SHUB-NIGGURATH

The black goat of the woods with a thousand young

… 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

This being is the cosmic incarnation of the ancient power of fertility and life, yet perverted and oversized in every way to the human mind. Shub-Niggurath may have shed the spark of life into the cold and empty universe eons ago, but its essence is both life-giver and devastating doom. It unites all genders, all DNA, all characteristics of all beings. People have always prayed to her and her names were many: Osiris, Demeter, Ceres or Freya. As such, Shub-Niggurath has a slew of cults that worship and pay homage to the black goat of the woods. This is also why Shub-Niggurath features in so many rituals and is part of countless invocations and scriptures.

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.

Cubs of Shub-Niggurath: Shub-Niggurath and her children are not uncommon to find in the deep and dark forests, where fertile nature thrives unchecked. Again and again there are reports of living trees, which are said to have devoured some lonely hikers here. The sight of such a boy is bloodcurdling, but once the forest opens its black maw and reveals the horde, even a devotee of the black goat almost always loses his mind.

Lifegiver: Shub-Niggurath can create life from nothing. This ranges from unicellular life forms to complex fungi, plants and even animals.

Mutation: In the presence of the Ancient Ones, life on earth tends to mutate. Often this begins with increased growth of plants and small animals, especially insects. As time progresses, the mutations become more pronounced and do not stop at more complex life forms.

Black Milk: The black milk of Shub-Niggurath is held sacred by all her followers and cults. It has immense mutagenic effects on the human organism.

Unnatural Knowledge (+1d20): Encountering this creature inevitably increases the character’s unnatural knowledge by +1d20 points. The character then simultaneously loses stability points of the same amount and suffers the usual consequences. No stability check protects against this trait. The Unnatural Realization occurs immediately after the regular stability test and regardless of its result.

Yog-Sothothery: The exact whereabouts and exact appearance of Shub-Niggurath are unknown. As she has been worshiped by many cultures through the ages, she may well manifest in different places. There are blasphemous writings that attempt to place Shub-Niggurath and other Ancient Ones in a context that seems profoundly contrary to all human conception. Perhaps the top black goat cultists know more about it, but so far the secret seems to be well-kept.

SHUB-NIGGURATH, The black goat of the woods with a thousand young

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

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