The Cult Adjacent is the person who has read the Day One restricted arcHives, handled Akraan relics without gloves, and knows at least three versions of why Earth was abandoned -- and cannot prove any of them. They stand at the edge of forbidden knowledge: not a full cultist, but someone who has looked into the same texts and come back with their sanity mostly intact. In the Nine's corporatocracy, there are files that are not supposed to exist, experiments that are not supposed to have happened, and truths that would collapse stock prices if they became public. The Cult Adjacent has read those files. They know which chapel keeps which ledger and which rite is a front for a shipping lane, because they sat through both. The Kadiss grid flags Cult Adjacents with amber-tier surveillance: not enough to arrest, but enough to watch. They operate on the Creed chassis (d8 HD, 3/4 BAB, Fort/Will good, Ref poor) because their survival depends on mental fortitude, not physical prowess. Light and medium armour. The Will good save is not optional; it is the difference between reading the forbidden text and being consumed by it. Prime requisites: WIS and CHA.
Rules Reference
Field
Value
Armor Allowance
Light, Medium
Bab Tier
three-quarters
Base Skill Points
4
Hd
d8
Hd Sides
8
Max Level
20
Multiclass Notes
Cult Adjacents can multiclass with Chaplain and Fold Caller archetypes. Non-humans use simultaneous multiclassing rules.
Primary Abilities
WIS, CHA
Prime Requisites
WIS, CHA
Save Tiers / Fortitude
good
Save Tiers / Reflex
poor
Save Tiers / Will
good
Weapon Allowance
Pistol, Knife, Ritual implements (1d6 melee)
Notes
Archetype Niche: The Cult Adjacent is the party's forbidden knowledge specialist. Forbidden Lore unlocks information gates that no other class can access -- the true secrets of the Fold, Day One, the families, and the Akraan. Dark Communion provides once-per-day access to information from truly dangerous sources, with WIS damage and psychological consequences on failure. Unravel Sanity is the combat weaponization of forbidden knowledge -- psychic damage and confusion from whispering truths that mortal minds cannot hold. The Cult Adjacent's niche is walking the edge: they know what no one should know and use it, at constant risk of falling in.
Level Table
Conspiracy Theorist
Field
Value
bab
0
fortitude
2
level
1
reflex
0
skillPoints
16
title
Conspiracy Theorist
will
2
xp
0
Cult Watcher
Field
Value
bab
1
fortitude
3
level
2
reflex
0
skillPoints
4
title
Cult Watcher
will
3
xp
2000
Cult Adjacent
Field
Value
bab
2
fortitude
3
level
3
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Cult Adjacent
will
3
xp
4000
Forbidden Scholar
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
4
level
4
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Forbidden Scholar
will
4
xp
8000
Dark Acolyte
Field
Value
bab
3
fortitude
4
level
5
reflex
1
skillPoints
4
title
Dark Acolyte
will
4
xp
16000
Master of Secrets
Field
Value
bab
4
fortitude
5
level
6
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Master of Secrets
will
5
xp
32000
Grand Acolyte
Field
Value
bab
5
fortitude
5
level
7
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Grand Acolyte
will
5
xp
64000
Void Seer
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
6
level
8
reflex
2
skillPoints
4
title
Void Seer
will
6
xp
125000
High Void Seer
Field
Value
bab
6
fortitude
6
level
9
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
High Void Seer
will
6
xp
250000
Truth-Speaker
Field
Value
bab
7
fortitude
7
level
10
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
Truth-Speaker
will
7
xp
500000
High Truth-Speaker
Field
Value
bab
8
fortitude
7
level
11
reflex
3
skillPoints
4
title
High Truth-Speaker
will
7
xp
750000
The Unburned
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
8
level
12
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
The Unburned
will
8
xp
1000000
High Unburned
Field
Value
bab
9
fortitude
8
level
13
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
High Unburned
will
8
xp
1250000
Dark Oracle
Field
Value
bab
10
fortitude
9
level
14
reflex
4
skillPoints
4
title
Dark Oracle
will
9
xp
1500000
High Dark Oracle
Field
Value
bab
11
fortitude
9
level
15
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Dark Oracle
will
9
xp
1750000
The Edge Walker
Field
Value
bab
12
fortitude
10
level
16
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
The Edge Walker
will
10
xp
2000000
High Edge Walker
Field
Value
bab
12
fortitude
10
level
17
reflex
5
skillPoints
4
title
High Edge Walker
will
10
xp
2250000
The Thin Line
Field
Value
bab
13
fortitude
11
level
18
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
The Thin Line
will
11
xp
2500000
High Thin Line
Field
Value
bab
14
fortitude
11
level
19
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
High Thin Line
will
11
xp
2750000
Supreme Cult Adjacent
Field
Value
bab
15
fortitude
12
level
20
reflex
6
skillPoints
4
title
Supreme Cult Adjacent
will
12
xp
3000000
Special Abilities
Forbidden Lore
Field
Value
level
1
name
Forbidden Lore
description: The Cult Adjacent gains Xenology, Deception, and Streetwise as class skills with a +2 competence bonus. The Cult Adjacent can attempt Lore checks on forbidden topics that others cannot even conceive of: the true nature of the Fold, Day One's deepest secrets, the Families' hidden sins, the Akraan's fate, and the real reason Earth was abandoned. The Cult Adjacent gains +4 to all Lore checks related to cults, conspiracies, forbidden technology, and the Fold's true nature. At level 6, the Cult Adjacent can read forbidden texts and operate proscribed technology without triggering psychological damage or memetic contagion (normal creatures take 1d4 WIS damage from exposure -- the brain rejecting what the eyes have seen). At level 12, the Cult Adjacent can identify the exact cult, faction, or conspiracy behind any mysterious event with a successful Lore check (DC 20). This is the ability that makes the Nine keep Cult Adjacents alive: they know things that the accountants need to know, and they have not gone mad yet.
Dark Communion
Field
Value
level
3
name
Dark Communion
description: The Cult Adjacent can perform a 10-minute ritual to commune with forbidden knowledge sources: Fold entities, Akraan relics, cult texts, or the psychic residue of atrocity sites. The ritual requires a Will save (DC 15 + entity/relic power). On success, the Cult Adjacent learns one piece of forbidden knowledge (GM provides a true and useful piece of information that cannot be obtained through normal research). On failure, the Cult Adjacent takes 1d4 WIS damage and is haunted by intrusive thoughts for 24 hours (-2 to Concentration and Will saves). Dark Communion can be performed once per day. At level 10, twice per day. At level 16, the Cult Adjacent can shield one ally from the psychological effects of forbidden knowledge (the ally takes no WIS damage from exposure for 24 hours). The ritual is not prayer; it is contact. The Cult Adjacent puts their mind against something ancient and alien and asks it a question. The cost is always paid in sanity.
Unravel Sanity
Field
Value
level
5
name
Unravel Sanity
description: The Cult Adjacent can weaponize forbidden knowledge against a creature's mind. As a standard action, the Cult Adjacent targets one creature within 30 feet with a whispered truth about the Fold, the void, or the target's own buried sins. The target must succeed on a Will save (DC = 10 + Cult Adjacent level + CHA modifier) or suffer 2d6 psychic damage and become confused for 1 round (act randomly: attack nearest creature, flee, or do nothing). On a critical failure (fail by 5+), the target is affected by a short-term madness (GM chooses or rolls: phobia of the dark, paranoia about allies, catatonia for 1d4 rounds). Usable a number of times per encounter equal to CHA modifier (minimum 1). At level 13, the psychic damage increases to 4d6. At level 19, Unravel Sanity can target all enemies within a 15-foot radius. The Cult Adjacent whispers a truth that the target's mind cannot hold. The damage is not supernatural; it is the brain breaking against something it was not designed to contain.