This is a Wastes chaos cult I used as part of a campaign set within the largest of the Crater Lakes in Dagori Inkarth. They are a pretty unpleasant bunch but I felt that they fitted into Prax fairly easily (in my view). I wrote this about a year before LoT and all those cameo cult descriptions in the back. I'm working on an extended version of Urain which I'll send in when I'm finished.
Martin.102541.3423_at_compuserve.com
The Cult of Kralthorn
By Martin Laurie, 1994
The Torch of Despair
mythos and history.
The Hordes of the Devil came upon the plains of Prax and devestated them,
burning the land with their Torch of Despair. The Torch was Kralthorn, a
hideous
chaos spirit whose joy was the flames that end beauty and sear the spirits of
the
weak into oblivion.
Kralthorn was a minor god in the chaos army but he wreaked much havoc and gained many followers among the minions of Wakboth. Though mighty he was not powerful enough to stand against the blowing fury of the Storm Gods and so hid among the canyons of Prax, when the Devil was crushed beneath the block. Kralthorn was bound by the Compromise though he, like all the chaos gods, resisted its confinement, to no avail.
His power rests in his ability to corrupt the flame of life into a force of evil
and
destruction that brings despair to those whose works and soul's have been
destroyed. However, Kralthorn is a crafty and careful god, as hard to catch as
the
flames he brings for he knows that air, water and cold can stop his rampages if
their attention is brought to bear. Consequently Kralthorn prefers the dry
places
of Glorantha to escape the quenching power of his foes.
Since time began his cult has remained small, with his only Great Temple in the world currently located in Than Ulbar, the chaos kingdom, in the Tunneled Hills.
This is Kralthorn's home, for he hid here to escape the vengence of Storm Bull when his master, the Devil, was crushed beneath the block. His Temple is situated over a vent in the earth which is where Kralthorn corrupts the power of Lodril to maintain his existance and priesthood on the material plane.
The cult is strong in the desert wastes due to the lack of water and the dryness
of
the wind but they constantly seek new sources of fire to corrupt, however these
are
few in Prax and the wastes. The cult is mainly made up of broo, humans and
ogres thought there are tales among the Agimori that a clan were once corrupted
into following the ways of Kralthorn and have done so ever since.
Kralthorns Runes are Fire, Spirit and Chaos.
Cult Ecology.
The cult exists to bring the fire of chaos to civilisation in all its forms.
They are
carefull in doing this for they know that their desires make them great foes of
all
civilised, normal people. They believe that if all life is destroyed by the
holy
flames of chaos then the universe will resort to its natural state. They don't
mind
dying in the process.
Initiates.
To be an initiate the candidate must swear to follow the way of chaos and to commit Arson against the persons and property of the civilised and law abiding.
The candidate must know Ignite, have commited a recognised act of Arson and be at least 50% with 2 weapons and 1 other skills. They must sacrifice a point of power on initiation.
The initiate may learn the skill of Arson beginning at 5%+manipulation bonus.
The skill gives the initiate the knowledge on how, where and with what to set a
fire at speed to do the most damage to people and property. The skill also
gives
knowledge of the manufacture of combustables and fire making equipment. A
standard cover for Kralthorn cultists is the job of firebow maker.
Spells available are Fireblade, Firearrow, ignite, disruption, coordination,
heat
metal.
Favoured weapons are spears and Kris Knives (the flame knife). Cultists wear
red
as a favoured colour. There are two main groups of Kralthorn worshippers, the
Burners who fight and commit acts of Arson and the Changers who specialise in
fire corrupting ceremonies and rituals. An initiate tends to gravitate to one
side or
another as he/she nears priesthood.
Initiates are known as FireBrothers. They must never put out a fire nor may
they
learn the spell Extinguish.
They must attempt to do harm to any water worshipper they meet. This
requirement limits their number near the river of Cradles area due to the
presence
of the river folk.
The Priesthood.
To be a priest the candidate must first chose a path. The militant priests of
the cult
are the BurnMasters. The magical priests of the cult are the FlamePriests.
To be a BurnMaster the initiate must have had a long and successful service to Kralthorn and have a sponsor among the priesthood.
He/She must have skill levels of 90% in 5 out of the following skills: Arson,
Kris
attack/parry, spear attack, one parry, climbing, bronze working, carpentry,
command skill, search, scan, listen, devise.
A candidate must then sacrifice a point of POW and a pint of blood to the Temple Chaosfire and swear eternal devotion to the Torch of Despair.
BurnMasters are the war leaders of the cult, they train the initiates of the
Torch
Guard and the lead raids to bring their purifying fire to the weak and the law
abiding. They usually get iron armour and weapons as all Kralthorn Temples
have a large smithy. Their weapons are usually forged in Chaosfire giving them
the power of chaos to wound with fire.
They also gain the right to use reusable rune magics.
Rune Magic: Multispell, Summon/Command ChaosSalamander, SoulFire, SoulBurn, Spirit Block, Dismiss Magic, Worship Kralthorn, Dismiss Elemental, Soul Sight, Find Enemy, ChaosfireDwell.
FlamePriests are the spiritual and organisational masters of the cult. They
form
the heirarchy and dictate policy. Much of their time is devoted to maintaining
the
Temple Chaosfire and extending their power in its use, several priests
specialise in
arms manufacture for the benefit of the cult. Kralthorn cultists are usually
the best
armoured of all the chaos cults because of this. The high priest is usually the
only
master who can craft the deadly Chaosweapons that burn with the fire of
Kralthorn.
To be a FlamePriest the candidiate must have a POW of 18 and have 15 points of one-use Rune Magic. They must be approved by all the priests and they must be at least 90% with ceremony, bronze/Iron weapon making/armouring, oratory and read/write firespeach.
Rune Magic: SoulFire, Corrupt Earthfire, Incarnate Chaosfire, Chaosfire Dwell, Multispell, Summon/Command ChaosSalamander, Dismiss Elemental, Spirit Block, ChaosFire Warding, Worship Kralthorn, Soul Sight.
Special Cult magics.
SoulFire.
1 Point, non-stackable, ranged, temporal, re-usable.
This spell increases the damage done by a disruption spell by +1 point. It
drains 1
magic point off the target and feels like a burning sensation from within to the
victim. Multispelled disruptions are affected by this.
SoulBurn.
3 Points, non-stackable, ranged, temporal, re-usable.
This spell is cast upon a willing recipient or on ones self. For the duration
of the
spell the recipient has his Strength, Constitution, Dexterity and number of
actions
in a round doubled. However the cost side of this is that for every round in
effect
the spell Burns 1 point of permanent POW off the recipient. To someone viewing
this with a soul sight or second sight spell the soul is clearly ablaze with a
sickly
crimson light. Should the recipient be in mindlink with someone then their POW
can be used instead however their POW must be overcome every round that this is
atteptmted.
Corrupt Earthfire.
3 Point, stackable, touch, ritual, one-use
This spell is the focal point of the cult. It corrupts a constant source of
earthfire
(this being any natural source of volcanic activity) into the horrid chaos
perversion
called Chaosfire. Per point used in the enchantments 1 cubic metre of Earthfire
is
corrupted. The Chaosfire is permanent until removed by a fire priest and is
sickly
crimson in colour. Each point requires a sacrifice of 10 points of sentient POW
and 10 pints of blood from a sentient being (they may be unwilling).
Incarnate Chaosfire.
1 Point, stackable, touch, ritual, one-use
This is an enchantment craftable onto any surface, though the cult priesthood
usually craft it upon the hand. For each point crafted the priest can Incarnate
Chaosfire from the Temple's source in a ranged attack equal to his POW in
meters.
This attack hits only one hit location and is a focused blast of fire. Each
point
does 1d6 damage or allows the caster to be 1 km away from the source. The
points in the enchantment are stackable over time.
Damage done by Chaosfire is as normal, however for any point that got through to
damage flesh match the damage done against the hit locations hp on a resistance
roll. If it fails then the location has caught fire. It will burn at a rate of
1 point per
round until totally destroyed. This cannot be extinguished, it can be healed
but the
chaos fire will not be put out, only Heal Chaos Wound, holy water or Divine
Intervention will have that effect.
ChaosfireWarding.
2Point, stackable, touch, ritual, reusable
This spell does 1d3 ChaosFire damage per point in a missile loaction against any
enemies crossing the warding. It has the same chance of setting fire to a
location
as any other Chaosfire attack.
ChaosFire Dwell.
2 Points, non-stackable, temporal, touch, reusable
This spell allows its recipient to dwell within Chaosfire. It confers complete
immunity to damage from ChaosFire.
ChaosSalmander.
2 Points, non-stackable, temporal, ranged, reusable
This spell allows the summoning and control of a Salamander from the Temple
Chaosfire. The Salamander so called will be a chaos perversion and will do
standard fire damage plus it will have the ability to set fire to a whole person
who
has been engulfed, instead of a single location the whole body and general hp
are
attacked.
ChaosFire Weapons.
These weapons have the same effect as an incarnate Chaosfire spell on those hit
by
the weapon. Any damage that gets through armour and protection has the same
shance of setting fire to the location. Such weapons burn with a Crimson light
as
soon as they are drawn.
Sub Cults
The cult spirit of retribution is called the InnerBurner and has a POW of 25.
When a cultist breaks cult strictures the spirit will appear and engage in
spirit
combat. If it succeeds it burns away one point of POW permanently. Each round
it succeeds it does this. It will attack for 2d10 rounds.
Associate Cults
Primal Chaos provides its spells as with most chaos cults.
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #137
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