I've scoured Gods and Magic and the campaign setting, but can't find what the priests of Zon-Kuthon's clergy are called. Is there a title? If not, what would be some good names?
That information will probably be located in the article on Zon-Kuthon in Pathfinder Adventure path #11, the fifth book in the Curse of the Crimson Throne series (which I really have to get).
That said, I'm curious myself to see what anyone might have done with old Kuthy's followers in-game. They certainly do give off a very strong Hellraiser vibe.
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That said, I'm curious myself to see what anyone might have done with old Kuthy's followers in-game. They certainly do give off a very strong Hellraiser vibe.
I pretty much ported over the stuff I used for Loviatar worshippers in the Realms (where there was an entire nation devoted to her, in the south somewhere. Crinti? Dambral? Whatever.).
They were terribly Nietzchean, all about gaining strength and toughening themselves to face the dangers of this world through self-mortification. The more endurance they demonstrated, the more they could exert their will over the failings of their flesh, the prouder they were of their accomplishments.
Some took it a step beyond, regarding the flesh as wicked and weak and holding them back, with the ultimate revelation of the faith being when one has finally achieved the strength and purity of purpose to flay away the last of their flesh *and survive the process* ascending into a being of pure uncorruptible spirit, above mortal concerns. But the clergy generally considered those people self-loathing extremists, and regarded the purpose of mortification to strengthen your body (and will) in this world, not to accidentally kill yourself...
Everything they did was about strength and proving themselves. Some would 'miss the point' and think that they had to perform showy displays of self-mortification to prove themselves to others, while the priests would engage in their purifications in private, sharing their pain only with the one they *really* wanted to impress, the diety itself (and, the really arrogant, only wanted to prove their strength and will to themselves!).
It was terribly convenient that the priests 'private observances' allowed a member of the clergy to go a little easier on himself (or even skip a day, here and there) than the approval-seeking fans of public spectacle. Of course, that's a slippery slope that might lead to rival priests 'helping' you catch up on the disciplines you've 'accidentally' missed... In a truly egregious case, the priest might find that his prayers aren't being answered, or that a servant of the diety has come to personally 'test his faith.'
Members of other faiths would be considered 'soft' and regarded with scorn, contempt and even a twisted form of pity. Potential foes would be held up as rationales for their people's need for strength, with the Worldwound and Cheliax both making fine 'boogeymen' to motivate the Kuthonites to beat themselves until they are hard as nails, both in body and spirit.
The imagery of the forge might be used in aphorisms, with the body of a neophyte being regarded as crude ore, needing an extensive period of brutal beating, black coal and searing flames before it is transformed into shining steel. Sayings might include things like, "You must wear the chains before you learn to break them," suggesting that a man who has never willingly subjected himself to abuse will be helpless when outside forces impose it upon him.
Piercings would be terribly common, so much so that the higher classes might pay fantastic sums to body artists to give them exactly *one* unique, distinctive and outrageous bit of body jewelry, rather than cover themselves with tattoos and mutilations and bits of metal like some desperate wannabe. Fads would sweep the cities, with a traveller who has recently visited the Mwangi Expanse bringing back tales of how some of the locals would have themselves stung by giant insects, so that the poisons raised up scarred welts, and the rush would be on to duplicate this sort of style. Six months later, it would be passe in the capital city (and perhaps all the rage in some other cities, having just 'arrived'), the price of venomous insects plummeting precipitously from the glory days when simply everyone had to have their own Giant Ant, and someone with an exquisite pattern of raised venom-welts would elicit rolled eyes and smarmy asides from those on the bleeding edge.
And once Nidalese explorers visit Arcadia, and discover natives who saw stingray spines through their lips, cheeks, etc. to trigger trances of communion with their gods, a new fad will no doubt arise (and stingray spines will suddenly be precious commodities!).
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I've scoured Gods and Magic and the campaign setting, but can't find what the priests of Zon-Kuthon's clergy are called. Is there a title? If not, what would be some good names?
They are called Kuthites.
I'm curious myself to see what anyone might have done with old Kuthy's followers in-game. They certainly do give off a very strong Hellraiser vibe.
I have been playing a devout worshiper of Zon-Kuthon in PFS for over a year now. She isn't an evil Kuthite, though. She's a monk who was an ex-slave and is horribly scarred by years of arcane experiments performed on her by her owner. One day, she found within her a strength that had formed out of all the pain and she realized that the more pain she withstood, the stronger it made her both physically and in terms of her resolve. Since she escaped and killed her owner, she has endeavored to experience all the blessings Zon-Kuthon has in store for her, savoring each bruise and laceration along the way. Perhaps if she suffers enough she will be blessed enough for the Lord of Pain to grant her powerful magics just like her former captors used to free her mind from the shackles of comfort and ignorance.