The story mainly revolves around an Acolyte whose name we have yet to see, and his mentor, Sister Embers who, after an unprecedented accident, must go to save the world from sin!
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Cult Following contains examples of
- Affably Evil: Grandmaster Flame doesn't care about anyone outside the cult, but he is genuinely supportive to Acolyte, as well as being much better at social interactions than his sister.
- Amusing Injuries: At least two characters have been set on fire so far. Neither were very bothered by the fact, and one was extremely upset to be dowsed with water.
- Anachronism Stew: Cigarette lighters and landline phones are a thing, despite the fantasy setting, along with airships and the like.
- Apocalypse Cult: The whole objective of the cult is to summon Lord Argaleth into the world so that he can cleanse it of sin.
- Compared to the regular example though, this trope ends up subverted, as helping other people is a major objective of the cult. Just not quite as major as summoning Argaleth.
- Background Magic Field: A small amount of magic is present in everyone and everything, which is how Jones is able to see despite being blind. Dreams and less physical forms of magic use this field to function.
- Bizarrely though, Gil is entirely absent of this usual magic.
- Bag of Holding: Acolyte uses this as his inventory storage. As a magic item, it appears to be quite common, as at least two other characters have also had their own Bags of Holding.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In-universe, the commands and suggestions of readers are the voices of extra-dimensional beings. Normally, a person simply interprets them for part of their own psyche, but gods can hear them for what they really are. As can Gil, for some reason.
- Cloudcuckoolander: In-universe, astronomers are treated as this, with good reason.
- Eldritch Abomination: The gods that lie outside the universe. They can be seen within portals, and while most appear to be quite small and made of simple shapes, a few are much bigger, with hair and fleshy lumps.God of Truth:of course, there are all the minor gods outside of the universe just itchin' to get in.God of Truth: Can't really let 'em in, though.God of Truth: I'd love to, but they can't play nice, y'know?God of Truth: Just wanna take everythin' for themselves, tear the world apart.
- Intrestingly, with the exception of Truth and possibly Existence, all the gods of the pantheon began this way.
- Evil Mask: The Flesh Golem's mask, seeing as it controls the body.
- Foreseeing My Death: The Truthbearer asked the God of Truth for exact knowledge of her death, which allowed her to fight without fear. Once the church became more modern though, the knowledge began to weigh on her. The Cult of Argaleth are responsible for her death.
- Foreshadowing: The symbol of the Eighth God can be seen in several shots of the night sky throughout the first act.
- Genre Savvy: Gil is very aware of narrative tropes, and attempts to use them to his advantage, such as when he assumed that he would be freed from prison. Unfortunately, his would-be rescuer is in fact a golem sent by an "old friend", but he ends up free anyway.
- It also slips into his speech every now and then.Gil: Hey, whatever, he's your recurring antagonist.
- However, it's stated that Gil's knowledge of the world being a narrative actually disturbs him deeply, and was possibly one of the reasons he ran away from home.
- It also slips into his speech every now and then.
- God Job: The God of Truth was once just a woodsman living on his own, until Existence showed up and offered him a place on the pantheon. Apparently, he was the most honest person they could find.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Apparently, Gil had an existential crisis when he was 10, after realising the world was a story and the voices in his head were readers.
- Hero Antagonist: Rick, Hal, Jones, and Sigma, once she joins their party.
- Inept Mage: At the start of the story, Acolyte only knows one spell, and can not sense magic.
- Interactive Comic: Even if a command is not directly used, they often still end up being referenced in the dialogue and other ways.
- Magic Misfire: Acolyte tries to undo a fire spell by casting it backwards. It doesn't work.
- Non-Protagonist Resolver: Mary, who the main characters were trying to save, convinces an angry mob to go away simply by telling them why they're wrong.Acolyte: ...wait, so that's it?Acolyte: She just yelled at everyone and then things fixed themselves?Gil: Yep.Gil: Welcome to the real world, kid.Acolyte: But...but that makes no sense!Acolyte: Then what was the point of us being here?Gil: I guess there wasn't.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Acolyte. Sister Embers 'probably' knows his name, but refuses to call him anything else. All attempts to introduce himself also get interrupted, usually by Sister Embers.
- Pals with Jesus: After making their way to the top of the Tower of Truth, the protagonists sit down and have a few drinks with the God of Truth, before being sent on their way with a bit of help and advice.
- Recurring Extra: Hector, a barkeeper who keeps trying to find a good place for business.
- Running Gag: Sister Embers is not very good at buying tickets.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Acolyte, pretty much all the time.
- Though at least, he appears to be aware of its existence. Sister Embers, on the other hand...
- Villain Protagonist: Acolyte, Sister Embers, and later on, Gil.
- Younger Than They Look: Rick is 19, but you wouldnt guess it from his beard and moustache.
