Average Cultist
Practiced Cultist
Exceptional Cultist
The Cults
The Cult of the Black Heart
The Order of Jadrax
The Cult of Vugarius
These characters will have Attributes
of 2 for the most part, though some might have specialties
of 3 or even 4. Their Abilities include Brawl, Streetwise,
Firearms, Melee, Stealth, Investigation and Occult skills
(one or two points in each). Low-ranking cultists have no
supernatural powers.
More dedicated cultists will have
one Attribute category with 3 points each instead of 2 and
may have one or two Attributes at 3 or 4. In addition to the
Abilities above (two or three points in each), they may
have Intimidation, Seduction, Subterfuge, Computer, Torture, Tracking or perhaps a few points in Lore.
These
characters will have some sort of extra perks: Merits or
Flaws (usually Ties) or an Investment or two. They have
already given some portion of their souls away.
These cult leaders and hard-core
Diabolists have offered their souls and service to demonic
masters and have something to show for their efforts.
Assume each Exceptional cultist has Primary Attributes of
4, Secondary ones of 3 and Tertiary ones of 2. Several
exceptional “gifts” — black magick rituals, Investments,
Merits and Flaws—add to Abilities that match or exceed
those of player characters. Such cultists are rare, influential
and hopelessly damned.
The Block Stone Trinity
This three-member cult began as a wise-assed offshoot
of an S.C.A. group. When Sandi Thornh ill and William
(do not call him “Billy!”) Pastario were kicked out of their
local chapter for burning an inverted pentagram into a
knight’s lawn, they formed a mercenary splinter group
called the Black Stone Brethren. The short-lived pack
quickly gained a reputation for dirty fighting and were
banished from their resident kingdom. When Shawn
McNamara, a black-metal film student, hooked up with the
pair, their Satanic posturing took on deadly reality.
Shawn quickly drew the others in with hallucinogens,
wild three-way sex and long speeches on the lure of darkness. With their help, he “conjured” Herr Flax, who quickly bound the trio into a downward spiral
of corruption.
Their crimes of late have included gang rape,
deadly assaults, thefts and robberies, animal torture and the
creation of a dangerous hallucinogen called “witch’s powder.” They have yet to descend to human sacrifice, but this
has been a matter of opportunity rather than decency.
The Black Stone Trinity, named for Sandi’s basalt
altar, are a vicious pack of small-time devil worshippers.
They, höwever, have a good many friends and streetlevel connections. The local police have heard of the band,
but have no hard evidence to tie them to any of their
crimes. They consider themselves more knowledgeable
than they actually are, but know enough to be dangerous,
both to others and to themselves.
All three Black Handers are capable fighters (Dexterity 3, Brawl 3, Melee 4) and have a small group of followers
who help them sell the powder.
Sandi and Shawn are
passably attractive, but William’s face is as ugly as his deeds.
All three are Practiced cultists. This cult is small — small
enough to be overlooked while doing a lot of damage.
The Cult of the Black Heart is devoted to the worship
of a powerful demon known as Grostolis. The cult operates
in secrecy throughout the world. Its membership spans
every race, class and profession and includes a large number
of DiaboLists and a few vampires. With a membership of
over 12,000, it is undoubtedly the largest of the real demon
cults.
Grostolis, to whom the cult is dedicated, is said to rule
six legions of lesser demons in Hell. The cult serves the
demon by corrupting as many as possible into its service and
by sacrificing innocent victims each month during the no-
moon phase.
The Black Heart cult is broken down into various
covens; each coven is lead by a high priest. These demon
priests, mostly Diabolists of varying power, answer to the
cult’s arch-priest Victor Neubauer and his underlings.
Neubauer is a powerful Diabolist, a former acolyte of the
Celestial Chorus. He is extremely cunning and often removes other demon priests who become too powerful
before they pose him a threat. Consider Neubauer to be a
Diabolist of some power — stronger than an Exceptional
Cultist, though not as strong as a competent mage.
The cult holds meetings once a week in secluded, out-
of-the-way locations, often underground. The cultists use
false names to identify themselves and have many secret
ways of verifying true membership in the cult, They commonly wear black-hooded robes during their rituals. These
rites span all know types of Black Mass, ranging from ritual
rape to the sacrifice of newborns.
This cult is strongest in the Northwestern United
States. The cult has over 300 members spanning five cities
and is dedicated to Jadrax, a demon of moderate power.
Jadrax possesses many occult secrets he shares with his
worthy followers, though such knowledge always brings
doom upon them.
A vampire known as the Hadaric runs Jadrax’s Order.
This elder Kindred feeds from his cultists, thus making it his
blood cult as well. He has made ghouls of Jadrax’s favored
worshippers and instructs them in the ways of Dark Sorcery.
This Hadaric is a fearsome enemy, an elder vampire with three
Demonic Investments and fourth-level Dark Sorcery.
The Order of Jadrax appears on the surface to be the
remnants of a Greek mystery cult, but its demonic teaching
originate from ancient Sumerian lore. Members of the cult
conduct the common demonic rituals associated with other
cults and wear blood red robes during their ceremonies. All
members carry razor-sharp sacrificial daggers which they
use on both themselves and others in odd bloodletting
rituals. In addition, the cultists all wear rings bearing the
symbol of Jadrax: a circle with an X through it, with the
letter "J" in the middle of the X.
Many of the cultists are rich businessmen who use their
wealth and influence to assist the Order of Jadrax in seducing
potential members by providing for their worldly needs.
This demon cult consists of over 300 members. Located in a small town in New Mexico, this is cult is
dedicated to Vugarius, an ancient demon who gains pleasure by inflicting pain upon infants.
The cult is controlled by a Horus Longstreet, a powerful Diabolist. He once traveled into the town of Bracketon
and corrupted the entire place into the Vugarius’ service.
Since all the law enforcement officers, politicians, doctors
and other “pillars of the community” were the first to turn,
the remaining majority of the population fell right into
line. Those who would not convert were sacrificed.
The cult is involved in ritual sacrifice of humans of all
ages, though infants are most prized. Most members are
Practiced Cultists by now and their leader is an Exceptional
one. They have ties to a group of Mexican slavers who
provide them with numerous sacrifices. The cultists are
preparing for a great sacrifice, called the Hecatomb, in
which over 250 people will be ritually slaughtered in a
single night. They keep their slaves locked away in underground holding cells until that time. The ritual will
supposedly give Vugarius enough power to manifest himself onto Earth permanently.
(The Book of Madness 100-112)
