Chaos Cults of Darokin City

artist unknown, source

Darokin City is the capital city and most populous of the Republic of Darokin. It has about 54,000 folks residing and many more visiting from both other cities of Darokin and outside of the great nation. The vast majority of the inhabitants are law-abiding and well-intentioned. They might be financially minded, perhaps even greedy, but that's just Darokin for you. But the rot of Chaos has long-reaching tendrils and Darokin City is certainly within reach. Among the population there are those to whom Chaos has a dangerous appeal, and a number of twisted Chaos cults have established themselves in the city. None of the major merchant houses of Darokin are completely taken over, but a number of high-ranking merchants belonging to the houses have thrown their lot in with the forces of darkness - they will often try to influence the decisions and actions of their merchant houses to further both their own aims and also those of Chaos. Few cultists have joined because they believe that Chaos is good for the rest of the world - the vast majority of these have joined for selfish reasons. Ambition, magical power, wealth, pleasures of the flesh, vengeance, anger and sadism can all draw people to cults and philosophies that encourage these traits and motives. 

The Black Rabbits

The Black Rabbits is the seemingly innocuous name for an exclusive club renowned for its extravagant parties for the rich and famous of Darokin City. It is based in the Bunny Warren, a high-class hotel and venue for feasts and balls. The Black Rabbits have various levels of membership - the higher in the hierarchy (or as insiders say, the deeper into the warren), the pleasures get more extreme and the secrets get darker. The first level is access to civilized parties and soires, hosted either at the Bunny Warren or sometimes senior members stately homes. The second level gives access to sex parties and courtesans, often accompanied by plenty of alcohol and other stimulants. The third is where some serious vetting takes place, including interviews with senior members and tests of loyalty. But once at the third level it becomes clear that there are links to a chaotic patron, known only as the Shadowy Princesss. This is actually a Chaos Princess originally Vestallia the Lewd, a chaotic cleric from over a century ago who not only had wild tastes in pleasure but also  enjoyed recruiting and corrupting others to join her decadent way of life. The final fourth level in the Black Rabbits involves joining in with rituals to worship the Shadowy Princess, which cannot be described on this page. The Black Rabbits may not seem an immediate danger but they are capable of bribing, influencing and blackmailing many people in power. And anyone kidnapped for use in their dark rituals will face a terrible fate. 

Senior members of the Black Rabbits include:

• Yevlin Mauntea (human male MU5/Merch5, align C): Cousin of the current Chancellor, socialite and renowned bon-viveur and playboy. Yevlin is the cult leader.
• Tamara Vanathis (human female, Th7, align C): Madam and manager of several brothels in Darokin City.  She is an expert in blackmail and extortion. 
• Paulia Franich (human female, C5, align C): Disowned niece of the head of Franich house, who disgraced her family and now lives with Tamara. Paulia is the cult's chief cleric, philosopher and proselytizer. 

The Bloody Shanks

The Bloody Shanks are violent street criminals who have a big grudge against rich people. In some ways they might seem quite left-wing but they don't really care about social justice or the downtrodden - they are just envious that other people are rich and they are determined to take the wealth by force. The Bloody Shanks have a core membership of 30 members, and have a number of affiliated street gangs. Nearly all are working class, and many are thieves and fighters. The clerics among them denounce the rich, especially merchants, as all evil bastards who deserve to die and are too weak to hold onto their money. Some of the members do have legitimate grievances against certain wealthy individuals, but they will take their anger out on any member of the merchant class or nobility. The Inner Circle are devoted worshippers of Chaos. Although most of the Bloody Shanks are scattered among the tenements and slums of the dirtier parts of Darokin City, the headquarters is believed to be underneath a slaughterhouse. Every full moon a human sacrifice takes place - preferably a hated merchant, though they will make do with anyone, including the street thug who was supposed to kidnap a merchant but botched it. It incentivizes other cultists to do better next time.  Unlike some other cults described here the City Watch has some awareness of the Bloody Shanks though they are currrently seen as a particularly nasty street gang rather than a cult of Chaos - bloody robbery-murders especially those with gratuitous violence are a recognised modus operandi of this group. It is ironic, and certainly kept from most of the Bloody Shanks, that the accumulated loot from these robberies has actually made the inner circle quite rich. What the rank and file would think of this if they knew is uncertain. 

Senior members of the Bloody Shanks include:

• Golfrak the Angry (human male, C10, align C): Often mistaken for a fighter, he is a hulking brute with a horrible anger-management issue. Other cultists are quite rightly terrified of him. 
• Galnish Shivblade (halfling male halfling scout 6, align C):  Although a vicious little bastard, Galnish still finds himself being the reasonable one compared to Golfrak and often has to deal with issues and messes caused by Golfrak's rages. 
• Melshia Megs (human female, T6, align C): Melshia has considerable skill as a thief and also has contacts with various gangs around the city. Unlike Golfrak she is far more motivated by avarice - she tends to kill only when they are in the way of her getting rich.  

The Lords in Scarlet

art by Roman Anokhin, source

The Lords in Scarlet are those who use forbidden Chaotic magic to gain power, both arcane and political. They are mostly magic-users, include a number of Twisted Summoners. Their social backgrounds vary - there are some from the great merchant houses while others are from humbler homes. But they are all very ambitious - money, power, magic and influence are all the driving forces behind this cult. The Lords in Scarlet take a long-term view of their plans - obviously it is nice if they gain a promotion, or access to new spells, but their eventual goal is to infiltrate and control the upper echelons of Darokin City, including the government, the merchant houses, the army, the diplomatic service and other institutions. They also seek to undermine and discredit those organisations and individuals they cannot win over - lawful churches in particular. There are 20 regular members of the Lords in Scarlet - at their official meetings they wear red robes and red masks over their faces so as to grant some anonymity, though the well-established members have worked out who each other are, and some know each other because of how they were recruited and initiated. Some members and associates of the Lords in Scarlet are not whole-heartedly devoted to Chaos - they see joining this cult as more of a means to an end, a way of acquiring more power, money and influence. The cult leaders take this in their stride - it is why most of them joined in the first place.     

Senior members of the Lords in Scarlet include:

• Carnex Callidon (human male, MU10/Merch5, align C): A senior merchant of Pennydown House though not a family member. Carnex is fascinated by magic and how it can manipulate people, and he will do what it takes to acquire more spells and items. He is the cult leader. 
• Altharzius Brune (human male, F6, align C): A captain in the III Legion 1st Army, he is often looking out for opportunities to recruit for the cult within the army. He is of course ambitious and thinks he ought to be a Colonel by now.   
• Yebbedi (human female, TwSum10, align C): Yebbedi is a visiting professor of zoology and monster studies at Darokin College. She has bought a mansion outside the city where strange growls and howls can be heard at night. She is also the cult's political strategist 

Other chaotic groups of Darokin City

The Syndicate is not a cult in itself but is a gathering of the most senior members of the Chaos Cults in Darokin City and further afield. This is generally to deal with disputes and avoid unnecessary conflict, which seems surprisingly civilized and reasonable given who the members are with their selfish and individualistic attitudes. But most chaos cultists have a certain amount of pragmatism and self-preservation - few are crazy enough to deliberately pick fights with other cultists when they have enough problems with lawful authorities. But the Syndicate is believed to have tipped off both lawful churches in Darokin and the City Guard to a particularly violent cult (the Rabid Wolves) that was drawing unnecessary attention to itself by staging gladitorial combat between cultists and kidnapped citizens and then leaving the loser's body in the streets. After the cult was raided and most of the members killed or arrested, the few Rabid Wolves that escaped found out about the tip-offs and have sworn vengeance on all other chaos cultists.

The Syndicate (and some other cult members) are aware of other chaotic cultists in other cities and even other nations, including one with a dungeon in the pirate port of Vlaad in Ierendi, one in Penhaligon and even one in Castellan Keep (the Keep on the Borderlands). Futhermore the leaders have occasionally visited Derothgar the fortress of Chaos in the Orc lands and although they are not direct subordinates of Baelforg the Soulripper they readily acknowledge his superiority and power.

There are other smaller cults in Darokin both in the city and in the wider nation. Some stay as secretive as possible, a few try to become big enough to demand a seat at the Syndicate's table. A few leave Darokin City (perhaps after being threatened by the Syndicate or found out by the City Guard)  - Akorros and Athenos are both home to chaotic cults that have fled Darokin City.