Cult of Juiblex
Juiblex cared little for followers and mortal cultists, rarely being aware of their existence and neither encouraging nor rewarding them when he did. It was incredibly difficult to find any reason to worship the Father of Slime, and because Juiblex lacked any real use for worshipers, his response besides ignorance could be to give them some form of boon or to simply dissolve them. Humanoid servitors in particular were pointless compared to his easily controlled children, too fearful and independent to effectively command. In Juiblex's alien mind, and in those of some of his cultists, his victory was assured, so there was no reason to take active steps to grow the cult. His presence in Faerun was further diminished by the fact that the god Ghaunadaur had stolen his aspect within Realmspace, with cults acting in the name of the He Who Slithers while in truth worshiping That Which Lurks. Yet despite an absence of good reasons to do so, there were still mortals that chose to worship the Lord of Slime based on their own depraved logic.
The primary reason for the worship of Juiblex was that his few cultists were in some way insane, often dangerously so. Such worshipers were loners, easily regarded as strange or creepy by those around them and often showing some obsession with ooze. The signs could be relatively benign, such as a preoccupation with the capture and study of ooze, or perhaps more obviously disturbing, such as talking to rotting matter or even serial killing. His worst worshipers tried desperately to earn his attention, spreading terror, despair and death in the hopes of appealing to Juiblex. The madness of Juiblex's wretched supplicants was often rooted in desperation born from sickness, physical or otherwise, terrible afflictions that brought their victims such pain that they were willing to turn to the Demon Prince of Ooze. After reaching the heights of depression, the deluded madmen, often humans, turned to the Glistener in the hopes that he could cure them or, failing that, ruin their minds so that the pain would be bearable.
Boons:
Sadly for such unfortunates, Juiblex's influence rarely granted anything approximating solace, sometimes driving mortals mad in their dreams with horrible visions. In some way or another, Juiblex's followers were diseased, with the exact nature of the illness ranging from oozing slime, a horrible odour, rotted digits, hideous growths, blisters and pustules ready to pop, or worse. Some were compelled by a sentient pestilence that drove them to horrible acts, while others had acid for blood, or gelatinous bones. At their most horrid, the body parts of these beings could fall off but continue to move; their organs would become malleable and burst without actually killing them. Over time, their entire bodies became more and more oozing until they were nothing more than slimes that could take on humanoid form. Those that fully offered themselves to the Glistener were often reborn, turned into sentient oozes or hybrids as their former bodies and identities were obliterated and all that was left was madness and slime. Those truly in the thrall of Juiblex were among the most disgusting individuals in existence, sometimes dwelling in sewers or other nauseating locales. The deformed entities had to operate alone normally since only oozes or undead could tolerate their presence. The beings who would dare devote themselves to Juiblex were normally either his clerics, an already rare group since he didn't wilfully grant spells and so their divine abilities would rely solely on their reverence, or fighters and barbarians, who benefited the most from his "boons". The exact process for becoming one of Juiblex's devout was somewhat malleable, but generally involved sacrificing a sapient being in acid, either to an ooze or with some present. They also had to possess some level of flexibility before hand, having had some manner of shapechanging experience. The more powerful they became, the grosser and more malleable their features were, as they began leaking a gradually more acidic ooze, summoning oozes and alkiliths, spewing disease and corrosive fluid and eventually leaving behind any discernible anatomy while gaining the ability to polymorph. Other Cultists:
The Faceless Lord did have other worshipers besides the deranged, most notably a few of the god-hating aboleths, out of their belief that he maintained the moistness of their skin and environment and thus had to be propitiated, as well as the idea that he would eventually reveal lost arcane secrets to them. Similarly, some demons, particularly hezrou, swore him fealty and retrieved victims for him to feed on. Some were known to seek out the Faceless Lord specifically for the purpose of magically channelling information from him, although it was possible this would get his attention. Though his oozes could be said to show him fealty, their thoughtless pleasure could hardly be classified as worship, and his overreliance on them in comparison to Zuggtmoy's active recruitment and growth of fungi had a tendency to limit his options. Rarely was anyone who could be considered Juiblex's "cultists", in proximity to others like them, because of their rarity and individualistic nature, although there were some small, secret societies. Followers dwelt underground, taking care of stables of oozes, awaiting and singing the praises of a doomsday when Juiblex would devour all, a fate they would be spared from. Some made use of braziers of green flame and strange incenses in chambers where dark chants were recited, sacrifices made and where the walls were coated in slime, as well as patterns and runes sacred to Juiblex. The greatest of worshipers made permanent portals to the Demiplane of Filth and conducted sacrifices there, and some shrines were also present in Molor. Aspects:
Though his followers only received an aspect of his when they summoned one, occasionally the Faceless Lord saw fit to communicate with one of his cults. For the Faceless Lord, creating an aspect wasn't worth the expenditure of effort, so instead he merely possessed an ooze kept by the sentient servitor he wished to communicate with, causing the ooze to take on his coloration. If one did seek out the knowledge or favour of Juiblex but didn't wish to confront the murderous slime, he did possess an avatar dwelling in a hut in the Demiplane of Filth. The hut sat upon a stone monolith 50 ft (15 m) on each side and 400 ft (120 m) tall, and within the hut was the figure of an elderly human male formed from a shard of Juiblex's essence. Possessing much of Juiblex's knowledge, The Hermit, as he was known, agreed to answer a single question in exchange for the completion of a task, only answering questions and assigning tasks to avenge his master and fight Juiblex's enemies, but sometimes for less obvious reasons. The avatar held its mouth and eyes shut, only opening them to assign a task and again when he answered the question, upon which green slime poured from both and devoured his body only for him to reappear the next time he was visited without any signs of harm.
Sadly for such unfortunates, Juiblex's influence rarely granted anything approximating solace, sometimes driving mortals mad in their dreams with horrible visions. In some way or another, Juiblex's followers were diseased, with the exact nature of the illness ranging from oozing slime, a horrible odour, rotted digits, hideous growths, blisters and pustules ready to pop, or worse. Some were compelled by a sentient pestilence that drove them to horrible acts, while others had acid for blood, or gelatinous bones. At their most horrid, the body parts of these beings could fall off but continue to move; their organs would become malleable and burst without actually killing them. Over time, their entire bodies became more and more oozing until they were nothing more than slimes that could take on humanoid form. Those that fully offered themselves to the Glistener were often reborn, turned into sentient oozes or hybrids as their former bodies and identities were obliterated and all that was left was madness and slime. Those truly in the thrall of Juiblex were among the most disgusting individuals in existence, sometimes dwelling in sewers or other nauseating locales. The deformed entities had to operate alone normally since only oozes or undead could tolerate their presence. The beings who would dare devote themselves to Juiblex were normally either his clerics, an already rare group since he didn't wilfully grant spells and so their divine abilities would rely solely on their reverence, or fighters and barbarians, who benefited the most from his "boons". The exact process for becoming one of Juiblex's devout was somewhat malleable, but generally involved sacrificing a sapient being in acid, either to an ooze or with some present. They also had to possess some level of flexibility before hand, having had some manner of shapechanging experience. The more powerful they became, the grosser and more malleable their features were, as they began leaking a gradually more acidic ooze, summoning oozes and alkiliths, spewing disease and corrosive fluid and eventually leaving behind any discernible anatomy while gaining the ability to polymorph. Other Cultists:
The Faceless Lord did have other worshipers besides the deranged, most notably a few of the god-hating aboleths, out of their belief that he maintained the moistness of their skin and environment and thus had to be propitiated, as well as the idea that he would eventually reveal lost arcane secrets to them. Similarly, some demons, particularly hezrou, swore him fealty and retrieved victims for him to feed on. Some were known to seek out the Faceless Lord specifically for the purpose of magically channelling information from him, although it was possible this would get his attention. Though his oozes could be said to show him fealty, their thoughtless pleasure could hardly be classified as worship, and his overreliance on them in comparison to Zuggtmoy's active recruitment and growth of fungi had a tendency to limit his options. Rarely was anyone who could be considered Juiblex's "cultists", in proximity to others like them, because of their rarity and individualistic nature, although there were some small, secret societies. Followers dwelt underground, taking care of stables of oozes, awaiting and singing the praises of a doomsday when Juiblex would devour all, a fate they would be spared from. Some made use of braziers of green flame and strange incenses in chambers where dark chants were recited, sacrifices made and where the walls were coated in slime, as well as patterns and runes sacred to Juiblex. The greatest of worshipers made permanent portals to the Demiplane of Filth and conducted sacrifices there, and some shrines were also present in Molor. Aspects:
Though his followers only received an aspect of his when they summoned one, occasionally the Faceless Lord saw fit to communicate with one of his cults. For the Faceless Lord, creating an aspect wasn't worth the expenditure of effort, so instead he merely possessed an ooze kept by the sentient servitor he wished to communicate with, causing the ooze to take on his coloration. If one did seek out the knowledge or favour of Juiblex but didn't wish to confront the murderous slime, he did possess an avatar dwelling in a hut in the Demiplane of Filth. The hut sat upon a stone monolith 50 ft (15 m) on each side and 400 ft (120 m) tall, and within the hut was the figure of an elderly human male formed from a shard of Juiblex's essence. Possessing much of Juiblex's knowledge, The Hermit, as he was known, agreed to answer a single question in exchange for the completion of a task, only answering questions and assigning tasks to avenge his master and fight Juiblex's enemies, but sometimes for less obvious reasons. The avatar held its mouth and eyes shut, only opening them to assign a task and again when he answered the question, upon which green slime poured from both and devoured his body only for him to reappear the next time he was visited without any signs of harm.
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