Cults of the Dragon Below

The Cults of the Dragon Below are wildly diverse. The tenets above describe the beliefs of three different cults. Warlocks draw power from demon overlords, and daelkyr cultists serve mind flayers and beholders. Others embrace deep convictions that others see as madness. Outsiders use the term “Cult of the Dragon Below” as a blanket term to describe these disparate beliefs, but the cultists don’t use this name or see themselves as part of a greater whole.

Cults of the Dragon Below are based on madness or power. A cult that seeks power chooses to serve a dark force because of the gifts they receive from it. A cabal of scholars might serve the demon overlord Sul Khatesh in exchange for secrets of magic. In the Mror Holds, dwarf clans bargain with Dyrrn the Corruptor to gain symbionts and sinister gifts. The Shadow Marches contain cults devoted to the daelkyr Belashyrra and Kyrzin. Membership in such a cult is voluntary, and spellcasters are more likely to be warlocks or wizards than clerics; their power comes from bargaining, not from faith.

Cults driven by madness have a warped view of reality. A cultist might believe aberrations are a higher form of life and that the daelkyr will elevate mortals. Other cultists may not recognize the true nature of the beings they serve. A cult of Rak Tulkhesh might truly believe their lord will bring peace to the world, even if that peace must begin with bloody war. Joining such a cult isn’t a choice, it’s something you fall into due to madness. New cults can spring up anywhere, as seeds of madness take root and spread.

Cults of the Dragon Below often appear as antagonists. However, your character could be a member of a relatively benign cult. You might have been raised in a cult but broke free from its influence. If your character was or is part of a cult, work with your DM to develop the details of your sect.

The Cults of the Dragon Below are a spreading cancer eating away at society’s flesh. Some call them Khyber cultists, or worshipers of the Dragon Below, but even those basic descriptions are flawed. They are worshipers of insanity, lunatics who devote themselves not to Khyber proper, but to the horrors, the demons, and the aberrant nightmares imprisoned within. They are the mad who revere an ever greater madness.

The title “Cult of the Dragon Below” is a blanket term used to describe any sect that serves a malevolent power or has bizarre beliefs that defy rational thought. But no member of such an organization would call themselves a “cultist of the Dragon Below.” As a true believer, you might be a blessed eye of the All-Seer, a pilgrim on the road to the Inner Sun, or a warlock in the court of the Queen of Shadows. If you’re a member of one of these three cults, you don’t see the other two as allies, for they’re clearly dangerous and delusional. And while outsiders may be able to guess what force is behind the cult—it doesn’t take a Korranberg sage to guess that the people growing eyes on their hands might be tied to Belashyrra—only a fraction of the cults of the Dragon Below knowingly serve a daelkyr or overlord.

Cults of the Dragon Below are categorized by two elements: structure and power. The structure defines the shape and scale of a cult, while the power is the malevolent force behind it, usually a daelkyr or fiendish overlord.

History

The cults have existed since the beginning of time in one form or another. There have always been those who choose to worship Khyber, the Dragon Below, in order to gain power or in hopes of some dark promise being fulfilled.[/p

During the daelkyr-led invasion from Xoriat, the orcs and goblins of western Khorvaire were among the first to be enslaved. So great was the power of their aberrant masters, and so twisted and traumatized were the slaves, that tales of the daelkyr’s power overshadowed—or were used to justify—their depravity. Particularly in smaller villages and isolated rural communities, awe of this power slowly turned to worship. When humans arrived in western Khorvaire, bringing their own religions with them, the combination of these beliefs and the darker deities of the human pantheons spawned many of the Khyber cults that still exist today.

Most of the oldest cults are based in the Shadow Marches. Some take the form of extended families of orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and humans. Madness runs in the blood of these families, sometimes accompanied by physical deformities caused by both deranged magic and inbreeding. Some of these clans spend so much time feuding with each other over differing religious interpretations that they pose little threat to outsiders. Others, however, are among the most insidious of the Khyber cults, sending their more normalseeming members out into the world to gather information and to form offshoots of their cults within civilization’s borders.

Cultists infiltrate governmental and mercantile institutions, as well as the hierarchies of other faiths. A few tiny religious factions that worship Khyber itself might still exist—they once did, in the ancient past—but these were limited primarily to the lizardfolk, troglodyte, and kobold tribes of Q’barra.

Divine Origins

Western Khorvaire was twisted long ago into a dark, dangerous land by the invasion of the daelkyr. The conquerors from Xoriat laid waste to cities and corrupted the inhabitants into foul abominations that still wander the deep places of the world. Using magic taught to them by the dragon Vvaraak, the Gatekeepers finally sealed the planar portal and drove the daelkyr into the depths of Khyber. But the Dhakaani Empire had been shattered by the war, and the orcs and goblinoids degenerated into scattered clans.

The Shadow Marches are still scarred by that war, and remnants of the horrors it unleashed yet lurk there. Roughly half the orc inhabitants still follow a simple, rustic lifestyle and continue to observe the druidic traditions of the Gatekeepers. Most of the others practice strange worship collectively known as the Cults of the Dragon Below. Despite the all-inclusive name, these cults have nothing in common beyond devotion to the darkly insane forces within Khyber. They do not communicate with one another, and indeed they might have completely opposite aims.

From this origin, the cults spread across Khorvaire and beyond. Any community that gives reverence to dark forces, particularly those purported to be buried deep in the earth, could be deemed to support a cult of the Dragon Below. Aside from their dark heart, Dargon Below worshipers are as varied as the forms of evil.

Tenets of Faith

Cult Structure

Rak Tulkhesh has tribes of barbarians clamoring to spill blood in his name in the Demon Wastes. He has loyalists in the Five Nations subtly spreading hatred and ignorance. And he produces revenants, innocents who wake up convinced they are reincarnated soldiers with a duty to complete unfinished battles. This is common—most overlords and daelkyr have multiple cults, each completely unaware of another. While each cult is unique, most fall into one of the following three categories.

Corrupted

Members of these cults are united by shared delusions, the reality of their minds corrupted by a horrifying alien force. Sometimes the delusion infects those who take part in the rituals; other times the ideas first leak into people’s minds, then draw them to the cult. This is why the cults of the Dragon Below can never be wiped out, and why they can appear anywhere— you never know when or where an irrational idea can take root, twisting the thoughts and beliefs of innocent people.

While a corrupted cult’s beliefs and actions may seem irrational to outsiders, to members of the cult they make perfect sense. A revenant truly believes they are a legendary hero reincarnated. A Vigilant Eye cultist believes they’ve been given blessed vision that reveals evildoers who must die. The fact the cultist has grown a new eye doesn’t seem strange to them—it’s a blessed eye! Others are just jealous they don’t have one. Corrupted cultists may see the world differently than people around them. A group of revenants could be working with a mind flayer and dolgrims, but they see these aberrations as loyal knights tied to their ancient order. When encountering a corrupted cult, player characters will face the challenge of making sense of the delusion—understanding what the cult members believe they’re trying to accomplish, and how it relates to what they’re actually doing. These delusions have nothing to do with mental illness and cannot be treated at a Jorasco healing house. This is a form of supernatural influence with a specific cause—a corrupting alien entity—and with a specific effect; corruption can take hold of anyone at any time, and cultists may otherwise appear perfectly healthy and sane.

Corrupted cults rarely last long. They typically come into existence with a clear purpose, a specific scheme that somehow benefits their guiding power. After this scheme succeeds or fails, the driving force often abandons the survivors. The question is whether this releases cultists from the delusion, or whether they are simply abandoned—or even driven toward destructive acts. A second important question is whether it’s possible to free a cultist from their delusion while the cult is still active. This could require magic, such as greater restoration. But it could simply require the cultist to be isolated from their allies and deprogrammed, or perhaps separated from an item that is reinforcing the delusion. If this powerful delusion can be broken, perhaps the cultist’s original identity can reassert itself.

The power behind a corrupted cult isn’t always obvious. Loyalists know the power they serve and often proudly proclaim it, but many other corrupted cults aren’t aware of the power behind them. Vigilant Eye cultists could mistakenly believe that their blessed eyes are a gift from Aureon, while a revenant might believe Dol Arrah has returned them to the world. Even if the cultists themselves don’t realize who they serve, the trappings can be a giveaway. Belashyrra’s cultists often deal with eyes or beholders, Dyrrn employs illithids and doppelgangers, and Kyrzin’s cults usually have something to do with oozes and slime. But sometimes a cult can appear perfectly innocent. Are you absolutely certain that revenant wasn’t restored by Dol Arrah?

Traditional

There are cults far older than any human civilization. Their strongholds are in desolate regions—the Demon Wastes, the Shadow Marches—but immigrants have carried these beliefs into the Five Nations. The members of these cults have been raised to believe that the traditions of their faith are normal. You remember when your grandmother was consumed by the gibbering mouther in the basement. What’s wrong with that? It was her time and her passage to immortality; you’ve heard her speaking to you in the whispers of the mouther. You hope that you’ll live long enough to join her in its bowels.

Traditional cultists are typically less volatile and extreme than corrupted cultists; surviving long enough to become a tradition means avoiding reckless behavior and learning to keep your faith hidden from strangers. Many traditional cults can seem harmless; for the most part, Whisperers have no interest in harming or interacting with outsiders. However, traditional cults provide a lurking support network that can be activated when needed. Rak Tulkhesh has loyalists hidden throughout the armies of the Five Nations, always ready to escalate violent situations. And a town could be filled with followers of the Transcendent Flesh who appear completely harmless and mundane—until the Night of Six Moons, when they all attach their symbionts and tear apart any outsiders unlucky enough to be in the town that night.

Traditional cults are less extreme than corrupted ones, but they still see the world through a strange lens, despite knowing the power they’re bound to. Some traditional cults believe their patrons are simply misunderstood—Dyrrn seeks to elevate humanity, not to corrupt it! Others celebrate the destructive or chaotic aspects of their patrons, either believing that this corrupt world deserves to be torn down, or that the faithful will be elevated in the next age. Even a cultist who reveres Rak Tulkhesh may not be evil; they could believe the corrupt world must be washed in blood to cleanse evil, and aside from their duties to the Orphan King, they may be gentle and altruistic.

Transactional

The dark powers associated with the cults of the Dragon Below have much to offer. They can imbue their servants with mystical powers, following the model of the warlock. Daelkyr can provide symbionts and physical transformation, while the Lords of Dust can provide wealth, influence, or ancient artifacts to their loyal agents. As a result, transactional cults often begin as secret societies. People join of their own free will, eager to obtain whatever it is the cult has to offer. But even if someone joins for the most rational of reasons, the influence of a daelkyr or an overlord is difficult to resist; the longer someone remains in the cult, the more power it will have over them.

Consider the Court of Shadows cult, tied to Sul Khatesh. A wizard has a fascinating conversation with a colleague, discussing a spell unlike anything they’ve seen before. The colleague explains that the spell is from Ashtakala’s vaults, and if the wizard joins the Court, they’ll discover many amazing things about magic and history. So they go to a meeting and are impressed by the scholars and warlocks they meet. Soon they’re initiated into the cult, swearing an oath to the Queen of Shadows and being invested as the Knight of the Forgotten Library. It seems like a game, and they’re gaining access to fascinating new spells. But as time passes, they become ever more obsessed with rising in the Court of Shadows. The political interplay in the Kingdom of Shadows feels more real, more relevant than the mundane politics of Khorvaire. They pursue missions for the Queen, yearning to win her favor. And they hope that someday the Queen will rise from her slumber, for then, the Kingdom of Shadows will truly become real.

Transactional cults can be found anywhere on this slippery slope. A transactional cult might use symbiont weapons but otherwise be quite rational. Or, while you can still see how they stumbled into this mess, they could be completely pulled into the warped reality espoused by the cult.

Transactional cults are typically small, but can be widespread. A coven of the Court of Shadows may only have a few members, but the Court itself is spread across Khorvaire. Often, members of transactional cults know who they are dealing with, but greed or curiosity overrides concerns. However, it’s also possible for people to only know part of the story; a warlock might believe that the Queen of Shadows is a mighty warlock or perhaps an archfey, not realizing she’s actually an overlord.

Cult Goals

What do the cults of the Dragon Below want? What do members strive to achieve? This varies based on the structure and patron of the cult. All of the malevolent powers described in this section have loyalists, cults that are devoted to releasing their lords from Khyber or helping their agents (be they Lords of Dust, mind flayers, or rogue dragons) with whatever they require. But beyond the loyalists, cult goals can be a little more exotic.

Corrupted cults usually have some sort of immediate goal that drives the formation and expansion of the cult. The Vigilant Eye is hunting down “demons” hidden in the community, which can only be seen with their blessed eyes! The revenants have to re-enact a brutal massacre that occurred five hundred years ago today! The goals are often terrible things that must be stopped, but it’s not always obvious how they are helping the power behind the cult; these schemes may have nothing to do with the seals of the daelkyr or releasing an overlord. In the case of an overlord, the archfiends gain strength by driving mortals down their paths. For Sul Khatesh, getting mortals to use magic for malevolent strengthens her regardless of what they actually do; likewise, Rak Tulkhesh revels in all violence. Meanwhile, the daelkyr are truly incomprehensible. They certainly enjoy experimenting with their preferred mediums; one of Dyrrn’s cults could enact a ritual that causes dragonmarks to come to life and attack their bearers, with no purpose beyond satisfying Dyrrn’s curiosity. As the daelkyr experience time in a nonlinear fashion, it’s also possible that what seems like meaningless chaos could have a unforeseen future—that there will come a time when a living dragonmark unleashed in the cult’s bizarre rampage ends up being the vital element needed to defeat one of the Lords of Dust. The key point is that cults of the Dragon Below—particularly corrupted cults—may not have long-term plans; their schemes can and should often appear nonsensical.

Traditional cults are religions. They aren’t driven by short term goals, but instead provide guidelines on how to live your whole life. Traditional cults can be peaceful and innocuous . . . until they aren’t. A particular alignment of moons, a vision sent to the cult leader, a critical mass of outsiders arriving at the same time—any cult could have a set of circumstances that trigger bloody rituals or brutal sacrifices. This is where the absurdity of a traditional cult rises to the surface. The people of Lowholt couldn’t be kinder—until the flesh barn runs low on spleen and they have to harvest your organs. It’s a real shame, stranger, but our grandparents have to have that spleen—the “grandparents” in this case being the gibbering mouther in the basement.

Transactional cults are often initially driven by the desires of the members. Someone joins a transactional cult because they want the power to do something—to take revenge on their enemies, to overthrow a tyrant, to destroy a local criminal gang. But the patron always has a price, and this can eventually follow the same model described for corrupted cults earlier.

The Powers Behind the Cults

Each cult of the Dragon Below is tied to a sinister power trapped in Khyber, and a cult’s goals usually reflect the power behind it. If the cult has inhuman allies, are they fiends, aberrations, or other monsters? What sort of treasures and magic items does the group use? These magic items aren’t necessarily direct gifts from the patron; a cult of Kyrzin may have many potions because the high priest is an alchemist, or because a strange fountain in the temple secretes mystical fluids. In the case of loyalists and traditional cults, the connection to its patron may be quite obvious, whereas corrupted cults can be challenging to identify the hidden manipulator. Regardless of whether cultists know the identity of their patron, the power behind a cult has many effects.

As a broad rule, cults tied to overlords (Rak Tulkhesh, Sul Khatesh, Katashka, Bel Shalor, the Daughter of Khyber) are either directly helping the Lords of Dust or trying to drive behavior that strengthens the archfiend. The daelkyr (Belashyrra, Dyrrn, Kyrzin, Orlaask, Valaara) are more enigmatic. Their traditional cults may continue strange patterns of behavior handed down for generations, performing sacrifices or mysterious rituals when the planes are aligned. But they can also engage in dramatic actions with no clear benefit to anyone. There’s no clear reason for Orlassk to turn citizens of Sharn into gargoyles; it could be an experiment, or simply a form of art. But these actions will be related to the sphere of the daelkyr that causes it, whether that’s oozes, stone, eyes, or insects.

Worship

Madness is the one defining trait of the Cults of the Dragon Below. Whatever a leader’s purpose might be, many set bizarre goals for their followers and even for themselves. Sometimes these quests have an internal logic, even if it makes no sense to an observer. For example, one cult collects the eyes of everyone who has seen a particular sacred object or site, in the belief that no one but themselves have the right to behold it, and that the eyes contain power from the sight. The eyes might be eaten or be stored in a central item of worship. In other cases, quests are more like psychotic compulsions, such as painting every other brick in a building green.

An aberration usually sets up a cult for a specific purpose, such as the attempt to create a Xoriat manifest zone. In these cases, the cultists pursue activities that contribute to this ultimate goal, even though the tasks seem nonsensical. An individual might be sent to gather body parts, or measure every doorway in the district.

The mad leaders of individual cults are always pursuing greater knowledge of or closeness to Khyber or Xoriat. They drive themselves relentlessly in their chosen quests, so that if they were not entirely mad when they began, any remaining sanity is soon abandoned. The insane nature of these quests guarantees that they can never be completed.

Cults of Khyber do not worship Khyber itself. Rather, they are devoted to one of the dark powers imprisoned within—most often the daelkyr or some other aberrant beasts of Xoriat.

Members of a cult often share a specific madness, particularly when they are also scions of the same bloodline. For instance, the members of one familial cult might all show signs of paranoia, and the members of another might share an unsavory obsession with the dead.

Most Khyber cults revere aberrant creatures, and it is not uncommon to find an intelligent aberration at the heart of such a cult, manipulating the worshipers for its own ends.

Core Doctrines

The Khyber cults have no core doctrines, because the cults have no unified beliefs or objectives; there are as many gods and as many goals as there are cults.

Some Khyber cults have goals that are, although clearly mad, at least vaguely comprehensible to those outside their ranks. Some want to raise a particular daelkyr, demon, or other power from Khyber. Some want to acquire power for themselves in their patron’s name, to destroy the world, or to bring Xoriat back into conjunction with Eberron. Crazy, yes, but there’s some method to this madness. Others have goals that are so mad as to be utterly unfathomable. A priest might send cultists forth to rip the tongues from anyone who has ever uttered a certain name. One of the lunatic families founded in the Shadow Marches might believe that if it sacrifices enough sentients during the birth of a child, that child will be born perfect, even divine. Some cults’ actions are impossible to predict because they are being driven by their leader’s dreams, or they are acting on the commands of creatures that are not human.

Rites

Cult rituals are intense and often violent, including blood sacrifice and ritual combat. Many cultists consume unnatural substances, seeking a closer communion to aberrations. They perform rituals in Undercommon, though most cultists don’t have a full understanding of the language

Each cult has its own rites and practices. Some teach their members formal prayers and chants, involving alien or even meaningless words and foul cadences displeasing to the ear. Some cultists might have their own prayers, such as the simple repetition of a patron’s name or a favorite expression.

Rites range from subtle ceremonies, such as preparing food in a certain way or never touching a certain type of object, to major sacrifices and sacraments conducted in the midst of screaming, chanting worshipers. Again, it all depends on the cult in question.

With such a variety of cults, religious activity can comprise anything imaginable, and plenty of things beyond imagination.

Psychotic affliction is common among followers of the Dragon Below, and this can manifest in habits of speech. A worshiper who is convinced that the name of his god is sacred could speak it all the time (logomania) or refuse to say a given word or phrase, substituting a more acceptable term instead. Nonsensical chants, speaking in tongues, and constant muttering can all take the place of traditional prayer. A worshiper who is reasonably sane, though, offers up prayers to his god just as anyone else does.

Ritual bonds a group, whether its purpose is religious or otherwise. The priest of a given cult typically prescribes certain ritual behavior to demonstrate loyalty and reinforce obedience. Its exact form, of course, varies from one cult to the next.

As with minor rituals, each cult’s leader prescribes and sets any major rites. Some cults observe no great festivals, especially if their work requires secrecy. Those led by megamaniacal priests might go in for big, showy rituals complete with all the clichéd trimmings: drums, robes and hoods, smoking torches, obsidian knives, and so on.

Practicing the Faith

The exact number of cults is unknown and constantly changing, so any given community can contain worshipers, even of multiple competing cults. Despite the insanity that underlies any such faith, a follower need not appear mad. Some cultists are still in control of their faculties to some extent and can disguise their impulses so as to “pass” in everyday society. Some are not even crazy themselves—at least, not yet—but believe fervently in the illogical premises of their cult. These are the most dangerous cultists, capable of persuading others to their way of thinking and difficult to discover.

Shrines

The cultists skulk in hidden places, whether isolated hummocks within the Shadow Marches, basements of noble manors, or abandoned warehouses on decaying waterfronts. Their temples fill these secret lairs, usually cobbled together from materials at hand, although a wealthy patron or priest can afford expensive furnishings.

Cults meet underground, whether in caverns or sewers. Rural cults seek out places twisted by the powers of the plane of Xoriat or Khyber.

Priesthood

The leaders of these cults are often aberrant beasts. A mind flayer, for instance, might serve as the high priest of a Khyber cult—or even as the object of its worship, having convinced the cult’s members that it speaks for, or even is, a divine entity.

When the leader of such a cult is humanoid, however, it can be almost anyone. The head of a Marcher family, following traditions and beliefs laid down generations gone; a vagabond off the street whose dreams have suddenly begun to offer his life some meaning; a professor at Morgrave University, whose studies have taken him beyond the bounds of sanity; an adventurer returned from the depths of Khyber, having left the best part of himself behind. This is the greatest threat of the Cults of the Dragon Below: Anyone can be a member, anyone can lead. All that is required to spark a cult is the touch of madness and the eloquence to convince others that there is truth, or power, in the ravings.

The cults’ followers might be wild-eyed maniacs or disturbingly serene. Some give themselves over completely to evil, violence, and terror, while others cannot see the insanity behind their beliefs, convinced that they serve a greater good. Most have been so psychically scarred that only insanity makes any sense—it is even comforting.

Every cult priest has her own interpretation of worship and her own ideas of how to demonstrate faith. One might demand that every follower remove a finger. Another might insist that the road to paradise is paved with cannibalistic feasts. Another might call on worshipers to give up all material wealth, or conversely to acquire as much as possible.

Among the savage peoples (mostly orcs and some half-orcs), madness is seen as a path to power. For them, barbarian rage is the purest expression of the warrior spirit, and insanity is the quickest way to achieve it. Not many use divine magic, and those who do are uncivilized casters such as adepts and favored souls. The more civilized clans incorporate myriad human and orc beliefs, each with its own idea of how to bond with the Dragon Below. Though they might war with each other over their interpretations, all respect the power of aberrations, which they treat as the high priests of Khyber.

These cultists are to be pitied more than hated. Unfortunately, their insane devotion makes them dangerously unpredictable, and their ideas of worship can be inimical to life.

Becoming a Priest

A new cult can arise at any time. All it takes is a charismatic personality who can persuade others to listen to her ideas. An aura of madness surrounds such people, and they readily attract disturbed or damaged followers.

As well, a powerful aberration might found a cult to accomplish some purpose. Those with mindcontrol abilities, such as aboleths, mind flayers, and lesser daelkyr, are the most likely candidates. Their followers need not understand why they obey—they simply must. They might revere the horror directly, or they might be under its control from a distance, enraptured by a normal-seeming priest who passes on the true master’s directives.

Some cultists believe the only true priests of the Dragon Below are aberrations. If a humanoid leader arises, she must prove her worth by becoming physically monstrous in some way. The usual method is by acquiring an aberration graft or a symbiont.

Hierarchy

With such a variety of unrelated cults, there can be no organized priestly hierarchy. Instead, each group has its own organization. That might include detailed ranks, a ruling conclave, pure anarchy, but most often features a dictatorial leader with the power to enforce her every whim.

Fallen Priests

Cults of the Dragon Below rise and fall unpredictably. Just as a charismatic preacher might suddenly appear from the wilderness and gather followers to her, another might be torn apart at the very hands of those she converted. A priest can fall from grace in a moment—all it takes is for followers to question her motives or actions. This does not usually happen as a result of commands that go too far; true believers are capable of justifying the most terrible acts. But if a human priest acts out of character, or shows hesitation, followers might see weakness of conviction. In such a case, someone else might arise to claim he is the true voice of Khyber and challenge the leader. This usually is a fight to the death, but a resourceful priest sometimes escapes, nursing a grudge and plotting her vengeful return. More often than not, such a fallen priest seeks out a powerful aberration, which is happy to accept her service for the opportunity to extend its own power.

Political Influence & Intrigue

No one cult is a real threat to the stability of Khorvaire, but their sheer number and their obscurity make them collectively dangerous. An influential political figure might secretly serve an abomination from Khyber, and could be doing so in the certainty that it is for the greater good. Even more frightening is the possibility that untainted leaders are being influenced by agendas peddled from the shadows and presented by trusted advisors as reasonable policy.

Certainly, the nations bordering the Shadow Marches are concerned about the influence of the cults. The Eldeen druids are always on the watch for renewed activity by the minions of madness. In Darguun, the Lhesh Haruuc fears that other chieftains hoping to consolidate power when he dies might turn to the Dragon Below. The scattered power bases of Droaam could easily tip in favor of one who allies with the dark powers.

For the most part, the “civilized” nations of Khorvaire underestimate the danger posed by these cults. The Shadow Marches are a long way off, and few people care much about the well-being of a monstrous kingdom or a scarcely populated wilderness. The most forward-thinking rulers, such as Aurala of Aundair, Boranel of Breland, and especially Kaius of Karrnath, are watchful for corruption in their courts, but most of the young nations are too caught up in recovering from the Last War to see the hidden danger from within. It is fortunate that the cults work at crosspurposes so often.

Other Faiths

Each cult has its own set of beliefs, and its followers see even other cultists of the Dragon Below as wrong-headed or worse. Random groups that spring up under influential humanoids usually do not interact with other faiths at all. The more insidious danger comes from those cults with abomination leaders. These intelligent creatures sometimes infi ltrate a legitimate religion with their cultists to take advantage of its influence.

It is relatively easy to insert a devotee of the Dragon Below into the followers of a dark god dedicated to primal impulses, such as the Devourer, the Fury, or the Mockery. Average people, who might offer a prayer to avert ill fortune from the god, are not likely to notice a change in the church’s leadership, and the interests of true believers coincide—at least for a time.

Corrupting worshipers of a “good” religion such as that of the Sovereign Host is harder, but can reap much greater rewards. Such faiths usually have close connections with the rulership of a city, province, or nation, and open the door to greater influence by the cult.

So who in their right mind would join cults such as these? Well, nobody; that’s the point. Every Khyber cultist is mad in some way, subtly or extravagantly. Some cultists hope to shatter the bonds of their masters’ prisons. Others seek to destroy the world as an ultimate sacrifice, or so that a new paradise can arise, shaped by their aberrant masters. Some Khyber cultists even believe, in their madness, that they are doing what is best for their families or their nations. A cultist might delve into dark and tortuous lore with the best of intentions, certain that he or she has the mental fortitude to learn just what is needed and no more. . . .

Many Khyber cultists are born into families already sworn to, and warped by, alien lords. Others are driven mad by dreams about incomprehensible desires and horrors. Yet with this madness comes ancient knowledge and persuasive charisma that can attract fanatical and powerful circles of worshipers.

Sects

Cults of the Dragon Below are not a unified religious doctrine. The large majority of these cultists are mad and dangerous, and they turn towards forces society shuns for personal power.

Many followers of the Dragon Below are insane, holding strange beliefs as aberrations being beautiful creatures that will reward them for their devotion.

Cults may worship aberrations, daelkyr, or other fiends of Khyber and their masters from the First Age.

The city of Sharn has at least three active sects of Cults of the Dragon Below.

The Aashta

The Aashta clan is one of three half-orc clans native to the Shadow Marches to have developed the Mark of Finding and forming House Tharashk. The Aashta and lesser clans in service to them are rumored to be bound to the Dragon Below. The Aashta clan contains cultists of the daelkyr Kyrzin, the Prince of Slime.

Karr'Aashta, House Tharashk inquisitive of Deathsgate in Sharn is a member of the Aashta clan, and a follower of the Dragon Below. Sul'aashta Steelbane is a hunter of the Aashta clan, who hunts warforged and ventures into the Mournland, driven to defeat the warrior of steel and stone that haunt her dreams.

The Closed Circle

The Closed Circle is a defunct wizarding guild of Sharn. They were destroyed by the other magic guilds of Sharn—the Esoteric Order of Aureon and the Guild of Starlight and Shadows—for delving too deep into the occult following their research into the daelkyr.

A mind flayer named Chyrassk, along with a small force of lesser aberrations from Khyber, have established a presence in the former Citadel of the Closed Circle in the undercity district of Khyber's Gate. It has been sharing the secrets of symbionts, grafts, and unique discoveries made by the Closed Circle with its followers.

The Cults of Slime (Gibbering Cults)

Members of these cults follow the daelkyr Kyrzin, the Prince of Slime. These clans, also known as Gibberers, revere and tend to gibbering mouthers. They feed their elders and the infirm among them to the beasts as a mad form of preservation–their practices dictate that the souls of those consumed are preserved within these entities.

The ir'Edar Brood

The Duke of Passage, Jalnar ir'Edar, and his daughter Melys ir'Edar lead a cabal of almost 60 cultists in the city. His family is rumored to be prone to madness since a distance ancestor first took a half-orc from the Shadow Marches for his wife. Duke Jalnar ir'Edar now seeks untold heights of arcane magic in a mad quest to reclaim glory for Aundair that he believes has been lost in the last ten years.

The Family Finch

The Finch family who live outside Zarash'ak.

Overlord Cults

The Cults of the Dragon Below can be used as witting or unwitting pawns for the whims of the Lords of Dust or their Overlord masters.

In the Webs of Zarash'ak, the mad goblin Jhugaar delivers sermons about the rise of the Voice in the Darkness.

In Stormreach, the Overlord known as the Scar that Abides stirs strife and resentment among heirs of the dragonmarked houses.

Type

Religious, Cult