Universal Cultists

[Fnordlover]

Picture them in your head. Crazy, evil cultists. Secret meetings, twisted plots, midnight masses in service of the unthinkable. Got it? What color are their robes?

 

I'm about to start painting a group of cultists and I'm having trouble deciding on a color. I don't want the color to be indicative of their allegiance, I want them to be able to stand in for any group of evil cultists.

 

So I want to put it to the Forumites: What color says, "that's an evil cultist," without having it say, "That's a cultist of (blank)?" What color robes do you wear when you worship your dark Deity of choice? What color looks great, even if it covers 90% of the miniature?

[Glitterwolf]

I always love dark purples.

But they also look great in a red or a black with red or orange trim.

I've seen someone painting cultists in yellow robes.

 

Bottom line, it all works depending on your own taste.

[haldir]

I tend to have them in red robes, but I guess it all depends on what they are affiliated with. Demon like Khorne in GW? He has specific colors. Dragon Cult in Forgotten Realms, all depends on what dragon your affiliated with.

 

Anther color cult (well besides Culture Club.......) is the King in Yellow, his groupies wear yellow.

 

 

[Inarah]

Black and white works for nearly everything, including the church.  If you have a special leader type you need for a game, you can paint him/her in special colors. 

 

[ManvsMini]

I feel like cultists aren't the kind who go out and do their worshiping in broad daylight (what evil doer attacks in broad daylight?), they'd want to be hidden, so I would imagine dark colors are pretty fitting. I like the idea of dark purples, maybe some midnight blue. But I could also like the idea of really dark greens.

 

But, the cultists in Temple of Doom wore a good amount of red (and they were pretty evil), so if the cultists feel secure in their sanctum, brighter colors could work.

[Fnordlover]

The Temple of Doom cult was the Thuggee.

 

Many thanks for all of your input, it was very helpful.

 

More than half of the feedback I've gotten seems to go with purples, which suits me. I have half a dozen different purples next to my feet and probably three of them would be good as a main color. Pretty much the argument that convinced me was a friend who said without hesitation when asked, "Purple. It's always been associated with royalty and grandeur and evil cultists should see themselves as elites." 

[Glitterwolf]

1 hour ago, Fnordlover said:

The Temple of Doom cult was the Thuggee.

 

Many thanks for all of your input, it was very helpful.

 

More than half of the feedback I've gotten seems to go with purples, which suits me. I have half a dozen different purples next to my feet and probably three of them would be good as a main color. Pretty much the argument that convinced me was a friend who said without hesitation when asked, "Purple. It's always been associated with royalty and grandeur and evil cultists should see themselves as elites." 

 

When in doubt, use Purple is my motto!

[Chaoswolf]

Well, there's always the obvious one; black. Red, blue, purple, and green also work, particularly if put the descriptor 'dark' in front of them. 

Using black and any of those colors also works.

[SotF]

I'd probably go with the majority of the robes as black with a dark or blood red trim

[Cranky Dog]

No specific colour in mind save that they are always very dark, and that the leader will have extra trimmings on theirs. Cult leaders always have the nicest looking robes of the bunch. And they either keep their hood down, or they wear a mask and/or fancy hat.

 

I would say that any specific colour would be relevant to the worshiped subject.

• Worship the dead : Black with bone white highlights
• Worship war, destruction: Blood and crimson colors.
• Evil that sleeps beneath the sea: Navy blues and greys.
• Evil that lies in the woods: Tree bark shades of brown and grey.
• Endless night: Dark blues and purples.
• Dark scorching sun: Tans and shades of sandstone

Gotta blend with your environment while considering poor illumination.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Cranky Dog

[WhiteWulfe]

Purples and reds seem to be a default colour for me, as they can double for other things too... 

[Cyradis]

Does no one practice evil while wearing hot pink? Lame.

[Fnordlover]

2 hours ago, Cyradis said:

Does no one practice evil while wearing hot pink? Lame.

Depends on your definition of evil, I guess. Also, if I use purple for the main color, is purple still prime shadow coloration?

[Cranky Dog]

8 hours ago, Cyradis said:

Does no one practice evil while wearing hot pink? Lame.

Fans of the Kardashians or popular fashion designers could be considered a cult.

[Citrine]

Personally, I favor black with red trim, so that is why I painted my cultists that way.