Snake Cult

"They tell me I wass taken from the Empire as a baby, but my only memories are of the Cult. I have forssaken the SSnake Cult and sshall never rejoin them. If you have fought my Cult, you know how sskilled at arms we Priestesses are." – Alyssa

Introduction

An evil cult threatening to corrupt the Empire and indeed all of Pendor, the Snake Cult tends to reside entirely within the Empire. Their corrupting influence could be considered the main evil Pendor must rally against.

This terrifying cult consists of individuals who worship the horrifying god Azi Dahaka. They practice human sacrifice and often dress and arm themselves with snake-inspired armor. To make matter worse, it has been rumored that some of the Empire nobles are devoted worshipers of the cult.

Their faction color is darkgreen.

Troops

Troop Tree
Tier	Common Upgradeable	Special
1st	Snake Cult Follower	Dread Legion Infantry - Devoured - Serpent Priestesses - Anaconda Knight - Fallen Melitine Noble - Azi Dahaka Serpent Priestess - Asp Vanguard
2nd	Snake Cult Armsman
3rd	Cobra Warrior

Normal troops can be captured and recruited from prisoner stacks, and one upgrades to the next. Special troops can't be captured (as they will always die upon being defeated) nor have an upgrade path.

Snake Cult Followers are a pathetic unit on par with peasantry, dangerous only by their large numbers. Far more dangerous are the equally numerous Snake Cult Armsmen, who pack Heavy Crossbow with Steel Bolts and polearms. Though not very skilled, their comparatively good equipment can make them a threat to cavalry and isolated units. Followers upgrade into Armsmen, who can then upgrade into Cobra Warriors, heavily armored horsemen who repeat the Armsmen's trend of having good equipment but poor training. Their most powerful cavalry are Anaconda Knights, inhuman warriors with skills and equipment on par with most knights of Pendor.

You will also encounter Serpent Priestesses leading most Snake Cult patrols. As well as Anaconda Knights, these Priestesses cannot be captured or recruited; even if the final blow was by a blunt weapon, they will still be killed. They are generally not a large threat, but should be dealt with quickly.

Snake Cult Armies introduce the inhuman Anaconda Knights, who are much more well-trained and equipped than Cobra Warriors. They are a match for any heavy cavalry you bring to the field.

Spawns

Snake Cult Armies generally have 800-900 men:

2-20 Serpent Priestesses

12-30 Anaconda Knights

100-300 Cobra Warriors

100-300 Snake Cult Armsmen

100-300 Snake Cult Followers

The Snake Cult warbands are made of:

1-3 Serpent Priestesses

2-12 Anaconda Knights

8-24 Cobra Warriors

12-48 Snake Cult Armsmen

2-12 Snake Cult Followers
0-8 Farmer (prisoners)

Finally, the small parties:

1-3 Serpent Priestesses

1-3 Anaconda Knights

3-12 Cobra Warriors

4-18 Snake Cult Armsmen

4-24 Snake Cult Followers
0-3 Farmer (prisoners)

Sometimes they will have one Baccus Lady in waiting as prisoner.

Although these armies are not terribly difficult for a better-trained force, the unique spawn of the Snake Cult, the Dread Legion, is one of the most dangerous armies to invade Pendor. This army is fully made of Special troops, and will spawn patrols nearby with Fallen Melitine Noble and Azi Dahaka Serpent Priestess (check Dread Legion).

Both the Snake Cult Armies and the Dread Legion will spawn in The Empire and sometimes will sack their cities. No more than 1 Dread Legion can be in Pendor, but there can be several Snake Cult armies at once.

Trivia

It is rumored that Serpent Priestesses are fed snake venom in baby bottles when they were infants. This may explain the fatal kiss of the Priestesses.
The Red Brotherhood and the Snake Cult were feuding endlessly over vice in the Empire. For generations, it had been under the control of the Red Brotherhood, and many local thugs and dealers are still loyal to their former masters. But the Snake Cult has control of the higher classes now, and slowly they're working their way down, weeding out the last bastions of Brotherhood influence.
Most of the Snake Priestesses were young girls taken from villages by the Snake Cult.
Radiant Cross Knight: "Yes, there is new evidence suggesting the Red Plague was in fact spread by the Snake Cult as a precursor to their invasion of Pendor. Marius believes that his New Empire here has become a threat to the 'ideals' of the Old Empire, and that they intend to undo all his work by spreading another plague. Rumor holds that the Snake Cult dominates the Old Empire now and wants to spread its influence here."
Alyssa is a Serpent Priestess, but she escaped and now seeks for protection to live a better life.
Julia's father was secretly working for a Serpent Priestess. When both siblings were seventeen, the father started taking her twin brother to work as well for the Priestess. Shortly after, she discovered such, and this led to her brother Julius attacking her. Julia was lucky and was able to kill her brother and flee away, being pursued by Legionnaires, she had to hide and after some time, she started working as a Caravan Guard.
Defeating a Snake Cult army will award you with the 'Cult Vanisher' achievement, giving you +1 Ironflesh.
Despite their snake theme, Snake Cultists have a vegetarian diet. Alyssa complains of the lack of vegetables in Pendor, and in a conversation with Sir Alistair describes the thought of eating meat as "revolting".

Tavern Rumors

He saw two armed men intimidating a shopkeeper. They kept asking the merchant if he had seen an escaped slave, a woman the High Priestess was keen to get her hands on.
He saw a hooded and cloaked warrior who, while hiding in the shadows, was speaking to two street urchins. Money changed hands and the urchins promptly ran away. The warrior laughed softly then disappeared into the night.
He saw a hooded woman dressed in dark clothing. She approached a tall warrior who bowed to her. She pulled out a wickedly curved dagger, plunged it into his throat and he fell stone dead into the gutter. She kicked him once, wiped the blade on his carcass, then walked down the street as if nothing had happened.
He overheard two travelers talking about the rise of the Snake Cult and how they demand either gold or blood to join one of their covens.
He saw a drunk man leaving the tavern. Across the street was a, um, lady of questionable virtue. The poor sot walked up and grabbed her. Gave her a big kiss, he did. Then the man just sort of stiffened and fell over. The lady looked up, saw him, and smiled. He swears on the grave of his old dad she had fangs.
He said one came right into the tavern! Snake worshiper, aye. Huge man, armored in poison green. Big as day. Didn't even try to hide those serpent emblems, neither. Nah, he stepped right in like he owned the place. 'Twas everything he could do to hold his water!
He said the Snakes took out a caravan north of Ethos. A whole caravan! They're getting bolder, I tell you. One of the survivors came through here yesterday. He said he saw one of their knights take out ten men! Glad I am safe here, in truth.
He said he'd learned something about the Snake ladies, that he did. Did you know they can kill you with one kiss? Kissing, I tell you! Like we need anything else desecrated by those cretins.
He heard two soldiers talking. They were telling stories, right? One told the other they had tangled with the Cultists again. The other asked, 'How many lost this time?' '15 Legionnaires,' was the answer. I thought they were joking, right? But no one was laughing.
He said his mother refuses to leave the house. She says she saw people in her fields, two nights back. She could not see what they were doing, but they lit a big fire. Then they started shouting something like AZEE! And the fire, it grew tall and started swaying like a snake. She has stayed locked in her room since!
He saw a strange woman who never moved her mouth when she spoke. She was asking after someone named {playername}, or some such. Said {he/she} was 'Chosen of Azi Dahaka'. Ye gods, I would hate to be that person.
The Snake Cult has been sniffing around here again. Apparently, some adventurer named {playername} has been making their lives difficult. Bully for {him/her}, but you never heard that from me, right?
Spied a group of odd folks in the woods. They were swaying and dancing around a fire. Who cares, right? But he said the fire was alive! He said the fire and smoke coiled around them… just like a snake!
Heard the cooper say he had lost his daughter. Then he said something about snakes in the night. I think he meant them Anaconda Knights. They say that the Knights will steal girls away. Not to ravish, no sir. For the priestesses.
Heard something interesting from a caravan master. Seems young girls have been disappearing all along the southern seacoast. Folks are blaming it on those Snake worshipers. They say the priestesses have to begin training young.
He found an abandoned Snake Cult outpost on his last journey. They had stripped almost everything out, but left a bag under some rubble. Know what was in it? Snake venom and a baby bottle.
A huge snake was spotted in the hills outside Janos last month. He said so many snake worshipers showed up you could walk from Fenada to Chelez on their heads!
If I was to ever meet an adventurer called {playername}, I should warn {him/her} to steer clear of Empire lands. The Snake Cult has been searching high and low for {him/her}.
He noticed the charm I keep to ward away evil. 'Keep that close', he said. 'I have seen snake worshipers outside the tavern three times this week. They think they are disguised, but I can spot them a mile away, and they are looking for someone'.
He told me he had actually camped with a snake worshiper. Said the guy kept him up most of the night with stories about the greatness of Azi Dahaka. He claimed she manifests as a giant hooded cobra on stormy nights.
He told me that he had heard an odd noise from an alleyway the other night, and went to investigate. When he got there, all he found was on old cloak, three green scales, and a scrawled note saying {playername}.
He said he had not heard from his cousin on the coast in nearly a year. So, he went to investigate, and when he got there, the house was gone; burnt to the ground. On a stone near the ruin was scrawled 'VIVAT AZI DAHAKA'.
He spoke to me of an old legend. It seems that on stormy nights in the old country, worshipers of Azi Dahaka would creep through villages in search of little girls to steal away. They would take them off to their lair and spend years turning them into Snake Priestesses.
He saw a man approach a cloaked woman in a secluded doorway. Something changed hands, and the woman pulled back her hood and blew lightly on him. He stiffened, tried to turn away, and fell dead at her feet! She gave a tight-lipped smile, raised her hood, and disappeared into the alley.
He said he went to a tavern out in Laria, and heard that the Snake Cult has been seen as far inland as Rebache! If they get a foothold in Sarleon, they will be out of the reach of old Marius. Bet that will stick in his royal craw!
He saw a woman and her wee daughter walking in the marketplace. He had barely looked away when he heard a scream. The mother was standing stiff as a board, blood running from two fang marks on her throat. The baby was nowhere to be seen.
He told me he had overheard the Seneschal talking to the Sheriff. Turns out, two Empire vassal lords were discovered to have hidden Snake shrines in their manors. After all the work the Imperator has done, to find something like this now must be crushing!
He turned to me and said, 'Why is there a snake charm over your door?' and I said… I said… aaah… We are looking for you, {playername}, AND WE WILL FIND YOU! … Aah… I am sorry. What were we talking about?
He said Marius is running scared. The Snake Cult has been on the rise, and nothing the Imperator does seems to stop them. It is almost like they know his plans before he does. These days, Marius is accusing everything but the doorposts of spying.
He heard from a hunter that more and more shrines to Azi Dahaka have been discovered all along the southern coast. The Snake Cult has been far more active lately, almost as if they are preparing for something.
He heard from a ship captain that Snake Cult relics from the old Empire are being smuggled into Cez in record numbers. Weapons and armor from the old country are pouring in as well. Mark my words, the snakes are up to something big.
He said he was walking on the Ethos road a few weeks back and found the remains of a caravan. Its erstwhile guards had been left dead, strewn across the roadway. The cargo was smashed, but had not been looted. In the road was written in blood, 'AZI DAHAKA ADVENIO'.
He said that the last caravan he guarded was attacked by snake worshipers. Huge men in green armor poured from the forest along the roadside. But, when all seemed lost, the knights pulled up short. The priestess shouted, '{playername}', and those Snakes just melted away.
He told me of a legend from the old Baccus Empire. Once, long ago, agents of Azi Dahaka began raiding in greater numbers than ever before. No one was safe. Then, a mighty warlord rose among them and united the marauding worshipers into a vast army. History is a wheel, my friend. Be careful.