LeviathanTempest:CultsDevelopmentPage

Cults

When brushed with the Wake of the Leviathan, certain mortals are more touched than others - becoming Beloved. These faithful can be directed into a unit, a Cult, which reveres the Leviathan and seeks to serve and honor him. Some Leviathan season their cults by bonding Lahmasu into their service, taking them in and giving them meaning. The full rules for Beloved and Lahmasu are listed later. A Cult can provide Ichor through worship or work in the world as the Leviathan's hands (or claws) at a reach.

Cults are both a blessing and a curse upon a tribe. A cult can serve as a vital buffer between the Leviathan and the world. On a purely practical level there is no shortage of uses for your own private army or labour force and a cult's worship unlocks some of the metaphysical potentual in a Leviathan's divine nature. However cults are high maintenance, a cult requires supervision and input from the Leviathan - they desire "face time" with their deity. If left unsatisfied a cult may go to extreme lengths to “regain their god's favour” and even a well attended cult may be seek out horrific offerings or latch onto bizarre interpretations of the Leviathan's will without constant, perhaps tyrannical, supervision.

A Leviathan who acquires a cult must pay for the privilege in Merit dots. A Cult Merit defined by into three primary categories - Number, Zeal, Fervor and Organisation. It additionally has a handful of variables that can be purchased to increase the capabilities of the Cult or give it a unique style. For every week in which the Leviathan does not contact the majority of his Cult in person to speak, lead ceremonies, or receive prayer, one dot worth of Cult assets (in the three core categories) degrades - generally, Zeal is lost first, then Numbers, as the less devout or ensorcelled drift away - still obsessed, but unsatisfied. Reclaiming degraded dots is an extended test of Presence or Manipulation + Persuasion, with a target pool of successes equal to (3 + lost dots). Each roll represents a day spent reinvigorating the Cult and getting stray members back into the fold.

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.

Number (O - OOOOO)

This category represents the size of the loyal mass attending the Leviathan. On a practical level, it limits the number of tasks that the Leviathan can direct his Cult to perform in a given chapter - one, plus one per dot of Number. "Tasks" includes dangerous work as measured by Zeal, but also instances in which the Leviathan directs the faithful to perform rituals or act publicly - the assumption being that the Cult's numbers permit members to exchange duties, cover shifts, and otherwise permit the Beloved to fulfill their everyday chores alongside those mandated by their deity. Buying a dot of Numbers grants one free Merit dot which can be applied to any other Cult Merit; at the storyteller's discretion this may also be spent on a Beloved or Lahmasu Retainer.

A Cult must have at least one dot of Number - otherwise, who will bring the goat?

• Number O - Five followers, five task points per story
• Number OO - Ten followers, ten task points per story
• Number OOO - Twenty followers , fifteen task points per story
• Number OOOO - Fifty followers, twenty task points per story
• Number OOOOO - One hundred followers, twenty five task points per story

Zeal (O - OOOOO)

This category measures the loyalty of the Leviathan's followers - the depth to which their religion shapes their life. It provides one bonus die per dot for all attempts to convince the Cult to undertake a task (in the rare case that this necessitates a roll) and inflicts a -1 penalty per dot to the attempts of others to turn a Cult member against the Leviathan. If directed to spend a day praying and performing rituals for the Leviathan (Which counts as a Task), the Cult provides additional Ichor equal to its Zeal+1 to the Leviathan.

A Cult doesn't have to have a dot of Zeal, but most do.

• Zeal X - Cultists are obsessed with you personally, but not particularly loyal - Sunday Cultists, basically.
• Zeal O - Cultists will break the law for you, if the risks aren't too high. Acolytes.
• Zeal OO - Cultists will risk jail time for you.
• Zeal OOO - Cultists will unflinchingly kill in your name. Textbook fanatics.
• Zeal OOOO - Cultists will risk death in your service, if the task requires it.
• Zeal OOOOO - Slavish loyalty. You and Thulsa Doom could compare notes.

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. Directing the Cult to do typical tasks that one would expect of an organized group - mounting a one-day search, putting up flyers in a neighborhood, mounting a protest - does not require a roll. Only dangerous and illegal 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. 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.

Organisation (OO or OOO)

Organisation does not measure how organised your cult is, instead organisation defines how your cult is organised. A Cult may only have one Organisation merit but it may switch between them for the full cost of the new Merit.

Each style cost three merit dots, except for unorganised which is free. Every Strain has a slight proclivity for a different style of organisation which allows a one dot discount on that style (in shared cults, the strongest Wake gets the discount), this discount comes both from the Wake pushing the Leviathan's Beloved into certain patterns and the cult adapting themselves around the Strain's primordial instincts. Because of this even when a Leviathan chooses a different style than their Strain's natural method you can normally find some of the Strain's nature shining through. A Nu running a legitimate business may find his employees debating management strategies with the devotion and esoteric logic of a Talmud scholar.

Unorganised

This is the default style for all cults. The Leviathan's Beloved are obsessed and loyal to the Leviathan on a personal level, but have no real connection to other cultists or doctrine. The good news is that this disorganisation makes it very hard to investigate the cult, but it makes it just as hard to organise them. In many ways it is a starter cult, not particularly powerful but relatively safe until the Leviathan is ready to defend themselves.

Instinctual for: No one.

Benefits and Drawbacks: All attempts to investigate the cult have a -3 penalty due to it's amorphous nature, however all Zeal and Fervour rolls have a penalty equal to the Cult's Numbers due to a lack of organisation.

Gated Community

The Leviathan's cult form their own community, united not by religion but by a desire to live among people with shared values and a shared culture, despite this of the cult often travel beyond it's borders and maintain social connections with outsiders. While the cult's community is not explicitly religious, it is much easier to practice the Tribe's unique religions when surrounded by understanding people, however the culturally incestuous nature of a Gated Community leaves little room for verity and consequently the Cult often has trouble adapting to sudden changes.

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.

Inbred Hicks

The Leviathan has complete dominance of a geographical area, within his territory the entire population belong to his cult. Every aspect of the cult's lives is shaped by the cult's doctrine and the Leviathan's rule is absolute. The dominance of the cult makes it far easier to organise, there are no employers or family members who will object when a cultist is called to perform a ritual. In addition the prevalence of the cult's doctrine makes this kind of cult especially well versed in theology. However the otherness of the community is especially apparent to all visitors, most cults in this style are found in in isolated areas.

Instinctual for: Dagonites

Benefits and Drawbacks: The cult gets an additional five task points per story, and +1 to all rolls involving Zeal. However everyone gain a +3 bonus to notice how weird the community is, additionally the Leviathan must control a suitably large territory and cannot have more dots in Cult Numbers than he has in Temple Size.

Militant Fanatics

The cult is organised for the maximum efficiency in causing and withstanding violence. If it's large and prosperous it will probably have a clear chain of command, hidden caches of supplies, fortified safe houses. If it's small or poor, then it does the best it can. Depending on where it's found such a cult might resemble (or be) a criminal gang, a professional military force, an apocalyptic cult hiding in a fortress, or the private army of a third world warlord.

Instinctual for: Tannanim

Benefits and Drawbacks: The cult's gets +2 on all Furvor rolls that relate to martial action. Apply this rule generously, scouting, spying and other subtle arts of warfare get the bonus. As would non-combative uses of force; like running a protection racket or enforcing religious law on people outside the cult. However the cult's martial focus leaves them deficient in other areas, all other Fervor rolls get a -2 penalty.

Religious Organisation

The cult portrays itself as a legitimate religious organisation, it may style itself as a sect within a large and well respected religion or openly admit to worshipping a primordial aquatic god. Even then natural selection means that cults generally don't mention that their god drops by every week. This openness makes it easier for the cultists to show up to rituals, they don't have to lie about it, but it also exposes the cult to far more scrutiny if not outright religious persecution.

Instinctual for: Nu

Benefits and Drawbacks: You can buy the Recognition merit for two dots. Rituals are also easier to organise, pick one day of the week plus seven or so holy days thought the year. On those days the cult can perform rituals for one fewer task points. However when performing a ritual roll the rituals dots + The Leviathan's Ripple penalty - Temple Security. A success means that the semi-public nature of the cult has let someone outside the cult witness the ritual. If the Leviathan spends task points or otherwise increases the morality rating of the ritual decrease the roll by an equal amount. If the rituals morality rating reaches seven then do not roll, the ritual is safe for public eyes. The discount on Task points can be spent to increase the morality rating of a ritual.

Social Club

The cult portrays itself as a group of like minded people who enjoy each others company but who have no unified goals or beliefs. This allows the cult to exist publicly while remaining beneath notice. However if the cult does start demonstrating unified goals the oddity immediately makes the cult look suspicious

Instinctual for: Oceaneads

Benefits and Drawbacks: Attempts to legally interferer with the cult have a -2 penalty due to the cult's small legal profile. However it is suspcious for a social club to show much unified direction giving +2 bonus to all attempts to investigate the cult.

Secret Society

The first rule of the cult is that you do not talk about the cult. Members come from very different lives, and actively avoid being seen with each other publicly unless they have a very good reason to. The veil of secrecy makes such cults very hard to investigate, but it imposes additional organisational burdens.

Instinctual for: Lahamin

Benefits and Drawbacks: All attempts to investigate the cult have a -3 penalty due to it's focus on secrecy, however all Zeal and Fervour rolls have a -1 penalty due to the additional complexities of staying hidden.

Legitimate Organisation

The cult organises itself as a business, a non profit, or some other formal non-religious entity. This gives the cultists a way to spend plenty of time on cult business as well as a nice legal framework for cult owned property, bank accounts and all the other complexities of modern life. However the cult's increased legal presence makes it harder to get away with breaking laws.

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.

Cult Morality

Like everyone else a Leviathan's Beloved have a morality rating. Rather than keep track of dozens of cultists performing all manner of strange sacrileges the cult has a single morality rating that represents the average member. Asking your cult to perform horrific rituals or sending them out to accomplish your wicked desires can risk your cult's morality using the same rules as regular morality.

Cult's can also gain derangement’s; representing unhealthy trains of thought that are common enough among a Leviathan's beloved to be part of the cult's culture. Cults have a different set of Derangement’s, there is nothing supernatural about this difference and any of the following derangements can be found among the general population if the conditions are right.

TODO

Bahamanian themed - takes time to make significant independent decisions outside the cult's comforting orthodoxy. Dagonite themed - Lahamin themed - Thinks that god is constantly watching, acts appropriately Nu themed - Tendency to interpret signs and portents (especially what their Leviathan says), acts appropriately Oceanead themed - Thalassan themed - Tannanim themed - Clearly prejudiced against anyone who dosn't follow the cult's laws. Severe version becomes violent.

Additional Traits

These additional merits for a Cult are rated in dots and cost the listed amount. They exist primarily to help define or focus a Cult. The Storyteller and players might work out other possibilities - the only limit is, in general, these bonuses should not render the core traits irrelevant.

• Conspirators (O to OOOOO) - Members of your Cult have Status equal to dots in Conspirators within an organization chosen when you purchase this Merit. This merit may be taken multiple times.
• Home Turf (O or OO) - The Cult has a favored stomping ground, around the size of a neighborhood or a region of wilderness - along the lines of "The quarry" or "The old lumber yard." When assigned to dangerous tasks in this region, it receives a +1 bonus, but suffers a -1 penalty elsewhere. The two-dot version negates the penalty.
• Indoctrination (O) - Once per story, as a Task, the player may declare one attempt to turn members the Cult against the Leviathan as an automatic failure. The Leviathan need not be aware of the attempt - the player is declaring the Cult uncorruptible as a method of narrative control.
• Lahmasu (OO) - Your Cult contains a division of, or is entirely formed of, Lahmasu or Hybrids. Lahmasu often serve as a Cult's military arm, using their unique abilities to further their lords aim. A Cult with Lahmasu gets an extra dice on all martial Fervor rolls, but a crime performed by strange half fish people is more noticeable than a regular crime. This rule is a little too complex to be expressed as a bonus to investigators, but a Leviathan is advised to think twice before sending Lahmasu where mortal authorities might start asking questions, and consider forgoing the bonus.
• Offerings (O) - Once per story the Leviathan may use his Cult to make a purchase with a Resource cost of equal or lower to Numbers.
• Old Hands (OOO) - Pick one unpleasant task or crime (car theft, kidnapping, murder). The Fervor roll for that sort of crime is a rote action for your Cult. Remember that crime waves are suspicious and that being a zany cult isn't a barrier against criminal investigation.
• Recognition (OOO)- Unless it is! Your Cult is a legally-recognized religious organization. Attempts to legally interfere in your dealings or investigate the Cult's beliefs or business suffer a -3 penalty. This is in addition to the other intangible bonuses of this status, which can be represented by other Merits.

Resolute (OO) - The Leviathan's Cult requires his presence only once a month.