Cult (IB)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark hack

A Cult in IB serves a creed, movement, or hidden order—sometimes centered on an oracle (AI/collective), an ancestor archive, or a charismatic doctrine. No confirmed miracles; power comes from belief, mutual aid, and disciplined practice. Cults vie for hearts, logistics, and legitimacy: reform an existing church, seed a new faith, or run a shadow network under polite society.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Credit

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Chosen: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Study, Consort, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
2. Anointed: +1d to resistance rolls against coercion, panic, or memetic pressure, and +1d to healing rolls (counsel, care).
3. Conviction: When indulging vice/devotion, you don’t overindulge if you clear excess stress.
4. Incarnate (Secular): Your “saints” manifest as emissaries, bots, or proxies of the creed (not literal spirits). Once per score you may declare such a manifestation to justify a setup or appearance; the GM clarifies its priorities.
5. Intercession: Use teamwork maneuvers with any cult member, regardless of distance. By taking 2 stress, your whispered message (via neme/ritual comms) is heard by all crew.
6. Mandate: Advancing your Tier costs half the usual Credit. Why do you have this privilege?
7. Zealotry: Your cohorts gain the Loyal and Tenacious edges and +1d when acting against enemies of the faith.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another crew playbook. You may now choose its Upgrades and Special Abilities. Immediately gain access only to the Crew XP track.

Crew XP

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 XP (or mark 2 XP if that item occurred multiple times):

1. Advance the agenda of your creed or embody its precepts in action.
2. Contend with challenges above your current station.
3. Bolster your crew’s reputation or develop a new one.
4. Express the goals, drives, inner conflict, or essential nature of the crew.

Crew Upgrades

Starting Upgrades Lair (Secure or Hidden), Vice (Faith or Weird), 2 of choice.

Cult Only Upgrades ☐ Spirit Cohort — Gain one cohort who is culturally/spiritually “set apart” (represented by drones, proxies, or sworn devotees). ☐ Spirit Well — Your lair has a focus space (quiet room/node). On-site discipline and rite actions have +1 effect. ☐ Ancient Obelisk — Reduce the stress cost of rites/meditative protocols performed on-site by 1 (does not reduce Complexity). ☐ Catacombs — +1d Engagement on Stealth and Transport plans. ☐ Charity — Reduce Heat by 2 per score. ☐ Confessional — +1d to all Resolve actions to Gather Information. ☐ Grand Altar — +1d Engagement on Assault and Social plans. ☐ Holy Cause — During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Gain Credit equal to the highest result, minus your Heat. ☐ Library — +1d to Study and Sway rolls made on-site. ☐ Offertory — +2 Credit payoff on **secret** scores. ☐ Oracle — +1d Engagement on Deception and Occult plans (briefings guided by doctrine/data oracles). ☐ Sacred Nexus — +1d to healing rolls in your Sanctuary and +2 Credit from public operations. ☐ Sanctuary — Your secure archive for relics, records, and doctrine begins here. ☐ Temple — During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Gain Credit equal to the highest result, minus your Heat. ☐ Turf — Reduces the Credit cost multiplier to advance crew Tier. (May be taken multiple times.)

Base: ☐,☐ Life support, ☐,☐ Independence, ☐,☐ Maneuver, ☐,☐ Hidden, ☐,☐ Secure.

Assets: ☐,☐,☐,☐ Investment — Reduces the base cost of improving Tier, before multiplication.

Installations: ☐,☐ Quarters, ☐☐☐☐ Training, ☐,☐ Vault, ☐,☐ Venue, ☐,☐ Workshop, ☐,☐ Hangar, ☐,☐ Prison.

Vehicles: ☐,☐ Shuttles (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Fighters (needs hangar), ☐,☐ Runabouts.

Quality: ☐ Documents, ☐ Gear, ☐ Implements, ☐ Supplies, ☐ Tools, ☐ Weapons.

Vices: ☐ Faith, ☐ Gambling, ☐ Luxury, ☐ Obligation, ☐ Pleasure, ☐ Stupor, ☐ Weird.

Cohorts ☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐ Cohort: (Max 2 per tier +1 for strong hold) ☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐,☐ Add Elite, Edge, or Type to one cohort

Cohorts

Each cohort needs this data.

Name:

☐ Gang or ☐ Expert.

Type: ☐ Adepts, ☐ Rooks, ☐ Rovers, ☐ Skulks, ☐ Thugs.

Edges & Flaws: ☐ Elite, ☐ Fearsome, ☐ Independent, ☐ Loyal, ☐ Principled, ☐ Animal, ☐ Savage, ☐ Unreliable, ☐ Wild.

Damage: (☐ Armor), ☐ Weak, ☐ Impaired, ☐ Broken.