Cults in T2K

[Raellus]

Tired of the same ol' marauders and petty warlords? Why not spice things up a little by making the bad guys into cultists? Evil cults are a mainstay of D&D and other fantasy RPGs but, as far as I can tell, it's an unmined resource in T2K.

The apocalypse (i.e. the Twilight War) would be a fertile time for the birth, development, and growth of all kinds of cults. Here are just a few ideas for cults that your players might run into. The first is taken straight from my Austria sourcebook and might be a little too area specific. The others are also region-specific but with a little modification, could be plugged in just about anywhere.


New Hussites

A cult-like group of militant pseudo-millennialists operating in the border region between Linz and Vienna. The group is led by a mysterious figure claiming to be the reincarnated Jan Hus. His teachings are rather convoluted, but they center around the proposition that he and his followers have been chosen by God to prepare the way for the imminent Second Coming of Christ. Most of his followers are Czechs, drawing heavily from the membership rolls of the official Czecholsovak Hussite Church, but some Austrians and Hungarians have also rallied to the cause. The New Hussites' symbol is a black flail over a red chalice on a yellow field. The group is poorly equipped, its meager collection of small arms and light support weapons supplemented by improvised weaponry of medieval technology. What the New Hussite fighters lack in modern technology, they make up for in fanatical fervor. The New Hussites are unusual in that a large proportion of their fighting arm is made up of women. It also rumored to employ children as fighters. Huss II claims to be in possession of a drum made from the skin of 15th century Hussite war leader Jan Zizka (before he died of the plague, the blind, undefeated Hussite military leader asked that his skin be turned into a war drum so that he could continue to lead his troops into battle after his passing.) Huss II boasts that this war drum makes his "army" invincible, but the results of recent skirmishes have belied this claim. Vigorous anti-marauder operations conducted by loyal Czech military forces starting in the spring of 2000 have pushed the New Hussite's militant core into pre-war Austrian territory.

This group can be modified a bit to fit a Poland-based campaign. The Eastern European folk-hero, Juraj Jánošík, is a semi-historical figure very similar to Robin Hood. Apparently, he's fairly well-known in Hungary, Slovakia, Bohemia, and Silesia. A charismatic individual could claim to be Juraj Jánošík or one of his "merry men" reincarnated, leading a small, cult-like partisan force, stealing from the "rich" (local polities, occupying armies, etc.) and giving to the poor.


Army of Saints

A millennial group dedicated to the idea that Judgment Day has come to destroy the wicked and that they, God's chosen few, have been tasked with repopulating the earth with righteous people to prepare for Christ's second coming. Led by a charismatic patriarch, the Army of Saints practices polygamy, with the leader and his inner circle taking many wives. Male members are rewarded for loyalty and service with ranks that entitle them to additional wives. These wives are often young women kidnapped from surrounding settlements. These wives are constantly pregnant and spend most of their time caring for the group's many children while the men work to increase the cult's holdings (i.e. raiding for "fresh" women and booty). The Army of Saints doesn't have much in the way of heavy weaponry, but their male members are well appointed with military-grade small arms and the women and children are both taught to shoot so that they can defend the settlement- dubbed New Jerusalem or some such- from unwelcome interlopers.


Angeles de la Muerte (Angels of Death)

This is based on a real cult encountered in the Southwest United States, Mexico, and Latin America. Santa Muerte is a feminine patron saint of death, venerated by many in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. If you've watched Breaking Bad, you probably remember the scenes where the twin Narco-assassins make offerings and pray to Santa Muerte in a little desert shrine. In T2K, worship of Santa Muerte has evolved. Devotees believe that the only way they can stave off their own deaths is to appease Santa Muerte with blood sacrifices- human blood sacrifices. Charismatic individuals have used this belief to amass a small army of fanatic worshippers who will capture anyone they are told to for making sacrifices to the Lady of Death, Saint of Bones, Lady Grim Reaper, etc. For the leaders of the cult, this means power and wealth, as the property of the sacrificial victims becomes their own. You could also use the Afro-Caribbean religion, Santeria, as the basis for a similar cult set in Florida and/or the Caribbean region.


United Aryan Church (New American Splinter Group)

This cult would most likely be encountered in the American Old South but I could see it springing up in the West as well. I suppose that it could also work in various parts of Western Europe too. This millennial group believes that God visited WWIII upon the earth to punish Western Civilization for "race mixing". This is a virulently racist paramilitary organization that won't hesitate to visit extreme violence upon people of color, Jews, homosexuals, and other groups that they deme "degenerate". Their symbology combines Nazi and Christian motifs. They are considered so extreme that they've been kicked out of the mainstream New America organization.


Mother's Little Monsters

This one would probably work just about anywhere. A charismatic woman (ex military psy-ops officer) leads a small army of children divided up into themed "platoons". The Supers, for example, dress in assorted superhero attire, the Kung Fu's wear bits and pieces of martial arts clothing, The Jocks wear sports equipment/attire, The Scary Monsters wear Halloween masks, etc. (this idea was inspired by real-life groups of child soldiers in Liberia and Sierra Leone). Each "platoon is led by a boy in his late teens. The matriarch uses sex to control the platoon leaders. Her elite personal bodyguard is made up of teenage girls. An army of kids creates a unique and vexing ethical quandary for the players since killing kids, even in war, is still pretty taboo. I guess that it's not really a cult per se, but the leader uses cult-like conditioning to secure the loyalty and obedience of "her children".


The Daughters (of Gaia) aka, the New Amazons

An army of women. They are incredibly hostile towards men, killing most on sight, unless members want children of their own, in which case they "Black Widow" male captives. This could be interesting as male PCs captured by the group might not immediately understand the ultimate fate planned for them. A twist could occur when one of the cult members falls in love with a male PC captive.

The leadership of the New Amazons, and many of the group's members, suffered victimization at the hands of men during the war (or prior) and their teaching revolves around the idea that men are evil and have brought about the destruction of the world. The only society, therefore, that has any chance of long-term survival is one that consists solely of females. Males are seen as wicked aggressors. Male children born into the group are feminized and raised as girls. Their religious beliefs and practices is based loosely on Wicca, but with an added emphasis on defensive black magic.


More to come...

If you have any ideas for T2K cults, feel free to add them to the thread.

[rcaf_777]

I always figured this guy would be leading a cult

[kato13]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

I always figured this guy would be leading a cult

This seems as good of a time as any to put credits up for the people who are legally responsible for the forum's content.

[Draq]

Love this. Well done

[Raellus]

Circle of Blood

A good-looking, charismatic young man brings a bevy of attractive young women into his orbit with charm, blandishment, and bizarre claims that he is a vampire who holds the secrets to immortality. Consensual blood-letting/drinking cements a powerful psychological bond between leader and followers (those invited to imbibe the leader's blood, themselves "become" immortal vampires). The group supports itself by ensnaring male travelers in honey trap schemes. Some captives are bled to death to "feed" the Circle. Others- a select few- after careful "testing", are invited to join the Circle. The Circle currently operates nocturnally out of a derelict church building in a small, abandoned village.

[RN7]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Circle of Blood

A good-looking, charismatic young man brings a bevy of attractive young women into his orbit with charm, blandishment, and bizarre claims that he is a vampire who holds the secrets to immortality. Consensual blood-letting/drinking cements a powerful psychological bond between leader and followers (those invited to imbibe the leader's blood, themselves "become" immortal vampires). The group supports itself by ensnaring male travelers in honey trap schemes. Some captives are bled to death to "feed" the Circle. Others- a select few- after careful "testing", are invited to join the Circle. The Circle currently operates nocturnally out of a derelict church building in a small, abandoned village.

I think Rainbow Six put up a good article about a real live female vampires living in T2K Poland some time ago. I think there was a picture of the actress Eva Green to portray the vampire, which was a good fit as she is vampish looking.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by RN7

I think Rainbow Six put up a good article about a real live female vampires living in T2K Poland some time ago. I think there was a picture of the actress Eva Green to portray the vampire, which was a good fit as she is vampish looking.

Ah, yes. I remember that now. IIRC, his piece was quite good. I didn't think of it when I was whipping up the Circle of Blood blurb. Any similarities between my bit and Rainbow's material were therefore completely unintentional. It'd be great if he'd add his piece to this thread. I'll ask him.

[unkated]

I have been reading a lot of Call of Cthulu material lately. These frequently feature capture someone and sacrifice them horribly to open a gateway for some horrrific god who will grant the cult knowledge/power/salvation.

It is easy enough to see a group of survivors become crazed enough to profess such a belief as action.

Or, is the cult now simply acting a little more in the open now that the authorities have gone away....

('Here in the Carpathians, we have always worshipped the old gods. When the Christians came in the 10th century, we put up a church, and go on Sundays. We don't discuss what we do in the hills Saturday night, and we intimidated the priests not to ask; when the Communists came in 1945 and shut down the Church, we did not argue. But since there was a Police squad from the city attached by a phone line, we have had to be more surrepticious for two generations - until now.')

Such a cult can either just be lunatic enough to believe their own story; ('In that second truck - a woman with golden hair and emerald eyes! A mate fit for the King in Yellow! We must seize her and present her to him - but subtlely to avoid alerting her friends with all the guns...')

It can be a charismatic leader who drives them to horrors and then uses guilt and shame to control the village; ('When the last strangers came and we ate them, as I told you Yogsotha commanded, were we not stronger for it? The starving children stopped starving! We must do the same to these strangers before they spread word of what we have done to those in the valley below, who would not understand...')

Or for those of you willing to tinge your campaigns with the occult, an actual supernatural connection. ('Uh, is it just a trick of light, or is there something with horns and a tail moving in the center of that pentacle?')


Uncle Ted

"Sorry, LT. I thought I was driving through the village, but the non-euclidean geometry of those houses confused the crap out of me..."

[swaghauler]

While I don't want to revisit our previous debate on the subject, you are missing a few "bad guys" common in America today.

The Sovereign Citizen Movement:There are approximately 350,000 avowed "Sovereign Citizens" in America. There are large concentrations in Florida, Idaho, Ohio, and Tennesee. There are smaller enclaves in all 50 states. I see New America as portrayed in the GDW modules as closer to the Sovereign Citizen Movement than it is to The Clan. This movement wants to restore power to local governments (which it can control through fear and political pressure) and weaken Federal power in the US. The big problem with using New America as an "evolved Sovereign Citizen Movement" is that they are NOT RACIST. There are many black Sovereign Citizens. This movement would be a dangerous opponent to ANY reconstruction effort. They are also linked nationally (which lends some credence to them as New America).

Aryan Nation: what I believe was the original model for GDW's New America is (since the early 90's) a fractured group of white supremacists. They lack the power to form any type of National Movement but can be VERY DANGEROUS locally. Most of their members are military trained and they are quick to use violence as a form of conflict resolution. While I cannot believe they could ever become a New America, they would be tough opponents none the less. They are also spread throughout the US but are more common in the South, Idaho, and the Dakotas.

Citizen's Militias: Started mainly in the US "Rust Belt" (the states bordering the Great Lakes) as a response to ever increasing legislation against The Constitution's Bill of Rights. They primarily focused on 2nd Amendment Rights but were also vocal about 4th and 5th Amendment Rights Violations by the Federal Government. The movement spread South and West and eventually "evolved" into the "Prepper Movement" we have today. Any Militia would have a wide range of skills and be fairly well equipped. Most members probably did some form of disaster assistance (flood, fire, tornado) and they would still be well organised after The Exchange. They would probably have the support of the local population as well (due to their tendency to show for even the most mundane emergencies). They will be mostly military trained and drill at least monthly. They would provide opposition to any Federal mandates (especially after The Exchange) especially Conscription, or confiscation of supplies. They may be in communication with other militia groups and will PROBABLY be hostile to community "outsiders."

These are just a few modern groups who might rise to power in America after The Exchange.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by unkated

i have been reading a lot of call of cthulu material lately. These frequently feature capture someone and sacrifice them horribly to open a gateway for some horrrific god who will grant the cult knowledge/power/salvation.

It is easy enough to see a group of survivors become crazed enough to profess such a belief as action.

Or, is the cult now simply acting a little more in the open now that the authorities have gone away....

('here in the carpathians, we have always worshipped the old gods. When the christians came in the 10th century, we put up a church, and go on sundays. We don't discuss what we do in the hills saturday night, and we intimidated the priests not to ask; when the communists came in 1945 and shut down the church, we did not argue. But since there was a police squad from the city attached by a phone line, we have had to be more surrepticious for two generations - until now.')

such a cult can either just be lunatic enough to believe their own story; ('in that second truck - a woman with golden hair and emerald eyes! A mate fit for the king in yellow! We must seize her and present her to him - but subtlely to avoid alerting her friends with all the guns...')

it can be a charismatic leader who drives them to horrors and then uses guilt and shame to control the village; ('when the last strangers came and we ate them, as i told you yogsotha commanded, were we not stronger for it? The starving children stopped starving! We must do the same to these strangers before they spread word of what we have done to those in the valley below, who would not understand...')

or for those of you willing to tinge your campaigns with the occult, an actual supernatural connection. ('uh, is it just a trick of light, or is there something with horns and a tail moving in the center of that pentacle?')


uncle ted

"sorry, lt. I thought i was driving through the village, but the non-euclidean geometry of those houses confused the crap out of me..."

so your the one responsible for turning wallshadow into "the necromonger!!"

[Raellus]

@Unkated: Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of a Pagan revival across Europe (w/ regional variations).

@Swaghauler: Yeah, I deliberately excluded those organizations because, IMHO, they're fairly straightforward "marauder" groups with much less overt emphasis on religious or spiritual doctrine. To qualify as such, cults, in my mind, need to have more central, more overt religious/spiritual beliefs and practices.

Merriam-Webster's website defines cult as "a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous". That's what I'm going for with this thread.

[.45cultist]

Twilight Encounters had one scenario with a doomsday cult.

[Apache6]

There are a lot of real world examples of "fringe elements" growing into militaristic cults during periods of unrest and war. The Lords Resistance Army in central Africa and ISIS are both 'current, realworld examples of "Christian and Islamic" respectively branches of cults.

My 'group' the West Side Boyz, I made it something of a cult, the leader did not believe the 'spiritual aspects' but they used 'religion to manipulate his victims;who were also his child/slave soldiers.

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

so your the one responsible for turning wallshadow into "the necromonger!!"

Bah, a mere mortal taking credit for my transformation? Hah! Only my studies of the arcane and electronically-mouldering tomes and scrolls could expand my puny flesh-based mind to be capable of unleashing the terrible cthonian knowledge! Cringe before me, puny humans, and despair of your crumbling universe!!! Bwahahahaha!

[LT. Ox]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

Bah, a mere mortal taking credit for my transformation? Hah! Only my studies of the arcane and electronically-mouldering tomes and scrolls could expand my puny flesh-based mind to be capable of unleashing the terrible cthonian knowledge! Cringe before me, puny humans, and despair of your crumbling universe!!! Bwahahahaha!

"Dear" ...."Yes Hun"
Check the Garman is the next stop any where near PA.?

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Raellus

@Unkated: Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of a Pagan revival across Europe (w/ regional variations).

@Swaghauler: Yeah, I deliberately excluded those organizations because, IMHO, they're fairly straightforward "marauder" groups with much less overt emphasis on religious or spiritual doctrine. To qualify as such, cults, in my mind, need to have more central, more overt religious/spiritual beliefs and practices.

Merriam-Webster's website defines cult as "a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous". That's what I'm going for with this thread.

Don't you know that Politics IS a religion now?

[Bullet Magnet]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

Don't you know that Politics IS a religion now?

I'm glad someone else said it, and saved me the trouble. I would have gotten much more longwinded about it.

[unkated]

Children of Gaia: This cult (under a charismatic leader), believes that the worlds current woes are basically a curse on mankind brought on by our excessive despoliation of the Earth, with the limited nuclear combat being the last straw.

Or perhaps Gaia/God/force of your choice* manipulated human leaders into as a first step of scourging; after all, the targets of strikes were either cities or industrial targets (both heavy densities of humans and their technology).

At any rate, the Cult hides itself in a remote low-tech settlement (mountain valley far from city or main travel routes) (Northern California, Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Alberta, BC, northern (or coastal island) Maine, Vermont, upstate NY, Pennsylvania, WV, Tennessee, Kentucky, western N Carolina, New Hampshire, the Ozarks (Missouri or Arkansas), southern Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, Norway could be suitable base locations; equally in an isolated plain well-away form a city (Montana, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North or South Dakota, Nebraska, Ukraine, Russia.

They purposely destroy technology dating later than the early 19th century; anything not built by hand. You can meet the cult as a set of warriors who are bent on destroying vehicles, weapons, machines, factories, power systems, etc. They would armed with primitive weaponry: Bows, crossbows, spears, swords, knives, etc, all hand made by the Blacksmith, of course. (as if in a Primitives encounter).

"Gaia asks us to remove these things that men make and cause her such pain, poisoning the water and the air. If we remove enough of them, she will restore her bounty to those that have helped to heal her."


* Could be extra-dimensional beings if you want this to be a pre-cursor to a Dark Conspiracy game...


Uncle Ted

[ArmySGT.]

The Violent Ends

When you have nothing left to live for, live for nothing.

Nihilists. These are a collection of men and women from every ethnic background, every caste, every economic platform, every walk of life. What is the common thread among them all you ask? They are alone. These are the fathers, the mothers that have lost their spouses and children. These are the children who were home or at school when the bomb fell and their parents never came home.

All are sick with grief and loss with more reflected back at them from those they are travelling with. Members have been known to collapse and die of malnutrition or thirst because they just forget to consume what is necessary for life. They move in a herd, share communally food, water, body heat; as they shuffle down the road without a destination. Few if any at all could place a name or remember the faces of their fellow travellers. None make any attachments, except possibly to a companion animal like a dog, a cat, or a horse.

They are worthless for information... They know their name and where they are from, but couldn't tell you where they are now. Yelling, threats, injury, or even rape and they become unresponsive, curled up in a fetal ball. Slavers don't even bother as these typically just curl up a die. They make no effort to protect themselves walking across busy roads, over broken bridges, through even a raging fire fight. Gun fire won't even herd them out of the road when their mass blocks vehicle traffic.

They all die tragically, often by the hand of another; thus their nickname.... The Violent Ends.

[Raellus]

Thanks for the contributions, guys. Good stuff.

@unkated: This reminds me of the bad-guys in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. IIRC, radical environmentalists were trying to launch a virus or something to wipe out 99.9% of humanity.

A neo-Luddite cult could have a similar M.O., albeit with less emphasis on environmentalism. Their reason for destroying new tech is that they blame it for the war. They embrace a return to hand-made articles, eschewing machinery, and a barter-based economy.

@ArmySGT.: I like this idea- the name is particularly clever- but what makes this a group? What brings them together? It seems like there's a missing element here. What's the bond that makes this a cult, as opposed to nickname for certain types of hopeless individuals?

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by Raellus

@ArmySGT.: I like this idea- the name is particularly clever- but what makes this a group? What brings them together? It seems like there's a missing element here. What's the bond that makes this a cult, as opposed to nickname for certain types of hopeless individuals?

Cults are cohesive. Some are family, some are a religious affiliation; the most common and obvious reason for their communal activities.

The Violent Ends are communal in that a herd is communal. Some are more aware than others and able to gather food and water, then press this into the hands or mouths of those barely above catatonia. There is a bond without bonds, as membership doesn't require joining. There is comfort or atleast the path of least resistantance, for these sick and lost individuals in that no one presses them to act or feel.

You could I suppose give them a dramatic and tragic caregiver that sheperds them along.

I don't think it needs one myself...... Use them as a story telling tool to drive the point home that the world is broken and pitiless.

[Raellus]

Cool. I was just having a little trouble wrapping my head around the concept; your explanation has helped me to do so. Thanks.

[Nowhere Man 1966]

Originally Posted by unkated

Children of Gaia: This cult (under a charismatic leader), believes that the worlds current woes are basically a curse on mankind brought on by our excessive despoliation of the Earth, with the limited nuclear combat being the last straw.

Or perhaps Gaia/God/force of your choice* manipulated human leaders into as a first step of scourging; after all, the targets of strikes were either cities or industrial targets (both heavy densities of humans and their technology).

At any rate, the Cult hides itself in a remote low-tech settlement (mountain valley far from city or main travel routes) (Northern California, Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Alberta, BC, northern (or coastal island) Maine, Vermont, upstate NY, Pennsylvania, WV, Tennessee, Kentucky, western N Carolina, New Hampshire, the Ozarks (Missouri or Arkansas), southern Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, Norway could be suitable base locations; equally in an isolated plain well-away form a city (Montana, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North or South Dakota, Nebraska, Ukraine, Russia.

They purposely destroy technology dating later than the early 19th century; anything not built by hand. You can meet the cult as a set of warriors who are bent on destroying vehicles, weapons, machines, factories, power systems, etc. They would armed with primitive weaponry: Bows, crossbows, spears, swords, knives, etc, all hand made by the Blacksmith, of course. (as if in a Primitives encounter).

"Gaia asks us to remove these things that men make and cause her such pain, poisoning the water and the air. If we remove enough of them, she will restore her bounty to those that have helped to heal her."


* Could be extra-dimensional beings if you want this to be a pre-cursor to a Dark Conspiracy game...


Uncle Ted

Reminds me of a Cryptic Alliance from Gamma World with the same goals. I think they are The Razors. If you want more ideas, do a Google search for Cryptic Alliances although in the case of Gamma World, it might not always fit into Twilight or Morrow Project when they go into the mutant animal or android territories, unless you have those in your game, especially the latter.

[Tombot]

Originally Posted by Draq

Love this. Well done

Yeah! Crazed cults, grounded in reality.
Thats how i love my T2k-religions,, The origins of your ideas have just the right vibe to it.

[Matt Wiser]

You do recall a RL cult that was around in '97? The Heaven's Gate cult that committed mass suicide in April of that year.....though one might have a few followers/wannabes lingering on after the nuclear exchange, and spreading the view that those who did commit suicide are on the UFO that the cult said was trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet, and will return to bring peace and enlightenment to a war-ravaged Earth.

[Nowhere Man 1966]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

You do recall a RL cult that was around in '97? The Heaven's Gate cult that committed mass suicide in April of that year.....though one might have a few followers/wannabes lingering on after the nuclear exchange, and spreading the view that those who did commit suicide are on the UFO that the cult said was trailing the Hale-Bopp Comet, and will return to bring peace and enlightenment to a war-ravaged Earth.

I remember them, I was thinking about it the other day. IIRC, I remember Hale-Bopp and the alleged UFO was a lot of talk on Art Bell's "Coast to Coast AM" at that time.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by RN7

I think Rainbow Six put up a good article about a real live female vampires living in T2K Poland some time ago. I think there was a picture of the actress Eva Green to portray the vampire, which was a good fit as she is vampish looking.

Originally Posted by Raellus

Ah, yes. I remember that now. IIRC, his piece was quite good. I didn't think of it when I was whipping up the Circle of Blood blurb. Any similarities between my bit and Rainbow's material were therefore completely unintentional. It'd be great if he'd add his piece to this thread. I'll ask him.

Just came across this thread...the link for the Wampir is here

http://www.twilight2000files.com/page206.html

There was a suggestion at the time that if you don't want to introduce the supernatural into your T2K campaign you could have her be an ordinary woman who thinks she is a vampire, possibly as a result of mental trauma caused by the War.

[Raellus]

Thanks, Rainbow.

Here's some more inspiration,

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-5-scaries...ory-1733521100