gorgonmilk's lovecraft supplement expanded (ocr by spaceling)

7/28/2019 Gorgonmilk's Lovecraft Supplement Expanded (Ocr by Spaceling)

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L O V E C R A F T I A N S U P P L E M E N T

CONTENTS

"THE LOVECRAFTIAN MYTHOS IN DUN GE ON S & DRAGON S" by Ro be rt Kuntz an d J. Eric Ho lm es 2

The DragonVol. II, No. 6 (April 1977)

"THE CTHULHU MYTHOS REVISITED" by Ger ald Gui nn 5

The DragonVol. II, No. 8 (July 1977)

"A REBUTTAL TO 'THE CTH ULH U MYTHOS REVISITED'" by J. Eric Ho lm es 6

The DragonVol. II, No. 16 (July 1978)

"H. P. LOVECRAFT'S RICHARD UPT ON PICKMAN" by Law ren ce Schi ck an d Tom Mol dva y 7

The DragonVol. IV, No. 10 (April 1980)

"CTHULHU MYTHOS" by Jame s Wa rd with Robert Kuntz 8

Deities & Demi-Gods[1st and 2nd Printing] (1980)

APPENDIX: Mythos-related material appearing in Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976) 14

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by Rob Kuntz

THE LOVECRAFTIAN MYTHOSIN DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Those o f you who have read HP . Lovecrafis stories based around hisfal len gods. The Great Old ones, w ill know what it means to fina lly get

them into a form which in they are understood and compatible with theD&D system. J. E ric Holmes (known fo r his work with Basic Dungeons& Dragons) with additions by tny humble self bring you parts o f theCthulhu Mythos. They are laid out to be compatible with Dungeons &

Dragons supplement I V "Gods Demi-Gods & Heroes." For all o f you Love craf t en thu siasts he re 's w ha t yo u ve been wa iting fo r. F or al l o fyou not familiar with the Cthulhu cycle her es a new experience

The Lovecraftian Gods, the Great Old Ones

The Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos are completely eviland often times chaotic. They were banished or sealed away by theElder Gods. Subsequently, however, the Elder Gods appear to haveabandoned this part of the universe, and the worshipers of the OldOnes predict that they are soon to return and re-establish dominionover the earth. Evil clerics or magic users who call upon the Old Ones,using the spells from the Necronomicon or the other books of elderlore, run a 25% chance of being destroyed by the gods they evoke. (TheDungeon Master may revise this probability downward for priests ofCthulhu. high level evil magic-users, etc.) 50% chance of one of the servants o f the Old Ones appearing, 25% o f the god appearing and cooperating. If the god attacks he will then ravage the countryside for 1-6turns and disappear.

Only Lovecrafts major gods are described here. There are manyminor deities: Chaugnar-Faugn, Lloigor. Tsathoggua or Shudde-M eilin the works of Lovecraft and his literary disciples, which could be

called upon in a Lovecraftian D&D campaign

Azathoth, Creator of the Universe

Annor Class minus 2 Magic Abili ty noneMove infinite Fighter Ability 20th LevelHit Points 300 Psionic Ability' resistan t to all psionsic

attack.

Azathoth is a blind, mindless, amorphic mass, the size of a star,floating at the center of the universe. It is attended by satellite creaturesthat provide an ethereal music, like the sound of idiot flute players.Azathoth is immaterial but might be attacked by someone operating onanother plane of existence. If so attacked It will defend Itself. Aza-thoth's saving throw' against all forms of magic is 5 and It is mindlessand totally resistant to mental attack. If Azathoth is destroyed the entire universe will collapse back to a point at the center of the cosmoswith the incidental destruction of all life and intelligence.

Cthulhu

Armor Class 2 Magic Ability (see below)

Move 12 Fighter Ability 15 th levelHit Points 200 Psionic Ability Class 1

Cthulhu is a bloated humanoid form 100 ft. high with an octapoidhead and a face a mass of feelers. He has a scaley, rubbery' skin, prodigious feet and curved talons on hands and feet. A pair of folded batlike wings protrude from between the shoulders.

Ph nglui mglw nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh w agh nagl fhtagn. Inhis house a R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. R'lyeh is a greatsunken city of non-Euclidian geometry' somew'here in the Pacific. Sobizarre is its construction that any'one entering the city must make saving throws against fear and insanity'. Cthulhu lies in a huge stone structure sealed with the Elder Sign (see below). If the Seal is broken and the

god released, everyone in a radius of 100 miles must make a savingthrow or go insane

Cthulhu usually attacks both physically and psionically. He canregenerate 10 hit points per melee round. He can teleport up to ha lf amile and is totally resistant to water, cold and vacuum. He can call upfrom the sea 10-100 of the Deep Ones. He will retreat into his lair ifconfronted with the mtact Elder Sign, another o f the Old O nes such asHastur, or some natural catastrophe, such as the re-sinking of the cityof R'lveh into the sea.

Hastur the Unspeakable, Him Who Is Not To Be Named

Aimor Class 2 Magic Ability (see below)Move 12, Fly 36" Fighter Ability 20th levelHit Points 200 Psionic Ability resistant to all psionic

attack.

Hastur, half-brother of Great Cthulhu, lies imprisoned by the starshaped Elder Sign in a crypt at the bottom o f Lake Hah near the city ofCarcosa on a dark planet m the constellation Hyades. He appears as ahuge reptilian form, 100 feet high with massive tail and gigantic talonsHastu r's head is a fleshless. eyeless, reptilian skull with great curvinghoms.

Anyone encountering Hastur must make a saving throw againstfear. H e can teleport anywhere within the physical universe, across interstellar distances instantaneously, as indeed, can all of his minions In

addition to fear, he casts spells of cold an d darkness as a 15th lev elmagic user and is immune to cold and vacuum. He regenerates 5 hitsper melee round. He can call up from Lost Carcosa and dread Yuggoth1-10 of the Byakhee or the abominable Mi-Go. Hastur will retreat fromhis half brother Cthulhu, from the Elder Sign or from others of the OldOnes if they should chance to oppose him.

Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, the Messenger of the Gods

Armor Class 2 Magic Ability 15th levelMove 12 Fighter Ability 15th levelHit Points 150 Psionic Ability Class two

Nyarlathotep appears as a tall dark man, often dressed as apharaoh. but is sometimes portrayed as a faceless sphinx. His appearance in the world is said to fortell the return of the Old Ones fromtheir imprisonment He charms humans, humanoids and non-magicalanimals by his mere presence. (Saving throw applicable: this Power extends to cover a 30 radius and once a saving throw is made it neverneed be checked again. All checks are made at -2 to the die roll.) Thosefalling under his spell either obey him or behave m a purely chaotic

manner. Thus his progress across the face of the land is followed byriot, war, mass murder, suicide and insanity. The god is believed bysome students of the occult to have various guises and to be the DarkMan o f the European witchcraft rituals. He can call up at will an armyof wild beasts o r mindless humans. 10-1000. completely subject to hiscommand, willing to march to certain death.

Shub-Niggurath, Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young

Armor Class 4 Magic Ability (see below)Move 6 Fighter Ability (see below)Hit Points 300 Psionic Ability Class 2

Probably identical with the god A bhoth o f ancient Hypeiboria andUbbo-Stahla the unbegotten source, this fountain of uncleanhness is ahuge grey pool, 100 feet across, in the caverns beneath Mou nt Voor-mithadreth, constantly bubbling and putting forth mouths, limbs,pseudopods and whole creatures. 1-10 small monsters are created fromthe pool per melee round and go crawling, flopping and flying aw'ay upto the surface. Some fall back into the pool w hich then grows mouthsand devours them. These are 1 die monsters. In 10 more melee rounds

they will grow to 2 die monsters, in 20 more to three, etc. All the while.Abhoth (Shub-Niggurath) is producing a 10 sided die of monsters eachround. Thus the go d is the source o f all the foul and unclean creaturesof the earth. The growing little monsters usually ignore strangers, butthey w ill attack on Shub-Niggurath s command. Shub-Niggurath is intelligent, telepathic and throws charm person or m onster spells o f the15th level, once per turn.The Necronomicon by Abdul Alhazred

Alhazred, the Mad Arab. wras a magic user around AD 700. After ten years alone in the desert he wrote a book called Al Azif aword used to denote the nocturnal sounds o f insects which may be thevoices of demons. Alhazred was seized in the streets of Damascus by in-

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visible demons and devoured horribly in front of many witnesses.Those who have studied his writings have sometimes met a fate nearlyas terrible. The book was translated into Greek in AD 950 by Theo-dorus Philetas o f Constantinople and re-titled The Necronomicon. N oknown copies of the Arabic text exist, the Greek translation wasbanned and all known copies burned. A Latm translation was published by Olaus Wormius AD 1228 and there was an English translationby Dr. John Dee in the early 17th century. A few copies of the Latmtext are known, one is at the library of the Miskatonic University inArkham Massachusetts.

The book gives a description of the pre-human worship o f the OldOnes, their banishment by the Elder Gods, and their imminent return.It would appear that spells are given for summoning all of the Old Onesand their minions and some spells for their control and dismissal, although these later are not always effective. The revelations of cosmichorror contained within its pages are so intense that there is a probability o f characters below' level 5 changing alignment to chaotic, evil orgoing mad (25% adjusted by the DM for intelligence, experience andalignment).

In addition to the Necronomicon there are a number of othermagical books o f similar type, including: The Book o f Eibon, T he Ce-laeno Framents. Cultes des Goules by the Comte d'Erlette. De VermisMysteriis by Ludvig Prinn. The Dhol Chants, The Pnaknotic Manuscripts, and Unausprechhchen Kulten by Von Junzt All of these have

powers similar to. but less than, the Necronomicon itself.

The Elder Sign

Armor against witches and daemons, against the Deep Ones, theDholes, the Voormis, the Tcho-Tcho, the Abominable Mi-Go, theShaggoths. the Ghasts. the Valusians and all such peoples and beingswho serve the Great Old Ones and their Spawn lies within the five-pointed star carven of grey stone from ancient Mnar which is lessstrong against the Great Old Ones themselves."

the NecronomiconThese small grey stone stars are a powerful talisman, acting on the

evil minions of the Great Old Ones as a pow erful charm spell or as acrucifix will act on a vampire. The stars are highly resistant to destruction armor class minus 2, broken only by magic or by incredibleforce. The Elder Sign was used by the Elder Gods to seal off thoseplaces where the Great Old Ones were imprisoned or where they might"break through.

Cthuga. Lord of Fire

Armor Class 2 Magic Ability see belowMove 12 Fighter Ability 17th LevelHit Points 175 Psionic Ability Class 6

Cthuga appears as an ever changing mass of fire, bemg indistinguishable at times from a pillar (20 high by 5-8 in diameter) of brightred flame with additional blue and yellow flames coursing up andaround his body. Cthu ga's vaned p owers consist of using all fire connected spells (as per Greyhawk) 3 times a day for each spell. He maysummon up to 8 12 hit die (8 dl2) fire elementals (flame creatures) whoact intelligently and serve the Lord o f Fire fanatically. He m ay do thissummoning only once per week, though. Cthuga may only be struck effectively by +3 or better weapons, all other magical weapons doing nodamage and requiring a saving through so as not to disintegrate. Metal,non-magical weapons melt upon touch. Cthuga strikes once per meleeround dealing out 3-30 points of fire damage and he ignites flammableswithin a 10 yard radius o f his body. He may sustain all types of fire attack, accruing no damage, but for every die o f cold damage sustainedhe must add 1 point extra per die of damage and 2 points extra per die

of damage caused by water based attacks. Cthuga dwells in his Palaceof Fire which is located somewhere beneath a volcano deep w ithin thebowels of the earth

Ithaqua. Lord of the Air. Windwalker

Armor Class 2 Magic Ability see belowMove 12 + Special Fighter Ability 16th LevelHit Points 175 Psionic Ability Class 6

Ithaqua is referred to m some areas as the Wendigo and is secondonly to the Great Hastur himself regarding supremacy of the air Ithaqua may wind w alk (as the spell) anytime he wishes He may summonone 16 die air elemental per day which acts much like an invisible stalker in that it will obey a limited number of commands, but unlike other

elementals can go beyond the controlling range of Ithaqua with no concentration required on his part. Ithaqua may also control weather (asthe spell) with double the range and effects. Ithaqua strikes twice permelee round doing 2-16 points of strong buffet damage per hit. TheLord o f Air is especially dama ged by magical fire attacks taking 2 hitpoints extra per die of magical fire damage accrued. He wanders theskies, remaining quite aloof from the other gods of this mythos.

Yig. Supreme God of Serpents

Armor Class 3/5 Magic Ability see belowM ove - 18 Fighter Ability 15th LevelHit Points 125 Psionic Ability Class 6

Yig is represented as a great (17+) long snake, although he (it?)may alter shape slightly to appear as a Naga (see M on ster M anu al),with the upper part of the body appearing as a human and the lowrerthat of a snake Yig moves silently, detects enemies and tracks as aranger, all with 100% efficiency. He surprises opponents on a six-sideddie roll of 1-4. Yig controls all serpents within a one square mile radiusof himself When encountered near his lair he will be attended by 2-20(4-6 hit die) giant snakes (always of the venomous variety). Yig strikesfor 2-11 hit points fang damage plus a poison injection upon a successful hit This roll is at -3 to the die roll and all those failing to make theirsaving throw die immediately. Yigs armor class (as explained above) is3 for the head and 5 for the chest and underbelly.

Yog Sothoth, the Key and Guardian of the Gate

Armor Class 2 Magic Ability 15th levelMove 24" (see below) Fighter Ability 20th levelHit Points 300 Psiomc Ability Class 1

Yog Sothoth exists on a fourth dimensional plane which allowshim to enter the universe at any point in space and any point in time.His fourth dimensional shape appears as a congeries of irridescentglobes like giant soap bubbles. When he takes shape in our universe heis partly material and partly ethereal and appears as a gigantic mass offeelers, legs and stalked organs. In this shape he will mate with humanbeings, producing the Spawn o f Yog Sothoth (The Dunw ich Horror).He is highly intelligent but extremely chaotic and unpredictable. He cangate in, out of time and space, any o f the spawn or subject races o f theOld Ones, or any of the D&D demons from the sub dimensions of helLone per melee round. Yog Sothoth is not subject to the laws o f spaceand time and can, for example, appear at various parts of the universesimultaneously.

Inhuman and Partly Human Races of the Ctl iulhuMythos:

Armor Class 5 Magic Ability (see below)Move 36" (see below) Fighter Ability 10th levelHit Points 100 Psiomc Ability Class 5

These are huge, furry bat-winged servants of the god Hastur. Theycan fly through interstellar space and can teleport anywhere witlun theknown universe, carrying human beings with them o n their backs or mtheir great talons They, and those they carry, are protected from coldand vacuum. They are intelligent, telepathic and will obey those whoca m the Elder Sign or who appeal successfully to Hastur. They strikewith their talons doing 2-12 points of damage per and their beak does 29 pomts of damage

The Deep Ones

Armor Class 3 Magic Ability noneMo w 12, 36" Fighter Ability 3rd level

in waterHit Points 10 Psionic Ability none

Amphibious, humanoid worshipers of Cthulhu, the Deep Ones inhabit the ocean in great numbers and occupy certain coastal towns(Innsmouth). They appear in great numbers 1-100. and are inimicalto humans, although they frequently intermarry with them. The DeepOnes are frog like in appearance with webbed hands and feet. As theygrow older they spend more time in the ocean and become more icthicin appearance. They are potentially immortal, as are their half-breedoffspring They often have great treasures salvaged from the sunkencities of the deep. Every large group will have at least one evil clericaltype, level 3-10.

Byakhee

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The Great Race

Armor Class 5 Magic Ability (see below)

Move 12 Fighte r Abi lity 6th levelHit Points 30 Psionic Ability Class 1

These creatures (The Shadow Out of Time ) popu lated the earth abillion or more years ago and their cities still exist buried in the greatAustralian desert. They are ten foot high cones, ten feet wide at thebase with four ten foot tentacles at the top. Two tentacles end in lobster-like claws, one in trumpet-like ears and one in a yellow globe two

feet in diameter with three eyes along its circumference and a set ofmanipulating tentacles dependent from it. The creatures move rapidlyby expanding and contracting the muscular base of the cone. These

creattires are highly intelligent, telepathic, and scientifically advanced.They have no magical powers but many technological devices such asair ships and energy beams. They can project their minds backward andforward in time and across interstellar space. They then seize control of

the mind o f any intelligent creature, displacing the other m ind into thebody o f the member o f the G reat Race. Such captive minds are welltreated, encouraged to teach the Great Race about their own time andeventually sent back to their original bodies with memory of the experience erased. Unlike the servants o f the Old O nes, the Great Race islawful a nd neutral.

The Old Ones A misnom er, sin ce this refe rs not to the an cie nt gods,but to a minor race o f interstellar beings.

Armor Class 5 Magic Ability none (see below)Move 12 Fighte r Abili ty 8th level

Hit Points 50 Psionic Ability none

These bizarre looking creatures are an interstellar race who once

settled at the South Pole, where their deserted cities still lie beneath thepolar ice (At the Mountains of Madness). They are barrel-shaped, six toeight feet long with wings and tentacled arms growing from the circumference of the barrel and five star-fish like tentacles growing from each

end of the barrel. The upper set of tentacles end in eyes and mouths, thelower set are muscular legs with triangular feet or fins. The Old Onesare intelligent and scientifically advanced and once had a highly techno

logical civilization. They were exterminated by a form of artificial lifewhich they had created themselves: the Shaggoths. The Old Ones are

basically hostile to other intelligent races, but they are lawful, not chaotic.

The Mi-Go, the Fungi from Yuggoth, the Abominable Snow Men

Armor Class 3 Magic Ability (see below)M ov e 15, fly 30 Fighter Ability 8th levelHit Points 35 Psionic Ability Class 5

Eight foot high, many legged, red, crab like creatures with two

great bat-like wings, the Mi-Go are found in mountain wilderness, theHimalayas and Vermont. Their main base of operations in this solarsystem is on Yuggo th (the planet Pluto). Imm une to cold, dark and vacuum, they can fly in interstellar space and teleport across interstellar

distances. They can not speak but they possess certain machines thatproduce a buzzing imitation of human speech (The Whisperer in Darkness). They mine minerals o r other items from the earth and will try tomake alliances with human races. They sometimes kidnap humans and

carry off their living brains in metal cylinders for study.

The Shaggoths

Armor Class 4 Magic Ability none

Move 18" Fighte r Abili ty 8th levelHit Points 70 Psionic Ability resistant to

psionic attack.

Huge, 15 feet across, transparent, intelligent amoeba, the Shaggoths are a form of artificial life created to serve the Old Ones. Originally telepathic, they lost this ability, rebelled and killed their masters. The inside of the amoeba appears like a series of bubbles or other

included matter. The surface grows organs as needed, eyes, mouths,legs, sword-like weapons, etc. They guard the buried and drownedcities of the Old Ones near Antarctica.

Feb. 78 Wje Bragon


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The Cthulhu Mythos RevisitedDear Editor,

Being an avid fan o f Lovecraft, I was ap palled by the article inyou r February, 1978 edition of the Dragon concerning the Cthulhu

Mythos. Not only have I read Lovecraft. but also Augest Derleth,

Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard, etc, and I amhooked on D& D. So I waited impatiently for any recognition of theMythos, only to be disappointed by a partial list, underrated aliens

(namely the Great Race), and your account of Alhazreds death.About Azathoth, according to Eibon the great Hyperboreanwizard, it is Ubbo-Sathla, the Source and the E n dthat is the center ofthe universe, not Azathoth, Ubbo Sathla's twin.

Ubbo-Sathlas spawn includes Zulchequon, Abhoth, Nygotha,Yig, Atlacha-Nacha, Bytis, and dark Han. While Azatlioths spawnwere Nyarlathotep, Yog-Shothoth, C-xaxukluth, and yet others.

From these were the Great Old Ones built.

According to the genealogical information, the following revisionscan be made.

First, the Elder Gods, after they defeated the Great Old Ones,stripped Azathoth of a lot o f his power, so his hits should be lowered to200 to 225.

Cthulhu, first spawn o f Yog-Shothoth, and the second most powerful of the Great Old Ones, is underrated. His hits should be raised to350. A major weapon of Cthulhlu to any who knows of him is to connect the charac ters mind with his dreams ( of course there is a saving

throw). The results of Cthulhus dreams is insanity. The Mythos is scattered with insane characters who have discovered too much; Justin

Geoffry (Robert Howard), Arthur Wilcox Hodgins* (Lin Carter), DanHarrop (Augest Derleth), and Gottfried Mulder (Lin Carter).

The Elder sign, also known as the five-pointer Mnarian starstone,cannot control Cthulhu in R lyeh, instead the seal o f R'lyeh resembles

the symbol o f Aquariou s the water carrier, against a buried city withthe shape of an octopoid creature in the center.

One great misconception about Cthulhu is the statement madeabout him retreating in the face of Hastur. No way, before making

statement read The Return of Hastur by Augest Derleth. A battlewill not only occur between the two, but a climatic one.

Hastur is underrated, he is the third most powerful Old One. His

hits should be raised to 325. He is theKING OF AIR! ' ! / ! ! ! !Shub-Niggurath is not connected with Abhoth or Ubbo-Sathla, it

is a separate entity. It is worshipped by people that live in mo re damp

places where Shub-Niggurath likes to roam. Shub-Niggurath matedwith H astur to produce Ithaqua, Lliogor, and Zhar, entities of thewind. These three are very powerful.

If Alhazred was eaten alive in Damas cus what is he doing in the

Nameless city as an intact zombie that tells Dr. Shrewsberry whereRlyeh is? An Arabic volume of the Necr onom icon , called A1 Azif doesexist. The Celaeno fragments, the Book o f Eib on , and the Pna kn ot ic

Manus cripts are equal if not superior to the Necronom icon .Cthugha is fourth on the list of Great Old O nes, his hits should be

raised to 300, and Nyarlathotep raised to 295.If youre wondering who is number one YOG-SHOTHOTH his

hits should be raised to 400. You can say that is rather powerful; youre

damn right. The Great Old Ones are so powerful, that the total powerof the Elder Gods could not destroy them; only imprison them.

As far as your Byakliee, there is no evidence for a 100 hit bird;

maybe fifty. The Shantaks, a mountain of a bird, could be classified asa 100 hit creature.

The Deep Ones can actually progress in levels as a magic-user.The G reat Race o f Yith o nly 30? If so the universe w'ould be con

trolled by the Great Old Ones themselves!!!! They are more like 100

hits apiece.Try Primordial Ones instead of Old Ones from the Mountains of

Madness. Using Old Ones twice is not only redundant of another crea

ture (the Great Old Ones), but confusing.Instead of Shaggoths, these creatures are known as Shoggoths,These may seem trivial, but if How ard Phillips Lovecraft, Augest

Derleth, or Robert Howard saw your use, theyd roll over in theirgraves not once but at least ten times.

Sincerely Yours,The High Priest of the Great Old OnesIn the Service of NyarlathotepGerald Guinn

*Arthur Wilcox Hodgins is actually in an institute for the criminally insane, after killing a

nightguard who tried to stop him from destroying a statue of one of Cthulhus spawn,

Zoth-Ormnog.

GTfjeBragon v o l i i n o . s


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6

Letters to the Editor A Rebuttal toThe Cthulhu Mythos Revisited

bv Gerald GuinnWell, when one gets into religious controversy the first thing one discovers is

that the scriptures are themselves self-contradictory or are subject to varying in

terpretations. Now here is Gerald Guinn, self styled High Priest in the Service o f

Nyar lathotep objecting to the in terpretation g iven to the Cthulhu Mythos in

D& D (The Dra gon , May 1978, page 22).

Mr. Guinn makes a number of specific complaints, and readers should refer

to his letter for his entire argument, but I am happy to comment on some of his

allegations, as summarized below.

Guinn claims:

1. That Ubbo-Sathla, not Azathoth, is the center of the Universe. And yet:

Til neither time nor matter stretched before me But only Chaos, without

form or place. Here the vast Lord of All in darkness muttered Things he had

dreamed but could not understand.

Azathoth, from The Fungi from Yuggoth

an d

the boundless daemon Sultan Azathoth, . . . which blasphemes and bub

bles at the centre of all infinity . . . r r TT ifrom Dream Quest ot Unknown

K a d a t h

It is true that C lark Ashton Sm iths Hyperborean sorcerer Eibon makes

some contradictory statements about Ubbo-Sathla, but with all due respect to

MU Eibon, he must be considered a secondary source.

Many of Lovecrafts friends wrote stories using the Cthulhu Mythos and as

a result there are various versions of the more imp ortant events therein. Our arti

cle draws most heavily on Lovec raf ts own works and the work o f Mythos

Scholars Frances T. Laney, The Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary, published

in Be yo nd the Wa ll o f S lee p, and Lin Carter, H.P. Lovecraft: The Gods p ub

lished in The Shut tered Room an d Other Pieces. Both o f these books from Aik-

ham House.

2. A major power o f Cthulhu is the projection to sensitive minds of night

mare and madness. Certainly true, I would hope anyone using the god in his

game would read The Call of Cthulhu and get some idea how fearsome he

really is. hi an early version of the Gods I said if Cthulhu breaks out of

R lyeh, everyone in the worldmust make a saving throw or go insane. I later re

duced this as being a bit too gross.

3. Guinn objects to the various hit point assignments given to the Love-craftian Gods and races. This is too arbitrary a subiect to iustifv serious conten

tion. Any appropriate hit point assignment can be used by the DM. One o f my

concerns in writing up the gods was that players encountering them in a game

might well want to call upon Zeus or Thor or Ra for help and the gods should be

scaled to make this a reasonable confrontation.

4 . Guinn maintains the Elder Sign . . . cannot contro l Cthulhu inR lyeh. I quote the Ne cr on om ic on . In the land of Yhe as in great R lyeh . . .

i t shall have power , but even as the s tars wane . . . so wanes the power . . . o f

the five pointed star stone. Derleths The House on Cmw en Street

5. If Alhazred was eaten alive in Damascus what is he doing in the Name

less city as an intact zombie . . .?

My description o f Alhaz reds fate is taken from H.P. Lovec rafts History

and Chronology of the Ne cr on om ico n . I know Derletli had him reappear in a

later story, but Lovecrafts account is probably the definitive one. Prof. Shrews

bury (in Derleths stoiy) says Legend has it that he was snatched by an invisible

monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a great audience; this is

the stoiy of the twelfth century biographer Ebn Kliallikan, hands down; but it is

more than possib le that the devour ing was an illusion . . . in The Keeper of

the Key, the story referred to by Guinn above. Ah, in a dispute like this, who is

to know what is illusion and what is reality?

6. An Arabic volume of the N ec ro no mi co n . . . does exist. I know var

ious authors have reported so, but again, to quote Lovecrafts History and

Chronology of the N ec ro no m ic on " 1050 . . . Arabic text now lo st.

7. Try Primordia l Ones instead of Old Ones from the Moun tains of

Madness. Using Old Ones twice is not only redundant of another creature (the

Great Old Ones) but confusing. I agree, but Lovecraft uses Old Ones through

out most of the stoiy.8. Instead of Shaggoths, these creatures are known as Shoggoths. You

are r ight, Mr. Guinn, although Laneys Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary ,

gives both spellings. If you are going to com plain about how to spe ll words not

intended (in the first place) for the human tongue, may I point out that in your

letter you have consistently misspelled August Derleths first name?

9. If. . . Lovecraft . . . Derletli . . . or Howard saw your use, theyd

roll over in their graves. If you listen very carefully over HP Ls grave, Mr.

Guinn, the sound you hear is not rolling, it is hearty laughter!

Sincerely,

J. Eric Holmes

Ed. No te: j. Eric Ho lm es , an au th or in hi s ow n rig ht (M ak ar s o f P ell uc ida r is m y

fa v or ite Pe llu cid ar no va l wr itt en by J. E. ID , w as co -a ut ho r o f the or igin al article.

1&t)e Bragon Vol. II No. 16


7/14


April, 1980 T h e D r a g o n

PICK MA NS MODE L by Virgil Finlay

H.P. LovecraftsRICHARD UPTON PICKMAN (King of the Ghouls)

9th level fighter with special

magical abilityALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral

HIT POINTS: 77ARMOR CLASS: -3

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3/2DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 (+4

or +1)HIT BONUS: +4 or + 1

MOVE: 6PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

STRENGTH: 14

INTELLIGENCE: 18 (00%)WISDOM: 11DEXTERITY: 17CONSTITUTION: 15

CHARISMA: 15 (to humans, 19

to ghouls)

37

Richard Upton Pickman was a Boston painter who disappeared in

1927. His family was of old Salem stock, and one ancestor was hung asa witch in 1692. Pickman was a noted genius who specialized in painting

the morbid and bizarre. His most famous painting was GhoulFeeding. Its disgusting realism was the main reason that the Boston Art

Club and all respectable galleries shunned Pickman and his paintings,Richard Upton Pickmans paintings were realistic for a good reasonthey were copied from photographs.

When Pickman grew weary of this world, he disappeared throughone of the many tunnels the ghouls had dug under New England.

Journeying deeper and deeper into the black, dank burrow, Pickman

eventually crossed through the Gate of Deeper Slumber, into the Realmof Dream. He joined the ghouls in their lairs, slowly devolving into a

ghoul himself, though he retains more human features and mannerisms

than is normal among ghouls.

Perhaps the remnants of his humanity impressed the ghouls, or

maybe it was his talent for leadership or his artistic genius. For whateverreason, Richard Upton Pickman first became a noted ghoulish advisor,

when w as chosen as king by one large band of ghouls. He is always

accompanied by a bodyguard of 8 ghouls and 4 ghasts. He wears +3plate armor (no shield) and carries a +1 sword which is +4versus ghoulenemies (most living creatures).

Pickman has acted as a civilizing and restraining influence on his

ghoul band, hence the change from evil to neutral in alignment Whilesomewhat temperamental, particularly when he regresses into his more

ghoulish personality, Pickman is still impressed by Victorian and Edwardian manners. He may befriend a player character who acts like a

gentleman. Richard Upton Pickman will not take it kindly if members

of his bodyguard are turned away. An evil Cleric can only befriend the

ghouls if his charisma (toward ghouls) is greater than Pickman's.

Before his devolution grew too extreme. Richard Upton Pickmanpainted seven magical paintings which he carries with him in a backpack. Each painting is one foot square and has a save versus fire of 10.Player characters who gaze upon a painting are liable to suffer the

magical effect of that painting. Only ghouls from Pickmans band areimmune, having admired the paintings countless times. Pickman maydisplay one painting per round, even if he is under attack. He may use a

painting as a shield, flashing it in the eyes o f an attacker while slashingwith his own sword.

Richard Upton Pickmans paintings are:

1. The Lesson (A circle o f nameless dog-like things in a church

yard teac h a small child how to feed like them selves.1') Unless a saveversus spells is made, the player character is changed into a ghoul.

2. Ghoul Feeding (description self-evident from title). Treat as aFear spell.

3. Subway Accident (A flock of vile ghouls and witches clamber

up from some unknown catacomb). Treat as a Confusion spell.

4. Welcom e to Innsm outh (A smiling, ichtliyic humanoid holds

out a tentacle, as i f to shake hands.) A devolution spell. I f save versuspolymorph is not made, roll % to determine degree of devolution. For a

normal human, an approximate devolution scale would be 01-25 =half-(sea) ore, 26-50 = lizard man, 51-75 = troglodyte, 76-90 =

sahuagin, 91-00 = lacedon (sea-ghoul). Modify at DM's discretion forcharacter race. The DM may wish to give the character a second save(versus spells at -4 oil die roll) to determine whether or not thecharacters personality is intact (i.e. whethe r or not he remains a playercharacter). The character may be restored to normal by a Re mov eCurse spell cast by at least a lOth-level Cleric or an 1lth-level Magic-User.

5. The Silver Key (a massive silver key engraved with crypticalarabesques).- Treat as a Maze spell with the victim cast into an astralrealm. Roll for possible encounters (20 on ld20) each round spent onthe astral plane using the Astral Encounter Table (pg. 181, Dung eon

Masters Guide)

6. The Colour out of Space (a stone well covered with grayingiridescent fungus). Unless a save versus spells is made, the character willbecome covered with the fungus in the picture. Death will occur in 10rounds unless a Cure Disease spell is cast upon the victim by at least alOth-level Cleric.

7


8/14


8

The Cthulhu Mythos wo$ f irs t revea led in a group of related stor ies by theAmerican writer H. P. Lovecraft. Beginning with "The Call of Cthulhu" in

Weird Tales, lovecraf t began referr ing in h is horror s tor ies to a pantheon

of b e in g s k n o w n as th e O ld O n es , w h o h ad d escen d ed to Ear th f ro m th e

stars in pre-human times. First worshiped by the non-human races of the

p lan e t , th e O ld O n es w er e la te r b an ish ed o r lo ck ed aw ay b y th e e ld er

gcds. The elder go ds do not e nter in to the s tor ies m uch, and their identity is

a mystery . They lef t the Old Ones w eak ene d, but not destroyed. When

man ap p ear ed , h e f o u n d t r aces o f th e o ld er c iv i liza tio n s an d r emn an ts o f

the p r e - h u man r aces . R e l igio n s g r ew u p a r o u n d ih e O ld O n es an d leg en d s

of their imm inent return to pow er es pecially aro und Cthulhu. Bits of the

o ld lo r e w er e d isco v er ed an d t r an scr ib ed in to b o o k s, ex t r emely d an g er o u s

books.

lovecraf t 's f r iends (who included C lark Ashton Smith , Frank Belknap Long,

Robert Bloch, Robert E, How ard and A ugust Derleth ), wrote stories that

" tied in" with the d iscovery of pre-hum on relics , the revival of ancien t

w o rsh ip , o r th e co n seq u en ces o f f in d in g a " f o r b id d en b o o k " d ea l in g w i th

the Old Ones and their secrets . No great ef for t was m ade to kee p these

stor ies consistent with each o ther . After Lovecraf t 's dea th in 1937, August

Der leth founded Arkham House publish ing company to repr in t h is works.Der leth also wrote a number of s tor ies dealing with lovecrof tian themes or

based on f ragm ents of lovecra f t 's writings. Since then a numb er of

younger authors, outstanding am ong who m ore Lin Car ter , Ramsey Comp,

bell and Brian Lumley, have written stor ies based on the growing Cthulhu

mythology.

Most of the creatures presented here were in troduced by the ear lier

authors: lovec raf t, Der leth and Smith , Der leth in troduce d the concept of a

struggle betw een the Old One s and the forces of good, love craf t 's or iginal

co n cep t w as f a r les s s an g u in e al l of h is gods we re evil and chaotic, and

th e b es t man k in d co u ld ex p ec t f r o m th em w as in d i f f e ren ce .

If you h ave not read any stor ies in the Cthulhu tradition , s tar t with Love-

crafi h imself Many of h is s tor ies are s traight superna tural tales and do not

deal with the O ld Ones, but "The Call of Cthulhu", "The W hisperer in Dark

ness" , "A t the Mo untains of M adnes s" , "The Dunwich Horror" , an d "The

Shadow Out of Time" g ive the f lavor of h is work . Then read the imitative

writings of Der leth ond the modern writers . For tunately , most of these

stor ies are gathered in to collections of Lovecraf t 's work and published in

p ap er b ack .

Cults of men, ond par ticular ly of non-human creatures, keep alive the wor

sh ip o f th e G r ea t O ld O n es an d a n x io u sly aw ai t th e i r r e tu r n to p o w er V ar i

ous evil m agic-users and pr iests , desirous of superhum on powers, expe r i

ment with som e of the forbidden b ooks (such os The N ec ro no m ic on ) an d

occasionally unleash so me horror on themselve s or their surroundings.

M er ely sp eak in g th e n am e o f o n e o f th e O ld O n es r esu l ts in a 5 % ch an ce

th at th e g o d n o med w i ll h ea r , f o r th ese d e i t ies a r e q u i te a t tu n ed to th e

Pr ime Mater ial P lane. I f the god does hear its name spoken, i t will app ear

and attem pt to k ill the being so rash as to speak its name (some of the

greate r gods will send minions to accomplish th is).

SPECIAL NOTE:

All creatures of nature are ve ry sensitive to the prese nce of all creatures of

the Cthulhu Mythos. They instinctively call out their warning sounds and

f lee i f an y o f th e O ld O n es o r th e i r m in io ns co me w i th in r an g e o f th e i r

senses.

Cthulhu usually attacks both physically and psionically . He can reg ene rate

10 h it poin ts per m elee round . He teleports up to one-half m ile at will and

is to tally immun e to the effects of water , co ld , and vac uum. He can c all upfrom the s ea 10-100 of the D eep Ones. He will retreat in to h is lair if con

fronted with an in tact Eider Sign, anoth er of the Old Ones (such as Hostur) ,

or some natural catastro phe, such os the re-sinking of the city of R 'lyeh in to

th e sea .

Cthulhu is served by the D eep Ones as well os h is human w orshipers , who

often in terb reed with fhe f ish-men. Cthulhu 's cult is usually h idden a nd

secret, and is dedico ted to br inging about Cthulhu 's return and con quest of

the world .

Cthulhu is a b lo ated h uma noid form 100 feet h igh with an oc topoid head

and a face of tentacle- like cilia. I t has scaly , rubbery skin , and prodigious

hands and feet with curved talons. A pair of fo lded batlike wings protrude

from betw een its shoulders .

"Ph 'nglui m glw'nafh Cthulhu R 'lyeh wa gh 'nag l fh togn." "In his house

in R 'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dream ing." R 'lyeh is a grea t sunken city of

n o n -Eu c l id ian g eo metr y h id d en so m ew h er e b en ea th th e o ce an . So b iza r r e

is i ts construction that anyone enter ing the city (which occasionally r ises

ab o v e th e w av es ) mu s t mo k e sav in g th ro w s a t +4 ag a in s t f ea r an d

insanity . Cthulhu ies in a huge ston e structure sealed with the Elder Sign

( q .v . ) . If th e sea . i s b ro k en an d th e g o d r e leased , ev er y o n e ( an d /o r ev e r y

th ing) in a radius of 100 miles must make a saving throw agoinst death or

go insane. This insanity lasts for a number of months equal to the crea

ture 's in telligence.

CTHULHU

Greatergo d

ARMOR CLASS: 2

MOVE: 1 8 "/ 3 6 "

HIT POINTS: 400

NO. OF ATTACKS: 30

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-10 (x 30)

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Se e b el o w

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Im m un e to

magical control, +2 o r b e tt er

wea pon to hi t, regenerat ion

MAGIC RESISTANCE; 80%

SIZE: L( 100' tal l)

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil

WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic evil

SYMBOL: Ima ge ofCthulhu

PLANE: Pr im e M at er ia l Pl an e

CLERIC/DRUID: Ni l

FIGHTER: As 16+ HD m on st er

MAGIC-USER/ILIUSIONIST: 20th level magic-user

THIEF/ASSASSIN: N il

MONK/BARD: Ni l

PSIONIC ABILITY: I

S:2 5 ( + 7 ,+ l4 ) 1 :20 W :2 3 D: 2 0 C : 2 5 C H :- 7


9/14


9

C T H U LH V M Y T H O S C T H U L H U M Y T H O S

AZATHOTH (the center of the universe)

Greater god

ARMOR CLASS: -2

MOVE: N o ne

HIT POINTS: 400NO. OF ATTACKS: 20

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3- !8 (x 20 )

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Ni l

SPECIAL DEFENSES: In sa nit y

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 95%

SIZE: L ( in co nc ei v ab le )

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral

WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic

(neutral or evi l )

SYMBOL: Seven-pointed star

PLANE: As tra l

CLERIC/DRUID: Nil

FIGHTER: As ?6+ HD m on st er

MAGIC-USER/IUUSIONIST: Ni l

THIEF/ASSASSIN: Ni l

MONK/BARD: Nil

PSIONIC ABILITY: VI

S\2 5 ( + 7, + 14) I : W : D: 20 C: 25 CH :-7

Azathoth is a b lind , mindless, am orphou s mass the s ize of a s tar , f loating

at the center of the universe on the astral p lane. I t is attended by satelli tecreatures that provide an e er ie music, l ike *he sound of id io t f lu te p layers .

A za th o th i s so mew h at so l id n ear th e cen te r , an d can b e a t tack ed th er e , b u t

it will defend itself with iis many pseudopods if so attacked. Any creature

coming with in 1 ,000 miles of Azathoth m ust save vs. spells at -6 or go

p er man en t ly mo d .

Those who wo rship Azathoth worship insanity , and A zathoth 's cler ics are

them selves insa ne. It is unknown how Azathoth gran ts powers to its cler ics,

or even if Azathoth is aware of them (which is doubtfu l) .

Th ese g ian t f ur ry b a t - l ike c r ea tu r es h av e h u m an o id leg s th a t en ab le th em

to stand like men. They can b e sum mo ned by cler ics of Hastur through use

of a g a t e spell (1-4 Byakhee will appear) . They are able to teleport

throughout the Pr ime Mater ial Plane at will , carry ing human beings with

them o n their backs or in their talons. They ore in telligent, telepath ic, an d

will obey those who carry the Elder Sign or who appeal successfully toHastur.

CTHUGA (master of the fire element)

Greater god

ARMOR CLASS: -6

MOVE: 36 "

HIT POINTS: 400 NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-30/3-30

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Se e be /o w

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Se e be/o w


SIZE: L (4 0 ya rd ra diu s)


WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic evi l

SYMBOL: Fl am e

PLANE: El em en ta l Pl an e o f Fire

CLERlC/DRUIO: See be/ow

FIGHTER: As 16+ HO mo n s t er

MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: S e e

b e l o w


MONK/BARD: Nil

PSIONIC ABILITY: /

S: 25 ( + 7, + 1 4 ) 1:72 W: 18 D: 2 5 C :2 5 C H :- J

This c r ea tu r e r esemb les a f lam in g amo eb a w i th ten tac les th a t ap p e ar to b e

f lames em anatin g f rom its body. The heat of Cthugo 's body does 5-50points of da m age to all with in 100 yards of it , and it attacks with f ire spells

at *he same time. I t cannot be contro lled , and is immune to all heat and

cold attacks. I t is able to cast a ny f ire spell of any typ e as a 30th level spell

caster , at th e rate of two pe r round. While casting f ire spells , i t also lashes

out with two of its ten tacles per m elee round; th ese do 3-30 points of

d am ag e ea ch . It mo v es as a b l ink d o g an d a t tem p ts to d es t r o y ev ery th in g

w i th in an y a r ea to w h ich i t i s su mmo n ed . W h en ap p ea r in g in an y lo cat io n,

its f irs t act is to summon 1-20 of its f lam e c reatures. C thuga con only be

struck by + 3 we apon s or better as all o thers melt wh en touching h im.

The creature has a d irect connection with the Pr ime Mater ial Plane by way

of a Palace of Fire that i t has created in an active volcano. This palace is

said to be f il led with treasu re resis iant to f lam e and he at: gems, ce r tain

magic items, and the like.

Cthugo ' s F lame Crea tu re

FREQUENCY: Very ra re

NO. APPEARING: 1-4

ARMOR CLASS: -2MOVE: 24

HIT DICE/POINTS: 16 HD

% IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: Ni l

NO . OF ATTACKS: F

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-20


SPECIAL DEFENSES: Fl am e au ra , + 2

o r b e t te r w ea p o n t o h it


INTELLIGENCE: A ve ra g e

ALIGNMENT: Chaot ic evi l

SIZE: i (30 ' radius)

PSIONIC ABILITY: V

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V// /?, 950 + 14

p er hp

These creatures appear to be smaller versions of their master . Their bodies

r ad ia te 1 0 p o in ts o f h ea t d am ag e to a l l w h o co m e w i th in 2 0 y ar d s o f them,

an d th ey co n cas t a s in g le h e a t r ay f ro m th e i r b o dy ev er y mele e r o u n d th a t

does 2-20 points of dam age if it h its . One o f their functions is to appe arwhe n the god is supposed to app ea r but is too busy or chooses not to come.

BYAKHEE (servants o f Hastur)

FREQUENCY: Very rare

NO. APPEARING: 1-4

ARMOR CLASS: 9

MOVE: 6" /2 4"

HIT DICE/POINTS: 10 HD% IN LAIR: 5%

TREASURE TYPE: Ni l

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2


SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Ni l


INTELLIGENCE: A ve ra ge

ALIGNMENT: Cha otic evil

SIZE: L (2 0' toll )

PSIONIC ABILITY: IV

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: /X/9,350 + 20

p er hp


10/14


DEEP ONES (followers of Cthulhu)

FREQUENCY: Ror e

NO. APPEARING: MOO

ARMOR CLASS: 3

MOVE: 1 2 " / / 2 4 "

HIT DICE/POINTS: 4 HD% IN LAIR: 90%

TREASURE TYPE: Z

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 or 1

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4 ( + 2) or

b y w e a p o n t y pe

SPECIAL ATTACKS: N il


MAGIC RESISTANCE: Stondard

INTELLIGENCE: A ve ra ge to ve ry


SIZE: M (6 ')

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

A ttack /D ef en se M o d es: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: 1/1/60 + 4 p er hp

The D eep O n es a r e h u man o id , am p h ib io u s mer - f i sh , co ld - b lo o d ed

creatures of great s trength (18) . They can a ' tack with their clawed,

webbed hands, or wield weapons. They have infravision as well as normal

sight. They live near the land on ocean shelves and are able to travel tothe land at any time a nd for as long as they wish .

They have been known to in teract with evil humans and in terbreed with

them. This results in human-appear ing offspr ing who undergo a gradual

t r an sf o r matio n a f te r th e ag e o f 21 th a t cau ses th em to b eco me as th e D eep

O n es w h o sp aw n ed th em. Th e D eep O n es a r e so u l les s an d ap p ar en t ly

immortal.

These creatures promote evil in preparation of Clhuihu 's return . They do

this by collecting treasures f rom the se a an d using them as funds to spread

the cult of Cthulhu and the Old On es.

GREAT RACE


NO. APPEARING: 1-10

ARMOR CLASS: 5

MOVE: 15"HIT DICE/POINTS: 8 HD

% IN LAIR: 95%

TREASURE TYPE: Ni l

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 7- 8/ J-8


SPECIAL DEFENSES: Im m u ne to

magical control

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

INTELLIGENCE: H /g hALIGNMENT: L aw fu l ne ut ra l

SIZE: L ( 10 ' tal l)

PSIONIC ABILITY: 280

Attack/Defense Modes: B, C, D,

E/ Al l

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/650 + 10pe r

hp

These ce atu re s pop uloted the w orld eons ago a rd their cities stil l exist

buried in deser ts or o ther out of the wa y places. They had a h ighly ad vanced scientif ic civ ilization , with psionics rather than magic. W hen their

civ ilization was destroyed, som e of them w ere f rozen in time, and the se

ore occasionally d iscovered . The Great Race are tall cones, ten feet wide

at the base, with 4 ten foot long ten tacles a t the top . Two tentacles en d in

lobster- like claws, one in trumpet- like ea rs , and one in a g lobe w ith 3 eyes .

along its circumference with a set of manipulating tentacles depending

from it . The relationship , if any, b etw een the G reat Race, the Old Ones,

and the elder gods is unclear . Humans d iscover ing and f reeing them are

sometimes rewa rded with g if ts of knowledg e.

HASTUR THE UNSPEAKABLE (He Who Must Not Be Na me d)

"Master of the Air"

Greater god

ARMOR CLASS: -2

MOVE: 36"/36"

HIT POINTS: 400

NO. O f ATTACKS: 2



SPECIAL DEFENSES: S ee b el ow


SIZE: L ( 60 0' tal l)



SYMBOL: Im ag e o f th e go d

PLANE: Prime M at er ia l Pl an e (d is ta nt

p la ne t)

CLERIC/DRUID: Ni l

FIGHTER: As J6-f- HD m on st er

MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 23rd

level in each


MONK/BARD: Ni l

PSIONIC ABILITY: I

S : 2 5 ( + J , + l 4 ) 1:22 W: 23 0:21 C: 23 CH :-4

This g o d h as a s ca led , e lo n g a ted b o d y , a l i za rd ' s h ead an d maw , an d

taloned lizard claws. I t also has 200 tentacles p rojecting from its body that

g ive it the ability to sense all th ings around it. I t is able to s trike twice per

r o u n d an d a l so a t tack mag ica l ly .

At will, it can teleport any wh ere in the Pr ime Mater ia! Plane. Hastur rege n

e r a tes 5 h i t p o in ts p er m elee r o u n d , an d can su mm o n 2 - 20 B y ak h ee to a id

it in battle. I t cann ot be magically contro lled . Cre atures that are a ble to f ly

naturally will never a ttack Hastur , eve n if contro lled . Any being try ing to

a t tack th e g o d m u s t mak e a s av in g th r o w ag a in s t f ea r ,

Hastur is half -brother to Cthulhu, and like h im Hastur has be en imprisoned

by the stor-shaped Elder Sign. He lies in a crypt at the bottom of Lake Hali

near the alien city of Carcosa. Hastur exists par tly on the Pr ime Mater ial

Plane {and th is par t is imprisoned in the crypt) and p ar lly on the Elemental

Plane of Air (thus he is imm une to cold and the va cuum of space) . Hastur is

never more than par tially on the Pr ime Mater ial Plane and is therefore not

com pletely so lid . This accoun ts for much of h is great s ize.

Any time the na me "H astur" is spoken , there is a 25% chance tha? Hastur

will hear and sen d 1-4 Byakhee to s lay the speaker . I f the Byakhee are d e

feated , there is a 25% cha nce that Hastur h imself will aop ear to destroy the

b lasp h emer .

ITHAQUA (lord of the air)

D em ig od

ARMOR CLASS: 2

MOVE: 24 "

HIT POINTS: 250

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2


SPECIAL ATTACKS: S e e b el o w



SIZE: L (2O ' tal l)



SYMBOL: Two burning ey es in a

h u ma n - sh a p ed c l o u d o f snow

PLANE: El em en ta l Pl an e o f Air

CLERIC/DRUID: 13th level cleric

FIGHTER: 15th / ev e / fig ht er

MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 12th level

illusionist


MONK/BARD: Ni l

PSIONIC ABILITY: IV

S:2F ( + 4 ,+ 9 ) 1 :1 6 W: 13 0 :1 8 C : 2 0 C H :- J

10


11/14


I th aq u a , th e Win d Walk er , ap p ear s as a c lo u d o f f o g o r sn o w , h u g e b u t

h u ma n in sh ap e w i th blaz in g r ed ey es . Wh en se er p as s in g o v er h ead , o n e

gets the il lusion of two br ight s tars close together .

I thaqua is worshipe d by the natives of the far North beca use of h is ability

to control weather ( tr ip le the range and effects) . His worshipers propitiate

him with hum an sacr if ices, which he carr ies off , no one knows where.Years later , their f rozen bod ies are som etimes found bur ied in snow dr if ts.

I th aq u a w i l l a l so p u r su e an d cap tu r e an y o n e w h o sees o r an n o y s h im, or

m eddle s with h is worshipers or their s tone altars in the forest. Sometimes

his v ictims return to ear th alive, but they never survive long as they d ie

from strange unnatural causes.

I t ts known that I thaqua serve s Hastur in special m issions of great im

p o r tan ce .

MI-GO (the Fungi from Yuggo th)


NO. APPEARING: 2-12

ARMOR CLASS: 4

MOVE: 15"/30"


% IN LAIR: 40%

TREASURE TYPE: Mi/

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1- 8/ 1-8SPECIAL ATTACKS: Ni l

SPECIAL RESISTANCE: Im m un e to

cold, dork, and vacuum


INTELLIGENCE: Low


SIZE: L (6 ' lo ng , 8' tall )

PSIONIC ABILITY: 90

Attack/D efense Modes: C, 0 /

F, G, H

IEVEL/X.P. VALUE: JV/240 + 5 pe r

hp

These red , bof-winged creatures somewhat resemble lobsters in that they

h av e man y leg s , f ee le r s , an d ey es ta lk s , an d f o r ear ms th a t en d in g r ea t

p incers . Though they appear to be crustoceons, they are actually fungus

creatures. Mi-Go are imm une to the effects of cold , dark , and vacuum , and

can f ly across in terstellar space. They cannot speak, but comm unicate by

clicking their pincers.

NYARIATHOTEP (the crawling chaos, the messenger ofthe gods) *

Lesser go d

ARMOR CLASS: 2

MOVE: 15"

HIT POINTS: 200

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-30

SPECIAL ATTACKS: S ee b el o w

SPECIAL DEFENSES: S ee b el ow


SIZE: Variable



SYMBOL: Fa ce les s sp hi nx

PLANE: As tra l P lan e

CLERIC/DRUID: 12th level in each

FIGHTER: 15th level f ighter

MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 13th level in each

THIEF/ASSASSIN: 15th leve l assassin

MONK/BARD: Nil

PSIONIC ABILITY: V

S : 1 9 ( + 3 , + 7 ) 1:20 W: ?2 D: 19 C: 20 CH: 19

N y ar la h o tep ap p ear s as a ta l l d ar k m an . H is o p p ea r an ce in th e w o r ld i s

said to foretell the return of the Old Ones f rom their im prisonment. He

charms h u man s , h u man o id s , an d n o n - mag ica l an imals b y h is mer e

p r esen ce ( g o o d a l ig n m en t , s av e a t + 4 ; ev i l a l ig n men t , s av e a t 4 ) . Th ose

falling under h is sped either obey h im or behave in a purely chaotic

man ner . Thus h is progress across the face of the lan d is fo llowed by r io t,

war , mass m urder , su icide, and insanity . No non-senf ient crealure can

harm him , even if contro lled .

The god is believed by some students of the occult to hav e var ious guises,including a red batlike form with three evil eyes. He can call up an army

of wild beasts or m indless hum ans with in an hour 's notice (1-100 of them).

Each time N yar lathotep h its an en em y, he d rains 3-30 hit poin ts f rom them,

which temporar ily a dd to h is h it poin t to tal for one fu ll turn . There is a 5%

ch an ce th a t a cont inual l ight spell will dr ive th is being off in to the Astral

Plane.

PRIMORDIAL ONE


NO, APPEARING: J-8

ARMOR CLASS: 6

MOVE: I8 " /1 2 "


% IN LAIR: 95%

TREASURE TYPE: A

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 (X 3)


SPECIAL DEFENSES: Im m un e to he a t

a n d co l d


INTELLIGENCE: Hig h

ALIGNMENT: La wf ul ev il SIZE: L ( 9 ' toll)

PSIONIC ABILITY: 206

A t tack /D ef en se M o d es : 8 , C , 0 / A ll

LEVEl/X.P. VALUE: VI/5 50 + 10 pe r

hp

These creatures are barrel-shaped cylinders with membranous wings. On

top of the body is a hea d co vered by 3- inch wiry cilia of man y colors . They

have 5 red- ir ised , g lobed eyes. A? the top of their heads are 5 mouthed

ten tac les , an d a t th e b ase o f th e i r b o d ies a r e 5 p o w er f u l ten tac les u sed f or

locomotion.

Th e P r imo r d ia l O n es a r e ac tu a l ly an a l ien r ace o f h ig h in te l l ig en ce an d

advanced science. They hate all o ther types of in telligence, and will

destroy them if possib le, s tr ik ing with three of their powerful walking

ten tac les i f n o ad v an ce d w eap o n r y i s av a i lab le .

SHOGGOTH


NO. APPEARING: 1-4

ARMOR CLASS: ?

MOVE: 9


% IN LAIR: 90%

TREASURE TYPE: C

NO. OF ATTACKS: 2




w ea kn ess , p a ra lys i s a n d ch a rm


INTELLIGENCE: Low


SIZE: L ( 75' tall)

PSIONIC ABILITY: N il

A ttack /D ef en se M o d es : Ni l

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IX /6, 50 0 + 30p e r h p

Originally created by the Pr imordial Ones as servants , the Shoggoths

eventually rebelled and destroyed the civ ilization of their masters .

Sh o g g o ths r esemb le h u g e , in te l l ig en t am o eb a e , ab le to f o r m a lmo s t an y

shape out of their near- transparent bodies, including legs, eyes, mouths,

h u g e w eap o n s , o r w h a tev er i s n eed ed . Th e f ew r emain in g Sh o g g o th s lur k

in d istan t , lo n g - d eser ted a r ea s , so m et imes a id in g se r v an ts o f C th u lh u o r

other Old Ones.

11


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12

CTHULHU MYTHOS C T H U LH U M Y T H O S

$HUB>NIGGURATH (black goat of the woods with a thousand young )

Lesser go d

ARMOR CLASS: 4WOVE: N on e

HIT POINTS: 400

NO. OF ATTACKS: I

DAMAGE/ATTACK: Se e bel ow

SPECIAL ATTACKS: M on st er creation

SPECIAL DEFENSES: + 2 o r b e t ter

weapon to hi t


SIZE: L (10 0' in d ia m e te r)

ALIGNMENT: Chaot ic evi l


SYMBOL: Bl ac k go at

PLANE: Pr im e M at er ia l Pl an e

CLERIC/DRUID: Nil

FIGHTER: As ? 6 + HD m on st er

MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: Nil


MONK/BARD: Ni l

PSIONIC ABILITY: I

$ :2 4 (+6 , + 12) 1:25 W: 20 D: 19 C:25 CH:^4

This fountain of uncle anliness is a hug e pool o f gray m atter , 100 feet

across, in the caverns ben eath Mount Voorm ithadreth . I t is constantly

bubbling ond putting for th mouths, l imbs, pseudopods and whole

creatures. 1-100 small m onsters are create d f rom the pool eoch round, and

they go crawling, f lopping, or f ly ing aw ay in to the caverns obov e. Some

foil back in to the poo l, which the n grow s mouths and devo urs them. Shub-

Niggurath is in telligent an d telep ath ically sensitive. W hen it sense s the ap

proach of enem ies {range 1 ,000 ') i t will begin c reating m onsters to defend

itself, one per m elee round. These will be random a ccording to the fo llow

ing table (d6): 1. Byakhe e; 2. Dee p One ; 3. G rea t Race; 4. Mi-Go;

5. Primordial One ; 6. Shog goth.

I f any enemy is so foolish os to approach to with in 30 ' of the being, the

pool will lash out with a h uge powerful tentacle ; if i t h its, i t will pull the

unfor tunate v ictim in to the pool, where he or she will imme diately be

come par t of the evil swir ling protoplasm. Any creature s truck has a per

cen tag e ch an ce o f n o t b e in g p u l ied in to th e p o o l eq u a l to h is o r h er

strength . Shub-Niggurath str ikes only once per turn in th is wa y and con si

multaneously create monsters .

Though its body is trapp ed d ee p in the caverns, Shub-N iggurath travels the

Pr ime Mater ial Plan e in astral form, using its psionic powers to do evil an d

aid its worshipers .

YOG-SOTHOTH (the key and guardian of the gate)

Greater god

ARMOR CLASS: -2

MOVE: 18"

HIT POINTS: 400

NO. OF ATTACKS: 12

DAMAGE/ATTACK: ?-8

SPECIAL ATTACKS: S ee b e l o w


charm

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50 %

SIZE: L ( 5 0 'd ia m et er )

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil ...WORSHIPER'S ALIGN: Chaotic evil

SYMBOL: Y rune

PLANE: As tra l Pl an e

CLERIC/DRUID: Ni l

FIGHTER: As J6+- HD m on st er

MAGIC-USER/IILUSIONIST: 15th level

magic-user


MONK/BARD: Nil

PSIONIC ABILITY: I

S: 25 ( + 7, + 14) 1: 25 W: 23 D: 20 C: 25 CH :-7


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13

Yog-Sothoth exists on the astral p lane. He has the ability to enter the uni

v er se a t an y p o in t in sp ace an d an y p o in t in t ime . H is as tr a l sh ap e ap p ear s

as a co n g er ies o f i r id escen t g lo b es l ik e g ian t so ap b u b b les . W h en h e f ak es

shape on the Pr ime Moter ial Plane he is par tly mater ial and par tly astral

and ap pea rs as a g igantic mass of feelers , legs, and stalked organs. In th is

shap e he will ma te with human be ings, producing the Spawn of Yog-

Sothoth (see "The Dunwich Horror", by H. P. Lovecraft). He is highly intellig en t o n d ex t r emely ch ao t ic an d u n p r ed ic tab le . H e can g a te in an d o u t o f

t ime an d sp ace an y o f th e Sp aw n o r su b jec t r aces o f th e O ld O n es , o n e p er

m elee round. Yog Sothoth is not subject to the law s of spac e and tim e and

can , f o r ex amp le , ap p e ar a t v a r iou s p ar t s o f th e u n iv er se s imu l tan eou s ly .

THE ELDER SIGN

This small grey (som etime s greenish) s ton e in the shape of a f ive-pointed

star is a pow erful protection aga inst all m inions of the Old Ones. The true

potent Elder Signs are few in numbe r and incredibly ancien t, having been

ma de by the elde r gods. They hove the fo llowing powe rs: they are 100%

protection against psionic attacks; they are a force that will dr ive off all

Shoggoths, Byakhee, Flame Creatures, Deep Ones, ond Mi-Go, whe n

strongly presented; and while they will not s top *he persis tent ef for ts of

any of the more powe rful masters , they will provide a + 6 protection

ag a in s t th e i r a t tack s ( as a ring of protect ion ).

The Elder Signs are h ighly resis tant to destruction arm or class 2 , broken

only by magic or by incredible force. The Elder Sign was use d by the elde r

g o d s to s ea l o f f th o se p laces w h er e th e G r ea t O ld O n es w er e imp r iso n ed

o r w h er e th ey h ad a ch an ce o f " b r eak in g th r o u g h " in f o r ce to th e P r ime

Mater ial Plane.

T H E N E C R O N O M I C O N

The N ec ro no m ic on i s a p o w er f u l an d p er i lo u s mag ica l to me o f an c ien t

or ig ins. I l wa s or ig inally written by Abdul Alhazred , a g reat magic-user

k n o w n to so me as " th e M ad A r ab " . A f te r ten y ear s a lo n e in th e d eser t h e

wrote a book called Al A z if w o r d s u sed to d en o te th e n o c tu r n a l so u n d s

of insects which m ay be the voices of demons. Alhaz red was later seized

in the s treets of a deser t city by invisib le dem ons an d dev oured horrib ly in

front of many witnesses. Those who have studied h is writings have some

t imes met a f o te n ear ly o s te r rib le . The b o o k w as b an n ed an d a l l k n ow n

copies we re destroyed , but a few translated ed itions, retit led The

Necron omicon , s till ex ist.

The book gives a descr ip tion of the pre-human worship of the Old Ones,

their banishment by the elder gods, and their imminent return . The revela

tions of cosmic horror conta ined w ith in its page s are so in te nse tha t there is

a 40% probability of characters below level 5 chang ing alignm ent to

chaotic (d6 , 1-3) or going mad (4-6) . This probability decrea ses by 5% for

ev er y lev e l o f th e r ead er ab o v e 4 th .

I t would appear that spells are g iven for summoning all of the Old Ones

and their minions, and some spells for their contro l and d ismissal, al

though the se latter are not alw ays effective. The spells are very long and

co mp l ica ted , an d n o t en t i r ely co mp r eh en s ib le w i th o u t lo ng s tu d y an d r e

search . In fact, only magic-users of 18 in telligence have a chance of

understanding (and thereby using) them, and that chance is only 5% per

level, s tar ting at the 6 th level. Many of the sp ells require that the "s tars be

r ight" , and can only take p lace at cer tain times of the year or in cer tain

places. Attempting to cast any of the greater summoning spells will resuli

in a s traight 30% chan ce of the c aster going insane. The spells don 't alwoys

work: in par ticular they of ten fail to pro 'ect the m agic-user f rom the th ing

he or she has called f rom the outer darkness. Such unfor tunates are rarely

seen ag a in , a l th o u g h s imu lacr a o r zo m b ie- l ik e imi tat ion s so met imes ap

p ear .

In addition to The N ec ro no m ic on , th e r e a r e a n u mb er o f o th er mag ica l

books g iv ing information on the Old Ones and their minions, including:

The Book of Eibon, th e C e laen o F r ag men ts , Cul tes des Gou/es by the

Comte d 'Er lette, De Ve rm is M ys ter iis by Ludvig Prinn, the Dhol Chants, the

Pnakotic Manuscr ip ts , and Unaosprechi icher, Kuhen by Von Junzt. Most of

these ar e h istor ies , but some have powe rs s imilar to , but lesser than . The

N ec ro no m ic on i tself . These lesser books are not as dangerous to the

magic-use r or h is surroundings.

48


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APPENDIX: My tho s-R ela ted Material from

Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976)

Page 46:

TSATHOGGUSArm or Class 4 Mag ic Ability: (See Below)

Mov e: 12" Figh ter Ab ility: 10th Level

Hit Points: 275

Tsathoggus is a diety with a frog's head and a man's body. It has 7 eyes and the pow er to animate

its statues in any o f its temples. This G od is very fond o f human sacrifices and w ill animate a

statue in a temple at any o pportunity to get one. He drains energy levels at the rate o f 3 per turn

no saving throw applicable.

Note: There are other deities mentioned, but never explained: Bel God o f Thieves, Old Ones,

Jullah, Golden Peacock. Erlik, Macha, Lir. Baal, Malach, Ahriman. Ishtar, Xotli, Pteor,

Decketo, Badb, and Tanil. Manannan was mentioned, has a deity and I am sure that the Celtic

God o f the same name can be used in this case. The Viking Gods were mentioned and these are

dealt with in another section.

14

gorgonmilk's lovecraft supplement expanded (ocr by spaceling)

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