Remove ads by subscribing to Kanka or enabling premium features for the campaign.

  1. Locations

Cultus Technologica

Nation

The Cultus Technologica, a new force within the world, is an underground civilization of Machine Worshipers who have just recently begun sending out explorers onto the surface, with the stated goal of researching and collecting technology.

The stated goal of this organization/nation is merely to worship and collect machinery, but some have stated hesitance towards allowing them access to such knowledge. As such, they have not managed to develop much understanding, and can be shocked by seemingly mundane technology, such as phones and computers, but are, rather strangely, unphased by extremely old, or hyper-advanced and overly confusing technology. This is because they have existed in a place laden with such technology for an unknown amount of time, and as such, they have gained an implicit understanding of such technology. (note: scholars are still working on translating their calendars into the standard Humanity Ephemeris calendar. This has proven to be difficult due to the lack of focus on the movement of celestial bodies, and the overwhelming focus on the processes of an unknown machine within their home city).

Known For...

  • Relative recency as a player on the world stage. They have only been active for a short amount of time, a little over 20 years as of current.
  • Lack of communication or even participation in world events. This has worried some scholars, who anticipate a possible attack from a hidden military force. However, recent shake-ups in Leadership has led to more active communication.
  • Their unique religion, the Dominus Mechanicus. While compared to worshipers of Eve or Atom, they are not actually worshiping said deities, and are instead worshiping an unknown deity who has remained obscure until now. Interviews and questioning of newly found members have revealed this deity to be akin to the very concept of machinery, or the idea of order. “The Machine God” sits as a completely alien being to Atom and Eve, being something akin to either Primus himself or the Plane of Mechanus in its entirety. 

Government

The Cultus Technologica follows a democratic theocracy. The primary leader of the cult, the Ad Mechanica, is a spiritual leader as well as a governmental one, and they are supported by an elected office of both Priests and Political leaders. 

Rather than holding complete power, the leader and government merely hold a high level of respect, having been elected for their devotion to the religious order, and their popularity within the populace. There are no terms, and should a leader or elected official lose popularity, they no longer hold office. However, despite the seemingly anarchistic state this would cause, the entire nation obeys a set of laws and rules laid out by their religion.

The Leader of the militant forces of the Cultus is the Archmagos Imperator, a role that is not mutually exclusive from other roles. One can theorietically be the Archmagos Imperator and the Ad Mechanica at once, thought such a feat has only very recently been accomplished.

Ad Mechanica Noctinus Cawl, 32nd Lord of the Machina. Removed from power.

Archmagos Imperator Khepra Faustinus, 31st Lord of Warfare. Deceased.

Archmagos Imperator of the Machina, Ad Machina Hadrianus Aurelius, 33rd Lord of the Machina, 32nd Lord of Warfare, A-Rank Tek Adventurer

Population

Unknown. No census has been collected, and as far as the Association knows, they have no such method of measurement.

The members sent out into the world are indistinguishable from robotic constructs normally, but can be easily identified by their stylized Halberds and Axes, red and gold priest robes with a gear-esque decorative style, and their method of speaking, which usually comes across as overly formal and to the point.

Economy

The Cult/Nation has not yet begun to play within the world economy, although they still show understanding of concepts such as currency and the market.

History

The Cultus Technologica was started when the man who is only known as the Mechanical Messiah discovered the ancient ruins of an unknown civilization, where he learned of the Order of the Machine God, who dictated to him his duty: He would create a civilization where machinery was enshrined, worshiped, and understood, rather than used and abused. As evidence of this order, the Machine God gave him the method of turning flesh into steel, while retaining the soul of the person. The first person to undergo such a transformation was the Messiah himself.

(Note: this is the only mention, ever, within their entire faith, of the Machine God taking direct action and actually responding to their worshippers in a way other than spell-casting or divinity channeling.)

The man brought his people, hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees, into the labyrinthine structure, creating a civilization based around the worship of the machinery around them. Not long after they had traversed inside, their entry into the structure collapsed, leaving them to live in the structure alone, isolated from the wider world.

Within the ruins they found all the things they would need for life, and as they went deeper, they built a veritable megalopolis within the machinery, learning to live within the machines and around them. As they could make themselves into robotic forms, they would merely become men of iron and steel when their bodies gave way to time or disease. As such, their numbers have stayed stable despite a lack of input from the modern world. They reproduce, grow, and live, and when they grow old or sick, they transform themselves into a man of metal. This is seen as a sacred and holy ritual within their culture, and those who become men of iron are treated with great respect and reverence.

For thousands of years (according to the few members interviewed), the people lived and explored the massive structures they had made their home. Until recently, it was a rite of passage to delve deep within the structure to retrieve machinery and knowledge for the church, and only now has a similar pilgrimage been allowed to the surface.