YOG-SOTHOTH

The key and the gate

*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

Yog-Sothoth is the key and the gate, is time and space, is ruler of dimensions and guardian of realities. This Great Old One exists in all ages and in all places. He is a witness of the beginning and the end. As vast and powerful as the other gods and Great Old Ones are, Yog-Sothoth stands outside of any hierarchy or pantheon, should such a concept even exist.

It would be presumptuous to think that Yog- Sothoth could have even the slightest interest in either the earth or humans. Nevertheless, he is the subject of many cults and rituals. People hope for great power through his invocation. But getting involved with Yog-Sothoth is more than dangerous, because controlling this entity is impossible and the effects of contact cannot be estimated.

SPECIAL POWERS 

Ancient One: The being 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 people, however, an encounter usually means certain death or insanity.

Omniscience: The All-in-One and One-in-All has limitless knowledge that encompasses everything that exists in all timelines. Wanting to acquire this knowledge is a dangerous process and can lead to a significant loss of mental stability, as the human mind is simply overwhelmed with this concept.

Spacetime Warping: The presence of Yog-Sothoth can cause spacetime 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, however, distortions are created in the fabric of reality, bringing together distant places, creating wormholes and crossing timelines. The game director determines the concrete effects on witnesses of the space-time curvature as required.

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. Such an encounter with Yog-Sothoth increases the character’s Unnatural Knowledge so drastically that it is very likely that the character’s sanity will be destroyed forever.

Yog-Sothother: Time and place are relative in the context of Yog-Sothoth. Perhaps this is also a reason for the widespread worship of this Great Old One. If one observes the aspects of Yog-Sothoth from a philosophical point of view, many examples can be found in human development that have taken up the ambivalent principle of “key and gate” – the Chinese yin and yang is only mentioned here as an example.

YOG-SOTHOTH, The key and the gate

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

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