Page 78 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

I NSIDE THE CULT
As one of Ravoica's original guild founders, the demon
Rakdos has been part of Ravnica for millennia. Mem-
bers of other guilds know Rakdos through his reputa-
tion for capricious cruelty and megalomania, but those
CULT OF RAKDOS who join the guild idolize him for his magnetic presence,
which inspires art and encourages utter wantonness.
jACE WALKED INTO THE RA.Koos CLUB, PUSHING INTO Because Rakdos finds destruction entertaining, his cult-
a wall of scents and sounds. The ceilings were surprisingly ists incorporate deadly acts into their performances in
high inside, draped with banners and spiked chains. An hopes of catching his eye and earning his favor.
Stages for Rakdos performances appear on streets
impish creature hooted as it dangled from a high wire while
and plazas throughout Ravnica every night, and they're
a man in leather chaps swallowed orbs of fire and breathed gone by morning-carried to and fro on the backs of
them back out through his snaggly teeth. Scarred. black- giants. Permanent establishments that cater to dark de-
scaled drakes fought viciously in cages that swung from the sires are tucked away in the seediest neighborhoods of
the city, such as the Smelting Quarter in Precinct Six of
ceiling, and the stink of sweat and singed flesh wafted from
the Tenth District.
adjoining alcoves. Against the wall stood an enormous sen-
try, somewhere along the spectrum between rotund man GOALS OF THE RAKDOS
and compact giant, dressed in what looked like the motley The Cult of Rakdos is centered on a demon lord who ex-
emplifies the concepts of chaos and evil. At its worst, the
of a harlequin jester crossed with barbed wire.
cult is driven by a lust for power, extreme selfishness,
- Doug Beyer, Return to Ravnica: The Secretist and a lack of compassion. Cultists take delight in caus-
ing pain to others to make sure they know their place,
Tomorrow is an illusion; everything is ridiculous. Mem- which is subservient to the powerful adherents of this
bers of the Cult of Rakdos have witnessed the grandiose self-centered philosophy.
speeches and self-important plans of other guilds and The cult's chaotic nature fuels its passion, impulsive-
concluded that their rivals take themselves far too seri- ness, and obsession with freedom. A guild of unbridled
ously. Since death comes for everyone, and since order hedonism, it does what it wants, driven by base desires
tends inevitably toward chaos, the Rakdos believe that and a strong streak of cruelty.
unrestrained, moment-to-moment hedonism is the only The Cult of Rakdos was originally recognized as a
sane way to live. Of course, few other Ravnicans would guild as part of an effort to channel the impulses of
describe the Rakdos as sane. demons, giants, ogres, and humans into an acceptable
The CuJt of Rakdos bears the name of the demon lord direction. That effort has never been completely suc-
who founded it. As laid out in the Guildpact, the guild cessful. Now, as tension builds in Ravnica and several
was intended to fill roles concerning entertainment, guilds attempt to crack down on chaos and criminal
mining, and manual labor. Some argue that any effort activity, the Rakdos cult reacts to this building pressure
to give a demonic cult a respectable role in society was with increasing violence.
doomed to failure, but the cult remains part of Ravnica's The Cult of Rakdos already serves a megalomania-
social fabric nevertheless. The Guildpact prohibits the cal demon of chaos, so its members have no interest
cult's extermination, and its entertainments-even as in seeing any other ambitious figure achieve supreme
dark and destructive as they are- hold broad appeal. rulership over Ravnica. They fear that any other guild
From rowdy mobs who love to see the Rakdos skewer might gain enough power to overwhelm all the others
the powerful elites to decadent socialites who come to and impose its own values on everyone. For this rea-
the Rakdos for illicit amusements, most ofRavnica's son, they focus their efforts on subverting other guilds'
people don't really want the Rakdos to go away, as much schemes, by undermining popular and powerful leaders
as they might publicly protest otherwise.

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