Editing LeviathanTempest:CultsDevelopmentPage (section)

=== Fervor (O - OOOOO) ===
This category measures how dangerous your Cult is when motivated - the degree to which it can direct its assets and achieve dangerous jobs. Fervour measures competence rather than willingness but there is some overlap between the two. Directing the Cult to do basic tasks that one would expect of an militant or criminal group - standing outside a home looking menacing, spraying graffiti, keeping a lookout, making threatening phone calls - does not require a roll. Only dangerous tasks, or ones requiring violence, require a check of Fervor. 

A Fervor check involves rolling the Cult's Fervor minus a number of dice relevant to the difficulty of the task - in general, most major crimes (kidnapping or killing a civilian) are at -3, while truly world-shaking events (such as assassinating high-profile targets or swiping military hardware) are at -5. Minor crimes (stealing a car or disappearing the car when work is done) are rolled without penalty. Success means success, while Failure permits the player to choose - complete the task but lose a dot of Cult Number permanently, or fail and lose a dot of Cult Zeal for the duration of the story (failing with a chance die does not allow sacrificing numbers for Success). A Dramatic Failure inflicts a both penalties, and the task fails. If appropriate circumstances or equipment are ensured beforehand, bonus dice might apply to the roll. Conversely, if the Cult's gear or numbers are inadequate, penalties might be in order. 

If the Leviathan wishes, he can direct the effort personally, in which case his Presence or Intelligence (whichever is most appropriate) may be added to the roll, but he will (seperate from the normal ramifications) be subject to the expected downsides of a failed effort, and will have to enact his own escape from a crime scene (a getaway is assumed for the Cult under the Fervor roll). 

A Cult doesn't have to have a dot of Fervor - many don't. 

* Fervor X - You'll have to perform your own crimes. What a pity. 
* Fervor O - Liquor stores are your piggy bank. 
* Fervor OO - You've got some talented thugs - roughly the equivalent of a local police force. 
* Fervor OOO - Your Cultists are driven enough to perform some quality bad deeds in your honor. 
* Fervor OOOO - Fierce civilians or experienced criminals. Mafia-level shenanigans. 
* Fervor OOOOO - Your Cultists are chomping at the bit to achieve your wicked desires. 


==== Sidebar: Putting the God in Godfather ====
The rules for Fervor are generally more permissive of extralegal hijinx then other similar Merits, and the tone suggests the Cult is capable of performing some pretty impressive stuff. In general, this is intentional - the goal is to replicate a city-subverting or widespread Cult conspiracy, a la Fight Club or Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The reach of a Cult, and the depths to which it will sink to serve its master, are meant to be somewhat unsettling - and to make immoral methods attractive. If letting a Cult do something would rob the players of an interesting scene, or circumvent a hardship in an automatic or undramatic fashion, feel free to bend the rules or ask the player to direct his Cult to perform some facet of the task instead of the whole thing.