What are legitimate reasons to worship an evil god/goddess?

Because they give you the power to do what you always wanted to do, but never could because of society/your own fears/the law.

An evil god is really just an enabler, they are that voice in your head that says "I should take what I want", except they make it so you actually can.

cookies

So they won't fuck you or your people up while you're dealing with their area of influence. Like appeasing an evil god of the sea and/or storms in hopes they'll decide not to capsize too many ships.

...

If you got a good deal out of it. Course, the deal probably won't turn out the way you think.

>"Your mother Eve gave up her throne in Eden for a crown in the Night World."

Because the good gods abandoned the world centuries ago and he's the only god still doing stuff.

Because if you don't, said god will inflict his "blessings" upon you and your village, town, country, planet...

A community might worship an evil god to keep it's wrath away from them, or towards someone who deserves it more.

An individual cultist might think that they've been cheated or exploited by "good" society, and the evil cult is the only entity on their side.

And maybe there's the belief that the universe itself is evil, good is a sham, and everyone either eats their neighbor or gets eaten.

It depends on the god. But I generally think its a "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." kinda idea or they truly believe in that deity's world view.

That's a decent point. Scouring ancient dark gods to test worship now.

The fundamental mistake you're making is you're mixing up evil with Evil. Evil and Good aren't abstractions but real forces, each equally important to the world. Worshipping Evil is a dirty job, but someone has to do it, right? Else why is there Evil in the first place?

Because they are active in the world and offer tangible, worldly benefits in a very short amount of time.

Those they want to exterminate also happen to be those you would love to see exterminated or at least you don't mind their extermination. Their tenets also happen to line up with yours, so the decision is pretty easy

They're only labeled 'evil' by those assholes from 'Hated Country' that everyone here knows only want their foreign gods worshiped.

From my point of view, *your* gods are evil.

This sound like a sitcom waiting to happen.

>Evil and Good aren't abstractions but real forces
You mean specifically in D&D right?

Because there aren't any good gods.

If you believe that said god is going to inevitably come out on top you could align yourself with them in hopes of mercy. It may or may not by in vain.

In D&D it's codified, but if there's a God of Evil running around then it has to be true to some extent.

Praise Kek.

May he smash the system so that we can be free of tyranny.

Memes be upon him.

...

On that note, I suppose a CE god could be useful temporarily to give you some advantage to fight a ruling LE god. You just have to be mindful that this CE god can't have total victory. I praise Kek and celebrate his power when it benefits the cause of freedom... but I sure as hell don't want to live in a world ruled by Kek.

Tradition, my father worship the dark god and his father and his father's father and son on and so forth.

>Good God
Follow all these rules, do all these good deeds, do as I say, and I may give you a miracle once in a while if I feel like it. I may also make you go through hell to test your faith.

>Evil God
Do whatever the fuck you want and so long as you sacrifice a baby or two once in a while I will make sure nobody other than me can fuck with you.

They've successfully deceived you into believing they're a good god/goddess. Kinda like Christianity's view of pagan religions during some periods.

In order to draw their attention away, or to appease them.
One of my favorite bits of mesopotamian lore is the whole deal with Pazuzu (Yes, the guy with a snake dick from The Exorcist) and his wife Lamashtu (Who can't have children and is super salty about it, so she goes around causing miscarriages). If you had a pregnancy you wanted to protect, you'd give the offerings to your fertility deity of choice, of course, but you'd also send along the equivalent of wine and chocolates to Pazuzu (Who normally just causes other diseases) so he'll have a night in with his wife and she'll be too busy with snakedick to mess with your kid.

So yeah. Oldschool deity bribery is a perfectly fine reason to worship evil gods.

Reminds me of the cult of Pazuzu, a demon responsible for locust and famines. Although evil, he scares away other even more evil spirits like his wife.

God in the old testament is kind of a dick. Ask a Jew I guess.

Depends on what they're a god of.

If they're a god of storms, the sea, and other things; then sailors will worship him. If for no other reason than to stop him wrecking their boats.

Imagine a setting where the only god trying to protect anyone from the teeming hordes of monsters and demons is unquestionably evil. This god provides succor to the weak, but only in exchange for their devotion. The closest thing this setting has to a Big Good and it's selfishly evil and wants to conquer all.
Imagine having to be a paladin serving this god.

...

I want to say this was...4e PHB 1?

Nah, the Dragon Magazine article on Bane.

Here's the issue with it.

Bless you.

If I live by/on the coast, of course I'm going worship the goddess of the sea regardless of her alignment. That in itself doesn't mean I'm going to be a backstabbing dick head like you'd expect, just that I don't want a giant wave to fuck up my house and I want the fishing to be good.

I've been kicking around an idea for a Father / Mother God pairing for a while now.

The Father is seen as a "Good" God by the masses. He is stern and uncaring for his children. He inflicts many sufferings and gives little help to the mortals who worship him, for if he did, they would never learn how to be strong.

The Mother however, is seen as an "Evil" figure by most. She is kind and loving, but to the point of almost coddling. Few worship her due to the state discouraging it, but those who do often find themselves surrounded by great luck and luxuries.

In the end their duality is about freedom, for the Father encourages his children to be strong enough to forge their own path, yet the Mother douses her children in so much affection, they become dependent on her good graces in order to continue to survive.

>Inb4 Freud pictures

No problem, it's a really nice article.

To make your country great again.

Legitimate as in "someone would totally do this"?

Same reason why radicals in real life do things like throw acid in women's faces for not dressing as they would prefer, stone people for infidelity, or persecute people who don't fit into the fabric of their community as well as they would like. Very few of these people think of their own actions as evil, and do not see their theological interpretations as such. Someone like this could easily follow the doctrine of a deity that told them that all of these things are not only okay but morally laudable.

The priests of these fictional gods are akin to our swindling televangelists, violent zealots, and psychotic cult leaders except that their twisted theologies are rewarded with tangible power from unholy masters even as they exploit the darkest aspects of the human psyche to wield power over their flocks.

Orcish priests of gruumsh are akin to ISIS imams who call for purging those who aren't part of their cult. Drow clerics of lolth are like Borgias who shake down noble houses for indulgences before assassinating one another over Papal politics. The D&D alignment system allows these groups to be neatly sorted out of the fold from the brighter side of religious influence and institutions and confronted as a separate entity. In the real world it is not so clean, but that is the appeal of escapism.

Holy shit... Drumpf btfo...

not being a fucking queer

Kek was already discussed

Because they will do something terrible if you don't appease them.
This is the best way without worshipers being a super secret cabal.

D&D doesn't have many examples but comes to mind.

Better to be in the hand of the devil than in his path.

Aside from the previously discussed "so that they don't fuck up my shit," I bet there are lots of people who get into dark gods out of boredom.

I'd watch it

From CthulhuPunk Part1
>This is the cultist who really worships the Great Old Ones, in a literal, religious
sense. He prays to them for power and protection, and he conducts rituals
and makes sacrifice to draw their favorable attention. Why do such people believe as they do? Do they believe that Shub- Niggurath or Cthulhu will reward them, or even spare them, because of theirdevotion? Some do, perhaps, absurd as such a belief may be. Other true helievers are more pragmatic, thinking that if they can prove useful enough slaves of
the Great Old Ones, they may learn to prolong their lives centuries beyond the normal span. They may perhaps be kept around even after the rest of humanity is destroyed - or at least they may be devoured last. There is some evidence that the Great Old Ones do sometimes empower their most evil and devout
worshipers with a greatly - perhaps infinitely -extended lifespan.
For others, the very thought of power may be enough. Such worshipers aren't like the opportunists (see below) who may desire power in order to accomplish some overriding goal. They just want the power for its own intoxicating sake.

Part 2

There me even a few true believers who serve simply because they
have found the Great Old Ones to be real. Such a cultist finds nothing behind
the faith and ritual of organized religion, but when he calls out to the Great Old
Ones, something answers. He cares nothing for his own empowerment - he
simply feels that it is his proper place as a mortal to live or die at the whim of
the gods, no matter how horrible they may be.
True believers are generally the most malevolent of the cultists, hut paradoxically
they also tend to he among the most mentally stable. It would seem
that the mental imbalance that results from exposure to the Mythos is, at least
in part, caused by the strain of trying to retain one's own free will in opposition
to the will of the Old Ones. Those who yield themselves freely and willingly to
alien command seem to he less afflicted by the process of surrender.

...

DARKSEID IS THE JOY AND THE EXTINCTION! HE WILL GRANT US ALL ETERNAL DEATH!

You're legitimately a bad person and you would prefer someone who approves of your negative tendencies than people who try to "heal" you?
They offer power and the freedom to wield that power in pleasurable ways?
General misanthropy?
The "good" guys might not actually be good? (e.g. god of light is dogmatic brainwashing cult where individuality is forbidden, the good side has made promises they failed to keep etc.)
There are no good guys?
Good and evil are a duality by necessity and you're facilitating that? (e.g. you support the death side of the god of life and death, because the god needs both halves to function or something)
They're very charismatic?
Their might-makes-right ascension plan means if you get strong enough you have the potential to just kill them and become the new god of evil?

Because, in the standard D&D cosmology, there isn't a fight between good and evil. There's a fight between Lawful Evil and Chaotic Evil. Good lost a long, long time ago, but the consequences of that loss have been postponed due to the ongoing fight between the victors. But eventually - inevitably - the Blood War will end, and the victorious force will conquer or devour all that is good.

Siding with good might guarantee you a blissful afterlife for a few decades, even a few millennia. But eventually it will come to a horrific end. Only by serving evil can you even hope to escape this fate.

Most monotheistic deities could be considered some measure of "evil" by modern standards, you're just supposed to submit anyway because they're the one true god.

It gets trickier with polytheism, where gods aren't worshiped alone but as a pantheon, and exist on a spectrum between "this god is benevolent and can be prayed to for protection and favors" and "this god has dominion over a bad aspect of the universe/is personally cruel, and must be appeased".

Because you profoundly enjoy the suffering of others and delight in causing as much of it as possible?

>What are legitimate reasons to worship an evil god/goddess?

Because they're the only one that will listen.

Because they're the last one left.

Because they chose to stay behind, to watch, to wait.

Because despite everything you've been told or read; they did in fact create you.

Because to do so is to embrace the true nature of primeval man.

Quick rundown?

Simple the god isn't going to smite your village.

Desperation. The dark gods aren't as picky about their followers as the good gods. When you are at your weakest and the benevolent deities have abandoned you, Bhaal, Satan, and their ilk are always there for you.

>I'd already lost so much. My farm, my family, my livelihood, my hope. On my knees, staring at the flaming stead and watching the humanoid shape as it disappeared into the darkness I had lost everything. To pray for replacements would be hollow and token. Everything was gone in an instant and there was nothing I could do, I'd never felt so powerless in my life.

>Then something stepped out of the flames and placed its hand on my shoulders. Its grip burnt fiercely, though I had no care at that moment. With a voice crackling like a hearth it offered me power I never had to achieve something I never could. Vengeance.

>It's been months now. I've torn through villages, wrecked towns and put forests to the torch searching for the one who wronged me. It feels fruitless, but the images of all I've lost are still burnt into my skull. To give up now would not only be to accept everything I've lost but contemplate the destruction I've caused in my pursuit. So I continue walking my bloody path.

Vengeance. Your goody two shoes god won't usually give you the power to do something like that. After all, two wrongs don't make a right.

Fear. My character is a Stormborn Sorcerer who worships Auril because he is afraid she will "take back what is rightfully hers".

>Judeo-Christian God
>Good aligned

Remember that shitty "Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon?" anime? That's basically what it's about

So that you aren't included on the list of things to be fucked up when they get stronger. You leave food out for the wolves so that they go after that and not your sheep. Its the dumb thing since if they know food is there they'll keep coming back meaning you have to keep doing it but you never were the smartest cookie.

Depends what you mean by evil and what you think the consequences would be. What are said god's motivations and domain, can it effect reality?

There's a whole bunch of variables here to take into account.

Love.

You know?

And, not, like, some kind of imaginary, distant, passive "unconditional, but it has a few conditions" kind of love, but: deeply personal, committed, passionate, emotionally invested, and surprisingly human love.

The kind where she takes you away from everything else, where she's your entire world and nothing else matters, the kind of love where you can't imagine or refuse to think of a world without her, the kind of blind love that has made you biased against all of her faults because no one has ever made you feel so whole, so complete, so unquestionably stricken by emotion and feeling.

The sort of love where she holds you and confides into you everything just as you've revealed everything about yourself to her: every horrible thing, every putrid act, every degenerate fetish... and it doesn't change everything, if anything the trust and love for one another has matured and as if it's all new to both of you.

Finally, she tells you she wants, no, -demands- you, she says no one else will do, she NEEDS you, she tells you no one else can satisfy her as you do... And the feeling is entirely mutual; no woman compares to her, she is your literal and figurative goddess.

Eventually this love bears fruit and there's children, so many, and all beautiful- just gorgeous, healthy, children.... Children that love you, look up to you, depend upon you for guidance, protection, as someone to nurture and love them.
All the while she's loyally stayed by your side.

But then you've got some cunt coming around, thinking he knows everything, saying shit like: your children are ugly, your wife's a lurid bitch, and you're a dumb fuck.
So, yeah, you know?
Love is a great motivator.

None

Men cannot worship what they deem evil wicked or defective.

>If you worship the generic good aligned Judeo-Christian creator god
>Judeo-Christian creator god
>good

What is the problem of evil?

If God is real, he is so evil he'll make the most chaotic evil character you've ever played weep in fear.

A mashup of BuenaKai and the Ebola-Chan cult. People believing or at least hoping that the monsters had understandable goals, being sent as divine punishment rather than just randomly, and that they could be directed against the enemies of the cult/warded away via rituals. None of this actually works, but it makes the cultists feel better thinking that if they have sufficient faith it'll be their enemies suffering rather than them.

>If you worship some obscure evil central-asian goddess of the moon and snakes, you probably have all of her attention at any particular moment you might want to talk to her. And evil or not, she's going to care. If she loses you, she's lost like 20% of her total followers.
>
>That's a decent point. Scouring ancient dark gods to test worship now.
>This sound like a sitcom waiting to happen.

They're hot, can crush you like an insect with a look, and give you cool shit if you wreck house in their name.

Also the gnostic view of the creator.

I need the money to pay off my college debts. Couple more weeks and I can safely hand in my two week notice.

Because good is dumb.

I see your shwartz is as big as mine.

You appease an evil nature god to not crack the shits and wreck everything.

I think half the point of the series is that it's highly debatable which of the two parties has the moral high ground in the light/dark conflict. The gods oppress the humans and are authoritarian and theocratic, but have order and peace in their lands. The age of dark would liberate mankind, but at the cost of killing the gods, destroying the order they built and possibly warping humans beyond humanity, into unrecognizable beings of pure emotion.
Neither is really fully good or evil, both sides are primarily focused on helping their own party, just in different ways.

Fear, any kind of profit or gratitude.
Just because a god is evil doesn't mean that s/he doesn't reward his/her followers.

He provides an invaluable service.

Misguided faith, "he isn't evil, he just requires a human sacrifice so he can make our harvest bountiful."

10/10

Would damn the world again

Not giving a shit about anyone but yourself.

Evil reasons of course.
Revenge, Greed and Vanity.

Statistics show conservatives give more (proportionally and in absolute quantities) to charities and community aid than liberals, though.

Also, chicks dig Antipaladins.

Isn't a lot of that money to Mega-churches that swindle people out of their money; and "charities" that are based around hatred and prejudice?

Teleevangelists should be fucking gassed.

Evil doesn't need to have legitimate purpose, that's why it's evil

The best reason is to appease them so they don't fuck up your life, which is an actual, real reason many evil gods are still venerated in Shinto, Buddhism, Voudoun, and other animist religions.

This is the basis of a book series.

Saving both of these this is good shit

In Black&White, I played a god who treat his believers as VIPs. Miracles everywhere, great food, housing. My starting village on the 2nd island extended so much that it occupied half of the island. Thousands of villagers. In B&W 1 it is really a big number.
Creature was nice and helping the villagers too.
My temple was dark as fuck because the childcare centre was just along the sacrifice altar and half of my villagers were Reproducteurs by holy duty.
Kinda faustian pact where you have prosperity and good health in exchange of sacrificing everyone's first borns.
It was fucking fun.

You don't know or think your god is evil. Just look at the Judeo-Christian god. His followers tend to see him as a benevolent god who loves everyone yet he ordered the Israelites to carry out genocide against the Caananites, repeatedly destroys cities, the world, and smites people for little or no reason, and sends people who don't worship him to hell.

You're already on a wicked path and you're looking for someone who'll call you one of his boys- the good Gods want nothing to do with you, so you go looking for the guy who condones wrecking havoc.

Not that guy, but those are the Bogdanoff twins. It's a /pol/ meme about how they control everything.