< Cthulhu Mythos

Cthulhu Mythos/Characters


This is a compendium of all those things squamous, rugose, and otherwise weird from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and pals. Since all of these are eldritch monstrosities, a paragraph descriptor will be necessary for each. The stars are right.

Notable Humans

Abdul Alhazred, AKA The Mad Arab

Author of the dreaded Necronomicon, and a Moslem apostate who worshiped the Great Old Ones. Described as an insane poet, Alhazred visited many strange and dark places filled with weird horrors. He was eaten by an invisible monster in broad daylight in 738 A.D. according to one record.

  • As Long as It Sounds Foreign: In Arabic, Abdul Alhazred makes no sense. Others have attempted to correct this, by saying that this is a corruption of the original name. Which is Truth in Television, since many ancient Arabic writers or works are better known by their bastardized names.

    Specifically, it is often said to be a corruption of Abd Al-Azrad, a name -- or, more likely, a title or pseudonym -- best translated as "servant of the Great Devourer."
  • Author Avatar: Abdul Alhazred was Lovecraft's play name when he was younger.
  • Defictionalization: The Necronomicon listed in the Ohio University Library card catalog. L Sprague De Camp, fantasy author and linguist, acted as Abdul Alhazred's "translator".
  • Death Faked for You: It turns out that Alhazred wasn't eaten, that being an illusion. Instead, he was kidnapped, tortured, had his tongue and eyes pulled out, and then killed.
  • Junkie Prophet: Considering the Mythos, Abdul does drugs to forget the horrors he has seen.
  • Mad Oracle: Being the author of the Necronomicon means being this.
  • Shout-Out: After Cthulhu and the Necronomicon, "The Mad Arab" is one of the most referenced elements in non-Mythos works.
  • Sincerest Form of Flattery: Many of Lovecraft's friends created their own unspeakable tomes in homage to Lovecraft's Necronomicon. Like Abdul, the fictional writers of these books meet dark ends.
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: Wrote the modern archetype of all other eldritch grimoires.

Herbert West

Medical student, then a doctor. Postulating that human life was purely material, Herbert believed with the right chemicals could restart life. He and an assistant go about trying to prove this, conducting questionable experiments with... interesting results.

Randolph Carter

Early 20th century Boston author and occultist. One of the few recurring human characters within the Mythos, Carter is capable of entering the Dreamlands. Another Author Avatar: an unnoticed writer, prone to nervousness and depression. However, he is capable of courageous feats.


Outer Gods

  • Bigger Bads: As if the giant squid-headed horror and headless fat pervert wasn't bad enough, these guys far more powerful and dangerous.

Azathoth, AKA The Daemon Sultan

One of the two most powerful entities in the main canon (the other being Yog-Sothoth), Azathoth is a mindless, formless being of nigh-unlimited power that may have created the universe, which it dwells at the centre of with a coterie of (relatively) minor deities that serve as its "entertainment." Described as ultimate chaos. Lovecraft meant this deity to embody the mindless yet unbendable forces of physics.

  • Before and After Pictures: Done in Campbell's "The Insects from Shaggai", where the protagonist sees an image of Azathoth before he became insane. The Daemon Sultan once looked like a multi-legged clam, with cylinders for appendages, a mouthless face, and black hair. The narrator also sees the "After" picture...
  • Deadly Decadent Court: Of a decidedly bizarre sort.
  • Deus Ex Nukina: Literally, since Azathoth is not only related to radioactivity, but can be summoned using fissionable materials.
  • Expy: Editor Robert Price thinks he's one for MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI from The Gods of Pegana, and indeed Lovecraft has mentioned in letters that he got ideas for his "Other Gods" (his term for what later became the Outer Gods) from that book.
  • God Is Evil: More like "is a deranged idiot".
  • Having a Gay Old Time: A more serious example, in which Lovecraft described Azathoth as The Nuclear Chaos. At the time, "nuclear" referred to something in the center, as in nucleus. As time went on, "Nuclear" became associated with atomic energy and weapons. Latter writers took advantage of this, and made Azathoth the patron of radiation.
  • King of All Cosmos: One of the weirdest supreme beings out there.
  • Mad God: The Blind Idiot.
  • Magical Flutist: The Servitors of the Outer Gods, who play flutes and drums to Azathoth. Needless to say, the music likely isn't pleasant to human ears.
  • Primordial Chaos: Lovecraft called it "Ultimate Chaos". Later authors made Azathoth an inversion: It wasn't always ultimate chaos. It became that way after losing its mind.
  • Obliviously Evil: Comes of being utterly mindless.
  • Ominous Floating Castle: Replace "Castle" with "Throne", and instead of floating in air, it floats in the center of the universe.
  • Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies: Occurs in the Arkham Horror board game when Azathoth is summoned.
  • Truly Single Parent: Reproduced by fission, producing offspring who were hermaphroditic. These "androgynes" also count as this, as they oddly did not need any aid for reproduction.
  • The Tunguska Event: One of its children, a Spawn of Azathoth is responsible for this.
  • The Scottish Trope: "Azathoth" is a pseudonym; It's real name is (thankfully) unknown.
  • Ultimate Evil: Played with. Azathoth is an insanity-inducing, blasphemous horror, but it's more due to being an insane chaos than being evil.

Daoloth, AKA The Render of Veils

Extradimensional Outer God who appears to humans as a strange geometrical jumble. Seeing it in person would drive a man to madness.

Ghroth, AKA The Harbinger

A red-brown planet sized Outer God that travels space. When he approaches a world, it awakens the local Great Old Ones which leads to a planet's demise.

Nyarlathotep, AKA The Crawling Chaos

The heart and soul of the Outer Gods, messenger of Azathoth. The most human of the Great Old Ones, as well as the most overtly malevolent. Has many "masks" - avatars that range in different shapes and forms. The most common visage is that of a tall, dark man with a regal appearance.

  • Ancient Egypt: Where it originally was worshiped (at least by humanity), gaining the suffix -hotep. However, The Mighty Messenger was so evil that Egyptians forbade it's cult. The Black Pharaoh mask looks like the idealized king of this period, and maybe the one form that isn't outright frightening.
  • Anthropomorphic Personification: Gnarly is the soul of the Outer Gods. Another hypothesis is that Nyarlathotep is the physical embodiment of the Great Old Ones' telepathic powers.
  • The Blank: The The Faceless God and The Dark One avatars.
  • Deal with the Devil: He will try to sucker you into one if he simply doesn't try to gruesomely murder you. The latter is usually preferable unless you're the kind of person who doesn't mind what dealing with a malicious Cosmic Horror can lead to.
  • Evil Is Petty: Compared with Cthulhu's continent-destroying and Ghroth's world-shattering, Nyarlathotep is pretty petty in his schemes. This is likely intentional.
  • Fighting a Shadow: All of Nyarlathotep's physical forms are merely avatars. He is the personification of the soul of the Outer Gods, so whether he actually has a real body at all is not quite clear.
  • Formulaic Magic: Kruschtya Equation aspect that is simply a mathematical formula. Whoever solves it is possessed by Gnarly.
  • Gender Bender: Has several female masks, including the Bloated Woman and the Queen In Red.
  • Great Old One In Human Form
  • Hostile Weather: Yes, the Crawling Chaos evens manifests as weather, such as the Crawling Mist, Black Wind, and Messenger of the Old Ones masks.
  • Humanoid Abomination: Usually.
  • I Have Many Names: In addition to all its aspects, Gnarlly has a number of titles: Crawling Chaos, Black Messenger of Karneter, Lord of the Desert, etc.
  • Jerkass Gods: Yeah.
  • Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge: Knows a lot about science and horrible secrets, and will provide answers... for a price.
  • Light Is Not Good: The White Man avatar, an angelic looking blond man with with white robes.
  • Living Statue: The Faceless God and The Beast masks are these of The Sphinx.
  • Mad Scientist: Lovecraft presents Nyarlathotep as this in the eponymous poem.
  • Mechanical Monster: The Tick-Tock Man avatar, which the he appears as a mechanical being. Could range from Clockwork Creature to Artificial Intelligence.
  • Name's the Same: In-universe example with the "Black Pharaoh", which could refer to the avatar or to the pharaoh Nephren-Ka. It could just be that Nephren-Ka was called that because of his evil acts, or taken up the title to enhance his power. Or, as some speculate, Nephren-Ka was really Nyarlathotep all along.
  • Nikola Tesla: The main influence for Nyarlathotep.
  • No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Has friendly conversation with Randolph Carter in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, though it's just to trick him.
  • Official Couple: According to Clark Ashton Smith, the elk-goddess Yhoundeh is Nyarlathotep's wife.
  • One-Winged Angel: Destroy one avatar, and the Chaos transforms into something even more mind-shattering.
  • Only Sane Man: He is the living embodiment of the (rather malevolent) consciousness of the Outer Gods, and their messenger, and has taken special interest in mankind... this is not good for mankind.
  • Our Banshees Are Louder: The Dweller in Darkness can create wind-like sounds (even when there is no wind) and strange cries at night.
  • Our Demons Are Different: The Black Demon and Dark Demon masks are traditional versions: black, furry, and snouted beasts. The Haunter of the Dark is a bat-like thing with a three-lobed eye.
  • Revision: L'rog'g (a twin-headed bat worshiped on Uranus) and Shugoran (The Black Man With a Horn) had no connection to Gnarly in the works they appeared in. Latter RPG material changed it so they became avatars.
  • Satan: A messenger(which is what the word "angel" means) for Azathoth who's shown to have resentment for the Outer Gods, one of few truly evil figures in the mythos, and a supreme manipulator. Yeah, Nyarly's the closest thing to the Devil, and possibly even more dangerous.
    • The Arkham witch coven believed that The Black Man was this. Wither or not this was intentional on Nyarlathoep's part or its what the witches just assumed is unknown.
  • Scary Black Man: How his Human avatars tend to appear. Although it should be noted that it's usually just the color of his skin (as in pitch-black) instead of overall physiognomy.
  • Summoning Artifact: The Shining Trapezohedron, which calls the Haunter in the Dark aspect of Nyarlathotep.
  • Trickster Archetype: A very evil incarnation of it, especially in The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath.
  • Unperson: The Egyptians took great lengths to remove any and all reference to Gnarly, though a few cults remain.
  • Villains Blend in Better
  • Weakened by the Light: The Haunter of the Dark could be instantly banished by light. But only to this avatar.
  • Xanatos Gambit: His could be considered Xanatos Roulettes except for the fact that in this case it's perfectly reasonable to assume he can actually predict and engineer all possible outcomes.
  • You Cannot Grasp the True Form: "...pray to all space that you may never meet me in my thousand other forms."

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

Outer God of fertility. One of the most worshiped of the Mythos entities, she is revered by the Mi-go, K'nyani, and human cults past and present, among others. While never described directly in Lovecraft's tales, Shubby is often portrayed as a cloud with constantly changing hoofs and tendrils.

  • Affably Evil: Seemingly one of the least apathetic of the Outer Gods, a goddess of fertility who looks after her cultists. It's not as if anyone but her cultists would want her attention, however.
  • Call a Smeerp a Rabbit: Shub-Niggurath looks like anything but a goat.
  • Explosive Breeder
  • Hermaphrodite: Also has been called The Black Ram of The Forest With A Thousand Ewe, so Shub-Niggurath may have a male aspect as well. Then again, considering the Outer gods are beyond human comprehension, giving any "gender" to one would be problematic.
  • Immortality: Can confer Biological Immortality to followers/sacrifices by ingesting them, and being reborn through her. The catch is, the person's body is horribly transformed into something unspeakable, which inspired (but not like) Fauns and Satyrs.
  • Mother of a Thousand Young: Trope Namer. (The horrible cloud with tendrils and mouths in that trope's image? That's her.)
  • The Smurfette Principle: Out of all Lovecraft's Old Ones, Shubby is the only one explicitly mentioned to be "female".

Yibb-Tstll

An obscure Mythos entity - a female, gigantic humanoid with detached eyes. Watching the universe revolve around it, she sees everything at the same time. Has great wisdom, only surpassed by Yog-Sothoth.

  • Alien Blood: The Black, Yibb-Tstll's ebon hued ichor. Adding to the strangeness, it's not a fluid, and more like snowflakes.
  • Bloody Murder: The Black can be used as by sorcerers to attack and destroy their enemies. It does involve a complicated ritual to do. Not to mention the spell could be reversed.
  • Covered in Gunge: Anyone the victim of The Black is covered head to toe in the stuff.
  • Multi Boobage: It has innumerable breasts, from which Nightgaunts feed upon.

Yog-Sothoth, AKA The Key and the Gate

The other supreme deity of the original Lovecraftian canon, Yog-Sothoth is the living, sentient embodiment of the time-space continuum, although for reasons unknown he/it is trapped outside of our reality, only manifesting through various rituals. Is capable of impregnating human females. Its most well-known appearance is as a conglomeration of ever changing, glowing spheres, though this is just one of several forms.


Great Old Ones

Ancient, powerful horrors of the mythos, who are either sleeping or imprisoned. Often the center of cults, and encounters with them lead to death or worse. Originally, the term "Great Old Ones" included the "Outer Gods". Today, the term is used to describe mythos deities that are not dynamic or powerful enough to operate on a cosmic level.

Atlach-Nacha

A giant spider with a human face. Other forms include a young woman with multiple arms. He (or she) lives in a cavern under Mount Voormithadreth in ancient Hyperborea, and works on an endless task of bridging a chasm. Because of its appearance, Atlach is considered the regent of all spiders. The Spiders of Leng (huge purple spiders) are believed to be her children and servitors.

Cthulhu

The monstrous high priest of the Great Old Ones, sleeping in the sunken city of R'lyeh until 'the stars are right' and he can awaken his kin to resume their rule of Earth. A gigantic humanoid form with a squid-like head and dragon wings.

Cthugha

Entity which appears as a giant fireball. The Fire Vampires, little flame-like monsters that ignite anything flammable, are Cthugha's servitors.

Cthylla

The secret daughter of Cthulhu, and described as a huge, red octopus with six eyes and wings.

  • Crazy Prepared: Cthylla serves as a backup plan. Should Cthulhu be ever truly destroyed, the Great Old One is reborn in his daughter's womb.
  • Dark Secret: Cthulhu does not want anyone to know Cthylla exists. And the few humans that discover the Cthylla's purpose go mad.
  • Daddy's Little Villain: Wither or not by choice, being Cthulhu's daughter alone makes her an enemy of mankind.
  • Knight Templar Parent: Played with, Cthulhu goes great lengths to protect his seed, but not because he cares for Cthylla. Any human emotion is beyond the Great Old Ones.
  • Moe Anthropomorphism: Notable since it's easier searching for art depicting Cthylla as human girl than octopus.

Eihort

A giant gelatinous oval with many legs, Eihort wanders the labyrinth-like underground tunnels of the Severn Valley. When encountering a mortal, Eihort will chase and corner them, then offer to lead them out of the tunnels in return for letting it implant its egg inside their body. Should they refuse, Eihort will just smash them into a bloody pulp... which isn't really worse than those who accept its offer, as the egg will eventually hatch, and the victim's body will shatter into countless brood of Eihort.

  • Body Surf: The upside to Eihort's bargain: It'll let you experience other lives in other places. Of course, the reverse is true: Eihort's servants could jump into the Bargainer's body, and have that person face some rather horrible experiences.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Eihort's name roughly translates to "Egg Hoard" in German.
  • Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: You're pretty much screwed once Eihort catches you.
  • Face Full of Alien Wingwong: Eihort implants eggs inside human bodies.
  • Freak-Out: When the time comes for Eihort's brood to emerge, the bargainer begins to feel some weird sensations.
  • The Maze: Where Eihort dwells.

Ghatanothoa

First born of Cthulhu, this Great Old One visage is so horrific that merely glimpsing it leads to... something unspeakable. Served by the Lloigor.

Glaaki

Once trapped inside a meteor, Glaaki now resides in the lake created by impact of said meteor in the Severn Valley. Looks like giant slug with a mouth, eye-tip tentacles and lots of metallic spines. When Glaaki stabs people with its spines, it injects fluids that turn the victims into zombies which it can controls using psychic power.

  • Our Zombies Are Different: After a few decades, Glaaki's zombies becomes sensitive to sunlight. If exposed, they suffer from "The Green Decay".
  • Recurring Dreams: People who live by Glaaki's lake have some terrible nightmares. Except It turns out its a Flashback Nightmare, and Glaaki is sending them out to dreamers.
  • Spikes of Doom
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Revelations of Glaaki. It not only deals with the spiky one, but also the various weirdness in the Severn Valley.
  • Slave Mooks: It's undead servants were once humans, until their transformation.

Hastur, AKA Him Who Is Not to be Named

"Half-brother" of Cthulhu. Doesn't mean they get along with each other. Known to be the patron of decadence, nihilism, and shepherds. Also the mate of Shub-Niggurath, and possibly fathered some of her Thousand Young. His most well known avatar is the King In Yellow (a tall masked man-thing wearing yellow rags). Other depictions includes that of a octopoid, but Hastur's true form is unknown.

Hzioulquoigmnzhah

Tsathoggua's "cousin" living in the upper atmosphere of Saturn, where he fled to avoid irritating worshipers and cannibalistic family members. Similar in appearance to Tsathoggua, but with a long neck and many small, elephantine feet.

Ithaqua, AKA The Wind-Walker

Great Old One that is humanoid in appearance, with glowing red eyes. Limited to frozen wastes, Ithaqua can literally walk on wind as if it was solid ground.

  • Alien Abduction: Tends to kidnap people, typically sacrifices, and even entire towns if need be.
  • An Ice Person: Rather, an ice deity.
  • Elemental Embodiment: Like Cthugha, Ithaqua was introduced into the mythos to balance out the Elemental Theory. In this case, The Wind-Walker is an Air Elemental.
  • Grim Up North: This Old One tends to haunt Alaska and Siberia.
  • Leave No Witnesses: Anyone who sees Ithaqua is bound to be hunted down by him.
  • Mars Needs Women: Ithaqua attempts to reproduce with humans, apparently so his children would have his powers, but not be imprisoned by the Elder Gods.
  • Wendigo: Ithaqua is known as this as well.

Rhan-Tegoth

Originally from Yuggoth, Rhan-Tegoth came to Earth millions of years ago, settling in what would become the arctic. However, Rhan went into hibernation and can't move without some outside aid. One of the more unfortunate Old Ones, as he got stuck being used as some statue in a museum. Physically, he's very tall, covered in small tentacles, has six serpentine appendages with black crab pincers, a three-eyed and gilled head, a globular torso, as well as a proboscis.

  • Human Sacrifice: Played with, the blood of any living thing is sufficent to awake Rhan.
  • Cosmic Keystone: One character believes if Rhan-Tegoth dies, the Great Old Ones will never return. Then again, said character wasn't exactly sane...
  • Gods Need Prayer Badly: Apparently went into hibernation after his original followers abandoned him. Although, it's more due to that Rhan-Tegoth needs blood to sustain himself than prayer.
  • Refuge in Audacity: What do you do with a Cosmic Horror that's been sleeping for eons? Stick him in a wax work display!
  • Wax Museum Morgue: The guy who found Rhan-Tegoth runs one of these. Subverted in that some of the statues were various horrors of the Mythos, instead of people.

Shudde-M'ell

Leader of the Cthonians: worm-like monsters with a squid-like head. Shudde appears like a larger form of a Cthonian, and possibly the progenitor of the species.

  • Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: While the Wilmarth Foundation managed to wipe out many Cthonians, they lost a lot of people and resources. Also occurred when they tried nuking Shudde-M'ell himself, and failed.
  • Eyeless Face
  • Nigh Invulnerability: Shuffle-M'ell can take on a nuclear explosion and live, as well as able to bore through Earth's crust and survive in the planet's mantle.
  • Made of Iron: Cthonians are able to resist great pressures and temperatures.
  • Mama Bear / Papa Wolf: Generally, it’s a bad idea to mess around with Cthonian eggs.
  • Mental Fusion: Groups of Cthonians can combine their psychic powers to overcome any protection.
  • Psychic Link: All Cthonians are linked to each other, allowing to know exactly what other one knows.
  • Sand Worm: Cthonian physical appearance suggests this, but they're more like the Horta from Star Trek: The Original Series. They can easily burrow through rocks, and can resist high pressure and heat. Although, the Cthonians and Sandworms do share the same...
    • Weaksauce Weakness: Cthonians don't take well to exposure to, of all things, water. Which helps explain why they usually tend to stay safely miles underground rather than visit Earth's mostly water-covered surface, of course.
  • Telepathy: The worms can influence a person's thoughts and emotions, causing them to make mistakes or force them to stay in one location.
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: The G'harne Fragments, which tell of the history of the Cthonian city.
  • Tunnel King: Cthonians excel at this.

Tsathoggua, AKA The Sleeper of N'kai

Old One whose visage is that of a furry, huge toad. The Sleeper was born outside the solar system, where he immigrated with his family to Yuggoth, and eventually making his way to Earth. He briefly resided under Mount Voormithadreth, and is often mentioned in the Hyperborean Cycle. Tsathoggua currently resides in N'kai, deep under the Earth. He is served by the Formless Spawn, black ooze capable of changing shape.

Yig

The half-human Father of Serpents, this Old One is the patron of snakes. May have been the inspiration for the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, Yig was worshiped in North America by Plains tribes and the K'n-yani. Very impulsive and tyrannical, but beneficial to those kind to his "children".

Y'golonac oh gods, you've doomed us all!

Trapped behind some wall somewhere, the Defiler is the Old One of Squick. His earthly manifestation is that of a fat, headless body with mouths on its hands. Typically seeks out closet perverts, offering them to become his servants in exchange to experience their sick desires.

Zushakon

A winged humanoid of the Great Old Ones, who hates light. For the Mutsune tribe of California, it is a god of Death.

Elder Gods

Entities of the Mythos who oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. While helpful to humanity, they're still just as prone to Blue and Orange Morality, at least in theory.

Bast

Based of the mythological goddess of the same name, Bast is the Elder God of Cats. Was classified as Elder God in the Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game), since Lovecraft was rather fond of felines. Bast was also used in several Mythos tales by Robert Bloch. The story of The Cats of Ulthar is also ties to her in the Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game). For further details, check out the Egyptian Mythology Character sheet.

Hypnos

Another deity appropriated from Mythology, this time from Greece. Listed as an Elder God of sleep in Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game), and as such Lord of Dreams. Other than that, little is known of this being.

  • Depending on the Writer: Hypnos being an Elder God comes from the Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) game. The original short story is told from a questionable perspective, so it's not clear if Hypnos even existed.
  • Calling Card: Apparently leaves behind statues of himself.
  • The Ghost: In Lovecraft's short tale "Hypnos", the character's friend fears something that the narrator or reader never sees. In fact, Hypnos is almost never depicted in any artwork, except only as a marble bust.
  • Pillar of Light: If for some unknowable reason a dreamer attracts his attention, Hypnos will seek that person out, and pull them up in a golden light.

Kthanid

Brother of Cthulhu. Visual appearance is like that of Cthulhu, but only with golden, peaceful eyes. A controversial subject in the Mythos, as he's clearly depicted as being good in a universe filled with alien, amoral beings.

Nodens, AKA The Lord of the Abyss

Named after an obscure Celtic deity, Nodens is unusual in that his main apparition is an old man. Apprently a great hunter, seeking out the servants of the Great Old Ones. Typically seen riding in a seashell chariot drawn by fantastic beasts. Opposes Nyarlathotep.

  • Anti-Villain: Described as almost friendly to the humans he speaks with. He also apparently has a strong dislike for Nyarlathotep.
  • Cool Old Guy: What he appears to be (In any case, he is old).
  • Egomaniac Hunter: He hunts the servants of Nyarlathotep and other horrors. But not because Nodens cares for humanity, but because the Great Old Ones provide the best sport.
  • Humanoid Abomination: He may look like an old man, but he is just as eldritch as the others.
  • Shout-Out: To The Great God Pan, where the name Nodens is briefly mentioned.

Vorvadoss, AKA The Troubler of Sands

Lesser known Elder God who appears in the writings of Henry Kuttner. Sometimes appears as a cloaked, hooded being, enveloped in green flames, with fiery eyes. He may otherwise appear as a misty, silvery being with an inhuman face.

Other Creatures

Various monsters and aliens. Some act as servants of the Great Old Ones, while others are relatively independent.

Byakhee

Beings that live in interstellar space, noted for their "great wings". Capable of traveling interstellar distances, they can be summoned to be used as transports. Just remember to take some Space Mead or a space suit, since you still need some sort of protection against the cold vacuum. Servitors of Hastur.

Colour Out of Space

Creature from outer space, whose visible manifestation is a unknown hue. Contact with earthly life leads to ... terrible fates.

Cthonians

See Great Old Ones: Shudde-M'ell

Dagon/Deep Ones

A giant, ocean-dwelling being. One of the less actively malicious beasties - apparently wants some peace and quiet more than bringing the world to an end. Not that that's going to help you if you accidentally enter his domain, though. Progenitor of the Deep Ones, a similarly isolationist underwater civilization of fish-people with a certain... interest in humanity. Physically, Deep Ones are humanoid, a cross of fish and frog, with grey-green skin, white bellies, webbed paws, and gilled necks.

Elder Things, AKA Elder Ones

Aliens that once colonized Earth billions of years ago. They developed a highly advanced civilization, and they accidentally lead to life arising on Earth in the process of creating the shoggoths. They're described as a barrel-shaped body with a starfish-like head and feet. Featuring radial symmetry, they have five eyes, tentacles, wings, feeding tubes, and brain lobes.

  • Ancient Astronauts
  • Advanced Ancient Acropolis: The city in the "Mountains of Madness".
  • Batman Can Breathe in Space: Subverted, the Elder Things could travel through deep space, but only by absorbing "certain chemicals". They end up losing this knowledge, and end up trapped on Earth.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology
  • Heroic Neutral: Long gone, for the most part, by modern times, but their enemies coincided with many of those that now trouble humanity. The narrators of the story in which they appear even compare them to human beings.
    • They're also the only inhuman race Lovecraft portrayed with any kind of sympathy, explaining the frenzied murder of the researchers in At The Mountains of Madness as a hysterical reaction to unknown circumstances.
  • Made of Iron: Capable of living under deep sea pressures.
  • Plant Aliens: More like half-plant, half-animal aliens.
  • Precursors
  • Starfish Aliens: Literally in this case, with the Elder Thing's radial physiology and starfish-shaped heads, though they are some of the more comprehensible aliens in the mythos.
  • Vestigial Empire: After Shoggoth rebellions, wars against Cthulhu's spawn, the Great Race, and the Mi-go, and the cooling of Earth, the Elder Things are reduced to this.

Fthaggua

Described as a sphere of blue-flame, Fthaggua is similar to Cthugha. However, where as Cthugha is imprisoned, Fthaggua is free and riding across the universe on the comet Ktynga. He is served by his Fire Vampires, which appear as red lighting. It's unknown if Fthaggua is a Great Old One or not, also if it has any relation to Cthugha.

  • Hive Mind: Fthaggua and his Fire Vampires are described as such.
  • Older Than They Think: The term Fire Vampires were first used for Fthaggua's servitors. Latter, Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) used the term to describe Cthugha's Flame creatures, and became the depiction that most associate with.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: A radical example, although the basic synopsis is the same. Upon destroying a victim (akin to spontaneous combustion), the Fire Vampires absorbs both the lifeform's energy and memories.

Great Ones

Weak gods of the Earth who reign over Earth's Dream Land. Not even remotely powerful as the other Ancient Ones, although they are still worshiped in the Dreamlands. They appear to be similar to humanity, and distinguished by certain facial features. For whatever reason, the Great Ones are protected by the Other Gods, which include Nyarlathotep. Not to be confused with the Great Old Ones.

Great Race Of Yith

A highly intelligent race that lived on Earth long before humans. Their bodies consist of fleshy cones with four tendrils (two ended in pincers, one a mouth and one a pair of eyes) sticking out of the top. They ruled a portion of the Earth that includes what is now Australia when Cthulhu was active. They use psychic powers to leap from body to body across time. Their society is described as socialist and placing a high value on individual intelligence. The Great Race of Yith is wiped out in a war with the Flying Polyps, but will be re-created in the future thanks to their time-traveling powers. Yithians come across as the closest thing to a "good" race out of the original Lovecraft critters.

  • Badass Bookworm: one of the more (conventionally) intelligent races in the setting, and the Mi-Go and the Star Spawn of Cthulhu respected them.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: not unexpected considering the setting. They also reproduce by spores....
  • Grand Theft Me: Usually combined with the mental time travel mentioned below. Can be temporary for research purposes or permanent.
  • Inferred Holocaust: The bodies most commonly associated with them? Those belonged to beings native to Earth before the Yithians used their mind-swapping powers to leave their own dying world for ours...
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Before reversing a temporary body swap, the 'guest' mind is stripped of its memories of its stay with the Yithians. As Professor Peaslee (of "The Shadow Out Of Time" fame) will attest, the process isn't always quite 100% effective.
  • Lightning Gun
  • Psychic Powers
  • Shock and Awe: The main weapon of the Yithian armies is a lighting-shooting device that looks like an old camera.
  • Time Travel: Of the mental variety, and the source of the appellation "Great Race," as they were the only species to master it.

Ghouls

Cannibal humanoids with rubbery skin, bony claws, and dog-like faces. They tend to live underground, lurking near graveyards.

  • Changeling Tale: Ghouls are also known for kidnapping babies and replacing them with ghoul babies. Don't worry though, they just teach the abducted children how to become ghouls.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Played with, the Ghouls are known for eating corpses. Although sometimes, they do attack people.
  • Good All Along: Although presented as horrific, they are sometimes presented in a positive light, being loyal and helpful to some. Considering the Mythos being filled with unspeakable, apathic horrors, Ghouls are one of the nicer species one can encounter. If one knows their language...
  • Grave Robbing: The Ghouls probably call this "Grocery Shopping".
  • Our Ghouls Are Creepier
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore:: The Cultes des Goules, which presumably dealt with Ghouls and their cults.
  • Tunnel Network
  • Was Once a Man: Hanging out with Ghouls long enough can transform a human into one.

Hounds of Tindalos

Creatures from the primordial past that are capable of traveling through time. They are only able to enter our dimension through angles.

  • And Man Grew Proud: Due to some unspeakable act in near the primordial past, the Hounds became “foul” while normal life remained “pure”. The event itself was forgotten, but the myths such as The Fall from Genesis are allusions to this event.
  • Alien Geometries: The Hounds are descended literally from angles. All natural life (including humans) are descended from curves. As a result, the monsters can enter anywhere and anytime there are angles. The only way to hide from the beasts is to be in a totally curved room.
  • Clock Roaches
  • The Ghost: The Hounds are never seen in the original story they debuted. They're only described as "hungry" and "foul" by one of the characters.
  • Hell Hound: Described as this, but more for their ravenous, relentlessness hunger than for their physical appearance.
  • Immortality: Theoretically they have Biological Immortality, since no enzymes exist within the bodies of the Hounds.
  • The Juggernaut: Once they catch the sent of someone, they will keep on hunting until they get their target.

Insects from Shaggai, AKA Shan

Extraterrestrials that worshiped Azathoth. Although highly advanced, this species was also extremely decadent. The Shan are about the size of a pigeon, with leathery wings, large lidless eyes, ten legs with tentacles, six brain lobes, and three mouths.

  • Asshole Victim: Their homeworld was destroyed when a celestial body (likely Ghroth) passed. Considering their extreme decadence, the Shan deserved it.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: As a form of ritual or entertainment.
  • Futuristic Pyramid: The Insects' conical-shaped temples to Azathoth, which are not only capable of teleportation, but also have gateways that allow direct contact with "The Demon Sultan".
  • Intangible Man: Because of their affiliation with Azathoth, the Insects are able to phase through organic matter.
  • Mass Teleportation : The Shan are well versed in teleportation technology, capable of transporting their temples across interstellar spaces.
  • Oh Crap: Twice, often after discovering something disturbing on a planet they visited.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: With their phasing abilities, and in combination with their psychic powers, the Shan are able to infest and dominate humans.
  • Slave Race: The Xiclotl, tall, meat-eating creatures, which the Shan conquered.
  • Telepathy
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: the Massa di Requiem par Shuggay, an opera that tells of the Shan's travels. It's also impossible to perform, since Azathoth would be summoned midway through the second act. The reult would be nightmarish.
  • Weakened by the Light: Sol's electromagnetic radiation has an averse affect on the Shan's metabolism.

Lloigor

Mi-go, AKA Fungi from Yuggoth

Crab-like fungi aliens that come to earth for mining.

  • Batman Can Breathe in Space: Some subspecies.
  • Brain In a Jar: How other subspecies that can't breathe in space travel. Also fond of doing this to humans.
  • Cool Gate: The Devil's Steps in the Severn Valley houses a portal to Yuggoth. Fortunately , a human can use the gate as it reconfigures the traveler to survive it's destination. Unfortunately, Pluto houses things far worse than Mi-go...
  • Grand Theft Me: They sometimes implant the brain of one of their kind in someone's skull.
  • Hive Caste System: At least one sourcebook for the RPGs divides the Mi-Go into three castes: warriors, workers and scientists.
  • Lightning Gun: In the role-playing supplements The Stars Are Right! and Terror from the Stars describe the Mi-go as having Electric Rifles.
  • Multiversal Conqueror: Potentially.
  • Organic Technology: The Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) RPG has them using this.
  • Plant Aliens: They seem to be made of some kind of fungus.
  • That's No Moon: Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) sorcebook Malleus Monstrorum mention how Mi-go harvest flesh of the Outer God Ubbo-Sathla and use it to construct bio-mechanical super weapon capable to travel through time and space, the living moon Charon AKA Pluto's moon.

Nightgaunts

Thin, black humanoids with large wings, rubbery skin, and barbed tails. They are the servants of Nodens, and Brian Lumley had associated them with Yibb-Tstll.

Shoggoths

Monstrous creatures bio-engineered by the Elder Things. They are massive, amorphous, with eyes floating on its tar-like body, and emits green light. They are able to create organs at will.

Shantak

Elephantine bird-like creatures with scaly slimy skin, bat wings, two talons, and horse heads. They can be used as steeds, and serve Nyarlathotep.

Star Vampires, AKA Shamblers from the Stars

Monsters from outer space that hunger for blood. If they're seen (never a good sight), they're a gelatinous mass with a huge mouth and talons, covered in trunk-like tentacles - each one ending in a sucker.

Tcho-Tcho

"Abominable humanoids", short and hairless, who serve the Great Old Ones. Their abode is in Burma, on the Plateau of Tsang (which is also an extension of Leng).

"... the nastiest people who ever lived ...They'd been living way up in those hills I don't know how many centuries, and whatever it is they were doing, they weren't going to let a stranger in on it".

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