Post/Author/DateTime	Post
samoosa691 10-18-03, 12:05 AM	ok here goes: I recently posted something regarding kaleb but I figured that out, now my question to you guys is, if you had a 'heretic' cleric meaning he believed in the deity but not the church, and you travelled the world, how do you find your 'cult' in the different locations of the world?, the reason I'm asking you this is because I need to get my spell progression from the cult, no where else.., I don't want to exactly go around and ask have you seen this cult? or heard of this cult? do you know where they might be?, I mean that's kind of rediculous..., see in the current world i'm playing in spells 1-3rd are free (from the main cult in New York (just named), however to get to the 4th level spells, 5th level spells I need to go on missions, it's kind of hard to go on missions if I can't find my cult... any thoughts/suggestions would be greatful.
Kalidor187 10-18-03, 12:32 AM	I'm not sure what game system you're using, so I'll try to give as general an answer as I can. Cults, gangs, cliques, and pretty much any other small social groups have certain norms. Aside from behavioral norms, these groups also go to areas that suit their temperment and allows them to stay in contact with others from their group. For example, have you ever noticed that people into the Goth scene always go to a certain club or that environmentalists generally take advantage of places like the public park? The same would apply to a game world regradless of setting. If I was approached by someone wearing black fingernail polish, an ankh, and a long black coat asking me where there were decent places to hang out, I would point them in the direction of the nearest Goth club (or at least someone who might know). Now, if I am a merchant in a typical Fantasy RPG and a half-orc asked me where to get a bite, I certainly wouldn't recommend the elven restaurant in favor of the tavern where outlander mercenaries hang out. Now assuming you find a typical hang-out for your cult, you need to remember that normal people go to these places as well. This is when cult specific details are important. Perhaps cult members have a tattoo on the back of their right hand. Maybe they wear their shirts with the sleeves rolled a certain way. Maybe they order three beers for two people as a way of saving a drink for a fallen hero (the person who first broke with the church and started the cult?). Once you identify someone, you could then approach them and slip phrases into the conversation that have no meaning to anyone other than fellow cult members (this is similar to cant). Once you manage to go through all of this, odds are you'll eventually find the people you're looking for. I don't know if this answers your question, but hopefully it will generate some ideas.
samoosa691 10-18-03, 11:29 AM	thanks it does generate some ideas for me, we are playing dnd with some interesting new rules, one of them being caster progression, since hp's are limited to your size, spell casters have a huge advantage. Another reason for being in the cult is that I can do whatever I want without the 'church' restrictions, as my DM would have in place if I had been a normal cleric..., I tried to invent a spell that would contact my fellow cult members, but at the current time we are really poor and the resources are hard to come by, I'll try that out today and see what happens...
samoosa691 10-22-03, 12:00 PM	bump, err any other ideas?
Morka 10-22-03, 01:31 PM	Like Kalidor said, can you be more specific? Who is your God??? In which way do you diverge from the general church??? I'm not sure how some heretic cult could be enough popular to have different shrine in many cities. If you are in Faerun, there is enough gods to suit everyone. Example: - You like the battle and destruction, while Tempus like to preserve instutions, for the battles get some sense. Result? Worship Garagos! - You are a sailor, but you don't like to worship an evil deity by fear. Result? Worship Valkur or Istishia! In another way of think, suppose some high priest start a divergent cult. He would travel to gain the most follower possible, but he should keep contact with each center of his cult. So the leader of the cult in some city should be aware of at least 3 other leaders in neighboring cities, and so on.