Cults of the Dragon Below
| Cults of the Dragon Below | ||
|---|---|---|
| Varies | ||
| Alignment | 3E/5E: Neutral Evil 4E: Chaotic Evil |
|
| Pantheon | Eberron | |
| Portfolio | Aberrations, conquest, darkness, glory, insanity | |
| Domains | Cavern, Corruption, Darkness, Dragon Below, Earth, Evil, Greed, Madness, Pact, Pain, Pestilence, Summonner | |
| Worshippers | Insane beings, power hungry, aberrations | |
| Favoured Weapon | Heavy pick | |
The Cults of the Dragon Below are the myriad cults associated with, and devoted to, Eberrons underdark, Khyber.
Origins
After the Gatekeepers stopped the incursion from Xoriat and released the goblins and orcs from their slavery, they found out that the madness of daelkyr rule had irrevocably scarred them, and they dreamed of the mad cities as paradises. This went on for generations until they found themselves worshipping their enslavers. The cults came to their current forms as humans came to the Shadow Marches, where most of them were concentrated, and brought their own perspectives and legends to these cults.
The various cults
There's very little that unifies the cults, aside from their connections to Khyber and the belief that the world is an imperfect place, and they disappear just as suddenly as they appear. Some are people worshipping beings from Khyber or the daelkyr, others believe in a paradise within it, some are unified by a shared madness, others are in it for the power, some don't even worship the daelkyr but create elaborate fantasies to justify their faith, and others are just roving murderers.
The Closed Circle
When the city of Sharn was built, the Closed Circle was one of the three wizard circles that existed there. Their main interest was in studying the lore of the daelkyr and soon begun developing ties to the cults. In time however the other two circles found out about their activities and a war ensued between them, ending with the Closed Circles defeat and the sealing of their fortress. Eventually however, an Illithid, alongside a small force of aberrations from Khyber escaped and has begun building a following among the humans of Khyber's Gate, helped by the many and powerful relics found in their citadel.
Cults of the Inner Sun
These cults believe in the paradise called Vale of the Inner Sun and that the only way to enter is to spill enough blood before dying to gain entry. Some believe, correctly, kinda, that the vale is a physical place located within Khyber. It technically is, since the only way to reach it is through Khyber, but it's a different plane all together. It is a place where the physical laws don't function, and overhead shines an orb of light, shifting through various colors. Staying here however isn't recommended, since the light slowly transforms all beings in the vale to various aberrations.
Cults of Slime
Cults of Slime are focused on worship of the daelkyr Kyrzin, who hold dominion on slimes. Though to most make offerings to him out fear, there are those who genuinely worship him as a benevolent god, as mold and lichen found in slime is an important source of food and medicine to some tribes in the Shadow Marches.
There are also the gibbering clans, or Gibberers, families that cultivate gibbering beasts, that mouthpieces of Kyrzin to them, and ritually sacrifice old or sick family members to them, believing that they will forverer live inside the beings. Many of their members have wild eyes and can fall in to ecstatic babbling trance, and their priests spend hours each day listening to the beings for words from their elders and Kyrzin.
Most active of the cults are those ruled by Kyrzin's brain-bored agents, who often make the worshippers ingest psychoactive molds to drive them to wild fervor and passions, with goals that rarely make sense.