SHOGGOTH

Formless horror of olden times

I came only 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

Shoggoths were once used as slaves by the Elder Beings to build their cities and perform heavy labor. It is said that they were even specially bred for this purpose. The result was a life form that was impressive in almost every aspect: strong, resilient, and endowed with the ability to adapt to diverse environments.

Shoggoths are made up of a type of protoplasm that they can shape at will. This allows them to take on any form and create any form of extremity. Common manifestations are sometimes the size of a locomotive, with countless sensory organs and mouths developing and disappearing throughout the organism. Since many of the Elder Creatures’ cities were submerged, shoggoths are highly adapted to life in the sea and are excellent swimmers.

Whether the ability to imitate other life forms was a result of the experiments of the Elder Beings or perhaps came about through evolution remains unknown. In any case, shoggoths can mimic forms, sounds, and possibly even behavior and thought patterns of other living things, especially if they have previously assimilated them. So could the Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! either represent a sound with which the Elder Beings once communicated with their slaves or it is even the expression of a language of their own. This opens up frightening mind games as to whether one day the Shoggoth race will not be able to act independently and pursue their own goals.

SPECIAL POWERS 

Absorb: If a living creature enters the Shoggoth’s gelatinous body, it will be completely absorbed within minutes. Some shoggoths are said to be able to absorb the memories of a living being in this way. A creature within the shoggoth loses 1d4 hit points and 1d6 sta per round while disintegrating alive.

Shapeshifting: A Shoggoth can change shape, appearance, and size at will. This is a great way for a Shoggoth to camouflage itself. The Shoggoth can change its size category at will. Some shoggoths are even said to be able to take on the form of humans they have previously absorbed. In its gelatinous form, a Shoggoth naturally fits through the smallest openings.

Unnatural Matter: A Shoggoth is made of unnatural matter and takes a maximum of 1 HP of damage from successful attacks. If the attack has a lethality value, the lethality check automatically fails and HP is reduced by the smaller of the two dice.

Unnatural Organism: A shoggoth’s physiology reveals no weaknesses or particularly significant body areas. Targeting to increase damage is therefore not possible, nor are critical hits.

Yog-Sothothery: This life form was created to serve and do work for the Elder Beings. They are perfectly adapted to the living conditions on earth and so it should hardly come as a surprise if shoggoths still exist in the abandoned cities of Antarctica or in other unknown places, whose DNA drives them to develop further, to grow and finally to close their prisons leaving. A population of shoggoths freed from the yoke of the Elders, possibly becoming intelligent poses one of the most terrible threats to all of human civilization. On the other hand, there may be people to whom the shoggoth protoplasm may seem like a miraculous stroke of fate or a gift from heaven. It is inconceivable what one could achieve with the knowledge about this organism.

SHOGGOTH, Formless horror of olden times

STR: 100

CON: 100

DEX: 10

INT: 12

POW: 18

HP: 100

Damage Bonus/Lethality: +#D#

Build: Very Large (target size bonus: +20%/variable – see Shapeshifting ).

Willpower Points: 18

ATTACKS

Attacks per round: 1

Fighting attacks: .

Tentacle Smash/Bump 50%, Lethality 50% and Knockdown. 

Absorb 50%, damage 1d4 HP per turn and 1d6 ST per turn.

Dodge: ##%

Armor: none (see Unnatural Matter ).

Skills: Stealth 70%, Swim 90%, Vigilance 80%.

Rituals: None

Sanity Loss: 1d8/1d20

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