Name: The New Way, something that sounds pleasant, might attract newcomers to join the cult, nothing sinister about it at all.
Level of Organisation: Good as it is for now
Looks: The cultists are to dress in plain burlap robes, look like simple pious missionaries in public. In secret, when performing rituals or illicit activities, they are to wear leather masks ( more on that in a second ) with facsimiles of ram horns, a pale but flattering imitation of our demon's visage.
Practices: As a general practice, our cultists are to flay themselves discreetly, around their torso areas so their injuries aren't readily visible. This self-mutilation is their form of prayer, and the leather gained from their own bodies shall be used to make their masks. The corporal mortification opens themselves up further to our demonic influence, and keeps them from any sort of sane, reasonable thought in regards to turning away from us.
If we have enough power after making The Sacred Wordbearers we should build a small maze-like temple according to Ukrainian Ranger's specifications. If possible, it should be made of void-black marble with shifting demonic ruins carved into its surface, its layout should shift constantly, its interior should be filled with eldritch smoke, nightmarish illusions, and elusive prodding fingers. Only devout followers of Nokluvgn should be able to traverse it without becoming lost.
If we have enough power left after consuming the doubter's would, we should turn their bodies into slave husks.
Why not build a small altar underneath the temple. They could paint maze like lines on the floor. A mock shrine, we will replace this one later on with a proper temple. Having a small powerroom though is especially useful when surprise attacks or such happen to us...
Actually yeah this sounds good.
Why not have the village as it is seem rather ordinary and not visibly corrupted by our presence to go with the theme of the New Way proposal and building our evil maze-temple underneath the place? It'll fit with the whole 'insidious evil' thing we have going.
You choose three of the strongest, most intelligent, and most devout villagers. On your command they fearlessly carve lines into their own skin, decorating themselves with demonic runes in preparation for your gifts. You then place a hand on their head and pour your evil energy into them, willing it to follow the runes and permeate their being. As you pour energy into the first, he shudders, then begins to foam at the mouth, the runes on his body glowing impossibly bright. Soon he falls over dead. He was not worthy after all.
Undaunted, the second aspirant kneels before you, and you repeat the process. This time it works flawlessly, and you manage to not only vastly increase his strength and mental energy, but also grant him some rudimentary understanding of your mesmeric abilities. He arises proudly, inspecting the now faintly glowing runes on his skin, stretching muscles and marvelling in his newfound strength.
The third aspirant kneels before you, unsure as to her fate, but willing to accept whatever happens to her. It seems you chose well with her also, as much like the second, she easily absorbs your evil energy and a modicum of knowledge. She stands up and immediately tests her newfound powers, commanding a nearby villager to kiss her feet. They do so at once, showing no hesitation whatsoever. She laughs aloud at the grovelling villager, then kicks him away.
Whilst you had hoped to have three, these two Wordbearers will be able minions, especially if given further training in the fields of combat or magic.
Next, you proceed to have the villagers excavate a small cellar underneath the shrine, installing a rudimentary altar and some torches- specifically designed to give off as much smoke as possible. They then paint lines on the floor of the shrine, forming a maze that seems to shift around whenever you take your eyes of of it, but leave the rest of the shrine as it is, so as to be as inconspicuous as possible.
With an altar in place, you can finally deal with the doubters amongst your worshippers. Some of them were good men, whose purity of soul protected them from your influence somewhat. Others merely had stubborn minds. Not that this makes a difference- they will all be sacrificed. Upon realizing their fate, many of them seem to awaken, their minds rejecting your evil influence for the sake of self-preservation, but to no avail, as your more loyal followers capture their former friends and neighbours without hesitation, managing to round up every single one, and drag them kicking and screaming to your altar.
The sacrifices are tied up in the shrine, then brought down to the altar, where they are expertly flayed by the village butcher, with the skin set aside lest you wish to use it later. Then they have their eyes removed from their still living bodies, which you collect in a bowl to snack on later. Finally, they are stabbed through the heart with a dagger, their dying screams the sweetest nectar to your ears- mind you, their flesh tastes pretty good as well.
After twenty such sacrifices, you are feeling decidedly full, and significantly more powerful than before. Not used to this much power, having attained it so quickly rather than over an extended period, you cannot help but let some leak out, polluting the village with an evil aura, spreading out across the lake and into the woods. Perhaps this will make your influence easier to notice...
You have the
villagers cultists work tirelessly at expanding the cellar beneath the shrine, with plans to carve out tunnels that run beneath the entire village in a labyrinthian manner. But should this be their sole activity?
-Yes. We shall make this village into a suitable home as soon as possible.
-No, they should also work on sending missionaries to the surrounding villages, to recruit more members.
-No, they should also spend a lot of time worshipping you.
-No, they should also gather and stockpile resources.
-No, they should also [do something else]
Meanwhile, you find yourself more powerful than ever, ready to take on the world- or at least part of it. Naturally you use your newfound strength to
-Rampage through the countryside, causing chaos throughout the area.
-Move on to another village and repeat the same basic process- what worked once must surely work again.
-Move on to another village, but try a different approach this time. ((Note that in either moving-on case, you will not (at this point) be able to make instantaneous contact with your cultists, and should therefore leave clear instructions for your cultists to follow until you return))
-Summon some lesser demons to serve you.
-Do something completely different.
Name: Nokluvgn
Age: 2.25 months
Physical might: 31 (-3: empowering Wordbearers)(+20: Sacrifices)(-5: Sudden power gain leakage)
Mental might: 29 (-3: empowering Wordbearers)(+20: Sacrifices)(-5: Sudden power gain leakage)
Followers: ~82 (80 villagers, 2 Wordbearers)
Slaves: 1 - One mind-broken priest.
Servants: 1 - One brutewolf.
Cults:
The New Way: No organization. 80 members in Fellshore.
Power level: 13
Of which: 8 spent digging a labyrinth beneath Fellshore
Resources: 0