Alright, let's make up for lost time. Gonna try and knock out two of these, to make it simpler I am focusing on the foe archetypes that fit the generic "people" roles. Outlaw fills one of these, but we also have Cultist and Marauder- let's do this.
Cultists
Fanatical - Scheming - Mysterious
Defense: Protection 1 (A specific element tied to their cult)
Theme: Secrets and dark magic. A force grows in the shadows and you don't know who to trust.
Cultists form an intersection between priests and mystics. They approach magic with fervor and faith. Some groups working towards a greater goal, others serving an outsider they have made contact with. The terrifying part of cultists isn't their power- it's their certainty. They know that whatever sins they commit, so long as it's towards their goal, it is justified. Cultists survive by hiding in the shadows and growing their power. Because if they amass enough, they aren't a cult- they are legitimate. Smother their flames quickly, lest the fervor spreads through the settlement like wildfire.
Cultists are fun because they can hold up a mirror to the party. They have the unshakeable faith of clerics and paladins. The curiosity of wizards, the recklessness of sorcerers, and... well a Warlock is just a cultist without any friends. But yeah, this covers both your priests of a mad god and the folks trying to crack the anti-life equation for the sake of saying they did. Very versatile and not limited to a specific folk.
Questions
- Nearly anyone can tap into magic, what are people taught to keep them safe? What happens if you ignore these rules?
- Magic can go very wrong if miscast or misused. You have seen it go very wrong indeed. What happened?
- The settlement is no stranger to odd beliefs. What is the strangest religion in your opinion? What do they believe?
- People can be drawn into bad situations due to their own isolation. Despite knowing this, why do you sometimes find yourself alone?
Moves
- Ominously reveal how your actions serve their purposes (tick up a clock)
- Someone the party trusts or doesn't expect is exposed as a cultist
- Retreat, casting aside their vestments and hiding among the populace.
- Sacrifice someone, turning their death into power (advance a clock or increase tier for a spell)
- Cast a forbidden spell (1 doom, roll for miscast)
Cultist questions focus much more on magic itself and why what they do might be wrong. I don't want to necessarily tip the hand here about what the players are up against, so keeping things zoomed out helps. Cultists have two moves that let them tick clocks up when they might not seem able to, this helps show their strange lateral movements. I really like the idea of sacrificing someone to empower spells, and of course any reason to roll miscast is good.
Tactics:
Secrecy and mystery are vital to portraying the cult. As soon as the players know who is involved and what they want, then it becomes a problem to solve. Keep the mystery flowing as long as possible.
Cultists will operate with a level of fervor that makes them dangerous and unpredictable. They are willing to fight and die for their beliefs, its an admirable thing except they've sworn themselves to dark things. However, this means you can swerve in ways the players won't see coming because you can operate on a different level.
In social encounters, consider coming up with ways for cultists to identify each other. A phrase or manner of dress that's subtle enough to be missed. But if a player catches it, they will feel like a genius. In combat, cultists will seek to flee to the shadows and escape unless they have something to protect or a goal to fulfill. Always know what they want and then pursue it with absolute conviction.
A cultist should be flavored by where their magic comes from. They might have a patron or dark god, a particular school of magic they favor, etc. This both gives an aesthetic but can serve as a clue for players as they try and solve the mystery. Knowing the cult is granted the powers of flame would narrow down who they serve considerably.
Variants:
Cultist is a broad category, letting you adjust it as needed. If you roll another intelligent in its region, it makes sense that they might be part of the cult. An undead cult would certainly operate differently than one who could freely move about the settlement.
Tactics focuses more on the social/deduction angle of the foe. Which I think is good. Heroes are terrifying and if they identify a target they can push hard to cut the head of that particular snake. So obfuscation is their key defense. Again, I have to fight the urge to just GO OFF with variants. Because part of my brain is very mechanical and I want to list here are all the cool types of cursed god you could serve! I also worried for a bit about overlords because The Demagogue is made for zealots. But I realize that so many others work well too: The Harbinger is an arcanist seeking to do dark things, The Behemoth is a massive creature that might be the source of their power, The Beguiler and Manipulator would both turn fanatics' zeal to their own efforts. Conqueror is the only one that fits less until I realize you could do some terrifying shit with priests of a god of war. Blood for the blood god, boyos.