A cult for our purposes is any organization patronized by a godlike being of great power. Power so great that part of its patronage involves granting tokens of that power to its followers, usually in the form of magical traits or spells.

Patrons

Whether the patron sought out a cult or the cult sought out a patron, the patron has more of an outsized influence on the cult than the cult does on the patron. History is rife with examples of a gentle cult being misled by a patron into becoming monstrous over time.

In spite of that, patrons do depend on their cult. Patrons generally inhabit the Unseen, and such entities cannot come to the Seen without being called. So it is that the cult acts like a lens through which the power and directives of the patron are interpreted. Without the cult, the patron would eventually die or be unable to act on the Seen.

The power and domains of a patron have the most overt mechanical effect on their cult, but the personality and ambitions of the patron also matter. To receive power from the patron, one must further the patron's agenda and assure the patron of their overt loyalty... or at least dependence. Remember that everything in this world was, or at least was once, a human being. Some patrons are less deific than might be hoped.

Power

Not all patrons are created equal. Some patrons are simply stronger or weaker than their counterparts, some are outright subservient or in some sort of formal vassal relationship with other patrons.

Depending on the culture, the power of patrons - and beings from the Unseen in general - are titled differently.

Rank	Souls	Nostrum	Westfalian	Elven
1st	100,000+	High God	Kaiser (Emperor)	Aureum (Golden)
2nd	10,00	God(dess)	Konig (King)	Argenteus (Silvery)
3rd	1,000	Greater Angel	Erzherzog (Archduke)	Ferrum (Iron)
4th	200	Lesser Angel	Herzog (Duke)	Dominus (Master)
5th	100	Greater Spirit	Graf (Count)	Magus (Mage)
6th	50	Lesser Spirit	Ritter (Knight)	Debutant

Domains

Areas of influence and power that the patron has. So two patrons with a fire domain would both be able to grant powers or spells related to fire to their followers, while unless they had a domain related to the cold as well they could not grant powers related to freezing things.

Cultists

Unless a Patron is already on the Seen, which is rarely the case, they cannot interact with the physical world whatsoever without being first called upon or invoked. This can be through runes, if those runes have not already been claimed by another higher power, or it can just be through calling upon powers already granted.

Becoming a cultist is different depending on each cult. Each cult will have its own initiation ritual.

Every cultist will have a nested trait, representing their status within the cult of and boons from their patron. The name of the trait changes with each rank, e.g. when one progresses from initiate to neophyte.

Ranks

The gods play favorites, just like everyone else. The more favored a servant, the greater the powers granted them. The ranks are gated behind certain point requirements. While these can be granted during events or as fiat by a DM, typically progression through a cult is by accruing points. These points are the measure of how much tangible work the cultist has accomplished on behalf of the patron, and when one passes the threshold from one rank to another they should tag a DM so they can handle what that rankup experience is like.

Note that only certain patrons can have cultists of a certain rank. A second rate patron can only sustain cultists of up to Neophyte rank. If those Neophytes want to garner more power, then they will either have to jump ship to a different patron or figure out a way to empower theirs.

Initiate - 0 points.
The lowest servant of a patron, initiates have only just undergone their initiation ritual.
- Initiates gain nothing from their association with the cult yet, except for whatever their initiation ritual may have done to them.

Neophyte - 100 points.
A cultist who has performed some minor service for their patron.
- They may learn a weak spell, or be given some minor boon as part of their trait.

Follower - 250 points.
Generally a cultist who has been in service to the patron for some time, accustomed to the principles of their cult.
- They may learn a few weak spells, have a few minor boons, or have one moderately powerful boon.

Adept - 500 points.
A leader in the cult, or an especially devoted follower.
- They might have a cornucopia of weak abilities, a few moderately powerful ones, or one distinctly powerful signature ability.

Paladin - 1,000 points.
A true devotee of their patron, or someone so useful to the patron that their cynicism doesn't matter.
- A paladin might have several moderately powerful options, or a very limited selection of powerful signature abilities.

Exalt - 3,000 points.
The most trusted and powerful servants of their patron.
- The abilities of an exalt are the stuff of legend, far surpassing any other cultist.

Progression

This is a nonexhaustive list of all the ways a character can further the agenda of their patron. There will always be more ways to do so than can be articulated as a list, so don't feel constrained to what's on this list when thinking of ways to progress within a cult.

Public Sermon | 25

Contribution By Deed | 20
Physically participating in some mission in furtherance of the patron's agenda. There must be some risk to the contribution, this cannot be something as simple as helping to organize a peaceful festival or the like.

Contribution By Offering | Varies
A contribution in material resources to some mission. It may be in the form of equipment, money, personnel, or anything else with a value. For every 100 pence in value contributed, they gain 1 point.

Acts of Fellowship | 50
Orchestrating an event meant to foster the bonds of fellowship between members of the cult, whether that be reinforcing existing bonds of friendship or reconciling a potential rift.

Oath of Inaction | 50
Making an oath by their true name that they will never perform a certain actions under certain conditions, relevent to their cult and patron. Not only is willingly violating such an oath impossible, if they manage to do so anyway they will be under penance.

Oath of Action | 100
Making an oath by their true name that they will always perform certain actions under certain conditions, relevent to their cult and patron. Not only is willingly violating such an oath impossible, if they manage to do so anyway they will be under penance.

Punish Apostate | 200
Meeting out significant harm against someone who abandoned or betrayed the cult in the past.

Penance

When a character is under penance, they lose access to all of their cult-derived magic, and any positive effects of their cultist trait are rescinded. When this penance comes into effect, conditions will be given for lifting it, depending on the circumstance.

Excommunication

A character who has so thoroughly broke with the cult as to be barred from it in perpetuity. They forever lose all connection with their patron, and may even be hunted down by the cult.