, I wanted to answer the question of “why the hell do people join this cult and hang out in this dangerous as shit dungeon?” So here goes:

Also, a short little disclaimer. In Caverns of Thracia, the Thracians are described as “tribesmen” who have degenerated into barbarity and shit. I think that is the sum total of the justification for the human sacrifice, just a “damn are those tribespeople savages? I’m going to go stab them now.” I’m dropping all those tribal trappings, and making them just normal “medieval” D&D rural folk.

The Cult of the Dark One

Why are they here?

Thracia is the place of their god’s greatest (and seemingly only) power. Human sacrifices and other rituals within the ruins ensure continued and expanded access to clerical magic.

How do they live?

Generally, the clerics and fighters are full-time residents. The 0-level people live in surrounding villages and often take a pilgrimage (bringing along tithes in the form of food and other necessary goods) to spend several weeks in the ruins. In some villages membership is kept more clandestine, but in cult-majority villages membership is more of an open secret.

Why be a part of the cult?
Cure Light Wounds and Cure Disease: magical healthcare! Who wouldn’t want that. Also, the promise of possibly being able to become a cleric is motivation to some. Great salvation and rewards are expected if they can clear the ruins of interlopers (in the form of riches, material wealth, and the rebirth of those fallen in their god’s service).

What acts are proscribed or heretical?

“Killing” undead is very taboo. Clerics have the authority to slay unruly undead which threaten the cult and cannot be controlled. They may also grant this authority to other devouts, but only in emergencies.

What’s up with human sacrifice?

Occasionally, people who are enemies of the cult are sacrificed. This is believed to bring the favour of the Dark One and inclines the god to grant clemency to the offender’s soul. Most often, the sacrifice is a devout member, chosen by voluntary lottery. The lottery is mostly made up of those wishing for healing magic from the clerics, though some devouts volunteer for another’s sake or purely with the hope of earning the favour of the Dark One. This taking of life is considered the Dark One’s price for the restorative magic of the clerics.

What’s up with the undead?

As a god of death, undead are within the Dark One’s purview. They believe that undead which are controlled by the cult to defend them and otherwise pursue their interests brings glory to the dead and gives them great rewards in the afterlife. (This is why they keep all their corpses in that one room that near-infinitely summons skeletons.)

What are their goals?

The cult wants to rid Thracia of intruders (primarily the beastmen and lizardfolk, though they are suspicious of many other non-humans, due to their lack of souls). They also want to discover more holy places of their god within the ruins.

rootring

Prev Random Ring Next