Rakdos the Defiler is the undisputed head of the Cult of Rakdos.
Rakdos the Defiler has lived for thousands of years. When we last saw him, his unconscious body was dumped into his lava pit in Rix Maadi. But now, Rakdos has awakened and is restored to his full power. He's in complete control over Cult of Rakdos, which is thriving and growing despite the low life expectancy of its members. While the proclivities of the cult members run the gamut between hedonism and destructive evil, Rakdos is at the far end of that spectrum. He embodies destructive evil, all in the context of twisted entertainment.
Rakdos' age and origins are unknown. He is capricious and megalomaniacal. He wants everything to happen on a grand scale. In one moment, he can be seen roaring with satisfaction at the sight of his performers. In the next moment, he might order they be set on fire while he laughs cruelly as they burn to death. He has an uncanny magnetism that draws people to him, and he rewards his followers by catering to their twisted desires. Carnage and carnal pleasures—these are the currencies of Rix Maadi.
When Rakdos is awake, he is the undisputed center of the attention. His whims are catered to, whether it is murder or mutilation, and nothing is spared to please the master. When Rakdos slumbers, which he does for days at a time, the cult members ratchet down the murder and chaos. Instead, the atmosphere in Rix Maadi becomes political and manipulative as the bloodwitches vie for control. Then Rakdos wakes up, and it's an orgy of bloodletting and mayhem again.