So what do we do 'til the stars are right?

          

        Cults are standard fantasy fare. Everyone knows the image of the huddled procession or circle of hooded folk, wielding strangely shaped daggers and muttering in a bizarre tongue. Though a mainstay, it makes for somewhat predictable results: the heroes kill the head priest, save the innocent folks about to be sacrificed and then chase the rest of the muttering cultist into the hills. No one generally questions *why* the cultists are attempting to summon some eldritch horror, only that their belief somehow necessitates that they do so. The reality is somewhat different, Cults were and are simply religions, often smaller or more localized and the term often finds it's least controversial use in describing the mysteries of the ancient world. Cults weren't necessarily always explicitly religious even - there were civic cults that were dedicated to venerating certain professions or families for instance - but there were certainly dangerous, even hostile faiths.

          Seventh in my series to produce a city on the fly with nothing but dice rolls. The goal of these tables is to give verisimilitude to various religions in your game beyond simply the worship of a specific deity or abstract concept; it is focused on extreme or otherwise new or exotic faiths. Roll 4d8 and then resolve any subsequent d4 rolls as noted. I do not want to wade into the morass that is the study of modern cults, so while this table could potentially be used to generate such things, it wasn't my focus during development.

d8	What kind of Cult is this?
1	Based around a single charismatic individual.
2	A mainline faith, pushed to extremes.
3	A new faith or mystery, perhaps from a far away land or inspired locally.
4	Hereditary in nature, passed along family lines or just a single gender.
5	Keeps to the old one(s).
6	A secret society, or another form of cryptic organization.
7	Decadent and listless, the members of this cult are in it for the thrill.
8	A doomsday cult, these folk believe that the world is ending soon, if not any day.

d8	What are they trying to accomplish?
1	A genuine exploration of their beliefs and inspirations. Note that this could still have negative connotations.
2	Summoning something, like a(n)...1) Aberration, 2) Fiend, 3) People from the Past/Future/Another Dimension, 4) Celestial.
3	Upheaval of the status quo or current government.
4	Engaging in some act unpalatable to the rest of society, like...1) Cannibalism, 2) Proscribed sexual acts, 3) Excessive drug or alcohol use, 4) Fight Club.
5	The death of some important figure, or more broadly, a faction.
6	The destruction of a rival faith, or any other faith.
7	Support and enrichment of it's members, whether that be through legal or illegal means.
8	Exploitation of it's members; roll again and ignore this result if rolled again. The second result is what they tell to new recruits.

d8	Where is their membership drawn from?
1	Ne'er do wells; criminals, beggars & transients.
2	The elite of society.
3	Working class folk, the salt of the earth.
4	All walks of life
5	Racially, culturally or ethnically exclusive.
6	A certain profession, such as fisher folk, merchants or farmers.
7	An isolated or otherwise insular folk.
8	Those who have been brainwashed, chosen or ensorcelled in some way.

d8	How do they operate?
1	Out in the open. They are passive, and unwilling to commit violence - unless their faith requires it.
2	Openly, with hostility and great abandon.
3	Clandestinely, with a vicious streak towards any who stumble upon them.
4	Covertly, those who discover them are met with bribes, cajoling and religious arguments.
5	The cult attempts to masquerade as a more pedestrian organization.
6	They recruit openly locally, but their true home is somewhere far away and hidden.
7	Through a cellular structure, each cell is kept ignorant of what the other is doing, but there is a secret architect lurking somewhere.
8	Coordinated through dreams, they move seemingly without communication.