In *Cult of the Lamb*, building a loyal flock requires more than just food and shelter; it demands a carefully crafted belief system. These beliefs are shaped by Doctrines, and understanding them is key to a thriving cult. Doctrines define everything from your followers’ afterlife expectations to their views on marriage and hard labor. Without a well-defined set of beliefs, your cult can quickly descend into chaos, riddled with dissent and inefficiency. This guide serves as your comprehensive manual to navigating the complex world of *Cult of the Lamb* doctrines, helping you build a cult that is both powerful and, hopefully, reasonably content.
This article aims to provide a complete overview of all Doctrines in *Cult of the Lamb*, detailing their effects, unlocking rituals, and offering strategic insights for choosing the best Doctrines for different playstyles. Whether you aspire to lead a peaceful, utopian community or a ruthless, resource-extracting empire, the right Doctrines are essential. So, let’s delve into the intricacies of shaping your cult’s destiny through the power of belief.
Understanding Doctrine Categories
Before we dive into the specifics of each Doctrine, it’s essential to understand how they are organized. Doctrines are grouped into categories, each focusing on a different aspect of your cult’s life and belief system. Choosing carefully within each category is vital, as each choice offers two distinct and often opposing ideologies.
- Afterlife: This category governs your followers’ beliefs about death and what happens after they pass on. The Doctrines you choose here will influence how your followers cope with loss and how motivated they are to live a virtuous (or obedient) life. It unlocks rituals surrounding death and remembrance.
- Food: Food Doctrines dictate your cult’s relationship with sustenance. Do you encourage lavish feasts or embrace periods of fasting and frugality? This category unlocks rituals impacting hunger and resource generation.
- Law and Order: As the name suggests, this category shapes your cult’s legal system and methods of maintaining order. It determines how you punish dissenters and reward loyalty. Rituals related to obedience and social harmony are unlocked here.
- Work and Worship: This category defines the value of labor and devotion within your cult. Do your followers prioritize hard work, devout worship, or a balance of both? Doctrines in this category influence productivity and faith generation, unlocking rituals that amplify these effects.
- Wedding: The wedding doctrine sets the stage for relationships and love. Should marriage be encouraged, or should things take a different route?
A Detailed Breakdown of Each Doctrine
Now, let’s break down each Doctrine option within each category, exploring its effects, unlocked rituals, follower reactions, and strategic uses.
Afterlife Doctrines
The Afterlife category determines how your followers view death. Are they fearful, accepting, or even welcoming?
Resurrection vs. Belief in Sacrifice
Resurrection: This Doctrine focuses on life after death, allowing you to resurrect a dead follower. Followers will believe that you value life.
- Effects: Unlocks the Resurrection ritual, allowing you to bring back a dead follower.
- Rituals Unlocked: Resurrection (brings a follower back to life).
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be happy knowing you value life
- Best Used When: You have a follower with strong traits or abilities that you want to keep around, or when you need to revive a critical worker or warrior.
- Gameplay Tips: Save your Resurrection ritual for followers with unique traits or high levels.
Belief in Sacrifice: This Doctrine suggests that death is a good thing. Followers will believe that sacrifice is good for the cult.
- Effects: unlocks the brainwashing ritual which converts followers to your cause
- Rituals Unlocked: Brainwashing ritual.
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be happy knowing that sacrifice is important.
- Best Used When: You want to prepare for sacrifices.
- Gameplay Tips: Combine this with doctrines that benefit from sacrificing followers.
Funeral vs. Memorial
Funeral: The funeral doctrine focuses on burying the dead, and can be performed more often than a memorial
- Effects: Followers get a small faith bonus.
- Rituals Unlocked: Funerals
- Follower Reactions: Followers will get a small faith bonus.
- Best Used When: You need an easy faith boost.
- Gameplay Tips: Utilize funerals frequently to maintain faith.
Memorial: A memorial is a grand gathering that gives a large faith bonus, but takes longer between each use.
- Effects: Followers will gain more faith from a memorial than a funeral
- Rituals Unlocked: Memorial
- Follower Reactions: Followers will gain more faith than if you did a funeral
- Best Used When: You need to do a large faith boost.
- Gameplay Tips: Utilize memorials when you have enough materials to keep followers happy in between memorials.
Food Doctrines
Food doctrines dictate what followers eat, and if they need to eat it often.
Cannibalism vs. Vegetarianism
Cannibalism: Cannibalism doctrine dictates that your followers can eat other followers.
- Effects: Followers won’t be as sad when they die, and you can eat them.
- Rituals Unlocked: Feast Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be less sad when another dies, but still sad.
- Best Used When: You have plenty of followers to spare, and need a food boost.
- Gameplay Tips: Kill old followers.
Vegetarianism: Vegetarianism dictates that your followers can only eat plants.
- Effects: Increase crop output.
- Rituals Unlocked: Grass Eater Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers are ok with the new diet.
- Best Used When: You don’t have enough food but plenty of seeds.
- Gameplay Tips: Farm often!
Fasting vs. Sustenance
Fasting: Followers will not eat for multiple days, but their work speed will increase.
- Effects: Followers do not eat for a few days, but work harder.
- Rituals Unlocked: Fasting Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be happy they are working harder.
- Best Used When: You need to gather resources.
- Gameplay Tips: Make sure they have plenty of food after fasting!
Sustenance: Followers are always full, and will be happy with even the smallest meal.
- Effects: Followers are easier to please with food.
- Rituals Unlocked: Communion Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers are happy.
- Best Used When: You do not have enough food.
- Gameplay Tips: Give the smallest meal, Berries, and followers will be happy!
Law and Order Doctrines
Law and Order Doctrines determine the rules your cult must follow.
Ascension vs. Punishment
Ascension: Kill old followers to make them a higher being.
- Effects: Allows you to ascend old followers.
- Rituals Unlocked: Ascension Ritual.
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be happy that old age is something to celebrate
- Best Used When: Followers start to get old
- Gameplay Tips: Kill older followers before they die from old age.
Punishment: Kill disenters and make it seem like it was their fault.
- Effects: Allows you to kill dissenters and followers like it.
- Rituals Unlocked: Sacrifice of the weak.
- Follower Reactions: Dissenting followers are scared.
- Best Used When: A follower is a dissenter
- Gameplay Tips: Do this when you have the opportunity
Alms vs. Tax
Alms: When followers die they give you resources.
- Effects: Gain resources after a follower dies.
- Rituals Unlocked: Bonfire Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers won’t care too much that the dead are giving you resources.
- Best Used When: You want extra resources.
- Gameplay Tips: Let the old followers die
Tax: Tax your followers for resources.
- Effects: followers pay you
- Rituals Unlocked: Tax Collector Ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers will be less happy that you are taking their belongings.
- Best Used When: You need quick resources.
- Gameplay Tips: do this every day for quick gold.
Work and Worship Doctrines
The work and worship doctrine will set the standard for how your followers pray and work
Industrious vs. Meditative
Industrious: Give followers an extra work shift for extra resources
- Effects: Extra work shift.
- Rituals Unlocked: Inspire Follower Ritual.
- Follower Reactions: Followers are happy to work more
- Best Used When: You need resources.
- Gameplay Tips: Use the inspire ritual
Meditative: Pray for gold.
- Effects: followers meditate and give you gold.
- Rituals Unlocked: Brainwashing Ritual.
- Follower Reactions: Followers are happy to meditate
- Best Used When: You need gold.
- Gameplay Tips: Meditate often!
Enlightenment vs. Belief
Enlightenment: Level up faster with enlightenment
- Effects: Level up faster.
- Rituals Unlocked: The enlightenment ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers like leveling up faster.
- Best Used When: You want stronger followers.
- Gameplay Tips: Level up as much as possible
Belief: Gain devotion when you level up.
- Effects: Gain devotion.
- Rituals Unlocked: A ceremony to give devotion.
- Follower Reactions: Followers are happy to give devotion
- Best Used When: You want devotion
- Gameplay Tips: Level up often.
Wedding Doctrines
Wedding Doctrines determine marriage rules.
Polygamy vs. Monogamy
Polygamy: Marry multiple followers.
- Effects: Can marry multiple followers.
- Rituals Unlocked: Wedding ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers are confused.
- Best Used When: You have a favorite follower.
- Gameplay Tips: Marry powerful followers.
Monogamy: Marry one follower and be faithful.
- Effects: Marry one follower
- Rituals Unlocked: Wedding ritual
- Follower Reactions: Followers believe in you.
- Best Used When: You want strong belief.
- Gameplay Tips: Pick a strong follower.
Love vs. Lust
Love: A mating tent is required to mate.
- Effects: Mating tent required
- Rituals Unlocked: A Mating Tent
- Follower Reactions: The cult follows rules
- Best Used When: You want control over your followers.
- Gameplay Tips: Keep followers in control.
Lust: Any follower can mate without tents.
- Effects: No tents required!
- Rituals Unlocked: Open relationships
- Follower Reactions: Followers have fun
- Best Used When: You want a happy cult.
- Gameplay Tips: Have more followers.
Strategic Considerations: Choosing the Right Doctrines
The “best” Doctrines are subjective and heavily dependent on your preferred playstyle. Let’s consider a few approaches:
- Pacifist/Benevolent Leader: If you prioritize follower happiness and harmony, focus on Doctrines that reduce dissent (like the Alms), increase faith (Memorials), and promote well-being (Sustenance). Vegetarianism can be a good option if you have a reliable source of crops.
- Authoritarian/Ruthless Leader: For those who value control and resource extraction above all else, Doctrines like Punishment, Cannibalism, and Tax are invaluable. Belief in Sacrifice is a cornerstone of this playstyle.
- Balanced Approach: Combining elements of both approaches can create a resilient and efficient cult. For example, using Industrious to boost resource production while also providing ample Sustenance can lead to a productive and relatively content flock.
Early game dictates that you will not have as many resources, so Sustenance is a good choice, as well as Monogamy. When you have more resources, change the doctrine!
Common Mistakes and Pitfalls
Even with a thorough understanding of Doctrines, it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are a few common pitfalls to avoid:
- Ignoring Follower Needs: Don’t become so obsessed with efficiency or control that you neglect your followers’ basic needs. Overworking them without providing adequate food or rest will lead to dissent.
- Focusing Too Much on One Aspect: A cult needs a balanced approach. Don’t only increase worship.
- Failing to Utilize Rituals: Rituals are powerful tools for reinforcing Doctrines, managing follower behavior, and boosting faith. Use them regularly!
Conclusion
Mastering the Doctrines of *Cult of the Lamb* is essential for building a successful and thriving cult. Understanding the effects of each Doctrine, considering your preferred playstyle, and avoiding common pitfalls will allow you to shape your cult’s beliefs and behaviors to your advantage. Remember, there is no single “right” way to lead a cult. The best way to master the Doctrines of *Cult of the Lamb* is to experiment and see what works best for your unique style of cult leadership. Now go forth and preach!
