Conspiracy in the Borderlands
The Origins of the Cult of Evil Chaos
The Keep on the Borderlands begins with a section of advice to novice referees in which Gary Gygax tasks the referee with being able to play “the noble clergyman on one hand and the vile monster on the other,” but, in the Keep on the Borderlands the clergyman is the vile monster. I have previously made the case that the way the tribes of monstrous humanoids and the chaotic raiders could be viewed as propaganda from the perspective of the Keep’s denizens, and that such depiction is not supported by the structure of the adventure. But the structure and text of Keep on the Borderlands does agree on the real villains of the module: The Cult of Evil Chaos.
The Cult of Evil Chaos dwells in our midst. In the module’s detailed description of the Keep and its inhabitants, Gygax does not hide the ball that the established religion of the Keep contains a sinister element. We are introduced to a jovial Priest (either at his private apartment or in the tavern), who is well-regarded by everyone at the Keep. He is a fine companion, an excellent listener and a tolerant believer. There is only one person in the Keep who distrusts him: the Curate, the most influential person in the Keep except for the Castellan. However, even the Curate’s own acolytes “think very highly of the Priest, and will say so to any who ask about him.” The Priest keeps his true beliefs secret. While the Priest will encourage adventurers to go to the Caves of Chaos (and even accompany them—what a generous spirit!), a parenthetical reveals his true nature:
“(Note: [the Priest and his acolytes] are chaotic and evil, being in the KEEP to spy and defeat those seeking to gain experience by challenging the monsters in the Caves of Chaos. Once in the caves the priest will use [his spells] as needed to hinder and harm the adventurers. Betrayal will always occur during a crucial encounter with monsters.)”
The module is improved by assuming the Cult’s treachery is behind every misfortune. For instance, one of the rumors in the Keep’s rumor table could be considered poor design without this context. The (false) rumor in question is the “‘Bree-yark’ is goblin-language for ‘We surrender’!” Later in the adventure, we learn that bree-yark is actually a goblin insult similar to “Hey Rube!” In a conversation with Gus L. of the All Dead Generations blog, he argued that:
“Hilarious as it is, the curmudgeon in me calls it bad design. It’s a false rumor with no way to know if it’s false either extrinsically or through research. Also it is a false rumor that actively harms the player-characters. It’s corrosive to trust and discourages rumor-gathering.”
While these are good points, and I agree that it is bad design as presented in the text, this bad rumor is an easy fix if the Cult is incorporated. My assumption is that the rumor originates from the Cult of Evil Chaos as yet another attempt to get adventurers killed in their ventures into the Caves of Chaos. I would foreground the source of this rumor so that when it backfires (hopefully spectacularly), it would tip off clever players that the Priest is no true friend. With this tweak, the rumor still gives no useful information about the goblins but does give some intel about the Cult of Evil Chaos.
What is the Cult’s goal, other than being chaotic evil? The module doesn’t answer this directly and instead requires the referee to infer their sinister motives. It tells us the Priest is there to “spy and defeat” adventurers headed to the Cult of Chaos and will go so far as to join them to betray them in the caves. But why? Presumably it is to protect his fellow travelers in the Caves of Chaos. The final area of the caves is the Shrine of Evil Chaos. They have constructed a nice, little temple for themselves, with gem-set thrones, mosaic checkerboard floors, huge tapestries, domed ceilings, and—naturally—a sizable army of undead.
Presumably, it is the Cult that poses a danger to the overwhelming military might of the Keep, not the ragtag tribes of monstrous humanoids making their homes in the valley. Their total forces total 36 zombies, 32 skeletons, 1 wight, 4 acolytes (1st level clerics), 4 adepts (2nd level clerics), a torturer (3rd level fighter) and an evil priest (3rd level cleric). Quite a threat to the Keep with its 8 unarmored lackeys, 80 guardsmen, 68 men-at-arms, 30 war horses, 12 heavy cavalrymen, 18 medium cavalrymen, 4 crossbowmen, 3 acolytes (1st level clerics), 2 corporals, 2 sergeants, 2 captains, the bailiff (3rd level fighter), the curate (5th level cleric) and the castellan (6th level fighter). To win in an outright siege, the Cult would need to play its cards exactly right by allying with some of the monster tribes (who don’t get along generally, so they would need to pick the right ones) and turning as many of the dead Keep’s soldiers into undead reinforcements as possible. Even then, it might be a coin toss (but sounds like a neat asymmetric war game scenario). The Cult surely must have a better plan than the assault on the Keep implied by the background section of the module.
The Cult’s secret plan is hidden in a throwaway line at the end of the module. The final room of the dungeon is the prison of the Medusa. Once you push past the frustratingly common and gross Gygaxian trope of the sexy woman is evil and will trick you (Gygax describes this “scantily clad female - a fair maiden obviously in need of rescuing! As she is partly around a corner, at first only her shapely legs and body up to the shoulders can be seen. Those who enter and approach closer are in for a rude shock!” None of this is shocking for those familiar with Gygax’s repertoire), you learn why a Medusa is being held captive in the first place:
“Not being above such things, the cleric had plans for removing [the Medusa’s] snakes, blinding it, and then eventually sacrificing it at a special rite to a demon.”
What is the fail state of Keep on the Borderlands? I like when adventurers are explicit in what happens if the adventurers do not intervene. It makes the players’ choices more impactful when the world responds not only to their actions but their inactions. I am not a fan of adventures where the villains act like wax sculptures, waiting their turn, when the heroes aren’t present. For instance, in Keep on the Shadowfell, a 4th edition homage to Keep on the Borderlands, when the player-characters reach the final villain, it always just-so-happens that “the PCs have arrived in time to stop him” from completing his evil ritual, no matter what detours they took in getting there or how much time has passed. I prefer, instead, for adventures to have a default fail state if the player-characters don’t intervene. In Keep on the Borderlands, that fail state is that the Cult completes whatever ritual they were attempting and with the help of the demon(s) are able to overwhelm the Keep. Chaos reigns.
After the Caves of Chaos
My upcoming adventure, Barkeep on the Borderlands, takes place in the same implied setting of the Keep on the Borderlands but a couple centuries after the events described in the module. This necessitated some noodling on my part to determine what happened in those intervening centuries. Because there are so many ways the players could approach Keep on the Borderlands, I can only present one version of the future. For instance, in one of Nick of the Papers Pencils blog’s run of Keep on the Borderlands, the players made common cause with the Medusa and helped her take over the whole valley. She's been ruling it with an iron fist for three years now. While that’s interesting, my hypothetical future is a less drastic change. Instead, the players foiled the Cult’s summoning ceremony by uniting the orc tribes and staging an assault on the Shrine of Evil Chaos. But the Priest from the Keep, who accompanied these heroes, did not reveal his hands so soon. He tried to undermine their plans at every turn. When they figured it out, they left him for dead in an owlbear’s den. Through cunning and demonic miracles, the Priest survived to witness the annihilation of his sect. The Priest then trapped the adventurers in the cave, where they would eventually starve to death. The cleric (and a traitorous thief who was one of the adventurers) returned, wounded, to the Keep. There, the Priest spun a tale of the adventurer’s noble sacrifice. He settled himself in the Keep and re-established the Cult. When the Curate died (of mysterious circumstances), the Priest was positioned to be the new #2 in the Keep.
Art by TorTheVic
The new leader of the Cult (and proprietor of Our Lady of the Sacred Speakeasy), as they will appear in Barkeep on the Borderlands.
The Cult is still one of the primary antagonistic forces in the Keep, but their machinations are only ever half-observed, usually felt through an eerie sense of déjà vu, and never discussed outright. Their initial attempt at a dark ritual was stopped, but they haven’t given up hopes. Instead, they slowly consolidated power. After receiving the credit for riding the Caves of their Chaos, the Keep began the Raves of Chaos celebration, a helpful tool for recruiting for the Cult. The Cult has also entrenched itself as a close advisor to the Castellan (and, later, the Monarch when the Keep became a Monarchy). When the Monarch established the Quasi-Parliament, the Cult quickly worked to finance the most influential parliamentarians. As the Keep expanded its borders, the Cult grew within like a cancer. The Cult of today no longer contents itself with planting false rumors or summoning demons. It sets its goals much higher.
The most successful cults are essentially real estate ventures. The Cult of Chaotic Evil is no exception. In recent years, they purchased a plot of land in the entertainment district of the Keep and constructed upon it a multi-story nightclub. This attracts new penitents and new victims. Beneath the nightclub, the Cult’s leadership has recreated its old shrine. They seek to open a portal into the plane of negative vibes, where they can summon enough undead soldiers to topple not only the Keep’s regime but the entirety of the realms of law. The Monarch lies dying and the Cult sees its chance. All is working according to plan.
Art by Sam Mameli
The logo for the Cult’s multi-story nightclub in Barkeep on the Borderlands, which is one of the coasters in the set of four.
