10 Reasons Why You Might Join A Cult
Header Image: Princes of the Apocalypse, 2015 Wizards of the Coast
Have you ever been planning for a game session and your mind began to question a mook’s motivation? Have your players ever locked on one of your monsters and began demanding answers to prying questions about a non-existent backstory? Is there an ancient evil deity of cosmic horror with a huge cult following, filled with monsters ready to be cut down by your party of questionable moral character?
When someone, whether they be a player character or an NPC, joins a cult to an eldritch primordial being… what is their reasoning? Don’t they know or realize that they are basically signing up to be part of the bad guys who are going to destroy the world and all the people living on it? What could possibly motivate them to risk their lives in such an endeavor?
Motivations
We are all motivated by different things, like I’m motivated by carrot cake just as my players are motivated by gold, experience points, and having fun. This motivation pushes us to do things we might not like, which could include things we have to do. For example, I might force myself to go grocery shopping even though I slept terribly the night before and just want to avoid all responsibility for 24 hours. BUT, I need food or else I’ll be hungry. I motivate myself to go grocery shopping by telling myself I’ll get carrot cake while I’m out, as a treat to myself.
These motivations can also extend down to the NPCs we run in our game. While I doubt few are wholly motivated by the promise of carrot cake if they just risk their lives and murder some people that are trying to stop their entropic god, carrot cake might be used to sweeten the deal. Their motivations are going to run deeper than carrot cake, even if I wouldn’t need more motivation than that. When deciding on your NPC’s motivation, you can combine multiple motivators that all seem small, but when lumped together make for a very appetizing deal.
Here are 10 reasons why someone might join a cult.
1) Building Better
Deep down, I and everyone else knows that our current society is broken and flawed. We need a new world order that can fix the glaring flaws that let people be murdered, exploited, enslaved, and more. While the road ahead of us will involve killing people, it is for the greater good. We are going to rebuild this world better than ever before, and anyone stopping us is working for the current, broken system.
This type of thinking is a strong motivator for cults looking to destroy a world or a specific kingdom. Their thinking, and reasoning, can also be used if the system you portray to your players is indeed flawed, like high taxes that only go to the wealthy. In fact, players may even empathize with the NPC, but just not like how they are creating change through violence, sacrifice, and devastation.
2) Greater Purpose
I’m special, I know it, you know it. My god knows it, and has thus chosen me to carry out its will. I WAS CHOSEN to do something great with my life, and I don’t have to sit around and listen to others telling me that I’m just normal. I am going to be part of something great and everyone else will soon learn to respect me.
For many who are treated as outsiders in their community, it can feel incredibly tempting to believe that they are here for a higher purpose. That other people just ‘don’t get it’ and that only they can see the truth. They were born knowing that they were going to be more than just another farmer like everyone else in their family. When they are approached by a god or a cult leader, they are going to jump at the chance to someone vindicating their worldview. They are going to want to hang out with those people, even if they don’t fully understand what is going on. They are being promised the greatness they have longed for all their life.
3) Deceived
The god has promised that I will be saved, those that I love will be saved, and that what they are doing is the best for society. They are going to limit harming as many people as they can, as they don’t want to hurt others but sometimes, a few eggs must be broken. They have promised me that when they are summoned and take over, that things are going to become a utopia, and I believe them.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that an evil god or eldritch being is capable of lying to their minions. For many, they have been fed lie after lie about what a new world will look like when the god has taken over, and no amount of proof is going to change their mind. Part of this is that they want to believe that they are the good guys and if they accept that the things they did were evil then it means that they are evil.
4) Existence is Futile
We are all going to die anyway, why delay the inevitable? It would just be a lot easier if we worked with this god, we’ll get greater rewards in the afterlife if we just cooperate and push things along. If people would just stop lying to themselves that this world is worth saving, we could have a swift end with little to no pain, a better deal than you’ll get elsewhere.
Not everyone is going to fit into this motivation as it requires someone who has been intensely hurt by the world. These individuals are frustrated with the way things are and just want to see it all end, though they want to first hedge their bets. If there is a life after death, they are going to go with the god that is going to control everything in the afterlife. They may have been promised rewards or higher ranks in death, so long as the god’s plans come to fruition. Ultimately, though, they don’t care about this world because the world has never cared about them - not that they care, of course.
5) Lying to Yourself
Any misgivings or second thoughts I’m having are just me being weak. I haven’t gone this far because what I’m doing is wrong. I am doing what is right. All the sacrifices I have made are to help usher in a new age, I don’t understand why other people can’t see it. I am the hero here, everyone else is the bad guy.
These individuals may know that the god is planning on destroying thousands, but they have gotten it in their heads that what they are doing is the right thing. Maybe it’s because the god has lied to them, or perhaps they were dragged into the cult by doing tiny tasks that slowly increased in scope. They were first asked to watch out for some adventurers, that’s easy and low risk. Then asked to drive a cart for some people going to a secret meeting, again, easy and low risk. After that, they may have been asked to help out by scaring off those dang outsiders who are loud and destroy furniture in the bar. It then slowly began increasing in asks and tasks, soon they were asked to kill an outsider who was sticking their nose into things they don’t need to know about or maybe the outsider killed a friend. It just then spiraled from there and they refuse to think about what they have done. It has become a sunk cost fallacy of deeds and misdeeds, if they turn back now, it means that they were wrong or they wasted years of their life.
6) Out of Options
They told me I can either die, and watch my family die as well, or protect my family and have a greater purpose. I’m doing this to protect my family, and if it means I have to kill someone, then so be it. I don’t hold any ill will towards them, but I have to do what I can to keep my family safe. I just hope that my family understands I’m making these choices to protect them.
Those who have no other option but to help the cult can be driven into a tough situation. They have the lives of loved ones being used against them, though it isn’t only restricted to loved ones. It could include past deeds that they have done, like cheating or stealing goods from someone else or any other type of blackmail. They might first be unwilling to serve the cult, but they end up doing so anyway because it is the easier and safer option for them, their loved ones, or because they just feel like they don’t have any other choice.
7) Saved
Everyone else is going to die but me. The god has promised that I, and all others who serve faithfully, will be saved from the oncoming apocalypse. I want to live, I don’t want to be in pain. I don’t get why anyone would fight against this, it just means they are going to die. Why would someone throw away their life to protect other people?
While this can be quite selfish, it doesn’t have to be. A cultist could be serving not because they believe that only they will be saved, but because they were told that their family or friends will also be saved. Typically, though, they are wanting their own lives spared during the oncoming apocalypse or change in guard, and are trying to ensure that they have gained a special reprieve from what is to come. Perhaps they’ll even be given greater power.
8) Strength is Power
I like being stronger than others. I like it when others look up at me in fear for I have been given even greater power than I had before. I can cause wounds to open and fester, or seal those wounds and keep someone from dying. I need more power, and the only way to get it is to keep serving. Soon, though, I’ll be so strong that I’ll surmount my god’s power, and then I’ll be the one everyone fears.
Some people just enjoy holding power over others, inflicting pain and torment, or feeling like they are a god, holding life and death in their hands. They may not even care about rising through the ranks or learning about the religion of their cult, so long as they are given ever greater power and strength, they are going to do whatever they can to ensure that they keep getting stronger. While others might balk about what must be done, these individuals delight in showing off their strength over everyone else.
9) Wanting to Belong
I just want to belong to something, and these were the first ones to make me feel wanted. I had been cast out by everyone who had loved me, and it wasn’t my fault. Luckily, these people found me and I feel seen and wanted. They allowed me to join their exclusive group and now I’m part of a community!
Perhaps they have a strange fascination with undeath, they act a bit odd compared to everyone else, or they did something to ostracize them from the community, these individuals just want to be part of something. We are social creatures who desire to belong to something, anything, so long as we feel like we have friends and those who understand us. This type of insidious need can be easily exploited by gods who promise community, power, and revenge against any who had refused them kindness.
10) Wealth
I want money, I want jewels, and I want a kingdom. I was told that if I bring in this ‘new age’ they keep talking about, I am going to be wealthier than beyond my wildest dreams - and boy, do I dream wild.
It isn’t just money that can be offered to would-be cultists, but kingdoms, magic items, and other material wealth. A god may make a thousand different promises to its cultists, giving dozens of them the same promised lands, but it doesn’t matter. It is using their avarice against them, and if the plans do succeed, can always cull a few of its members and reward the others who served it better. Someone who joins the cult for wealth may not be doing it just for themselves, but rather for those they love. They may have been told that a loved one will die from a horrible illness, but if they join, they’ll be given enough wealth to pay for doctors, clerics, cures, and more. There is always something that a person is looking for, and this greed can be used against them.
Join Us
While these are just 10 reasons, there are many more out there that could draw someone in to help usher in the dawn of an apocalypse. In fact, most people will fall into several categories, merging them into a unique blend of self-lies, deceit, and searching for power. People don’t see themselves as the villain in their story and these motivations can help others understand why that is. Not every reason is going to be good, sometimes people are just cruel and like being cruel. No deeper motivation than just hurting others. Others are going to be the opposite, where their motivations run deep and could even span generations of their family as they seek to bring about the god’s ultimate plans.
If you are ever stuck on why a villain is bringing about the end of the world, remember that it is OK to just say that they enjoy having power over others. Sometimes, the simplest motivation is the best.
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