Heroes of the End: Mark of the Yellow King

The Cult of the Yellow King is a completely different opponent than anything the players have faced so far. Ferals behave with a degree of intelligence, but they can’t buck the fundamental premise of ‘my actions need to lead towards killing surviving non-Ferals’. Zombies are idiot things unless a Master is nearby. Mi-Go are intelligent and retreat from combat, but would never consider surrender (considering what they do to their prisoners, they probably assume others will do the same or worse) and use very different equipment. The Cultists are unusual for post-apocalyptic cultists in that their faith is ‘new’ to most of them and most joined to avoid getting killed.

                This is because the Yellow King’s offer is not some nonsense about the grand cosmic glory of his supposed master. It is, instead, that his master is inevitable, but that those like him have continued to survive as useful allies to it. He plays up his importance to XE037 (Which he calls the Nameless, saying its true name could never be understood), though whether or not he believes this is debatable. Regardless, his Mark, carved into the flesh of his cultists and dripping occasionally with the black goo that marks heavy XE037 infestation, keeps the Zombies and Ferals from attacking. That is the core of his offer to his cult, and so far he has been able to make good on his promise. For many of his followers, if they have to kill other survivors to keep the Mark and keep XE037 happy, they will.

                The Mark of the Yellow King may cause a subject to mutate over time, though in some cases the mutations take a form very similar to the Alpha line. Those who mutate in such a fashion are named Magi, supposedly favored servants and handmaidens of the King and thus of XE037, his nameless master. Others twist into dangerous monstrosities, though they retain their mind. Cult Demons are marked by Spider, Cephalopod, Beast, and Lizard mutations, often mixed together, though they can still only have one Threshold Gift. Most of the existing Magi and Demons are not from this world, but rather accompanied the King from prior slaughters; he hasn’t had long enough to have more than one or two natives mutate to such a degree. Some infected with the Mark never mutate. The Mark also causes a subject to revive much more quickly if they die; they will return as a zombie on a two-count as if they were a Zombie using Down Soak, unless killed by a bite from the Chimera or an Annihilating weapon. What’s more, the Mark causes the zombie to mutate rapidly once they rise: A Cult Zombie will mutate into a random second-stage (Brute, Shocker, Biter, etc) within a single round of beginning to move again unless they’re killed for good. Downed cultists can be finished off just like zombies.

                While Demons and Magi are terrifying elites, most Cultists are Cult Survivors, humans with no especial skills at violence. These former civilians are average in most ways, though the cult has been drilling them on using guns and blades to try to do its bidding. They aren’t especially tough or brave, but killing them leads to more Cult Zombies that start rapidly mutating. They tend to retreat when things get tough and may surrender.

                Cult Militia are a step up. These are people who had some experience with firearms, whether they’re preppers, survivalists, cops, or hunters. These are the cult’s basic military unit, though notably they lean much more on shooting rather than hand to hand combat. They also lack for any real armor. They’re still not likely to fight to the death if things get rough, but they also carry shotguns, hunting rifles, or the obligatory AR-15 that was once a cultural totem of America. Real weapons and a little familiarity with using them makes them a serious threat.

                Cult Veterans are Cultists who were formerly military, PMC members, or others who are trained and familiar with violence. They wear ballistic vests and carry assault rifles, hunting rifles, shotguns, or SMGs. Most notably, they have the Gift of Veteran: When they Aim or Guard they get +d12, not +d8. This means a Cult Veteran who is digging in or taking careful aim can potentially beat or tie any character in the game, even if they might be outmatched. They are more disciplined than the others and will stick around to protect their squad, though they may still retreat as a group (and try to take their wounded with them) if things get bad.

                The Magi and Demons are the absolute elite of the Cult, full of the confidence of being a ‘transhuman’ being that has ascended past their original limits. Every single one has Threshold: Alpha or one of the Demon lines. Their mutations make them much more dangerous, and these brutal foes are generally veterans of previous worlds’ deaths. They still want to live, though: Once the tables turn they’re still going to consider fleeing or surrendering, and unlike the Veterans, they will leave other cultists to die as distractions in their stead. They may carry Portal Artifacts in addition to whatever fine weaponry they’ve commandeered. Notably, they count for the #Warp trait on Portal Artifacts; something about their nature makes them especially vulnerable to otherworldly energies. Killing a Magus or Demon will often terrify surrounding Cult members: When they go down, Cultists within 3 tiles suffer Panicked immediately as if they had used Panic Save.