Cults, Cultists, and Debt

Some great points about cults in the Gauntlet review of Shadows Over Bogenhafen. Cults and cultists tend to be described as a group of people driven to reject reason and traditional morality in the service of some transcendent charisma. But the Tzeentch cultists here are driven by something else: debt and false promises. I think this is fabulous, because these are much more relatable (this is largely how capitalism works), and a path my players are quite likely to follow.

It also drives the adventure forwards: Allow the players a relatively easy way to get what they want (too easy, and may they get suspicious), but at the cost of getting captured in a debt that gets worse and worse as the terms are played out. Whatever they need, whether an obstacle removed, a magical item, or just money, there are dubious forces, both magical and secular, who will be happy to help them – for the right price. And while the first step in paying back that debt may seem not that bad, it’s often the consequences of that action where things get interesting - powerful enemies made, additional debts incurred, forces set in motion against each other, horrible powers unleashed, lives ruined, etc.

Here's a few ideas to start:
1. What do the players want?
2. Who can provide it? (Tzeentch, thieves' guild, etc.)
3. What are the powers to be set in motion?

Debt Obligations
1. Money
2. Collect material for a ritual
3. Perform a ritual
4. Collect a (dormant) source of power
5. Obtain slaves
6. Obtain/recruit warriors
7. Obtain/recruit priests
8. Deliver arms
9. Deliver information
10. Free a prisoner
11. Kidnap an individual
12. Assassinate an individual
13. Take out a military force (“bandits”)
14. Take out a political/religious organization (“bandits”)
15. Expose the identity of a secret agent (e.g. rebel leader)
16. Military sabotage (e.g. destroy the gate mechanism, spike cannons, etc.)
17. Industrial sabotage (e.g. poison or befoul the produce of a certain country or company)
18. Undermine an alliance
19. Steal an important cultural artifact
20. Destroy an important archive of knowledge

False Promises
The thing you want …
  Has been mangled, largely useless
  Given only after the reason you wanted it has expired/no longer applies
  Belongs to someone else, and they want it back
  Doesn’t do what you thought it would
  Will disappear/corrode/run out of charges soon
  Is cursed…
       Grants some debility
       Is too effective
       Recurring cost to be effective

Additional reading:  Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graber.