CTHULHU

High Priest of the Great Old Ones

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

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 and the island with its gigantic structures will rise again from the floods. Great Cthulhu sends his 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 long for his resurrection. The most prominent is undoubtedly the so-called Cthulhu cult itself, whose followers scattered around the world practice their obscure and blasphemous rituals.

SPECIAL POWERS 

Great Old One: Great Cthulhu is so powerful that it exists and acts outside of the human imagination. As such, it has no 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.

Idols of Cthulhu: Obscure carvings, intricate depictions on ancient reliefs, signs written in incomprehensible language – there are countless Cthulhu idols that are of vital importance not only to the Cthulhu cult. Unnatural vibrations emanate from these artifacts, heralding the ominous vision of a new age. It is rumored that the presence of idols also enhances the Cthulhu’s reputation around them.

Cthulhu cults: The followers of Great Cthulhu reach all over the world, especially the Cthulhu cult .

Call of Cthulhu: Cthulhu can send tidings of his coming reign to dreamers around the world, but normally the waters surrounding R’lyeh keep him from reaching the minds of men. On certain occasions, such as the appearance of R’lyeh in the spring of 1925 or other circumstances, this becomes possible. Depending on the nature of the dreams and the things witnessed there, they are associated with SAN losses and abnormal behavior, even mass panic attacks.

Unnatural Knowledge (+1d20): Encountering this creature inevitably increases the character’s Unnatural skill 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.

CTHULHU, High Priest of the Great Old Ones

Sanity Loss: 1d10/1d100 (see also Unnatural Insight )

This creature description is translated from the German version published by FHTAGN-RPG.