LeviathanTempest:CultsDevelopmentPage - Revision history

86.164.59.230: /* Legitimate Organisation */

2014-04-04T22:09:08Z

Legitimate Organisation

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:09, 4 April 2014
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	Instinctual for: Thalassans.		Instinctual for: Thalassans.

	Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society. The cult gains a free dot in Clout (to a maximum of four dots) and Clout rolls can be performed with four task points. However all attempts to investigate the cult~~'s finances~~ get a +1 bonus due to legal requirements for enterprises.		Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society. The cult gains a free dot in Clout (to a maximum of four dots) and Clout rolls can be performed with four task points. However all attempts to investigate the cult get a +2 bonus due to legal requirements for enterprises.

	=== Cult Morality ===		=== Cult Morality ===

The Kings Raven at 21:15, 25 February 2014

2014-02-25T21:15:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:15, 25 February 2014
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	Players may choose to pool their cults, becoming the pantheon behind a polytheistic faith. This does require some sacrifices, if one Leviathan instructs the cult to perform a ritual they cannot simultaneously assist in the excavation of a sunken temple. The cohort has the listed Task Points to share between them, and the Storyteller can reject requests that require the cultists to be in two places at once. A Pantheon breaking up is trouble for all, everybody gets one fewer dot than they originally contributed (taken from which ever merit they wish). This is typically a violent time of religious conflict that usually ends up badly for all involved.		Players may choose to pool their cults, becoming the pantheon behind a polytheistic faith. This does require some sacrifices, if one Leviathan instructs the cult to perform a ritual they cannot simultaneously assist in the excavation of a sunken temple. The cohort has the listed Task Points to share between them, and the Storyteller can reject requests that require the cultists to be in two places at once. A Pantheon breaking up is trouble for all, everybody gets one fewer dot than they originally contributed (taken from which ever merit they wish). This is typically a violent time of religious conflict that usually ends up badly for all involved.

			=== The Nature of your Theology ===

			'''Work In Progress - currently rough notes''' - This section gives fluff on the different kinds of cults, but also makes it clear that these are more "the bottom of a slippery slope" than hard rules on what every cults look like.

			A Bahamatuan's cult tends to look kinda like the movementarians from the Simpsons. Don't think, don't do anything, just conform and be provided for. From the Strain of Sloth's perspective they're constantly surrounded with whiny needy babies. On the plus side, they're relatively unlikely to be creating problems compared to other strains.

			Meanwhile a Dagonite's cult probably looks like the actual Jonestown. Lots of backstabbing, favouritism and vicious politics all centring around the Leviathan. Who's possibly too Proud of all the flattery to see how his favourites are harming his interests; through backstabbing politics if not abusing their authority over lesser cultists.

			The Lahamin probably don't resemble any real religion, but a very common fictional one. They are the secretive chessmaster gods who see all and have planned everything. Their followers are the sinister cult who's members are everywhere, hidden among rich and poor and plotting nefarious deeds. The first Robert Downey, Jr Sherlock Homes film has an example.

			The Nu's cults could be said to resemble an evil modern Christianity, after everyone started asking “hang on, how do we know there even is a god?” God is a metaphor, key theological events like the resurrection are a metaphor. This leads to a lot of “interpretation” of what the Nu really means; like most strains the Nu often have to become a tyrant just to make it clear that no, it wasn't an elaborate metaphor that really means “sacrifice virgins to me”. On the other hand a Nu trying to find it's theological and practical place in the world often has a good resource, make vague complaints about what you feel unsure about and pick from the interpretations provided by your philosophical cult.

			Oceaneads are religion as a mask for self promotion. An Oceaneads cultist are the sort of people who use their faith to assert moral or social superiority to others (using faith to assert that others are morally evil is more a Tanninim thing). An Oceanead is both an exemplar of this behaviour, their cult is a choir of flattery, and a living symbol of social status. An objective measure of who the religion put on top of the social pigpile this week: Who did the goddess smile at the most?

			The Tanninim are the easiest to explain. They are the bronze age gods with ten plagues and an itchy trigger finger. A Tanninim's cult is often led by the kind of fundamentalists who'd call HIV god's righteous punishment against homosexuality, and a Tanninim is often the kind of god who would create HIV as a punishment. This is to say, they have that kind of moral extremism, not that they nessacarally look like right wing Americans. It is perfectly plausible to find a Tanninim Cult which accepts any kind of sexuality, but god help you if you forgot to bathe in sacred oils this morning.

			The Thalassans are the kind of god you might see behind televangelists. The god who you worship for material reasons; more classically the Thalassans are probably the most common kind of religion. If you live one storm away from a bad harvest, and one bad harvest away from starvation, you bet you would pray for good whether. In short, they're the gods you worship for non-religious reasons. This means that a Thalassan has to provide to keep it's cult in any semblence of order; on the plus side they can keep their cult in order with material goods as easily as threats.

	=== Number (O - OOOOO) ===		=== Number (O - OOOOO) ===

86.144.9.202: /* Clout (O - OOOO) */

2013-08-25T21:26:06Z

Clout (O - OOOO)

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:26, 25 August 2013
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	=== Clout (O - OOOO) ===		=== Clout (O - OOOO) ===

	Clout measures how good your Cult is at getting things done in a legal manner. Anything from buying a private lake to deterring Hunters with harassment charges and allegations of religious bigotry. The sad fact is that while the more sensible members of the tribe recognise that Clout is immensely more useful than Fervor in providing what a Leviathan actually needs, Tranquillity, fanatical cultists who worshipping primordial mind-rending horrors often have trouble holding a conversation let alone filing out an planning application in triplicate. The closer they are to the Wake the worse it gets, most Beloved are still competent at every day life but as soon as a Leviathan asks them to do something they start telling people they're on a mission from god~~. Even basic competency in Clout costs three dots~~.		Clout measures how good your Cult is at getting things done in a legal manner. Anything from buying a private lake to deterring Hunters with harassment charges and allegations of religious bigotry. The sad fact is that while the more sensible members of the tribe recognise that Clout is immensely more useful than Fervor in providing what a Leviathan actually needs, Tranquillity, fanatical cultists who worshipping primordial mind-rending horrors often have trouble holding a conversation let alone filing out an planning application in triplicate. The closer they are to the Wake the worse it gets, most Beloved are still competent at every day life but as soon as a Leviathan asks them to do something they start telling people they're on a mission from god.

	When rolling Clout the basic dicepool, before any modifiers, is equal to Clout. Generally Clout checks work on the same scale as Fervour.		When rolling Clout the basic dicepool, before any modifiers, is equal to Clout. Generally Clout checks work on the same scale as Fervour.

	A Cult ~~dosn~~'t have to have Clout - most don't.		A Cult doesn't have to have Clout - most don't.

	* Clout X - It will probably be best for everyone if you don't ask your cultists to talk to regular people.		* Clout X - It will probably be best for everyone if you don't ask your cultists to talk to regular people.

The Kings Raven: /* Clout (OOO - OOOOO) */

2013-07-30T16:05:31Z

Clout (OOO - OOOOO)

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:05, 30 July 2013
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	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.		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.

	=== Clout (~~OOO~~ - ~~OOOOO~~) ===		=== Clout (O - OOOO) ===

	Clout measures how good your Cult is at getting things done in a legal manner. Anything from buying a private lake to deterring Hunters with harassment charges and allegations of religious bigotry. The sad fact is that while the more sensible members of the tribe recognise that Clout is immensely more useful than Fervor in providing what a Leviathan actually needs, Tranquillity, fanatical cultists who worshipping primordial mind-rending horrors often have trouble holding a conversation let alone filing out an planning application in triplicate. The closer they are to the Wake the worse it gets, most Beloved are still competent at every day life but as soon as a Leviathan asks them to do something they start telling people they're on a mission from god. Even basic competency in Clout costs three dots.		Clout measures how good your Cult is at getting things done in a legal manner. Anything from buying a private lake to deterring Hunters with harassment charges and allegations of religious bigotry. The sad fact is that while the more sensible members of the tribe recognise that Clout is immensely more useful than Fervor in providing what a Leviathan actually needs, Tranquillity, fanatical cultists who worshipping primordial mind-rending horrors often have trouble holding a conversation let alone filing out an planning application in triplicate. The closer they are to the Wake the worse it gets, most Beloved are still competent at every day life but as soon as a Leviathan asks them to do something they start telling people they're on a mission from god. Even basic competency in Clout costs three dots.

	When rolling Clout the basic dicepool, before any modifiers, is equal to Clout -2. Generally Clout checks work on the same scale as Fervour.		When rolling Clout the basic dicepool, before any modifiers, is equal to Clout. Generally Clout checks work on the same scale as Fervour.

	A Cult dosn't have to have Clout - most don't.		A Cult dosn't have to have Clout - most don't.

	* Clout X - It will probably be best for everyone if you don't ask your cultists to talk to regular people.		* Clout X - It will probably be best for everyone if you don't ask your cultists to talk to regular people.
	* Clout ~~OOO~~ - Your Beloved can function normally under the Wake, lucky you.		* Clout O - Your Beloved can function normally under the Wake, lucky you.
	* Clout ~~OOOO~~ - You can organise petitions with ease.		* Clout OO - You can organise petitions with ease.
	* Clout ~~OOOOO~~ - Your Cult has some real influence they can use in your name.		* Clout OOO - Your Cult has some real influence they can use in your name.
			* Clout OOOO (Legitimate Organisations only) - Local politics dances to your tune.

	=== Additional Traits ===		=== Additional Traits ===

The Kings Raven at 16:52, 29 July 2013

2013-07-29T16:52:40Z

Show changes

The Kings Raven: Undo revision 241344 by The Kings Raven (talk)

2013-06-16T22:16:34Z

Undo revision 241344 by The Kings Raven (talk)

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 * 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 Kings Raven: Undo revision 241345 by The Kings Raven (talk)

2013-06-16T22:16:04Z

Undo revision 241345 by The Kings Raven (talk)

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:16, 16 June 2013
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	Instinctual for: Thalassans.		Instinctual for: Thalassans.

	Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society~~. The experience costs for the Clout Merit remains unchanged~~, ~~but a Legitimate Organisation with three dots in Clout has a impressive influence than another Cult with three dots in Influence. (A Legitimate Organisation with no dots in Clout is roughly equivalent~~ to ~~another Cult with four dots and only gets better from there~~.) However one fifth of all task points are dedicated to running the cult's front organisation.		Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society, granting +2 to all Fervour rolls that involve legal action. However one fifth of all task points are dedicated to running the cult's front organisation.

	=== Cult Morality ===		=== Cult Morality ===

The Kings Raven: /* Legitimate Organisation */

2013-06-16T22:14:46Z

Legitimate Organisation

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:14, 16 June 2013
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	Instinctual for: Thalassans.		Instinctual for: Thalassans.

	Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society, ~~granting +2~~ to ~~all Fervour rolls that involve legal action~~. However one fifth of all task points are dedicated to running the cult's front organisation.		Benefits and Drawbacks: The Cult's official identity makes it easier to interact with mortal society. The experience costs for the Clout Merit remains unchanged, but a Legitimate Organisation with three dots in Clout has a impressive influence than another Cult with three dots in Influence. (A Legitimate Organisation with no dots in Clout is roughly equivalent to another Cult with four dots and only gets better from there.) However one fifth of all task points are dedicated to running the cult's front organisation.

	=== Cult Morality ===		=== Cult Morality ===

The Kings Raven: /* Cults */

2013-06-16T22:06:10Z

Cults

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 * 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 Kings Raven: /* Gated Community */

2013-06-16T21:47:04Z

Gated Community

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:47, 16 June 2013
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	Instinctual for: Bahamatans		Instinctual for: Bahamatans

	Benefits and Drawbacks: The cult gets an additional five task points per story. However whenever the "harmony" of the community is disrupted the cult takes a penalty to all Zeal and Fervour rolls for the remainder of the story. The most common disruptions are the addition of new members (penalty equals new dots of Numbers), moving to another location (penalty equals Numbers) or a successful attack on the cult (storytellers judgement. ~~When~~ the attack ~~comes down to a single~~ roll~~, usually Fervor~~, the penalty is -1 for ~~ever~~ success the attackers score over the defenders). The penalty cannot increase beyond -5. Additionally the Leviathan must control a suitably large territory to house a gated community and cannot have more dots in Cult Numbers than he has in Temple Size.		Benefits and Drawbacks: The cult gets an additional five task points per story. However whenever the "harmony" of the community is disrupted the cult takes a penalty to all Zeal and Fervour rolls for the remainder of the story. The most common disruptions are the addition of new members (penalty equals new dots of Numbers), moving to another location (penalty equals Numbers) or a successful attack on the cult (storytellers judgement. (If the attack happens off screen roll Fervour vs the attacker's equivalent, the penalty is -1 for every success the attackers score over the defenders). The penalty cannot increase beyond -5. Additionally the Leviathan must control a suitably large territory to house a gated community and cannot have more dots in Cult Numbers than he has in Temple Size.

	==== Inbred Hicks ====		==== Inbred Hicks ====