All Cult of the Lamb doctrines and how they work

Captivated by Cult of the Lamb doctrines? Daily sermons may grant you the devotion of your hapless followers in Massive Monster’s cult sim game, but doctrines are key to establishing what kind of leader you intend to be. Would you prefer to conduct a marriage ceremony within your temple or transform it into a fighting pit? As far as your followers are concerned, your word is law.

Your doctrinal decisions may be dramatic, but they’re not just for show. Some Cult of the Lamb doctrines may imbue followers with new traits, while others unlock interactions with followers or grant access to new rituals. If you’re low on materials, such as lumber and stone, you can prompt your cult followers to work harder – or perform a ceremony to consolidate your cult’s shaken faith after a failed crusade. If you’re having trouble surviving in The Lands of the Old Faith, take a gander at our Cult of the Lamb beginners guide. If not, read on to find out everything we know about Cult of the Lamb doctrines so far.

How to declare new doctrines with commandment Stone fragments

Before you can declare a new doctrine for your cult, a Commandment Stone is required. However, in order to get your hands on a whole one, you’ll have to collect fragments and piece them together yourself. You can harvest Commandment Stone fragments relatively quickly by increasing the loyalty level of your cult followers. Take care to bestow blessings upon them every day, and give them gifts as often as you can.

If you’d prefer to take a more stoic approach to leadership, you may also find Commandment Stone fragments during crusades. Fragments have a chance to appear in the item merchant’s shop or after defeating Cult of the Lamb bishops and their underlings – just be aware that these methods put you at the mercy of RNG, a common factor in many roguelike games.

Temple doctrines

Cult of the Lamb doctrines are split into five categories:

  • Afterlife: Reassure them that death is not the end.
  • Work and Worship: Have them proffer both labour and love.
  • Law and Order: Teach them the true meaning of obedience.
  • Possessions: Preach on the value of earthly goods.
  • Sustenance: Instruct them on the liturgies surrounding their daily bread.

All Cult of the Lamb doctrines and how they work

Once you have a completed Commandment Stone in your possession, return to your temple and declare a new doctrine via the ‘Crown Offering’ menu.

Doctrinal decisions

After choosing a category of Cult of the Lamb doctrines, you’ll be prompted to choose between two doctrines that will shape your cult. Each choice is well-balanced in isolation, but remember to choose doctrines that synergise well in the long-term, so that you can extort whatever you wish from your followers while still sustaining their faith.

Here are the Cult of the Lamb doctrinal decisions:

Work and Worship

Work and Worship I

  • Faithful Trait: All cult members will gain the Faithful Trait. Generate Devotion 15% faster.
  • Industrious Trait: All cult members will gain the Industrious Trait and increase work speed by 15%.

Work and Worship II

  • Inspire: Inspire a follower to significantly increase their loyalty. Replaces the bless action.
  • Intimidate: Intimidate a follower to slightly increase their loyalty as well as make them work +10% harder for two days. Replaces the bless action.

Work and Worship III

  • The Glory of Construction: Perform a ritual at your temple that will immediately build all structures currently under construction.
  • Ritual of Enlightenment: Perform a ritual at your temple that will temporarily increase devotion generation speed at your shrine by 20% for 3 days.

Work and Worship IV

  • Glory Through Toil Ritual: Perform a ritual at your temple which allows your followers to work through 3 days and nights without getting tired.
  • Holy Day: Perform a ritual at your temple declaring a day of rest. Your followers will not work that day and gain +80 Faith.

Law and Order

Law and Order I

  • Murder Follower: Unlocks the Murder Follower action. A simple solution to many problems, but some followers may find this upsetting… if they’re awake to witness it.
  • Ascend Follower Ritual: Perform a ritual at your temple in which you can ascend a follower’s spirit to a higher plane of existence. All followers gain loyalty.

Law and Order II

  • Ritualistic fight pit: Perform a ritual at your temple in which two followers fight to the death – unless you’re feeling merciful…
  • Wedding: Perform a ritual at your temple so you can marry one of your followers. Gain 30 Faith.

Law and Order III

  • Belief in Original Sin Trait: All are born guilty. Reduced faith loss when putting a follower in jail who is not dissenting.
  • Belief in Absolution Trait: Freedom above all else. Every day that begins without anyone in prison, gain +10 Faith.

Law and Order IV

  • Loyalty Enforcer: Perform a ritual at your temple in which you appoint a follower as your Loyalty Enforcer, tasked with patrolling the cult and raising the loyalty of your followers.
  • Tax Enforcer: Perform a ritual at your temple in which you appoint a follower as your Tax Enforcer, tasked with collecting money from other cult members.

Afterlife

Afterlife I

  • Belief in Sacrifice trait: All cult members will gain the Belief in Sacrifice trait. +20 Faith when another cult member is sacrificed.
  • Belief in Afterlife trait: All cult members will gain the Belief in Afterlife trait. Only lose -5 Faith when a follower dies instead of -20.

Afterlife II

  • Ritual of Resurrection: Perform a ritual at your temple that allows you to bring a dead follower back to life.
  • Funeral: Perform a ritual at your temple to conduct a funeral for a recently passed follower. Gain 20 Faith.

Cult of the Lamb doctrines: The red crown from Cult of the Lamb looking at the doctrinal decision about to be made, represented by two separate playing cards.

Afterlife III

  • Respect Your Elders: All cult members will gain the Respect Your Elders Trait. Followers receive +5 Faith for every elder follower in the cult.
  • Good Die Young: All cult members will gain the Good Die Young Trait. Gain +10 Faith if an elder is sacrificed, murdered, or consumed, but lose -20 Faith if an elder dies naturally.

Afterlife IV

  • Return to the Earth: Unlocks Natural Burial building. The corpses of the dead followers may return to the earth by becoming fertilizer.
  • Grieve the Fallen: Unlocks the Grave building. Gain 2 Faith when followers grieve at the grave.

Possessions

Possessions I

  • Extort Tithes: Unlocks the Extort Tithes follower action. Collect gold from a follower once a day.
  • Bribe Follower: Unlocks the Bribe Follower action. Bribe a follower with 3 Gold to increase their loyalty.

Possessions II

  • Belief in Materialism trait: All cult members will gain the Materialistic trait. Gain Faith when building better sleeping quarters.
  • Belief in False Idols trait: All cult members will gain the False Idols trait. Gain more Faith when placing a decoration building.

Cult of the Lamb doctrines guide: The doctrines tree for Possessions, detailing the route of doctrinal decisions and the information of each doctrine.

Possessions III

  • Alms for the Poor: Perform a ritual at your Temple in which you distribute gold to all followers to increase their loyalty. You will also gain +10 Faith
  • Ritual of Enrichment: Perform a ritual at your temple in which all followers donate coins to you.

Possessions IV

  • Sacral Architechture: All cult members will gain the Sacral Architecture Trait. When a new building is constructed, gain +5 Faith
  • Devotee Trait: All cult members will gain the Devotee Trait. Gain more Faith when delivering a sermon.

Sustenance

Sustenance I

  • Ritual Fast: Perform a ritual at your temple to declare a fast. Followers will not eat or be hungry for three days.
  • Feasting ritual: Unlock the Feasting ritual. Throw a grand feast for your followers to refill their hunger and gain +25 Faith.

Sustenance II

  • Cannibal Trait: All cult members will gain the Cannibal Trait. +5 Faith when eating a meal made from follower meat.
  • Grass Eater Trait: All cult members will gain the Grass Eater Trait. No negative Faith when a follower eats a meal made from grass.

Sustenance III

  • Ritual of the Harvest: Perform a ritual at your temple that causes all seeds to immediately be ready for harvest.
  • Ritual of the Ocean’s Bounty: Perform a ritual at your temple which for two days will make special fish more likely to appear while fishing. You will also catch double fish.

Sustenance IV

  • Substances Encouraged: All cult members will gain the Substances Encouraged Trait. Gain 20 Faith when Brainwashing Ritual is performed.
  • Belief in Prohibition Trait: All cult members will gain the Prohibitionist Trait. Increase work speed and devotion generation increased by 10% but 50% chance of followers becoming sick after the Brainwashing Ritual.

The One Who Waits doctrines

Occasionally, the One Who Waits will summon you to him after a death or a completed run to bestow upon you a doctrine of his own. You don’t have any choice in the one you receive, but these particular doctrines are an integral part of managing your cult.

The doctrines that The One Who Waits bestows are as follows:

  • Read Minds: Interact with followers to read their thoughts, as well as see how hungry, tired or sick they are.
  • Sacrifice of the Flesh: Sacrifice a follower to grow your strength and unlock new abilities and weapons. Higher level followers will be more valuable when sacrificed.

Quest doctrines

You may also acquire additional Cult of the Lamb doctrines through completing quests. The Lands of the Old Faith are populated with enigmatic creatures, and many of them will have favours to ask of you.

Sozo

Once you’ve found the mushroom recon team in Anura and unlocked the Spore Grotto, be sure to head there and pay Sozo a visit. He will ask you to retrieve Menticide Mushrooms, which you can either grow from spores on your farm or harvest during your crusades through Anura. The first batch of mushrooms will net you a Holy Talisman Piece. Retrieve a further 20 for him, and he’ll grant you a psychedelic Cult of the Lamb doctrine:

  • Brainwashing Ritual: Perform a ritual at your temple that brainwashes all your followers. Faith will be locked at full for two days.

Over time, some of your followers may take umbrage with your doctrinal decisions and begin to speak out against you. If you’re having trouble keeping them under control, check out our guide to giving Cult of the Lamb dissenters a thorough re-education. Alternatively, take a look at the best Cult of the Lamb Divine Inspiration upgrades and ensure that your followers have everything they need to thrive.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/cult-of-the-lamb/doctrines