Brotherhood of the Horned Darkness - Cult Organisation: The Brotherhood of the Horned Darkness takes the form of a secret conspiracy, a mystery cult that takes great pains to keep its existence hidden from the outside world. It makes extensive use of go-betweens, ignorant hirelings, secret tongues, ciphers, and a rigidly enforced code of silence to maintain its cover. Behind this curtain, the cult's structure is strongly delineated, with its "masters" holding complete authority of life and death over its lesser members. Commonly these masters form a ruling cabal that numbers a ritually significant eight members. These collectively are the "Servants," and each has a direct pact with his Daemonic master.They often grant themselves grand titles such as "High Magister," "Ipsisama," or "Mokartus," but ultimately the cult's true master remains Balphomael itself -- none dare disobey its dark pronouncements. In past incarnations of the cult, the secrecy and paranoia of its members have meant that none other than the high magister knew the identities of all the cabal members, while to others they are only known as masked figures wielding absolute power.Below this cabal are an indeterminate number of worshippers, would-be masters, aspirants, and favoured agents, each hoping that they too will be deemed worthy of receiving the Archdaemon's notice. Openings in the ranks only occur should one of the members show failure or weakness, succumb to madness, or suffer death. Assassination, as long as it does not expose the Brotherhood or undermine its goals, is viewed as a perfectly acceptable avenue of advancement within the cult.As such, the cult's membership is made up of ambitious and driven men and women, seekers of power and wealth, and various power-hungry nobles, criminal overlords, scheming adepts, and avaricious guilders. Corrupt Adeptus Ministorum priests and planetary Enforcers are rarer among the Brotherhood, but highly favoured as avenues for the cult's wider power and influence.Serving as the Brotherhood's foot soldiers are hired muscle (often of some quality, given their master's resources), and those deemed useful to the cult who have been deluded, duped, blackmailed, bribed, or simply cowed into service. Although the majority of these lesser agents are not true members of the Brotherhood, they are left by their masters with no illusions about the price of failure or betrayal. Those showing suitable ruthlessness and ambition may be elevated to the Brotherhood proper after proving themselves.The cult's principal goal is to further the power, wealth, and influence of its ruling cabal, and of course to appease its hidden patron. To this end, the gestalt capability of all those within the Brotherhood and those they can control or influence are brought into play. Plots are hatched, rivals destroyed, secret agreements reached, webs of deceit maintained, and power wielded in the shadows, and the cult slowly spreads and grows.Backing all of these more mundane power games is the baleful influence of the Daemon and the dark rites carried out in its name, all of which must be paid for in blood and souls. If the cult has a particular weakness, it is the Daemon at its heart. Sometimes the Daemon's demands outpace its cult's ability to covertly fulfill, and the paranoia and intrigues it can engender, even among its own, can be counterproductive. Ultimately, Balphomael has a tendency to break its "toys."