"The world is yours my friend, It's yours to begin or to end."
- "Eyes of the Dreamer" by Charles Manson
In recent years there has been increasing coverage of a cult or series of cults that typically form on the borders of Allied and Soviet territories. Identified by use of scorpion tails, fists or hands in their iconography, and copious use of red, grey and black colours, these cults have been appearing, then often disappearing, repeatedly in the last decade. So little is known about them that they are considered by many to be an urban legend.
The common link in the philosophy of these cults is that they are waiting for someone, a glorious Messiah that will lead them to "glory and a promise of new life". Apparently this promise is to be fulfilled by military means as the members of the Cult are usually uniformed, trained and armed. These cults spring up in urban and rural lands alike, and recruit effectively and aggressively from disillusioned former soldiers, freedom fighters, criminals and other desperate men.
Local security soon learns to leave such cults alone; they are willing to defend their newfound faith with a terrifying fanaticism, convinced that one day soon their Messiah will return and bring with him the fall of the unjust.
All Cult units and vehicles are disguised as civilians or civilian vehicles when not attacking. Watch out!
Army[]
"We believe that there is a group operating independently of the Mafia, though we have found no evidence of who they are. They're distributing drugs at a rapid rate, and handing guns to hundreds of poor Americans. They're not Confederates, because they're even less organised. They're not Soviet, because we've seen no propaganda to that effect. Whoever this group is, it is as though the propagation of disorder is their only goal. I would say that such a group could not sustain itself for more than a few months."
- Major Lydia Winters, in a report on the situation in the United States.
The jackbooted footsoldiers of the Black Hand, Acolytes use bolt action rifles with skill and discipline, as well as narcotics-based hallucinatory grenades. Fighting them can be difficult due to their numbers, powerful weapons, and long range, though they are completely unarmoured.
Armed with highly illegal RPG launchers, the Armour Hunter is used when the Cult needs to defend itself against vehicles, and can also plant booby traps filled with stun gas.
Stealthy snipers of the Black Hand, Assassins use a long-range compressed-air gun to shoot darts filled with hallucinogenic toxins that cause their targets to go berserk, then slip away into the darkness. Add to this their ability to fire a disabling shot at vehicles makes these warriors the cream of the crop.
A Black Hand infiltrator and chemical expert, the Apothecary can disguise like other units, similar to the Spy, in order to infiltrate the enemy camp. The Apothecary debuffs any units in its presence, and is also able to sneak up to and poison an individual, which will slowly kill them unless they can reach a medic in time.
A light, fast moving melee-ranged bike with anti-tank demo charges and a heavy melee weapon. Reported weapons include monomolecular chains, wheel scythes, handheld lances and axes.
A light, flexible and distinctly skeletal vehicle armed with an unique glass canister gun, Buggies are used as anti-air patrol vehicles, quick transportation and status symbols within the cult. They are completely unarmoured; any weapon should prove effective. They can transport two infantry who can fire out of the vehicle.
Aging and outdated, Scorpion tanks are so cheap that they can be bought by practically anyone, including the Cult, who carefully paint them black and red and have been known to adorn them with candles and scripture. Their shells are filled with hallucinogenic gas that slowly kills infantry and can gradually kill the crews of vehicles. Additionally, the Cult has also fitted them with launchers that fire grenades filled with a gas that can make enemies drowsy.
Ezekiel's Wheels are the heavy hitters of the Cult, armed with autocannons that perform excellently against light vehicles. Expensive, fast, and stealthed, these vehicles can effortlessly crush infantry, small vehicles and walls as they roll along, even when stealthed. Additionally, these vehicles can also deactivate their cloaking to create fake units, perplexing your enemies.
A bizarre mix of an off-the-shelf construction vehicle frame and huge tanks of potent aerosol drugs, and vicious poisons reputed to be Super-reactor waste. They can spray a deadly poison gas or drive enemies crazy with hallucinogenic gas instead.
Protocol UnitThe Wicker Man is a vaguely humanoid construct that inspires a primordial and ancient fear, and constantly burns clouds of thick and hallucinogenic smoke; all infantry in a wide radius around it go berserk, and even vehicle crews move and fire slower as they struggle to cover their mouths and noses against the fumes. The Wicker Man can choose to put itself out and slowly move around the battlefield, but will not heal from the damage it has suffered.
Winching an improvised ore bin, Bluejay Transports are used by the Cult as ore collectors. They retain the ability to transport 8 infantry when not carrying ore.
Using a hodgepodge of old submarine blueprints. The Boomer is the Cultist answer to naval warfare. Sinking enemy and civilian ships with old Soviet 20mm deck guns or causing mass panic with their torpedoes loaded with hallucinogenics, which can also be fired on land to provide shoreline support. But the Boomer must surface to to actually fight.
These shrines are made by the Cult of the Black Hand and serve as their religious and military centres. They can be captured to enable the production of Black Hand warfare.
This deadly energy weapon is disguised as an inoffensive statue or piece of modern art.
Inner Circle Reinforcements[]
These forces can be called upon during Minor Faction Deathmatch. The inner circle, nicknamed "The Black Fist", of the Cult consists of psychics(known as magi when the Cult was founded), the (alleged) leaders of the Cult. Like their apprentices and minions, members of the inner circle dress in plain clothes and act like civilians when staying out of combat. But when the time is right and the enemies are already distracted and disrupted by their underlings, they will blow their cover to either deal a finishing blow or recruit some new minions as they wish.
Armed with specially made Needle Rifles stolen from the Soviets and WWI Zeppelin Darts, the Arsonists arrive on battlefields to make the will of the Inner Circle known to the unbelievers. If faced with large numbers can throw multiple darts at once and detonate them simultaneously, creating a massive fireball that incinerates infantry and raze structures.
Though it's possible to use a sniper rifle to down an aircraft, it's highly impractical. The Avenger on the other hand does it easily, thanks to a drug and their psychic power giving them limited precognition. They can even choose to take an extra potent mix to briefly increase their power, allowing them to hit at an enemy's critical parts at a longer range, at the cost of the withdrawal leaving them sick, and unable to do anything, for a few seconds.
Looking like the civilian variant of the Leopard LAV at first glance, the Mastermind is the Cultist special scout armed with a grenade launcher equipped with gas grenades. Once these grenades explode the Mastermind can use his psychic power to influence the minds of targets exposed to the gas, causing them to move about in confusion. And for special cases, they may even use their tranquilizer gun armed with a special dart, which allows the Mastermind to take complete control over one they shot, but due to the potency of the chemicals the target tends to die after a few seconds, and during this period the Mastermind must be completely still in concentration.
Stolen Rhino Tanks heavily modified by the Cult. The Lasher provides the Cultist with much-needed protection and support by dispensing healing drugs around them and creating confusion among their enemy with its mortar loaded with hallucinogenic gas. The Lasher can also flood the surrounding area with a special chemical, that combined with their psychic power, causes all enemies to inhale the gas to target the Lasher in anger, leaving them at the mercy of other Cult forces.
Taking the mothballed Eclipse and modifying them to the point of unrecognizability. The Banshee replaces the howitzer with a larger version of their Scorpions "death beam", which easily vaporises its target and anyone in between. Alternatively, taking a page out of their nemesis Jericho Cannon, the Banshee can fire a charged shot instead, firing waves of subliminal messages, with the aid of their psychic power, that lets them take temporary control over any ground forces struck, but must power down for a few seconds afterward. And said mind controlled targets tends to expire after a few seconds.
A Sparrow Helicopter utilized by the Cult to give their inner circle troopers a safe ride. Amazingly quiet, completely unarmed and hardly turning on its radar to avoid detection, the Sparrow can transport 4 infantry.
Reinforcement Packages[]
The Ring And Pointer
Call in 2 Sparrow Transport. Each carrying 2 Avenger and 2 Arsonist.
The Thumb And Pinky
Call in 2 Lasher and a Mastermind
The Middle Finger
Call in a Banshee
Stolen Tech Units[]
Stolen tech units are, as its name suggests, units acquired from 'borrowing' enemy technologies after an Apothecary infiltrates an enemy Logistics building, allowing the Cult to create units that are built to specifically counter their foe's tactics and exploit their weaknesses by using their own weaponry against them.
An improvised flamethrower tank built from a Retriever APC. It's flamethrower is supplemented by specially made bellows that spread gasses that, combined with the demonic design, cause anyone who witnesses it to run or stand in fear as they witness a monster of flames.
"Prototype" Rascal bombers piloted by sleeper agents. The Erinys carpet bombs the area with modified napalm bombs mounted on its wings. Its payload is supplemented with dumping excess fuel that covers an area with oil that makes anyone in it more vulnerable to flame damage and can be ignited to create a field of flames.
Modifying Reservist Condors stolen Spectrum equipment. The Comanche is a stealth gunship that marks its target with a Spectrum painter, and once locked on will fire a flurry of missiles that tracks its target, briefly revealing itself, but the painter can't track small targets like infantry. The Comanche can also just use its modified Spectrum painter by itself to mark its target instead which won't break its stealth, but unlike the Allied version it also disrupts its target's communications, slowing them down for an ambush.
Stealing the plans of an abandoned American jet project. The Aurora is a supersonic support jet that bombards its enemies with stolen Cryo bombs, leaving them as frozen pickings for the cult. And when surrounded the Aurora can fire its supersonic engines to make a mad dash, moving so fast it's impossible to damage while creating a sonic boom that stuns anyone unfortunate to be near it when it launches and stops, or simply shatter anyone frozen beforehand. Just be aware that it will horrifically explode when it crashes.
An Arsonist whose broken body is directly wired to a computer to enhance computing capabilities. The Ascendant is a heavily armoured cyborg capable of launching incendiary artillery shells at long range while his mechanical fists can shatter armour with ease, each Ascendant can also brace himself, increasing their ROF and range at the cost of mobility.
A nightmarish hodgepodge of man and machine, the Abomination consists of a mechanical body made from NRA Necroscience research and a brain of a dying Avenger in a jar, the Abomination is equipped with a reverse-engineered scrambler gun that fires in pulses, warping anything it hits beyond recognition. When surrounded, an Abomination could fire a scrambling bubble around herself that fuses flesh and metal, instantly killing infantry and vehicles. However, the ability will temporarily put the Abomination out of commision, as her own body is scrambled and requires repair.
A soldier armed with salvaged and heavily modified 30mm cannon and detection equipment. While he must set up to fire and takes a long time to reload his weapon has great range and is a danger to both men and light armour.
A relic from the last war, the Venom is a Hind armed with multiple machine guns that scythes through infantry and are a threat to light vehicles. It can release clouds of harmless but irritating chemicals that slows enemies and forces them to reveal themselves.
Fusing together broken-down PLA Battlemasters and Gatling Crawlers. The Gatling Tank is the pinnacle of anti-infantry weaponry, as its Gatling gun easily cuts down swarms of infantry and aircraft like a lawn mower to grass. It can spin up its gun to fire at blistering rates to do more damage but must stop to let the barrels cool afterwards.
Building off stolen plans of a rejected PLA vehicle. The Inferno Cannon Jade-infused shells bring a slow, painful, death to vehicles unfortunate enough to get hit, though it's too inaccurate and lacks the explosion to hit infantry. When ordered, the Inferno Cannon can also fire a shell made entirely out of Jade, and upon impact the shell leave a persistent field of radiation that melts infantry and vehicle crews dumb enough to enter until its destroyed.
Mounting old flak cannons and detection equipment on a pickup truck. The Quad Cannon easily tears apart infantry and light vehicles in a hail of fire. Alternatively, the Quad Cannon can fire a suppressing volley on a vehicle, leaving a vehicle helpless and immobile for Cult forces to gang upon.
Dune buggies modified with GLA technology. The Rocket Buggy is a rapid hit-and-run artillery unit that easily destroys anything on the ground in a volley of high-explosive rockets before retreating to reload. On command, the Buggy crew can fire a salvo of missiles filled with rage-inducing gas.
Buying and modifying Vanquisher jalopies. The Widow Makers are the Cult's answer to International Inc's vehicle fleet, as its modified cannon and shells easily destroy most vehicles in a single shot. It can also deploy land mines, via mine-dispersing shells, to halt armour columns.
Replacing the transport hold of a Skirmisher with repair cranes and an assault gun. The Lazarus Cannon can switch between shelling defenses to rubble or repair any damage their vehicle forces sustained in battle and, befitting its name, revive any vehicle wreckage back to full strength, often used to turn their enemies own vehicles against them.
High-ranking religious figures of the Cult. The archbishops can see through the Cult's disguises while their sermons inspire other cultists while frightening their foes. They also carry hallucinogenic grenades capable of temporarily turning enemies against each other.
Prototype tanks made by splicing various stolen blueprints. The Kane is a prototype stealth tank considered to be the magnum opus of the Cult with its state-of-the-art stealth generator making it invisible to even detectors and its incendiary missile launcher capable of razing anything it targets, though it can't maintain power to both its generator and launcher. Alternately the Kane can also deploy a strange device that shifts it to the PAWI dimension, making both invincible and letting it phase through anything, but activating the device overheats the Tank, forcing it to deactivate after some time where it needs a few seconds to reboot, and it's best advised that it doesn't deactivate while moving through a large obstacle such as buildings or over water.
Deathmatch Protocols[]
Thanks to Cult Radio Stations, the Cult has access to more protocols than other factions.
Death Gliders
The cult has its fingers in many places, and had no trouble getting its hands on some old hang gliders that are launched from the temple The people piloting the gliders can't attack, but they can choose to land at any time, becoming either normal Acolytes and Armour Hunters at that time.
For the Messiah!
An enemy infantry unit is revealed to be a true believer as she or he sets off the backpack bomb that he brought with him to work, exploding and releasing a cloud of crazy gas.
Decoy Flare
If it's good enough for the Confederate Revolutionaries it's good enough for the Cult. A flare is launched to make everyone panic in the belief that the cult is using one of its support powers
Scheduled Maintenance
Black hand supporters in the enemy maintenance crew schedule a trip to an enemy turret right when you will find it most useful, allowing you to temporarily disable one enemy turret.
Blinded
No one knows how they did it, but the Black Hand covers your minimap for a set amount of time so you can't see it.
Quisling
Turns out that conspiracy about drugs in the water supply is not so crazy after all. Target a war factory or barracks; a Black Hand loyalist will sabotage it with crazy gas, meaning that, for a short duration, units produced from this structure are under the standard insanity-inducing effects.
Riot!
Select an area with civilians in it. Certain drugs are added into the water supply, which causes civilians in the area to riot. These civilians will start attacking any enemies that come near them with molotovs and submachine gun fire. Note, however, that they are under no one's control.
Wicker Man
Having been built secretly throughout the entire battle, the Black Hand unveil a great metal machine covered in an iron lattice skeleton, smothered in hallucinogenic oils, and set on fire - the dreaded Wicker Man.
Behind the Scenes[]
The Cult of the Black Hand is, you guessed it, based on the Brotherhood of Nod.
And no, they're NOT Nod.
All of the Cult's infantry have names that begin with the letter "A".
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Hostile
Allied Reservists
National Revolutionary Army
Vietcong
Communist China
Global Liberation Army
Neutral
International Inc
Allied Nations • 
Soviet Union • 
Empire of the Rising Sun
Confederate Revolutionaries • 
Order of the Talon • 
Atomic Kingdom of China • 
Mediterranean Syndicate • 
Electrical Protectorate
Cult of the Black Hand