
Lord Cozy |

Hello loremasters and clerics of the Demon Lords.
I was wondering what reasons other than being EEEBIL would a person have to worship Baphomet in 1e. I noticed that one of his subdomains is Resolve, and this would translate to a lot of things. Does worship in Baphomet make you bolder and/or more determined?
Supposedly he prefers the sneaky "keep your strength hidden until the right time" approach. Like a predator. But how does this fit to his Resolve theme and the rest of his portfolio?
What would someone gain from worshipping him?

Mysterious Stranger |

Same reason that they would worship any Demon Lord. They think that they are going to get something out of it. In most cases they don’t gain anything, but lots of people worship things that don’t actually benefit them. More often than not it is because someone who is getting something out of worshiping them is gaining something. While the cult member does not really gain anything out of worshiping him, the cult leader probably does. If the cult leader is a divine caster gaining power from Baphomet they defiantly gain something. Getting others to worship Baphomet may be the price the divine caster pays for his powers.
Not all characters are leaders, most are followers. Followers usually do what their leaders tell them to.

Foeclan |
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I'd guess 'Resolve' comes from bulls' reputation for being stubborn. Based on the wiki, Asmodeus threw him into a supposedly unsolvable labyrinth, but through cunning and persistence managed to not only solve it, but steal it from Hell. He also worked his way up in Lamashtu's court through deceit and seduction, and continues to use those tactics to gain power among the Demon Lords.
They list conspirators, minotaurs, and secret societies as worshipers.
To that, I could also add as possible worshipers:
- Prisoners or slaves, dreaming of escape
- Anyone who's willing to use seduction or intrigue to gain power
- The vain (Lamashtu is said to have gifted him 'obscene gifts' to please her)
- People attracted to minotaurs for, err, 'reasons'
Interestingly, one of his anathemas is:
- Kill those who cannot do serious harm to you
Edicts include:
- confuse paths and roads
- outwit enemies instead of overpowering them
- walk labyrinths
Ignoring the alignment system, his anathemas and edicts don't seem at all evil. You could add a few based on those.
- Civil planners, using their positions to create complex or confusing streets (say, to ensure people get stuck in the market longer so they spend more money)
- Dungeon delvers, somewhat obviously, searching through labyrinths
- Tacticians (seems like a good way to please him would be to orchestrate a bloodless coup or other victory)
I think it's interesting that, even though minotaurs are basically the poster children for being big and strong, that's not reflected in his tactics or lore. He was, in fact, considered one of the weakest of Lamashtu's court. So we could add:
- The weak or bullied (interestingly, bullying people doesn't seem to fit his lore at all)

Melkiador |

Baphomet is kind of a “nerd”. An outcast. He really doesn’t even seem like that bad of a guy. It’s more like he is friends with a bunch of terrible people and gets caught up in their drama.
I think “weaker” powers like Baphomet are tempting though, because it’s easier to rise up the smaller ranks. It’s more personal and your god theoretically has more time to spend on you, since their follower count is so small

Lord Cozy |

Mysterious Stranger that's a helpful insight into the nature of cults and how they operate. Especially in the case of Demon Lords, the faceless cultists can be seen as both worshippers and peons.
So other than doing his Obedience ritual (like a form of praying) you wouldn't be getting any other actual benefit from being Baphy's cultist-worshipper, right? Other than maybe a circle of ""friends"" to fall back on inside the cult.
Foeclan and Melkiador, those are some very informative and interesting posts you made. I'm not interested in presenting every baddie as grey misunderstood, but I believe that they should also possess a certain evident appeal and benefit to present to the "average" person.
I mean, most people are not naturally evil, so you need to have more things going on to attract and trap future cultists.

Melkiador |

Evil is a wide spectrum You can have a guy who always looks out for himself first and is willing to harm those who get in his way. That guy is evil, but you might never notice the evil. Then you have another guy who bathes in the blood of the innocent and kicks puppies. Both of those guys are evil, but one could be a functioning member of a society.

Mightypion |
Other motivations are:
--Have a massive grudge vs Asmodeus or Cheliax. Dead relatives are certainly a reason for this.
--Be Kellid in the worldwound, find him preferable to Deskari as a boss. Very viable because its true.
--You dont actually know you are worshipping Baphomet, but you do.
--You or your family have been accused of worshipping him, but, after a harrowing ordeal at the hands of the inquisition, found not guilty. Still, your reputation is ruined, much of your assets seized. Why not actually seize the benefits if you have paid the price for the supposed crime?

Mysterious Stranger |

It depends on the leaders of the cult. If the leader of the cult has powers, you may be able to convince them to use them for you. For example, if the leader of the cult is a spell caster, they may be willing to cast a spell on you. Considering the alignment of the cult, the leader would probably want something in return. But even a chaotic evil character can see the benefit of helping his own minions. An evil cleric might be willing to heal a wounded follower or remove a condition so the follower can still be of use to him. Dead minions are almost useless, about the only use for them is to use animate dead to turn them into undead servants.