Cult of Personality
| Type | Polytheistic |
|---|---|
| Races | All |
| Organized | Never (with exceptions) |
| Founded | 1 IM |
| Deities | Æski, Attorcoppe, Baelcwene, Bloncamann, Gicela, Lyftwynn, Meremenin, Oristalliso |
The Cult of Personality is not a single religion, but a compilation of many religions, some so obscure as to have little more than a single adherent. Most of the cultists, adherents, worshippers, warlocks, druids or others who follow in this faith tend to fixate on a single being, a form of lusus naturae, part human, part otherworldly creature.
The individual persona appearances can vary as wildly as any two creatures found in nature. Persona may appear with the body of a horse, or with bat wings, or perhaps the tail of a lobster. Their complexions may vary wildly from a human norm, and they may complete their looks with anything from hair to scales to feathers depending on the personality in question.
The specific persona of the cultists' worship invariably has a strong personality and will confer favors upon their worshippers in exchange for certain tasks that must be performed. These tasks may be very regular, or few and far between. No two personas operate identically. The benefits can greatly exceed the costs in some of these relationships, while in others the costs can be very high, even fatal.
The motivations of each of the personas, as described by their worshippers and followers, vary as wildly as their looks. While some might desire the acquisition of physical items and artefacts, others might desire the deaths of certain creatures or individuals. Often these tasks have the telltale marks of vengeance. Most of the desired actions will leave a victim of some sort, be it theft, humiliation or even murder.
Tenets of the Cult of Personality[edit]
There is effectively only one tenet of the Cult of Personality; Obey. Cultists who cease to obey their personas at any time may suffer immediate punishments ranging from a loss of the power conferred to them by the persona, to a brutal execution at the hands of other like cultists. Adherents who survive a 'divorce' with their persona, have never re-kindled the bond. A break with the persona is permanent.
Practitioners of Cult of Personality will rarely form themselves into a hierarchy or any sort of group. The only exceptions occur when the persona needs some grand scheme accomplished that a single cultist could not possibly perform on their own. Ordinarily, cultists will be reticent to talk about their choice of persona to others, partly for fear of ridicule and partly for fear of finding a competitive cultist. It is not unknown for a cultist to kill another who worships the same persona in order to curry additional favor with that persona.
The Cult of Personality Pantheon[edit]
Much unlike other religions, there is no thread of unity binding the personal gods in the cult. Each has its own motivations and its own personal interests. These interests are sometimes reflected in the nature of their beastly parts, e.g. a forest creature interested in the forest and a sea creature interested in the sea.
The Creator[edit]
No one creature in the Cult of Personality lays claim to the role of creator. Persona will shun the topic of the creation of the universe and shift back to their personal agendas. Their reticence on this topic is perhaps indicative that they believe in and know who the creator is, but none have ever been known to broach this subject with any success.
The Intercessors[edit]
All personas are intercessors. Any and all of the personalities may intercede in the lives of their adherents, in a number of capacities from raising the dead to destroying enemies to parting of the sea. The personalities rarely grant miracles as powerful as those of the greater gods, but warlocks and druids in particular have been known to summon enormous amounts of magical power from their personas.
Intercessors include:
- Aeski - Goddess of the Nether World
- Attorcoppe - God of Insects
- Baelcwene - Goddess of Fire
- Bloncamann - God of Nature
- Gicela - Goddess of Ice
- Lyftwynn - Goddess of the Air
- Meremenin - Goddess of the Ocean
- Oristalliso - Crystalline god of the Earth
The Messengers[edit]
Personas from the Cult of Personality message their cultists to the point of annoyance. In some cases cultists have been known to go insane from the barrage of constant messaging, seen outwardly by others as the cultists receiving "messages in their heads". There is no way for an adherent to silence the messages without completely breaking their pact with the persona.
The Destroyer[edit]
As there is no creator, the Cult of Personality does not have a destroyer. There are certain personas who will command acts of destruction, but this is rarely on a grand scale. Most acts of destruction seem to be more acts of personal vengeance on the part of the persona than any world-shaping grand scheme.
The Cult of Personality Clergy[edit]
There is no clergy in the Cult of Personality. From time to time an individual persona will collect a group of adherents into a "cult" to perform some larger task. This cult will often have a leader and some hierarchical structure depending on its size. Once the task is complete, the cult will often disband or commit mass suicide in the name of the persona. An unsuccessful mission will generally result in the cult's destruction by outside forces, leaving little trace of the cults after they are disbanded or destroyed.
Religious Observances[edit]
Popular Folklore[edit]
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