Chapter One: CHAOS Priests of Chaos

Chaos

Kail crept into the councilman’s home.His steps were careful and quiet.Trained by the cult ofthe Crimson Coil,Kail was unmatched as an assassin.Something felt wrong here,though.The interior ofthe house was in disarray.He entered the bedroom and saw the councilman lying dead on the floor,blood spattering the walls and bedclothes.Symbols ofchaos— the many-pointed arrow,the shattered square,the green spiral—were painted on the walls,the fresh pigments mixing with the blood in horrific drips.

Outside,Kail could hear alarm bells.How could this be? Perhaps another cult cell was involved.Nothing was sacred in the cult of deep chaos,and sometimes the factions worked at cross purposes.Maybe the cultists involved had no idea he was supposed to murder the councilman tonight.Or perhaps he had been set up.The upper echelons ofthe cult ensconced themselves in plots within plots,schemes within schemes.How could Kail hope to unravel them? He would be doing well ifhe managed to escape alive.Quickly,he crept out ofthe house and down into the shadow-filled street.

Agroup ofchildren playing can be called “chaotic.” One might very well know a person about whom one could say,“He is chaotic.” A creature,such as a storm giant, can have an alignment ofchaotic good.But from a cultist’s point ofview,chaos is far more than an interest in individuality or personal freedom.

These things are not of chaos—not according to such texts as the Book ofFaceless Hate,a key tome in the religion ofdeep chaos.Deep chaos is based on the fundamental aspects ofhate,destruction,death,and dissolution.In terms ofalignment,most adherents ofthe religion are evil as well as chaotic,although a few are chaotic neutral.Members are never chaotic good,because there is nothing “good” about this faith.From the chaos cultists’ perspective,“good” is destruction,mayhem,disaster,and slaughter.

The philosophy ofchaos is one ofchange.It teaches that the current world is a creation oforder and structure. However,this creation was flawed from the beginning due to lack offoresight or a misunderstanding ofwhat living creatures really needed.The gods ofcreation—gods of order—are untouchable and unknowable.They are aloof and uncaring,says the teaching ofdeep chaos.

Mortals follow the example oftheir creators and build rigid, inflexible,and uncaring societies based on the unyielding code oflaw and order.These laws,however,stifle the needs ofliving creatures.They reward the many and punish the few or the individual,which is diametrically opposed to the way it ought to be.The individual who embraces chaos has a right to true freedom:to do and to take anything and everything he wants.Society should not oppress the individual—the individual should oppress society.The enlightened shall prey upon the masses.It is good to murder,torture,and destroy others,for they are flawed in their creation,betrayed by their creators.

But society makes it difficult,ifnot impossible,to do this.The will ofthe many stomps on the will ofthe few, regardless oftheir enlightenment.The gods ofchaos will change all ofthat,however.They will bring with them change—in the form offire,destruction,and anarchy, murder,pestilence,and terror.They will set things aright by bringing an end to everything that is wrong about the world.The faithful,the enlightened,will be rewarded in the coming realm ofutter chaos.

The ultimate secret ofdeep chaos,one that many cultists never learn,is that its final design is the complete destruction ofthe world.The faithful will be rewarded with death and destruction,just like everyone else.They may just last a little longer than others.

There are chaotic gods and gods ofevil,demon gods and powerful demon princes that embody the tenets ofdeep chaos.However,the real Lords ofChaos,who were present at the creation ofthe universe and called it flawed,are the dark gods known to themselves as the Galchutt.For more about them,see Chapter Six:Masters ofChaos.

Priests of Chaos

The leaders ofthis vile religion,the shepherds ofthis abhorrent flock,are some of the most malevolent mortals who have ever lived.They enjoy murder and revel in injustice.They gain strength in order to oppress the weak. They see beauty in change and destruction;they love fire and other dangerous energies.

These individuals surround themselves with the tools ofmurder and destruction

Chaotic Alignment

But my character sheet says “chaotic!” PCs do not need to be lawful in alignment to oppose the church of chaos. This is not “chaos” as defined in the Player’s Handbook simply taken to its ultimate extreme. This is chaos and evil woven together. These are people who want to bring about the end of the world. The cults of chaos are cults of madness. Someone who is chaotic good or even chaotic neutral does not have to side with them any more than a lawful paladin is compelled to admire a dictator. In your campaign, when the PCs first hear about the cults of chaos, it might be interesting for a while if chaotic-aligned characters wanted to find out more about them, thinking they might like to join. However, it should become clear very quickly that they do not. Even sane chaotic evil characters in your campaign may find the cults of chaos something they wish to oppose.