Cults and Evil Religions
How evil twists and shapes religious devotion in RPGs
Continuing my series on Alignment and Religion in RPGs, today’s topic is Evil Religions and Cults in RPGs. I expressed the opinion in my thread on Religion in RPGs that Evil Religions do not have the same structure, expectations or powers as their good counterparts. This is why I don’t personally believe there should be an evil equivalent of Clerics. Evil does not bestow power in that way. We will discuss that in detail later though. For now, we should define terms to set us off on the right path.
The Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines the word cult as “A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious.” The word is rarely used in any sense but pejorative, which is why religious organizations like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Church of Scientology, and The Unification Church bristle at the term. It conjures images of kooky crack-pot clergy, brainwashed parishioners, and sinister intent hiding behind self-improvement and spiritual enlightenment. When it comes to religions in RPGs that worship evil gods, eldritch creatures, devils or demons, unorthodox and spurious is the name of the game.
A truly effective evil religion would function like the more insidious cults we see in the real world. Their outer layer would be bright and happy with well-adjusted acolytes spreading the perceived benefits of their newfound faith. The presentation will be nice for the newcomers as the leadership begins the process of molding minds to accept more and more unorthodox ideology.
It takes time to convince someone to throw on a hood and drink blood. It takes gradual indoctrination, promises of benefits beyond their wildest dream, and small grants of power and status. The transformation into mindless servant of evil is gradual. It’s a death by a thousand cuts, slowly bringing about the transformation. It’s seduction. It’s quicksand. That’s the nature of evil. It gets you to entangle yourself more and more without seeing the consequences until they are upon you.
It’s the mythical Faustian bargain. That’s how evil religion works. It’s a corrupt bargain where power is given for what seems to be a small price only to realize that the price was more than you could imagine. This is a far cry from the sacrifice and service model of traditional RPG religions. In fact, the evil tempter will encourage selfishness, hedonism and indulgence. Anything to weaken the defenses of the subject.
In the interim, servants of evil will be granted access to unnatural and horrible powers though. Whether raising the dead, inflicting pain with incantations or draining the life energy of the living, the evil overlords will unlock dark secrets for their devotees. An “evil cleric” is more like a 5e Warlock being granted power by his patron. In exchange for more of his autonomy or the sacrifice of others’ souls, the devotee of evil can unlock more and more power. If they displease their overlord, outlive their usefulness, or cause some kind of inconvenience for their patron though, they mind find themselves trapped in a perpetual loop of torments.
In summary, Evil Religion is a siren call of power and immortality. It’s not set up like a regular religion unless those trappings are a facade. It’s a web of evil that encourages you to wrap yourself up in it and hold still while the spider drains your blood. It’s a road filled with false highs concealing the cliff’s edge.