Law and Chaos in the Badlands — Part 2

In Part 1, I defined the central conflict in my Badlands campaign as a struggle between the forces of Law—represented by the Keep's residents, who are faithful followers of the sun-god, Solis—and the minions of Chaos—represented by the evil Cult of Khoss. This basic plot is lifted straight from the original module, B2 Keep on the Borderlands. The next few posts will detail both these religions, along with a third religion called the Order of Lahr, all of which comprise my world's major human faiths. I'll provide a little context first, but I don't intend to get into the weeds of my world's history (which isn't terribly original and consists mostly of sketched-out notes).

Briefly, previous historical eras in my world are defined by the rise of a particular civilization, which then expands and thrives over many centuries, before ultimately collapsing as the result of some sudden, cataclysmic event. After each civilization's fall, a new one eventually emerges from its ruins and establishes its own era of history. Between periods of civilization stretch long centuries of darkness and chaos, when brutality and ignorance prevails. The knowledge and technologies of preceding civilizations are lost with each fall, and layer of forgotten history piles upon layer. Each time, this knowledge must be rediscovered before a new civilization can rise.

The Fall of the Rebel Angels - Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Out of this cycle of birth-destruction-rebirth, a perpetual conflict came into being—a spiritual battle between those who desire orderly societies built upon laws and justice (but not necessarily goodness), and those who want to rule the ignorant masses through violence, corruption, and fear. This conflict became enshrined in the ancient religions of Lahr and Khoss. Many forgotten gods have come and gone across thousands of years of human history—through periods of civilization and darkness alike—but the faiths of Lahr and Khoss have endured, locked in an eternal fight for dominion.

Lahr and Khoss are not religions that entail deities to be worshiped, however; rather, they are moral and philosophical creeds to be studied and obeyed. In the distant past, one followed either the way of Lahr or the way of Khoss, or tried to walk a third, ethically-questionable path of true neutrality. Across the ages, priests of Lahr and Khoss have advised kings and emperors, fomented crusades and revolutions, and manipulated world events to control the frontiers of civilization.

The faith of Solis is much newer—only a few centuries old. In Part 3, I'll discuss that religion's pagan origins and how it intersects with the battle between Lahr and Khoss. In Part 4, I'll discuss the Order of Lahr, now a fading mystery cult of zealous—some say extremist—adherents. 

 

The following section details the ancient religion of Khoss, cultists of which are the primary antagonists in my Badlands campaign.

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The Cult of Khoss is devoted to sowing chaos, anarchy, and evil. Its depraved followers worship the profane, encouraging death and destruction to cleanse the world of the fallacy of civilization. Some cultists act openly, committing sudden sprees of violence until they are finally caught and put down. Others lie in wait, pretending to be upstanding members of society while scheming to undermine its foundations from within. Orgies of blood, sacrifice, and murder are the sacraments of the cult of Khoss.

The Temptation of St. Anthony - Matthias Grünewald

The cult achieves its goals by any means, allying itself with any evil forces powerful enough to serve its interests. Necromancy and demonology form the roots of the cult's magical practices, with some sects even summoning aberrant beings from beyond time and space for sinister purposes. Khossan agents have infiltrated all levels of society, working tirelessly to subvert peace and stability, and cult leaders have a seemingly endless supply of faceless minions willing to die for their evil schemes.

Cultists also operate as arms merchants and traders for the various evil humanoid races (orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, etc.) who live outside civilized lands and prey on their vulnerable frontiers. The cult often stages thefts of armaments and other trade supplies—plundering armories and warehouses, even hijacking ships on the open sea—and then sells the stolen goods to the enemies of civilization.

To facilitate these transactions, the cult mints its own currency, called mammon—hexagonal coins  made of red-tinted gold (some say the gold is mixed with sacrificial blood). Each face is embossed with the cult's sigil, pierced through the middle by a diamond-shaped hole. Humanoids are often found wearing strings or necklaces of mammon. Most civilized places (i.e., "decent folk") won’t trade in the currency, but thieves’ guilds and other nefarious organizations usually will.

Unknown

The cult's red gold bears a mild curse that slowly charms anyone who possesses even a few coins. The more coins a person has, the more they desire. As one’s hoard of coins grows, the more susceptible they become to the cult’s machinations, eventually incurring a weakness to cultist spells of subversion and control. Many Khoss cultists are simply ordinary people who are in thrall to this evil money. Foreknowledge of the red gold's curse, however, gives one an advantage in resisting its allure.*

In the current campaign timeline, it has been nearly 40 years since the Cult of Khoss was expelled from its longtime stronghold in the Freehold Kingdoms. Many surviving cultists fled east, to enclaves in the land of Remedios, where they've spent the intervening years rebuilding their forces and organizing their revenge. Recently, the cult began engineering an invasion of Remedios by the orcs and other humanoids of the Badlands, which is the situation when the campaign starts.

PART 3 - The Solis Faith

*Yes, red gold is stolen from David Eddings' The Belgariad series of fantasy novels. There were lots of neat ideas in those books, although I doubt I would enjoy them as much now as I did at 15-16 years old. Someone in the party in the current campaign has already contracted a low-grade obsession with red gold, and is actively seeking more.