new cult

From: Juhani Seppala <jseppala_at_hotmail.com>
Date: 9 Dec 1996 07:10:08 -0000


This is a new cult I have been working on with the help of Antti Rasila and Nick Effingham. Please feel free to comment.

Juhani Seppala, Helsinki, Finland

the shadow virago                           

I. Mythos and History

Cathbad

In the beginning, Cathbad was of Orlanthīs Host. He was a wily, amoral character, who delighted in intrigue and mischief. He was disliked by many, but he was kin to Orlanth, and thus tolerated. When the darkness came, and Orlanth went away, Cathbad was among those left to guard Orlanthīs house, for in those days, Orlanth still trusted Cathbad.

As the enemy host approached, Cathbad and some of his kin stole treasure from Orlanthīs vault and escaped into the wilderness. Cathbad and his kin became outlaws. They adapted well to the darkness and even befriended some of Kyger Litorīs children. When Orlanth returned, he was furious and hunted Cathbad. Cathbad and his kin were taught to hide in the darkness by other darkness dwellers, and to take whatever they needed. Cathbadīs followers were people like him, who made a living off the work of others.

The Unseen Hand, the cult of Cathbad and later, the cult of Belit, traces its origin all the way back to the Dawn. The first cultists were little more than highwaymen and rogues, but when the Solar nomads were driven out and Peloria liberated, the center of attention was moved to the cities of the Dara Happan tripolis. The scholars of the Unseen Hand even claim a part in the declaration of independence of the Tripolis c. 245.

After fhe birth of Nysalor in 375, a golden era of prosperity and bounty began. The decadence of the Bright Oneīs empire suited the Unseen Hand, but also caused the beginning of the corruption of its principles. When Arkat destroyed Nysalorīs empire, the Unseen Hand went into hiding and survived. The Unseen hand didnīt start to prosper again until the end of the Empire of the Wyrmsī Friends. This over 500 year period of hard times, persecution and poor loot changed the Unseen Hand from being a loose society of freethinking  professional thieves into a rigid, authoritarian criminal organization of utter secrecy and ill repute. This continued until a splinter group known as the Nine Fingers emerged in the year 1232.

Belit

Belit was born in the hills of Skanthi around 1200. She left her birthplace and became a thief and a member of the Unseen Hand. Later, upon attaining priesthood, Belit heroquested by accident. She found Cathbad and saw that he had become decadent and uncaring. Shocked, Belit turned her back to Cathbad. On the way back, Belit came across a duel. She hid and spied the two combatants. They were Nysalor and the Red Goddess. Belit witnessed the Red Goddessī victory and illumination by Nysalorīs wisdom. Belit fled undetected, but could not help being affected by what she had seen.

In the year 1232, nine priests of the Unseen Hand sought to change the organization from within. There was a great struggle and five of the nine priests were killed. Finally Belit, the leader of the Nine Fingers, heroquested and challenged Cathbad himself. In the ensuing battle Cathbad was cast down and consumed by Belit (Among Belitīs people it was common practice to ritually kill the King at the end of his reign and distribute him to the people. Thus the power and knowledge of the king remained with the tribe.) After the battle, Belit took Cathbadīs place, and made a place in the Lower World for her three surviving allies. These three became the first Hecate, the new leaders of the Unseen Hand. The name of Cathbad was erased from all written documents and Cathbadīs runes (Darkness, Mastery and Movement) were replaced by Belitīs (Darkness, Mastery and Disorder).

As a result the Unseen Hand underwent great changes, both in the spiritual and the profanesense. Cruelty, absolutism and authoritarism was replaced by a dogma emphasizing flexibility, equality, loyalty, exactitude and free will, as well as a great deal of unpredictability. Belit is, after all, very much a female and as such her wild mood swings are of great renown.

In 1594 the Unseen Hand formed an alliance with King Terasin of Sartar. The Unseen Hand acted as King Terasinīs intelligence operatives until Terasinīs assasination in 1600. By this time, Terasin and the high priest of Belit in Alkoth had become good friends, and the alliance was continued. When Boldhome was sacked in 1602, the Unseen Hand helped members of the Royal family escape. The Unseen Hand still works for the Royal family of Sartar and provides regular intelligence reports to Argrath, the heir to the throne of Sartar, who currently resides in Pavis.

II. Cult Ecology

Belit is the Shadow Virago, the Nine-fingered, Crow mother, three-faced night goddess. She is worshipped within the Lunarian Empire by the thieves of the Unseen Hand.

During the Greater Darkness, Cathbad formed alliances with other darkness gods to escape the wrath of Orlanth, most notably Argan Argar and Xiola Umbar. Orlanthi still distrust Cathbad, but Belit managed to seduce Orlanth and make peace with him. When Belit encountered Nysalor and the Red Goddess, she was, in fact, illuminated. This is why she was able to plot Cathbadīs downfall without being stopped. As a result, those closest to Belit, that is, the Hecate, are also illuminates and receive all the benefits thereof. Belit is currently allied to Orlanthīs pantheon and a natural enemy of the Red Goddess.

Belitīs high holy day is Dark Season, Disorder Week, Godday. Her runes are Darkness, Mastery and Disorder.

III. The cult in the world                                  

The Unseen Hand is the cult of the goddess Belit. It is one of the major cults of thievesī in the Lunarian Empire. The Unseen Hand monopolizes most of the burglary and information collecting -related crime within the boundaries of the Lunarian Empire. It has created an effective network for the distribution of stolen goods and information gathering. The Unseen Hand has so far been able to evade the Lunarian policing forces with success.

The supreme leader of the cult is the Hecate, three women who are inhabited by Belit. Only priests of Belit are allowed to see and speak to the Hecate. The closest an ordinary initiate would get to seeing the Hecate is the shadow image of her/them through a transparent curtain. When a temple of Belit is created, a special windowless room is reserved for the Hecate. The room is sanctified, after which a door appears. This door is the entrance to the Hecateīs chamber. The Hecate inhabit all the temples of Belit at the same time, or rather the chamber of the Hecate can be reached through every temple of Belit. The chamber does not, however, permit a priest to travel through it or to meetpriests from other cities in it without a succesful divine intervention. The Hecate and the priests are permanently linked, so the Hecate know everything the priests know, and have access to the priestsī spells and magic points.

Every temple is in a sense, autonomous. Priests lead their congregations or "rings" quite independently (except for The Hecate, but she/they leaves most mundane decisions to the high priests). The Hierarchy is based on equality, so the priests are no better or more priviledged than a common initiate, and the position is attained and upheld through mutual respect and loyalty. If a priest was to lose the respect of his subjects, he would voluntarily withdraw from his position, and stand trial before the Hecate. Depending on the crime committed, the priest would either be killed or sentenced to probation. After the probation period it is even possible for the priest to get reinstated.

Temples of Belit are only found in large cities of the Lunarian Empire. Shrines are found in smaller cities as well. It is correspondingly harder to earn a living as a professional thief, the smaller the settlement gets, so almost no worship of Belit exists outside the cities.

IV. Initiate membership

Requirements: The initiate (Finger) must be recommended by another initiate of good standing and succeed in four of the following skills: Climb, Devise, Hide, Sleight, Sneak. If successful the worshipper donates 1 POW and is accepted into the cult. The initiate must sacrifice 20% of time and income to the cult and vow secrecy and loyalty to the cult. The time requirement doesnīt mean that the initiate must spend every fifth day on cult business.It can just as well mean a period of about 60 days a year, during which time full upkeep is provided for the initiate. If the parent(s) / mentor of the initiate-to-be is a member of the Unseen Hand, the candidate can automatically join at age 15 by spending 1 point of POW.

Skill multipliers for Unseen Hand thiefs

climb x4, jump x1, throw x2, fast talk x1, evaluate x3, human lore x1, conceal x3, sleight x2, devise x2, hide x3, sneak x3, fist attack x2, fist parry x1, 1h sword attack x2 and parry or dodge x2 -or rapier attack x2 and maine gauche parry or dodge x2, nine fingers x2, subdue x1, ceremony or enchant or summon x1, MAGIC: (divine) 1-point increase in POW every three years, which may be sacrificed for one-use divine magic. (spirit) receives 1 point of cult spirit magic per 5 years or fraction thereof. EQUIPMENT: wool and linen clothing, knife, backpack, sack, jar of body paint, knuckle duster, appropriate 1-handed edged weapon, mask, rope and grappling hook, lockpicks and tools, forearm greaves (AP 3), cult ritual tattoos, 100 pennies in assorted loot and 3d10 pennies in coins.

Spirit Magic: Countermagic, Glue, Lullaby, Shadowcloak, Silence. Members are encouraged to learn spells from wherever possible.

V. Priesthood

Requirements: The candidate for priesthood must have at least 60% in Ceremony, Nine fingers, Subdue and three of the following skills: Climb, Device, Sleight, Sneak, Hide and pass a test of holiness (POWx3). Priests (Hands) must dedicate 80% of their time and income to the cult. They act as leaders of the ring in both the spiritual and the material sense. The priest receives an allied spirit on a successful POWx3 roll. The spirit usually takes the shape of a crow, a bird notorious for its thieving habbits.

Priest Initiation

The priest candidate becomes the spouse of Belit. The ceremony climaxes in an orgy of sexual frenzy involving the candidate and the Hecate. After this, the Hecate eats the candidate and gives birth to a child which then grows up unnaturally fast and retains the personality and memories of the priest candidate.The priest candidate loses all memory of being eaten alive. No one is allowed to witness the climax of the ceremony. The Hecate acts as midwife and raises the infant to adulthood. This takes about three months.

Belit divine intervention

The most common form of divine intervention Belit grants is escape. If a priest is caught and Belit decides to help him, no common lock or barrier will hold him.

Common divine magic: Divination, Excommunication, Find enemy, Mindlink, Sanctify, Soul sight, Spellteaching, Spirit block, Warding, Worship Belit

Special divine magic: Darksight, Fear, Spiderclimb

VI. The Hecate

Requirements: Very rarely would there be a vacancy in the Hecate. It is quite difficult to kill any one of them considering that the Hecate practically is Belit. In fact, even the thought of killing the Hecate is an absurdity to cult members, but non-cultists might muster such insanities. Occasionally the Hecate die of old age and when this happens, a new member is chosen from the ranks of priesthood. The candidate must have at least 90% in Ceremony, Nine fingers, Subdue and three of the following skills: Sleight, Device, Climb, Hide, Sneak. The candidate must also succeed in a POWx1 roll and be female.

Note: The Hecate are the earthly manifestation of Belit. Before initiation they were ordinary priestesses but they were illuminated and chosen by Belit as her vessels. They represent the three aspects of Belit: the Mother is Belit when she comforts and protects her children, the Unseen Hand. the Sister represents the virtues of the Unseen Hand. The Lover is volatility, disorder and destructiveness but also adaption and survival.

Common divine magic: Divination, Excommunication, Find enemy, Mindlink, Sanctify, Soul sight, Spellteaching, Spirit block, Warding, Worship Belit

Special divine magic: Darksight, Fear, Mindblast, Resurrection through digestion, Spiderclimb

VII. Special Belit Spirit Magic spells

Lullaby                                                    2 points

ranged, temporal, passive

This spell causes a resting or tired person to fall asleep or a target in REM- sleep to fall into a deep dreamless slumber. The GM determines the targetīs state of awareness.

Effects of the Lullaby spell	            success
mod. state of target                        crit normal fail
+60   1) fully awake and well rested        5       5      1
+40   2) fully awake                        6       5      2
+20   3) awake, tired                       7       6      2
+10   4) awake, suffering from              7       6      3
             sleep deprivation                                           
  0   5) awake, slumbering                  8       7      4

- - -10 6) in a light sleep 9 8 4
- - -20 7) in a restless REM-sleep 10 9 4
- - -30 8) in a peaceful REM-sleep 10 9 4
- - -50 9) in deep sleep 10 10 5
- - -80 10) in very deep sleep 10 10 6
Shadowcloak variable
touch, temporal, passive
The Target becomes in appearance a shadow with blurred outlines. Add 10% per point to targets hide skill. It is virtually impossible to detect the immobile target at night. The target is also harder to hit. Substract 5% per point from the skill of anyone
attempting to hit the target.

VIII. Special Belit Divine Spells

Darksight                                              1 point

touch, duration 1 hour, nonstackable, reusable

Allows target to see in the dark as well as in full daylight.

Resurrection through digestion                         3 points

ritual (ceremony), nonstackable,single use

This ritual spell enables The Hecate to resurrect the target by eating him and then giving birth to a child with all the mental and physical characteristics of the target. The child matures to adulthood in about three month and loses all memory of being eaten alive.

Spiderclimb                                            variable

touch, temporal, nonstackable, reusable

Allows target to climb on flat vertical surfaces as well as if he was using a ladder. Each point adds +25% to targets climb skill.

IX. Special Unseen Hand skills

Nine Fingers language (00%)

A specialized sign language using minute hand movements. This skill enables members of The Unseen Hand to identify each other and to communicate secretly in a room full of people. When initiated a memberīs skill is raised to 15%. The skill can only be increased by training and research.

Subdue manipulation (00%)

A skill used to knock out an unsuspecting target. Subdue is treated as an aimed blow with the fist or with a knuckle duster against a surprised target. If the blow hits damage is rolled for normally but the subdue skill is added to the chance of a knock out on the resistance table. When initiated a memberīs skill is raised to 05%. The skill can only be raised by training and research.

X. Special Unseen Hand equipment

Body paint

A mixture made of charcoal and grease used for camouflage. Added effect of making the user very slippery. Adds +5% to the Hide skill of a target not also using Shadowcloak or other such spells. Substract -5% from the skill of an opponent attempting to Grapple and add +5% to the contorionist skill of the user

Caltrops and marbles

Caltrops and marbles are dropped on the ground to slow down or stop pursuers.

Forearm greaves

Half-length forearm greaves made of leather and wood, bone, horn or metal. Used for parrying melee weapons (skill used: Fist parry, AP is 3-6 depending on material used).

Knuckle duster

A weapon used to enhance the damage of a fist attack. Can also be used for subduing.

XI. Associated gods

Argan Argar: Provides Darkwalk

Xiola Umbar: Provides Shield of Darkness and Turn Blow


End of Glorantha Digest V4 #5


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