Game Master Introduction
The Cults of Thomas Dumiroir
The Cults of Thomas Dumiroir are not intended to function as traditional antagonists.
They are a symptom.
A consequence.
A side effect of something neither Thomas nor the player fully understands.
The Curse of Eloquence
Thomas possesses an extraordinary gift.
When sober, he is charismatic, articulate, and capable of inspiring others.
When intoxicated by absinthe, that gift becomes something else.
His speeches become visionary.
His ideas become contagious.
His words bypass skepticism and speak directly to hidden desires, fears, and longings within those who listen.
Most importantly, Thomas never remembers what he said.
Every major cult encountered in this chapter originates during an absinthe blackout.
The process is remarkably consistent.
A party begins.
Thomas becomes intoxicated.
A discussion starts.
Hours later a room full of strangers leaves believing they have witnessed a revelation.
Within days they have reorganized their lives around it.
Why the Cults Form
The Game Master should never provide a definitive explanation.
Perhaps Thomas possesses supernatural charisma.
Perhaps fragments of his forgotten nature emerge during blackouts.
Perhaps something speaks through him.
Perhaps people simply hear what they desperately want to hear.
The truth should remain uncertain.
What matters is that the phenomenon is real.
Thomas does not recruit followers.
Followers recruit themselves.
The cults emerge spontaneously.
The members genuinely believe they are acting of their own free will.
In many ways they are.
Devotion
Every cult formed around Thomas shares one trait.
They want him.
Not merely his ideas.
Not merely his approval.
Thomas himself.
His presence.
His attention.
His participation.
Every group regards him as founder, prophet, teacher, visionary, saint, or spiritual father.
Some wish him to lead.
Others wish him to guide.
A few merely wish him to remain nearby.
The distinction quickly becomes academic.
Regardless of ideology, every group believes Thomas belongs at its center.
Rejection
The cults react poorly to rejection.
Not violently.
At least not initially.
The members remain polite.
Understanding.
Supportive.
Reasonable.
And then they begin appearing everywhere.
The artist glimpsed across a gallery.
The believer sitting several rows behind him at a lecture.
The smiling communalist encountered unexpectedly in a coffee shop.
The behavior rarely crosses into obvious criminal stalking.
Instead it exists in an uncomfortable grey area.
Each individual encounter can be explained.
Collectively they become impossible to ignore.
The cultists remain convinced that Thomas will eventually return.
Their patience is often more disturbing than hostility would be.
Competition
The cults do not merely desire Thomas.
They compete for him.
Fiercely.
Every group believes it understands him better than the others.
Every group believes it represents the future Thomas truly intended.
Every group regards the others as dangerous misunderstandings.
Yet around Thomas they remain remarkably polite.
Patient.
Respectful.
They never argue openly in his presence.
They wait their turn.
Exchange smiles.
Shake hands.
Even compliment one another.
The hostility exists elsewhere.
The Secret War
The cultists rarely direct anger toward Thomas.
Their devotion prevents it.
Instead they reserve it for rival groups.
The Circle believes the others are suffocating Thomas.
The Fellowship believes the others are corrupting him.
The Communion believes both groups are trying to possess him.
Each faction is convinced it is protecting Thomas.
Signs of Violence
Thomas rarely witnesses the conflict directly.
Instead he finds evidence.
Blood-soaked recruitment pamphlets abandoned in an alley.
A man beaten unconscious with a ceremonial banner pole.
A vandalized mural covered in threats.
A drowned mime discovered in the East River still wearing a fish costume.
No one admits responsibility.
No one seems surprised.
The victims always belong to one of the rival groups.
Possessiveness
The longer a cult feels neglected, the more troubling its behavior becomes.
The members begin speaking about Thomas less as an independent person and more as something entrusted to them.
A responsibility.
A destiny.
A founder who has lost his way.
Most never recognize the shift themselves.
In their minds they are helping.
Protecting.
Rescuing.
The language becomes increasingly paternalistic.
Or maternal.
Or devotional.
Depending on the group.
The underlying assumption remains the same:
Thomas belongs with them.
Thomas simply has not realized it yet.
Escalation for the Game Master
Most cultists remain harmless.
Many are genuinely kind people.
The danger emerges when devotion combines with disappointment.
A neglected faction may eventually conclude that persuasion has failed.
That Thomas is being manipulated by rivals.
That his judgment is compromised.
That he must be protected from harmful influences.
Or that he needs help remembering who he truly is.
At this point the cult may begin planning interventions.
A surprise visit becomes an attempt to isolate Thomas from competing influences.
The participants sincerely believe they are helping him.
That belief often makes them more dangerous.
Extreme Measures
A faction may eventually decide that Thomas’s consent is no longer the central issue.
If the cult genuinely believes Thomas is a prophet, messiah, founder, saint, or spiritual father, then temporary resistance may be interpreted as confusion rather than refusal.
Such groups rarely think of their actions as coercion.
Instead they speak of intervention.
Protection.
Healing.
Recovery.
Rescue.
The language remains benevolent even as the behavior becomes increasingly alarming.
A neglected cult might therefore attempt to ensure Thomas attends an important gathering regardless of his wishes.
Members justify the action by convincing themselves that once Thomas arrives, he will understand.
Once he sees what they have built, he will remember.
Once he is among his true followers, he will thank them.
This conviction can lead otherwise ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts.
The Horror
The cults become frightening not because they are evil.
Most members are not.
They become frightening because their affection is genuine.
Their devotion is genuine.
Their gratitude is genuine.
And because every member sincerely believes that what they are doing is ultimately for Thomas’s own good.
The First Blackout
The Circle
Three days after an absinthe-fueled gathering in a Lower Manhattan loft, Thomas begins noticing the same young man repeatedly appearing nearby.
Outside a gallery.
Across a café.
At a bookstore.
At first Thomas assumes coincidence.
Eventually the young man approaches.
Lucien Voss.
Mid-twenties.
Short black hair.
Black gloves.
Black clothes.
An artist.
Or at least he was.
Now he claims to be part of something larger.
The Party
According to Lucien, the gathering began as an ordinary artist’s party.
Painters.
Writers.
Musicians.
Film students.
Gallery owners.
Performance artists.
Drugs.
Alcohol.
Arguments.
The usual New York mixture.
At some point Thomas climbed onto a table.
No one remembers exactly when.
Only that people stopped talking and began listening.
For nearly six hours Thomas spoke about art.
Not paintings.
Not galleries.
Reality itself.
He argued that art should no longer represent dreams.
Art should create dreams.
Reality should become impossible to distinguish from imagination.
Memory should become unreliable.
Stories should spread like infections.
Every attendee remembers different details.
Yet all remember leaving convinced they had witnessed the birth of a movement.
The Result
The party never really ended.
The attendees kept meeting.
Then recruiting.
Then creating.
The Circle now exists.
Every person present that night joined.
Every one.
Several have abandoned careers.
Others have sold property.
All are working toward the same goal:
A neo-surrealist movement capable of dissolving the distinction between dreams and reality.
They are already recruiting new members.
According to Lucien, growth has exceeded all expectations.
What Lucien Wants
Officially?
Nothing.
Unofficially?
Everything.
He wants Thomas involved.
Present.
Visible.
Leading.
If Thomas accepts, Lucien becomes almost inseparable from him.
He watches Thomas constantly.
Laughs at jokes before they are finished.
Defers to his opinions even when unnecessary.
The attention quickly becomes exhausting.
If Thomas refuses, Lucien insists he understands.
Then continues appearing unexpectedly throughout Thomas’s life.
At exhibitions.
Bookstores.
Cafés.
Public lectures.
Always smiling.
Always waiting.
Always hopeful.
As though Thomas’s acceptance remains inevitable.
The Second Blackout
The Fellowship of the New Covenant
Several days after another blackout, Thomas begins noticing the same woman.
A glimpse in a bookstore.
Again after a lecture.
Again at a café.
Unlike Lucien, she does not immediately approach.
She simply waits.
Patiently.
As though giving Thomas time to remember something.
Eventually she introduces herself.
Rebecca Hale.
Middle-aged.
Well-dressed.
Calm.
Intelligent.
The sort of woman people instinctively trust.
When Thomas admits he does not know her, Rebecca smiles.
“Oh, we met.”
A pause.
“You simply don’t remember.”
The Party
The gathering occurred in a private townhouse.
A mixture of academics, clergy, social workers, nurses, teachers, and religious seekers.
The evening began as a theological discussion.
By dawn it had become something else entirely.
Witnesses claim Thomas spent hours discussing redemption.
Not divine redemption.
Biological redemption.
He argued that humanity waited passively for saints, prophets, and messiahs.
Why wait?
Why not create them?
Why not deliberately raise children selected and nurtured for wisdom, compassion, sacrifice, and spiritual greatness?
Why rely on miracles when humanity could become an instrument of salvation itself?
As the evening progressed, Thomas’s ideas became increasingly strange.
According to multiple witnesses, he eventually made an astonishing claim.
He insisted that his own bloodline carried an unusual spiritual inheritance.
That children conceived from his seed would possess distinctive characteristics.
Not divine.
Not supernatural.
But unmistakable.
He allegedly declared:
“They would look as though Jesus were their father.”
Nobody agrees exactly what he meant.
Some interpret it symbolically.
Others literally.
A few insist he spoke with complete certainty.
Whatever Thomas intended, the guests listened.
And by sunrise they had begun making plans.
The Result
Every guest joined.
Every one.
Within weeks they had organized regular meetings.
Shared resources.
Housing plans.
Childcare networks.
Educational programs.
The Fellowship of the New Covenant was born.
The members now actively recruit others.
Their numbers continue growing.
Most believe humanity’s future can be deliberately shaped through the creation of spiritually exceptional children.
A growing minority believe Thomas himself may play a central role in that future.
What Rebecca Wants
Officially?
Nothing.
Unofficially?
Thomas’s cooperation.
The Fellowship views him as founder, teacher, and inspiration.
More importantly, many members believe he possesses something unique.
Something that should be preserved.
Something that should be passed on.
Rebecca explains this with complete sincerity.
No embarrassment.
No fanaticism.
No visible insanity.
Only conviction.
The Fellowship has already discussed practical matters.
Housing.
Education.
Healthcare.
Childcare.
Long-term financial support.
Several women have volunteered to become mothers within the project.
Some members have quietly suggested that Thomas’s genetic contribution may be more important than his physical presence.
Others insist both are necessary.
The discussions have become increasingly detailed.
And increasingly unsettling.
If Thomas Accepts
Rebecca becomes one of his most devoted supporters.
She remembers his preferences.
Anticipates his needs.
Introduces him to new members.
Defends him whenever he is criticized.
Her attention is constant but never overtly romantic.
Instead it resembles profound personal devotion.
Members of the Fellowship begin discussing future generations as though they already exist.
Several women openly speak of children they hope to raise.
Children they sometimes refer to as:
“The New Covenant.”
The more Thomas listens, the more difficult it becomes to determine where idealism ends and obsession begins.
If Thomas Refuses
Rebecca remains unfailingly polite.
She never argues.
Never pressures.
Never raises her voice.
In fact, she appears almost unsurprised.
As though she expected resistance.
“You’ve forgotten many things,” she says softly.
“You may remember this later.”
Afterward Thomas begins noticing signs of her presence everywhere.
Flowers.
Letters.
Anonymous gifts.
A familiar face several rows behind him during a lecture.
A woman waiting outside a church he happens to pass.
If confronted, Rebecca always has a perfectly reasonable explanation.
And every explanation is probably true.
Which somehow makes it more unsettling.
More troubling still, the Fellowship does not disappear.
The meetings continue.
The recruitment continues.
The plans continue.
Some members begin discussing alternative ways of obtaining Thomas’s participation.
Not through force.
Not through coercion.
Simply through patience.
After all, they are convinced they are working toward the salvation of future generations.
And in their minds, Thomas Dumiroir has already given them permission.
The Third Night
The Communion of Living Grace
The third movement emerges from the most chaotic blackout of all.
A rooftop party.
Rain.
Music.
Arguments.
Too much absinthe.
Thomas remembers almost nothing.
The consequences become impossible to ignore.
The Encounter
Several days later Thomas notices a familiar face waiting outside his apartment building.
Not lurking.
Waiting.
Patiently.
Comfortably.
As though he belongs there.
The man rises immediately when he sees Thomas.
His expression carries the awkward excitement of someone meeting a close friend who may not remember them.
Which, unfortunately, is exactly the situation.
Brother Elias
The man introduces himself as Brother Elias.
Not his real name.
A name adopted after the party.
He appears around thirty years old.
Long hair tied behind his head.
Simple linen clothing.
Several days of beard growth.
No jewelry.
No visible possessions beyond a worn shoulder bag.
The Party
The guests included activists, artists, spiritual seekers, students, drifters, and idealists.
The evening was entirely unremarkable.
Until Thomas began talking.
The topic shifted repeatedly.
Religion.
Loneliness.
Property.
Community.
Friendship.
Ritual.
At some point Thomas allegedly declared:
“Every human being is born a priest.”
“Property is merely fear with paperwork.”
“Prayer should happen as often as bathing.”
The statements spread through the gathering like a virus.
People stopped arguing.
Then started agreeing.
Then started planning.
By sunrise many had already decided to change their lives.
The Result
Every guest joined.
Every one.
The Communion of Living Grace formed within hours.
Members pooled resources.
Shared homes.
Shared possessions.
Shared responsibilities.
No one owns private property within the community.
Everyone is considered a priest.
Bathing and prayer have become daily rituals.
The Communion now recruits aggressively.
Not through coercion.
Through hospitality.
Many who visit decide to stay.
What Elias Wants
Officially?
Nothing.
Unofficially?
The same thing as the others.
Presence.
Recognition.
Belonging.
If Thomas accepts, members quickly begin treating his casual opinions as guidance.
The community begins orbiting him.
If Thomas refuses, they remain friendly.
Perhaps too friendly.
Members of the Communion begin appearing throughout the city.
Not following.
Not spying.
Simply existing wherever Thomas happens to be.
New York begins feeling strangely small.
Keeper’s Notes
The disturbing aspect of these movements is not that they are irrational.
They are rational.
Every participant can explain why they joined.
Every movement possesses coherent goals.
Every movement improves the lives of at least some of its members.
The horror lies elsewhere.
Three separate parties.
Three separate nights.
Three separate ideologies.
Three separate populations.
And in each case every attendee left convinced that Thomas Dumiroir had articulated a truth important enough to reorganize their lives around.
The player should eventually begin asking the obvious question:
Why does this keep happening?
And the more terrifying question:
What exactly does Thomas become when he drinks absinthe and forgets?
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 