Redeemed Cultist (5e Background)

Redeemed Cultist

Once, you were an obedient member of a religious cult. You may have been a follower of a dark god, demon prince, twisted fey, or just power-hungry religious fanatic - that is of little importance now. What matters now is that, somehow, you found it in you to free yourself from the blind servitude and saw the error of your ways. Many innocents died by your hand - sacrificed on an altar or slain in raids. Brainwashed, drugged, or simply confused and misled you have committed crimes so heinous you could hardly ever ask for forgiveness. Nevertheless, you have left the cult determined to seek a new life. Will it be a life of virtue in a pursuit of redemption or a lonesome journey of an embittered and broken individual trying to run away from their past? Why did you join the cult in the first place? What made you see through the veil of the cult indoctrination? How have you managed to escape?

Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Religion

Weapon Proficiencies: Whip

Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit or Herbalism kit or Poisoner’s Kit

Languages: any three occult or extraplanar language of your choice

Equipment: a set of traveler's clothes, your cult’s identification mark (if any - see the table below), a dagger, a magic scroll describing a minor incantation or ritual (level 1 warlock spell of your choice, one use), a pack of candles, and a pouch containing 5gp

d6	Cult Members’ Identification
1	Markings (tattoos, scarification, branding…)
2	Self-Mutilation (fingers or ears cut off, missing eye(s), split tongue…)
3	Accessories (rings, medallions, bracelets, piercings…)
4	Clothing (distinct color or type of clothing…)
5	Language (password, phrase, cipher, non-verbal signs…)
6	Multiple layers of identification - roll twice on this table, reroll any 6s

Feature: The Black Sheep

Thanks to your long affiliation with a cult community, you can very easily identify anyone who is a member of a commune similar to your own. All cults are essentially the same and their members exhibit the same behavioral patterns. By extension, you can also easily recognize any drug addicts, compulsive liars and people with various behavioral disorders.

Additionally (this is up to you or your DM to decide), some of your former brothers and sisters in faith might not know you have defected and would be willing to provide you (and only you) with shelter and supplies. However, the question is whether you want to stay with them again.

Suggested Characteristics

d8	Personality Trait
1	My past still haunts me in my dreams. I often wake up screaming or do not sleep at all.
2	I anger quickly and I am prone to violent tantrums when someone tries to control me or give me orders.
3	Being a pawn in someone else’s game left me with an inability to make choices of my own. I am indecisive.
4	I am having second thoughts about my leaving the cult. I am afraid I could easily return to my old ways given the right circumstance.
5	Boundaries were violated time and time again in the cult until I lost sense of which boundaries were appropriate. I often behave inappropriately or in a seemingly random manner.
6	Constant feelings of shame, helplessness and inferiority make me change my mood at a moment’s notice. I suffer from mood swings or sudden emotional breakdowns.
7	I feel immense guilt over my past actions and welcome suffering as my atonement. I have little or no regard for my personal health.
8	Every day I expect to get a knife in my gut and I see vengeful assassins in every shadow. I am paranoid or suspicious of others.

d6	Ideal
1	Protective. Dark cults trifle with powers that are beyond their understanding or control. Those fools must be stopped. (lawful)
2	Nihilist. What’s the point of anything? People are insignificant and their struggle is futile. (neutral)
3	Repentant. I cannot possibly undo the wrongs I have done, but I can still try and atone. (good)
4	Anarchist. Lives of men should not be ruled by anyone. No gods, no masters! (chaotic)
5	Faithful. While our cause may be righteous, the cult's leaders are corrupt: I seek to follow my god's plans. (any)
6	Selfish. The world is doomed either way. Better make to most of it. (evil)

d6	Bond
1	When I left the cult, I took one of its relics with me. For some strange reason, I cannot part with it.
2	They were supposed to be sacrificed, I have helped them escape. Now I feel responsible for them.
3	It breaks my heart to know that my close friend, lover or family member is still a loyal follower of the cult.
4	The cult leader made me kill my old friend during the initiation. I have not forgotten that and I want revenge.
5	I cannot stand by and watch as more children and youths get turned into mindless fanatics or are exploited for someone else's personal gain.
6	No one must ever know about my involvement with the cult.

d6	Flaw
1	Sometimes, I hear voices in my head that command me to do terrible things. And sometimes, I give in.
2	I trance out and lose touch with reality. I am sometimes delusional or experience delirious states.
3	I take great solace in flagellation. The road to salvation leads through blood and self-inflicted pain.
4	Before I left, I was given a task (by the dark lord or deity, or the cult leader) that I am yet to fulfill.
5	In the cult, they fed us drugs. I am still heavily addicted and I will do anything to get a dose.
6	I dread the idea of killing another sentient creature, I have already spilled enough blood.

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