Cults of the World Between I: Mater Pestilencia

While the religions discussed in the first Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque book encompass the mainstream spiritual practices of the World Between, each faith also exists as a series of cults that worship particular aspects of a given deity. These cults might be harmless splinter sects or they might be foul, dangerous coteries who worship only the most warped and hideous aspects of the god they serve. Since the former type is rather boring for gaming purposes, only the latter is described in this series.

The Cult of Mater Pestilencia – the cult of Mater Pestilencia worships a female aspect of Sluurge, Demon Lord of Disease. In the guise of Mater Pestilencia, Sluurge is depicted as a thin, leprous woman whose open sores leak a frightful ichor. Among members of this fell cult it is considered a mark of devotion to Mater Pestilencia to cut one's body and allow the wound to fester until it reaches a gangrenous state. Worshipers of Mater Pestilencia believe that their faith in their demonic master will prevent the gangrene from poisoning their blood; those who die of their wounds are judged to have been creatures of little faith. Seemingly average folk have been known to join this cult for two primary reasons: firstly, they give their devotion to Mater Pestilencia in times of plague in hopes that they will be spared the sweep of contagion; secondly, those who wish to see their foes stricken with disease pray to Mater Pestilencia to visit their enemies with horrific wasting illnesses. Beings frequently summoned by this cult include mongrelmen, satyrs, otyughs, and plague spirits.