Today, my non-German-speaking readers, you are in for a special treat. The reason for this is a video by The Fantasy Forge, which was uploaded on 17 December 2025. It is about how to create cults for your roleplaying group that are not immediately recognisable as ‘evil’. For almost exactly 7 years ago, I came up with a cult like this. The reason for this was a different German-language blog that invited role-players to a breakfast and raised the idea of a cult for which a very specific time of day is important. The cult that I have developed here is not necessarily evil. At first glance, it may even seem harmless or can serve as a quest giver for the heroes. The evil lurks beneath the surface, in dealing with those of different faiths or beings that are more nocturnal (or have dark sight). The evil lurks in the depths of the teachings, in the disputes over the correct interpretation and the correct worship. The evil is very subtle…. muharharar!

What happens when people adopt religious concepts from other races that are completely different to them in thought and body? They mix things up, abbreviate important beliefs and overwrite concepts that are incomprehensible to them with easily understandable generalisations. The result, at least in Rakshazar, is a new cult that no longer has much to do with its origins.

The origin: The religion of the Tharai

The world of belief of the Tharai, also known as stone lizards, combines a primal, threatening world view of a world sphere surrounded by primordial fire with archaic belief in spirits and a dualistic basic principle in the form of an all-determining pair of spirits.
According to their conception, the sun is the all-destroying maw of a huge volcano through which one can look directly into the fires surrounding the world. The canopy of the sky – like a cloak of shadow, cold and darkness – defies this fire with all its might, but at the same time tries to shroud everything in eternal night. In addition to the great maw that spins across the sky, they also see the stars as holes in the shadowy mantle of the heavens, through which the light of the eternal fire shimmers and thus breaks through the darkness. The Tharai interpret this world view as an eternal battle between the two principles of light and darkness, heat and cold, which is fought out everywhere in this world. These two principles are personified in the highest purity as the two great spirits: the fire spirit Frissis (Fff-r’ssis) and the dark night spirit and moon shadow Fsx (Fff’Sfx). They represent all that is good and all that is bad in equal measure, each bringing death and destruction on their own, whether through cold and darkness or through fire and blinding light. It is only through their perpetual duel and the resulting mixture and balance of their two principles that perfect existence is created. According to their belief, the constant duel, in which the battle constantly surges back and forth and sometimes one has the upper hand, sometimes the other, is also the cause of almost all cyclical changes that can be observed in the surrounding nature, above all the change of day and night and the course of the seasons. In the eyes of the stone lizards, therefore, the greatest threat to the deric creation is also the lack of struggle.
This also explains why, despite the complexity of the Tharai language, there is not a single suitable word for peace. The word that comes closest is „Tha’ci“, which literally translates as „a state without fighting“, but in the everyday language of the Tharai stands for death, annihilation and destruction. Accordingly, the Stone Lizards see the annual „Time of Tha’ci“ as their greatest test. Once a year, the great spirits interrupt their constant battle for five long days. During this time, in which the spirits take turns dominating each other, Frissi’s sunfire burns relentlessly for five long days, interrupted by five nights in which Fsx’s cloak of darkness seems to have „shaken off“ most of the star holes and the astral rivers go crazy. During this time, the Tharai recognise the danger posed by peace and the one-sidedness of the different principles, for then the souls and spirits fall into madness, the forces of nature degenerate, the scales of the spirit dancers turn crimson red and many an egg from the clutch begins to rot.
In the beliefs of the stone lizards, every living being and every object has a Sfff’x, which means idea, being, mirror, spirit or soul. The Tharai are – according to their own conviction – able to recognise the Sfff’x of all objects and living beings thanks to their keen sense of all things magical. They even believe they can perceive imbalances in the Sfff’x caused by illness or prolonged contact with spirit beings.
This is why the magically gifted spirit dancers, the shamans of the stone lizards, can often be seen calling the spirits away from the camp in the early hours of the morning and before sunset: they ask the spirits to enter their bodies and take part in the clan’s daily disputes. During the course of the day or night, those possessed in this way constantly start arguments. By the next dawn, the possession is over again and the ghost dancers fall into a deep sleep that lasts for hours. Twirling sticks are used as an aid in all rituals, especially when calling the spirits. The shrill sounds of the twirling woods are said to attract and lull the spirits.

The cult of the rising sun: when breakfast becomes a church service

The idea of the constant battle between light and darkness immediately fell on fertile ground with the Sanskitars, especially as their beliefs also included such a battling pair of gods, the sky god Braiorag and the earth god Ongferan, who vied for the favour of the fertility goddess Ipkara. Their stone lizards, mostly kept as skaven, observed early morning rituals, often during breakfast. As the slaves spoke Gmer poorly and the masters hardly spoke the language of the stone lizards, there was an effective mixing of the worlds of faith.
The cult of the rising sun worships Braiorag, the god of the sun and fire. Every morning he returns exhausted from the underworld where he is in constant battle with Fiss Ongferan, the god beneath the earth, god of all death, monsters and darkness. Braiorag’s wife, the goddess Ipkara, prepares a proper breakfast for her returning husband. To the sound of harps and singing, fortified with meat, eggs, fish, vegetables and wine, Braiorag ascends to his throne, reigns for half a day (the afternoon hours) and then returns to battle against his adversary. The most important task of the cult, however, is to celebrate the morning hours extensively and have a good breakfast, as Braiorag has returned from the realm of night and death and now his siphon, his soul power, must be strengthened so that he can take up the fight again. The god’s soul power is strengthened by rich food and drink, the sound of harps, laughter and dancing. However, all gloomy thoughts at dawn, fasting and starvation or even quarrelling, fighting and resentment diminish Braiorag’s power.
Aspects: Breakfast, sunrise, morning, sun, light, fire
Pantheon: Sanskritic sect
Creation doctrine: none specific. Where Braiorag, Fiss Ongferan or Ipkara come from is not specified.
Distribution: The cult is very small and comprises a maximum of 300 followers, almost all of whom belong to the urban upper class. Only they can afford to feast and drink from early morning until midday without working. The city in which the cult is active can be freely chosen.
Worldly tasks: Eating breakfast to keep the world running
Important temples: The cult has no temples in the conventional sense. Religious life takes place every morning at the breakfast buffet.
Holidays: the equinoxes
Offerings: a proper, rich, extensive breakfast with the sound of harps.
Political influence: Indirectly great, as most members of the cult belong to the upper class. However, it has not yet been observed that the members interfere in politics. As the breakfast buffets are often eaten together, it is hardly surprising that many a political intrigue has started here.
Hierarchy: Hardly pronounced. The cult is led by a head, the taster. However, his task is only to preserve and pass on the mythology of the cult. The respective heads of household, who must be appointed by the taster, are responsible for the cult acts at the breakfast table.
Tolerance towards people of other faiths: Surprisingly low, especially against cults whose religious acts take place at night, in the dark or underground. Also against people who enjoy themselves in the evening or at night or who are nocturnal. According to the cult’s beliefs, these are all worshippers of Fiss Ongferan.
Enemy images: Night, darkness, cult acts or celebrations after the setting of the sun, undead, death
Teachings of the cult: Eat, dance and rejoice in the morning to strengthen the ooze of the god Braiorag. This is the only way he can win the battle against Fiss Ongferan and shine again as a new sun in the sky the next day.
Objectives of the cult: To eat breakfast as long, lavishly and lavishly as your wallet will allow.
Image of the afterlife: Although the cult has been around for several generations, its image of the afterlife is strangely blurred. While some believe that the dead become stars that support Braiorag in the fight against the Lord of the Night, others believe in an eternal breakfast table.
World view: Breakfast is the most important event of the day. There is no morning without a good breakfast. The cult members therefore save the world from destruction.
Image of man: They see themselves as the elite and only recognise other people if they can afford to eat an extensive breakfast.
Strongest argument: Yesterday we had breakfast, today the sun came up. So eat and celebrate so that there will be a tomorrow.
Image of the faith among the population: Followers of the cult of the rising sun are often perceived by the population as rich, spoilt scroungers who can afford to eat from sunrise to midday and not work.
Temple guards and military influence: There are no temple guards in the cult, but there are bodyguards who protect the cult members at breakfast.

A typical breakfast: how the cult celebrates its festivities

Preparations for breakfast begin in the middle of the night. The house chefs bake, grill, set the table and tune their harbour. The first guests arrive about an hour before sunrise. They are greeted in silence by the hostess and led to an east-facing window or balcony. There they wait together until the first ray of sunshine appears on the horizon to loud cheers. Afterwards, they eat and drink what the Rakshazarian cuisine has to offer. Ale, wine, Lichii schnapps, rat on a spit, three-horned ham, testicles of the rare Shahanna tiger, soft-boiled Nagah eggs… the rightmost cult members even have the food coated in gold leaf. The slaves play harps, flutes and drums, dance naked in front of their masters and sing about breakfast and the power of the god Braiorag.
As soon as the sun reaches its highest point, the cultists leave everything behind. Bites of bread rolls land on the plates, half-empty wine goblets are left standing. The company now make their way home and go about their worldly duties, the slaves clear the tables and make a mess of the leftovers.

Of croissants and human sacrifice: optional design options

Option: Underground in Teruldan
The Cult of the Rising Sun is condemned to an underground existence in Teruldan, where the upper classes, and especially the Sultan himself, worship Uthar, the god of death. For the cultists, Uthar is just another name for Fiss Ongferan. The members of the cult are very careful not to let strangers into their celebrations. The guards who watch over the breakfasts have had their tongues cut out. The young sultan has put a considerable bounty on the head of the taster .

Option: Human sacrifice
The cult has become radicalised and now practices human sacrifice.
Option 1: Beautiful slaves are strangled and offered as burnt offerings to celebrate breakfast.
Variant 2: Beautiful slaves are courted, even fattened up, during breakfast. In the evening, they are tied up outside the gates and left alone outside at night. They are supposed to attract the attention of all the evil lurking out there in the darkness with the sound of harps and singing. What is already dangerous in a city is even more so in the rural areas of Rakshazar. There, dark worms, ashogers, drakes and trolls lurk in the darkness. If the distraction manoeuvre, which is supposed to support the god Braiorag, does not survive the night, so be it. But if it does survive the night, it must hope that nothing has happened to the community. Otherwise its life is forfeit. However, if nothing has happened, the slave is freed.
Variant 3: Similar to variant 2, people are sent into the darkness by the cult. This time, however, they are volunteers, fighters who are supposed to protect the cult’s shivering followers from the horrors of the night until the next morning. The reward is more silver, wine and slaves than the fighter against the darkness could ever dream of.

Option: Heretics and dividers
A cultist from a nameless cult has become aware of the lavish breakfast buffets of the upper class. He/she attempts to infiltrate the Cult of the Rising Sun, change its teachings and plunge it into damnation. The following questions, which are still unresolved in the cult, are suitable starting points for the split:

• When does the morning start? At sunrise, of course. However, the further away you are from the ground, the sun rises a few minutes earlier due to the curvature of the earth. On a nearby mountain, the difference may already be half an hour, especially if the town where the cult exists is located in a hollow or a valley. In the minds of the cultists of the Cult of the Rising Sun, this means a lot. If the celebrations start too early, they may even be paying homage to Fiss Ongferan^[1], either by mistake or through ignorance.
• What does life after death look like? At the moment, two schools of thought prevail in the cult of the rising sun: Some believe that they will partake of Braiorag’s eternal breakfast after death, others that they will become stars, comrades-in-arms in the battle against the darkness in the night sky. The taster has no advice here. The oral secrets of the cult are stubbornly silent on this point.

The cultist of the Nameless One could use the dispute to bring a third option into play: After death, you become breakfast yourself. In order to replicate this spiritual step in this world, the dead, prepared as pâté, should be eaten at breakfast. It is only a small step from eating those who have already died to real cannibalism in honour of the Nameless One…

• Which food is hallal? There is also disagreement about this in the cult due to a lack of traditional rules. One group favours the idea that everything that grows underground is hallal, i.e. forbidden. The other group, however, does not want to do without delicious truffles, sweet turnips and savoury tubers. The old, ailing taster wants to settle the dispute during his lifetime and convenes a council^[2].

For a delicious breakfast: adventures around the cult of the rising sun

Alone in the dark
The heroes are approached by a member of the Cult of the Rising Sun and asked to join them at the next breakfast. There, the heroes are allowed to eat their fill of harbour sounds and are pampered until midday. Shortly before midday, they are told that they are expected to do something in return for breakfast. They are to keep watch in the neighbourhood throughout the night. What the heroes are not told, however, is that the neighbourhood is haunted at night by a horde of demons (1W3+2). The originator of the demon horde is a vengeful former member of the cult.

^[1] The idea of arguing about the right time for sunrise may seem trivial to us Central Europeans, but in real life it actually causes headaches for some members of Islam.
^[2] And we all know how well suited councils are to settling religious disputes peacefully… not!

1. Lasst uns froh und munter sein 
und uns recht von Herzen freun. 
Lustig, lustig, traleralala, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da! 

2. Dann stell ich den Teller auf, 
Niklaus legt gewiss was drauf. 
Lustig, lustig, traleralala, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da! 

And the Saint actually has something for you: The final version of the Ziggurat of Storms.   

Time for a little summary: I found it surprisingly easy to turn an idea that had already ended up in someone else’s wastebasket into a dungeon. This fits in well with the meme theory, which states that ideas, like genes, can be passed on and mutate and that new ideas, images, texts and even new cultural elements can emerge from them.  

I also noticed that I work according to the function-follows-form. I first had the idea behind the dungeon, then I drew the map of the dungeon and only then did I differentiate the individual rooms.  

Another story that struck me: I’ve grown to love writing adventures for DSA1. I’ve also switched to describing a few samples directly. So no more “To open the door, take a lock-picking test with a penalty of 2 points”. I now write more openly, such as “make a corresponding test more difficult by 2 points”. This gives players many more options for using their character. A crook? Then pick locks. A Brokthar barbarian? A physical strength test. A path mage? Then a corresponding spell, of course.  

I also try to incorporate a special feature into my dungeons: in the dungeon inside the statue, the personages had to be shrunk in order to enter the dungeon; in the palace in the clutches of the demon, the personages had to be shrunk in order to enter the dungeon. 

I also try to include a special feature in my dungeons: in the dungeon inside a statue it was that the personages had to be shrunk in order to enter the dungeon, in the palace in the claws of the demon it was the mutation table and the plant monsters, in the Torn Grave it was the changing dungeon rooms, in the Changing Crypt it was the radioactivity and that the dungeon moves slowly. In the Hole in the Ground, the entrance area was special because there was the possibility of being struck by lightning. The special thing about the Escape into the depths was that I took the dungeon from Keep on the Borderlands and rewired it.  

I now really enjoy creating dungeons. And since 2024 is almost over, I would like to post my adventure-to-do list for 2025 here:  

• I want to finish writing the race adventure and add a sandbox to it. 
• I plan to take a dungeon from the old Russian roleplaying game Заклятье Черного Mагаand convert it for my Rakshazar.  
• I want to create the House of the Trap Warden Xologrima. I already have some concrete ideas.  
• Another big item on my agenda is revising the DSA1 rules for Rakshazar.  

1. Lasst uns froh und munter sein 
und uns recht von Herzen freun. 
Lustig, lustig, traleralala, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da! 

2. Dann stell ich den Teller auf, 
Niklaus legt gewiss was drauf. 
Lustig, lustig, traleralala, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da, 
bald ist Nikolausabend da! 

Und der Heilige hat tatsächlich was für euch: Die Finale Version der Zikkurat der Stürme.  

Zeit für ein kleines Resümee: Ich fand es überraschend einfach, aus einer Idee, die eigentlich schon im Papierkorb eines anderen gelandet ist, einen Dungeon zu machen. Das passt gute zur Mem-Theorie, die ja besagt, dass Ideen, ähnlich wie Gene, weitergegeben werden und mutieren können und das daraus neue Ideen, Bilder Texte, ja neue Kulturelle Elemente werden. 

Mir ist zudem aufgefallen, dass ich nach Funktion-follows-Form arbeite. Bei mir stand erst die Idee hinter dem Dungeon, dann habe ich die Karte des Dungeons gezeichnet und erst dann die einzelnen Räume ausdifferenziert. 

Eine weitere Geschichte, die mir aufgefallen ist: Ich liebe es mittlerweile, Abenteuer für DSA1 zu schreiben. Zudem bin ich dazu übergegangen, wenige Proben direkt zu beschreiben. Also kein “Zum öffnen der Tür lege eine Schlösserknacken-Probe erschwert um 2 Punkte ab”. Ich schreibe mittlerweile offener, etwa “lege eine entsprechende Probe erschwert um 2 Punkte ab”. Das gibt den Spielenden viel mehr Möglichkeiten, ihren Char einzusetzen. Ein Gauner? Dann Schlösser knacken. Ein Brokthar-Barbar? Eine Körperkraft-Probe. Ein Pfadmagier? Dann natürlich ein entsprechender Zauber. 

Ich versuche auch, in meine Dungeons eine Besonderheit einzubauen: beim Dungeon im Inneren einer Statue war es, dass die Personagen geschrumpft werden müssen, um in den Dungeon einzudringen, beim Palast im In den Klauen des Dämons waren es die Mutationstabelle und die Pflanzenmonster, beim Zerrissenen Grab die sich verändernden Dungeonräume, bei der Wandelnden Krypta war es die Radioaktivität und dass sich der Dungeon langsam bewegt. Beim Loch in der Erde war der eingangsbereich besonders, weil es hier die Möglichkeit gab, vom Blitz getroffen zu werden. Bei der Flucht in die Tiefe war das besondere, dass ich den Dungeon von Keep on the Borderlands genommen und neu verwurstelt habe. 

Mir macht es mittlerweile sehr viel Spaß, Dungeons zu erstellen. Und da ja 2024 fast zu Ende ist, möchte ich hier meine Abenteuer-to-do Liste für 2025 posten: 

1. Ich möchte das Rennabenteuer fertig schreiben und um eine Sandbox ergänzen. 

2. Ich plane, einen Dungeon aus dem alten russischen Rollenspiel Заклятье Черного Mага zu nehmen und für mein Rakshazar umzuwandeln. 

3. Ich möchte das Haus der Fallenwärterin Xologrima erstellen. Da habe ich auch schon konkrete Ideen. 

Ganz groß auf meiner Agenda steht auch die Überarbeitung der DSA1 Regeln für Rakshazar.