Do you hear them?

I do, voices, more then voices, screams and calls from beings that lay far beyond our world, beyond the edge of time, they existed before your gods you know. And they help me they guide me telling me what to do, for they know more then all things more then there is to know. When this world ends when time ends they will still be here, even as your gods die, they will still be here, so why should I not follow that which is always that which is eternal?

            For many the alien powers and ancient evils represent either a goal to be achieved or an intelligence that is more tangible, or greater then any other power. For others these things are a way to escape their ordinary lives, to become a part of something truly great. For others still there is great power and wealth to be had by helping ultra-powerful beings, and the risks, and cruelties required are merely the price needed to obtain such power.

 

            Alien cults are different from either abomination cults or cults built up to ancient powers. For these cults worship mortal beings that may seem, or even have become immortal, that have come from distant planets. For these beings the interest in the planet on which the cultists live is likely superficial at best, for them the planet is often nothing more then resources, a scientific experiment, or some vast game on which to turn their minds. Certainly for abominations many of these things are true with regards to the worlds peoples, but abominations that reside on the material world of the mortals have a vested interest in the world as it is the place of their birth and likely their death.

            For aliens however the world is normally a stopping point, a place of interest far from their real home, indeed such a world may be merely one of many hundreds or thousands that the aliens have visited. So for them the world itself could be of very little importance. While this could have disadvantages for the cultist following the alien powers as they may find themselves the victims of experimentation, or a vanished deity, it can also have advantages. For the alien powers might have long term plans for the planet, as a place to gather resources, or conduct research. In such cases the aliens might not have the capability or interest in carrying out an extensive campaign on every planet they visit, and so may need proxies to carry out many of their goals for them.

            The cult of the alien could act as these proxies, helping representative aliens, and doing their bidding, in return for alien help primarily in the form of technology. The mortals would then be free to use this technology however they desired, after all the aliens have no plans for the planet, nor to they care what happens to anything or anyone on it.

 

            The Red Moon Syndicate

 

            A secret order that is aware of the alien powers with interests in the world, and chooses to act as a power broker for them, supplying them with what they need in return for technology, magic, and precious materials, at least the upper members of the syndicate do. There are many lower members however who are made to believe that they are following the will of great beings. For this cults leaders draw on those who feel alone, and misunderstood, giving them a place to belong, to gain some form of acceptance, power, and on occasion revenge. In this way the Red Moon Syndicate is in truth dozens of small cults, all with differing views and goals. For these cults the aliens whisper the secrets of life and death, of hope and reality, some find belonging among the aliens, other cults are set to provide answers that are more easy to understand, some however provide revenge, revenge against those the cultist feel have wronged them.

 

            Many of the cultists are intelligent, helping to earn money for the syndicate that secretly runs them, though more then simply labor but also through intelligence, psionics, and magic. Others are used to do tasks, such as helping stir discord, and create distractions as needed. Still others become sacrifices to be used to build up the syndicates power as they commit suicide willingly giving up their strength to the syndicate and its members.

            The majority of the cultists however act as agents for the syndicate, helping them perform unsavory deeds so that if discovered the leaders will be free from blame and remain undiscovered. Because of this many of the cultists are driven mad by contact with aliens and alien powers so that they may be more easily manipulated, and will not question, or at times even remember what they are doing.

 

            The leaders of the syndicate themselves are never drawn from the ranks of the cultists below them, for they are intelligent humans, who knew exactly what they wanted and where able to discover the means to get it for themselves. As these individual obtain small levels of success on their own they are approached by the syndicate. Counting among its rank great wizards, false clerics, merchants, and nobles the syndicate is a cold calculating entity which uses powerful alien technologies and occasionally alien help along with the cultist to get their desires. If for instance they need to broker a better trade deal they will use alien technologies to manipulate the minds of those they are negotiating with, or they may kill or weaken their competition. One of their largest goals however is simply to have immortality, and it is to this end that most of their work goes, for they make themselves live longer, gain items to defend themselves, and even make copies of themselves which can be sent to the far corners of the planet, or even to other planets as needed.

 

 

Hunojung Dezri

 

            A wealthy and powerful merchant, who’s family went bankrupt after he had started attending the finest schools. He was called home to help pull his family out of debt so that although he wanted to become a scholar rather then a business men but his families finances would not allow it so he studied on his own. It was in the course of his personal studies that he began to read on the alien powers, and he became transfixed with the idea of them.

            It was during this time that he was married by arrangement to a traveling girl who’s family owned a large caravan. He was then sent to travel the world in order to help barter and build both his and the girls families wealth. This however gave him more opportunities to study different experiences with aliens the world over.

            As he began to find some success within the business world he spent his money to find one of the alien powers, much to the fury of his family. One of those he had hired made contact one morning, and got an offer. Knowledge of secret psionic magic in return for a place and people to conduct experiments on. Hunojung bought some slaves and had a secret underground lab built for this purpose.

            Shortly there after the Syndicate of the Red Moon contacted him and offered him a seat within their order, riches, and immortality. With the syndicates help he became head of the caravans operations, so that he could travel the world collecting alien artifacts, and contacts, as will as followers from around the globe. He has many powerful items, including both magical, psionic, and technological which make him a very powerful opponent. Most of the time however he will provide trusted serpents with these items in order to have them do his killing for him.

            More recently he has begun using his knowledge to give him access to Creation Spells, as a Fabricast he is quickly rising through the social class of the world and through the ranks of the syndicate, it is his goal to one day use his knowledge to create his own world which he will populate and rule as he sees fit.

 

Hunojung Dezri: Male Human 6 Scholar/3 wizard/ 5 fabricast; CR 13; HD 6d6 plus 8d4 hp 41; Init ; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +5; Grp +5; Atk +5 melee (rapier), familiar benefits, AL NE; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +10; Str 10, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 20, Wis 15, Cha 14. Age 44, Height 5 ft. 9 in, Weight 144 lb.; Patron Deity Alien Powers.

Skills and Feats: Diplomacy 15, Bluff 10, Knowledge Astronomy 13, Knowledge Heal 15, Knowledge Alien 16, Knowledge Arcane 14, Knowledge Physics 14, Knowledge Cognitive Psychology 15, Knowledge Planes 13, Knowledge Mathematics 14, Knowledge Alchemy 15, Spell Crafting 21.