Cult Distribution in Doraster.doc

Cult Distributions in Dorastor
 

Cult Availability
The tables below give a comprehensive view of cult membership among the native races of Dorastor. Only the most important cults (worshiped regularly by a significant number of creatures) are included in these tables. Especially in the case of broos, the percentages given are only rough estimates, and can never be known absolutely. Many chaotic races have standard deities, and it is rare that a scorpion man (for instance) will worship a deity other than Bagog. This is true of the Telmori as well.

Local variations always exist, and many obscure daemons and spirit cults are worshiped that are subsumed under the "Other" category in the tables. For example, the Telmori worship Dorasta at certain times of the year as just another spirit (though more friendly than most), but have no permanent shrines to or worshipers of this deity.

The tables can be used to randomly determine cult membership by rolling 1d100 and consulting the appropriate table. This method is most appropriate for non-player characters, as players will probably want to pick their character's religious affiliation rather than making a random die roll.

The tables can also be used as a guide to the relative strengths of the religions in the area. With some modification these tables can be adapted to other lands. The tables can also be used to determine the religion of a randomly encountered shrine or temple, as well as to see which religions dominate a given race or area.

Temple Sizes
In Telmori lands there are no permanent major or great temples. Instead, the equivalent are achieved at seasonal gatherings. Among chaotic races the equivalent of even a major temple is rare, although some permanent locations are known.

Access to a temple may not always be easy for a character. A journey of weeks may be necessary in order for a priest to renew common divine spells or spells granted by an associate cult, and many adventures may be had on such a journey. Among chaotics in Dorastor, the difficulty is more often in convincing the strange priest to assist the worshiper in regaining spells, if he is not part of the priest's normal congregation.

The gamemaster will have to make the final ruling as to whether or not the requested size of temple is available in a particular area or at a particular time. Cults not listed by name are unlikely to have any major or great temples available, and in many cases worshipers of such unusual or obscure gods will have to make do with shrines. Again, this is especially true in Dorastor.

Holy and Unholy Places
It is beyond the scope of this work to give the locations of each and every shrine or temple in Dorastor. Should the exact location of a temple be important, the gamemaster must make a ruling. Remember that Dorastor is inhospitable to everything except chaos, and cults which must normally remain hidden exist there in the open. The surrounding lands are wild but fertile, and support a large but non-centralized population. Even chaos shrines might occur almost anywhere, secreted amongst small villages, or hidden in ruins and wild areas. In Dorastor itself, one would expect that the warrens beneath Fort Wrath would house a large proportion of all of the major temples of the broos.

However, a number of permanent shrines or temples exist in the area. With the exception of the Dorasta Shrine and the temple at Oxhead, these are almost universally locations of chaotic worship. Some are associated with specific daemons (such as the infamous Temple of Heads, feared for miles around as headquarters of the Dorastan Thanatar  cult; or the Great Temple to Krjalk in the Hellwood), while others (such as the Devil's Nose) are general Chaos altars, useful for contacting any malevolent daemon. Some are related to no cult, such as the Walktapus Moot, which serves as a spawning ground for that foul race every twelve years. Other locations can be inferred from the contents of Dorastor: Land of Doom and Lords of Terror. Finally, neither players nor gamemasters should take any map as authoritative: nothing in Dorastor is permanent for long!

Cult Availability Tables (native races only)

Broos, Feral
See Dorastor: Land of Doom (pp 19-20).

* males only; females should replace with Malia
 

* males only; females should replace with Malia
 

Broos, Fort Wrath
All of Ralzakark's Broos are initiates of his personal cult, though none worship him alone. Roll below to determine additional cult. See Dorastor: Land of Doom (pp 19-20, 30-31, and 80-82). On a roll of 96-00, the broo worships a chaotic or non-chaotic cult of the gamemaster's choice. For non-chaotic cults, Lightbringer or Lunar gods are most appropriate.

* males only; females should replace with Malia

Broobats, Glargs
These native creatures have no culture or religion. Few enter a cult due to their low intelligence, but exceptional members have been found as worshipers of large, organized chaotic cults, usually as cannon fodder for some priest or shaman.

Elves, Hellwood
These elves augment the worship of Aldrya with worship of chaos. Some worship Aldrya exclusively, but they believe in the benefits of chaos, and accord shamans and priests of chaos the same respect as Wood Lords and Elder Sister dryads.

If a Rune-level elf worships chaos, he or she is also an Illuminate. Initiate elves follow normal aldryami cults, and roll on the Poisonthorn Elf table (pg 71). Only on a roll of "Other" could an initiate worship a chaotic entity. See Dorastor: Land of Doom (pg 19), and Lords of Terror (pp 58-60).

Shamans
Hellwood Elf shamans are evenly split between dedication to Aldrya and chaotic deities. Few worship non-chaotic deities other than Aldrya, and none worship both Aldrya and a chaotic deity.

Elves, Poisonthorn
Poisonthorn elves are typical brown elves. Unless the roll indicates "Ancestor Worship only" or "Other" they worship Aldrya plus the rolled cult. See Dorastor: Land of Doom (pp 19-20). These tables are for Dorastan elves only; other aldryami in Dorastor have different numbers, as do elves in other lands.

Grayskins
Grayskins are too degenerate to have an organized religion. Most "worship" the Mad Sultan, but derive no benefits from this worship. They are often driven by broos to worship various chaotic entities. See Dorastor: Land of Doom (pp 49-50).

Harpies
All harpies worship Magra as their primary cult. Roll below to find additional cult, if any. See Dorastor: Land of Doom, (pp 50-52) and Lords of Terror (pp 34 and 85).