Editing Cult of Rakdos (section)

==Dungeons & Dragons==
Like all of the ten guilds, the Cult of Rakdos appeared in the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, a [[splatbook]] for [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]]. Here, it was handled as a combination of Background and Faction, with the player choosing the "Rakdos Cultist" background to certify they have membership, and being able to earn Renown. This is a new system to 5e, and basically is a kind of abstractified experience; you start off as a general worker (Renown 1), and as you complete missions for the Guild or do things that get you noticed, your Renown increases, giving you increased abilities. Of course, if you publicly screw things up for your guild, your esteem will drop and you can lose Renown.

Characters from the Cult of Rakdos are most likely to be [[Human]]s and [[Goblin]]s, although the [[Minotaur]] racial lore states that they also have a strong presence in the Cult. The most iconic classes associated with this guild are the [[Barbarian]] (Berserker, Zealot), [[Bard]] (Colleges of Swords and Valor), [[Fighter]] (Champion, [[Gish|Eldritch Knight]]), [[Rogue]] ([[Swashbuckler]], [[Thief]]), and [[Warlock]] (Fiend)

===Rakdos Cultist Background===
Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Performance

Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical instrument

Languages: Choose either Abyssal or Giant

Equipment: A Rakdos insignia, a musical instrument (one of your choice), a costume, a hooded lantern made of wrought iron, a 10-foot length of chain with sharply spiked links, a tinderbox, 10 torches, a set of common clothes, a belt pouch containing 10 gp (a mix of Azorius and Boros 1-zino coins), and a bottle of sweet, red juice

Feature: Fearsome Reputation
::People recognize you as a member of the Cult of Rakdos, and they're careful not to draw your anger or ridicule. You can get away with minor criminal offenses, such as refusing to pay for food at a restaurant or breaking down a door at a local shop, if no legal authorities witness the crime. Most people are too daunted by you to report your wrongdoing to the Azorius.

To further represent the Guild's training and philosophical impact, spellcasters (that is, anyone with the Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature) gain bonus spells to their spell list based on the guild. For the Cult of Rakdos, that's the following:
::Spell Level:	Spells
::Cantrip:	fire bolt, vicious mockery
::1st:	burning hands, dissonant whispers, hellish rebuke
::2nd:	crown of madness, enthrall, flaming sphere
::3rd:	fear, haste
::4th:	confusion, wall of fire
::5th:	dominate person

Your magic often produces a flashy spectacle, wreathing you or your targets in a mixture of harmless flame and shadowy shapes. When you manipulate an opponent's mind, a flaming symbol of Rakdos might momentarily appear like a mask over the target's face.

===Cult of Rakdos Renown===
Renown amongst a guild as anarchic as the Cult of Rakdos is, obviously, more visceral than some. Rank means nothing to them, but fame? Now that's another story. Your renown measures how well known you are, both in the Cult and out, which in turn gives a rough idea of how much respect (and fear) you elicit.

Extra (Renown 3)
::You're basically nobody. The only difference is that you've earned enough of a name to be allowed to perform on a Cult "stage", instead of just running around handling the grunt-work. It's a bloody and dangerous place to be in, as you're the most expendable guy/girl/whatever around, but hey, that's showbusiness!

Sideshow Act (Renown 10)
::Now people are starting to take notice of you. You're a long way off of achieving top billing, but you're big enough that rookies and scrubs will often fall in line with you, hoping to ride your coattails to fame when you stage a "performance". This means that when you go adventuring, you can bring 1d4 tagalongs in the form of cacklers, stage hands (cultists) and extras (thugs) to protect you. Also, if you want, you can head to Rix Maadi and petition for a Rakdos Charm, but you're too small fry to be assured of safety if you go.

Special Role: Blood Witch (Renown 10, Spellcasting or Pact Magic class feature)
::Your access to the black magics associated with your demonic Guildmaster, combined with your now-obvious talent for bloodshed and mayhem, earn you the respect of your fellow performers. You're the closest thing the Cult has to a ranking official; you can't personally mobilize large numbers of guild members, but individual performers will usually be quick to obey your orders if they aren't blatantly contradicting your guild's ethos or the will of Rakdos. That said, earning this position means you're assigned to torment a particular enemy of the guild, be it an individual, a family, an organization, or even an abstract concept.

Star Performer (Renown 25)
::You've climbed the bloody ladder to stardom, and people watch in awe and terror at your performance. The Cult admires you and envies you with equal amounts, giving you a wide array of lackies (2d4 Rakdos performers and 1d4 Rakdos lampooners) that will follow you on any performance or general riot. Watch out for ambitious underlings out to "cut in", though. And Rakdos himself might show up to watch you peform, which isn't necessarily a good thing...

Ringmaster (Renown 50)
::You're the big cheese now, the greatest of the greats, a macabre mastermind of spectacles. You'll always be second banana to Rakdos, of course, but you run your own circus with the power of life and death, with a troupe of 3d10 + 20 Rakdos performers that will fight, kill and die for you, as well as the ability to summon 2d4 blood witches to aid your "performances" with their magic.

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