Animal Cults... (the good and the bad...)

[Raven Crowking]

Not being funny for a moment (not that my attempts at humour were actually funny....), I would recommend taking one of those "bad" choices, and turning it into a truly scary cult. I mean, when the PCs start worrying about sheep grazing on the hillside, the GM has done something truly special!

 

[Doug McCrae]

Really? REALLY?

You may be right. I think termites are cool, but that's mostly because of my great love of the weird, and termites are very weird. There's a caste that actually fires glue at its enemies, thru a gun-like tube in its head.

Moths? Well they're nocturnal and somewhat sinister. Giant moths make good transportation. The Mothman Prophecies was fairly sucky, imo. But you can't not like Mothra.

 

[Rechan]

Reminds me of I think the Aztecs (or maybe the Mayans?) who worshiped a god of corn. And you think "CORN? Hahaha, that's lame and non threatening." Until you find out that they sacrifice people by skinning them alive, similar to husking an ear of corn.

 

[Celebrim]

Moths? Well they're nocturnal and somewhat sinister.

In the original European vampire myths, vampires could turn into moths. We associate vampires with bats, only because Stoker mistranslated the word for 'moth' from the Romanian. In Transylvania, people took great care to screen the body from flying insects, lest a moth fly over and the body arrise as a vampire.

There are also real world blood drinking moths.

And to cite the obvious example, 'Perdido Street Station'.

 

[Aeolius]

Reminds me of I think the Aztecs (or maybe the Mayans?) who worshiped a god of corn. And you think "CORN? Hahaha, that's lame and non threatening." Until you find out that they sacrifice people by skinning them alive, similar to husking an ear of corn.

You'd have to work huitlacoche (corn smut) in there, somewhere.

 

[Aeolius]

But you can't not like Mothra.

It was last weekend, after all.

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

How dare ye mock the wild haggis!!

Aiiiiiiie!!!
Know ye not to unleash the face o' the demon so vile only Men With No Pants dare fight it?!
Fer just it's uncouth, haunted face, yer bowels may make lax like a dozen Vindaloos strained through yer Guiness!
Oh, the knees oh many a stout hearted lad have quaked like rubber bands roun' toothless mugs while a screeching wind did blow!
Baba Yagas's hoos cats they be!

Fae, ne'er show yon de'ils face ag'in, for the Tumshee Eatin' Hi'land Wulverine is the Tarrasque's very grandpa!

 

[Psychotic Jim]

One good (but perhaps unlikely?) idea for a cult might a cult dedicated to flies. Take a moment to think about it, you really can do a lot with a fly motif. Although obviously physically weak, flies are pervasive and can be either overwhelming or inconspicuous depending on their numbers. The fly is very good symbolically for overwhelming hordes and lone spies at the same time. And as King Croc from Ravenloft's Wildlands knows, the lowly flies are ultimately the end of everything- feasting on the dead and decaying. Also good symbols for disease. And don't deny the resonance of a cult leader title like "Lord of the Flies".

 

[On Puget Sound]

Narwhals!

As proved by this video, the narwhal cult is stronger than Cthulhu's.

Narwhals - Weebl's Stuff

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Those of you making mirth of the vegemite cult might want to back off a bit, it's a real religion in this part of the world. This board has strict rules regarding making mock of people's belief systems.

Seriously, in terms of an actual cult for a game I can see bugs working. Not moths, despite the evidence provided above. But termites, ants, bees and other hive types. And nasty ones like wasps and spiders and scorpions. OK, spiders reaks of Drow but this can still be good.

Must be folks here who remember the old Shadowrun adventure based around bug cultists. (can't think of its name.) Eggs getting implanted in people that release weird spirits that, when they hatch, warp the hosts into monsters. I'd also recommend an old novel by Frank Herbert, 'Hellstrom's Hive' for a cult of bug worshippers. Good stuff there for the stealing. Er, I mean paying homage to.

now I must go have my afternoon vegemite toast.