Warlock Patron: The Cult
Tireless efforts and peerless ambition; the untimely demise of the former cult leader; coincidence, happenstance, or luck. The Cult cares not how you came to lead them. The only thing that matters now is you. You are their guiding voice. Their sheath. Their dagger.
You have made a pact with The Cult, and its followers—your followers—are everywhere. They work in secret, never revealing themselves—even to each other. Nobody knows which guard, merchant or adventurer may be one of your cultists. One would be foolish to try and find out.
The Cult draws power from the link between its cultists and is always hungry for more. As all good cultists do, you must play your part to sate this hunger. It is for the greater good.
- Gather Information. Hidden knowledge, ancient lore, and whispered secrets often reveal deep fonts of power. Seek them out and acquire them for The Cult.
- Keep to the Shadows. Many people don't yet understand the serenity that The Cult can offer. Many will try to break you. They won't be able to if they don't know who you are.
- Assimilate, Sacrifice, Grow. Welcome the willing into The Cult with open arms. Sway them into sacrifice with the promise of power. The Cult will flourish beautifully.
Expanded Spell List
The Cult lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
The Cult Expanded Spells
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Bane, Bless |
| 2nd | Calm Emotions, Silence |
| 3rd | Beacon of Hope, Tiny Servant |
| 4th | Compulsion, Confusion |
| 5th | Circle of Power, Geas |
Silver Tongue
Starting at 1st level, you have advantage on Charisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) checks when interacting with a creature that hasn't met you before.
You've Betrayed Our Trust... For Now
Talk with your DM about how townsfolk might react to you when they are wary. Perhaps they will change their prices, mistrust your actions, act fearful toward you, or become quick to alert guards when you're nearby.
Cultists
Starting at 1st level, you are the leader of The Cult and have a circle of cultists whom you can draw power from at a moment's notice. They are represented by a Cultists die—a cascading die that can be upgraded or downgraded to the next larger or smaller size in the following cascading chain:
The size of your Cultists die represents the magnitude of how many cultists follow your deeds, the influence The Cult has on the world, and how much power you are able to siphon from your cultists at a moment's notice.
Rolling High & Low. When you roll your Cultists die, your roll is considered high if the result is one of the highest two numbers on the die or low if the result is a 1 or a 2. All other results are considered normal.
Assimilation & Sacrifice. Your Cultists die is upgraded to the next larger size when a feature tells you to assimilate new cultists. Conversely, it is downgraded to the next smaller size when a feature tells you to sacrifice some cultists. Your Cultists die starts as a d4, and cannot be upgraded above a d12 or downgraded below a d4.
Sigil Conduit. All cultists are marked with The Cult's unique, arcane sigil. This sigil is a conduit that allows each cultist to share their power with one another—willingly or otherwise. Describe the sigil, where it marks your form, and what the initiation ritual was to receive it.
Cult Ritual
Starting at 1st level, when you take a long rest in a town, you may sneak away from your companions to perform an Assimilation or Sacrificial ritual. Choose which ritual you want to perform, roll your Cultists die, then refer to the table below to see what happens.
| Roll Result | Assimilation Ritual | Sacrificial Ritual |
|---|---|---|
| High | Assimilate new cultists | Gain eldritch power |
| Low | Townsfolk become wary | Sacrifice cultists |
If you gained eldritch power, you gain two effects from the Enhance Ability spell (PHB, page 237). Otherwise, if your roll was neither high nor low, you gain one effect. These effects replace any other similar effects and last for 24 hours. There are only so many people you can assimilate in one town, but people tend to forget with time. Once you have assimilated cultists in a town, you cannot do so again until you leave that town for a while. Your DM will say how long.
D&D 5E EDITION | RASPILICIOUS
The Power of Many
Starting at 6th level, you can siphon life energies from your cultists to gain a burst of power. As an action, use a siphoned power from the table below.
| Required Cultists | Siphoned Power |
|---|---|
| d6 | Roll your Cultists die and make a melee spell attack, dealing damage equal to your roll result + your spellcasting modifier on a hit. If your roll is low, sacrifice some cultists. |
| d8 | Roll your Cultists die to sacrifice some cultists and gain twice your roll result in temporary hit points. |
| d10 | Roll your Cultists die to raise your AC by half your roll result until the start of your next turn. If your roll is low, sacrifice some cultists. |
| d12 | Roll your Cultists die to cast a spell that you know and have prepared without spending a spell slot. The level of the spell must be equal to or lower than your roll result. If your roll is high or low, perform two sacrifices. |
Strange Mask
At 6th level, you realise that you have a strange mask in your possession. It is branded with The Cult's sigil but you can't quite recall ever picking it up or where it came from.
The Strength and Power of Flesh
Requires at least d10 Cultists
Starting at 10th level, you can sacrifice some cultists as an action to perform a Cult Ritual.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
I'm Not Me... You Are
Requires d12 Cultists
Starting at 14th-level, when you are killed, you didn't die—it was one of your cultists. Which one of you is even the real you any more?
Roll your Cultists die one time to determine how much of an impact this death has on The Cult.
| d12 | Impact on The Cult |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Huge. Sacrifice until your die is a d4. |
| 5-6 | Significant. Sacrifice until your die is a d6. |
| 7-8 | Moderate. Sacrifice until your die is a d8. |
| 9-10 | Minimal. Sacrifice until your die is a d10. |
| 11-12 | None. The Cult is strong. |
Swap one of your language or skill proficiencies for a new one, then change one superficial, physical aspect about your character (such as your eye, hair, or skin colour, the size of your nose, your stature, a scar on your face, and so on).
When your party gets back to town, "you" may rejoin them.
Change Log
- v1.0 -- Initial version.
- v1.1 -- Improved grammar in a few places; added forenote.
- v1.2 -- Moved betrayal box to keep it on the first page.
Credits
Written by Raspilicious.
Art: Dark Priest by akmal656.
Thanks to Giffyglyph, LexRaine, JetrayDM, Zieryk, SageDa Mage, and Anthoux for their help with creating this patron.
D&D 5E EDITION | RASPILICIOUS