Doctrines & rituals
The Temple is where the Lamb's authority becomes policy. Three verbs converge here: Sermon (generate Faith), Doctrine (declare permanent cult-wide rules), and Rituals (one-shot ceremonies that cost Bones and pay something specific).
The Temple. Four large icons radiate from the centre: Sermon (Faith generator + Sermon-tree upgrades), Crown (equip Tarot perks, Crown abilities, Fleeces), Rituals (bone-fuelled one-shots), Doctrine (declare a permanent cult-wide rule). One building, four mutually-reinforcing systems. Source: Game UI Database.
Sermons: the daily Faith pump
A Sermon is a free, once-per-day, ~30-second cutscene where the Lamb preaches from a pulpit and followers worship. It produces:
- a chunk of Faith (the bigger the cult, the bigger the chunk);
- a tiny progress tick toward the next Sermon-tree upgrade: the Sermon screen is itself a small skill tree with run-modifier nodes (reroll weapon, extra Tarot slot, +½ Heart Container, etc.);
- a notification entry ("You gave a Sermon. +5 Faith").
Sermons are the only free Faith generator. Everything else (rituals, doctrines, levelled-up followers) compounds them. Skipping a day costs nothing directly, but you're leaving a free 20–40 Faith on the floor.
Doctrines: the binary cult-wide forks
Doctrines are permanent cult-wide policy choices. You unlock a Doctrine slot by spending Faith via the Temple; each slot then presents a binary fork (rarely a trinary) with mutually exclusive options.
The Doctrines tome. Tabs at the top: Death (skull) / Worship (kneeling figure) / Law & Order (gavel) / Possessions (open palm). Possessions–I is the first slot of the gold/Faith branch. Two cards visible: Extort Tithes (Follower Command: Collect gold from a Follower once a day) selected, with the alternative ✕ option faded. Below: locked future slots awaiting more Faith. Source: Game UI Database.
The four launch branches
| Branch | Theme | Sample slots |
|---|---|---|
| Possessions | Coin, Faith, tithing | Extort Tithes vs. Inspire Devotion; "the cult is wealthy" vs. "the cult is humble" |
| Work & Worship | Devotion + labour rules | "Sermons feed the soul" vs. "Sermons feed the body" |
| Law & Order | Crime, dissent, punishment | "Imprison dissenters" vs. "Sacrifice dissenters" |
| Death | Funeral, afterlife, decay | "The dead are food" vs. "Cremation" |
Post-launch updates added more (Sustenance, Festival, Sins of the Flesh), see post-launch evolution.
Why each fork is real
Doctrines are designed so neither option is strictly correct. The "the dead are food" fork is the classic example:
- The dead are food: corpses become Follower Meat (cheap, plentiful, +Hunger). Slashes the food cost of the cult.
- Cremation: corpses are dignified, +Faith on funeral, no food bonus. Easier to keep Faith high.
The first is a resource exploit; the second is a Faith exploit. Picking one closes the other forever (no respec in the base game, Sins of the Flesh later added partial reset).
This makes Doctrines a macro-scale bonus-with-drawback, each one trades a different system's pressure relief for a different system's debt. Bishop fights drop Doctrine Stones to unlock slots, so the act-clear includes a new policy fork.
Doctrine-unlocked verbs
Many Doctrines unlock new verbs in the world rather than passive effects:
A Doctrine unlocks a follower-interaction verb. Read Mind adds a new option to the per-follower wheel: see hunger/sleep/sickness numerically rather than guessing from poop-on-the-floor signals. The doctrine system isn't only about cult-wide modifiers; some of its most impactful slots add quality-of-life verbs. Source: Game UI Database.
Rituals: bone-fuelled ceremonies
Rituals are one-shots paid for in Bones, the currency you harvest from defeated enemies. The tutorial card spells it out:
The bone economy tutorial. Rituals require Bones: Bones drop from enemies, therefore more Crusades enables more Rituals enables more cult control. The currency loop is visible to the player from the third tooltip. Source: Game UI Database.
The launch ritual menu
| Ritual | Cost | Effect | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sermon | Free | Faith pump | Daily |
| Wedding | Bones | Marry a follower; unlocks Smooch (added later) | 3 days |
| Funeral | Bones | +20 Faith, +loyalty buff, corpse dignified | Per body |
| Sacrifice of the Flesh | Free | Kill a follower → Bones + Follower Meat + Faith | Cooldown |
| Brainwashing | Bones | Force loyalty up, +20 Faith | 3 days |
| Resurrection | Many Bones | Bring back a dead follower | Long |
| Inauguration / Indoctrination | Free | Onboard new follower | Per arrival |
| Eternal Sleep | Bones | Euthanize an elderly follower (positive Faith outcome) | Cooldown |
| Alms / Tax / Feast | Bones | Cult-wide economic lever | 3 days |
Post-launch additions include the Blood Moon Ritual (40 Pumpkins, summons dead spirits for 3 days), Mating Ritual (Sins of the Flesh), and several others.
Rituals as the pressure-release valve
Rituals exist because Doctrines are permanent and broad; Rituals are temporary and targeted. When the cult catches a sickness spike, you don't need to declare a new doctrine, you spend Bones on a Sustenance Ritual to push it back. When Faith dips before a sermon's ready, you sacrifice a low-loyalty follower for the immediate Faith spike.
This is the same architectural shape as Doctrines being structural law and Rituals being executive orders, and the bone cost makes them legible: every time you light a candle, an enemy died for that candle. The ludonarrative loop tightens around the cost.
Why the Temple is the load-bearing building
Every other building in the cult specialises (Refectory feeds, Cooking Fire cooks, Outhouse cleans, Healing Bay cures). The Temple does four things and they cross-reference each other:
- Sermon generates the Faith you need to Declare a Doctrine.
- Doctrines unlock new Rituals and new follower-interaction verbs.
- Rituals consume the Bones you bring back from Crusades and feed Faith back up.
- The Crown menu equips the Tarot Cards / Fleeces / Crown abilities you've collected: modifying the next Crusade.
This is the central nervous system of the dual-life loop. Every other system either feeds the Temple or is fed by it.
Patterns this exemplifies
bonus-with-drawback: Doctrines are the macro version of the pattern: every binary fork closes another fork forever.