Explain to me the whole Cultists vibe within pulp

[FifteensAway]

So, my vision of pulp is cultist free but I see so often mention of cultists I'd like to know more of the why behind having cultists.  For certain, the whole Chthulu thing is not one I'm interested in but I know that is one source.  What of the other 'inspiratioins' for having cultists?  Thugees don't count, sort of, a cult, yes, but a different vibe I think.

And, of course, I know they can be left out.  I just want to know why they are "put in".

Thanks!

[Ragnar]

Well, there's the Imhotep cultists from The Mummy and it's sequel.

Also, I don't understand why the Thugees from The Temple of Doom wouldn't count?

[syrinx0]

Horror cultists (Cthulhu or otherwise) would be the main reason for me.  They could be Satanic, pagans (wickerman), aliens or eldritch horror worshiping bad people.  They are like Nazi's - when writing a scenario how can you leave them out?

[Cat]

Thuggees are their own special cult, very specific cultural dress and vibe.  (Just recently watched an old Hammer take on them — The Stranglers of Bombay — quite fun.)
 
The all-purpose hooded cultists can cover chthulu, satanists, witches, and any other, well cultists...
 
I just googled 'cultists in pulp stories' and the images show lots of fun covers from Weird Tales, Terror Tales, Horror Stories, etc. genuine pulp magazines.  Bleeds over into a bit of Gothic Horror, but with more pulpy flair.
 
Spider Cults seem to be a bit of thing with "Cult of the Spider Queen" and "Cult of the Spider God" cover stories popping up.  Lots of the ever popular red-robed Satanists abounding, or branching of to "Brides of the Swamp God".
 
All purpose baddies in many settings across the globe.

[Will Bailie]

As the others have mentioned, plenty of reason to include thugees, Cthulhu cultists, priests of Imhotep, and various others.  But cultists make great baddies even in US or European settings, and those pointed caps many of them wear remind me of a particular group, can't quite put my finger on which...

[Cat]

Thinking of Hammer Studios examples, there are a couple that are nice blends of Pulp & Horror  — The Devil Rides Out, and To The Devil A Daughter.
 
Occult research specialist heads up investigative team on the track of what turns out to be actual cultists has more of a pulpy vibe than the Van Helsing monster hunter sorts of story lines.

[carlos marighela]

And, of course, I know they can be left out.  I just want to know why they are "put in".

To provide baddies that are unmistakably evil but wrapped in a shroud of mystery and the occult. The faceless/ masked man always being a bit more intriguing than say the crudely racist tropes of Sax Rohmer and co.

Cults have existed in the popular imagination from our ancient forebears to Scooby Do. The late Reverend Jones probably did a lot to make them both more repellant and macabrely fascinating in equal measure.

Of course the classic cowled and hooded look works best for dramatic effect. Red baseball caps and gold sneakers merely invites ridicule.

[FifteensAway]

First,

"They are like Nazi's - when writing a scenario how can you leave them out?"  By not putting them in.  Lots of scenarios without cultists, too.  No offense syrinx but my question is why - not why not?  A minor difference but important if you understand what I mean.

Nazi's could be considered a cult, I suppose.  But they all too often are the de facto bad buys (with good reason, of course) but, at least for me, growing stale and smacks of a lack of imagination.  I have my imagination on notice to come up with something new and horrendous that will give us all the shivers and have us peaking under our beds before we turn in at night.  One day I will wake up and my subconscious will make me seem a genius for finding the Ultimate Villain! 

Carlos, yes, the faceless man can be quite menacing but I don't know that a crowd of faceless beings has the same gravity of menace, a threat, yes, a menace, yes.  But one overarching evil person is so much more ominous to me, we remember Hannibal Lecter and Seven (both creepy and hard to rewatch). 

I guess I have a different vision of pulp in some ways than others - most of the standard tropes work for me but I struggle to wrap my head around cults (other than the Thugees who I get).  And those pointy hooded folk are too weighted with prejudice for me to want to represent them in any way.  Ditto the red baseball hat crowd.   And Jones and his situation hits way too close to home - didn't know the people but they were from close to where I lived at the time, many of them.  And that does give me the shivers.

Somehow, troglodytes seem a better insert for some reason.  And as I typed I realized I already have figures I can use - stashed with my Stone Age figures slowly progressing towards paint, basically chimps with clubs (forget where I got them from but maybe Battle Valor???).  Pan troglodytes being the scientific name for chimpanzees after all.

So, will a bunch of troglodytes equate to a cult? 

Hmm, perhaps what is important is that a cult must coalesce around an evil leader - so, essentially, that means cultists are really just henchmen and, if faceless, a bit lessened.  The henchmen we remember have defining qualities you can't get from faceless hordes.

I know this is a bit of a ramble but it is, slowly, helping propel my evolving pulp sensibilities.  Still not really convinced on adding cultists - except for Thuggees.  They fit right in - courtesy of Gunga Din and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

So, keep on working on convincing me on why I should 'evolve' into wanting cultists.  Or, I suppose, you can agree that troglodytes are the way to go.  .   But they need a spine chilling leader first. 

[carlos marighela]

Ah but the massed acolytes are but minions and set dressing for the cult leader, a similarly masked figure who usually has some natty variation to the robe/ hood thing. Gold embellsihment, different colour, contrasting trim etc. The evil cult leader is the scary one.

David Duke probably looks a lot more menacing in a satin bedsheet being addressed by his acolytes as Grand Fukkhole than David Duke in mufti. Actually, that's definitely the case, the unhooded David Duke looks like a total retard, with a dodgy cosmetic surgeon. Sometimes things are just as they appear.

Aleister Crowley probably cut more of a dash in robes than the portly paedophile he presented as sans costume. Sometimes things are just as they appear.

[Hobgoblin]

Cultists are a staple of pulp games because they're a staple of pulp stories - see the covers of Weird Tales, etc:







But they're especially good for gaming (both RPGs and skirmish games) because they offer interesting scenario possibilities.

In RPGs, cults are perfect because they offer opportunities for derring-do with disguise (as in the 1982 Conan film, for example - how many RPG sessions have involved similar scenes?) and both 'timers' and set pieces in the form of rituals.

Wargames can't generally do as much with disguise (though there are possibilities for imaginative design), but cult rituals are a superb element in skirmish games - can the evil priest complete the ritual before the other characters disrupt it, and what happens if he does?

Essentially, you get a grand set piece and an interesting table design with a built-in timer and sense of threat. What's not to like?

[Daeothar]

Cultists, for me, have always been the ubiquitous baddies. They're like the skeletons of fantasy; everyone needs some in their collection, as they can be thrown into every situation and scenario.

I'm approaching this mostly from an RPG DM angle, but the same applies to (skirmish) wargaming for sure. I've used them extensively in my RPG campaigns, and the same bunch of robed baddies have been in league with (of course) Nazi's, Alistair Crowley, the Vryl Society, Templars/Cathars and Cthulu. Plus several unaffiliated cults, usually as plot devices.

Most of them were related to the occult, but some were simply religious groups and in one case, extremist engineers

They're also an absolute staple of the pulp setting, just like minecarts, ancient treasure, the aforementioned nazi's, seaplanes, mysterious dames and revolvers. You don't have to include them, but they do add that pulpy flavour. Are they tropish? Absolutely, but so are most elements that make up a good pulp story

[FifteensAway]

That last Weird Tales cover is curious - three near naked svelte women about to sacrifice another naked woman, though the skin colorings are a bit telling.  Not sure any of the cover images taken in isolation are cults, just some sacrificial shenanigans - at least one of which could be a mad scientist at work (a trope that does work for me).  The most cult element of the three covers is the one man in a hooded robe.

I suppose there is a challenge in the 1930s era that won't go away, a certain endemic "us" versus "them" and racist tropes.  And that translated into a lot of pulp literature.  Not sure I want to perpetuate that too much - though I do like the Fu Manchu trope so...(and full disclosure, I'm married to a Philippine woman so no animus towards Asians).

Can turn it more towards the competing ideologies to avoid that, democracy and capitalism versus fascist and communist ideologies - and greed, greed is always a motivator, along with jealousy that lead to bad things in real life.  And no need for any racist tropes when pitting altruism versus greed.  For me at least, that makes a better core around which to build my pulp games.  That does bring Nazis back into full focus - and Italians and Japanese as well as, perhaps, Chinese War Lords and maybe even Indian Potentates (or wannabes) who are allegedly working for independence.  Also, Russian communists - and the Chinese, even American communists at the time - and sympathizers of fascism.  So, lots of variety in the people to get 'colorful' forces onto the table but not based on racist tropes.  Yeah, I like that idea.  My whole Slightly Cracked Colonials setup is predicated on European powers versus European powers with the natives coopted in or defending themselves to avoid that whole native bashing element, not my thing.

Now back to those troglodytes: What if there is a King Kong that is a much more intelligent beast than ever portrayed before and he has a league of club wielding chimpanzees that idolize him and will do his bidding?  A sort of King Louis variation I guess, ala The Jungle Book animated versions.  But his evil ways need some motivation.  So, his family was slaughtered by humans - but to give him that needed redeeming quality (even if it is overshadowed greatly) - he is rescued by other humans before growing too large and returned to "the wilds".  And I have several large apes from my Banana Wars 'pulpish' collection I'm building so can pick one to be this Kong.  Not sure that makes a cult but it is a different take on Kong (at least as far as I know). 

Thoughts on that, the Kong variation?

[Cat]

Pulp by its origins is rife with stereotypes and tropes.  Some I avoid, some are 'it's a Pulp thing' go with it.
 
Hooded cultists are a good non-denominational culturally unspecific menace that are liable to grab Victim McGuffin out of a dark alley or off the pier, or steal precious artifacts from the museum, etc.
 

[syrinx0]

At least with my group, a few of the old tropes are still fine for our occasional pulp game. Of course I also have the figures painted and available so that comes into play as well.

If you are thinking of Chinese warlords you can bring in the unexpected Chinese hopping vampires. The unexpected supernatural in a historical setting can make for a fun encounter.

[Michi]

Thulsa Doom‘s cult of the serpent is quite well explained in Conan the barbarian. It has a master, priests, men at arms and minions in a hierarchy. It also has a plot or a plan that aims over decades. One has to listen carefully and sometimes read between the lines, but it‘s easy to get the idea and it‘s adaptable for mid 20th century just as easy as for any other period. Designated followers/sacrifices could be the offspring of any family of influence or wealth, like nobles were in the past…