Cthulhu Mythos/Characters: Difference between revisions

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

== 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. ==

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== ''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.<br /><br />Specifically, it is often said to be a corruption of ''Abd Al-Azrad'', a name -- or, more likely, a title or pseudonym -- [[Meaningful Name|best translated as]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|"servant of the Great Devourer."]]

* [[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.<br /><br />Specifically, it is often said to be a corruption of ''Abd Al-Azrad'', a name -- or, more likely, a title or pseudonym -- [[Meaningful Name|best translated as]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|"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 ~~(Creator)~~|L Sprague De Camp]], fantasy author and linguist, acted as Abdul Alhazred's "translator".

* [[Defictionalization]]: The Necronomicon listed in the Ohio University Library card catalog. [[L. Sprague de Camp|L Sprague De Camp]], fantasy author and linguist, acted as Abdul Alhazred's "translator".

* [[Death Faked for You]]: {{spoiler|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.

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== ''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.

* [[A Chat ~~With~~ Satan|A Chat with Nyarlathotep]]

* [[A Chat with Satan|A Chat with Nyarlathotep]]

* [[Badass Bookworm]]

* [[Friend to All Living Things]]: Friendly to cats, as well as ''ghouls'' of all things.

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* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: [[Fan Nickname|Gnarly]] is the soul of the Outer Gods. [[Alternative Character Interpretation|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.

* [[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. [[Xanatos Gambit|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''.

** Also used Mythos-derived works, such as [[Ow ~~My Sanity (Webcomic)|Ow~~ My Sanity]], [[Deus Machina Demonbane|Nya]] and [[Nyarko San]].

** Also used Mythos-derived works, such as [[Ow, My Sanity]], [[Deus Machina Demonbane|Nya]] and [[Nyarko San]].

* [[God in Human Form|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.

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* [[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 [[These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know|horrible secrets]], and will provide answers... [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil|for a price]].

* [[Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge]]: Knows a lot about science and [[These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know|horrible secrets]], and will provide answers... [[Deal with the Devil|for a price]].

* [[Light Is Not Good]]: ''The White Man'' avatar, an angelic looking blond man with with white robes.

** [[Dark Is Evil]]: See [[Scary Black Man]].

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* [[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.

* [[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 Roulette|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."

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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, [[Fan Nickname|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.

* [[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.

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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 [[Hoist By His Own Petard|reversed]].

* [[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 [[Hoist by His Own Petard|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.

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* [[Arch Enemy]]: Xexanoth, the Lurking Chaos is this to Yog's avatar Aforgomon. Xexanoth is the "chief cosmic power" hostile towards time. One can relive the past by invoking it's power, but is considered ''too'' blasphemous even for evil sorcerers.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Lovecraft originally referred to his loose Mythos as the "Yog-Sothoth Cycle." Most people tend to forget this.

* [[Did We Just Have Tea ~~With~~ Cthulhu?|Did We Just Have Tea With Cthulhu's Boss?]]: Yes you did, Randolph Carter. Yes you did.

* [[Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?|Did We Just Have Tea With Cthulhu's Boss?]]: Yes you did, Randolph Carter. Yes you did.

* [[Extra Eyes]]: Another portrayal of Yog-Sothoth is having many eyes on stalks.

* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: Yog serves as the patron of these.

* [[Fartillery]]/[[Gasshole]]: Yog-Sothoth. "By a Stench ye shall know Him..." At the end of ''[[~~The Dunwich Horror (Literature)|~~The Dunwich Horror]]'', it lets out a shockwave of foul air so powerful it knocks trees over.

* [[Fartillery]]/[[Gasshole]]: Yog-Sothoth. "By a Stench ye shall know Him..." At the end of ''[[The Dunwich Horror]]'', it lets out a shockwave of foul air so powerful it knocks trees over.

* [[Gate of Truth]]

* [[God Is Evil]]: About as far up in the pantheon as Azathoth and just as (if not more) terrifying.

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* [[Good Thing You Can Heal]]: It sure helps when some pesky human puts a steam yacht through your head.

* [[High Priest]]: Of the Great Old Ones.

* [[King in ~~The~~ Mountain]]: Of the lost civilization of the Great Old Ones. [[Captain Obvious|Needless to say]], a particularly dark example.

* [[King in the Mountain]]: Of the lost civilization of the Great Old Ones. [[Captain Obvious|Needless to say]], a particularly dark example.

* [[Kraken and Leviathan]]

* [[Mini-Mook]]: His servitors ''The Star-spawn of Cthulhu'', who are basically smaller versions of Big C. Even then, they're still ''very large'' relative to a human.

* [[Ramming Always Works]]: Gets rammed into by the motor boat of the one person who survives him, breaking him up and forcing him back into R'lyeh, which promptly sinks.

* [[Big Bad]] For the entire series and adaptions

* [[Sealed Evil in A Can]]

* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]

* [[Underwater City]] / [[Underwater Ruins]]: The city of R'lyeh, the tomb and prison of Cthulhu, is a sort of twisted version of [[Atlantis]].

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Very often in parodies, Cthulhu will be the protagonist. Taken further with ''[[Cthulhu Saves the World]]'', were the Big C is the hero of a video game.

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* [[An Ice Person]]: It's offspring ''Aphoom-Zhah''. Appearing to be a gray flame, Aphoom freezes upon contact.

* [[Elemental Embodiment]]: Derleth created an ''Elemental Theory'', in which certain Great Old Ones were classified by the four classical elements. However, Derleth ran into a problem: no Great Old One could be considered a Fire Elemental. So Cthugha was created to fill in the gap.

* [[Kill It ~~With~~ Fire]]: Literally.

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Literally.

* [[Playing ~~With~~ Fire]]: Both Cthugha and his Fire Vampires.

* [[Playing with Fire]]: Both Cthugha and his Fire Vampires.

* [[Start X to Stop X]]: How do you stop Nyarlathotep? [[Summon Bigger Fish|By summoning Cthugha.]]

** Screw that up, however... [[It Got Worse|And you summon]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|"the Feaster from Beyond the Stars."]]

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== ''Hastur'', AKA ''[[Schmuck Bait|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 [[Murder Arson and Jaywalking|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 [[Everything's Squishier ~~With~~ Cephalopods|octopoid]], but Hastur's true form is unknown.

"Half-brother" of Cthulhu. Doesn't mean they get along with each other. Known to be the patron of [[Murder Arson and Jaywalking|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 [[Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods|octopoid]], but Hastur's true form is unknown.

* [[Ascended Extra]]: When Lovecraft added Hastur to mythos, all he did was just mention it among a list of eldritch names without any elaboration. Derleth made Hastur into a Great Old One, since Ambrose Bierce originally had it as a deity.

* [[Bright Is Not Good]]: If he takes a humanoid guise, it will often be brightly clothed. He's not any less dangerous.

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* [[Candle Jack/Just for Fun|Candle Jack]]: Whatever you do, don't say his name three times in a row. Better yet, never say it at all, just in case.

* [[Composite Character]]: Hastur is essentially a mash-up of several interpretations from several different sources, each either borrowing or name dropping the previous source. John Tynes finally combined the various aspects, especially the themes of from the original ''[[The King in Yellow]]'', for the [[Call of Cthulhu]] RPG.

* [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil]]: The Unspeakable Oath.

* [[Deal with the Devil]]: The Unspeakable Oath.

* [[Iconic Logo]]: The Yellow Sign.

* [[Humanoid Abomination]]: The King in Yellow.

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* [[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 ~~(TV)~~|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...

* [[Sand Worm]]: Cthonian physical appearance suggests this, but they're more like the Horta from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|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.

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* [[Fat Bastard]]: In his "human" form.

* [[God of Evil]]: Because those with [[Covert Pervert|hidden deviations and obsessions]] are [[Manipulative Bastard|easier to control]], he has essentially adopted the role of their god.

* [[I'm a ~~Humanitarian|I'm A~~ Humanitarian]]

* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]

* [[Memetic Molester]]: [[Up to Eleven|And then some.]]

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== ''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]], 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 (Literature)|~~The Cats of Ulthar]]'' is also ties to her in the [[Call of Cthulhu]]. For further details, check out the [[Egyptian Mythology/Characters|Egyptian Mythology Character sheet]].

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]], 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]]. For further details, check out the [[Egyptian Mythology/Characters|Egyptian Mythology Character sheet]].

== ''Hypnos'' ==

Another deity appropriated from Mythology, this time from [[Classical Mythology|Greece]]. Listed as an Elder God of sleep in [[Call of Cthulhu]], 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]] game. The original short story is told from a [[Unreliable Narrator|questionable perspective]], so it's not clear if Hypnos even existed.

* [[Depending on the Writer]]: Hypnos being an Elder God comes from the [[Call of Cthulhu]] game. The original short story is told from a [[Unreliable Narrator|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.

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* [[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]]

* [[Shout-Out]]: To ''[[~~The Great God Pan (Literature)|~~The Great God Pan]]'', where the name Nodens is briefly mentioned.

* [[Shout-Out]]: To ''[[The Great God Pan]]'', where the name Nodens is briefly mentioned.

== ''Vorvadoss'', AKA ''The Troubler of Sands'' ==

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* [[Our Mermaids Are Different]]: In-universe, the Deep Ones inspired the mermaid myth. The problem is, the reality is far more horrible.

* [[Slow Transformation]]: Deep One Hybrids, changing throughout their life.

* [[Town ~~With~~ a Dark Secret]]: Innsmouth.

* [[Town with a Dark Secret]]: Innsmouth.

* [[Underwater City]]: Several, such as the city of Y'ha-nthlei.

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* [[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 {{spoiler|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.

* [[Weakened by the Light]]: Sol's electromagnetic radiation has an averse affect on the Shan's metabolism.

== ''Lloigor'' ==

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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.

* [[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.

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== ''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.

* [[Based On a Dream]]: A nightmare Lovecraft had inspired these creatures.

* [[Based on a Dream]]: A nightmare Lovecraft had inspired these creatures.

* [[The Blank]]

* [[Giant Flyer]]: Nightgaunts [[Vertical Kidnapping|tend to carry people away]], and drop them in unwanted places. The Ghouls can also use them as mounts.

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"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).

* [[Bald of Evil]]

* [[Town ~~With~~ a Dark Secret|Culture With A Dark Secret]]: In T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man With A Horn", a missionary goes to investigate the group:

* [[Town with a Dark Secret|Culture With A Dark Secret]]: In T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man With A Horn", a missionary goes to investigate the group:

{{quote| "... 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". }}

* [[Half Human Hybrids]]: [[Human Subspecies|Descendants of humans]] who mated with the ''Miri Nigri'', a species of dwarfs made from amphibian flesh by Chaugnar Faugn.

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* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]

* [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder]]

* [[The Triads and ~~The~~ Tongs]]: Having migrated to America, the Tcho-tchos had created crime syndicates to continue their "traditions".

* [[The Triads and the Tongs]]: Having migrated to America, the Tcho-tchos had created crime syndicates to continue their "traditions".