From https://cthulhueternal.com/open-mythos/, under OGL.
Summary of Entities
The descriptions of the following unnatural entities (races of creatures and unique beings) are, for the most part, directly based on horrors described by Lovecraft himself.
Two different formats are used to describe these entities — one for ultra-powerful “god-like” powers like Great Cthulhu or others of the Great Old Ones, and another for less powerful races of alien beings.
Entries for God-like powers described a minimum set of game parameters, since most encounters with such potent beings should be resolved in a narrative way rather than dictated by the whimsy of dice. To support a GM in weaving a compelling description of such a mind-blasting experience, a number of details are helpful:
- POW statistic: this is important to mental conflicts between Protagonists and the alien horrors; other game stats which relate to physical attributes are not provided since the outcomes of physical challenges should be dictated by the needs of the story.
- Common Types of Physical Attack: these are the ways in which the “god-like” power is most likely to inflict harm upon those it encounters; they are not exhaustive and are provided to allow a GM to quickly invent scenes where terrible carnage is meted out on those who have dared use force against such a titan.
- Special Abilities: Unique powers that will shape any physical or mental encounter with the entity.
- SAN Loss: the corrosive effect of witnessing the “god-like” entity in the flesh, or simply receiving its alien visions.
- Quote: a source quote from the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft describing the entity or its influences.
The format for describing less powerful entities and races is more fully-featured in terms of game mechanics. It includes:
- Full Game Statistics: STRength, CONstitution, DEXterity, INTelligence, and POWer are all listed on the same scale used for Protagonists (human normal ranges for each is 3-18).
- Derived Characteristics: Hit Points (HP) and Willpower Points (WP).
- Size Category: from smallest to largest — Extremely Small, Small, Medium, Large, Very Large, Extremely Large. Entities that are Extremely Small have an associated targeting penalty (making them harder to hit) while those that are Very Large or Extremely Large have a targeting bonus (making them easier to hit).
- Movement: a description of the typical maximum distance the entity can traverse in a combat turn.
- Armor: the number of Armor Points (if any) possessed by the entity.
- vs Lethal Damage: describes how attacks that normally yield Lethal Damage against humans will affect this entity.
- Attack Modes: for each mode, a % chance to hit is shown as well as the damage (either in terms of HPs or in terms of Lethality Rating). If an attack bypasses some points of target armor, this is also noted.
- Skills: ratings for some of the entity’s skills, concentrating on those that may be important to a physical confrontation or efforts to evade.
- Special Abilities: Unique powers (offensive, defensive, or other) that will shape encounters with the entity.
- SAN Loss: the maddening effect of witnessing the entity in the flesh.
- Quote: a source quote from the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft describing the entity or its influences.
Mythos Creatures
Mankind is not alone in the Universe. That is the terrible truth that lies behind all cosmic horror, and in particular the most well-known tales penned by H.P. Lovecraft.
Listed below are the unnatural creatures and unique entities invented by Lovecraft to be the agents of alien terror that propel his stories and provide them with ghastly detail. Compared to most of the monstrosities mentioned here, humanity is just an insignificant footnote in the ledger of all life that has evolved in our reality (and in those adjacent dimensions that are sometimes accessible).
Beings of Ib
Faithful Children of Bokrug
The city known as Ib in the land of Mnar was the site of one of the most infamous acts of destruction in the history of Earth’s Dreamlands.
For vast ages Ib was inhabited by a race of creatures (the so-called Beings of Ib) that were similar in scale to humans but vastly different in form. The bodies of the Beings of Ib resembled toads or frogs and they were silent – never a word issued from their pouty, slack lips. They also possessed large bulging eyes. It is said that the Beings of Ib descended from the moon; because of their unusual biology they felt most comfortable living in humid regions such as moors or jungles. The Beings of Ib never displayed any hostility towards humanity.
At some point in Dreamlands history, humans from the cities of Thraa, Ilarnek and Kadatheron expanded their territories to the point where they encroached upon the stone city of Ib and its neighboring lake. At first the two races co-existed. But eventually, the ruthlessness of the humans led them to commit a dire act – mercilessly killing all the Beings of Ib. Then they razed the city to the ground. On its ruins they built a new human city – a place they dubbed Sarnath.
However, the spirits of the Beings of Ib were not so easily dispelled. Along with their great god Bokrug, these dead souls waited for 1,000 years before they decided to take their ultimate revenge. One night, without warning, doom came to Sarnath and every human in the city was slain. Thus it was that the loyal Beings of Ib helped their god to become worshiped across the land of Mnar and beyond. The Beings of Ib – if any are still alive in the current Dreamlands – would be protected and supported by their god’s many adherents.
STR 12 CON 10 DEX 11 INT 12 POW 8
HP 11 WP 8
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Beings of Ib can crawl 9 meters/yards along the ground in a turn. If swimming they can move 10 meters/yards in a turn.
Armor: 2 points of rubbery skin.
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Being of Ib but inflicts normal Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Front Leg Strike 30%, damage 1D4.
Rear Leg Venom 40%, Lethality 5%, onset after 1D10 turns; mucous membrane and skin irritation.
Skills: Athletics 50%, Swim 75%.
Summons of Ib: The Beings of Ib have an innate ability to call others of their race to congregate to perform rituals to their god Bokrug together.
Terror of Ib: Anyone who witnesses the strange ritual dances of the Beings of Ib run the risk of being struck down by a chilling feeling of terror. Somehow the gestures which form part of these rites and the indescribable flames issuing from the golden platters combines to inspire horror. Anyone affected must make a POW×5 test or flee in abject fear. Remaining in the presence of this uncanny display costs 1/1D4 SAN per minute.
Dreams of Ib: The Beings of Ib (and their disembodies ghost forms) can make contact with humans through their dreams. Affected individuals experience visions of the lost city of Ib, usually accompanied by haunting alien flute music. So vivid are the dreams that those experiencing them cannot say for certain whether it was truly a vision or whether they were truly transported back to the ancient days when the city still existed. Superstitious folk believe that receiving such visions is a sign that one should show reverence towards the lost Beings of Ib and their great god.
SAN Loss: 1/1D6.
Beings of Ib are ultimate pacifists. Even when humans came to dwell alongside them (and even live inside the walls of their city), they were willing to share their territory and resources. It was purely human greed that caused the peace to be broken.
While traditionally associated with Earth’s Dreamlands, there is no reason that the Beings of Ib might not also be found elsewhere.
“It is told that in the immemorial years when the world was young, before ever the men of Sarnath came to the land of Mnar, another city stood beside the lake; the gray stone city of Ib, which was old as the lake itself, and peopled with beings not pleasing to behold. Very odd and ugly were these beings, as indeed are most beings of a world yet inchoate and rudely fashioned. It is written on the brick cylinders of Kadatheron that the Being of Ib were in hue as green as the lake and the mists that rise above it; that they had bulging eyes, pouting, flabby lips, and curious ears, and were without voice.”
— The Doom That Came to Sarnath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1920.
Bholes
Destroyers of Worlds
Bhole by Brad Hicks
According to Mythos lore, Bholes are worm-like creatures that inhabit the Dreamlands, dwelling in the valley of Pnath in the underworld. It is said that no one has ever seen a Bhole and returned from the experience to describe the creature first-hand. There are two reasons for this: firstly, the strange monstrosities typically dwell in places of absolute blackness. Secondly, they are huge and vastly destructive, easily crushing or devouring a human form perhaps without even noticing it.
There are some vague rumors of very similar creatures called “Dholes” — most authorities believe the two names to refer to the same horrors, but as always in the study of arcane matters there is no certainty or consensus about such matters.
STR 300 CON 400 DEX 8 INT 13 POW 24
HP 350 WP 24
Size category: Extremely Large (target size bonus: +40%).
Movement: Bholes can crawl 23 meters/yards along the ground in a turn. If they burrow into the earth they can move 12 meters/yards in a turn.
**Armor:**10 points due to massive physique (see MASSIVE, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Bhole but inflicts normal Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Crush & Smother 30%, Lethality 99%, armor piercing 10-points.
Swallow 30%, Lethality 99%, armor piercing 10-points.
Skills: Alertness 50%, Athletics 80%.
Sense Vibration: Bholes use echolocation (like that of a bat) to orient themselves in the pitch blackness. However, their eerie song also serves a secondary purpose, namely communicating with others of their species. Such signals can carry through several miles of solid rock. Some outlandish accounts even suggest that a Dhole’s song can penetrate through space and time. Because of this special perceptive ability, a Dhole can sense even the slightest vibration in the ground near their current location.
Massive: A Bhole is a gigantic giant worm from the Dreamlands. Its massive body loses hit points from ordinary attacks (minus armor), but attacks with lethality value are less efficient (see above).
Pinning: If the victim remains alive after a successful attack, he or she is usually buried under the Bhole’s vast body; all such targets are considered pinned.
Wormhole: Bholes eat through any type of rock or soil with ease. Their skin secretes a chemical that stabilizes their tunnels after they have been dug (or rather, chewed). Bholes are native to Earth’s Dreamlands, however, a Bhole can burrow not just through stone but also across time and space. By such arcane means, they are able to tunnel their way to reach other worlds. When a Bhole travels in this way, it leaves behind a curious and quite large tunnel through earth and rock which abruptly ends. For a short time after the transmigration of the Bhole, its wormhole remains open — potentially permitting other entities, or people, to follow it on its strange journey. A Bhole can also use its wormhole abilities to achieve a tactical advantage in combat, fleeing quickly or drastically shortening the distance between it and its opponents.
SAN Loss: 1D8/1D20.
It is believed that Bholes also also capable of digging tunnels between the Dreamlands and other dimensions. They pose an immense threat to any location they infest, since they are more than capable of devastating entire planets. A single specimen can reduce cities to rubble. Furthermore, their ability to “burrow” through time and space opens up many interesting story ideas for scenarios. Are such wormholes stable? Where do they lead to and in what time-zone? What transformations might happen to a human that uses such extra-dimensional anomalies?
Of all the many strangely-named creatures mentioned in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, no name has received as much debate and discussion among Lovecraft scholars as the Bholes – or Dholes – or, occasionally Doels. Published versions of Lovecraft’s short stories mention all of these names, seemingly referring to similar (perhaps identical) monstrosities. Scholars have wondered whether HPL intended these to be the same, or whether the difference in spelling is intentional. S.T. Joshi, perhaps the most prolific of modern Lovecraft scholars has strongly asserted that the appearance of the name “Dholes” in early published editions is actually an error – perhaps a mis-correction of someone’s reading of Lovecraft’s manuscript or typescript. For this description we have accepted Joshi’s argument, and made “Bhole” the primary name for these terrors. Of course, in the context of a game there’s nothing stopping inventive designers charting their own course and developing a distinct and separate worm-like monstrosity and calling it a Dhole. It’s your game after all.
“Now Carter knew from a certain source that he was in the vale of Pnath, where crawl and burrow the enormous Dholes; but he did not know what to expect, because no one has ever seen a Dhole or even guessed what such a thing may be like. Dholes are known only by dim rumour, from the rustling they make amongst mountains of bones and the slimy touch they have when they wriggle past one. They cannot be seen because they creep only in the dark.”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Cats of the Dreamlands
Graceful and Mysterious Denizens of Slumber
Earth’s Dreamlands are home to many cats. Some are native to that curious other reality, others are felines from our world indulging in their favorite pastime. The latter find their way to the Dreamlands in much the same way as human Dreamers. There they live in harmony with the native cats of the Dreaming, conversing in their feline language.
If it is needed, Cats of the Dreamlands can fashion themselves into formidable warriors. Fighting with fury and coordination they can present a fury of claws and sharp teeth upon their foes.
Dreamlands Cats have numerous enemies, not least of which are the sneaky Zoogs who seem always to be plotting ways to subjugate the feline population. Then there are the cruel (and alien) Cats From Saturn who alongside the dreaded Moon Beasts represent some of the most terrible opponents anyone could face in the Dreamlands.
Despite all their detractors, Cats of the Dreamlands spend most of their time as care-free and peace-loving citizens, living harmonious lives in the cities made by humans. They are even said to occasionally form lasting friendships with chosen human companions and even take such individuals with them when they travel to the dark side of the moon. Given that they make such trips by launching themselves into space in a vast single leap, riding along would be quite an odd experience.
Cats hold special status in a few parts of the Dreamlands. For example, in Ulthar it is the law that no person may harm a cat. The people who live in that city well understand the reason behind this ancient law (even if they can’t explain it fully to visitors). Somehow it relates to the worship of cats in Ancient Egypt, and the watchful protection which the goddess Bastet provides for felines in both the Waking World and the Dreamlands. Some say that the Cats of the Dreamlands simply know how to contact their goddess when the fur begin to fly …
STR 3 CON 3 DEX 18 INT 12 POW 10
HP 3 WP 10
Size category: Medium.
Size category: Extremely Small (target size penalty: -20%).
Movement: Cats can move 12½ meters/yards in a turn.
Armor: None.
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Claw or Bite 60%, damage 1.
Skills: Alertness 55%, Athletics 65%, Dreamlands Lore 25%, Military Science (Cats) 60%, Stealth 80%, Tracking (Smell) 65%.
Rituals: Accelerated Healing, Body Swap, Dominate Will, Open Dimensional Rift, Prolong Life
SAN Loss: 0/1 SAN to see a cat do something “impossible” outside the Dreamlands.
Are the common cats that we know really that different from the Cats of the Dreamlands? Perhaps for felines the barriers between the Waking World and that other dimension are easier to navigate – and that every one of these velvet-footed creatures is truly a denizen of both worlds. It may be that the only reason that nobody in our world has ever head a cat speak is because they want to keep us in the dark about their true abilities. Or perhaps it is some ancient feline law? It is possible then that the great rivalry between the Cats and the Zoogs might not just be in the Dreamlands but might extend into our world too. It would certainly explain what some of the otherwise bored house companions might get up to after nightfall. Who knows, maybe they even have their own abilities to cast Unnatural rituals?
“It was a stupendous sight while the torches lasted, and Carter had never before seen so many cats. black, grey, and white; yellow, tiger, and mixed; common, Persian, and Manx; Thibetan, Angora, and Egyptian […]”
— The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Colour Out Of Space
Incorporeal Devourer of Vitality
The Colour Out Of Space is an entity comprised wholly of energy of a form unknown to human science. Humans perceive it as a kind of alien color – a hue that is entirely unlike anything in the normal spectrum of light.
Wherever The Colour comes into contact with living beings or plants that life withers, the affected flora or fauna (or people) taking on the same extraterrestrial color. In one documented case, such a Colour came to Earth somehow embedded in a meteorite which fell close to Arkham, Massachusetts. Adding to the terrible devastation caused by the impact, the true horror was caused by the insidious corruption caused afterwards by the Colour. Over a period of months, the effect on people and the surrounding environment became increasingly devastating, ultimately ending in madness and death.
Nothing is known of the physiology of this bizarre creature and it is uncertain whether The Colour is a single, unique entity or part of a race of similarly enigmatic energy beings. Equally obscure is the motivation and aims of this weird but seemingly insatiable form of “life”.
STR N/A CON N/A DEX 14 INT 12 POW 20
HP 10 per size category* WP 20
* i.e., 10 HP for an Extremely Small Colour, 20 HP for a Small specimen, 30 HP for a Medium, 40 HP for Large, 50 HP for Very Large, and 60 HP for Extremely Large.
Size category: Varies from Extremely Small (target size penalty -40%) to Extremely Large (target size bonus: +40%) as The Colour grows (see GROWTH).
Movement: The Colour Out Of Space can move 15 meters/yards in a combat round while rolling along the ground; 25 meters/yards while flying.
**Armor:**None, but unaffected by physical attacks (see TRANSCENDENT, below).
vs Lethal Damage: IMMUNE – not affected by physical attacks yielding Lethal Damage.
Attacks:
Corrosive Touch 40%, damage 1D6 to both HP and WP (see also PENETRATING ATTACKS and LIFE FORCE DRAIN, below).
Skills: Alertness 50%, Stealth 70%.
Preternatural Senses: The Colour Out Of Space can innately sense all living beings in its immediate vicinity (15 metres/50-feet radius per size category: i.e., Extremely Small specimens can sense 15m, Small can sense 30m, Medium 45m, Large 60m, Very Large 75m, Extremely Large 90m).
Penetrating Attacks: The Colour is a purely energy being, hence its attacks are not impeded in any way by armor (i.e., ignore all Armor ratings).
Flight: The Colour can move effortlessly through the air and is not bound by the normal physical laws of motion.
Life Force Drain: The presence of The Colour exerts a corrosive effect on its surroundings, literally draining life. This is evidenced by rotting or wilting plants, disease, and accelerated aging in people and animals. The Colour’s influence is felt across a circular area whose radius depends on the size of The Colour (15m/50-feet per size category, as per PRETERNATURAL SENSES, above). Any being which remains in this area of effect cannot regain Hit Points through normal processes of natural healing; similarly, the regaining of Willpower Points is reduced considerably with a night’s sleep only recovering 1D4 WP. A person who remains for an extended period in territory blighted by The Colour will lose 1D4 SAN per week spent continuously in its influence. Direct physical contact with The Colour is even more damaging: not only do affected individuals lose HP and WP, but they also visibly age (e.g., gaining gray hair or wrinkles).
Transcendence: The Colour Out Of Space is immune to normal physical damage. It is a purely energy being which can easily pass through normal matter.
Growth: It is unclear whether The Colour is a single being or a colony of countless smaller energy creatures. Regardless, after becoming resident in a location, it slowly grows. Even the presence of a small Colour will be enough to begin the spread if the specimen is able to absorb life force from its surroundings. If fed in this way, a Colour will grow one size category (e.g., from Small to Medium) every 1D6 years spent draining the environment.
SAN Loss: 1/1D6 to see The Colour when it is Extremely Small or Small, 1/1D8 to witness it at Medium size, 1D4/1D10 to see it as Large, 1D6/1D12 to see it at Very Large size. Anyone unlucky enough to see The Colour when it reaches Extremely Large size suffers 1D8/1D20.
The origins and aims of The Colour Out Of Space are unknown. Perhaps it is an entity that explores the cosmos by piggybacking on comets and meteorites, uncovering new worlds as it journeys through space. It may be that its characteristic drain of any lifeforce it encounters is simply part of its experimental gathering of samples. Or perhaps its corrosive influences on the environment are The Colour’s attempts to make contact with other life – perhaps even its plea for help to survive in a physical reality that is inimical to its biology.
West of Arkham, the Gardner’s farm lies now underwater at the bottom of a man-made reservoir. It was in the well of that farm that The Colour once lived – perhaps some fragment of its strange hue still survives down in the cold depths?
“It was a monstrous constellation of unnatural light, like a glutted swarm of corpse-fed fireflies dancing hellish sarabands over an accursed marsh; and its color was that same nameless intrusion which Ammi had come to recognize and dread. […] It was no longer shining out, it was pouring out; and as the shapeless stream of unplaceable color left the well it seemed to flow directly into the sky.”
— The Colour Out Of Space, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Creeping Corpses
Animated Corpse-Colonies of Squirming Maggots
Creeping Corpses are the products of arcane rituals conducted by wizards and sorcerers who seek to gain a form of “immortality”. Via such magicks their bodies are transformed from human flesh into something nauseating – a mass of swarming maggots that maintains general humanoid outlines. These are grave insects that fed on the decomposing corpses of the wizards’ earthly remains, and thereby absorbed a fragment of that person’s spirit.
The colony of worm-like creatures usually assemble themselves into the approximate human outlines of the original sorcerer. Their bodies are, however, unnaturally soft and clammy and so the Creeping Corpses usually cover themselves in loose-fitting cloaks or veils to disguise their uncanny appearance.
Creeping Corpses cannot speak and can only communicate with others through gestures and by writing. Because they are, in fact, composed of hundreds of individual living things, the colony can rearrange to adopt other physical forms, squeeze itself through even the smallest of cracks or holes, and (in extreme cases) even disband entirely.
STR 8 CON 15 DEX 8 INT 18 POW 18
HP 12 WP 18
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Creeping Corpses can move 7½ meters/yards in a combat round.
Armor: None (but see UNNATURAL ORGANISM and SWARM, below).
vs Lethal Damage: PARTIALLY IMMUNE – when struck by a Lethal attack, percentile dice are rolled as normal even though the test will automatically fail. The Creeping Corpse, instead takes Hit Point damage equal to the lesser of the two digits on the Lethality roll.
Attacks:
Improvised Weapon 30%, damage 1D4-1.
Skills: Alertness 40%, Dreaming 80%, Dreamlands Lore 50%, History 60%, Occult 90%, Unnatural 60%.
Rituals: Aklo Sabaoth (Shub-Niggurath), Inflict Harm, Open Dimensional Rift, Open Dimensional Rift, Summon Entities (Night-gaunts), and other rituals at the GM’s discretion.
Formless: Although they tend to usually adopt a humanoid outline (in memory of their original form), Creeping Corpses in fact have no fixed rigid form. They can thus squeeze themselves through very narrow openings, even passing through tiny cracks if needed. They can also morph their shape at will, even taking on the rough outlines of specific people. Via such methods, the Corpses have a limited ability as shapeshifters, although they cannot mimic details such as facial features (a limitation they can overcome with a suitable mask).
Swarm: Creeping Corpses are made up of a vast colony of individual smaller creatures. If they wish, they can disperse that colony and instead attack as a mass of many insectoid horrors. Fighting back against such a swarm is difficult, since most damage is dispersed among many discrete bodies. In game terms, successful attacks against such a swarm yields a maximum of 1 HP damage. Lethal attacks cannot kill outright but yield HP damage instead (see above). If a Creeping Corpse is reduced to 0 HP while in swarm form, its constituent parts are considered scattered and/or destroyed.
Unnatural Organism: Because a Crawling Corpse’s body is little more than an ever-shifting mass of maggots, their physical form has no real weak points of vulnerable organs. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits. However, the creature still takes regular damage.
SAN Loss: 1D8/1D20.
The worm-laden forms of the Creeping Corpses aren’t dangerous physical opponents. They can, however, prove difficult opponents mostly because of their significant knowledge of the Mythos and its attendant unnatural rituals. After all, you don’t study the arcane arts without picking up a thing or two and living for centuries – even if as a maggoty mass – gives one time to reflect on the nature of reality and the many rituals for manipulating it.
Creeping Corpses’ ability to pose as human – at least in a very rudimentary fashion – also adds to their potential for mischief. Most Creeping Corpses belong to an arcane group aptly called the Cult of the Worm; most also worship Shub-Niggurath.
“The nethermost caverns, wrote the mad Arab, are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrible. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabao say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumor that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth’s pores ought to suffice, and things have learned to walk that ought to crawl.”
— The Festival, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1925.
Deep Ones
Scourge of the Seas
Deep One Maria Savko
This race of amphibious sea creatures has made its home in the dark trenches of the deep sea and on the reefs off the coasts of humans for a very long time. In such places they have built underwater cities, establishing aquatic empires. The Deep Ones worship their dark gods, Dagon and Hydra, and above all worship Great Cthulhu.
Deep Ones are notoriously deadly hunters underwater, although they can be just as deadly on land. Their physical form is human-like, but far more powerful, and their heads are more fish-like. Their skin is grayish-green with a white belly and a scaly dorsal crest. Deep Ones have webbed feet and gills and speak with raspy, barking voices. When conducting religious ceremonies, they sometimes wear Golden Tiaras of the Deep Ones.
Deep Ones are immortal: it is possible to see the knowledge of the aeons in their bulging dark eyes – assuming one survives an encounter. This usually only happens when the Deep One in question has a particular reason to let the person live.
Animals fear and shy away from Deep Ones, and dogs bark at them. The Deep Ones themselves fear the Elder Sign more than anything else.
Deep Ones have maintained a special relationship with humans, particularly those living in remote locations near the sea, for thousands of years. They also mate with humans and enter into pacts with them (e.g. The Esoteric Order of Dagon), often rewarding their partners with bountiful fishing and gifts of their golden jewelry.
STR 25 CON 30 DEX 18 INT 13 POW 15
HP 28 WP 15
Size category: Large.
Movement: Deep Ones can move 10 meters/yards in a combat turn on the ground; 13 meters/yards while swimming.
Armor: 3 points of thick skin (see also UNNATURAL ARMOR, below).
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Claw Rake 50%, Lethality 10% (plus KNOCK DOWN, see below).
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 40%, Stealth 40%, Swim 80%.
Rituals: Aklo Sabaoth (Dagon and Hydra), Summon Entities (Dagon and Hydra).
Amphibious Life Form: Deep Ones can breathe indefinitely both on land and in water. However, they dry out if they are separated from water for too long. Long-term separation from the water means eventual death for a Deep One.
Reproduction: Deep Ones can inter-breed with other species. Such unions can arise either voluntarily or from the Deep One exercising their Call of the Deep power (see below). The hybrid children created have some fish-like features to their anatomy, but otherwise possess the normal characteristics of their non-Deep One parent species. It is generally believed that hybrids evolve into Deep Ones as they age, with many disappearing into the sea. Having even a tiny amount of Deep One genetic heritage can trigger such a change, and it is possible for the taint to remain undetected for generations. The exact factors that trigger a transformation are not been fully known or documented. It is also unknown whether this hybridization is a frequent method of reproduction (perhaps the main way Deep Ones reproduce?) or a rare phenomenon.
Knock Down: If the victim is still alive after a successful claw rake, the force of the strike knocks them through the air landing them on the ground.
Call of the Deep: Deep Ones can compel other beings through a form of mental control. Once per turn, in addition to its combat action, a Deep One can make an opposed Willpower check against another being to attempt to bring it under such control. If the Deep One succeeds on the test, the victim has no control over their actions and must act as instructed. The victim, however, remains fully aware of what is happening. After each action performed under mental control, the victim can make another opposed Willpower test. Success means they have broken free. A Deep One can usually only mentally control one victim at a time, although it is possible that especially powerful specimens may be able to control several victims simultaneously. The experience of being compelled in this fashion costs the victim 1/1D8 SAN [helplessness].
Unnatural Armor: The armor value is on account of the overall toughness of the Deep Ones’ hide. The creatures rubbery flesh also absorbs damage more easily than usual, meaning that they ignore any Armor Piercing value of their attackers’ weapons.
Immortality: Deep Ones are inherently immortal, dying only from violent causes.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
“And yet I saw them in a limitless stream—flopping, hopping, croaking, bleating—urging inhumanly through the spectral moonlight in a grotesque, malignant saraband of fantastic nightmare. And some of them had tall tiaras of that nameless whitish-gold metal… and some were strangely robed… and one, who led the way, was clad in a ghoulishly humped black coat and striped trousers, and had a man’s felt has perched on the shapeless thing that answered for a head.
I think their predominant color was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked.”— The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
| Y’ha-nthlei This Deep One city lies off the coast of Innsmouth, Massachusetts in a spot also known as Devil’s Reef. In 1928, during the storming of Innsmouth by US authorities, Y’ha-nthlei was damaged by torpedoes fired by submarines. It is unknown whether this attack caused the destruction of the entire city or merely delivered superficial damage. The fact that Deep One activities have never entirely ceased in the area would, however, suggest either that Y’ha-nthlei still exists (in some form) or there are more such cities elsewhere along the same coastline. |
| Deep One Hybrids As a rule, the offspring arising from Human-Deep One mating are usually born resembling normal human babies. However, as they grow and develop their anatomy changes in increasingly bizarre ways. The individual’s head becomes strangely elongated and their facial features warp, causing a flattening of the nose and a bulging of the eyes. The latter can protrude to such a degree that the hybrid can no longer completely close his or her eyes at all. At the same time, across the entire body all hair is lost and the skin becomes wrinkled and scaly. Eventually as the changes proceed, the individual develops gills on the sides of their necks and webbed fingers and toes. The rate at which this transformation occurs varies considerably between hybrids. If it reaches completed, the individual has effectively evolved into a fully-fledged Deep One. In such cases, the (now-immortal) individual typically enters the water to join one of the Deep One colonies. However, not every hybrid fully reaches this state. Some become stuck at a certain point in their development, retiring from human society because their warped body carries too much of the “Innsmouth Look” to fit into normal society without drawing attention. |
Elder Things
Ancient creators of life
Elder Thing by Brad Hicks
This ancient race has inhabited the earth for many millions of years and may have created life on Earth as it appears today. Elder Things prefer water as their habitat, but can also move effortlessly on land and even fly.
Their appearance resembles a cylindrical shape approximately two meters high, the ends of each tapering slightly, so that an Elder Thing almost resembles a barrel. Furrows and ridges cover their body with strange growths. These, coupled with the creatures’ wings and strange head, shaped like a five-pointed starfish, lend the creature characteristics reminiscent of both animal and plant life.
The Elder Things established at least one major city in Antarctica and created the Shoggoths there who used by them as slaves. During the millions of years of their existence on Earth, the Elder Things have fought many conflicts, but now seem to have entered a kind of hibernation or seclusion.
STR 30 CON 50 DEX 8 INT 50 POW 20
HP 50 WP 20
Size category: Large.
Movement: Elder Things can move 10 meters/yards in a combat round on the ground, 13 meters/yards while flying.
Armor: None (see also UNNATURAL ORGANISM, below).
vs Lethal Damage: HIGHLY RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill an Elder Thing but inflicts normal Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Grab and Rend 30%, Lethality 15% (plus see PIN DOWN, below)
Skills: Athletics 30%, Fly 80%, Swim 80%, Unnatural 95%.
Rituals: Banish Entity, DHO-HNA Formula, Elder Sign, Summon Entities (Shoggoth).
Pin Down: On a successful attack by the creature, the target is Pinned down. This can only be avoided by successfully dodging the attack.
Shaping Matter: Elder creatures can shape matter they touch with their grasping arms, morphing it to their liking. By such means they are able to create completely new objects, creatures and even buildings with relative ease. Living creatures or people can resist this effect with a CON × 5 test. A transformation does not necessarily have to be detrimental or deadly for the affected living being. It is, however, always very painful and leads to a loss of 1d4/1d10 SAN.
Unnatural Organism: An Elder Thing’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits. However, the creature still takes regular damage.
Unnatural Toughness: The creature possesses a number of additional HP that are not derived directly from CON or STR using the usual formula.
Sanity Loss: 1D4/1D10.
The Elder Things are described in great detail in Lovecraft’s story “At the Mountains of Madness”. In this context, it is interesting to speculate as to whether or where there may be other dwellings for these beings apart from Antarctica. If they see themselves as architects of life forms, what might they have accomplished in the past millennia?
“Complete specimens have such uncanny resemblance to certain creatures of primal myth that suggestion of ancient existence outside antarctic becomes inevitable. Dyer and Pabodie have read Necronomicon and seen Clark Ashton Smith’s nightmare paintings based on text, and will understand when I speak of Elder Things supposed to have created all earth life as jest or mistake.”
— At the Mountains of Madness, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
Formless Hunter
Flying Terrors and Hunting-Horrors
Formless Hunters appear as a writhing, formless darkness. Survivors of their vicious attacks describe a variety of (sometimes conflicting) features, perhaps a testimony to the speed and ferocity of their assaults. Most often, accounts compare them to black smoke or a black veil floating in the wind. When needed, this amorphous mass can manifest mouths, wings, teeth, or claws on demand.
The Formless Hunting-Horrors are thought to be somewhat associated with Nyarlathotep, in whose service they are often found. Whether there is any connection between these flying hunters and the infamous Haunter in the Dark (considered a direct manifestation of Nyarlathotep itself), remains a point of conjecture.
STR 30 CON 20 DEX 16 INT 12 POW 15
HP 25 WP 15
Size category: Large.
Movement: Formless Hunters can move 9 meters/yards in a turn on the ground; 14 meters/yards while flying.
Armor: None (but see Formless and Flicker, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Formless Hunter but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
Raking Claws 50%, Lethality 15%, armor piercing 3-points.
Skills: Alertness 50%, Athletics 60%, Flicker 50%, Stealth 60%.
Formless: The physiology of the Hunters lacks any noticeable weak points or critical areas of the body. As such, it is impossible to target an attack against them to increase damage. Furthermore, critical die rolls in combat do NOT deliver double damage as usual. Otherwise, Formless Hunters takes damage as usual. Their amorphous form also makes it possible for the creatures to squeeze through the narrowest of openings.
Flicker: Formless Hunters exist partially between the dimensions, and as such can readily flit between planes of reality. In fact, some believe that the bodies visible in our reality (or the Dreamlands) may well be just a tiny fraction of a much larger form that exists beyond our normal dimensions. Because of their weird extra-dimensionality, some attacks simply pass straight through their “bodies” without dealing any damage – to model this weird ability in game terms, Formless Hunters are given a “Flicker” skill; this is tested each time an attack would otherwise strike them. Success on the test means the Hunter was outside our normal plane of materiality at the critical moment, and they are unaffected by the attack.
Flying: Formless Hunting-Horrors move through the air. This does not mean that they actually “fly”, in the traditional sense. In fact, their movement generally is not bound by the laws of Physics as we know them.
Vulnerability to Sunlight: Formless Hunters cannot tolerate sunlight. It causes them pain and makes them retreat to their original plane of existence. Prolonged exposure to sunlight is lethal to them. For each full minute a Formless Hunter is exposed to direct sunlight, it suffers 2D10 points of damage. Shorter exposures to light don’t inflict damage but serve to repulse a Formless Hunter. It also enrages them.
SAN Loss: 1D4/1D10.
These ruthlessly efficient hunters pose a dire threat to anyone they pursue. While these amorphous creatures would appear to have originated in Earth’s Dreamlands, reports suggest that the Formless Hunters can also be found in the waking world.
“Stars swelled to dawns, and dawns burst into fountains of gold, carmine, and purple, and still the dreamer fell. Cries rent the aether as ribbons of light beat back the fiends from outside. And hoary Nodens raised a howl of triumph when Nyarlathotep, close on his quarry, stopped baffled by a glare that seared his formless hunting-horrors to grey dust.”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Ghasts
Middle Predators of the Underworld
Ghasts are humanoid creatures found in the darker corners of Earth’s Dreamlands (principally the Vaults of Zin). In mass they are larger than human-sized (approximately the height and weight of a horse). They possess a characteristic pair of lower limbs that resemble those of a kangaroo. Via such powerful legs they hop around in an erratic motion.
Ghasts are predators whose favorite food is Ghouls. They are in turn pursued by the massive Gugs, who will happily devour a Ghast if given the opportunity.
STR 30 CON 30 DEX 14 INT 8 POW 10
HP 30 WP 10
Size category: Large.
Movement: Ghasts can move 13 meters/yards in a combat round.
Armor: 3 points of thick skin.
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Ghast but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Claws 50%, damage 2D8.
Skills: Alertness (odors) 60%, Athletics 50%, Tracking (via smell) 60%.
Excellent Sense of Smell: Ghasts rely exclusively on their sense of smell to track their prey.
Sensitive to Light: Light is extremely unpleasant to Ghasts and they avoid it wherever they can. Ghasts receive a -20% penalty to all actions when exposed to gentle illumination (candlelight or torchlight), but this increases to -40% penalty any time they are exposed to stronger light sources.
If they are ever exposed to daylight, they take 1D6 HP damage each turn.
Powerful Leap: Ghasts are able to jump more than 3 yards/meters from a standing start, and can leap further still from a running start. If they can succeed on an Athletics test at the conclusion of their jump, they can perform another action in the same turn.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Ghast society is primitive to say the least, with an individual’s place in the pecking order determined solely by their physical strength and ferocity. Their entire life is spent in a struggle: eat or be eaten.
Like the Gugs, they are subject to a curse that imprisons them in the underworld realms of Earth’s Dreamlands. It may be that they were the original builders of the Vaults of Zin where they yet reside, however no concrete evidence has ever substantiated that theory.
“The ghasts try to come out when the Gugs sleep and they attack ghouls as readily as Gugs, for they cannot discriminate. They are very primitive, and eat one another. The Gugs have a sentry at a narrow in the vaults of Zin, but he is often drowsy and is sometimes surprised by a party of ghasts. Though ghasts cannot live in real light, they can endure the grey twilight of the abyss for hours…”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Ghouls
Immortal Eater of Corpses
Ghouls are said to creep through the underground like dark shadows. However, only a few people have ever actually seen these immortal corpse-eaters and lived to tell the tale. The origin of these beings is obscure, however it is believed that some ghouls were once human beings.
At first glance, Ghouls look similar to people. On closer inspection, however, one can readily discern their lurking posture and the pale, hairless and rubbery skin that stretches over their bones. There is something canine about their appearance.
In close combat, a Ghoul’s claws and fangs make them clearly superior to unarmed humans. Ghouls attack for two main reasons: when they become very hungry or when they feel cornered. They feed on human corpses – whether they prefer fresh or old is unclear. Because of this grisly diet, Ghouls are often found near cemeteries or burial sites.
Ghouls often appear in small groups and carry out obscure acts that are (presumably) meaningful to their own kin. Some disturbing reports suggest they are organized in social structures and able to feel emotions such as joy, gratitude and fear.
In order to communicate with one another ghouls use a range of sounds, from chattering or squeaking sounds through to deep, rumbling and growling noises. They seem less sensitive to physical sensations of cold, illness and pain than humans.
For all their horrific and repulsive behavior, ghouls are perfectly capable of communicating with people and even doing business in their own interest. There are even reports of a “king” or “queen” of the Ghouls. In this context, Egypt apparently plays an important role, which might suggest that Ghouls settled in that part of the world long ago. After all, there are some ancient necropolises and tombs in the land of the pharaohs.
STR 20 CON 20 DEX 18 INT 10 POW 10
HP 20 WP 10
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Ghouls can move 11 meters/yards in a combat round.
Armor: 3 points of rubbery skin (see also RESISTANT TO PHYSICAL DAMAGE, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Ghoul but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
Claws 60%, damage 1D10, armor piercing 3-points.
Bite 40%, damage 1D8+2 (plus WORRYING, see below).
Skills: Alertness (odors) 70%, Athletics 60%, Disguise 30%, Stealth 70%, Unnatural 20%. Depending on the Ghoul’s life, it may know one or more languages.
Excellent Sense of Smell: Ghouls rely on their sense of smell to track down their prey.
Worrying: After a successful bite attack, a Ghoul can hold onto its victim. If it chooses to do this, the victim suffers an additional 1D4 Hit Points of damage each subsequent turn until the hold is broken by a successful ESCAPE action. At the same time the Ghoul is free to carry out other actions that don’t involve its grisly mouth.
Resistant to Physical Damage: Any physical damage is halved before being offset against the armor value. In the case of a critical hit, the damage is not halved, but neither is it doubled as per usual.
Feast on Corpses: By devouring human remains, a Ghoul may heal itself of 1D4 Hit Points of damage per day.
Subterranean Dwellers: Ghouls prefer to live underground near cemeteries. They can, however, also move around above ground (or through underground tunnels) when they need to travel places.
Sensitivity to Light: Bright light is very uncomfortable for Ghouls and they avoid it where they can, as it confuses their senses. In artificial light or in normal daylight, they receive a penalty of –20% on all tests. If the illumination is especially strong (e.g., powerful artificial light or bright sunshine), the penalty is –40%.
Immortality: Ghouls are undead creatures and are effectively immortal. However, that does not mean that they cannot be damaged and killed through violence.
Unnatural Rituals: Some Ghouls are able to perform rituals, especially if they had previously been sorcerers or ritual magicians prior to becoming a Ghoul. A few others who are particularly old may also have accumulated their own knowledge of rituals.
SAN Loss: 1/1D6.
Ghouls are an intriguing category of Unnatural horrors. On the one hand, their appearance and behavior are distinctly human-like. This is offset, however, by their instinctive nature and foul dietary habits which make them seem utterly alien and repulsive.
Ghouls are intelligent and social in their own way and live in an organized societal structure. Many are in possession of Unnatural knowledge that they have been able to accumulate over centuries. Furthermore, some Ghouls know details of the secret connections between the waking world and the Dreamlands: long forgotten tunnels, caves full of blackness and mysterious catacombs. These are places hidden from normal view, where one may travel to distant locations or perhaps even bridge the gap between the waking world and the lands of earth’s dreaming.
_“_There, on a tombstone of 1768 stolen from the Granary Burying Ground in Boston, sat a ghoul which was once the artist Richard Upton Pickman. It was naked and rubbery, and had acquired so much of the ghoulish physiognomy that its human origin was already obscure.“
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Gnorri
Grand Architects of Underwater Marvels
The Gnorri are a peaceful people who dwell beneath the waves in Earth’s Dreamlands. They are often found in places off-shore from the established land cities of the human residents. In these places the Gnorri build elaborate and magnificent structures crafted from exotic materials. Some of their constructions are vast in scale, rivaling the land-based cities of men.
The labyrinthine and intricate dwellings of the Gnorri can be seen by those who pass above them in ships, since they radiate light from their seabed locations, glowing with scintillating and many-colored light.
Gnorri are accomplished traders. While most comfortable in their native environment, they can (grudgingly) survive adequately out of water for some time. It is in the water where their grace and agility are most apparent.
STR 12 CON 13 DEX 14 INT 12 POW 12
HP 12 WP 12
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Gnorri can swim 13 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: None.
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Spear 50%, damage 1D8, armor piercing 3.
Skills: Alertness 60%, Swim 80%.
Rituals: Accelerated Healing, Aklo Sabaoth (Nodens), Inflict Harm, See Through The Ages.
Marine Lifeform: Gnorri are adapted to living underwater and swim through any depth of water with utter grace and agility. They can survive for short periods out of water, but if kept away from it for an extended period they would dry out and perish.
SAN Loss: 1/1D4.
Gnorri are typically warm-hearted and generous creatures. They like living in waters close to major human settlements, sometimes even teaming up with human engineers to build majestic hybrid environs like Ilek-Vad. Staunch allies of the Dreamlands peoples, Gnorri seek only occasional assistance in dealing with some of the various threats their undersea life entails.
There are rumors that Gnorri are worshippers of Nodens and serve as his agents in the Dreamlands. Competing hypotheses link the Gnorri with the Waking World’s own undersea dwellers, the [Deep Ones](#Deep _Ones). Via such imputed connections, they have also been loosely associated with Dagon and Hydra, and ultimately Great Cthulhu himself. But such linkages are just suppositions by Mythos scholars. Any connections between the Gnorri and a larger Mythos web is likely something that the human mind cannot properly understand anyway.
“It is rumoured in Ulthar, beyond the River Skai, that a new king reigns on the opal throne of Ilek-Vad, that fabulous town of turrets atop the hollow cliffs of glass overlooking the twilight sea wherein the bearded and finny Gnorri build their singular labyrinths, and I believe I know how to interpret this rumour.”
— The Silver Key, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1929.
Great Race of Yith
Inquisitive Librarians and Temporal Meddlers
Great Race of Yith by Brad Hicks
When the Great Race first came to earth 600 million years ago, travelling through both time and space, they elected to project their intelligences into the bodies of a terrestrial species of cone-shaped vegetation-based beings. What happened to the displaced consciousnesses of the cone creatures (if they were indeed intelligent in the first place) is unknown. The minds that occupied the bizarre conical bodies — festooned with strange protuberances — came from somewhere called Yith, but whether that was their original home or just the latest in a series of way stations on a long journey of mental migration nobody can say.
What is known, however, is that the Great Race possesses very advanced forms of technology. They seem to be locked in an eons-long battle with a terrifying species of Polyp-like aliens, who pursue the Yithian minds as they hop from planet to planet, era to era. The Great Race would seem to largely use their amazing technical abilities to stave off this existential threat, although they are also a scholarly and inquisitive species that seems to revel in the acquisition of knowledge.
The conical forms adopted by the Great Race in the Proterozoic Eon of Earth’s early development, stand about 18 feet (3 meters) tall and four greenish extremities at the upper end that can be extended or contracted. They also have a separate head, which is also mounted on a movable stalk. Large pincer-like claws are attached to two arms, which are used for transporting objects and communicating by means of clicking or scratching noises. Locomotion occurs through expansion and contraction of the viscous cone base.
Members of the Great Race are able to project their consciousnesses into the past or future and, moreover, to exchange them with the minds of intelligent beings. In this way, the Yithians can experience all knowledge from all times firsthand and also influence future timelines in their favor. The Yithians seem to obsessively collect and record this knowledge in vast library-like repositories in their “home era” (millions of years before our time). It is known that the ultimate fate of the Yithians is to abandon the conical shapes and flee into other forms … perhaps into Earth-based insect creatures in our future.
STR 50 CON 50 DEX 12 INT 45 POW 25
HP 50 WP 25
Size category: Very Large (target size bonus: +20%).
Movement: Members of the Great Race can move 9 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: 5 points (thick skin and sturdy build).
vs Lethal Damage: PARTIALLY RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll from a weapon does not kill a member of the Great Race but inflicts normal Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating. Lethal damage from other sources (e.g., explosions, fires) have normal effect.
Attacks:
Pincer 40%, Lethality 25%.
Electrical Weapons 30%, Lethality 4%× number of charges spent (see ELECTRICAL WEAPONS below).
Skills: All knowledge-based skills at 80% (see MASTERY OF SKILLS, below).
Consciousness Projection: Yithians are able to exchange their consciousness with other beings across space and time. To do this, they use a purpose-built Projection Machine. Before being swapped back to their own bodies, the Yithians customarily wipe the memories of the individual, by way of the Erase Memories ritual.
Vast Knowledge: The Great Race collectively carries vast knowledge about the past, present, and future. This permits them to undertake actions that seem to make no sense from a human’s point of view, but are beneficial because of events which have not yet transpired. A Yithian can call on this reservoir of knowledge while its consciousness is projected into another being. Sometimes fragments of this knowledge and incompletely erased memories remain in the mind of a swapped being after the projection has been reversed. With a successful Luck test, a person that has been such a victim may access fragments of this infinite knowledge, gaining a one-time +1D10 boost to their Unnatural skill.
Mastery of Skills: All of a Yithian’s knowledge-based skills are considered masterful with a skill value of 80%.
Electrical Weapons: The Great Race developed large camera-shaped weapons to use in their wars against the Polyp things. These devices shoot powerful bursts of electrical energy. The Great Race manufactured several different varieties; a common variety was powered by an energy pack that may contain up to 32 charges. When firing the Electrical Weapon, the firer can choose how many charges to channel into the resulting burst. This can be any amount (up to the number of charges remaining) but whenever a burst contains more than 4 charges there is a chance that an electrical overload will occur, ruining the weapon. The chance of this occurring is 5% for each charge channeled into the burst beyond 4 (e.g., if 8 charges were channeled the chance of burn out would be 20%). The basic range for an Electrical Weapon is 100 yards/meters; for each additional 100 yards reduce the chance to hit by 20% and reduce the gun’s Lethality rating by 3. Reloading a Yithian Electrical Weapon Gun by fitting a new charge pack takes one turn. There is no humanly‐known process of restoring energy to a depleted charge pack.
Unnatural Matter: Members of the Great Race are made of unnatural matter which absorbs most physical attacks without incurring significant damage. Any normal (non-Lethal) attack that succeeds will yield a maximum of 1 HP of damage. Lethal attacks are also much less destructive than usual against a Yithian (see above).
Unnatural Organism: The physiology of a member of the Great Race reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits.
Unnatural Rituals: Body Swap, DHO-HNA Formula, Dominate Will, Elder Sign, Erase Memories, Open Dimensional Rift, Voorish Sign.
SAN Loss: 1D6/1D12.
Through their immense knowledge and ability to manipulate the future, the Yithians can be responsible for many events that, at first glance, seem to make no sense at all. Such a paradox might arise when protagonists believe that a situation has been resolved, only to be surprised by an unexpected twist — a development with some seemingly intelligent motivation to it. It could be the sudden propitious arrival of reinforcements, or sudden discovery of some resources. Or it might be the sudden change in the behavior of an NPC – someone whose every action is now fully controlled by an intelligence of the Great Race living inside their head.
_“The Great Race’s members were immense rugose cones ten feet high, and with head and other organs attached to foot-thick, distensible limbs spreading from the apexes. They spoke by the clicking or scraping of huge paws or claws attached to the end of two of their four limbs, and walked by the expansion and contraction of a viscous layer attached to their vast, ten-foot bases.”
_— The Shadow out of Time, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1936.
Gugs
Cursed Titans of the Stygian Darkness
Gugs are one of the dominant species haunting the Underworld of Earth’s Dreamlands. Standing thirty feet tall, they these giant behemoths have black fur and their mouths open vertically to devour any prey with their razor-sharp teeth.
Gugs are formidable in strength and are known to predate on anything that moves in the darkness. They are most often found in the blackness between The Tower of Koth (their home), the ruins of Zin (where the Ghasts dwell), and the Plain of Bones. As with many creatures in the Underworld, the Gugs are subject to a curse that prevents them from leaving their dark territory.
The Tower of Koth has a trapdoor at its top that leads directly up into the Enchanted Forest. This doorway, however, bears the Sign of Koth which makes it utterly impassable to Gugs. Were it not for this apotropaic sigil, the Gugs undoubtedly would venture forth to devour the many Dreamers from the Waking World who start their journeys in that pleasant wood.
STR 50 CON 50 DEX 7 INT 12 POW 10
HP 50 WP 10
Size category: Very Large (target size bonus +20%).
Movement: Gugs can move 13 meters/yards in a combat round.
**Armor:**5 points of thick fur.
vs Lethal Damage: MASSIVE – Takes only 1 HP damage from attacks with Lethality < 25%; for attacks with higher Lethality Ratings, the Gug takes higher Hit Point Damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP damage).
Attacks:
Claws 60%, Lethality 30%
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Stealth 30%, Tracking (sense of smell) 60%..
Excellent Sense of Smell: Gugs rely on their sense of smell to track their prey.
SAN Loss: 1D6/1D12.
It is said that at one time the Gugs were zealous followers of Nyarlathotep as well as the Great Old Ones. Their worship of those terrible forces involved devoting sacrifices to them. This adulation, however, seemingly did not please the older gods but angered them – either that or some particular act by the Gugs provoked their ire. As a result, the Gugs became banished to the Underworld, never to again be permitted in the upper Dreamlands.
Some speculate that in the time before their exile the Gugs may have been a more enlightened race, lacking the bestial savagery that is presently their defining characteristics. There is no firm evidence to support or refute such a theory, although it must be said that the sophisticated architecture of the Tower of Koth – their great construction and current home – speaks of a certain intelligence and artistry. It also suggests some form of advanced social structure, something not commonly associated with the Gugs today.
“The Gugs, hairy and gigantic, once reared stone circles in that wood and made strange sacrifices to the Other Gods and the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep, until one night an abomination of theirs reached the ears of earth’s gods and they were banished to caverns below. Only a great trap door of stone with an iron ring connects the abyss of the earth-ghouls with the enchanted wood, and this the Gugs are afraid to open because of a curse.”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Hounds of Death
Merciless undead hunters
This undead creature is the product of a terrible transformation which occurs when a Jade Soul Symbol Amulet affects a dead ghoul or human. Most often such exposure happens when an existing Hound of Death’s is stolen, borrowed, or otherwise purloined. This compels the Hound to hunt down and kill the individual that now possesses the amulet. The act of slaying the transgressor causes his or her corpse to be transformed into a new Hound of Death.
The creature retains its basic form at the time of transformation – usually a half-rotted corpse or a skeleton – but it takes on canine features. It develops sharp fangs, terrible claws, and black web-like wings. At the same time its empty eye sockets begin to glow with a phosphorescent light in the dark.
Hounds of Death are rational creatures, but utterly vicious.
If a Hound of Death’s personal amulet is stolen, or if a creature otherwise draws its attention, the creature will always give chase. It is an unrelenting pursuer, usually tracking down its quarry within 1D10 nights. When it catches its victim, a faint and distant barking (like the sound of a monstrous dog) can be heard heralding his approach. This eerie bark draws steadily closer and closer. Once the Hound finds its victim, it will terrify them for another 1D6 nights before finally ripping them to pieces with tooth and claw. During such an attack, marked victims and bystanders might hear scraping and knocking on doors, a whirring or flapping in the air, mad giggles and unintelligible babbling. They might see inexplicable claw marks on the windows and experience the sensation of eyes watching from the dark. All of this is overshadowed by the ever-present barking of the invisible dog, which grows louder every night.
STR 20 CON 20 DEX 10 INT 10 POW 20
HP 20 WP 20
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Hounds of Death can move 15 meters/yards in a turn. When flying, the creatures can travel up to 20 meters/yard in a turn.
Armor: None (see also UNNATURAL SWIFTNESS, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Hound of Death but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
Claws 60%, Lethality 10% Armor Piercing 3 (plus see PIN DOWN, below)
Fangs 40%, damage 1D8+2.
Skills: Athletics 50%, Stealth 60%, Unnatural 30%, Pursue (find amulet) 70%..
Special Sense: The Hound of Death can unerringly locate its personal amulet over unlimited distances.
Pin Down: On a successful attack by the creature, the target is pinned down and then shredded. This state can only be avoided by dodging.
Curse of the Hound: Being mauled to death by a Hound of Death automatically triggers the dead person’s transformation into a similar undead monstrosity.
Ability to Fly: The creature can move through the air.
Light Sensitivity: Hounds of Death, like other Unnatural creatures, are extremely uncomfortable with light and avoid it where they can. They take a -20% penalty on all actions in normal daylight and -40% in bright sunshine.
Unnatural Swiftness: The creature is always considered a fast-moving target in combat. It can also use the dodge action against firearms.
Sanity Loss: 1/1D8.
After a successful hunt, a Hound of Death withdraws into his coffin like a vampire, clutching its Jade amulet with bloody fangs and a sardonic grin. Bats seem to show a special affinity for Hounds of Death. All members of the species seem to belong to the Cannibal Cult of Leng.
“For crouched within that centuried coffin, embraced by a close-packed nightmare retinue of huge, sinewy, sleeping bats, was the bony thing my friend and I had robbed; not clean and placid as we had seen it then, but covered with caked blood and shreds of alien flesh and hair, and leering sentiently at me with phosphorescent sockets and sharp ensanguined fangs yawning twistedly in mockery of my inevitable doom.”
— The Hound, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1924.
Keziah Mason
Vicious Witch and Hideous Nightmare
Keziah Mason by Lola Valola
Keziah Mason of Arkham was accused of witchcraft at the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and under torture confessed that she had signed an oath to the Dark Man. She also admitted to travels through time and space by means of a magic of “lines and curves”. Before being sentenced, Keziah disappeared from her cell without a trace by employing exactly this type of dimensional manipulation, leaving nothing by a few lines painted in blood on the walls of her cell.
In truth, the witch Keziah escaped not just from her imprisonment, but also from the physical reality we understand. She entered into some kind of transdimensional space, where she still exists. From such weird dimensions she continues to haunt Arkham. Keziah is not undead in the normal sense of the word, but it must be admitted that but the centuries she has spent lurking in the space between dimensions have changed her.
On May 1 and Halloween, Keziah Mason returns to our reality (and to Arkham particularly) to enact a ritual during which she sacrifices young children to prolong her own life. These offerings are made to the Dark Man (Nyarlathotep).
In physical appearance, Keziah resembles a typical witch as portrayed in fairy tales, having a hunched back, a long nose, malicious eyes, and a croaking voice.
She has a familiar – a Rat Creature named “Brown Jenkin” – who continues to serve as her messenger. This ugly beast survives by feeding on Keziah’s blood.
STR 13 CON 12 DEX 13 INT 16 POW 22
HP 13 WP 22
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Keziah Mason can move 7 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: None.
vs Lethal Damage: APPARENTLY NORMAL – Keziah’s mortal form is affected as normal by Lethal damage, however it is up to the Game Moderator to decide whether the death of her physical form truly destroys her.
Attacks:
Fingernails 30%, damage 1D4.
Ritual Dagger 40%, damage 1D4+1.
Skills: Dreaming 40%, Insight 60%, Science (Mathematics) 80%, Stealth 60%, Unnatural 50%.
Rituals: Annihilation, Dominate Will, Inflict Harm, Open Dimensional Rift, Prolong Life, Summon Entity (Dark Man form of Nyarlathotep), Summon Entities (Elder Things), Voorish Sign.
Mind Control: Keziah can enter people’s dreams and influence their decisions by means of a kind of hypnosis. Once per night, she can attempt give a dreamer such a mental command. If she wins an opposed POW test against the target, the target must follow her instruction.
Transfer Curse: Keziah has the ability to transfer a curse from one party to another. She needs to be within close proximity (near enough to “touch”), either in the real world or inside a dream reality.
Sanity Loss: 1/1D4.
While Keziah was supposedly killed by Walter Gilman in the 1930s, who knows if such a vicious and clever spirit can ever truly be extinguished forever.
| Other Witches Keziah Mason is just one possible manifestation of a witch. Witches can be human (and comparatively harmless), undead, or outright monstrous beings. Regardless of whether they appear as nightmare loners like Keziah Mason, neatly organized in a Witches Coven, or as superficially friendly new-age witches, Witches can prove extremely clever and dangerous opponents. They rely less on their physical strength and more on their power and the numerous rituals they know. Two other suggestions for formidable witches: - - The triple Baba Yaga personifies virgin, mother, and hag. She is an immortal shapeshifter who lures with promises of help – but the price for that help is very high. - The human Wiccan follower who entered into a covenant with the Dark Man and received unnatural knowledge and rituals in return – knowledge that will soon shatter her sanity. Possible rituals known by witches: Accelerated Healing, Aklo Sabaoth (Shub-Niggurath), Aklo Sabaoth (Yog-Sothoth), Annihilation, Body Swap, Dominate Will, Erase Memories, Inflict Harm, Open Dimensional Rift, Prolong Life, See Through The Ages, Summon Entities (Night-gaunts), **Summon Entity (**Dark Man form of Nyarlathotep), Voorish Sign. Possible unnatural abilities for witches: Enhanced Senses, Flight, Mind Transfer, Mind Control, Shapeshifting, Transfer Curse. |
“[…] It was this house and this room which had likewise harboured old Keziah Mason, whose flight from Salem Gaol at the last no one was ever able to explain. That was in 1692—the gaoler had gone mad and babbled of a small white-fanged furry thing which scuttled out of Keziah’s cell, and not even Cotton Mather could explain the curves and angles smeared on the grey stone walls with some red, sticky fluid.”
— The Dreams in the Witch-House, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1933.
Leng Folk
Semi-Human Merchants of Cruelty
Leng Folk are humanoid in general outline but have cloven-feet and horns on their head. They are natives of the Dreamlands, where they live in thrall to the terrible Moon Beasts. Every act of abuse or violence they suffer at their masters’ hands they pass on to anyone unfortunate enough to be under their power.
The Leng folk ply mercantile trade in the Dreamlands as well as serving as crew on the infamous Black Galleys that sail the seas of that other world. They are left in charge of the blasphemous monstrosities that are to be found below-decks on those vessels, pulling at their oars.
The Leng Folk sell their exotic wares in the coastal towns of the Dreamlands. They are especially known for the massive rubies which they sell in the markets of Dylath-Leen. Whenever Leng Folk must do business in the cities of more polite civilizations they routinely disguise their inhuman features. Thus, many of the people with whom they enact commerce never lay eyes upon their true, satyr-like, forms. The only feature that is impossible to conceal is their unnaturally wide mouth.
STR 10 CON 12 DEX 14 INT 13 POW 13
HP 11 WP 13
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Leng Folk can move 10 meters/yards in a combat round.
Armor: Usually wear leather armor, which provides 3 points of protection (but not against firearms).
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Fists 50%, damage 1D4-1.
Horns 50%, damage 1D6.
Saber or Spear 50%, damage 1D8.
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 50%, Disguise 70%, Stealth 30%, Unnatural 20%.
SAN Loss: 1/1D6 to see the true undisguised form of one of the Leng Folk.
The history of the Leng Folk is a sorry tale. Once forced to defend their homeland from the vicious Spiders From Leng, they were subsequently captured and enslaved by the cruel Moon Beasts. Ever since that day they have been in the thrall of those loathsome creatures. Every part of their current existence is dictated by some form of violence, deception, and untruth.
The true plight (and indeed true nature) of the Leng Folk is unknown to most peoples in the Dreamlands, since most who encounter them see only their disguised bodies.
“They leaped as though they had hooves instead of feet, and seemed to wear a sort of wig or headpiece with small horns. Of other clothing they had none, but most of them were quite furry. Behind they had dwarfish tails, and when they glanced upward he saw the excessive width of their mouths. Then he knew what they were, and that they did not wear any wigs or headpieces after all. For the cryptic folk of Leng were of one race with the uncomfortable merchants of the black galleys that traded rubies at Dylath-Leen; those not quite human merchants who are the slaves of the monstrous moon-things!”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Mi-Go
The Fungi from Yuggoth
Migo by agung sycho
The body of a Mi-Go is essentially comprised of a colony of fungal microorganisms. Each is part of a larger whole and together form an independent, functional unit that is designed for a specific task. Depending on the situation, a Mi-go’s physical form can be redesigned and reconfigured. As a result, eyewitness descriptions often differ, sometimes drastically. Some accounts describe encounters with hairy “snowman”, while others report cancerous beings. Still other people claim to have seen terrible fungal monstrosities. In fact, all are accurate reports.
In order to transport minerals and ores, Mi-go can form hair-like tentacles all over their bodies, capable of holding and carrying rocks. In combat situations, they can defend themselves with cancerous nippers.
In order to move unseen among communities of other beings, Mi-go have the ability to camouflage their exterior with a waxy substance. In this way, they can take on an almost human appearance. In some situations, Mi-Go may develop membranous wings that enable them to fly between planets (or even into the depths of interstellar space). The dense atmosphere on Earth makes these wings less effective in their natural state, limiting them to slow and graceless lurching through the air on their way to or from the void of space. However, Mi-Go who have been assigned to perform tasks on Earth are commonly modified to adapt their wings to permit them to remain aloft in its skies for an extended period. One of their favorite tactics such modified Mi-Go employ in combat is to snatch human adversaries up with their pincers (a Pin maneuver) and drag the victim upwards into the sky – dropping them from a great height.
The “shell” that comprises the outer layer of a Mi-go’s physical form interacts with visible light in an unnatural way and therefore cannot be captured on conventional film or digitally. Because of this and because Mi-go have numerous sense organs that alien to human understanding, the creatures are extremely sensitive to light. During the day they retreat into mines and cave systems, usually only coming out at night.
STR 16 CON 14 DEX 13 INT 17 POW 15
HP 15 WP 15
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Mi-Go can move 9 meters/yards in a combat round on the ground; modified (see “Yog-Sothothery” below) Mi-Go can also move 11 meters/yards while flying in Earth’s normal atmosphere.
Armor: none, but see RESILIANT TO PUNCTURE AND BULLETS and UNNATURAL ORGANISM below.
vs Lethal Damage: UNEARTHLY COMPOSITION – Mi-go are comprised of a spongy fungoid matter that absorbs some types of energy and morphs around kinetic shocks. If attacked with a traditional weapon or explosive that deals Lethal Damage, check to see whether the attack roll was an odd or even number. If odd, the Mi-go’s alien composition renders the damage ineffectual; if even, it is affected as per normal. A successful Lethality roll kills the creature.
Attacks:
Pincers 50%, damage 1D6+2
Lightning Gun 50%, range 20 yards, damage is electric shock. Can vary from simply
STUN damage to Lethal 20% damage (see ELECTRO-PULSE WEAPON below). [Note that
normal armor does not provide protection against electric shock].
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 40%, Search 60%, Stealth 60%, plus numerous specialized scientific and technical skills, all at expert level (60%+).
Limited Shape Changing: The body of a Mi-Go can be reconfigured to a limited extent for its current activity. This takes a few minutes. No matter what a Mi-Go looks like from the outside, its inside remains a hideous fungal creature.
Electro-Pulse Weapons: Mi-go Lightning Weapons can be set to varying intensity levels. At the lowest level, effect is limited to STUN. At the highest level, a successful attack delivers 20% Lethality damage. Whether struck by a low-powered or high-powered blast, any target that survives is effectively immobilized as their sensory and motor nerve center is paralyzed. Each subsequent turn, the survivor can make a CON×5 test to shake off the paralysis and return to mobility next turn. Even after the immediate paralysis subsides, the victim suffers –20% on all actions for 1d20 turns. The human body is an excellent conductor of electricity. Anyone who touches the target of a Mi-Go Lightning Weapon attack will suffer the same effects.
Thought Transfer: The Mi-Go usually communicate using telepathy. Without technical aids, they are unable to audibly speak. However, through a communication implant, they can understand and imitate human language.
Sensitivity to Light: Bright light is very uncomfortable for Mi-Go and they avoid it where they can, as it confuses their senses. In strong artificial light or in broad daylight, they receive a penalty of –20% on all tests.
Advanced Technology: Mi-Go have access to many different forms technology, each superior to anything humanity has developed. This includes Lightning Projection Weapons (see above), special Communication Implants, and Brain Cylinders (capable of keeping a human brain alive outside the body indefinitely).
Resiliant to Puncture and Bullets: Damage from puncturing weapons and firearms is halved.
Unnatural Organism: The fungal colony that serves as the physical body of a Mi-Go does not have any obvious weak points or vulnerable body areas. A CALLED SHOT to increase damage is therefore not possible, and critical success on an attack roll does not deliver double damage as normal. Their weird physical composition also makes them partially resistant to Lethal damage (see above).
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
The Mi-Go are extremely intelligent. It is safe to assume that they have both economic and strategic goals on earth, where they are known to mine certain mineral resources. They would seem to have developed infrastructure, technology and suitable structures to support their mining activities. In some cases, they may even have entered into bargains or deals with corrupt human to help achieve their unknowable goals. In this way it is conceivable that some stray individuals might be acting as agents of the Mi-Go in human society.
Within our solar system, the Mi-Go’s primary base is the planet Yuggoth, which we call Pluto.
A second facet of Mi-Go behaviors is their intense scientific curiosity. Their biological experimentation extends beyond simple surgical manipulation of humans and animals. Indeed, given their extensive technological abilities and their outstanding knowledge of anatomy, biology, chemistry, etc., there is no end to the bizarre and clinical tests that the Mi-Go might carry out on terrestrial inhabitants.
Lovecraft’s original fiction notes that the natural formation of a Mi-Go’s wings are ill-suited to flying in dense atmospheres like Earth’s, but the same sources later describe Mi-Go flying and (perhaps) attacking a farmhouse from the air. Characters in the fiction opine that the Mi-Go are adapting or learning to fly. For this description, we’ve made the small leap of assuming that Mi-Go improve their flight abilities through biological self-modification of their bodies: once performed, such adapted forms are capable of agile flight.
The Mi-Go are known to worship some of the greater Unnatural Beings which comprise the Cthulhu Mythos. Most notably they demonstrate allegiance to Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, and Shub-Niggurath. It is possible that they are among the million minions of Nyarlathotep mentioned in some written accounts of the Unnatural. The same accounts hint at an enmity between the Mi-Go and The Shepherds of Hastur, a cult that reveres The Yellow Sign. Members of the cult strive to hunt down the fungi and eliminate them whenever the groups cross paths. Exactly why they do this remains unclear.
_“_The outer beings are perhaps the most marvelous organic things in or beyond all space and time-members of a cosmos-wide race of which all other life-forms are merely degenerate variants. They are more vegetable than animal, if these terms can be applied to the sort of matter composing them, and have a somewhat fungoid structure; though the presence of a chlorophyll-like substance and a very singular nutritive system differentiate them altogether from true cormophytic fungi. Indeed, the type is composed of a form of matter totally alien to our part of space — with electrons having a wholly different vibration rate. That is why the beings cannot be photographed on the ordinary camera films and plates of our known universe, even though our eyes can see them. With proper knowledge, however,any good chemist could make a photographic emulsion which would record their images.“
— The Whisperer in Darkness, Howard Phillips Lovecraft..
Moon Beasts
Ruthless Slave Masters from the dark side of the moon
Moon Beast by Brad Hicks
Moon Beasts are large gray, gelatinous creatures somewhat resembling toads, but with pink tentacles growing from their featureless faces. Wherever they go, they are accompanied by a nauseating stench. Moon Beasts delight in torture and the death of other species, and consequently they have a dire reputation for being cruel and lacking compassion. The Moon Beasts have utterly enslaved the human-folk living on the plateau of Leng, forcing them into servitude as crews for the infamous black galleys. Aboard these terrible ships, the Moon Beasts themselves sit silently at the oars, their inhuman strength propelling the galleys with impossible pace. Despite their sea-faring lifestyles, most Moon Beasts cannot swim. The true home of the Moon Beasts is the dark side of the moon, where they dwell in stone cities full of windowless structures. They serve Nyarlathotep, the terror of infinite forms and messenger of the other gods. STR 30 CON 30 DEX 8 INT 12 POW 14 HP 30 WP 14 Size category: Large. Movement: Moon Beasts can move 9 meters/yards in a combat round. Armor: 4 points of rubbery skin. vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT TO FIREARMS – a successful Lethality roll for a firearm attack does not kill a Moon Beast but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together, subtracting the creature’s armor. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted. Non‐firearm forms of Lethal Damage are handled as per normal. Attacks:
Spear 25%, damage 1D10+3 Paw Strike 50%, Lethality 10%
Skills: Alertness 40%, Athletics 30%. Frenzy: As soon as a Moon Beasts tastes the blood of an opponent, the creature enters into a kind of fighting frenzy. When in the thrall of this mindless compulsion, a Moon Beast can make two melee attacks in a single combat turn, but both receive a penalty of -20%. Leap: Moon Beasts are capable of jumping more than 10 feet (3 meters) from a standing start and more than 20 feet (6 meters) with a running start. When leaping in such a fashion, the creature makes an Athletics test: if it fails, they cannot perform any further action in the turn. If the test succeeds, the agile Moon Beast has landed well and still has sufficient time to take a normal extra action this turn. Unnatural Rituals: Aklo Sabaoth (Nyarlathotep), Dominate Will. SAN Loss: 1D4/1D10.
Despite their terrifying reputation and repulsive appearance, Moon Beasts have a surprisingly complex social structure. They are active merchants and traders, compelling the humanoid folk who live in Leng to serve as their slaves. On occasion they devour them as well. Through such deplorable harshness they are able to dominate the trade routes of the Dreamlands, allowing their feared Black Galleys exclusive rights to pursue trade voyages between the terrestrial folk of the Dream territories and those on the Moon.
Moon Beasts are partners to Nyarlathotep in this endeavor, and within any given community one is highly likely to find a priest devoted to worshipping the Crawling Chaos. Such dark religions are the means by which Nyarlathotep commands absolute loyalty.
“There around a hideous fire fed by the obnoxious stems of lunar fungi, there squatted a stinking circle of the toadlike moonbeasts and their almost-human slaves.”
— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Nameless City Reptilians
Those For Whom Death Died
In the eons before mankind walked the Earth, a race of squat intelligent reptilian creatures forged a vast empire which spanned (what is today) Arabia and the Levant. Walking on four legs, the creatures built a stunning city of low-ceilinged buildings and temples, situated in a place where a fertile valley met the sea. That metropolis served as the heart of their civilization. But as the climate became more arid, and humanity arose to contest the territory ruled by the reptilians, the race was forced to adapt in a most unorthodox way.
Utilizing some form of arcane technology or magick, the biology of the reptilian race was forever altered. No longer were they tied to the normal cycles of life and death. Now when their physical bodies died, their minds lived on inside ghost-like versions of their former bodies – insubstantial things floating on the wind. Eventually the reptilian race died out entirely as a physical species, but generations of their wraith-like dead survived … and live on to the present day.
The ruins of that long lost city still exist in the most desolate corner of the Arabian peninsula – in Mythos tomes it is referred to as the “Nameless City”. The airy forms of the Nameless City Reptilians are still bound to its vast broken ruins. Each night they emerge from a vault beneath it, to hunt the sandy wastes. At dawn they return en masse to the subterranean chamber they call home.
STR N/A CON N/A DEX 13 INT 14 POW 18
HP 30 WP 18
Size category: Each Nameless City Reptilian is Medium on its own, but they are usually encountered in a roiling pack which is somewhere from Very Large (+20% target size bonus) to Extremely Large (+40% target size bonus).
Movement: A Nameless City Reptilian can move 25 meters/yards while flying [Extremely Fast].
Armor: None, but unaffected by physical attacks (see TRANSCENDENT, below).
vs Lethal Damage: IMMUNE ― not affected by physical attacks yielding Lethal Damage.
Attacks:
Corrosive Touch 40%, damage 1D4 to both HP and WP (see also LIFE FORCE DRAIN and VISIONS OF THE PAST, below)
Wind Vortex 50%, see below.
Skills: Alertness 50%, Track/Hunt 70%.
Life Force Drain: Physical proximity to the wraith-like form a Nameless City Reptilian exerts a corrosive effect on living things, draining their vitality. This influence is felt across a circular area which radiates a few yards around an individual Reptilian (but extends to 20 or 30 yards around a large cluster). Any being caught in this area of effect loses HP and WP for each turn of exposure, and also visibly ages (e.g., gaining gray hair or wrinkles).
Wind Vortex: When a horde of Nameless City Reptilians is travelling together – something that happens each sunset and sunrise, and occasionally when they hunt – the group creates a howling vortex. Anyone caught within it risks being carried in its ferocious winds: victims must make STRx5 test to avoid being whisked 20 yards/meters in the direction of the gale.
Visions of the Past: Nameless City Reptilians are insane creatures destined to replay the past. As such they have an overwhelming desire to expose all minds they touch to the majesty of the Reptilian empire at its height. This might take the form or innocuous revelatory visions, or more aggressive forced insertion of the personality from the Reptilian wraith-mind into the brains of those affected (opposed test of POW vs POW to resist; possession is typically temporary with a new opposed tests attempted once per day to evict the alien passenger-mind).
Transcendent: Nameless City Reptilians are immune to normal physical damage. They are wraith-like memories of former beings and can easily pass through normal matter. They are affected normally by Unnatural Rituals and damage from psychic attacks.
Vulnerability to Sunlight: The wraith-like form of Nameless City Reptilians cannot tolerate sunlight. It causes them pain and makes them retreat to their subterranean home. Prolonged exposure to sunlight is lethal to them. For each full minute a ghostly Reptilian is exposed to direct sunlight, it suffers 1D10 points of damage. Shorter exposures to light don’t inflict damage but serve to repulse a Reptilian. It also enrages them.
**Eternal Gift of Living Death:**Anybody who dies as the result of an attack inflicted by a Nameless City Reptilian takes on the race’s special “gift”. The same fate befalls anyone who is whisked into the luminous abyss beyond the brass door. In both cases, the victim’s physical body perishes, but their soul lives on in twisted spectral form. Undergoing this transformation causes an immediate 1D20 SAN loss. The immaterial form of a transmigrated person retains all its memories and personality and is, in effect, a ghostly continuation of the original. Such wraith-versions have free will, but they must spend their daylight hours in the luminous chasm beneath The Nameless City or suffer 1D3 damage to permanent POW each day. Furthermore, immortality is slowly corrosive to sanity: for each year that someone lives on after physical death, their mind loses another 1D4 SAN.
SAN Loss: 1/1D4 to encounter a single Nameless City Reptilian, 1/1D6+2 to find oneself in the middle of a torrent of airy malevolence.
It was of The Nameless City – and in particular of its ghost-like immortal residents – that the “mad Arab” Abdul Ahazred dreamed just before penning his most famous couplet:
That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons even death may die.
Many details about the Nameless City Reptilians remain mysterious:
- How far did their empire extend in the days before mankind existed?
- Were they always possessed of the peculiar ability to live on as airy wraiths after physical death, or did they invent some technique to achieve this remarkable survival technique?
- Exactly what triggered their apparent total (and sudden) exodus from the physical world? Did the changing climate make it impossible for their physical forms to live on? Was the encroaching threat from the newly-arrived humans – builders of the legendary Irem – too great for them to fight?
- Did they die out slowly … or did they all decide one day to commit a mass form of physical “suicide” to achieve simultaneous transference to a non-physical existence?
- What do the airy survivors of the Reptilian race hunt for in the desert each night?
Few answer exist to any of these most maddening questions. Some insights might be deduced through an examination of the well-preserved corpses of the original Nameless City Reptilians. These were interred with great care inside rows of glass coffins which line the principal tunnel winding down into the deepest part of the city. At the terminus of this ceremonial path stands a massive brass door, richly decorated with bas reliefs. On the far side lies the yawning luminous chasm where the wraith-like Reptilians live.
At sundown, this vast door swings open on ancient hinges and the horde of airy beings sweeps out through the corridors, across the ruined city, and out into the desert. At dawn, this exodus is reversed with each being returning to the luminous mist-filled abyss before the first ray of sunlight touches The Nameless City. The giant door then slams shut with a mighty clang, sealing the Reptilians in their place of eternal safety.
So it has been for countless eons, and so it shall be for many more..
“… the fury of the rushing blast was infernal – cacodaemoniacal – its voices were hideous with the pent-up viciousness of desolate eternities. Presently these voices, while still chaotic before me, seemed to my beating brain to take articulate form behind me; and down there in the grave of unnumbered aeon-dead antiquities, leagues below the dawn-lit world of men, I heard the ghastly cursing and snarling of strange-tongued fiends. Turning, I saw outlined against the luminous aether of the abyss what could not be seen against the dusk of the corridor – a nightmare horde of rushing devils; hate distorted, grotesquely panoplied, half transparent devils of a race no man might mistake – the crawling reptiles of the nameless city.”
— The Nameless City, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1921.
Night-gaunts
Horror of the night
Night-gaunt by Brad Hicks
Night-gaunts appear as black, faceless beings with rubbery skin and a horned head. With their large, membranous wings, they have the ability able to carry people and other beings, voluntarily or not. They seem to like to tickle their victims as they carry them away. It is said that Ghouls use Night-gaunts as mounts using a secret keyword. Night-gaunts make no sounds, perhaps because they lack organs to speak or call out. They are most often found in the Dreamlands, although some of these creatures have also been spotted in the Waking World. Some Mythos authorities hint that the Night-gaunts serve the Great Old One Nodens, but whether they act on their own initiative or on behalf of other powers remains a secret known only to these eerily silent beings.
STR 30 CON 20 DEX 15 INT 7 POW 12
HP 25 WP 12
Size category: Large.
Movement: Night-gaunts can move 7—8 meters/yards in a combat round on ground; 15 meters/yards while flying.
Armor: 3 points of rubbery skin (see Aura of Darkness, below).
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Snatch 50%, damage 2D6.
Clasp 65% (if successful, the victim is pinned down and is usually pulled into the air by the Night-gaunt).
Skills: Athletics 60%, Stealth 70%.
Aura of Darkness: A cloak of unnatural darkness surrounds the body of every Night-gaunt. This darkness cannot be penetrated by light sources or night vision devices. Attacks on a Night-gaunt always receive a penalty of -20% due to poor visibility. This deduction is also applied to perception tests to notice the creature.
Flying Ability: The being can move effortlessly through the air.
Silent: Night-gaunts are silent hunters who can approach their victims in utter silence. Only their wing beat creates a faintly perceptible noise.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Very little is known about this species of creatures. No one knows where they come from, where they live, whether they live in cities or comparable dwellings and so on. Equally uncertain is whether they have free will or are creatures summoned in dark rituals to carry out the will of others. The fact that they are mostly found in deserted places suggests that they were banished and cast out. Perhaps this is why, they seem to be guarding Mount Ngranek on Oriab Island.
On the other hand, a certain connection between Night-gaunts and the Ghouls of the Dreamlands cannot be denied. Also, some humans are said to have been at the service of the Night-gaunts. Perhaps there is a curse clinging to these creatures, just waiting to be dispelled in ages to come?
_“_Out of what crypt they crawl, I cannot tell,
But every night I see the rubbery things,
Black, horned, and slender, with membranous wings,
They come in legions on the north wind’s swell
With obscene clutch that titillates and stings,
Snatching me off on monstrous voyagings
To gray worlds hidden deep in nightmare’s well.Over the jagged peaks of Thok they sweep,
Heedless of all the cries I try to make,
And down the nether pits to that foul lake
Where the puffed shoggoths splash in doubtful sleep.
But ho! If only they would make some sound,
Or wear a face where faces should be found!“— Night-Gaunts, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
Polyp Horrors
Invisible and Semi-Substantial Masters of the Winds
These strange alien entities are only partially material, existing somewhere between corporeality as we know it and wholly unknown states of matter. They perceive the world not through sight but through senses completely unknown to human experience. Thus, they behave in a manner that seems particularly otherworldly to us, guided less by visual impressions and more by perception of life-essence. Despite their strange physicality, Polyp Horrors can interact with the world in a tangible way.
In the long-distant past of our planet – some 750 million years ago – these Polyp-formed creatures came to Earth, building great cities filled with windowless towers of basalt. When The Great Race of Yith arrived on our planet (taking over the bodies of unintelligent terrestrial beings some 600 million years ago), they were appalled by the Polyps and drove them into deep caverns beneath the surface. There they imprisoned them using certain arcane seals. The Yithians proceeded to take over the structures built by the Polyps but lived in perpetual fear that the imprisoned horrors might escape their bonds. This, eventually, did occur and triggered another mass-migration of the intelligences of the Great Race.
STR 100 CON 100 DEX 15 INT 25 POW 30
HP 100 WP 30
Size category: Very Large (target size bonus: +20%).
Movement: Polyps Horrors can move 10 meters/yards in a combat round on the ground; 15 meters/yards while flying. When moving across surfaces they leave behind characteristic colossal footprints comprising five circular toe marks.
Armor: None (but see UNNNATURAL MATTER, below).
vs Lethal Damage: PARTIALLY NON‐CORPOREAL – apart from electrical attacks (see below), lethal attacks with a Lethality Rating < 15% cannot damage a Polyp at all. Such attacks with a higher rating do not destroy the Polyp but may yield Hit Point damage if they strike at a moment when the Polyp is corporeal. If the die roll made for the Lethal Damage was an odd number, the Polyp was insubstantial at the crucial moment and the attack passes through it; if the die roll was an even number the Polyp suffers Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating.
Attacks:
Tentacle Slash 60%, Lethality 50% (and KNOCK DOWN).
Wind Blast 99%, see below.
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 80%, Stealth 60%.
Penetrating Attacks: All attacks made by a Polyp Horror ignore Armor entirely.
Invisibility: Polyp Horrors can become invisible at will, changing from physical beings to vortices of air. While invisible, they are difficult to see and hit in combat, although their invisible does not protect them from damage. Even while invisible, however, the Polyps continue to emit their characteristic whooshing and whistling noises, particularly while flying.
Flying Ability: The being can move effortlessly through the air.
Knock Down: A successful physical attack from a Polyp Horror will usually result in the target being thrown to the ground. This can be avoided using a Dodge action.
Vulnerability to Electricity: The physical form of Polyp Horrors is especially susceptible to electricity, suffering double damage. Electrical damage is not subject to the damage reduction caused by their UNNATURAL MATTER and lethal attacks which damage through electricity affect Polyps as they would a normal human victim (i.e., killing the Polyp outright if the Lethality roll is below the target number).
Unnatural Matter: A Polyp Horror is made of unnatural matter which absorbs most physical attacks without incurring significant damage. Any normal (non-Lethal) attack that succeeds will yield a maximum of 1 HP of damage. Lethal attacks are also much less destructive than usual against a Polyp (see above).
Wind Blast: Polyp Horrors can create a violent directional gust of wind and can use such blasts as combat attacks. Anyone struck by such a gust is likely to be physically dislodged and knocked to the ground. The wind blasts from a Polyp doesn’t affect especially massive combatants and objects (those with size category Large or above) or those who have purposefully braced themselves in some way to avoid the gale. Polyps can, for example, use this power to propel smaller vehicles in combat.
Anyone attempting to avoid being dislodged by a Polyp’s wind blast will require a successful Athletics test. Placing oneself in a position with significant cover from the wind may, at the GM’s discretion, provide a +20% or +40% bonus to this test.
A wind blast attack usually has an Area of Effect of 3 yards/meters. Because it is supernaturally created, the gust can strike at any distance so long as the Polyp can perceive the target. Damage created by a wind blast attack depends on the environment – if an individual falls from a height, they will suffer normal falling attack; if they are struck by (or into) a hard object they will likely suffer 1D8 or 1D10 damage. The GM should decide damage based on the specific situation.
SAN Loss: 1D6/1D12.
Following their defeat in the ancient battles against the Great Race of Yith, the Polyp beings weren’t destroyed but sealed in prisons deep underground. It is possible that in the eons since, the imprisoned horrors have perished completely … but it is equally possible that they remain alive but trapped in their subterranean basalt cities, waiting for the day when the seals which bind them shall be broken. It is also possible that the Polyp Horrors trapped in antiquity were not the only members of their race that exist in the cosmos: perhaps there are others who reside beyond the Earth who will one day emerge from the stars to liberate their kin?
“According to these scraps of information, the basis of the fear was a horrible elder race of half-polypous, utterly alien entities which had come through space from immeasurably distant universes and had dominated the earth and three other solar planets about 600 million years ago. They were only partly material—as we understand matter—and their type of consciousness and media of perception differed widely from those of terrestrial organisms. For example, their senses did not include that of sight; their mental world being a strange, non-visual pattern of impressions.”
— The Shadow Out of Time, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1936.
Rat Things
Brown Jenkins’ Kin
Rat Thing by Lola Valola
Rat Things are curious supernatural beasts, no larger than a normal rat. They possess a human-like face, beard, sharp teeth, and tiny human hands although these odd features are usually only detectable on a second glance (or very close inspection). Rat Things often serve as familiars for those with mystical or occult knowledge, and are often used as messengers since they seem to be able to speak many human languages.
STR 2 CON 5 DEX 13 INT 16 POW 4
HP 4 WP 4
Size category: Very Small (target size penalty -20%).
Movement: Rat Things can move 11 meters/yards in a combat round.
Armor: None (but see Unnatural Swiftness, below)
vs Lethal Damage: SUSCEPTIBLE – any Lethal Attack successful against a Rat Thing automatically kills it, without the need to roll against Lethality Rating.
Attacks:
Bite 40%, damage 1D4, Armor Piercing 3.
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 30%, Dodge 60%, Foreign Languages (various? all?) 80%, Stealth 60%, Unnatural 60%.
Telepathy: Rat Things can interact with other beings through telepathy. They can, for example, send dream messages, mentally project a voice into someone’s head or read their thoughts and memories.
Teleportation: Rat Things have knowledge of certain “rat holes” in space-time, via which they can very quickly transport themselves to distant places. The Rat Thing can only take a few small objects with it, items no larger than the creature itself. Opening and going through such a portal costs the rat creature one turn.
Unnatural Swiftness: Rat Things are considered fast-moving targets in combat. They can also use the Dodge action against firearms.
SAN Loss: 1/1D4.
Written accounts describing Rat Things are sketchy at best. They would seem to play an important role as occult messengers and confidants, especially employed by witches. In the context of the Salem witch trials of the witch Keziah Mason, a being named “Brown Jenkin” is mentioned in reports. It remains unclear whether and to what extent these creatures pursue their own goals in addition to being willing “familiars”. Their apparent ability to speak all the languages of the world and their possibly profound knowledge of trans-dimensional travel to distant places and times also make them an interesting subject of study.
“Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and was nursed on the witch’s blood, which it sucked like a vampire.”
— Dreams in the Witch House, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1932.
Resurrected Abominations
Failed Attempts to Meddle With Life and Death
Resurrected Abomination by Tayna Rezunenko
Raising someone from the dead using any form of Resurrection ritual or procedure is a complicated process with many steps. Things can go wrong. It may be that the Essential Saltes being used are not complete (for example if the body obtained was missing some parts). It may be that the corpse wasn’t fresh enough … or the individual preparing the ritual did not correctly mix the Elixir of Life. Or it could be any one of a dozen different mistakes that someone might make. When errors like this are made, the Resurrection may still work to some extent … but the thing that comes back little resembles the living form of the desired person. Usually what comes back is a screaming, drooling, misshapen lump of flesh with just too many limbs and mouths, driven by sheer madness and primitive instincts.
However, as disgusting as such a being may be, the Resurrected Abomination still possesses some glimmer of the memories of the original person. This may prove of (usually limited) help if the purpose for undertaking the ritual was to obtain information known to the dead person. These potential benefits are, however, severely offset by the bestial nature of the Abomination, which is usually difficult to control. Communicating with such a horror can also prove difficult, especially since the process of dragging its spirit into such a misshapen abomination will almost certainly drive it insane (adding to any normal challenges due to languages).
STR 18 CON 12 DEX 4 INT 4 POW 10
HP 30 WP 10
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Resurrected Abominations can move 7½ meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: None (but see RESILIENT TO PUNCTURE AND BULLETS and UNNATURAL ORGANISM, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Resurrected Abomination but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. his is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
(2×) Slash/Bite 30%, damage 1D6+2. See also FRENZY, below.
Skills: Alertness 50%, Athletics 30%, Stealth 20%.
Frenzy: This horribly disfigured creature lashes and bites frantically, performing two melee attacks each combat turn. These can be against the same or different targets.
Unnatural Organism: These hideously misshapen lumps of flesh reveal no obvious weaknesses or particularly significant body areas. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits. However, the creature still takes regular damage.
Unnatural Toughness: Resurrected Abominations possess a number of additional HP that are not derived directly from CON or STR using the usual formula.
Hybrid Horror (optional): Accidentally co-mixing the Essential Saltes of multiple people during ritual preparations can result in the production of a much greater horror whose disgusting anatomies fuse features from both bodies. Such a hybrid horror is a single entity but with too many limbs and appendages, each of which can act independently. The combined mass moves together, but can attack twice in a turn for each person fused into the horror (assuming each had a pair of limbs). The hideous mass has 30 HP for each person in the mix — every time the hybrid entity loses 30 HP, a part of it dies and those two limbs can no longer attack. Encountering this kind of hybrid entity is more shocking than usual (see SAN Loss).
Resilient to Puncture and Bullets: Damage from puncturing weapons and firearms is halved.
SAN Loss: 1D4/1D10 for a normal Resurrected Abomination; 1D6/1D12 for a Hybrid Horror.
The idea of use either the Essential Saltes or Elixir of Life rituals as a way of extracting knowledge from long-dead people might prove tempting to NPCs in an adventure. It could even be appealing to Protagonists who have reached a dead-end in an investigation. However, an encounter with a disgusting example of what happens when the ritual does not go perfectly is likely to give anyone pause to consider the moral and practical consequences of such tactics. The Game Moderator is encouraged to use downtime or small scenes in the game to allow players to grapple with such dilemmas.
“There had, it seems, been some truth in chimerical old Borellus when he wrote of preparing from even the most antique remains certain “Essential Saltes” from which the shade of a long-dead living thing might be raised up. There was a formula for evoking such a shade, and another for putting it down; […] One must be careful about evocations, for the markers of old graves are not always accurate.”
— The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Resurrected Corpses
The Re-Animated
While regular science has yet to find a way to bring the dead back to life, the same is not true of the arcane arts of the Cthulhu Mythos and the fringes explored by madmen. Indeed, several such outré methods exist – some voodoo, some black magic, and some based on “weird science”. All such methods create resurrected creatures which might resemble the original person and have some of his or her memories but are actually the living dead.
The characteristics and abilities of such unnatural beings are highly unpredictable – in part because the methods used to create them have many variables and are often poorly understood by those making the attempt. The Resurrected Corpses are themselves highly unpredictable, possessing motivations that are inhuman and perhaps unknowable. Because they may have gained supernatural abilities, these mercurial abominations can prove highly dangerous opponents. Those that still remember unnatural rituals they knew when alive are an even greater threat.
Regardless of which unnatural method was used to breathe life back into the corpse (e.g., Essential Saltes or Elixir of Life), one thing always holds true: the quality and completeness of the “raw materials” is an important factor in achieving success. If a resurrection attempt is made with incomplete, mixed-up, or unfresh body parts the method is much more likely to produce a Resurrected Abomination (see separate entry).
STR 8-16 CON 8-16 DEX 6-14 INT 4-12 POW 10-18
HP 8-16* WP 10-18
- double this if Unnatural Toughness was conferred as an UNEXPECTED SIDE-EFFECT, see below.
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Resurrected Corpses can move 7½ meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: Only if wearing armor (but see RESILIENT TO PUNCTURE AND BULLETS, below).
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Resurrected Abomination but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. his is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
Slam or Bite 30%-60%, damage 1D4+2.
Skills: Alertness 40%, Athletics 30-60%, Stealth 20%.
Resilient to Puncture and Bullets: Damage from puncturing weapons and firearms is halved.
Unexpected Side Effects: The process of re-animating the dead is highly unpredictable and may result in the creature possessing unexpected physical properties. The following offer some possibilities, but GMs should feel free to invent other abilities. Not every Resurrected Corpse gains a side-effect ability, and those that do usually only have one such ability. If the resurrection method involves augmenting the body in some way the Frenzy and Unnatural Speed abilities are most likely; methods that invoke supernatural forces are most likely to impart the defenses of Unnatural Organism or Unnatural Toughness. If the corpse died from a disease or was retrieved from an infested place Transmit Disease is a possible side-effect.
- Frenzy: can make two melee attacks in the same combat turn, both with a penalty of -20%.
- Transmit Disease: can infect, possibly by touch or possibly through an open wound
- Unnatural Organism: do not have weak points that can be targeted – criticals don’t yield enhanced damage
- Unnatural Speed: always considered a fast-moving target; can also use the Dodge action against firearms
- Unnatural Toughness: creature has twice the normal number of HPs i.e., sum of CON and STR not average
SAN Loss: 1/1D6.
While the very idea of resurrecting the dead through foul rituals or charnel science is enough to challenge anyone’s sanity, there is a very special horror in realizing someone you know and love (e.g., an Individual Bond) has been abused in this way. Undergoing the experience oneself is an utterly terrifying prospect.
Resurrected Corpses may also be the source of considerable disease, which make their presence in crowded environments especially problematic. More than once this contagion has led to incidents of large-scale panic.
Those who would experiment with resurrection have many difficult hurdles to overcome – in particular, obtaining bodies that are of sufficient quality. This is especially important if the goal is to converse with the Resurrected Corpse or somehow have them pose as their former self.
It goes without saying that experiments with raising the dead can only take place in secret, as any attention from authorities (or even the general public) is likely to lead to severe complications.
“It was West who first noticed the falling plaster on that part of the wall where the ancient tomb masonry had been covered up. I was going to run, but he stopped me. Then I saw a small black aperture, felt a ghoulish wind of ice, and smelled the charnel bowels of a putrescent earth. There was no sound, but just then the electric lights went out and I saw outlined against some phosphorescence of the nether world a horde of silent toiling things which only insanity – or worse – could create. Their outlines were human, semi-human, fractionally human, and not human at all – the horde was grotesquely heterogeneous. They were removing the stones quietly, one by one, from the centuried wall. And then, as the breach became large enough, they came out into the laboratory in single file; led by a talking thing with a beautiful head made of wax. A sort of mad-eyed monstrosity behind the leader seized on Herbert West. West did not resist or utter a sound. Then they all sprang at him and tore him to pieces before my eyes, bearing the fragments away into that subterranean vault of fabulous abominations. West’s head was carried off by the wax-headed leader, who wore a Canadian officer’s uniform.”
— Herbert West – Reanimator, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1922.
Shantaks
Masters of the Skies
Shantak by Tayna Rezunenko
Shantaks are curious creatures, most commonly found in Earth’s Dreamlands but occasionally discovered elsewhere as well. In form they resemble huge birds, but in place of feathers, they wear a kind of scaly coat which is very slippery. Adult specimens are larger than an elephant, with a head not unlike that of a horse. Shantaks are often used as mounts. They have been reported to make sounds that some describe as resembling giggling tones, while others say are reminiscent of the scratching of glass on stone.
Shantaks are said to have a great fear of Night-gaunts. Colossal in size and extremely tasty, Shantak eggs are a prized commodity throughout the Dreamlands. Obtaining such eggs, however, is a dangerous task that has already cost many people their lives. The perilous quests involve scaling to dizzying heights and fending off the mighty creatures (who defend their clutch vehemently).
STR 50 CON 50 DEX 10 INT 4 POW 10
HP 50 WP 10
Size category: Very Large (target size bonus: +20%).
Movement: Shantaks can move 7½ meters/yards in a combat turn on the ground; 38 meters/yards while flying.
Armor: 8 points of thick skin.
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Shantak but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Bite 20%, Lethality 25% and KNOCKDOWN (see below).
Skills: Alertness 50%, Athletics 25%.
Flying: Shantaks move through the air.
Massive: A massive target loses hit points from common attacks, but lethality attacks are less efficient. They only deal damage equal to their lethality value.
Knockdown: On a successful attack by a Shantak, the target is knocked prone. This effect can only be avoided by dodging.
SAN Loss: 1D4/1D10.
Shantaks can be tamed and used as mounts. Indeed, they are a tried and tested means of transportation for many beings in Earth’s Dreamlands. They are often rumored to perform services for the Great Old Ones, although whether they do so voluntary or under duress is unclear. Some report suggest that Shantaks can also move through interplanetary space and have even been used to drag some poor souls to the cosmic throne of Azathoth.
“Trapped though he was by fabulous and hippocephalic winged nightmares that pressed around in great unholy circles, Randolph Carter did not lose consciousness. Lofty and horrible those titan gargoyles towered above him, while the slant-eyed merchant leaped down from his yak and stood grinning before the captive. […] It was hard work ascending, for the Shantak-bird has scales instead of feathers, and those scales are very slippery.”
— The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Shoggoths
Formless Horrors from Ancient Eons
Shoggoth by Brad Hicks
Shoggoths were once used as slaves by the Elder Things to build their cities and perform heavy labor. It is said that they were bred specifically for this purpose. As a bio-engineered life form they are impressive in almost every aspect: strong, resilient, and able to adapt to a wide variety of environments.
A Shoggoth’s physical form is fully made up of a type of unnatural protoplasm, which can be reshaped by the creatures at will. This allows them to take on any shape and extrude any type of limbs or organs. In their “native” form, Shoggoths are about the size of a locomotive, and their bodies are commonly covered with countless sensory organs and mouths that a constantly forming and unforming.
Because many of the cities built by the Elder Thing were underwater, Shoggoths are very well adapted to life in the sea and are excellent swimmers.
Shoggoths have an excellent ability to imitate the forms of other living creatures. Whether this was an intentional design of the Elder Things’ experiment, or an adaptation that arose after aeons of evolution, no one knows. Regardless, Shoggoths are known to be able to imitate physical forms, sounds, and perhaps even behavioral and thought patterns of other species. This mimicry is especially powerful when copying the form of a creature that has been engulfed and absorbed inside their protoplasmic body.
While the sound “Tekeli-li!” is often associated with Shoggoths, it is unknown whether this is a sound produced by the blasphemous horrors, a sound which the Elder Things formerly used to communicate with their slaves, or even an expression in their own language. The last option is especially terrifying, since the notion of a Shoggoth race intelligent enough to have a sophisticated language implies that they may be on the brink of self-determination and pursuing their own schemes.
STR 100 CON 100 DEX 10 INT 12 POW 18
HP 100 WP 18
Size category: normally Very Large (target size bonus: +20%), but can vary (see SHAPE SHIFTING below).
Movement: Shoggoths can move 13 meters/yards in a combat round while rolling along the ground.
Armor: none, but see UNNATURAL MATTER below.
vs Lethal Damage: PARTIALLY IMMUNE – when struck by a Lethal attack, percentile dice are rolled as normal even though the test will automatically fail. The Shoggoth, instead takes Hit Point damage equal to the lesser of the two digits on the Lethality roll.
Attacks:
Tentacle Lash 50%, Lethality 50% and knocked down.
Bash 50%, Lethality 50% and Pinned.
Engulf 50%, damage 1D4 HP per turn, and 1D6 SAN per turn (see below).
Skills: Alertness 80%, Stealth 70%, Swim 90%.
Engulf: When a living creature is engulfed within the gelatinous body of the Shoggoth, it is fully absorbed within minutes. Some Shoggoths may be able to absorb the memories of a sentient creature that has been dissolved in this manner. The process of being absorbed alive is especially terrifying: victims suffer 1D4 HP damage each combat turn, and also lose 1D6 SAN per turn.
Shape Shifting: A Shoggoth can alter its shape, appearance, and size at will. This affords them an excellent means of disguise. By exercising this power, a Shoggoth can change its Size category. Some Shoggoths may be able to shift their form to mimic the appearance of a person they have previously absorbed. The gelatinous nature of the Shoggoth’s physical form means that they can squeeze through even the smallest of openings.
Unnatural Matter: A Shoggoth is made of unnatural matter which absorbs most physical attacks without incurring significant damage. Any normal (non-Lethal) attack that succeeds will yield a maximum of 1 HP of damage. Lethal attacks are also much less destructive than usual against a Shoggoth (see above).
Unnatural Organism: A Shoggoth’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits.
SAN Loss: 1D8/1D20.
Shoggoths were created as a servitor race for the Elder Things, performing physical labor under their direction. They were engineered to be perfectly adapted to conditions present on Earth, and as such they have survived very well in the absence of their former masters. Indeed, it is not uncommon for these horrific beasts to be found lurking in the abandoned cities in Antarctica which once housed the Elder Things. However, over the vast eons the Shoggoths have evolved and adapted, allowing some to break free from their prisons and spread to many other dark corners of the planet. Groups of such Shoggoth “escapees” Shoggoths — especially the ones which have also developed some level of intelligence — are possibly the most dangerous Mythos threats anywhere on our planet. A concerted attack by such a cluster could easily create huge devastation, perhaps wiping out entire cities.
The alien protoplasm which makes up the Shoggoths’ bodies is a miracle of bio-engineering, way beyond anything human science has achieved. It is possible that someone who has a scientific interest in such matters (or just a purpose for such an amazing substance) might view this “wonder” substance as an amazing discovery. One can only wonder at the horrors that might come from such a “miraculous research breakthrough.”
“I came only just short of echoing his cry myself; for I had seen those primal sculptures, too, and had shudderingly admired the way the nameless artist had suggested that hideous slime coating found on certain incomplete and prostrate Old Ones—those whom the frightful Shoggoths had characteristically slain and sucked to a ghastly headlessness in the great war of re-subjugation. They were infamous, nightmare sculptures even when telling of age-old, bygone things; for Shoggoths and their work ought not to be seen by human beings or portrayed by any beings. The mad author of the Necronomicon had nervously tried to swear that none had been bred on this planet, and that only drugged dreamers had even conceived them. Formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes—viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells—rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile—slaves of suggestion, builders of cities—more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative! Great God! What madness made even those blasphemous Old Ones willing to use and carve such things?”
— At the Mountains of Madness, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
Spiders From Leng
Hunters on the desolate plains of Leng
Spider From Leng by Brad Hicks
Leng Spiders have physical forms that greatly resemble mundane earthly spiders, but are many times larger than any known terrestrial species – and far more dangerous. Their bloated purple bodies are their most distinctive feature, although their gargantuan size (some grow to the size of a truck) is also unique. In addition to their physical scale, the Leng Spiders possess a surprising level of intelligence which makes them deadly hunters.
The species once ruled the plains and valleys of Leng, but were largely driven out by the human-like Leng Folk. Very little is known about the social structures and behaviors of the Leng Spiders. Questions as to whether or not they build colonies, or have a Queen, are matters very much open to speculation.
Because the Plateau of Leng has always been a place where the boundaries between the Dreamlands and the Waking World are blurred, it is likely that the influence of the Spiders is not limited to just Leng itself. This is a frightening thought for those in the waking world.
STR 20 CON 20 DEX 16 INT 14 POW 12
HP 20 WP 12
Size category: Large.
Movement: Spiders From Leng can move 12 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: 5 points of chitinous carapace.
vs Lethal Damage: LARGE – a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Leng Spider but inflicts normal Hit Point damage equal to the Lethality Rating, less the normal armor rating (minimum 1 HP).
Attacks:
Bite 60%, damage 2D6, armor piercing 3 points. See also KNOCKDOWN and VENOM, below.
Skills: Alertness 40%, Athletics 40%, Stealth 60%.
Egg Laying: There is a widespread fear that spiders might laying their eggs inside living creatures. Leng Spiders are one of a small number of species that actually reproduce in such a disgusting fashion. Considering the size to which these spiders grow (a hatchling starts small, but grows to be over 6 feet/2 meters tall in a very short time), the hosts from which they hatch usually suffer greatly.
Sense Vibrations: A Leng Spider can sense even the smallest vibrations in its environment and detect its victim’s location with some precision.
Venom: If the poison from a Leng Spider enters a person’s bloodstream via a bite, the effects are rapid and dramatic. The victim immediately becomes Stunned and must make a CON test after 1D6 turns. If that test fails, the victim falls into a type of coma, with their metabolism and normal bodily functions slowed to a minimum. The duration of this comatose state, how long someone can survive, and what happens when/if someone wakes up, are all entirely at the discretion of the Game Moderator.
After a successful bite attack a Leng Spider will usually retreat, waiting for its venom to take effect. It then returns to drag the sleeping victim back to its den, for consumption there. Sometimes comatose victims are not immediately eaten, but stored in a larder. Such unfortunates may be kept as future food or used as a host to house a clutch of eggs.
There are obscure rumors that suggest that the venom from a Leng Spider – if administered in just the right dose – can allow a person to travel from the waking world to the Dreamlands and remain there for an extended period of time.
Knockdown: If the victim is still alive after a successful attack, the force of the attack knocks them to the ground.
Unnatural Speed: Leng Spiders are always considered a target with fast movement. It can use the Dodge action against firearm attacks.
Camouflage: Spiders From Leng are deadly hunters that can adapt their appearance to match their surroundings. Such powers are so extensive that in some cases the spiders almost completely merge with the surrounding environment, making them effectively invisible. To see a camouflaged Spider of Leng lurking motionless in close proximity requires a successful Search test; if viewing at a distance, a penalty of up to -40% should be applied to this test.
Climb Walls: A Leng Spider can easily crawl along ceilings and walls.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Many scholars of the Mythos have speculated that there may be a more powerful force that presides over the Leng Spiders, perhaps even one of the Great Old Ones. It has been suggested that such a being — effectively the “mother of all spiders” might have considerable powers to weave the very fabric of our reality. The complex semi-coterminous relationship between the Plateau of Leng and certain locations in the waking world would seem to support this theory. But has the vast cosmic web spun by the Spiders From Leng already been woven … or are they still working to ensnare space and time in its strands? Several myths and legends speculate as to what might happen if the strands of this web were ever to be broken.
“There were scenes of old wars, wherein Leng’s almost-humans fought with the bloated purple spiders of the neighboring vales; and there were also scenes of the coming of the black galleys from the moon, and of the submission of Leng’s people to the polypous and amorphous blasphemies that hopped and floundered and wriggled out of them.”
— The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Star Spawn (Cthulhu’s Kin)
Dreaming Servants of the Great Old One
Star Spawn by Brad Hicks
These beings descended from the stars with their master, the Great Old One Cthulhu. During Cthulhu’s dominion on Earth they served his will, crafting vast and alien cities, and waging terrible war against the Elder Things.
In appearance, the Star Spawn greatly resemble their high priest, Cthulhu. They have huge, shapeless white bodies with massive black wings and glowing eyes. While this is their native form, certain ancient stone tablets suggest that the Star Spawn also have the ability to alter their physical form, perhaps even assuming human-like bodies. If this is true, Cthulhu’s Kin may present a far greater threat to humanity than most people recognize. This is particularly the case because these alien horrors remain intensely loyal to their ancient master, and strive ever to find a way to overturn its cosmic imprisonment until the stars come right. It is conceivable that the Star Spawn are already working in partnership with the international Cthulhu Cult, who are likewise working at the behest of Cthulhu’s call.
STR 100 CON 120 DEX 12 INT 20 POW 20
HP 110 WP 20
Size category: Extremely Large (target size bonus: +40%).
Movement: Star Spawn can move 25 meters/yards in a combat round either on the ground, flying or swimming.
Armor: 20 points from titanic physique (see also REGENERATION, below).
vs Lethal Damage: PARTIALLY IMMUNE – Lethal attacks with a Lethality rating less than 50% are largely ineffective against the alien matter of a Star Spawn, dealing just 1 HP of damage for a successful hit. Attacks with a Lethality rating of 50%+ are rolled as normal. A failed test generates HP damage as normal (treating the dice as two D10s and summing). However, a successful roll against a Lethality 50% attack results in the Star‐Spawn spontaneously exploding in a disgusting shower of protoplasmic matter. Whether such a scattered Spawn is truly dead, or whether the millions of tiny components will slowly draw themselves together to eventually reform a body is left as a decision for the Game Moderator.
Attacks:
Tentacles 75%, Lethality 20% with Kill Radius 2 yards/meters. See also PINNING, below.
Claw Rake 65%, Lethality 60%.
Skills: Alertness 60%, Athletics 30%, Flying 75%, Swim 90%, Unnatural 90%.
Pinning: After a successful tentacle attack by a Star Spawn, the target (and everyone else in a 5 yard/meter radius) is pinned by the creatures vast tendril. This can only be avoided with a successful Dodge test.
Flight: Star Spawn can move rapidly through the air.
Shape Shifting: A Starspawn can change shape, morphing from its default form (a smaller version of Cthulhu) to a shape that resembles the form of certain (pre-)human beings. Alternatively, the Spawn can adopt other forms if it so wishes.
Regeneration: In each combat turn, the creature first regenerates +1D4 Hit Points prior to performing its action.
Unnatural Organism: A Star Spawn’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits.
Unnatural Rituals: Aklo Sabaoth (Great Cthulhu), DHO-HNA Formula, Summon Entity (Great Cthulhu)
SAN Loss: 1D8/1D20.
Some scholars of the Mythos believe that not all of Cthulhu’s servants are confined to slumber alongside him in the sunken city of R’lyeh. If arcane lore is accurate, then Cthulhu’s Kin might actively be working to free their trapped master, using the vast eons to explore ways to overturn his cosmic imprisonment. If the rumors are true, and their abilities to warp their physical form has grown sophisticated enough that they can mimic the human form … then it is possible that members of this ancient alien species might even walk among us. That is a very disturbing thought.
“With the upheaval of new land in the South Pacific tremendous events began. Some of the marine cities were hopelessly shattered, yet that was not the worst misfortune. Another race – a land race of beings shaped like octopi and probably corresponding to fabulous pre-human spawn of Cthulhu – soon began filtering down from cosmic infinity and precipitated a monstrous war which for a time drove the Old Ones wholly back to the sea – a colossal blow in view of the increasing land settlements. Later peace was made, and the new lands were given to the Cthulhu spawn whilst the Old Ones held the sea and the older lands. New land cities were founded – the greatest of them in the antarctic, for this region of first arrival was sacred. From then on, as before, the antarctic remained the center of the Old Ones’ civilization, and all the cities built there by the Cthulhu spawn were blotted out. Then suddenly the lands of the Pacific sank again, taking with them the frightful stone city of R’lyeh and all the cosmic octopi, so that the Old Ones were again supreme on the planet except for one shadowy fear about which they did not like to speak.”
— At the Mountains of Madness, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
Winged Servant
Space-borne Eldritch Horrors from Beyond
Winged Servants are a bizarre species of extraterrestrial beings capable of flying through the cold blackness of space, borne on great black wings. They are well-adapted to surviving in even the most harsh and inhospitable environments. This allows them to traverse virtually any environment, be it air, water, or the vacuum of deep space.
In appearance, Winged Servants defy easy description as they seem to comprise an obscene mixture of different forms drawn from a diversity of terrestrial biology – membranous wings, webbed feet, insectoid features, disgusting brush-like fur.
Human scholars of the Cthulhu Mythos sometimes employ Winged Servants as part of their invocations, or as mounts to ride to other planets. Anyone who climbs on the back of such an alien monstrosity would do well to contemplate the dangers that might arise if their faithful steed should take an objection to them part-way through such a voyage.
STR 22 CON 22 DEX 11 INT 4 POW 8
HP 22 WP 8
Size category: Large.
Movement: Winged Servants can move 6 meters/yards in a combat round along the ground or 25 meters/yards while flying.
Armor: 3 points from unnaturally thick hide.
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Claw 40%, damage 2D6.
Skills: Alertness 40%, Athletics 30%, Flying 60%.
Flying Ability: The being can move effortlessly through the air and also the vacuum of space. By such flight, they can reach anywhere on Earth as well as traverse interplanetary and/or interstellar space.
Warp Physical Reality: Winged Servants have the ability to unnaturally warp the space around them, through special movements of their great wings. This ability allows them to quickly jump from one part of the Universe to another, and perhaps even to reach other dimensions. Anybody riding a Winged Servant at the time it bends the laws of physics will find the experience highly disturbing (1D4/1D10 SAN each time).
Unnatural Organism: A Winged Servant’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits. However, the creature still takes regular damage.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Ritual casters frequently summon Winged Servants to Earth to serve either as a means of transport or as a messenger.
When invoked as a method of travel, sorcerers sometimes rely on the Winged Servants’ abilities to quickly fly through our atmosphere but may also call upon their more impressive powers of flight through interplanetary (or even interstellar) space. In the former case, riding on the back of a Winged Servant can allow a person to reach any corner of our world within a day or so. When traversing the inky blackness of space the trips may be longer in duration, but in many cases still represent an incredible means of making otherwise impossible journeys.
Although Winged Servants are not known for their intelligence, sorcerers would be wise to not entirely dismiss their abilities to reason. On more than one occasion the poor treatment of a Winged mount has resulted in the rider receiving a very messy death – either thrown from their position to fall vast distances to ground, or even worse to float to their deaths in the vacuum of space.
“Out of the unimaginable blackness beyond the gangrenous glare of that cold flame, out of the tartarean leagues through which that oily river rolled uncanny, unheard, and unsuspected, there flopped rhythmically a horde of tame, trained, hybrid winged things that no sound eye could ever wholly grasp, or sound brain ever wholly remember. They were not altogether crows, nor moles, nor buzzards, nor ants, nor vampire bats, nor decomposed human beings; but something I cannot and must not recall. They flopped limply along, helped with their webbed feet and helped with their membranous wings; and as they reached the throng of celebrants the cowled figures seized and mounted them, and rode off one by one along the reaches of that unlighted river, into pits and galleries of panic where poison springs feed frightful and undiscoverable cataracts.”
— The Festival, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1925.
Zoogs
Inquisitive Forest Dwellers of the Dreamlands
Zoogs are small brown furry creatures that inhabit subterranean caves and the trunks of mighty oak trees in Earth’s Dreamlands. Intelligent, mischievous, and inquisitive, Zoogs covertly explore much of the Dreamlands – and some even claim to have seen them in the waking world. From their sojourns they bring back secret knowledge about the wider Dreamlands (and perhaps the Waking World as well). They converse with one another using a fluttering, trilling kind of language which some humans have also learned to understand.
Excellent tool and weapon smiths, the Zoogs make use of a variety of manufactured implements. They mostly live off a diet of fungus, although they are not averse to eating meat. In certain places in the Dreamlands they are particularly known for the moon wine that they make. The production of this drink is a highly secretive process.
Zoogs live in village-like communities and have a social structure, being governed by the oldest as wisest of their number – the council of Elder Zoogs.
The Zoogs and the Cats of the Dreamlands have a long-standing mutual hatred of one another, something which has spawned numerous battles and wars.
STR 4 CON 5 DEX 20 INT 12 POW 11
HP 5 WP 11
Size category: Extremely Small (target size penalty -20%).
Movement: Zoogs can move 10 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: None.
vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected.
Attacks:
Bite 35%, damage 1.
Slingshot 45%, damage 1D4.
Skills: Alertness 55%, Athletics 45%, Craft (Winemaking) 75%, Dodge 40%, Dreamlands Lore 40%, Military Science (Zoog) 40%, Stealth 65%, Track (Smell) 50%.
Create Minor Bad Luck: While close to Zoogs, humans are more likely to mislay small items like coins, jewelry, or items of stationary. A Luck test is required to avoid losing important items.
SAN Loss: 0/1.
| # Elder Zoogs Older and wiser than the average Zoog, these elders form their leaders. Many have learned to converse in the languages of humans. STR 3 CON 4 DEX 13 INT 16 POW 16 HP 4 WP 16 Size category: Extremely Small (target size penalty -20%). Movement: Elder Zoogs can move 7½ meters/yards in a combat turn. Armor: None. vs Lethal Damage: NORMAL – affected by Lethal Damage the same way humans are affected. Attacks: Bite 20%, damage 1. Skills: Dreamlands Lore 75%, Foreign Language (a human tongue) 20%, History 45%, Military Science (Zoog) 50%, Unnatural 20%. Rituals: Accelerated Healing, Dominate Will, Erase Memories (brewed into moon wine), Inflict Harm. |
Zoogs are energetic, curious, and inventive. In the enchanted woods and forests of the Dreamlands it may be that the Zoogs know many secret pathways to cross into the Waking World. Certainly, there is plenty in our world which they would like to explore and purloin. They might be responsible for small items that go missing, or a loss of some ingredient that is important to their moon wine. If traveling to the Waking World the Zoogs may also get into battles with mundane cats, continuing the great feud that exists in the Dreamlands albeit in a much more modest form.
It is believed that some Zoogs are capable of learning unnatural rituals, and occasionally scholars seek out such individuals to be taught some obscure magick. Understanding the language of the Zoogs is not a simple undertaking, however, and usually requires someone to develop a substantial skill in Dreamlands Lore.
“In the tunnels of that twisted wood, whose low prodigious oaks twine groping boughs and shine dim with the phosphorescence of strange fungi, dwell the furtive and secretive zoogs; who know many obscure secrets of the dream world and a few of the waking world, since the wood at two places touches the lands of men, though it would be disastrous to say where. Certain unexplained rumors, events, and vanishments occur among men where the Zoogs have access, and it is well that they cannot travel far outside the world of dream. But over the nearer parts of the dream world they pass freely, flitting small and brown and unseen and bearing back piquant tales to beguile the hours around their hearts in the forest they love.”
— The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Great Old Ones
Mankind is not alone in the Universe. That is the terrible truth that lies behind all cosmic horror, and in particular the most well-known tales penned by H.P. Lovecraft.
Listed below are the unnatural creatures and unique entities invented by Lovecraft to be the agents of alien terror that propel his stories and provide them with ghastly detail. Compared to most of the monstrosities mentioned here, humanity is just an insignificant footnote in the ledger of all life that has evolved in our reality (and in those adjacent dimensions that are sometimes accessible).
Azathoth
Lord of All Things, Blind Nuclear Chaos, Idiot God
Azathoth by Brad Hicks
Azathoth is the nuclear chaos, the blind and idiotic god at the center of the Universe. It is the Lord of all things, creating and destroying worlds, surrounded by a horde of dull and amorphous dancers who lull Azathoth with their thin and monotonous flute-like drone, perhaps keeping ultimate chaos at bay. A fragment of Azathoth, were it to arrive on Earth, would spell devastation for vast swathes of land.
Azathoth is at the center of many occult rites and secret organizations, each drawn to the power ascribed to him by ancient tradition. Many legends exist regarding the meaning of Azathoth’s true name, since (it is reputed) knowing that name offers tremendous powers.
POW 100
Physical Attacks: Lethality 60% with Kill Radius 3 meters/yards, doubling in damage each successive round (corrosive touch).
Outer God: Azathoth is so powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact. For regular people, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. An earthly manifestation of Azathoth might begin as a relatively local phenomenon (say, 50 yards across), but the scale of the incursion expands exponentially over time.
Beyond the Veil: The presence of Azathoth, or even fragments of its form, may be sufficient to disrupt the fabric of space-time. This results in strange perceptions, fluctuations in the perceived reality. Witnesses often report sensations of images, sounds and smells becoming distorted. In some cases, people may be able to peer behind the veil of normality and physical laws.
Cosmic Chaos: The motivations of Azathoth are so far beyond human imagination that they seem random and erratic ― true chaos in the purest sense of the word. Random and improbable events transpire when Azathoth’s presence coalesces in a region of space-time. The forms of causality humans are accustomed to, begin to break down.
Cosmic Resonance: The flute-playing horrors that lurk in Azathoth’s court transmit their blasphemous music across the universe. Sometimes this odd “music” also reaches individuals who are sensitive to it, or especially talented. Cases have also been reported where a curious resonance with the cosmic songs can be produced through skilled playing of musical instruments or through scientific experiments. The flute-playing horrors that lurk in Azathoth’s court transmit their blasphemous music across the universe. Sometimes this odd “music” also reaches individuals who are sensitive to it, or especially talented. Cases have also been reported where a curious resonance with the cosmic songs can be produced through skilled playing of musical instruments or through scientific experiments.
Nuclear Chaos: Encountering Azathoth — or even just a fragments of its being — exposes a character to radioactive radiation (see rulebook for guidelines on damage due to Radioactivity). The potency of radiation dose depends on the type and duration of the encounter and is left to the discretion of the GM.
Unnatural Insight (+1D20): Directly encountering Azathoth inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D100 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of Azathoth (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with the blind chaos costs 1D6/1D20 SAN.
“He thought of the ancient legends of Ultimate Chaos, at whose center sprawls the blind idiot god Azathoth, Lord of All Things, encircled by his flopping horde of mindless and amorphous dancers, and lulled by the thin monotonous piping of a daemonian flute held in nameless paws.“
— The Haunter of the Dark, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1935.
Bokrug
The Corruptor
Bokrug by Brad Hicks
Based on the depictions of Bokrug, which are often executed as stone, sea-green idols or ornate works of glass, onyx, or other valuable materials, this god-like entity takes the form of a water lizard. Bokrug is still worshiped throughout the land of Mnar (in Earth’s Dreamlands), despite his faithful servants – the Beings of Ib – having been brutally slain by the townspeople of Sarnath. Bokrug waited 1,000 years to finally raise the spirits of the dead beings of Ib and bring doom to Sarnath.
POW 24
Physical Attacks: Lethality 15% with Kill Radius 1 meter/yard (fearsome bite or tail lash).
Great Old One: Bokrug is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Its physical form is larger than man-sized (roughly the size of buffalo).
Spirit of Bokrug: Bokrug can summon and command dead beings that served him during his lifetime as spirits. After fulfilling Bokrug’s will, they may then continue to live on in whatever plane of existence they have been called to.
Bane of Bokrug: Should harm befall his followers, or if asked to do so as part of a ritual, Bokrug can bring ruin to entire lands. To do this, he summons the spirits of his dead minions, spreading terror and madness until nothing is left. In this way is Bokrug’s thirst for vengeance satisfied.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering Bokrug inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. This only applies to the first encounter with Bokrug or a vision of him.
SAN Loss: 1D8/1D20 to witness the physical form of Bokrug (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with the corruptor costs 1D4/1D10 SAN.
“Thus of the very ancient city of Ib was nothing spared, save the sea-green stone idol chiseled in the likeness of Bokrug, the water-lizard.”
— The Doom That Came to Sarnath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1920.
Great Cthulhu
High Priest of the Great Old Ones
Cthulhu by Brad Hicks
Cthulhu is the priest of the Great Old Ones and sleeps in his dark house in the sunken city of R’lyeh until the “stars are right”, at which time the island and its cyclopean and non-Euclidean structures will rise again from the floods. Great Cthulhu sends his mental “call” to humans, primarily the creative and artistic minds, and causes them to see in their dreams things of ages to come.
In addition, cults exist throughout the world that worship Great Cthulhu and yearn for his resurrection. The most prominent of these is undoubtedly the so-called Cthulhu Cult, which has followers scattered around the world who practice obscure and blasphemous rituals.
POW 42
Physical Attacks: Lethality 66% with Kill Radius 2 meters/yards (flabby claws or face tentacles).
Great Old One: Great Cthulhu is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Its physical form is enormous (roughly the size of a battleship).
Idols of Cthulhu: Obscure carvings, intricate depictions on ancient reliefs, signs written in incomprehensible language — there exist countless Cthulhu Idols that are central to the worship of the Cthulhu cult. However, these items also have a greater power: unnatural vibrations emanate from such artifacts, heralding the ominous vision of a new age. It is rumored that the presence of idols also enhances Great Cthulhu’s influence in the local vicinity.
Cthulhu Cults: Worshipers of Great Cthulhu may be found all over the world. The most powerful group of these is the international Cthulhu Cult.
Call of Cthulhu: Cthulhu has the power send tidings of his coming reign to dreamers around the world. However, most of the time the waters surrounding R’lyeh suppress these mental projections, keeping them from the minds of men. On certain occasions, such as the appearance of R’lyeh in March 1925 or other circumstances, such barriers are removed. Depending on the nature of the dreams and the things witnessed, they may result in SAN losses and abnormal behavior, even mass panic attacks.
Unnatural Insight (+1D20): Encountering this creature inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D20 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of Cthulhu (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Being visited by his dreams costs 1D4/1D10 SAN.
“It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive. If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful.”
— The Call of Cthulhu, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1926.
Dagon and Hydra
Father and Mother of the Deep Ones
Father Dagon by Brad Hicks
Mother Hydra by Brad Hicks
Dagon and Hydra both resemble [Deep Ones](#Deep _Ones), but at an enormous stature. They are each vastly powerful entities, deeply revered by their people. According to legend Dagon and Hydra are the “father” and “mother” respectively of the Deep One race. Both are believed to have significant powers to control nature and the ability to influence people through their dreams.
In many cases, humans chosen by Deep Ones to replenish the race’s gene pool are brought before Dagon or Hydra to receive special ordinations from them.
POW 30
Physical Attacks: Lethality 21% with Kill Radius 2 meters/yards (monstrous claws).
Great Old One: Dagon and Hydra are each so vastly powerful that they exist and act beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, neither has physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with either entity. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. The physical forms of Dagon and Hydra are both immense (roughly the size of a bi-plane).
Call of Dagon/Call of Hydra: Either Great Old One is capable of calling Deep Ones as well as other sea creatures to their location, whether for protection or in pursuit of other goals.
Dream Sending: Dagon and Hydra can send dreams to humans, albeit on a limited basis. Such dreams almost always involve immediate coastal regions close to the recipient, or a vision of the crew and passengers of passing ships.
Weather Control: Dagon and Hydra can summon severe storms at will, as well as calm winds, fog banks, or enormous waves. The area of influence of such abilities is limited to maritime locations: the open sea, islands, or coastal regions.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering this creature inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D20 to witness the physical form of either Dagon or Hydra (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Experiencing a dream sent by either (or otherwise achieving mental contact) costs 1/1D4 SAN.
Dagon and Hydra are both of elemental importance to all Deep Ones, being figures central to the social order of the species. How far their contact or kinship with the sleeping Cthulhu extends is not known. However, it is generally assumed that Cthulhu, the Deep Ones and Hydra and Dagon share much more than just the sea.
“[…] an’ the children shud never die, but go back to the Mother Hydra an’ Father Dagon what we all come from onct—Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah-nagl fhtagn.”
— The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
The God of the Sunken Temple
Nightmare Beneath the Waves
God of the Sunken Temple by Tayna Rezunenko
During all ages, sailors traversing desolate oceans have reported strange glowing phenomena under the water, some of which are likely caused by this entity. No one can say whether this vastly powerful creature was buried with the legendary Atlantis or whether it makes its home amid other ruins under the sea. Sometimes small ivory figures depicting a youth crowned with laurels bear witness to its existence, and the discovery of such artifacts may be harbingers of an encounter with this Great Old One. Occasionally such figurines and other exotic wares showing depicting its form turn up in markets selling items traded from far-distant shores.
It is said that the God of the Sunken Temple can physically transport people from the waking world to the Dreamlands and vice versa. It is possible that it’s powers for dimensional travel are even broader, able to create portals to entirely different places or times.
POW 35
Physical Attacks: Lethality 30% (trident).
Great Old One: The God of the Sunken Temple is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Though resembling the human body, the god’s physical form is much larger (roughly 6 meters, or 18 feet, tall).
Call of the Deep: The God of the Sunken Temple sends out his mental call to sailors and those who find his markings and likenesses on jewelry or goods, preferably traded in markets in foreign lands. Anyone who hears the call must pass a POW × 5 test to avoid immediately following the god’s will. If the individual remains near the artifact, he must repeat the test daily until he or she falls victim to the Call of the Deep. A successful INT × 5 test allows the person to become aware of this effect and its cause.
Gateway to Alien Worlds: Anyone who actually manages to approach the physical form of the God of the Drowned Temple, which lies somewhere in a cold and dark place at the bottom of the sea, may be able to pass through the dimensional portals which it routinely creates. Entering such a gateway might take someone to Atlantis, to the Dreamlands, or … wherever else the GM wishes to transport the characters.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering this creature inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of The God of the Sunken Temple (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Falling victim to the god’s mental call costs 1D4/1D10 SAN.
It is not known whether the God of the Sunken Temple and the Great Old One Cthulhu share common roots. Certainly there is a striking similarity with the nature of their imprisonment.
The God of the Drowned Temple shares with Nodens the domain of water, and both seem to have dolphins as trusted companions of sorts.
People whisper to each other behind closed doors that the god worshipped in the Sunken Temple must be the god of Atlantis, whose face may be seen from time to time old coins that turn up at markets. However, there is also a city under the waves in Earth’s Dreamlands, the ruins of which Randolph Carter noticed from his ship. Some say that mysterious sunken metropolis was truly the place that spawned this god.
_“Our men searched him for souvenirs, and found in his coat pocket a very odd bit of ivory carved to represent a youth’s head crowned with laurel.
[…] I could not forget the youthful, beautiful head with its leafy crown, though I am not by nature an artist.
[…] The head of the radiant god in the sculptures on the rock temple is the same as that carven bit of ivory which the dead sailor brought from the sea and which poor Kienze carried back into the sea.
[…] And over all rose thoughts and fears which centered in the youth from the sea and the ivory image whose carving was duplicated on the frieze and columns of the temple before me.”
_— The Temple, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1925.
Hypnos
The Lord of Sleep
Hypnos is a mysterious figure who is regarded as the Lord of Sleep, and was worshipped as such by Ancient Greeks and Romans. The being has the form of a middle-aged man with a vaguely faun-like appearance. In his black eyes is the knowledge of eons.
Hypnos seems to take particular delight in showing individuals visions which transcend their normal reality and inspire them to embark on shared journeys beyond the physical world. This can involve travel to other planes of existence, other dimensions, or even alternate realities. Such odysseys are harmful to a person’s sanity, and will eventually leave the traveler a burned-out human wreck. When this happens, the Lord of Sleep simply finds a new companion.
POW 85
Physical Attacks: Lethality 50% (spontaneous physical transformations or reality shifts).
Great Old One: Hypnos is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Its physical form is man-sized.
Hypnosis: Hypnos has the power to put any sentient creature into a trance state, which can only be resisted by a successful POW×1 test. While in the hypnotic state, the subject is highly suggestible and will follow any directions given by the Great Old One. The entranced will also truthfully answer any questions, revealing any secrets or knowledge requested. This power works via telepathic communication and is invisible to any onlookers, who simply see the victim become immobile and unresponsive.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering Hypnos inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. This only applies to the first encounter with Hypnos or a vision of him.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D20 to witness the physical form of Hypnos (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with the Lord of Sleep costs 1D6/1D10 SAN.
The Lord of Sleep is driven by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the human mind, which he pushes to the point of destroying the sanity of his victims. He can spontaneously create bridges between the Waking World and the known Dreamlands, and likely can similarly open portals to a range of other Dream realities, strange corners of reality, and alternate dimensions. Hypnos’ seems to enjoy witnessing how human subjects react to knowledge that challenges their experience of mundane reality. Why this fascinates him is a mystery no mortal has solved.
Whether Hypnos has anything to do with the ‘sleep’ that seems to keep many Great Old Ones inactive in our world. It may be that he is somehow responsible for the relative calm between the eons which has allowed humanity to evolve without overt interference from the Mythos.
_“But always I shall guard against the mocking and insatiate Hypnos, lord of sleep, against the night sky, and against the mad ambitions of knowledge and philosophy.”
_— Hypnos, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1922.
King in Yellow (Entity)
Madness in Yellow Tatters
The King in Yellow is as much a concept as he is a true physical entity. The King is the embodiment of decay and decadence, alienation and doubt, anxiety and fear. No one has ever looked behind the pale mask worn by the King in Yellow and remained wholly sane. It may be that he is the avatar of other beings who embody chaos. It is true that he is the quintessence of entropy, everything which runs counter to order and which tears it to shreds — just like the King’s robes that hang from his body in sickly yellow rags. Throughout the history of our world, power and arrogance have brought powerful people closer to the King in Yellow. More than a few of them paid for their association with their sanity or their lives, in some cases damning whole kingdoms in the process. Less influential people have also been seduced by the King, and received fates no less horrible. Many view the King in Yellow as something akin to a virus, a corrosive force that leaves chaos and destruction wherever it appears in the cosmos. There are countless reports of incidents involving the King in Yellow, from all over the world and from different historical eras. Again and again, common patterns of behavior, constellations of people, events and dangerous thoughts manifest themselves in otherwise unrelated situations. Each incident on its own may be disturbing, but comprehending the bigger picture is far worse. Some sources assert a relationship between the King in Yellow and the “Hastur” cult. Scholars have wondered whether the King in Yellow is truly a servant or even high priest of the being known as Hastur? Little consensus exists, and it is likely that any truth would only arise from a most thorough exploration of the play that bears the King’s name … and such an analysis is considered by most to be a direct path to madness.
POW 35
Physical Attacks: Lethality 15% (razor sharp tatters plus mental blast).
Great Old One: The King in Yellow is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Its physical form is roughly man-sized (about six feet, or 2 meters, tall).
Decadence and Decay: The influence of the King in Yellow touches everyone who deals with it — whether it be in a play, a poem or a computer game. If a character exposed to such concepts fails a SAN test, he or she begins a downward slide of sanity, drawn to debauchery and decay. Things and sensations outside the general norms of decency and good taste forever call to them, shaping their perceptions and even their actions. At the time as this lustful obsession begins reshaping their lives, the character also loses 1D4 SAN and 1D4 WP. This same penalty applies every time the afflicted character commits an act that reaffirms their devotion to decadence. Any time the person’s WP falls below 2, his or her acts of debauchery become increasingly impetuous. Eventually this escalates into a passionate frenzy that does not stop even at 0 WP. Such lustful obsessions can even lead to death by exhaustion.
Mask of the King: Those who claim to have seen the King in person report that he wears a yellow mask. Often these “testimonies” are little more than incoherent stammerings from the dark rooms of a psychiatric ward or from poor souls found shrouded in rags under bridges in large metropolises. Sometimes these rambling accounts include the words “Mask? No mask!”.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering The King in Yellow inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
Sanity Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of The King in Yellow (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Making mental contact with its corrupting intelligence costs 1D3/1D6 SAN.
| # The Question of Hastur? The name “Hastur” is mentioned several times in the original fiction which describes the weird corrosive influences of the King in Yellow (both the entity, and the play via which his decadent taint enters the minds of humans). While some writers of Cthulhu Mythos fiction — and even some games — have gone as far as describe “Hastur” as another name, or face, of the King in Yellow, the original sources don’t compellingly support such a connection. In fact, the few places where “Hastur” is mentioned in the stories of Robert Chambers, it seems more like it is intended to be either the name of a star in the sky above the Lake of Hali (Repairer of Reputations) or an attendant to a royal court (The Demoiselle D’Ys). While one of the characters in the former story also refers to himself as a “son of Hastur”, there’s nothing to suggest this is intended in a literal sense or that Hastur is necessarily an entity at all. None of these references sound very much like they are describing a god of the Mythos. To complicate matters, Chambers himself borrowed the name “Hastur” from an earlier story by Ambrose Bierce where it is used to describe a god worshiped by shepherds. Neither do H.P. Lovecraft’s few references to Hastur (all in The Whisperer in Darkness) shed much light on the subject — one of them simply inserts the name into a list of Mythos beings and places, while the rest simply talk about the existence of a “cult of Hastur” that is somehow linked to the Yellow Sign and Carcosa. So … what should you do if you want to include Hastur in your Lovecraftian games? Well you have a few different options: 1. You can decide that Hastur is just another name for the King in Yellow 2. You can decide that Hastur is a Mythos God or Entity of its own … and has a cult of degenerate human worshippers on Earth 3. You can decide that Hastur isn’t an entity at all, and that the cult mentioned by Lovecraft doesn’t worship a god as such, but the Yellow Sign or the power of Carcosa. Given the ambiguous nature of passing references in the key fiction, any of these decisions is a reasonable extrapolation … we suggest you pick the one that works best for your game. And don’t necessarily feel the need to limit yourself to one of these options exclusively. The unknowable nature of the Cthulhu Mythos doesn’t preclude an entity being different things at different times, or in different contexts. After all, our feeble minds are not equipped to understand what any of them truly are. |
No one can say for sure who or what is behind the mask of the King in Yellow. Perhaps his physical appearance is nothing more than an empty shell, dressed in pale rags — a symbol representing the final result of a life dedicated to decadence and decay. Perhaps the mask hides a mirror of one’s own worst fears? It is also possible that this being is merely a projection or a mirror onto which the degenerate state of society is cast.
| Carcosa This city of great black buildings, labyrinthine alleys and bizarre inhabitants, is said to be located in the Hyades star cluster. Carcosa itself is located on the shores of Lake Hali, whose dark waters weirdly reflect neither the light of either the planet’s two moons nor Aldebaran, the main star of the constellation of Taurus. In Carcosa, the King in Yellow reigns supreme. Few have journeyed to this alien city and returned from it. Anyone who have seen the flowing shreds of The King’s garb and witnessed what lurks behind his pallid mask suffer a mental collapse. Most such individuals can be found incarcerated within in the bare rooms of a psychiatric ward, or living in the filthy alleys of a big city, stammering incoherent words to themselves: “Shadows … in lost Carcosa.” |
_“‘You are speaking of the King in Yellow,’ I groaned, with a shudder.
‘He is a king whom emperors have served.’
‘I am content to serve him,’ I replied.
[…]
Night fell and the hours dragged on, but still we murmured to each other of the King and the Pallid Mask, and midnight sounded from the misty spiers in the fog-wrapped city. We spoke of Hastur and of Cassilda, while outside the fog rolled against the blank window-panes as the cloud waves roll and break on the shores of Hali.”
_— The King in Yellow, Robert William Chambers, 1895.
| Cassilda’s Song The waves of clouds break along the coast, The twin suns sink under the lake, The shadows grow longer in Carcosa. Strange is the night in which black stars rise, And strange moons circling through the sky, But stranger still is The lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades should sing there, Where the king’s tatters flutter, Must die unheard in the gloomy Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead; Die unsung, just as tears that have not been cried should dry up and die in the lost Carcosa. Along the shore the cloud waves break, The twin suns sink beneath the lake, The shadows lengthen In Carcosa. Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies, But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead; Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa. — Cassilda’s Song , Act I, Scene 2 |
This page lists Unnatural Entities whose name begins with ‘A’ to ‘K’; a separate page completes the list of horrors beginning ‘L’ to ‘Z’.
Nodens
The Lord of the Great Abyss
Nodens is a powerful yet poorly understood member of the Cthulhu Mythos. Appearing usually in human form, he usually presents himself as an elderly bearded man of classical appearance.
It is in Earth’s Dreamlands that Nodens is most active. There he is called the Lord of the Great Abyss. It may be that his influence stretches over the whole of the Dreamlands, and perhaps parts of the Waking World too.
Nodens is especially well-known for his association with the Night-gaunts, who seem to all serve or revere him.
Few have even approached an understanding of what inspires Nodens to act. His actions have sometimes been reports as having aided those humans that have encountered him, which is very unusual for a Mythos power.
POW 100
Physical Attacks: Lethality 20% (staff). All damage ignores armor.
Great Old One: Nodens is so vastly powerful that he exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, he has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. His physical form is man-sized.
Words of Power: Nodens commands a multitude of beings in the Dreamlands and can even give orders to Great Old Ones. Should a human be addressed directly by Nodens, his instructions can only be ignored if the hearer succeeds on a POW×1 test. Otherwise, the words must be acted upon to the individual’s best ability. Successfully ignoring one of Nodens’ commands does, however, come with its own penalty – a loss of 1D6 SAN and probable reproach from the Lord of the Abyss, who will certainly be displeased.
Unnatural Insight (+1D10): Encountering Nodens inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural skill by +1D10 points. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. This only applies to the first encounter with Nodens or a vision of him.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D20 to witness the physical form of Nodens (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with the Lord of the Abyss costs 1D6/1D10 SAN.
Nodens is sometimes referred to as a moderating influence on other more malevolent forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. This reputation may stem purely from his generally pleasant appearance. Some who have been drawn in by the apparent ‘kindness’ of Nodens have, however, ultimately been deceived into undertaking actions which have ultimately proven quite damaging. As such caution is suggested in any dealings – while human in shape, there is no knowing what goals are being pursued by the inscrutable Nodens.
_“Trident-bearing Neptune was there, and sportive tritons and fantastic nereids, and upon dolphins’ backs was balanced a vast crenulate shell wherein rode the gay and awful form of primal Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss. And the conchs of the tritons gave weird blasts, and the nereids made strange sounds by striking on the grotesque resonant shells of unknown lurkers in black seacaves.”
_— The Strange High House in the Mist, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
Nyarlathotep
Crawling Chaos and Messenger of the Old Gods
Haunter in the Dark by Brad Hicks
Nyarlathotep is the bringer chaos and the enemy of order. The methods used by the terrible alien entity vary, but always involve manipulation, deception, deceit and betrayal. No other force in the Cthulhu Mythos interferes so directly in the affairs of men. For millennia, Nyarlathotep has walked upon our planet wearing many different guise – his avatars. Sometimes it arrives wearing the shape of an Egyptian pharaoh, sometimes a dark-skinned man, or a formless cloud. On rare occasions, Nyarlathotep manifests in one of its more nightmarish apparitions.
No one can say what motivates the scheming wrought by Nyarlathotep. Does it advance the goals of the Outer Gods or Great Old Ones, to whom (say some sources) he is “messenger”? Or are its byzantine plots designed for even more unknowable ends? Regardless, one thing is agreed by all sources: Nyarlathotep delights in extinguishing the sanity of those humans it enmeshes in its machinations, relishing in the moment when some cruel fate robs them of the last spark of their reason. The greater the misery brought by such moments of realization, the more fulfilling they are to the crawling chaos.
Numerous reports have been written which depict Nyarlathotep — in one of his human guises — holding some high office in a major government or organization here in Earth. In such roles, he seems to exhibit a beguiling appearance, exuding wealth and opulence to ensnare shallow mortals who are impressed by such things.
POW 100
Physical Attacks: varies based on form with human forms typically using weapons; monstrous forms have Lethality 60%.
Outer God: Nyarlathotep is so powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact. For regular people, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity.
Avatars of crawling chaos: Nyarlathotep appears in many different physical guises, which human scholars have taken to calling its “avatars” or “masks”. Whether any of these reported outlines are the true form — if such even exists — is an open question. In truth, Nyarlathotep walks among mankind in various disguises, playing its games in secret. Whenever Nyarlathotep use a different guise to deceive, the revelation of the deceit — once it comes to light — usually unravels the sanity of those so tricked. In game terms, whenever such a “mask” is dropped, the GM should mete out appropriate SAN loss (and, possibly, increases to Unnatural skill ratings).
| (Some of) Nyarlathotep’s Known Forms Egyptian Pharaoh: A tall, slender man with a youthful face. Clad in colorful robes, he wears an ancient Egyptian gilded double crown. He has the charm of a fallen angel, a capricious glint in forever his eye and when he speaks, his voice is soft and alluring. When wearing this form, he may even go by the name Nyarlathotep. This is the crawling chaos’ most common form when manifesting in the Dreamlands. The Haunter in the Dark: The being that dwells in The Shining Trapezohedron is also considered a probable avatar of Nyarlathotep. This terrifying beast, with its characteristic three-lobed burning eye, has for eons promised secret knowledge to anyone willing to listen. The Dark Man: Called upon by witches, Nyarlathotep in this form appears like a tall, slender man with pitch-black skin and no hair or beard. He wears a shapeless robe of heavy black cloth. This form appears to have hooves instead of feet, and for the most part he does not speak, but makes himself understood by gestures alone. High Priest-Who-Must-Not-Be-Described: This figure – considered by some to be a manifestation of Nyarlathotep – resides in a monastery on the plateau of Leng. |
Seductive Deceiver: Nyarlathotep breaks rules, creates conflicts, provokes and manipulates. It is ambivalent, apparently benevolent one moment, while displaying in the next the true horror beneath its mask.
Unnatural Insight (+1D20): Encountering this creature inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural Knowledge by +1D20 points. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Realization occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. A face-to-face encounter with the crawling chaos leads to both profound insights into the truths of our universe and inevitable madness.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness one of the monstrous physical forms of Nyarlathotep (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with Nyarlathotep costs 1D3/1D6 SAN.
The role of the Crawling Chaos, who on the one hand is a messenger of the Mythos gods and on the other hand seems to pursue his own agenda, offers almost unlimited material for human motivations and schemes. Does that offer of employment just seem, on the surface of it, far too good to be true? Does that overseas business partner really desire no reward as part of the extraordinary and generous bargain? Is there some catch? Will someone call in a favor when you least expect it? Nyarlathotep works through little deceits as well as grand ones, and its goals are so unknowable that only the crawling chaos itself can truly plumb their depths.
_“Nyarlathotep … the crawling chaos … I am the last … I will tell the audient void …”
_— Nyarlathotep, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1920
_“It is understood in the land of dream that the Other Gods have many agents moving among men; and all these agents, whether wholly human or slightly less than human, are eager to work the will of those blind and mindless things in return for the favour of their hideous soul and messenger, the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep.”
_— The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927.
Shub-Niggurath
The Black Goat of the Woods with a thousand young
Shub-Niggurath by Brad Hicks
Shub-Niggurath is the cosmic incarnation of the eternal power of fertility and life, albeit perverted and distorted (relative to humanity’s conception of such things). Shub-Niggurath may have generated the first spark of life in the cold and empty universe eons ago, although its essence is both life-giver and devastating reaper. It unites all genders, all DNA, all characteristics of all living species. All are one in Shub-Niggurath.
Throughout history people have always prayed to her, and her names were many: Osiris, Demeter, Ceres or Freya. Under such guises, Shub-Niggurath has a slew of cults that worship and pay homage to it. Doubtless this is also the reason why Shub-Niggurath features in many Mythos rituals and is named in countless invocations and scriptures.
POW 70
Physical Attacks: Lethality 33% with Kill Radius 2 meters/yards (seize, bite, or trample).
Great Old One: Shub-Niggurath is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Its physical form is enormous (roughly the size of a jumbo jet).
Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath: Shub-Niggurath and her children may often be found in the deepest, darkest corners of ancient forests, where fertile nature thrives unchecked. On numerous occasions, reports from such places have mentioned “living trees” – some or the more obscure accounts even claim that such animated flora can literally devour people. These are the “children” of Shub-Niggurath, and they are terrible to behold. Encountering one such terror on its own is enough to strike fear into anyone’s heart – suddenly finding oneself in a grove of such horrors is enough to rend anyone (even a devout cultist) permanently insane.
Lifegiver: Shub-Niggurath can create life from nothing. Such spontaneous life can be anything from unicellular life forms to complex fungi, plants and even animals.
Mutate Life: In the presence of the Great Old Ones, life on earth tends to warp and mutate. In the case of exposure to Shub-Niggurath this commonly begins as increased growth of plants and small animals, especially insects. As time progresses, the mutations become more pronounced begin to warp (or generate) complex life forms.
Black Milk: The black milk of Shub-Niggurath is held sacred by her followers and cults. It has immense mutagenic effects on the human body.
Unnatural Insight (+1D20): Encountering this creature inevitably increases a character’s Unnatural skill by +1D20 points. The character simultaneously loses SAN points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity test protects against this trait. The Unnatural Insight occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and irrespective of its result.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of Shub-Niggurath (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Making mental contact costs 1D6/1D20 SAN.
The exact whereabouts and precise appearance of Shub-Niggurath are unknown. As she has been worshiped by many cultures through the ages, she may well manifest in different places. Some blasphemous writings attempt to place Shub-Niggurath and other Great Old Ones in a context that seems profoundly contrary to all human conception. Perhaps more is known to the high priests of the several cults which worship Shub-Niggurath, but to date such secrets have been well guarded.
“… is the Lord of the Wood, even to … and the gifts of the men of Leng … so from the wells of night to the gulfs of space, and from the gulfs of space to the wells of night, ever the praises of Great Cthulhu, of Tsathoggua, and of Him Who is not to be Named. Ever their praises, and abundance to the Black Goat of the Woods. Yes! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young! […] Yes! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young!”
— The Whisperer in Darkness, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1931.
Yog-Sothoth
The Key and The Gate
Yog-Sothoth by Brad Hicks
Yog-Sothoth is the key and the gate. Yog-Sothoth is time and space. Yog-Sothoth is ruler of dimensions and guardian of realities. This Outer God exists in all ages and in all places. He was witness to the beginning of our universe, and will be present at its end. As vast and powerful as the other gods and Great Old Ones are, Yog-Sothoth stands outside of any hierarchy or Mythos “pantheon”, if such a concept even exists.
It would be presumptuous to think that Yog- Sothoth might have even the slightest interest in either the earth or humanity. Nevertheless, he is the subject of worship by many human cults and a central figure in many rituals. People hope to gain great power by invoking Yog-Sothoth. However, becoming enmeshed with Yog-Sothoth is more than a little perilous. Not only are its physical manifestations — often perceived as vast congeries of colored spheres – utterly impossible for any human to control, their potential for destruction truly knows no bounds.
POW 100
Physical Attacks: Lethality 98% with Kill Radius 5 meters/yards (contact with unearthly matter).
Outer God: Yog-Sothoth is so powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact. For regular people, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. An earthly manifestation of Yog-Sothoth might begin as a relatively local phenomenon (say, 100 yards across), but the scale of the incursion expands exponentially over time until its form covers an area miles wide.
Omniscience: The All-in-One and One-in-All has limitless knowledge that encompasses everything that exists in all timelines. Desiring to acquire this knowledge is a dangerous process and can lead to a significant loss of sanity, as the human mind is simply overwhelmed with this concept.
Space-Time Warping: The presence of Yog-Sothoth can cause space-time to stretch, warp, or fold. It is not known whether this effect is caused by mass and gravity, as Einstein postulated, or by other forces. As a result of Yog-Sothoth’s influence distortions are created in the fabric of reality, bringing together distant places, creating wormholes and crossing timelines. The Game Moderator should determine the specific effects such bending of space and time have on witnesses and the environment.
Unnatural Knowledge (+1d100): Encountering this creature inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural Knowledge by +1D100 points. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Realization occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. A face-to-face encounter with Yog-Sothoth leads to both profound insights into the truths of our universe and inevitable madness.
SAN Loss: 1D10/1D100 to witness the physical form of Yog-Sothoth (see also Unnatural Insight, above). Achieving mental contact with its alien intelligence 1D6/1D20 SAN.
Time and place mean very little in the context of Yog-Sothoth. Perhaps this fluid relationship with our physical reality is the reason Yog-Sothoth’s worship is so widespread amongst Mythos scholars who seek to transcend earthly bounds. If viewed as a philosophy, such beliefs run through many human religions and systems of belief. The ambiguous belief that something can be both the “key and the gate” is, after all, not terribly far things like the Chinese conceptualization of “ying” and “yang.”
“The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Not in the spaces we know, but between them, they walk serene and primal, undimensioned and unseen to us. Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the old ones broke through of old, and where they shall break through again. He knows where They had trod earth’s fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.”
— The Dunwich Horror, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1928.
Typical NPCs
Adapted from Delta Green - Handler’s Guide Appendix
NPCs Stats
| NPC Level | Most Stat Ratings | Important Stat Ratings | Most Skill Ratings | Important Skill Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child | 5 | 7 | None above 10% | 20% |
| Youth | 7 | 9 | None above 30% | 30% |
| Novice | 10 | 12 | Base | 40% |
| Ordinary | 10 | 12 | Base | 50% |
| Exper | 10 | 14 | Base | 60% |
Modern Era NPC Templates
| NPC Example | Important Stats | Important Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Academic (humanities) | INT | Anthropology, Archeology, Foreign Language, Occult |
| Artist, author, or musician | INT, POW, or CHA | Art (choose one), Persuade, any two others |
| Bureaucrat | INT | Administration, Law, Persuade |
| Computer expert | INT | Craft (Electronics), Tech Use |
| Cult leader | POW, CHA | Insight, Occult, Persuade |
| Federal agent or police detective | CON, INT | Alertness, Firearms, Forensics, Law, Persuade, Unarmed |
| Firefighter | STR, CON | Alertness, Athletics, First Aid, Heavy Machinery |
| Gangster | STR | Alertness, Drive, Firearms, Melee, Unarmed |
| Journalist | INT, CHA | Administration, Craft (Journalism), Insight, Persuade |
| Laborer | STR | Craft (Job), Drive, Heavy Machinery |
| Lawyer | INT, CHA | Administration, Insight, Law, Persuade |
| Nurse or paramedic | INT | Alertness, Insight, First Aid, Medicine, Search |
| Office worker or student | INT | Choose any three |
| Physician or coroner | INT | First Aid, Forensics, Medicine, Pharmacy, Science (Biology), Surgery |
| Pilot | DEX, INT | Alertness, Craft (Mechanics), Navigate, Pilot (choose) |
| Police Officer | STR, CON | Alertness, Drive, Firearms, Insight, Persuade, Unarmed |
| Psychotherapist or social worker | INT | Administration, Insight, Persuade, Psychoanalyze |
| Scientist | INT | Administration, Science (choose three) |
| Soldier | CON | Alertness, Athletics, Firearms, Military Training (choose two) |
| Special operator or police | STR, CON | Alertness, Athletics, Firearms, Heavy Weapons, Melee Weapons, Military Training, Swim, Unarmed Combat |
| Terrorist | CON | Alertness, Athletics, Craft (Explosives), Firearms, Persuade |
Non-Mythos Creatures
Ghost
| OGL CITATION Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Ghosts are the spiritual remnant of deceased humans (usually) that manifest in the physical world. Ghosts may come into being due to evilness in life, particularly powerful emotions, or even sorcery. Ghosts are normally incorporeal and cannot be affected by normal weapons. Being incorporeal, ghosts move by floating and can pass through any solid objects without hindrance.
Ghosts generally only possess two statistics: INT and POW. These are derived from the characteristics of the individual whose death created the ghost (modified over the time that the ghost has been haunting).
The Sanity Loss to witness a ghostly apparition depends on the specifics of the unnatural manifestation. The Keeper should determine a reasonable penalty – only the most disturbing and horrific manifestations should warrant the maximum Sanity Point Loss of 1D8.
A Ghost attacks by enshrouding a victim in its spectral form. The target of the attack and the Ghost resolve an opposed test of POW vs POW. If the Ghost wins the opposed test, the target loses 1D3 points of permanent POW. If the victim wins the opposed test, the Ghost loses 1D3 POW. Particularly terrible or ancient Ghosts might inflict 1D6 POW on victims (but still only lose 1D3 if the test goes against them).
The only way to destroy a Ghost is by reducing its POW to 0.
Mummy
| OGL CITATION Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Mummies are the embalmed and preserved corpses of ancient people, commonly found in Egyptian tombs, Andean caves, and more heinous locales. Some mummies have been granted undeath and protect their tombs with unliving zeal.
Mummies usually attack with their fists but might also be armed with the ancient weapons of their culture. Mummies created from the corpses of kings, priests, or sorcerers may be much more powerful than those described here.
STR 21 CON 16 DEX 7 INT 10 POW 16
HP 19 WP 16
Size category: Medium to Large.
Movement: Mummies can move 8 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: 2 points of leathery skin. Immune to slashing and piercing weapons (including bullets) unless they sever a limb or decapitate the mummy.
vs Lethal Damage: RESILIENT — a successful Lethality roll does not kill a Mummy but inflicts normal Hit Point damage. Take the percentile roll made for Lethal Damage, treat each of the dice as a D10 and add them together, then subtract the creature’s normal armor. This is the amount of Hit Point damage inflicted.
Attacks:
Fist 70%, damage 2D6.
Grapple 25%, no damage but pinned.
Skills: Stealth 50%, Track 40%.
Vulnerability: Very susceptible to fire due to bitumen in wrappings; once alight, very difficult to extinguish.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Skeleton
| OGL CITATION |
|---|
| Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Skeletons are the horrific animated bones of dead creatures, created through dark magic. They are mindless, obeying the commands of their creator without wavering.
Inflicting damage to an animated Skeleton is different to attacking a normal foe, since the breaking of one or two bones which form sections of its bulk are unlikely to adversely affect it. Rather than tracking the Skeleton’s Hit Points, all attacks against a Skeleton are treated as Lethal Damage with a Lethality Rating equal to 4% × the amount of damage inflicted. If the roll against this Lethality is successful, the Skeleton is instantly killed and dispersed; if the roll fails, the Skeleton suffers no ill effect.
STR 11 CON N/A DEX 10 INT 11 POW 1
HP 11 WP 1
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Skeletons can move 11 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: N/A (see above).
vs Lethal Damage: ALL OR NOTHING – if a Lethal attack rolls under its Lethality Rating the Skeleton is destroyed; otherwise the attack is ineffective and yields no damage.
Attacks:
Hand-to-Hand Weapons 30%, damage by weapon type.
Sparse: Attacks against an animated Skeleton which rely on piercing or slashing (including firearm attacks) are at half chance due to the many gaps between bones.
SAN Loss: 0/1D6.
Vampire
| OGL CITATION Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Some of the most powerful of undead creatures, vampires are also one of the most ancient. Vampires can shape-change into a gaseous form or into a giant bat at will.
Vampires master the creatures of the night and can summon a horde of bats or wolves. A vampire may dominate living creatures with its gaze (see below).
Despite their power, vampires have some weaknesses. They can be killed by immersing them in running water, exposing them to sunlight, or driving a wooden stake through the heart and severing its head. They retreat from the smell of garlic, the sight of a mirror, or the sight of “good” holy symbols.
Vampires are hard to kill. When they are reduced to zero Hit Points, they usually transform into mist form and retreat to a location where they can use their Regeneration ability to restore themselves. Only if a Vampire is reduced to 0 HP at the end of a round and at least some of that damage was to the creature’s head, the Vampire falls to the ground. At this point, a stake driven through its heart will kill it forever.
STR 21 CON 13 DEX 11 INT 13 POW 13
HP 17 WP 13
Size category: Medium.
Movement: Vampires can move 13-14 meters/yards in a combat turn.
Armor: none but see REGENERATION, below.
vs Lethal Damage: LETHAL ROLL ALWAYS FAILS – regardless of the roll against the Lethality Rating, the Vampire will not be instantly killed but will take Hit Point damage as per the sum of the dice.
Attacks:
Bite 50%, damage 1D4 (first turn) + BLOOD DRAIN (see below).
Claw 50%, damage 2D4 + LEECH WILLPOWER (see below).
Gaze (see HYPNOTIZE, below).
Skills: Insight 60%, Follow Scent 75%.
Blood Drain: A victim who loses Hit Point damage due to a Vampire’s bite becomes instantly passive, uninterested in pulling free of the creature. For each subsequent round that the Vampire feeds on the victim’s blood, he or she loses 1D6 points of permanent STR. Whether these points are regained by rest is at the Keeper’s discretion.
Leech Willpower: The touch of a Vampire can drain Willpower Points from a victim. Make an opposed test comparing the victim’s current WP total to the Vampire’s WP. If the victim loses, 1D3 WPs are lost. These points are added to the Vampire’s WPs. These stolen points are only temporary: if not used by the creature they evaporate in a number of hours equal to the Vampire’s POW.
Hypnotize: The gaze from a Vampire can render a victim in a trance-like state. When a victim locks eyes with the beast, he or she makes an opposed POW vs POW roll with the fiend. If the target loses the opposed test, a hypnotic state quickly descends. Humans controlled in this way will always follow simple instructions. If the commands are inherently self-destructive or injurious to the controlled person, an INT×5 test can be attempted at the beginning of each round – success means the person snaps out of the trance.
Regeneration: While in its mist form, a Vampire can regenerate 1 Hit Point of damage per round, up to its original value. The same power can be used while the creature is in physical form but the regeneration is much slower – 1 Hit Point per hour.
SAN Loss: Being attacked by a Vampire causes 0/1D4 Sanity Points. Seeing a vampire transform from one state to another costs 1/1D3. Vampires who seem human cost no sanity to encounter.
Werewolf
| OGL CITATION Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Werewolves have haunted the world for eons and are mentioned in the earliest myths of man. Their relationship to the Mythos is unclear, but some scholars conjecture that lycanthropes of all kinds are the remaining members of an ancient race. Werewolves can shape-change from their normal human form to that of a wolf-man hybrid or to that of a large wolf at will. The statistics below describe the wolf form of a Werewolf.
Silver is poisonous to Werewolves (see below). Victims bitten by a werewolf are at risk of also contracting lycanthropy.
STR 21 CON 13 DEX 13 INT 4 POW 13
HP 17 WP 13
Size category: Medium (Large when in wolf form).
Movement: Werewolves can move 13-14 meters/yards in a combat turn; 16-17 meters/yards when in giant wolf form.
Armor: 1 point of hide, plus REGENERATION (see below).
vs Lethal Damage: SUSCEPTIBLE TO SILVER – treat Lethal Damage dealt by firearms loaded with silver bullets as a special case. Such attacks have their Lethality Rating doubled. All other forms of Lethal Damage are treated as per normal for a human target.
Attacks:
Bite 30%, damage 1D8+2 + LYCANTHROPIC INFECTION (see below).
Skills: Hide 60%, Track 90%.
Lycanthropic Infection: If a Werewolf’s bite breaks a target’s skin, the victim must make a CON×5 test to avoid becoming a Werewolf at the next full moon.
Regeneration: Regenerates 1 HP per round after being wounded; if the creatures HP ever reach zero it is dead and will not regenerate.
Vulnerable to Silver: Whenever a Werewolf suffers Hit Point damage from an impaling or slashing weapon made of silver (including being shot with a silver bullet), the creature must make an opposed test comparing its CON×5 against (amount of hit points lost) ×5. If it does not win the opposed test, the Werewolf dies instantly. Otherwise the Werewolf takes half the rolled damage and cannot regenerate this Hit Point loss.
SAN Loss: Seeing a Werewolf causes a loss of 0/1D8 Sanity Points. Witnessing a transformation costs 0/1D3.
Zombie
| OGL CITATION Traditional (non-Lovecraftian) Horrors © 2020, Chris Rosen. |
Zombies are animated corpses created through foul necromancy, called up to perform the sorcerer’s commands. During the ritual to create a Zombie, a point of POW is sacrificed by the spellcaster – this is the lifeforce that drives the creature. A Zombie has no will of its own and follows the directions it was given by its creator.
There are “fast” and “slow” types of Zombies, as shown in movies and TV – which variety are encountered may depend on the method used to create them, blind luck, or any other factor the GM might like to invoke.
Note: These stats don’t imbue the Zombie’s bite as causing contagion leading to a victim becoming a zombie themselves. If you want to add such a power, something modelled on the werewolf’s Lycanthropic Infection would be appropriate, with the triggering event being the victim’s death through any natural means (although death through massive trauma might dismember the corpse sufficiently to render the foul reanimation ineffective, at the GM’s discretion).
STR 16 CON 16 DEX 7 INT 4 POW 1
HP 16 WP 1
Size category: Medium.
Movement: variable – “slow” zombies only move at 8 meters/yards per turn, while “fast” zombies can move up to 15 meters/yards in a turn..
Armor: none, but all weapons that work by piercing or slashing only yield 1 HP damage per successful attack. Firearms which do not deliver Lethal Damage, or which deliver Lethal Damage with a rating less than 40%, similarly only yield 1 HP damage. All other forms of non-magical attack yield half the normal amount.
vs Lethal Damage: see above for firearm attacks with Lethality < 40%; for firearm attacks with higher Lethality Ratings, the Zombie takes an amount of damage equal to the Lethality Rating. The same is true for Lethal Damage caused by explosions. Zombies take no damage from poisons.
Attacks:
Bite 30%, damage 1D3.
Improvised Weapon 25%, damage 1D8+2.
SAN Loss: 1/1D8.
Designing New Entities
Lovecraft’s stories already contain many unnatural entities. Game statistics for many of them are included on this chapter. However, much of the appeal of a horror roleplaying game is facing the unknown. To help the Game Moderator keep creating new unnatural threats, we present some guidelines that can assist with building descriptions of brand new horrors drawn from your own inspiration.
If you want to create a Great Old One of massively powerful “god-like” entity, you don’t need to use any of these suggestions. Such creatures are so powerful that they are not bound by any rules. Therefore, they only get a description, a POW stat, some special powers, and a SAN loss. No other game stats are very important to such titanic powers — any encounters between the Protagonists and such horrors will be guided by the needs of the story, not by the dice.
For everything else, the following steps can guide the process of developing a set of game stats:
-
Determine Size Category, Strength, and Constitution
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Determine the other Statistics (DEX, INT, POW)
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Calculate Derived Attributes and Pick Key Skills
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Determine Protective Characteristics and Movement Rate
-
Determine Attack Modes
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Pick Special Abilities
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Figure SAN Loss
We describe each of these steps separately in sections below.
Size Category, Strength, Constitution
Some of an entity’s physical game stats are strongly correlated with its physical size and mass. For the purposes of easily describing the scale of an entity we define six size categories, ranging from Extremely Small to Extremely Large. Human-sized beings fall into the Medium category. The size category has the biggest influence on an entity’s STR and CON, but also plays a part in the entity’s combat stats.
Choosing a size category is a good way to start developing stats for a new entity. The table below gives some rough guides in the form of mundane (and not-so-mundane) real-world animals which can be helpful comparisons. The STR and CON values listed for each category should be thought of as an “average” or “indicative” range — there is no reason a particular creature or entity can’t be unusually strong or unusually healthy compared to the norm (if you want to formally recognize this, you can give the creature the UNNATURAL STRENGTH or UNNATURAL CONSTITUTION special ability later on). Alternatively, your entity can be weaker than the typical values shown in the table, representing something feeble or unhealthy for its size.
| Size category | Body mass | STR and CON | Examples (approximate STR and CON value) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely Small | < 5Kg (below 11lbs) | 1-5 | rat (2), tarantula (1), mouse (1), domestic cat (3), ferret (3) |
| Small | 5 to 35 Kg (11-77 lbs) | 5-10 | dog (5), badger (7), king cobra (5), lynx (5), velociraptor (10) |
| Medium | 35 to 200 Kg (77-440 lbs) | 10-20 | large dog (15), puma (15), jaguar (15), wild boar (15), alligator (20), gorilla (20) |
| Large | 200Kg to 2Tonnes (440lbs to 2.2 tons) | 20-50 | horse (30), cattle (30), bear (25), lion (25), tiger (25), great white shark (50), crocodile (30), hippo (50) |
| Very Large | 2 to 10 Tonnes (2.2 – 11 tons) | 50-100 | elephant (70), white rhinoceros (50), tyrannosaurus (80), triceratops (60), killer whale (80) |
| Extremely Large | >10 Tonnes (11+ tons) | 100+ | sperm whale (150), blue whale (200), brachiosaurus (150), brontosaurus (100). |
Other Statistics
Unnatural entities get the same set of game stats as Protagonists (except for CHArisma – although some human-like entities might have that too). The range of values is the same as for humans. Use the table below and pick some values that match your conception of the creature’s nimbleness (DEX), smarts (INT), and strength of will (POW).
| Stat | 1–4 | 5–8 | 9–12 | 13–16 | 17–20 | 21+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEX | Ponderous | Slow | — | Nimble | Catlike | Unnatural |
| INT | Instinctive | Primitive | — | Cunning | Clever | Unnatural |
| POW | Cowardly | Reticent | — | Strong-willed | Fearless | Unnatural |
Derived Attributes and Skills
Calculate Hit Points and Willpower Points using the same formulae you use for Protagonists. If you really want your creature to have more HP than its stats would normally deliver, you can always give it an Unnatural Ability later on that provides such a boost. Note that Unnatural Entities don’t have SAN points or a Breaking Point – they are far beyond the human concepts of sanity and insanity; they are Unnatural.
HP = (STR + CON) ÷ 2, rounded up.
WP = POW.
Next pick some appropriate skills for your entity. Animals usually have values between 20% and 80% for just their most relevant skills, usually those related to their physical athleticism. Unnatural entities can of course have higher values. Combat values are not given by skills, but are determined separately in the next step. Common skills possessed by entities:
∙ Alertness
∙ Athletics
∙ Search
∙ Stealth
∙ Swim
Protective Characteristics and Movement
An entity’s size can affect how easy or difficult it is for an opponent to strike in combat. Particularly large targets are easier to hit, and very small ones are more difficult to target. This is reflected in the Targeting Adjustment shown in the table below. This bonus or penalty is applied to attacks made against the entity by human-sized attackers (like the Protagonists). If the attacker is itself very large or very small, judge the bonus based on the comparison between attacker and defender size categories — if they are different by more than two levels, apply a bonus or penalty. Otherwise ignore size as a factor.
An entity’s Armor rating is mostly determined by physical qualities like the thickness of its hide or fur, or by unnatural factors such as supernaturally impenetrable skin. However, the size category can give a starting point for Armor rating — after all, creatures who are particularly large usually benefit from having solid bodies, which are needed for them to be able to move around.
| Size Category | Targeting Adjustment | Base Armor |
|---|---|---|
| Extremely Small | –20% penalty | 0–1 |
| Small | None | 0–2 |
| Medium | None | 0–3 |
| Large | None | 3–5 |
| Very Large | +20% bonus | 5–10, solid |
| Extremely Large | +40% bonus | 10–25, massive |
Another important protective factor for an entity is its susceptibility or resilience to forms of damage that would normally be Lethal to humans. Natural creatures which aren’t vastly larger than human-sized will likely be affected by Lethal damage in the same way as a person. However, creatures which have supernatural compositions or are massive in size will likely be less affected.
Here are a few common forms of reduced susceptibility to Lethal damage that you can apply to your entity. Alternatively, you can invent some variant mechanic based on the special properties of the creature or individual in question.
∙ RESILIENT: A successful roll on a Lethal attack does not kill the creature/individual but inflicts Hit Point damage equal to the dice of the Lethality roll treated as 2D10, and reduced by any Armor rating.
∙ RESILIENT TO <attack type, e.g., Firearms>: If attacked with other attack types than the one named, damage/lethality is as per normal. If attacked with Lethal attacks of the nominated type, a successful roll does not kill the creature/individual but inflicts Hit Point damage equal to 2D10 minus any Armor rating.
∙ HIGHLY RESILIENT: A successful roll on a Lethal attack does not kill the creature/individual but inflicts Hit Point damage equal to the attack’s Lethality rating, reduced by any Armor rating.
∙ PARTIALLY IMMUNE (less than <number, e.g., 20>%): If the Lethal attack has a Lethality rating less than or equal to the number mentioned, it cannot harm or kill the target — even a successful Lethality roll will cause it zero harm. For Lethal attacks with a Lethality rating higher than the number mentioned, the creature/individual is still not automatically killed on a successful Lethality roll but suffers Hit Point damage equal to 2D10 minus any Armor rating.
∙ MASSIVE: successful Lethal attacks only deal Hit Point damage equal to the weapon’s Lethality rating (irrespective of the outcome of the Lethality roll).
∙ IMMUNE: Is not affected at all any physical attacks, including Lethal attacks.
An entity’s speed of movement is a factor that can be important in combat or pursuit type situations. The table below provides some general ranges that represent slower or faster rates of movement; pick a range that seems right for your entity and then assign a rate within that range.
If the entity can fly or swim especially well, it is usually worth allocating them a different rate of movement in these different media. They can be similar to their normal rate over land, or vastly different — whatever matches your conception of their physical capacities for self-propelled motion.
| Speed Descriptor | Distance covered in a turn |
|---|---|
| Extremely Slow | < 4 meters/yards |
| Slow | 4–8 meters/yards |
| Medium | 8–12 meters/yards |
| Fast | 12–16 meters/yards |
| Very Fast | 16–20 meters/yards |
| Extremely Fast | > 20 meters/yards |
Attack Modes
Entities may have just one method of inflicting harm upon their opponents, or they may have several. For each method, you will need to determine the likelihood that the attack successfully affects an opponent, and the magnitude of the damage inflicted by the attack. Usually the likelihood of an attack hitting is based on the general hunting and combat experience of the entity — if they are well-seasoned and battle-hardened warriors, they will have a high chance to hit, if they are reluctant fighters, it will be low. The table below gives some suggested chances for different categories of pacifist or martial entities.
| Attack chance | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 20% | Very slow and/or passive |
| 30% | Slow and/or passive creature |
| 40% | Stealthy or defensive fighter |
| 60% | Experienced predator |
| 80% | Killing machine |
The amount of damage caused by an attack is, to some extent, a product of the entity’s size category. After all, even a mild strike from the limb of a behemoth is likely to have sufficient momentum and force to cause a deadly injury. The table below gives some suggestions. Note that if the entity has a STR that is 20 or higher, it is common for any attacks powered by that superhuman strength to inflict Lethal damage equal to (STR÷2)%. Naturally, you can ignore this and assign a lesser value if it seems more appropriate to the situation.
| Size Category | Base Damage |
|---|---|
| Extremely Small | 1 HP; 1D4 HP |
| Small | 1D4 HP; 1D6 HP |
| Medium | 1D6 HP; 1D8 HP; 1D10 HP; 1D12 HP; 2D6 HP; 10% Lethality |
| Large | 10% Lethality to 25% Lethality |
| Very Large | 25% Lethality to 50% Lethality |
| Extremely Large | 50%+ Lethality |
Special Abilities
Unnatural entities usually have at least one special ability that is beyond what is possible for animals or humans. The lists below provide some examples of offensive, defensive and miscellaneous special abilities you can use as a starting point. Or you can invent something brand new based on the game mechanics scattered through the entity entries in this chapter. It is usually best to give your creation a few iconic (and thus memorable) special abilities rather than overloading it with a whole arsenal of unusual powers.
| Offensive Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Blood Drain | The bite of the entity drains blood from the victim each turn until forcibly detached. For each turn of blood loss, the victim loses 1D6 STR. If STR reaches zero the victim dies. Survivors slowly regain lost points at a rate determined by the Game Moderator. |
| Cling & Bite | After the entity bites a victim, it will cling to it unless forcibly removed. Each subsequent turn inflicts further Hit Points of damage to the victim, depending on the size and nature of the entity. |
| Engulf Victims | If a victim is pulled into the entity’s mass it becomes absorbed within it. An individual trapped inside the entity must separately make an opposed test comparing his or her STR against the entity’s STR. If the test is failed, the victim takes Lethal Damage with rating equal to 1% × the entity’s CON. Trapped targets inside the entity find it difficult to move or attack: only by making a percentile roll below their STR can such individuals make an attack while inside the entity. |
| Frenzy | Entity can make two melee attacks in the same combat turn, both with a penalty of –20%. |
| Knock Down | The force of the entity’s strike knocks victims through the air landing them on the ground. Depending on the attack, this might cause additional damage. For Large, Very Large and Extremely Large entities, the only means of avoiding this is through a successful Dodge test. |
| Mental Drain | If the entity wishes to mentally weaken those in its proximity, it can compel an individual to perform an opposed test which matches the entity’s POW versus the victim’s INT. If the victim is defeated in this test, he or she immediately loses 1D6 Willpower Points + 1D6 SAN. The WPs are added to the attacker’s total. |
| Pin | On a successful attack, the target is pinned. This can also cause additional damage, depending on the creature. Exactly what pinning looks like depends on the nature of the creature. For Large, Very Large and Extremely Large entities, the only means of avoiding this is through a successful Dodge test. |
| Penetrating Attacks | This attack type penetrates any known armor, completely ignoring a target’s armor value. |
| Toxic Venom | The bite of the entity injects a potent toxin with a Lethality Rating equal to the entity’s CON. |
| Unnatural Speed | The creature is always considered a very fast-moving target (–40% to hit). It can also use the Dodge action against firearms. |
| Defensive Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Flicker | The entity is partially on another plane of existence or uses it to move around. Therefore, some attacks simply pass through it. The likelihood of the target lingering outside the normal plane of existence is given as a percentage. |
| Immune to Damage Types | The entity loses no hit points from the specific damage type (e.g., firearms, puncturing weapons, fire). |
| Regeneration | In each combat turn, before performing its action, the creature first regenerates hit points equal to the specified amount. |
| Resistant to Damage Types | Any damage of the named damage type is halved before being charged to the armor value. This also means that the lethality value of weapons is halved on lethality rolls against a resistant target. |
| Transcendent | The entity is immune to physical damage. Perhaps it exists in dimensions we cannot perceive or are built in such a way that pure force and matter cannot harm them. Such entities can easily penetrate matter. |
| Unnatural Armor | The entity’s armor also provides full protection against Armor Piercing weapons. |
| Unnatural Organism | The entity’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant areas of the body. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits. |
| Unnatural Toughness | The creature has a number of additional HP not derived from its CON or STR. A common version of this ability is for the entity to have twice the normal amount of HP. |
| Other Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Great Old One | The entity is so vastly powerful that it exists and acts beyond the limits of the human imagination. As such, it has no physical stats, and the GM is free to decide the consequences of direct contact with that creature. For humans, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity. Great Old Ones also usually also inspire UNNATURAL KNOWLEDGE |
| Invisible | The entity has the power to become invisible to normal vision through a supernatural effect; attempts to hit the entity while it is invisible are halved. |
| Mental Control | The entity has the power to control humans via mental dominance. Resolve such attempts as an opposed POW vs POW test; if the target’s will is overcome, he or she is compelled to remain in close proximity to the area where the mental control was initiated. Once controlled, a dominated human can be mentally contacted by the entity regardless of where it is, anywhere on Earth. This communication costs the entity 1 Willpower Point. |
| Shapeshifter | The entity can mimic the appearance of objects and other creatures to disguise itself. |
| Special Sense | The entity has special perceptive abilities. These could include echolocation, heat vision, vibration sense, as well as particularly acute senses such as a keen sense of smell, acute hearing, or eagle eyes. |
| Unnatural Knowledge | Encountering this entity inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural Knowledge. The character then simultaneously loses sanity points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No sanity check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Realization occurs immediately after the regular sanity check and regardless of its result. |
| Unnatural Strength / Constitution | The entity has an unnaturally high STR or CON, beyond those normally associated with its size category. This creature does not adhere to the rules of the natural order and is much stronger or tougher than can be explained by its stature. |
SAN Loss
An encounter with an unnatural entity results in a loss of SAN in humans, the corrosive effect of the damage these alien monstrosities inflict on the human psyche. Entities that are greater — in terms of physical size or significance — tend to cause more significant damage.
The table below provides some suggestions for SAN losses based on the scale of the entity and their level of ‘alien-ness’ as defined by the following categories:
∙ Disturbing: the entity resembles familiar creatures or ideas but is outside the limits of what is considered sane or normal.
∙ Uncanny: The entity is obviously of an unnatural nature. Its hideous reality might just push someone over the edge into insanity. This level of weirdness is considered the ‘entry level’ for entities that have genuinely unnatural origins.
∙ Shocking: The entity is particularly repulsive or terrifying. Its physical form is plainly at odds with the known laws of physics and known biology. It is terrifying enough that anyone encountering it is likely to be pushed over the edge.
∙ Grotesque: The entity is the personification of cosmic horror. Even a fleeting encounter with such an alien monstrosity is likely to result in lasting psychological damage. Great Old Ones almost always fall into this classification.
In addition to damaging the SAN of those who encounter them, Unnatural Entities may be the source of significant wisdom about the true nature of reality. Encounters with entities who have the UNNATURAL KNOWLEDGE characteristic in particular are likely to trigger gains in Unnatural skill … for better or worse.
| Size Category | Disturbing | Uncanny | Shocking | Grotesque |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely Small / Small | 0/1 | 1/1D4 | 1/1D6 | 1/1D8 |
| Medium | 1/1D4 | 1/1D6 | 1/1D8 | 1D4/1D10 |
| Large | 1/1D6 | 1/1D8 | 1D4/1D10 | 1D6/1D12 |
| Very Large | 1/1D8 | 1D4/1D10 | 1D6/1D12 | 1D8/1D20 |
| Extremely Large | 1D4/1D10 | 1D6/1D12 | 1D8/1D20 | 1D10/1D100 |