Cult of Deskari Organization in Tales of Faerun | World Anvil

Cult of Deskari

With his worshipers, Deskari is aloof, impersonal, and ruthless. He is quick to punish unexpected failures, but coolly tolerant when a minion doesn't complete a task the demon lord didn't expect it to finish, or if the failure is part of a greater plan. He has plans for many worlds, and sometimes his priests may not communicate with him directly for years at a time, instead receiving their spells through his demonic generals as he focuses his attention on other realms.     As Deskari's main interests are infiltrating new territory and destroying those who oppose him, his commandments echo these sentiments.     All Fall to a Thousand Bites: A swarm defeats its enemies not because of the strength of its individuals, but with the unified power of overwhelming numbers. The loss of one creature in a swarm is meaningless if the swarm survives, and these losses may actually be essential for victory, like ants drowning themselves to form a bridge across a river so their fellows may cross. If you serve the Usher of the Apocalypse, you may be sacrificed to achieve that goal—or another may fall so you may succeed.     Life Feeds on Life: It is the nature of every living thing to sustain itself by consuming weaker creatures. Even hives may turn to cannibalism if food is scarce so that the greater whole may survive. Be willing to sacrifice your minions, your allies, or even your own flesh if that means you succeed. A man who starves to death is useless, but one who survives by eating his own arm may live to fight on. Do what you must do in order to persevere.     Many cultists serve Deskari thinking that they'll be rewarded for their worship when he takes over the world. However, he sees them all as pawns in his bid to dominate the mortal world, and will kill, sell, enslave, or sacrifice them if necessary. Their mortal lives mean little to him— even less than those of his demon minions—for if they die loyal to him, they'll reform as larva in his Abyssal realm to serve as either food for his demons or raw material for creating new demons. The smarter cultists realize this is their fate, and graft demonic flesh onto themselves or enter pacts to sell their souls in a bid to be rewarded by becoming more powerful demons in death.     Services to the Lord of the Locus Host involve humming and hissing, playing percussion instruments (often skulls filled with finger bones and sealed shut with resin), burning candles, and sacrificing animals or humans. Sacrifices are usually fed to a live insect swarm (either one living in the temple or one summoned by a priest), and the bones are kept as trophies and decorations for the temple or ritual items. Some rituals require tearing up a holy text from another religion, and perhaps feeding it to a swarm if such creatures eat paper or leather. Cultists place little value on ceremonial clothing, displays of power are more important than wearing the "proper" garments. Most prefer segmented armor that makes them look like insects. Deskari has no interest in marriage, and his cult has no dogma for or against it. He himself "mates" as he wants or plants his eggs in creatures if he wants to reproduce, and considers the concept of swearing an oath to a particular mate as stupid as promising your food that you won't eat any other kind of food. Likewise, his followers may take lovers or concubines or make temporary or permanent arrangements according to their desires or local customs. In many cases, a wealthy cultist takes an attractive slave as a mate, sacrificing it to the demon lord when it is no longer sufficiently pleasing.

Assets

Temples and Shrines

Deskari's temples are usually built in caverns or ruined churches, or set into the walls of cliffs or chasms. Most include a pit full of insects or worms, which are used for performing his demonic obedience and for disposing of sacrificed creatures. In lands where his worship is forbidden, these temples are often disguised as worm farms, with the bins of squiggling vermin supposedly used to enrich the soil for better farming.

Priesthood

A Priest's Role

As with most demon cults, priests' main task is to acquire power and use it to further their patron's plans for domination. Priests are expected to watch for opportunities to corrupt or destroy enemies or the plans of enemies. Many become skilled at concealing or eradicating bodies, and may ally themselves with a thieves' or assassins' guild in this role. Priests usually have skill in Deception, Intimidation, Nature, and Perception. Daily tasks for a priest usually involve cultivating local vermin, exploring suitable places for expansion and colonization. Although Deskari's priests work together with other cult cells, they are not averse to infiltrating and destroying cults that worship other deities—even other demon lords.
Type
Religious, Cult
Deities
Divines

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