I get that you may want to do it for the divine magic he grants. You may also be forced to.
But if you're not a spellcaster, and you don't live in Nidal, why would you worship Zon-Kuthon? He gives nothign in return, not even counsel or consolation, and if you want to be a cruel, sadistic tormentor, you can do it just as well without getting involved in the religion.
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The "Zon Kuthon" we see in the material presented, would probably have next to zero worshippers beyond Nidal.
But I think the Zon Kuthon that we don't see - because the material presented is for adventurers - is much more a god of loss and suffering. I can see "day-to-day" Kuthites being grief counselors, running shrines of remembrance, preaching about change and moving on to the present while remembering the importance of the past, etc. I can see them as working with the insane and the otherwise barmy to actually help them, and not unleash them as vicious murderers.
I mean... what's the real story behind Dou-bral/Zon Kuthon? He was this great, beautiful thing, and now... he's changed. And that's the world, and the way it is.
Time is not a flat circle. It doesn't double back. We can remember what was good, but should be accepting of what is.
There are many religions that involve acts of pain endurance as a means of reaching enlightenment. Kuthites could be ascetics who take their flagellations to the extreme in search of spiritual meaning. They could also be people involved in the various forms of body modification, which can be a very painful process. I could also see a wounded adventurer or soldier who is getting some form of battlefield treatment saying a prayer to Zon-Kuthon so they can endure the pain.
Why worship any evil god if your not a divine class?
I think the better question is, "Why wouldn't you worship Zon Kuthon?" I mean, he has the best toys.
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I imagine that most of worshipers were caught at a vulnerable point in their lives and clung to despair or pain as a way to have meaning or dealing with their grief.
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Remember-
- Kuthites make amazing nonmagical healers, per the setting lore. If those weird people in the black leather with the odd scars keep patching you up good as new regardless of what happens, you're going to be interested in what they have to say. I can see Kuthite religion catching on with mercenary companies or other high-risk fields of endeavor.
- A slave in Cheliax living with constant fear and pain might be attracted to a worldview that makes the pain pleasurable and laudable.
- Anyone living with chronic pain or who regularly gets hurt in the line of their job might find the worldview seductive.
- Sadists and/or masochists of a malevolent bent could hardly ask for a better deity.
- Most importantly- Zon-Kuthon's worship probably isn't all that common outside of Nidal and chunks of Cheliax.
