Cult (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

A cult serves a supernatural entity, which could be a god, saint, philosophical teacher, demon, devil, archfey, greater aberration, undead lord, great spirit, or something similar. A cult has a religious or magical agenda and vies for control over the souls of a population. This might involve reforming an existing church, introducing a new faith, or creating a secret network operating from the shadows.

Claims

Holy Cause During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Earn coin equal to the highest result, minus your heat.	Oracle Gain +1d to engagement rolls for Occult plans.	Offertory Secret scores provide +2 coin payoff.	Spirit Well Gain +1d versus arcane entities on-site.	Ancient Obelisk Reduce the stress cost of Powers and rituals performed on-site by 1 without reducing Complexity.
Library Gain +1d on Study and Sway rolls on location.	Turf Reduce the reputation cost to advance.	Sanctuary Your collection of artifacts and rare books begins here.	Turf Reduce the reputation cost to advance.	Confessional Gain +1d to all Resolve actions to gather information.
Catacombs Gain +1d to engagement rolls for Stealth and Transport plans.	Charity Reduce heat by 2 per score.	Sacred Nexus Gain +1d to healing rolls in your Sanctuary and +2 coin from public operations.	Ancient Altar Gain +1d to engagement rolls for Assault and Social plans.	Temple During downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. Earn coin equal to the highest result, minus your heat.

Heat & Wanted Level

☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐ | ☐☐☐☐

Coin

☐☐☐☐ | Vault ☐☐☐☐ | Vault 2 ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

Special Abilities

1. Chosen: Each PC may add +1 action rating to Attune, Study, or Sway (up to a max rating of 3).
2. Anointed: Gain +1d to resistance rolls against supernatural threats and +1d to healing rolls.
3. Conviction: Each member of the crew gains an additional vice: Worship. When indulging this vice properly, you don’t overindulge if you clear excess stress.
4. Glory Incarnate: Servants of your deity sometimes manifest in the physical world. If you worship a demigod, they may manifest themselves. This is a great boon, but the priorities of a god are not those of mortals. You have been warned.
5. Intercession: Use teamwork maneuvers with any cult member, regardless of distance. By taking 1 stress, your whispered message is heard by all cult members.
6. Sealed in Blood: A human sacrifice reduces the stress cost of any ritual you perform by 3.
7. Zealotry: Your cohorts are wholly devoted to the faith, abandoning reason. They gain the loyal and tenacious edges (p. 96) and +1d to rolls when acting against enemies of the faith.
8. Additional Playbook: Select another crew playbook. You may now choose its Claims, Special Abilities, Crew Contacts, and Upgrades. 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 deity 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.

Contacts

1. Gagan, an academic.
2. Adikin, an occultist.
3. Hutchins, an antiquarian.
4. Moriya, a spirit trafficker.
5. Mateas Kline, a noble.
6. Bennett, an astronomer.

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 also a spirit) ☐ Spirit Well (+1 occult effect in the lair)

Hardware: ☐,☐ Boat, ☐,☐ Cannon, ☐,☐ Carriage, ☐,☐ Stable.

Lair: ☐,☐ Hidden, ☐,☐ Secure, ☐,☐ Quarters, ☐☐☐☐ Training, ☐,☐ Vault, ☐ Workshop, ☐ Prison.

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

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.

Opportunities

1. Cabal opportunity.
2. Cartel opportunity.
3. Delver opportunity.
4. Glimmer opportunity.
5. Manhunter opportunity.
6. Traveler opportunity.
7. Troupe opportunity.
8. Warden opportunity.
9. Soldier opportunity.
10. Spirit of a random Form.
    1. Air
    2. Animal
    3. Darkness
    4. Death
    5. Earth
    6. Electricity
    7. Fire
    8. Flux
    9. Ice
    10. Illusion
    11. Kinesis
    12. Life
    13. Light
    14. Metal
    15. Mind
    16. Order
    17. Plant
    18. Space
    19. Time
    20. Water
11. Monster of a random Form—See Spirit, above.
12. Magic secrets of a random Form—See Spirit, above
13. Sorcerous specialist of a random Form—See Spirit, above.
14. Magic item of a random Form—See Spirit, above.
15. Power source of a random Form—See Spirit, above.
16. A Chosen is preaching religious renewal for the worship of your god.
17. A friendly monster that your dogma declares is an enemy appears.
18. A gang of thugs is having serious mystical problems from a rival group. They hire you to put an end to it.
19. A ghost ship returns to port, devoid of crew or any items save one thing: an artifact thrumming with the secret name of your god.
20. A heresy appears.
21. A moldy tome has been recovered: it contradicts some vital tenet of your cult's doctrine.
22. A noble performed a desperate ritual seeking assistance from your god. You have been chosen as the instrument of its aid.
23. A prominent collector of artifacts chokes to death in the streets, gasping the name of your god.
24. A rival cult is destroying any and all artifacts and sites sacred to other gods. They seem to have some arcane means of discovery. You may be next.
25. A rival cult's secret regalia have some connection with your god: are they his agents or is it mere coincidence?
26. A syncretistic claim is made that your god is a manifestation of another similar god.
27. A treatise is published claiming your god is a corrupted translation of an even more ancient god.
28. A trio of formidable spirits arrive at your lair and announce themselves as the true ancient masters of your cult.
29. A wealthy cult offers you riches (coin, claim, cohort, etc.) to abandon your faith and enter into their congregation.
30. An enemy of your cult appears as a direct threat.
31. Aristocrats want you to calm dissent among the commoners.
32. Blessed coins placed in the mouths of the dead allow the to return as spirits. Who is doing this? How?
33. Commoners seek divine support in their conflict with their superiors.
34. Construction work has accidentally unearthed an ancient spirit well, and awakened the entities trapped there.
35. Converts are joining your cult, but bring odd new ideas and practices.
36. Inquisitors intend to burn a “witch” in the public square.
37. It has become trendy for young people to pretend to swoon and have visions, but not all of them are pretense.
38. Local citizens have started working together at odd times, in a trance, constructing something alien out of strange debris.
39. Monsters friendly to your faith appear.
40. Monsters hostile to your faith appear.
41. Ruins connected to your faith have been discovered.
42. Signs and portents predict calamity!
43. Spirits are causing confusion and fear.
44. Spirits friendly to your faith appears.
45. Spirits hostile to your faith appears.
46. Strangers appear that are in a situation your dogma demands you help them with.
47. The anointed champion of a rival cult challenges your chosen one to deadly combat.
48. The murder of a noble has signs and sigils of your god left at the crime scene.
49. There are pogroms against unpopular cults and people.
50. Theurgists are accusing you of apostasy.
51. You are challenged to a religious debate.
52. Your altars crumble, your artifacts crack. Demonstrate your true faith, or despair!
53. The cult discovers ancient scriptures that reveal a hidden ritual site guarded by dangerous creatures.
54. A charismatic prophet joins the cult but brings their own agenda that could split the group.
55. A powerful noble offers protection in exchange for spiritual guidance but expects total loyalty.
56. The cult learns of a celestial event that could empower their rituals but risks drawing attention from enemies.
57. An influential scholar seeks to translate forbidden texts but demands knowledge in return that could compromise the cult.
58. A rival faith plans to publicly denounce the cult’s teachings, threatening their recruitment efforts.
59. The cult uncovers a relic believed to hold the essence of their deity, but it is cursed and corrupting.
60. A high-ranking official secretly seeks the cult’s blessings for political gain but demands dangerous favors.
61. The cult identifies a location where the veil between worlds is thin but it is contested by another group.
62. A wealthy patron offers funding if the cult performs a ritual to cure their ailment, risking failure and exposure.
63. The cult gains control of a small village, but the locals are wary and may revolt.
64. A holy artifact is stolen, and the cult must retrieve it from a heavily fortified location.
65. A powerful sorcerer offers to teach the cult forbidden magic but may use them as pawns.
66. The cult learns of a child prophesied to lead them but must first protect the child from other factions.
67. A rift opens, allowing the cult brief access to a divine or infernal realm, but the entity within is hostile.
68. A hidden sect within the cult begins to push for more extreme practices, threatening unity.
69. A temple aligned with the cult’s beliefs is unearthed, but it is infested with deadly traps and guardians.
70. The cult infiltrates a prominent institution to gain access to its resources but risks discovery and expulsion.
71. A mysterious plague spreads, and the cult is blamed, forcing them to find the true source or be destroyed.
72. The cult receives visions of an apocalyptic event they must either hasten or prevent, risking their own survival.
73. A powerful demon or celestial being offers the cult a dangerous pact with unknown consequences.
74. An influential bard or playwright begins spreading the cult’s ideology through art but risks public backlash....