Not all servants of the Wyrm act in the corporate world or the Umbra. Some are old-fashioned mortals that have fallen into a religious cult that worships dark forces that are aspects of the Wyrm - in most cases the Maeljin, but some especially powerful dedicate themselves to one of the heads of the Triadic Wyrm directly.
Overview[]
Cults are a dangerous threat, particularly because they are often overlooked and underestimated when compared to the legions of Fomori and Black Spiral Dancers or the machinations of Pentex. In contrast to the Weaver, who finds most humans too unpredictable for much use, and the Wyld, which is too chaotic for a coherent religious system, the Wyrm eagerly draws those who desire dark secrets into its ranks. Not two cults are exactly alike, but all share the similarity that they draw otherwise normal people into the service of a spiritual entity of corruption.
In the modern age, some of these cults incorporate technology, with a few radicals even basing their rites around spirits of cyber-corruption. So-called “cyber cults” demonstrate that the Wyrm’s talons can reach even into the digital world. Nowhere is safe in the final days. Their weapons include viruses, targeted hacks, and machines plagued by technical issues that sap the user’s patience more every day.
Not all Cults that reek of the Wyrm are actually dedicated to the Wyrm. Some have no ideas of the existence of spiritual forces, but their activities draw Banes that feast on the deeds of the cultists. Many claim to serve some dark power or another, but in the end, their actions benefit the Wyrm.
Known Cults[]
- Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon, a Victorian era Cult formed from an interpretation of Black Spiral theology, a Masonic-style society with twisted bacchanalia and some hedge magicians, died out in the early 1900s
- The Seventh Generation, a cult dedicated to the Defiler Wyrm, aimed to continue cycles of abuse by perpetuating sexual violence against children, recently uprooted by Jonas Albrecht
- The Mouth of Vorax, a cult dedicated to "Vorax", a demon (in reality, the Urge-Wyrm Vorus), centered around ritual cannibalism
- The Cult of Despair, a cult dedicated to the Nameless Angel of Despair, an umbrella term for a number of cults and fringe groups that have committed mass suicide in her name
- Free Earth Armed Resistance (F.E.A.R), a cult of violent eco-terrorists which bring the aims of helping the environment or otherwise supporting the Gaian cause into disrepute, founded through the machinations of a Black Spiral Dancer who exposed humans to the pain of Gaia to drive them mad and into religious fervor
- The Silver Keys, a cult centered around the U.S prison system, cooperating with Pentex to bring the inmates in the thrall of the Wyrm
- The Pretanic Order, a secret society around the study of the occult tome The Pretanic Keys, active since the Victorian era, revering the Wyrm as a force of freedom
- Halimar Heights City Council, the city council of the town of Halimar in the Rocky Mountains, dedicated to fight the Fera by hunting their animal Kin and their servants in exchange for Bane protection
- WebWorks, a cyber-cult of the Wyrm, dedicated to free it from its imprisonment by the Weaver by spreading Wyrm-taint online to weaken mortals enough to become prey to Bane possession
Supernatural beings[]
To the Garou, Revenant families, the strange religion of the Followers of Set, cults set up by Nephandi and similar sinister mages, Spectre cults dedicated to Oblivion, the secret Cults of the Earthbound and the Fallen, and several other groups instinctively reek of the Wyrm. This is for the most part because these cultists either associate with beings that are classified as Wyrm-tainted; or their actions create enough misery that Banes are drawn to it. It does not mean (and, in general, it doesn't) that these supernatural beings are aware of the existence of the Wyrm or the spiritual war that is fought by the werewolves.
References[]
- WTA: Book of the Wyrm Second Edition, p. 71-72
- WTA: W20 Book of the Wyrm, p. 75-77