ADAM ALEXANDER, DAVID CASTRO, ARIEL CELESTE,
HIROMI COTA, ALISON CYBE, ERYKAH FASSETT,
CHARLES GERARD, DANIELLE LAUZON, SPIDER B. PERRY,
SAM RIORDAN, CHRIS SPIVEY, H. ULRICH, VERA VARTANIAN
CREDITS
Developers: Chris Spivey and Steffie de Vaan (aditional material)
Additional development by: Eddy Webb
Scion Lead Developers: Neall Raemonn Price and
Hiromi Cota
Writers: Adam Alexander, David Castro, Ariel Celeste, Hiromi Cota, Alison Cybe, Erykah Fassett, Charles
Gerard, Danielle Lauzon, Spider B. Perry, Sam Riordan,
Chris Spivey, H. Ulrich, Vera Vartanian
Editors: Matt Click and Dixie Cochran
Artists: Shen Fei, Alejandro Colucci, Darko Stojanovic, Digital Art Chefs Studios, Sam Denmark, Farri
Lensen, Martina Scafa, Ivan Vegar, Laura King, Niko Pope
Art Director: Mike Chaney and Maria Cabardo
Creative Director: Richard Thomas
SPECIAL THANKS
From Chris Spivey
To Jill and Zora Spivey for all your support, keeping
my spirits high, and allowing me to burn away countless
hours while working.
REQUIRES THE USE OF
SCION ORIGIN AND SCION HERO
To Neall Raemonn Price for recommending me for
this gig.
To Eddy Webb and Richard Thomas for listening to
Neall.
To the team of this book for your incredible work,
dedication, and vision.
To the people playing the game — your willingness
to engage in imaginary worlds makes this possible.
© 2022 Onyx Path Publishing. All rights reserved. References to other copyrighted material in no way constitute a challenge to the respective copyright holders of
that material. “Scion” and all characters, names, places, and text herein are copyrighted by Onyx Path Publishing.
Keep up to date with Onyx Path Publishing at theonyxpath.com.
2
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
THE BOG WOMAN
6
INTRODUCTION:
THE MYTHOS VS. LOVECRAFT
8
CHAPTER TWO:
CHARACTER CREATION
Ready-Made Characters
28
29
Leena Galanis
30
The Mythos
9
Malcom Hodge
32
Themes
10
Maria West
34
Mood
10
Isaiah Baldwin
36
How to Use this Book
10
Marius Héroux
38
Media
10
Character Creation
40
Types of Scions
40
Dice Pools
41
Momentum
41
CHAPTER ONE:
MYTHOS PANTHEONS
Principal Members
12
13
CHAPTER THREE:
MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
Albtraum
13
Azathoth
14
Bokrug
14
Cthulhu
15
Awareness
43
Ghatanothoa
15
Callings
44
The Greenish Flame
16
Lord of the Great Abyss
16
Mythos Fatebinding Basics
46
Nyarlathotep
17
Mythos Conditions
46
Rhan-Tegoth
17
Awakened
46
Shub-Niggurath
18
Herald
46
Yig
19
Tasked
46
Yog-Sothoth
20
The King in Yellow
20
Knacks
47
Mythos Path
21
Knack Skills
47
Cosmology
21
Heroic Creator
47
Disruption
22
Immortal Creator
47
Mythos Places
22
Heroic Guardian
47
Mythos Birthrights
23
Immortal Guardian
47
Creatures
23
Heroic Healer
48
Followers
23
Immortal Healer
48
Guides
23
Heroic Hunter
48
Relics
23
Immortal Hunter
48
24
Heroic Judge
48
Scions and Mythos Entities
24
Immortal Judge
48
Among Scions
25
Heroic Leader
48
Among Mythos
25
Immortal Leader
48
Traditional Gods
25
Heroic Liminal
48
Titans vs. the Old Ones
25
Immortal Liminal
48
Cults
26
Heroic Lover
48
Greatest Weakness
27
Immortal Lover
48
Relationships
Traits
Mythos Fatebinding
Powers
Table of Contents
42
43
46
47
3
Heroic Sage
49
Immortal Sage
49
Heroic Trickster
49
Immortal Trickster
49
Heroic Warrior
49
Immortal Warrior
49
Purviews
Awareness Purviews
Artistry
Maddening Song
Beasts
Snake Pit
Beauty
Distracting Beauty
Chaos
Walking Disaster
Darkness
Shadow Minion
Death
Creeping Dead
Deception
Mental Prison
Earth
49
49
49
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
51
51
51
51
Eerie Light
Order
Lawful Trespass
Passion
Lackluster
Prosperity
Eat the Rich
Sky
Fog Bank
Stars
Temporal Shift
Sun
Irradiation
War
Incite
Water
Tsunami
Wild
Feral Traces
Mythos Signature Purview
Arcane Calculus
54
54
54
55
55
55
56
56
56
56
56
56
56
57
57
57
57
57
57
58
58
58
51
Disturbing Visions
59
Stone Strike
51
Mouth of Madness
59
Epic Dexterity
51
ADDITIONAL RELICS
60
Clumsy Fool
51
The Alert (•••••)
60
Epic Stamina
52
Amulet of Dagon (••)
60
Infirmed
52
Amulet of the Hound (•)
61
Epic Strength
52
Der König in Gelb (•••••)
61
52
Elder Sign Amulet (••)
62
52
Erich Zann’s Viol (•••)
62
52
The Ivory Key (••••)
62
52
Masks of the Mythos (••• each)
63
53
Mi-Go Brain Cylinder (•••)
64
53
Smoking Mirror (••)
64
53
Sword of Kadath (••)
65
53
Yithian Mind Stone (•••)
65
Wrath and Fury
Fertility
Verdant Fields
Fire
Conflagration
Forge
Transubstantiate
Fortune
Twist Fate
Frost
Hibernate
Health
Transference
Journeys
Labyrinth
4
49
Moon
53
53
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
66
53
Arkham
68
53
54
54
54
History
68
Modern Day
70
The Mythos in Arkham
71
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
Arkham Sanitarium
72
The Mechanics of Mysteries
106
Miskatonic University
73
Conspiracy of Mysteries
106
Background
73
What’s Happening Now?
74
Miskatonic University Library
74
Miskatonic Medical School
74
Awakening
109
Story Hooks
75
The Chorus
109
Mythos Influences
75
Locations of Note
110
Dunwich
CHAPTER SIX:
THE SCION JOB
108
76
Arkham
110
Background
76
Boston
110
Modern Times
78
Dunwich
110
People
79
Kingsport
110
Mythos Influence
80
Newton
111
Havenspoint
82
What Came Before
111
Background
82
Events Timeline
112
Modern Times
86
Rolling for It!
112
Mythos Influences
86
The Sojourn
112
Innsmouth
88
Too Little Too Late
112
Background
88
What the Neighbors Saw
114
The Esoteric Order of Dagon
89
Hollow Halloween
114
Revival
89
Crooked Law
115
Challenges
91
The Golden Gilman
115
Celebration Days
92
Smoke and Whiskey
116
Mythos Influences
93
Mythos Auction
117
Terra Incognita
93
Alone Again
120
94
Tea with Temperance
120
Introduction
94
No Bones About It
121
Background
95
A Vivid Green
121
Modern Times
95
Awake and Dreaming
122
Mythos Influences
98
Awakened
123
Kingsport
CHAPTER FIVE:
MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING 100
CHAPTER SEVEN:
MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
124
Narrative Structure
101
New Flairs
125
Nihilism vs. Heroic Myth
101
Suffocate
125
Blood of the Gods
101
Beyond Description
125
The Stars Were Right
102
Cosmic Mythic Horror
102
Antagonists
Colour Out of Space
125
125
The Unknowableness (and Awareness of It) 103
Cthulhu Spawn
126
Mysteries and Truth
104
Cultist
126
Constructing Conundrums
104
Dagon
127
Structuring the Mystery
105
Deep Ones
128
What kind of whodunit?
105
Dholes
128
Investigative Fundamentals
105
Dimensional Shambler
128
Table of Contents
5
Elder Things
129
Erich Zann
157
Ghoul
130
Henry Antonio Wilcox
158
Gnoph-keh
130
Lavinia Whateley
159
Great Race of Yith
131
Roberta Olmstead
160
Hounds of Tindalos
131
Mi-Go
132
Night-gaunt
133
Rival Scion
133
Shoggoth
134
Terror from Beyond
134
Anri’kala
135
The Aubren Family
135
Cats of Saturn
136
Child of Mist
137
Children of Theia
137
Dreamthieves
138
Extradimensional Fauna
138
Flying Polyps
139
Living Lightning
140
Lunar Dolls
141
Mirror Men
142
Mrs. Moloch
142
The Nameless
143
Proto-Coleopterans
144
The Red
144
Sentient Crystal
145
Shantak
146
Gorgo,
The Horror
180
Stellar Vampire
146
Hypnos
184
Triassic Penguin
147
The Maddening Music
185
148
The Moon-Ladder
187
New Qualities & Flairs
APPENDIX ONE:
DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
6
150
APPENDIX TWO:
TERRA INCOGNITAE
166
Y’ha-nthlei
166
Mythos
166
The Warm Gardens
169
The Busy Waters
170
The Unbound Structure
171
Dangers of the Deep
172
Zathitho
172
The Ichaatath Primacy
173
Shoggoth Uprising
173
Mythos
174
Lost City of Iretah
175
Lavender Sea
176
Zath
177
Realm Birthrights
179
Realm Effects
179
APPENDIX THREE:
ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES 180
APPENDIX FOUR: SCION:HERO
CHARACTER CREATION
189
Playing Demigod-Tier Mythos
150
Step One: Concept
189
Fatebinding
151
Step Two: Paths
189
Omens of the Mythos
151
Step Three: Skills
189
Sancta and Terra Incognitae
151
Step Four: Attributes
189
Realm Birthrights
152
Step Five: Callings and Knacks
190
Storyguiding Demigod-Tier Mythos
153
Step Six: Birthrights
190
Styles of Mythos-Touched Apotheosis
153
Step Seven: Purviews
190
Cosmic Scion: Caelum Incognita
154
Step Eight: Boons
190
Demigod-Tier Antagonists
156
Step Nine: Finishing Touches
190
Legacy Characters
157
REPRISE
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
191
T
T
N
A
M
O
W
G
O
B
E
H
The old woman wandered the
land for the last time while
pondering possibilities. Her
ancestors were among the early
settlers in the region, fleeing the Salem witch panic rather than
yielding their existence to it. Recent events forced her to seek new
lodging; the ancestral homestead would become a casualty of supposed progress. Before her family occupied the land, it hosted a
small colonial settlement that was preceded by a Penacook village.
According to the family records, she descended from residents of both
villages, the offspring of Indigenous Nations and white colonizer pairing.
Heavy rains caused artifacts of these settlements to emerge from the
soft, damp soil near the bog and she cherished each moldering treasure.
Experts from the state told her the pristine bog’s rarity and the ancient
archaeological sites on the land would stave off attempts to supplant
her — but, in the end, corrupt officials do what they always do, this time
under the auspices of economic development. She knew a similar fate
had befallen some in the city, but until now the oldest families of the
region were spared.
Her mood darkened as she realized nothing would save the land. She
passed through the aged family burial ground one last time, whispering
final farewells and hearing faint sibilant susurrations in return. Then ambled to the bog, she explored as a girl, cataloging the various inhabitants.
She recalled taking a small raft into the deeper waters in the center of
the bog where, on certain nights, she saw a green glow emanate from
below the surface. In recent weeks that glow had returned and seemed
stronger than before; where once visible only on the darkest of nights,
it was now strong and visible even when the moon was full. She had
believed it to be a portent of something, but now thought it must have
been a trick of an aging mind. She knew this land like no other had before; she and the land were one.
Continuing her trek along the edge of the bog, she wove among the
trees and shrubs, hoping to find something of significance that would
stave off the impending takeover. It was then that she stumbled across a
strange, green stone about the size of a newborn child. Elated to find one
last artifact, she knelt to wipe away the mud and saw it was a carving.
Looking closer, she marveled over the stone that must have lain just
beneath the surface for centuries. Understanding immediately that this
piece of statuary shared her connection to the land, she began to clean
the wide-mouthed, lizard-like face and saw the bulging eyes emit a familiar green light. A strange name came unbidden into her mind and she
knew she would have help saving the land.
Her eyes began to glow a brilliant green as she proclaimed,
“Bokrug, I am yours!”
The Bog Woman
7
INTRODUCTION
THE MYTHOS VS.
LOVECRAFT
“What lay behind our joint love of shadows and marvels was, no doubt,
the ancient, mouldering, and subtly fearsome town in which we live—
witch-cursed, legend-haunted Arkham, whose huddled, sagging gambrel
roofs and crumbling Georgian balustrades brood out the centuries beside
the darkly muttering Miskatonic.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Thing on the Doorstep”
T
he Cthulhu Mythos and Howard Phillips Lovecraft
are interchangeable in the minds of many, stemming
from pop-culture references and newer literature. That
interchangeability is not quite right, as the Mythos has
expanded well beyond the man who penned his first
Mythos story in 1897, which sat unpublished until 1916.
There is an intergalactic creation full of Gods, monsters,
and beings beyond any existing definition that dwell
outside the realm of humanity. Some may be familiar.
Phrases like “Outer Gods,” “Elder Things,” and “Great Old
Ones” are a bit more obscure but have found their way
outside of their niche. There has been a wave of Cthulhu
fandom, from Victor LaValle’s novella to Alan Moore’s
comic books to T-shirts to “Cthulhu-For-President”
bumper stickers.
Let’s take a minute to discuss the man himself.
Lovecraft, for those who don’t know, was an ardent
racist, anti-Semite, misogynist, and held a slew of other
backward beliefs. He was so racist for his time that some
of his contemporaries, of whom a few were also racist,
wrote to him about being too racist and misogynistic.
There is no defending the man, his beliefs, actions, or
hatred. The core of Lovecraft’s work is tied into his own
beliefs under a thin layer of cosmic horror.
In reality, his writing, while the foundation of this
universe, represents a small percentage of Mythos writings. For all his faults, he believed in allowing others
to help shape the Mythos and collaborated with other
white writers. He did not want the Mythos contained
to one person or company and believed additional ideas
made it better. However, his explicit, self-expressed
racism and xenophobia shaped the world he saw and
created the Mythos.
We don’t intend to ignore this reality; we intend
to take it back. We’re not giving lip service but informing you, the reader, of our mission statement upfront.
Lovecraft’s fear made him the writer he was. Masks
of the Mythos builds on the world he only offered to
white writers a century ago and takes the Mythos as our
own. The world he created continued long past him and
has been expanded on and reshaped by over 100 writers
and artists, many of whom are precisely the people who
would have been the target of Lovecraft’s prejudices.
That’s how change happens; it’s not something that just
occurs. It comes from people confronting it head on.
The Mythos is changing with each generation to
reflect the modern era and the actual diversity the world
has always had, even if it was not reflected in the work.
The state of the modern world has prompted some to say
Lovecraft’s legacy received the most fitting retribution
possible: He lost. White ascendency ended while immigration and diversity continued.
The world today appears far more tolerant than
his, and that would surely have made Lovecraft weep
and faint like his protagonists. If the last decade in the
United States has proven anything, it is that hate is alive
and well and far too often living down the street from
each of us. It turned from the violent, deadly force of
1920s lynchings to a more invasive one of redlining and
an unbalanced prison system, and now in the 2020s, a
merger of terrible aspects of both.
It is clearly not so much that Lovecraft’s vision of
the world did not triumph but has simply shifted. Like
Lovecraft, many people are afraid of losing and constantly blame “the other” for an impending downfall.
There’s been an increase in hate crimes and violent
attacks against people of color, queer and trans people,
and marginalized houses of worship. Threats and name
calling make our communities feel hostile, and the outside world seems even worse.
In Masks of the Mythos, there is an attempt at
making it better. Masks shines a light on this legacy of
hate that extends back to Lovecraft and beyond him. It
holds it up and dare it to reflect at us the worst of who
we are so we may create a Mythos that reflects the world
we wish to see. Every word is a testament to a world full
of patience, tolerance, inclusion, and most importantly,
the interconnectedness that binds other to other: the
hope for a better future for humanity. A future that looks
as little like Lovecraft’s world as we can muster and one
where he and his kind have truly lost.
THE MYTHOS
W
hat is the Mythos? In short, it is a loose association
of alien entities beyond comprehension, and its very
existence alters The World. These beings are neither Gods
nor Titans. In Masks of the Mythos, they exist in another
dimension. That otherness, that distortion, swirls around
them and expresses on the divine wavelength.
The Mythos
9
At first glance, it seems this Mythos world has little
meaning. It is full of beings, Gods, and Old Ones that do
not require worshipers and are generally uninterested
in humans, the plight of humanity or any of its related
affairs — aside from an active few. The crux of Mythos
stories involves regular folks encountering things beyond their keen and struggling against them, regardless
of the cost, which is frequently madness. Lovecraft created a literary version of madness that is not reflective
of real-world mental illness and other pain real people
suffer. We’ve taken the root of that idea and altered it.
The impact of strangeness still remains. This otherness,
while not of their own doing, causes the creatures and
those touched by the Mythos to disrupt our universe,
breaking the natural order and laws of reality. Think of
it as a clash between matter and anti-matter with fewer
explosions and more unpredictable side effects. This
creates the ability to find meaning in everything, and
one’s place inside it.
The Mythos is not an evil or enemy pantheon to
be battled by bastions of the light, but rather a traveler
into this dimension and these planets. Its creatures are
boundless. Their Scions’ otherness disrupts non-Mythos
Scions by destroying the very Fate that fuels their actions. What makes a hero? The legend, the tales woven
into history about them, or the actual acts? Mythos
Scions illuminate that moral quandary.
THEMES
Masks of the Mythos, much like the rest of the
books in the Scion series, depicts humans touched by
something greater and more powerful than they are.
They have been gifted, cursed, or born into a mythology waiting for them to make their own paths. While
the core Scion game focuses on bonding these humans
into a group and sweeping others up into their legend;
Masks of the Mythos is about the otherness of power.
MOOD
An atmosphere of uneasiness, eeriness, and menace
should loom over games that include elements of the
Mythos. Scions and mortals grappling with these forces
walk a knife’s edge between the poles of awe and fear,
disruption and resistance, wonder and dread. Despite
this flavor, Mythos forces do not negate the heroic,
mythic storytelling established in the world of Scion.
Scions who are aware of Mythos entities must grapple with the knowledge that humanity’s niche in the
universe is tenuous, a fragile mote swirling in a sea of
overwhelming power. But heroism is not fearlessness.
Courage does not dismiss or ignore threats; it stands
against them despite fear and horror. In this way, Scions
touched by the Mythos have the singular opportunity
to show unfathomable heroism and sacrifice in the face
10
of unfathomable odds. They embrace the hard work of
defending and thwarting and confronting threats from
humans and their Gods, steadfast against the weight of a
perilous cosmos.
Storyguides should use these alien entities to add a
layer of complexity to the Scions’ journeys, a contorted
lens through which they can look, and a specific atmospheric flavor of otherworldly challenges with which
Scions must contend. Unusual or conflicting descriptions
can help evoke this sense of otherness. Words that mask
or obfuscate the horrors are often more effective than a
picture painted in full vivid color. Put details just out of
reach: Shadows passing a window, the sound of scuttling
in a closet, or a whiff of something tenebrous and foul
are unsettling than a full-frame wide shot of some writhing monstrosity. Reveal horrors slowly and indirectly.
Engage the senses in unusual, illogical ways. Try using
synesthesia in description; a smell that is frothy, a color
that is coarse, or a sound that casts shadows. Lean into
the vastness of space and fallibility of the senses.
HOW TO
USE THIS BOOK
M
asks of the Mythos is a sourcebook for Scion:
Origin and Scion: Hero. While the majority of Scion
focuses on real-world mythologies and religions, Masks
of the Mythos is a step off that path into a more fictitious
World. The material presented here is as canonical to an
ongoing Scion campaign as every individual Storyguide
and group wish it to be.
The book includes the information needed to
create Mythos Scions and dive into the dread-soaked
cursed towns that thrive under the insidious nature of
the Mythos. It’s possible for Scions of other deities to
fall under the sway of the Mythos and serve their alien
needs. The threats and encounters in this book have been
balanced to challenge those seeking Demigod-hood, and
the Mythos Scions themselves seeking transcendence.
MEDIA
T
here is a huge volume of possible media to dive into for
a Mythos game. The below are some touchstones for a
fuller understanding of the Mythos, and they can illustrate
how to change it and apply it to your own Scion game.
The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
This novella follows a Black protagonist during
the Harlem Renaissance as he struggles to get by while
caring for his ailing father, enduring racism, and getting
swept up into the Mythos. What choice will he make
INTRODUCTION: THE MYTHOS VS. LOVECRAFT
under the weight of it all? The story explores the racism
and horror tropes from “The Horror at Red Hook.”
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth by Headfirst
Productions with Bethesda Softworks
This video game is one of the best adaptations of
classic Mythos stories in this format. You play as a lone
investigator exploring the town of Innsmouth. During the
exploration and discovery of the Mythos, they must come
face to face with reality and their place in it. It is not a matter of survival but doing the best one can before the end.
The game is known for its difficulty and actual suspense.
Cthulhusattva: Tales of the Black Gnosis by Ruthanna Emrys
This anthology is about enlightenment through
the Mythos and the madness it brings. The book highlights the concept as viewed through the eyes of those
experiencing it rather than combating it. Focus on the
mysticism and how it changes a person.
Get Out by Jordan Peele
This masterful horror film is about racism and objectification. It explores the journey of a Black man who
stumbles into a cult of white suburbanites stealing the
bodies of Black people through weird science.
Hellboy by Mike Mignola
The long-running comic book features a half-demon summoned to Earth from hell as a weapon by Nazis.
Hellboy, rather than wreaking havoc on the world, becomes a paranormal investigator who aids humanity
despite being an outsider. He frequently works with a
group of other outsiders who face Mythos horrors, pulp
adventures, and folklore.
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
An anthology of stories that revolves around Black
characters, touching on different aspects of the Mythos
and race, and how they intersect. It highlights the area in
which Lovecraft’s work frequently occurs.
The Works of H. P. Lovecraft by Howard Phillip Lovecraft
The originator of what we call the Cthulhu Mythos.
Content warning for readers.
Twin Peaks by Mark Frost and David Lynch
A soap-opera drama about the impact and investigation of a murder in a small town. It is an example of
how small-town life can move a story forward with a
constant building undercurrent of the weird. The focus
is not on the weird itself but the impact because of it.
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
A novel about being a descendant from the Mythos,
living among the unawakened world only to be drawn
back in. It plays with the established tropes and subverts
them creating an engaging tale.
Media
11
CHAPTER ONE
MYTHOS
PANTHEONS
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have
within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the
stars to change the world.”
— Harriet Tubman
T
he Great Old Ones are beyond the linear concepts of
time, and their origins cannot be grasped by humanity.
Some walk-through time: created after humanity and
witnessing the birth of the universe at the same instant.
Some exist at every moment and place in the multiverse:
substantial and insubstantial all at once.
entered her toothy maw, for she most resembles a grand
and terrible version of the anglerfish complete with soft,
phosphorescent glow. Though her temple is carved with
the visage of a strong and athletic youth crowned with
laurel, the bacchanalian statues surrounding the temple
belie his trickster nature.
This “pantheon,” as humans have labeled and gendered it, is neither God nor Titan but comprises extradimensional aliens whose horrific otherness warps everything it encounters. Their movements were traced and
linked by humans believing them to be Gods in the form
of others. These aliens do not have defined locations
such as other Gods’ realms. Some reside in Azathoth’s
court, listening to the maddening music; others walk
the Earth, while some lie eternally asleep but
never dying.
In the times before, Albtraum was one of the lesser
Old Ones of R’lyeh, serving under Azathoth. Her voracious appetite for all things unknown eventually saw
her visit The World. But Fatebinding was a powerful deterrent for spending too much time around humans. So,
she sought solace and to learn about The World from the
bottom of the sea to protect herself during dormancy.
From here
she learned about The World,
but
she could not learn about the
land dwellers, so she decided
to bring them to her domain.
Albtraum created hundreds of ivory statues of her likeness out of her
own bones and scattered them to the
currents. She always knows where
these pieces of herself are, and if
someone touches one, she forges a connection immediately.
PRINCIPAL
MEMBERS
T
he Great Old Ones are eternal
and can forever lay dreaming.
Their Calling is like a tide that
seeps in around the fringes of one’s
reality until they are drowning.
They care little for right or wrong,
only their own machinations. The
mad Azathoth reigns supreme
with its servant Nyarlathotep,
executing countless plans in
its name as it slumbers. The
Great Old Ones act through
their Scions by forcing their will
upon them or offering more power
for small, undefinable tasks.
In this way, she learned
everything she needed to know
about humanity. Now, when she
grows lonely — or hungry — she
sends dreams through the talismans
to their owners, drawing them to her.
And when they enter the water, she sends
dolphins to guide their way and protect
their voyage until the person is firmly in her
grasp. By the time they make the voyage, they are completely under her sway, and any with the will to resist
are crushed to dust or turned to statues to decorate his
temple. Those who come quickly and beg for mercy earn
a place in the city dwelling forever in the depths — or a
place in his vast stomach.
ALBTRAUM
Aliases: The Slumbering One, The Caller in the
Wave, The Terror from Below
Albtraum sleeps deep in the south Atlantic Ocean,
in a city hewn directly from the valley floor covered in
Hellenistic friezes, marble pillars, and pristine cobble
paths. This city, often called Atlantis, but possibly a
reflection of R’lyeh, is Albtraum’s home and lair. Few
know what Albtraum looks like, save for those who have
Albtraum does not grace the land and left the other
Mythos Gods long ago. But he reigns free in his underwater city. Scions of Albtraum are beautiful, intelligent,
and obedient — always chosen from those who heed his
call after finding a talisman. Scions from other pantheons may find themselves under Albtraum’s protection
after encountering such a talisman, without ever meeting him in the flesh.
Principle Members
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Callings: Corruptor, Liminal, Trickster
Purviews: Artistry (sculpture), Beasts (dolphins),
Beauty, Water
AZATHOTH
Aliases: Nuclear Firestorm, The Eye of Madness
At the center of infinity, a twisted God slumbers, creating bits of reality from its dreams and destroying them
when it wakes. This is Azathoth, the Demon Sultan of
Chaos, head of the pantheon, dwelling with its court outside time and space. Manifesting as a voracious black hole,
Azathoth is a God who knows only sensation and hunger,
gobbling up anything around it unless placated by a court
of musicians, who beat drums and play airy pipes to soothe
Azathoth’s unrest. When Azathoth begins to awaken, its
attention is attracted to places where the walls between the
Outside and reality are thin, which often manifest as some
sort of opening wherein the viewer can see the eternity of
space and hear the infernal piping of Azathoth’s court.
Azathoth is head of pantheon not because it is
adored, but because it is the most powerful. Universes
are born and destroyed as side effects of its dreams.
Azathoth is the embodiment of the chaotic and destructive nature of the universe but is also the music of the
spheres. Scions of Azathoth are creative and destructive. They might be experimental musicians exploring
new forms of aural expression. Other Scions emulate
Azathoth by being powerful and destructive influences
at the centers of vast organizations. Unable to sate their
appetite for power and chaos, these amoral Scions act
on instinct rather than reason and can manage to rise
to positions of power and influence to the detriment of
everyone around them. Like Azathoth, they surround
themselves with toadying courts of followers who protect the rest of society by placating the Scion.
Among mortals, there are musicians who live in obscurity and squalor who are gifted by Azathoth’s power
with the ability to compose and play exquisitely chaotic
music that at once attracts and placates Azathoth. One
such musician was the cellist Erich Zann, who, according to a firsthand account, would play wild music that
was at was at once magnetizing and loathsome. From
the single window in Zann’s attic apartment, the witness saw outside reality and realized it was Zann’s wild
playing that kept the beings who lived in this place at
bay. The power of Zann’s drive was so great that he continued to play beyond death. Such musicians exist in the
present, playing in small clubs and dive bars to eke out
a living while composing and playing music that saves
humanity during the hours of darkness.
Callings: Adversary, Destroyer, Liminal
Purviews: Artistry (Music), Chaos, Epic Stamina,
Stars, Sun
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BOKRUG
Aliases: The Great Water Lizard and The Lord of
Monsters
Bokrug was the God of the people of Ib, a race of
voiceless humanoids characterized by their bloated, green-skinned flesh; bulging eyes; wide, flapping
mouths; and small, oddly shaped ears. In prehistoric
times, the people of Ib were butchered, their city was
destroyed, and their lands were taken by the humans.
The occupiers built a new city called Sarnath where Ib
once stood and prospered over the next 1,000 years. At
first, the people of Sarnath honored Bokrug, but through
the passing centuries Bokrug’s memory became more
of a humorous jest as people passed on the street. Still,
Bokrug gave the occasional reminder of its presence
by causing the waters of the lake that lay adjacent to
Sarnath to emit a strange glow on the anniversary of Ib’s
destruction.
The Great Water Lizard is a being in tune with and
inhabiting lands dedicated to it. These lands always
contain a swampy body of water and somewhere on
or beneath these lands can be found an idol depicting
the God. Bokrug manifests through these idols when
it is time for the God to rise. It is characterized by the
desire to enact vengeance on behalf of worshipers who
fall victim to those who would take their land, but also
possesses great patience in taking this vengeance. It
sometimes allow many generations to pass before acting against interlopers, but when vengeance comes it is
swift and complete. Strange lights glowing from beneath
the waters in its territories are a sign of Bokrug’s growing wrath and, when these lights are strongest, it is ready
to strike.
Within the Miskatonic Hollow, the deity was believed to have been venerated among Indigenous people
as a spirit of the land. Few European settlers made the
connection between legends about Bokrug from the
Old World to the New and themselves venerated this
little-known deity. Knowledge of Bokrug is scarce and
worship of The Great Lizard even rarer. Still, Bokrug has
affinity for those who are attuned to places once dedicated to it and may choose to manifest through them
to enact vengeance on those who would corrupt these
once-sacred spaces. Scions of Bokrug are avid protectors of the places they call home and all who dwell there
eventually lose their humanity as the power of Bokrug
grows within them. Over time, they take on a reptilian
appearance, with wide mouths, bulging eyes, and small
ears. The most powerful of Bokrug’s Scions can no longer speak any human tongue and become alien even to
those who knew them.
Callings: Guardian, Judge, Leader
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
Purviews: Darkness, Death, Fortune, Moon,
Prosperity, Water, War
GHATANOTHOA
CTHULHU
Ghatanothoa is a giant, chimeric monstrosity with a
form so abhorrent that its mere image can paralyze and
mummify witnesses alive. Those who succumb to its
gaze are forever frozen but remain aware, looking out at
the world from inside the prison of a desiccated body.
Ghatanothoa dwells in an undersea fortress atop the
submerged mountain called Yaddith-Gho, on the sunken continent of Mu. The Muvians treated the entity as a
God, placating the creature over countless generations
with sacrifices to prevent it from seeping out of its nest
and destroying the Earth.
Aliases: Master of R’lyeh, The Slumbering Titan
Cthulhu does not speak directly to his Scions.
How could he? He sleeps, dreaming, and through those
dreams he makes himself known. Communions with the
Old One straddle the line between dream and nightmare,
strange dark curling shapes in deep water. The only
semblance of words they hear are burbling sounds, low
and gurgling, bubbles struggling to rise to the surface.
Scions wake from these encounters gasping for air.
These Scions awaken with an affliction worse after a
shared dream, their bodies soaked, trembling, and the
monstrous visage of Cthulhu temporarily burned into
the underside of their palms, writhing and pulsating
before fading.
The Old One’s purviews, like his dream messages, are
two-sided. His Scions are expert swimmers, but their prowess derives from a fear of being submerged and trapped as
their patron was. His Scions gather close in sleep, empowered by their visions, but are as alone in the waking hours
as anyone has ever been, isolated by the same knowledge
that empowers them. Death is among his purviews, but
for Cthulhu and his Scions, death is as temporary as sleep.
Cthulhu promises awakening of all kinds.
Cthulhu and his Scions are drawn together by
their dreams, both literally and figuratively. Scions of
Cthulhu often feel trapped by circumstance, waiting to
be freed. Cthulhu promises freedom — if they work to
secure his own return. Meanwhile, the Great Dreamer
lives vicariously through them: walking freely with their
feet, seeing the world through their eyes, and sowing the
seeds of revenge with their hands. At times, his Scions
feel him under their skin, cold and sluggish but making
his presence known.
In times of great urgency, Cthulhu can force sleep
on his Scions to impart his desires or knowledge upon
them more immediately. For the Scion, this experience
is not unlike being dragged underwater. The more they
try to tread water and resist, the more overwhelming
their exhaustion — and the more violent their visions.
Cthulhu is especially drawn to people the closer
they live to R’lyeh, where he slumbers. His influence
dwindles as his Scions move further away — but he can
never be shaken. His stride is too great to be outpaced,
and he can always reach his Scions in their dreams.
Soon, he will be able to reach farther, out of dreams and
water and into the waking world.
Callings: Cosmos, Liminal, Monster
Purviews: Darkness, Death, Epic Stamina, Epic
Strength, Health, Water
Aliases: Petrifyer, Burrowing Ooze
The bodies of those who glimpse this horror turn
into leathery corpses, and its image sears into their retinas, imbuing the victim’s eyes with the same Medusalike qualities. Over time, their trapped minds become
twisted with desperation. Reaching out from isolation
spurs many to develop a weak, whispering form of telepathy. Over eons, a psychic network of these mummified
victims has spread across the globe, forming a thoughtcult of nattering corpses that relays messages across
continents. These rantings hint at revenge conspiracies,
of forming a resistance against the alien God, but there
is little hope of any real coordination amid the chorus of
unfocused telepathic blather. Ghatanothoa knows of this
network, and taps into the signal for amusement, like an
eternal radio station that plays concertos of suffering.
Before Mu submerged, Ghatanothoa made enemies
among followers of Shub-Niggurath, namely a high priest
called T’yog who tried to shield themselves against the
entity’s gaze with a magical scroll written on the inner
skin of a lizard, stored inside a cylinder made of metal
from the planet Yuggoth. But Ghatanothoa’s guardians
switched the scroll and thwarted the priest’s attack.
Since that time, followers of both entities have squared
off against each other in far corners of the globe. Neither
Ghatanothoa nor Shub-Niggurath take much notice of
their followers’ rivalry. T’yog believed the scroll could
help defeat the menace of Ghatanothoa and restore the
humans who had fallen under the spell of its gaze. That
scroll is lost to time.
Scions entangled with Ghatanothoa tend to harbor
quiet reflection and introspection. They are thinkers,
keen observers, and valuable collectors of information
and secrets. They sometimes tap into the network of
ceaseless whispering voices for insight. However, listening in on those conversations comes with great risk to
the Scion’s stability.
Callings: Corruptor, Cosmos, Tyrant
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Deception,
Epic Strength
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THE GREENISH FLAME
Purviews: Artistry, Darkness, Deception, Forge,
Journeys
The Greenish Flame is a column of living energy
whose light reveals hidden things and subtly reshapes
the world it illuminates. It takes root in subterranean
reservoirs like wells, springs, or cenotes. Lacking the
ability to move easily, it reaches out to sentient minds,
emanating signals like a psychic beacon. The Flame calls
out to hosts for help providing protection and growing
its power. It has what humans would call rudimentary
intelligence: a seemingly simple reactor core with little
more than self-protective instincts or programming.
But the Flame carries out its higher, more sophisticated
designs over generations and eons, working at a cosmic
pace that makes plans inscrutable to humans.
LORD OF THE GREAT ABYSS
Aliases: Solstice Fire, Uncanny Light, The Gloaming
The Flame can warp reality with its heatless radiation. It bends perception and over time even shapes the
physical realm in its own image. For most, these effects
may be minimal or impossible to detect.
The Flame selects a particular number of hosts
within its range to act as its stewards, maintaining no
more than a few dozen at one time. The stewards build
things. They tear things down. They choose unusual
decorations. The Flame inspires Sisyphean impulses in
these chosen crew members, so each believes they are
acting under their own volition. They may have elaborate personal justifications for the tasks they carry out.
For particular tasks, these jobs are done in a fugue-like
state of waking dreams.
The actions of the stewards may seem eccentric,
obsessive, or even artistic. Some actions appear municipal in nature: digging ditches in the middle of the night,
spray painting strange markers on roads, or braiding
telephone wires. Other activities look more like art installations or amateur science experiments.
The Flame has taken root in many cities on Earth,
particularly those with subterranean networks.
Kingsport, Massachusetts is a notable example.
Like the Flame’s chosen stewards, Scions of the
Greenish Flame can be driven, and singular of purpose
to the point of obsession. They are trustworthy, but they
work hard to gain trust from strangers. They tend to
be playful, affable, flamboyant, or quixotic, but are also
awkward and have trouble fitting in. Their plans and
actions may seem eccentric or even absurd. They give
generously and show kindness, but their help can take
unusual or twisted forms. They hand out and stamp
“loyalty cards” after performing good deeds. The Flame’s
Scions are not always silly, but their good intentions are
often misinterpreted.
Callings: Liminal, Sage, Trickster
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Aliases: Nodens
A parasitic interdimensional construct known as
the Lord of the Great Abyss mimics Gods and other
targets of worship to feed on adoration. The entity
rarely appears in its true form: a lattice of shifting alien
algorithms that can only be perceived as pure thought
with no sensory analog. To manifest a visual form, the
entity probes the deepest corners of its target’s cortex
and projects figures from the host’s mythology, using
images like the luminous lures of angler fish to draw
believers. Some targets perceive entire courts of characters and creatures gleaned from deep neural recesses.
The projections sometimes unravel, allowing underlying structures to peek through. The Lord’s particular
Fibonacci-like pattern often causes humans to interpret
spirals, whorls, helices, or spoked wheels at the entity’s
center. Common visual themes include chariots, seashells, spiral stairways, or the vortices of storms. Some
merely perceive a clamor of strange repeating tones or
unearthly music.
The Lord of the Great Abyss tends to stay anchored
to geographical “power” spots, such as summits, remote valleys, or islands, where it can funnel the paths
of curious seekers. At the top of Kingsport Head in
Massachusetts, one of the entity’s many roosting spots,
residents have observed whole pageants of creatures
from the courts of Nodens and Poseidon, who considers
it an insult. In other parts of the globe, people have witnessed sea queens of island kingdoms, sun Gods in desert canyons, or chariot-riding cherubim on snowy peaks.
Even perceiving the Lord’s tailored, illusory, mythical forms can send witnesses into fits of dream-like
reverie that leave them permanently changed. Followers
usually convince themselves that the Lord’s avatars
are manifestation of deities or myths to which they are
already attached. This is strong medicine. Such visions
can disrupt core pillars of faith and existential stability.
Those under the Lord’s influence must maintain constant self-delusion to ignore and justify glitches that
belie its real form. People who experience this may
appear to grow detached and increasingly despondent
as the mind weighs dull tones of mundane life against
profound feelings of divine bliss and awe.
Scions of the Lord of the Great Abyss are excellent
storytellers or word smiths, embracing paradox and
allegory, walking a line between reality and illusion.
They tend to be seekers and travelers with restless lifestyles. They are excellent mimics. They are convincing.
They deflect. They misdirect. They outrun. They can
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
make nonsense seem like sense — at least for a fleeting
moment.
Callings: Cosmos, Guardian, Trickster
Purviews: Darkness, Deception, Frost, Health
Water
NYARLATHOTEP
Aliases: The Crawling Chaos, The Messenger
Of all the pantheon, Nyarlathotep is most attuned to
humanity. It is not clear whether this is because he finds
humanity interesting, enjoys corrupting those seeking
power beyond themselves, or has some reason beyond
the ken of mere humans. What is clear is that he appears
to people in a multitude of forms and is said to have
1,000 faces. In ancient times he was The Black Pharaoh;
to medieval witches he was The Black Man offering
power in exchange for entering their name in The Black
Book. He is the showman, offering something new and
exciting to people bored with quotidian life. He is the
pseudo-scientist, offering new and outlandish theories
intended to overthrow the consensus truth of the establishment and he is the politician, sowing dissent and
hate. He is a Svengali, presiding over a worshipful cult or
the gullible masses waiting to follow the latest fad and a
movie star, attracting the adoration of millions. He is the
ultimate trickster — he is corruption and deception and
chaos personified. He does it all simply to undermine
what humanity perceives as reality.
It is impossible to provide a description of a typical
manifestation of Nyarlathotep. His avatars are legion,
and he is more easily identified by what he does than by
his appearance. By sowing chaos, he causes those who
are aware of him to suspect anyone with similar traits
of being him. Many a would-be do-gooder has landed in
prison believing they are thwarting the Crawling Chaos,
only to learn that what they thought was a God was a
two-bit con artist. His Scions are similarly challenging
to identify as they have no common characteristic other
than a desire to cause chaos and to deceive. Strangely,
his Scions often work at cross purposes to one another,
creating even greater chaos in the wake of their competing schemes. Knowingly or not, they simply follow the
pattern of their progenitor, who could just as easily play
the part of the crusader against evil combating another
avatar of himself.
Callings: Adversary, Corruptor, Sage
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Deception, Epic
Dexterity, Journeys, Order, Passion, Sky, War
RHAN-TEGOTH
Rhan-Tegoth came to Earth from Yuggoth, a gray
planet of deep, warm seas and sunken cities. It came for
one reason, and one reason only: to feed.
Rhan-Tegoth has no peers, no family, and no friends.
It doesn’t need them. It’s tied to its pantheon, like many
of the Mythos Gods, only through loose association.
Rhan-Tegoth is unlike anything else, and by dint of its
uniqueness, it is more like the other alien beings than
anything from Earth.
Its body is shapeless and ever-shifting, covered in
millions of tiny, squirming filaments tipped with asplike mouths. These are the mouths it uses to feed. Its
face is implied by a loose arrangement of features: a triangle of three bulbous, fishy eyes; two sets of distended,
bulging gills; and a drooping proboscis reminiscent of an
elephant’s trunk or a howler monkey’s nose. Its six limbs
function as both arms and legs and terminate in paws
with black, crab-like claws.
Rhan-Tegoth is used to worship and devotion in
the form of sacrifices. It lives in pursuit of its next meal
but is alarmingly patient. It knows it will eat; it’s only
a matter of when. Rhan-Tegoth doesn’t need speed or
desperation to hunt its prey. Its presence paralyzes its
intended victims with fear and inspires devotion in
others, who proceed to offer worship in the form of
live sacrifices. When confronted with obstacles, RhanTegoth tackles them with single-minded determination
and self-assuredness. There’s no rush. There’s no worry that it might go hungry. It doesn’t matter if its prey
escapes; everything is prey. Everything can and will be
consumed, crushed, and drained dry by Rhan-Tegoth’s
many mouths.
In the ancient Arctic, when Rhan-Tegoth first came
to Earth, it was worshiped by towering, six-limbed
primates. It sat on an ivory throne, awaiting eternal
tribute. Its worshipers gained no special status through
their devotion. Neither do its Scions. With a stroke of
bad luck, even the most devoted follower could become
Rhan-Tegoth’s next meal.
Despite this ever-present danger, Rhan-Tegoth’s
strange brand of self-confidence appeals to its potential
Scions. Rhan-Tegoth attracts the desperate, the hungry. Its Scions may be literally or figuratively starving,
desperate for something material or something more
intangible. Whether acceptance, power, or wealth,
Rhan-Tegoth’s followers draw on its strength to acquire
whatever they desire.
Callings: Hunter, Leader, Torturer
Purviews: Beast, Death, Epic Dexterity, Epic
Stamina, Frost, Passion
Aliases: Terror of the Hominids, She of the Ivory
Throne, The Many Mouthed
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SHUB-NIGGURATH
Aliases: The Black Goat of the Woods with a
Thousand Young, She of Endless Eyes
Shub-Niggurath is the all-mother. It is rumored,
she is the creator and destroyer of all that is nature and
of the Earth. From the largest mountain to the smallest
bacteria, these are her spawn. Not only is everything of
her, she is in everything. There are those that believe she
is the very creator of time, space and all that occupies
it. She is a cosmic being of unknown origin, calling no
particular place home, but is seemingly everywhere at
once. She is worshiped across the stars.
Her devout must be counted in multitudes of multitudes. She transcends divinity. Unlike most of the Gods
in her pantheon, she hears and feels the adulation of
her worshipers and at times even rewards their fealty,
although not always in a manner they understand as one
of appreciation. She may come when summoned but
few are prepared for what her manifestation will beget.
While she may be in this world she is not of this world
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and her presence disrupts things at a cellular level. She
will likely bring with her bounty and fertility and an
unparalleled act of creation: reviving and expanding the
field of a plagued crop, the spontaneous birth of a dozen
calves from a single cow, a forest where before only barren land stood. It is also just as likely that the new field
will strangle the soil for acres all around, killing everything; that some of those calves may have two heads; and
the valley you live in, under those two mountain peaks,
is suddenly one mountain shy.
Little is known of her form, but these facts are true.
Before she is seen, the air becomes thick and clogged
with the smells of earth and grass, loam and rot. She
appears in a dense cloud as if she is surrounded by a
sandstorm. From this could extend tentacles from the
top and four goat-like, hooved legs from the bottom. Her
most dedicated can peer into that storm to make out her
form, but no two accounts are alike. Some say she appears as you wish to see her, or that she merely reflects
yourself back at you. All who have gazed upon her are
either horrified or enlightened.
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
It is not known how many Scions are counted in her
numbers how it is they are chosen, or how their powers
develop. The same innocuous tree, piece of coral, or bacteria that thousands have encountered will change one
individual’s life forever when they touch it. In exchange
for her gifts, all she expects of her Scions are loyalty and
that they protect her children as fiercely as she would.
Callings: Creator, Primeval, Torturer
Purviews: Beast, Earth, Epic Strength, Epic
Stamina, Fertility, Wild
YIG
Aliases: Father of Snakes, Scaled Death
Yig is a nature God affiliated with the Mythos. The
myths surrounding the Father of Snakes claim he is one
of a multitude of such deities. These legends say that all
creatures, including humans, have a parent who count
themselves among Yig’s siblings. Other Mythos deities
tied to nature, such as Shub-Niggurath, are affiliated
with Yig and his siblings. The whereabouts of these
beings is unknown, and it is possible that Yig is the sole
survivor of this family simply because people continue
to venerate him out of fear of his children. Yig views
all snakes as his children and takes terrible vengeance
on those harm them. While more widely known in the
Southwestern United States and Mexico, worship of
Yig occurs anywhere snakes are present. Yig has several
forms. To humans he is an imposing, hairless, man with
mottled skin. His features bely his origins as even in this
form he possesses large fangs and eyes with vertical slits.
—Among his children, he appears as an extraordinarily
large specimen of the species he is visiting. These visits
are rare.
According to tales and superstitions told by colonizers of the great plains, some tribes used ceremonial
drumming and other rituals, including charms as a
means of propitiating Yig for accidental harm they may
have done to his children. These rituals usually occurred
in the late summer and fall as Yig was known to take his
vengeance around the time his children began to congregate in their winter dens. Those who did not practice
Principle Members
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these rituals or failed to find Yig’s forgiveness found
themselves under the sway of the Curse of Yig: an effect
whereby the victim slowly transforms into a snakelike
creature “gifted” with long life.
The most learned occult scholars know that veneration of Yig predates humanity, going back to the hidden
people — the civilization of K’n-yan — who arrived on
Earth with Cthulhu and lived on the surface when the
world was young. This hidden race now lives deep beneath the surface in a subterranean world of decadence
and boredom.
Scions of Yig are uncommon. They are known for
their dispassionate, rational natures. Each Scion tends
to take on the aspects of a specific snake species, at first
manifesting attributes of that species in human form before eventually obtaining the ability to transform into a
snake. These Scions are not harbingers of cosmic horror
like others in the pantheon and are similar in motivation
and outlook to non-Mythos deities.
Callings: Hunter, Leader, Warrior
Purviews: Beasts (Snakes), Earth, Epic Dexterity,
Fertility, Wild
YOG-SOTHOTH
Aliases: Iagsat, The Beyond-One, Unlocking, Entity,
Supreme Archetype
Yog-Sothoth is a being of immense power that
dwells in interstitial spaces outside the reach of human
perception. When it takes form in the terrestrial realm,
a giant roiling cluster of glowing spheres materializes
— growing, shrinking, and metastasizing, a protoplasmic mass that undulates with dizzying speed. It opens
abrasions in reality that spark fits of lightning, issue an
unbearable stench, and peal foreboding shrieks from
earth and sky.
Many Mythos sorcerers are drawn to Yog-Sothoth’s
ability to bridge profound distances or scry into unearthly worlds and dimensions. The entity is both
gateway and key to alien realms. Those who call on its
power to peek through cosmic keyholes also invite the
Unlocking to manifest in The World. Direct contact with
this being causes distortion of living flesh and hastens its
destruction.
With the help of sorcerers, Yog-Sothoth has been
known to beget hybrid offspring with human hosts.
Sometimes the progeny is humanoid, though they mature at an unusual rate and show strange characteristics,
such as elongated or hircine features. Other offspring
become formless entities invisible to human sight that
grow enormous as they slake a voracious appetite for
“Earth meat” — human flesh.
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Contact with Yog-Sothoth erodes the illusion of individual consciousness, imparting an expanded view of
sentient beings as part of a larger alien whole. The entity
has been known to swap minds of sentient beings for
unknown purposes. The crusty, fungoid Mi-Go worship
the entity as the embodiment of linked, faceted minds
that work with a singular purpose.
Scions under Yog-Sothoth’s influence stand in the
doorway to perilous knowledge of the universe and the
mysteries of its clockwork. Expanded perspective gives
Scions an aura of outward calm and casts them as anchors in times of crisis, stalwart in the eye of a storm.
But on the inside, Scions experience a constant sense of
unease as they stave off visions of the frothing, iridescent
slipstream. They offer a quiet comfort to those around
them, while grappling with the unsettling awareness of
the insignificance of mortal busywork. To function, they
suppress the fullness of their perspective and shield
those who are unprepared to cope. Flashes of insight
about past and future shine through the keyholes. This
allows them to react with uncanny reflexes, and to intuit
correlations of cause and effect.
Callings: Judge, Liminal, Sage
Purviews: Epic Dexterity, Epic Strength, Epic
Stamina, Journeys, Order, Stars
THE KING IN YELLOW
Aliases: The Amber Aristocrat, Inspired Madness,
The Stoic Patron
The origins of the King in Yellow are shrouded in
mystery. There is no formal church dedicated to the
King and his worshipers are few and scattered. The King
in Yellow is a trickster and corruptor known for laying
low the proud and destroying the minds of decadent
artists. The most well-known reference to the King in
Yellow is his namesake play. Readers of the play are driven mad by the content and see visions of death — usually
their own — and die within a matter of days. The King in
Yellow is most often described as a figure wearing a multihued and tattered mantle and a pallid mask. In other
accounts, what appears to be a horrid mask is the King’s
true visage. Others see the King as death, dressed all in
black with pale flesh. He is sometimes known to visit
new victims through servants who may be the animated
corpses of previous victims.
Cults dedicated to the King in Yellow are often led
by a jaded artist or aesthete attempting to either find an
original copy of the play or trying to translate the play
to another medium. The advent of the motion picture
led to multiple attempts to adapt the play to the screen
and rumors fly about secret, underground viewings of
these films that bring death and madness to those who
see them.
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
The King in Yellow selects Scions from among
those who are artistic, morbid, or possess a flair for grim
and ironic justice. Scions are often found among artists
where they inspire them to new heights of avant-garde
art that challenges consensus morality. They also corrupt those who pretend at morality and expose their
hypocrisy. After receiving a Visitation from the King,
his Scions are forever changed. The sight of the King in
Yellow’s true face drives many to death, but those who
survive become Scions of the King and use their awakened powers to invoke madness in others. Scions of the
King are also attracted to those with power who lack
responsibility, tempting them into ever-greater lapses in
judgement until they destroy themselves.
Callings: Corrupter, Leader, Trickster,
Purviews: Artistry, Chaos, Death, Deception,
Fortune, Health, Journeys
MYTHOS PATH
Path Skills: Academics, Occult
Virtue: Humanity vs. Nihilism
Mythos Scions know humanity’s efforts are all in
vain. Whether they’re doomed or ascend to Godhood,
everything is fruitless. Yet, there is a drive for knowledge
to fight against the hopelessness that the next discovery
may change the course of the universe or provide one
more good day.
Signature Purview: Arcane Calculus
Knowledge at all costs, regardless of risk for universal truth, is at the heart of a Mythos Scion. The dangers
associated it with mean nothing aside from how it can
expand one’s comprehension.
COSMOLOGY
A
lien entities of the Mythos spawn from home worlds
scattered across vast distances, dimensions, and eons.
Trying to imagine the scale and ubiquity of these beings
in the cosmos is enough to induce existential vertigo.
Otherworldly creatures that happen to intersect with the
infinitesimal mote of sand called Earth account for only
the barest sample that inhabit spheres of the omniverse.
Waves of Mythos forces colonized Earth hundreds
of thousands of years before the arrival of humans. Elder
Things established cities in Australia, Hyperborean civilizations rose and fell, and the continents of Atlantis and
Mu reached apex and then slunk beneath the inky seas
— all before humanity took its first toddling steps. Many
of these alien species originate from Earth. Humans are
the newcomers in this celestial neighborhood.
It is crucial in Mythos storytelling to portray the
entities’ overall lack of malice or care toward humankind and other sentient races. Humans with knowledge
of the Mythos have long tried to jam these entities into
hierarchical structures, putting cosmic sovereigns like
Azathoth on top of a pyramid, with courtiers and followers like Deep Ones lined up along lower tiers, all
lording over less powerful species down below. These
are human concepts. Entities in the Mythos pantheon
are not fixated on taxonomy or rigid power structures.
Rumors of things like alien pedigrees, family trees, rivalries, and allies are often only petty projections of human
observers trying to make sense of a boundless miasma
that defies sense and consistency.
Rather than talk about rulers and subordinates, it’s
useful to think of Mythos entities operating at different
scales of power and dimension, like the energy levels of
electrons or celestial bodies in concentric orbits.
At the most expansive levels, an entity like Azathoth
operates on a galactic scale. Its realm is that of black
holes, dark matter, and globular nebulae. Yog-Sothoth,
as a gateway between dimensions and meeting point of
many cosmic spheres, inhabits gigantic interdimensional
domains. Other entities such as Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa,
and Rhan-Tegoth operate on a solar-system level. They
are unnervingly large compared to humankind but can
still reasonably exist on the planet’s surface.
Beings such as the Elder Things, Mi-Go, or Deep
Ones work at a near-human scale, forming their own
analogs of civil life, society, arts, sciences, and plans that
parallel those of humankind — though such similarities
are mostly illusory. Mythos forces carry out specific
plans, fostering their own goals, but their intentions are
oblique compared to those of their human counterparts.
The reactions of fungiform Mi-Go might appear angry or
vengeful when explorers uncover one of their terrestrial
mining operations. Resulting violence may be interpreted as murderous rage and cruelty from a human point of
view, but those actions could just as easily be described
in terms of a gardener eliminating weeds, or a beekeeper
maintaining a hive.
The incongruity of scale provides opportunities for
Storyguides to exploit. There is an uncanniness about
Mythos intrigue. At the human scale, Mythos Scions,
cults, and sorcerers wielding eldritch powers ascribe
human-like intentions on alien actors. Scion legends
unfold in human terms, and assumptions and misunderstandings humans make about the Mythos can enrich
the drama.
Mythos Path | Cosmology
21
DISRUPTION
T
he Mythos changes everything it touches, on physical,
psychological, and interdimensional levels. From a
10,000-light-year view, the disruption of the Mythos is
like static disturbing a signal or wind in trees. Entities
working within the larger spheres of operation harbor no
malice and do not send diabolical villains to thwart the
best aspects of mankind. But humans do not see things
from light years away. They see things through a myopic
lens that favors their attachments and norms. That’s why
disruption is so often misinterpreted, and so often taken
personally. There are indeed plenty of ground-level threats
spawned from Mythos realms, such as Deep Ones, Mi-Go,
or Serpent People, whose affairs often overlap and clash
with that of humanity.
It is disruptive to open the doors of awareness into
vistas of strange new worlds, of alien creatures with unfathomable goals, and creatures that do not conform to the
laws and codes of humanity. Those who learn and adapt
to these new cosmic perspectives may find the knowledge
causes them to drift, unfettered from prior assumptions,
while becoming a little more alien themselves. It is disruptive to begin seeing oneself as a stranger in one’s home.
This can make people feel more like the alien entities
about which they’ve learned. The disruption causes new
behaviors. It inspires people to act on new knowledge,
even before they begin to grasp it. The mental disruption of these changes is undeniable. Confronted with the
knowledge that Mi-Go are keeping human brains inside of
canisters, a person could recoil at the idea of a consciousness trapped in isolation or begin to question the very
relationship between mind and body. Alien knowledge
disturbs values and anchor points of faith. It shakes the
ground and knocks a person off balance.
The Mythos also impinges on the workings of human society. Humanity tries to exploit new and alien
energies, technologies, and resources, which disrupts
the flow of history and the path of humankind. Subtle
shifts in power can exert profound destabilizing effects.
Mythos entities can deplete resources or create new
ones and change climates or economies with little levers
of influence. Human responses to such microscopic
shifts can upset delicate social and geopolitical equilibriums. A Color Out of Space may land in a farmer’s field
and fertilize bumper harvests for the year, but it could
also spark suspicions among neighbors, a collapse of
local economics, and fan the flames of a town’s political
rivalries. Disruption rarely comes without costs. Gains
and losses are always applied unevenly.
At the highest levels, the Mythos can even rupture
the thin fabric of human understanding. From fissures
in time and space to transference of minds across eons,
the disruption of electrons in their orbits, and planetary
22
bodies that veer out of their Newtonian ellipses, Mythos
forces have the power to upset the very foundations of
known reality. They leave traces behind. The opening of
a dimensional gate in a forest leaves the area changed
long after it’s closed. The eldritch residue of a meteorite
begins a process of decay that turns whole communities
slowly, inexorably into dust.
Scions, by nature, adapt more gracefully to the
disruption than others. They have exceptional talents
for integrating, holding paradoxes, and compartmentalizing. These abilities help them interpret and adapt on
behalf of others. They channel and redirect the effects
of Mythos disruption in the world. Their dual nature, as
both human and alien, can be a force to help mitigate
the disturbances on humanity. But this dual nature and
affinity with alien powers can just as easily become weaponized. In some ways, Mythos Scions are distinct from
other Scions in the breadth of their agency, because they
do not always receive clear guidance about the impact
of their powers on humanity, or how best to manage the
consequences of disruption.
MYTHOS PLACES
M
any Mythos antagonists spawn from home worlds
or realms of their own. From Earth, such remote
locations may be accessible via star-spanning gateways,
astral projection, dreams, spells, or alien technology. These
worlds function much like other Terra Incognitae, shirking
known physical laws, replete with weird phenomena, and
only reachable by means of mythic mystery. Most differ
from typical Terra Incognitae of human myth because
they are physical planets with gravity, atmospheres, and
surface features that are consistent with known physics.
Exceptions include the Dreamlands and other realms that
stem more from myth and imagination than the physical
realm. The following is only a handful of the worlds
to which Mythos entities may be connected. This list
serves as examples of the range and variety of off-world,
interdimensional settings that Storyguides could build on.
You can find more in Appendix Two, p. 166.
Elderian Home Planet
Elder Things have visited hundreds of planets across
the cosmos and seeded them with life. These beings
have spawned so widely that it would be near impossible to tell which planet is their true home world, though
some humans under their influence have been drawn to
a spot in Earth’s sky that lies between the constellations
of Hydra and Argo Navis.
Kythanil
A double planet that formerly orbited the red giant
star Arcturus (in the Herdsman constellation of Earth),
where a race of formless gaseous creatures worship
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
unknown alien entities that now dwell in subterranean
Earth. Kythanil could only be reached with the help of a
powerful interdimensional entity such as Yog-Sothoth.
hastily construct illusions, like the forests of towering
corkscrew spires some survivors have described, to navigate the realm in hopes of escape.
Yaddith
Dreamlands
Near the star Deneb in Earth’s sky, five multicolored
suns shine on the surface of the planet of Yaddith, which
is infested with giant worm-like creatures that smaller,
scholarly inhabitants with snout-like noses keep at bay
using magical spells. The snouted people built towering
cities of metal and explored dozens of galaxies using
remote projection and vessels that travel on light waves.
These spacecraft may be discovered stashed in remote
terrestrial locations, though launching and operating
them requires inhuman insight or instruction.
One of the strangest of the Mythos Terra Incognitae,
this is a realm accessible mostly through lucid dreams,
shaped by the imagination of inhabitants across the
omniverse. It features expansive cities and landscapes
formed by dreamers from all realms. They forge islands,
continents, and kingdoms according to their own fantastic images. There are a few physical gateways through
perilous subterranean tunnels or remote secret locations, but the most common way to get there is through
dream casting or fever nightmares. Unlike alien planetary
realms, the Dreamlands only adhere to their own internal
and subjective logic and are only bounded by the limits
of the minds that shape them. Time passes very slowly
there. A dreamer’s single day on Earth can span lifetimes
in this realm. Willfully shaping the Dreamlands is only
possible after many years of disciplined practice.
Yith
The trans-galactic home world of the mind-swapping, precognitive Yithians, this world was dying when
the so-called Great Race embarked to colonize new
worlds and landed on Earth eons before terrestrial life
began. They were ousted from Earth by Flying Polyps.
The planet of Yith may not still exist, but through timeand mind-bending powers its enormous mountain ranges and abysmal canyons may yet be seen again. Humans
can reach Yith by changing places with alien minds, a
process that not only results in an unforgettable visit
to a spectacular remote planet but invites the mind of a
Yithian to visit Earth.
Yuggoth
A planet in an irregular orbit of the outer solar system beyond Neptune that has served as a stopover for
many Mythos entities, including Nyarlathotep, RhanTegoth, and the Mi-Go — which dwelled there in cities
of windowless, tiered towers of black stone above canals
of dark pitch-like liquid that flows under gigantic bridges. The planet is sometimes conflated with Pluto, which
is much smaller and does not have the Yuggoth’s strange
ability to repel astronomical measurements from Earth.
Mi-Go have sent a few humans to visit Yuggoth, by way
of remote psychic projection, to expand their minds or
expose them to sudden mental shocks.
Tindalos
This interdimensional realm has been compared
to myths of deep underworld realms such as Tartarus,
Patala, Niflhel, or Alam Ghaib. In the Mythos, it is a
transitionary time-space realm that links all parts of the
omniverse and allows the temporal guardian Hounds
of Tindalos to span great distances and eras of time.
It is a realm of incomprehensible noumena for those
who are not adapted to its strangeness. Scions or other
humans who slip into Tindalos confront a world of impossible angles and intervals, though their minds might
MYTHOS BIRTHRIGHTS
CREATURES
Terror from Beyond: Indescribable winged horrors
from outside space and time capable of ferrying a rider.
FOLLOWERS
Cultist: Numerous human zealots waiting to carry out the whims of the Great Old Ones, frequently in
hopes of power.
Ghouls: Cunning cannibalistic canine humanoid
creatures that operate in packs.
RELICS
Amulet of Leng
The Amulet of Leng is made of green jade and depicts the symbol of the corpse-eating cult of Leng. It is a
representation of a winged hound atop a skull. A strange,
indecipherable script adorns the amulet just below the
figure. A Mythos Scion who dies while wearing the amulet can eventually return to a semblance of life. The amulet attracts those who are of a ghoulish mindset: grave
robbers, death cults, and perhaps even archaeologists.
Erich Zanns Viol
The viol is a simple, yet high-quality, cello-like instrument found in a battered case. Playing it released
chaotic music out through time and space to the Court
Mythos Birthrights
23
of Azathoth and kept the Sultan of the Gods pacified at a
cost to the musician.
Idol of Bokrug
Consecrating lands and waters to Bokrug involves
placing a statue of the deity on the land and worshiping Bokrug through this representation. Long after the
people who placed the statue die off, the statue remains
and maintains Bokrug’s influence even though these
once-sacred lands may be under the physical control of
others. Mythos Scions may use these statues to reaffirm
Bokrug’s dominance and take back control of its lands.
Necronomicon
The Al-Azif was penned by Abdul Alhazrad in Arabic
during the eighth century. The Al-Azif contained all universal knowledge and truth. The original tome was lost
centuries ago after being translated into Greek and became
known as the Necronomicon. Dozens of other translations
endured as the Greek was also lost. Latin translations and
fragments of an English translation are tucked away in various libraries and collections worldwide.
Each translation of the Necronomicon lost more
and more Awareness. The most common intact versions
are in Latin and can be found at various universities,
including Miskatonic University’s Orne Library. The
quality and content of these vary, and it may be possible
to gain access to additional information by comparing
different copies. The most common are the fragments of
the John Dee English translation. This book was never
bound or published and scattered when Dee’s personal
library was plundered. Fragments usually contain a single Boon.
RELATIONSHIPS
M
ythos Scions, like traditional Scions, are distinguished
by their relationships to others. The bond between
Mythos entity and Scion is crucial, but unconventional.
Relationships among Mythos forces are strange and
incomprehensible, but they still provide plenty of building
blocks for drama and mythic narrative. Indifference is
a key theme of Mythos realms, but that does not mean
Scions, entities, or adversaries lack any of the bonds,
animus, or alliances that contribute to vital stories. Evoking
idiosyncrasies of these relationships is a key ingredient in
the flavor of a Masks of the Mythos game.
SCIONS AND
MYTHOS ENTITIES
The relationship between a Mythos entity and their
Scion is unusual. Scions and traditional Gods share
24
bonds that often have clear familial overtones, but the
link between Mythos and Scion also reflects the strangeness of alien forces at work. Human Scions may project
parental qualities onto their sponsor, and the alien entity
may emulate human family bonds to help make the interaction work. But the bond is also defined by irreversible and potent changes of perspective, form, and reality
itself. In human mythology, analogous strange relationships crop up in stories of the twins Romulus and Remus
of Rome, raised by their wolf mother, or in the unknown
beasts who raised Enkidu, sidekick of Gilgamesh. Their
family ties are between wild forces and Scions who are
human but changed by an inhuman parent.
Mythos entities, like warm sunlight or an angry
thunderstorm, can seem to show qualities of care or
fury, but their true nature is that of elemental forces
that do not conform to human bonds. A Mythos-Scion
relationship may seem like that of other Gods and Scions
on the surface, but there will always be an uncanniness
about the connection. When the illusion lifts, even for a
moment, the effect can be disconcerting.
Whether Mythos Scions are Born, Created, Chosen,
or Incarnate, the Mythos entity involved comes from
outside conventional myth. Communication between
Scion and entity is peppered with occasional awkward moments. Some entities have learned how to
interact more gracefully with the human world, such
as Nyarlathotep. Their relationships may more closely
mimic parental roles for their Scions. Roiling cosmic
entities like Azathoth or Yog-Sothoth navigate human
contact clumsily, barely able to conceal their alienness
and sometimes presenting a farce of human relationships. They exist at much higher levels of energy, and the
subtle nuances of human interaction are beyond them.
Visitations from entities can leave a Scion confused and shaken instead of comforted and supported.
Filtered through a Scion’s understanding of human
relationships, Mythos Visitations may feel volatile or
nonsensical, marked by dizzying shifts in the conversation and charged with conflicting tones and emotions.
But despite the off-kilter interactions, humans have a
talent for finding moments of kindness in chaos. Mythos
Scions are those who are best suited among humanity to
rationalize strangeness and integrate cosmic knowledge
into their beliefs without falling apart. The essential
bond between Mythos entity and Scion is durable, and
a Scion can learn to adapt to the challenges of a fickle
God. The strangeness strengthens the bonds, like that
of a child who understands an eccentric parent better
than any other person in the world. They are forever
intertwined, even if each side has a completely different
understanding of the relationship.
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
AMONG SCIONS
Mythos Scions share a common expanded cosmic
perspective and effects of Transcendence. No matter
which entities sponsor their unique abilities in the
world, they become more sensitive to otherworldly energies of the Mythos and have the ability to detect others
whose natures are touched by alien forces.
Despite this link, Mythos Scions are not automatically unified by common goals, nor are they natural adversaries. They share the bond of life-shaking encounters, and their footing on the slopes of mundane reality
is unsteady. They are as likely to aid, oppose, or ignore
each other as any other Scion. However, when Mythos
Scions meet, they share a palpable sense of common difference from the rest of the world. What Scions do about
this shared aura of otherness is up to them.
AMONG MYTHOS
The entities of the Mythos each function in the universe at different scales. When they come into conflict,
or in the rare cases when they work in concert, their relationships tend to be forged by convenience or territorial rivalry. According to passages in the Necronomicon,
Yig and Nyarlathotep have clashed, possibly due to the
latter’s apocalyptic leanings. Bas reliefs in Antarctic
lairs recount wars among Elder Things and Star Spawn,
Mi-Go and Yithains, as well as their own genetically
engineered Shoggoths. The Mi-Go’s voracious search
for new mining resources caused them to square off
against many Mythos forces that oppose them. In many
cases, human cults that serve these entities are prone to
come in conflict for the same reasons religious groups
have fought each other across human history. Sorcerers
of Shub-Niggurath plotted against Ghatanothoa and its
caretaking minions, yet the two entities scarcely noticed the petty conflicts of their followers. Since these
skirmishes are fleeting, Storyguides should not be constrained by rivalries established in previous Mythos stories. It may be more useful to think of entities as spots of
mold that crowd each other on the surface of an orange,
competing viruses that infect livestock, or parasitic larvae that control the brains of certain ant species.
TRADITIONAL GODS
Other pantheons that come in contact with Mythos
entities regard them with wariness if not extreme caution. Traditional Gods begin with no more insight about
the Mythos than mortal humans. Reactions to their
first discovery range from fascination and curiosity to
violence and panic. Pantheons may decide these cosmic
forces need to be walled off and suppress knowledge of
them with taboos. Others could try working with them,
to adapt to their existence. Over eons, some may find a
workable, if uneasy, equilibrium. Pantheons that depend
on strict cosmic laws see those rules bent or broken.
Pantheons that have Gods with cosmic knowledge, such
as Geezhigo-Quae of the Manitou or Benzaiten of the
Kami, could be assets in forging favorable relationships.
One thing is sure — awareness of Mythos entities will
challenge the cosmology of any pantheon.
There are several entities that are so powerful and
outside the realm of understanding that humans can
only describe them as Gods. Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath,
Yog-Sothoth, and the true form of Nodens operate at
thermonuclear levels of energy. In physical form, quasars or worm holes are more closely related to them than
any creature on Earth. But because of their consciousness and sapience, they transcend even such awe-inspiring cosmic phenomena. Humans are hard pressed to see
them as anything other than Gods. Giant, alien Old One
beings like Cthulhu or Ghatanothoa inspire awe and are
treated as Gods by earthlings, but others may also see
them as giant monsters. Conscious aliens that live in the
liminal space between dimensions like Yog-Sothoth, or
the nuclear chaos of Azathoth, have no better human
word to describe them than God. Their interactions
with humanity are often mediated through some kind of
proxy or avatar.
The alien creatures of the Mythos may attract and
exploit human followers, but they are different than the
standard parental figures of divine symbolism and myth.
One represents a renewal of ties with pantheons that
many have abandoned in the modern world. Traditional
Scions rediscover divine relationships. Mythos Scions
explore relationships with alien forces that humanity is
mercifully unaware of. Traditional Gods and humanity
are defined by each other, whether they are projections
of faith or sources of spiritual power. Mythos entities
defy earthly definition.
Mythos entities could very well come in conflict
with traditional Gods where both compete for human
followers and worship. Much like relationships among
Mythos entities, the aliens’ concerns about traditional
Gods are likely fleeting, rather than drawn-out rivalries
or warfare. Cooperation between traditional Gods and
Mythos forces is unlikely and rare, but such collisions
could spawn unique story lines.
TITANS VS. THE OLD ONES
Titans and titanspawn differ significantly from
Old Ones. Both have primordial, pre-human roots, and
both stand as outsiders compared to the mythic realm
of Gods and Heroes. But while Titans are bound to The
World and its elemental nature, Old Ones stem from
cosmic forces outside any earthly understanding. Titans
often represent a fierce natural order, possibly violent,
but not malevolent. Mere contact with Old Ones begins
to unravel such earthly notions of balance, elemental
Relationships
25
structure, and permanence in The World. Humans often
regard Old Ones as Gods because they have no other
framework in which to place them. Any divinity humans
perceive is just an illusion to preserve the boundaries of
fragile and finite minds.
Mythos entities share many qualities that are ascribed to Titans. They have ancient, primordial origins
that predate human myths. They appear to be in conflict with the precepts of religion and undermine the
notion of pantheons entangled in the machinations of
humanity. The term “monster” describes them more
accurately than Gods. But the difference is that Mythos
entities are not a counterweight to balance the mythic
reality of Gods. They are not sides of the same coin; they
are an entirely different currency made of alien metals.
Unlike Titans, Mythos entities are not trapped or suppressed by Gods, and are not dependent on them. The
very existence of Mythos beings threatens the tenets of
traditional pantheons.
Mythos entities may find opportunities to exploit
Titans and titanspawn to further their particular goals.
Mythos creatures often find temporary value in human
worship and adoration, usually for some secondary strategic purpose. They may see the fear and power Titans
have over humanity as a tool for manipulating earthly
realms, in the way a gardener uses pesticides and fertilizer to shape a landscape. Mythos entities that revel
in chaos, like Nyarlathotep, could also exploit the relationship between Gods and Titans to sow confusion and
disorder. Titanomachy is a tempting plaything for those
who might benefit from disrupted equilibrium.
CULTS
Tales of shadowy figures dressed in robes with
secret hideouts and altars hidden deep in ,the woods,
chanting and sacrificing by torch light — these notions
are millennia old. Then there are the helpful, protective
cults: once-again hooded figures, traveling the world,
sabotaging attempts to unearth the ancient and sacred.
They are individuals on quests to protect a person, place,
or thing that will ensure a prophecy and save their people. This may be what springs to mind when you hear
the word, but the truth is those stereotypes are your
grandfather’s cult.
Many groups that worship Mythos entities are
mired in self-delusion. Rituals, worship, and acts of faith
devoted to Mythos creatures are rarely reciprocated
with favors or attention. This stems from the otherness
of Mythos beings, which are operating at such different
scales of time and dimension that the nattering and
mundanity of humankind fails to register against the
colossal timpani of their senses.
26
But cosmic indifference doesn’t mean the entities
have no occasion to manipulate or draw power from human devotees. Eldritch forces pursue plenty of goals and
plots of their own, but they remain inscrutable to human
intelligence. In the case of cults focused on Mythos
Scions, humans find a welcome translator for the strange
forces at work. That puts Scions in the absurd position of
having to make it up as they go along, as interpreters of a
fully idiosyncratic language or liaisons between devoted
human throngs and aloof masters. That also puts Scions’
feet on precarious ethical terrain. Due to the nature of
the Mythos, there is a great danger of sowing confusion
and misdirection among followers or tipping good intentions over into destructive ones.
Cults are savvy, technological, sometimes-global
industries that take advantage of everything modern
society has to offer. Cultists have day jobs. Sometimes
being in the cult is their day job. Corporations, large and
small, are some of the best, most efficient ways to run a
covert organization. Generally, people just do their jobs
and don’t ask why. You don’t have to know you are in the
cult to actually be in the cult.
In our alienated, fragmented world, recruiting
couldn’t be easier. Flash mobs, Facebook groups, online
video game guilds, factions or clans waging perpetual
war — Azathoth doesn’t care whether the violence is real-life or virtual. Reality shows feature groups of people
sharing secrets, reinventing social norms, breaking them
down, and then weeding them out. Which contestant
will our lucky star choose to marry? Can this arranged
marriage last? Who will manage to stay on the island?
Mythos cults fall into the same categories as all human cults, though Covens, Family Traditions, Mystery
Societies, Reliquarians, Social Clubs, and Temples are
particularly well suited for groups devoted to Mythos
Scions. Many of the Mythos cults are focused on collecting and uncovering knowledge of the Mythos, and
the nature of that knowledge will tighten its grip on the
minds of the curious. There are several other subtypes
that gather around Mythos forces.
BOOKHOUNDS
Because so much of the ancient knowledge of the
Mythos is contained in moldy tomes, collecting such
work becomes the obsession of some groups. They tend
to be connected with vast, global networks of collectors,
linguists, and experts who also seek the same knowledge. A particular group may be focused on hunting one
particular edition of a book, or a set from a particular
author. They share qualities of other Historian cults.
FRINGE SCIENTISTS
Some cults find the door to Mythos knowledge
through the sciences, gathering around an unusual
CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS
theory or by original experimentation of their own. They
form societies, often connected through digital means,
that share findings and build caches of evidence about
the unnatural world. They may be professional scientists
who conduct research anonymously, or shunned professors who find a way to operate outside of conventional
work. Those devoted to Scions may see them as superhuman, or as specimens whose example may unlock
further mysteries.
EXPLORERS
These groups are highly motivated and tend to be
well-resourced, with access to equipment, grants, and
funding for quests for Mythos sites, buried artifacts, or
even dimensional gates to other worlds. They may be
anything from marine-wreck salvage divers or spelunkers to private space-travel firms. Their interest in Scions
and the Mythos lies in the ability to expand frontiers of
space and mind.
power of a Scion and become enthralled. Police, detectives, bereaved loved ones of the lost, white-hat hackers,
activists, seekers of supernatural proof, or virtually any
group seeking answers to a burning question may find
themselves accidentally in contact with forces or entities they can’t explain away. These groups may galvanize
around those experiences, or they may send them spinning off in different directions. A Scion may find themselves taking on the role of caretaker of those who have
witnessed greater mysteries than they were ready to see.
GREATEST WEAKNESS
The Great Old Ones are immensely powerful and
unstoppable. Their plans may be thwarted, but they are
slowly moving toward victory. However, their unknowable plans run counter to each other more often than
not, making them their own worst enemies and providing unlikely allies. Their battles against each other keep
them distracted cycle after cycle.
SLEUTHS
There is a wide range of inquiry that could drive a
group to stumble on Mythos knowledge or witness the
Relationships
27
CHAPTER TWO
CHARACTER
CREATION
“People have the right to call themselves whatever they like. That
doesn’t bother me. It’s other people doing the calling that bothers me.”
— Octavia E. Butler
Masks of the Mythos characters come from all walks of life, with some embracing their abilities and others
fearing the horror they see coming. The Mythos entities lurk in shadows, just out of sight, but their touch is eternal
and with lasting implications. Some consider themselves chosen and others cursed; most never receive a Visitation
or any guidance before their nature begins changing the world around them.
Some are raised to become heroes, other villains, but all walk their own path — or the illusion of one until their
Old One parent requires a service.
SCION ORIGIN
VERSUS HERO
Masks of the Mythos is tailored
toward Origin or Hero Scions. For
Origin Scions ascending to Hero,
follow the guidance on Scion:
Hero, p. 171.
READY-MADE CHARACTERS
If you are looking to dive directly into a horror-soaked investigative journey into the Mythos, no need to wait.
The book contains five Ready-Made Scions of different Great Old Ones and backgrounds to enable speedy play.
Ready-Made Characters
29
Quote: “…”
Leena was born and raised in Athens, Greece. Her parents moved to
Tampa, Florida when she was 17 and she choose not to move with them,
staying instead with her aunt Phoebe, who ran a boat-tour company with
her husband. Leena wasn’t particularly interested in marine life or boating, but Phoebe pushed to be able to join her on boat tours.
Leena was more interested in the tourists who made their way to the
city and, of course, their money. What started as simple flirtations
used to get someone to buy her a drink or an expensive gift turned
into elaborate cons. She eventually met her match in Daraja
Mohammad, an international art thief from Lagos. Daraja seduced
Leena with her extravagant lifestyle and easygoing attitude. Leena
lost sight of her own con as she became more entangled in Daraja’s
illicit trade. Leena started using her aunt’s boating business to
smuggle stolen art and artifacts between buyers and sellers. Daraja
took Leena on whirlwind trips across the world, which often ended
in Leena using her well-honed con-artist skills to steal important
pieces.
Daraja had other motives, as she was deeply interested in the arcane
and otherworldly. Her personal art collection included a surprising number of religious relics, such images of the Gods from various pantheons,
and at least one magical Relic. Leena was unduly interested in Daraja’s
personal collection, and the woman gifted her lover with a tiny marble
bust of what appeared to be a Grecian boy with a crown of laurels. Leena
treasured the gift and vigorously investigated its origins. She was surprised to find little to no information on the piece, including who the
bust was supposed to represent. What her investigations did reveal
was that this was not a lone piece, and at least a dozen others had
shown up in the hands of collectors and fishers alike around the area.
Leena doesn’t know what compelled her to take her aunt’s
boat out into the Mediterranean all alone that evening, or why she
brought extra oxygen for her scuba gear. Maybe it was the dream
of a lost city, or the pull of something deeper. She had been on the
boat for a full three days before the dolphins came for her. Another
six before the boat stopped moving of its own accord and she knew
she must now dive. By the time she reached Albtraum’s underwater
city, she should have run out of oxygen three times over and been
crushed by the pressure in the depths. Instead, she swam into the
glowing temple and came face to face with the horrid God. He clearly saw something in her that pleased him, because he immediately
gave her a task back on land.
Description: Leena is a short, white woman with sun-kissed
skin, luscious brown hair, brown eyes, and a Rubenesque figure. She
often wears clinging dresses and pearl-studded jewelry, especially
when on a job. She knows how to talk a person up and learn what
they desire with only a few quick questions, then manipulate
that person into doing whatever she wants.
30
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
Quote: “Nothing is quite so mutable as truth.”
Born in what would become Delaware, Wulowachtauwoapin was captured
and sold into slavery. The young man, who would come to be known as Hezekiah
Smith by his enslavers, wound up in Salem in the early days of English colonization. Trained in the healing arts and knowing a bit of the ways of the
Outer Gods, he saw the Salem witch panic for the fraud it was and was
more than happy when his master and mistress decided to leave for
the new settlement that would become Havenspoint.
He struggled to find a place for himself in Havenspoint
because, despite the lofty ideals of the Four Tenets (p. 84), the
bigotry engrained in many of the settlers worked against him
and he remained enslaved. He found a friend in an ancient
native man, called Matchitehew, of a different tribe who lived
in the woods outside Havenspoint. It took some time to break
down the barriers of communication, but once that hurdle was
overcome, he realized the beings the old man venerated and
his own Outer Gods were the same. Building on his rudimentary magical knowledge, Hezekiah worked with Matchitehew to
deepen his understanding of magic.
The most significant magic he mastered was the ability to
transfer his consciousness to another, aided by the Vial of Souls.
When he was young, he did this to learn the secrets of his fellow
residents and used that information to build a sizeable fortune. As
he aged, he understood the power of mind transference was his key
to immortality and, after setting his affairs in order and finding a
suitable replacement, he moved on to a new body in the waning days
of life of his original form.
In this manner, Wulowachtauwoapin has lived for centuries, amassing
wealth and power. His most recent, and perhaps last, transfer has taken
him on a new journey of power. On the cusp of death after an accident,
he used his powers to locate and prepare a suitable host. Completing the
ritual as he breathed his last, he transferred his spirit into his new host: a
man named Malcom Hodge. Even as he entered this new body, he knew
something was different. There was a strength and power to this man that
Wulowachtauwoapin doubted the man knew he had, or it wouldn’t have
been so easy to overcome him. As he settled into this new form, he smiled
as he realized what was going on and how befitting it was that one who has
worn so many faces would transfer into the body of a Scion of Nyarlathotep
with a faithful Unnamable Shadow thing as an ethereal companion.
Description: Calm and controlled, Wulowachtauwoapin’s current
form is an athletic Cherokee-American man in his mid-40s. An observant
person might notice that the apparent calm and control is a mask. Beneath
this veneer, Wulowachtauwoapin is always ready to sow chaos for his own
gain and the favor of his adopted parent.
32
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
Quote: “You don’t understand. Your viewpoint is too narrow. Think
grander.”
Maria was born in Washington, D.C. She grew up in what she considered the capital of the world to a pair of loving parents. They fostered
her interests and gave her freedom whenever she wanted. She was navigating the Metro system alone by the age of six, much to her parents’
chagrin, although they never commented. She seemed to just be naturally gifted in everything. She was reading college freshman books by 10
and was fluent in a dozen languages. Her art
was knowledge and she excelled at science.
She developed and patented a new type of rechargeable battery, extending overall life by 50
percent and making the family millions.
After graduating from high school at 15, she was
accepted into dozens of universities around the globe and
took two years off to travel with her parents. Upon returning
to the states and the old family home, she discovered a treasure
trove of old, handwritten notes. Maria spent months reviewing and
studying them and, after finishing them, she raced downstairs to
tell her parents where she would go to college. She would follow in
the footsteps of her great-great-grand-uncle Herbert and attend
Miskatonic University to study medicine. Mildred and Miguel
West shrugged; the couple had long since stopped being parents
and transitioned to being caretakers for the young brilliant, Maria
West. Her aptitude for science had made them rich beyond the
parents’ working-class jobs.
Maria’s first semester was dull and unchallenging, and she
spent all her free time in the library or wandering the campus,
almost as if she was searching for something, her friends would
joke. Maria would smile, laugh, and hang out with them until she
could leave unobserved. In the middle of winter during the next
semester, she found it: the place, the experiment, the science beyond belief. It was the very science of life and death with which
her dear old Uncle Herbert West wreaked havoc nearly a century ago. But she could do more, heal more, and see what others
couldn’t. Ghatanothoa stirred, as its child had finally come home.
Description: Maria is a tall, young, Latinx woman of average build. She is constantly found head down in the latest Apple
device with her raven-black hair tied back. She wears loose-fitting clothes with numerous pockets, a backpack, and anything
she needs for an overnight study session. She knows how to
talk to people but would rather focus on her work.
34
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
Quote: “I didn’t survive the war to become some flunky back
home.”
Isaiah is an Arkhamite through and through. He was born four
doors down from the Witch House, visited the shattered remains of
Innsmouth with his federal-agent parents, and knows all the local
legends and strangeness that surrounds the Miskatonic Hollow.
He always wanted to be touched by the weirdness, to see beyond
the world that treated him so harshly because of the color of
his skin. His parents’ jobs provide a level of protection, but no
Black person is safe from the rampant horrors of racism in any
city, state, or country.
Still, he held on to hope and joined the army to serve his
country, thinking he could make the world a better place.
Isaiah fought in the war, earned medals, and returned home
a hero. As he wandered the streets of Arkham, it seemed
nothing had changed and had only gotten worse, as corrupt
politicians gained more power. Isaiah wanted more and
could feel the emptiness the army had left in him. He had
seen things few others had, and a life in Arkham with one’s
eyes truly open makes being mundane impossible.
Isaiah wanted power to change the order of things. He
wanted power to set right what has always been wrong.
He walked and longed for answers. He walked into a part
of Arkham where he had never been before: a lonely house
with a red door and an ethereal light oozing from under
it. He could sense something saying “Welcome.” Isaiah
understood he was at a moment of awakening. He could
turn around and go back to the world as it was — or open
the door. His hand trembled, but his resolve stirred
him to turn the handle, and he walked inside the
House Below the Hill into the undulating mass that
is Yog-Shothoth.
He awoke the next morning stronger, more
certain, and kissed by the Mythos. He was no
longer just a veteran or a good person seeking a place in the word. He was a Scion. He
was power. He was the Eye of the Storm
of what is to come.
Description: Isaiah is a muscular, African-American man with
a military bearing. He dresses
in jeans, flannel shirts, and
Converse. He appears perfectly serene and radiates
an air of authority.
36
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
Quote: “My rates are on the website. I don’t negotiate and don’t care
about who’s right or wrong, just getting the evidence.”
Marius Héroux was born in Paris and lived an idyllic childhood. His
mother was a descent of Harlem Renaissance nobility who moved
to France in the late 30s. Music, the arts, politics, and science
touched every part of his life, and he surprised his parents by
being versed in all of them.
After transferring to Miskatonic University during
his junior year, he continued his education, becoming an
eternal student taking random courses and earning high
marks. Eventually he received so many credits, the university forced him to graduate. That same night his visitation
occurred as a laughing Lugh commended his adaptability.
Feeling that university life offered exposure to so many
people, he accepted a staff post that involved traveling to
exotic locations and researching.
Marius excelled at his position working in the Special
Collections at Miskatonic University, as with everything else
he tried. As a Scion of Lugh, it seemed like he was born to do
this. The first few years passed uneventfully until a student,
Nyarlathotep in disguise, came asking for help. Marius, following his destiny, accepted the challenge. The six-monthlong ordeal ended with him being fired from Miskatonic due to
the knowledge he acquired, turning him into a Scion of Cthulhu.
He opened a small private investigator shop in downtown
Havenspoint. His prices are reasonable, his skills without question,
and his Fate broken. But if you’ve got the cash, he’ll help you. He often wonders why Nyarlathotep rained chaos into his life, but some
answers are forever unknowable.
Description: Marius is a clean-shaven Black man of average
build in his late 30s. He usually wears slightly worn professorial suits
with elbow patches and a fedora. He has two chest holsters for twin
Glock 27s and tracking devices.
38
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
CHARACTER
CREATION
Character creation parallels that of other Scions
(Scion: Origin pp. 94-98 and Hero pp. 182-185) with
nine steps: concept, Paths, Skills, Attributes, Callings
and Knacks, Purviews, Birthrights, Boons, and finishing
touches. Masks of the Mythos character creation follows the same path, with four steps slightly altered and
explained below.
Step Five: Callings and Knacks — Players may
choose the inverted form of a Calling if one applies,
even if it they do not share that Calling with their God.
The number of starting Knacks is the same, but you can
choose any of the Knacks listed on pp. 47-49 regardless
of whether you pick the inverted Calling.
Step Six: Birthrights — Pantheon Birthrights can be
found on p. 23. Optional additional Relics can be found
in the next chapter, starting on p. 60.
Step Seven: Purviews — When you select your
innate Purview, you may choose to gain the normal
Innate Power or the Awareness Innate Power (p. 49). If
you choose the normal Innate Power, you may choose
to replace the power with the Awareness Innate Power
any time your Awareness increases. Once you choose the
Awareness Innate Power, you cannot switch your Innate
Powers again.
Step Eight: Boons — You may choose to pick up an
Awareness Boon as one of your initial Boons. You can only
start with one Awareness Boon at character creation.
Step Nine: Finishing Touches — Your Mythos
Scion begins play with Awareness 1 (p. 43) in addition
to Legend 1. For the Mythos Pantheon, the Virtues are
Nihilism and Humanity.
TYPES OF SCIONS
Mythos Scions come from the same place as other
Scions, for the most part. Just like a Scion of Oya could
be the God’s child, born into her power through the
birthright of parentage, so too can a Mythos Scion be
the child of Lilith, or the Green Flame. Often this isn’t
exactly the same as any other God, as the likelihood
that a Great Old One had sexual relations with a mortal
is low, though not unheard of. Instead, some Old Ones
give birth to a child by providence and personal sacrifice
rather than debase themselves with a human. The Great
Old Ones are far more likely to Awaken a Scion, choosing
someone who has shown aptitude or learned their mysteries, over creating or siring a Scion. Some Great Old
40
Ones create incarnations of themselves, though these
Scions are just as rare as with the any other pantheon.
The most common type of Mythos Scion comes either as
one who was chosen by the Gods, or one who has transcended from normal Scion.
TRANSCENDED
A Scion of another God may find herself enticed
by the Mythos. It happens slowly, insidiously, and
often without the Old Ones’ interference. A Great Old
One doesn’t usually seek out a Scion to convert to the
Mythos; it happens the other way around. A Scion looking for more power, something different, or just fed up
with her own Fate may find her way to the Mythos. Here
she seeks Awareness and, just like for anyone else who
seeks them out, the Great Old Ones respond. They care
not to whom they give their power, and a Scion may find
a new patron with something as simple as a request for
more. Before too long, she’s seen too much to go back,
and her patron subsumes her ties to her divine parent
and takes over.
VISITATIONS
A Mythos Scion, just like any other, must go through
a visitation to realize their true potential. Great Old Ones
rarely show up in person, though some take a special interest in their created or born Scions. Most allow Fate to
bring the Mythos to the Scion, letting them deal with a
trial by fire, as it were, when the creatures of the Mythos
show up intent on destroying the Scion. Some Great Old
Ones visit their Scions through dreams, sending visions
or coopting their subconscious to give the Scion their
blessings or share their desires.
TRANSCENDED VISITATIONS
The conversion to Mythos Scion usually doesn’t just
happen. It isn’t a case of prolonged exposure or repeated
use. The God, just like when creating other Scions, must
visit the prospective Scion and grant its power. Great
Old Ones who have begun answering a Scion’s questions
take keen interest in the Scion, watching for the perfect
moment to offer the bargain. Some Great Old Ones, like
Nyarlathotep, revel in stealing Scions from other pantheons, and so they wait until they know exactly what
they need to offer to win the Scion over.
Scions often seek out their new patrons, and finding
them, either in person or through dream, is the final
test from the Old One to receive their patronage. As the
Scion gains more and more knowledge of the Mythos,
the God sets out more and more clues on how to find
them. Even sleeping Cthulhu has left breadcrumbs for
those seeking to find him, though his Scions can only
visit him in dreams.
CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION
DICE POOLS
Players build dice pools in Masks of the Mythos
using the same rules found in Scion: Origin (p. 58).
MOMENTUM
Mythos Scions’ expanded understanding of the
universe alters the flow of momentum for them and anyone in their momentum pool. Each Mythos Scion adds
two points of momentum rather than one and the pool
can hold up to three times the number of players. This
greater access comes at a cost: that all Consolations and
Botches create Mythos Ripples.
Mythos Ripples tear down more of the barriers of
the universe allowing greater Mythos activity at the site.
This activity is not defined by time; it may ripple backward or forward. Consolation generally causes localized
fields or Complications that last a few days or possibly
summon a Mythos entity when they occur. Botches rip
away parts of the veil, allowing Mythos entities easy
entry into this plane of existence or drawing the direct
attention of a Great Old One. Each of these instances can
easily become a new scenario with the Great Old One
becoming a mini-arc of a campaign to resolve.
Character Creation
41
CHAPTER THREE
MYTHOS TRAITS
AND POWERS
“Let me say this as clearly as I can. You cannot beat me. I am a part of
them. The Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Their strength flows through my veins.
My blood is filled with their ancient power.”
— “Not Fade Away,” Angel
TRAITS
S
MECHANICS
cions of the Mythos are mortal. The touch of the
Mythos has granted them a fraction of power they
manifest in countless ways. Some are faster, having
returned from fatal assaults, and can shatter a human’s
mind with a glance, or simply live on for centuries. These
Scions may have even bonded with a Mythos companion,
an ethereal thing of neither flesh nor spirit.
AWARENESS
Awareness is the quality and measure of Mythos
influence on Scions. It also includes the Scions’ distinct influence on the world, as well as the toll it takes.
Awareness represents an opening of the mind and body
to hidden realities that lurk just beyond human and
non-Mythos Scions’ senses. Contact with the Mythos
changes people. It opens doors. It shifts one’s point of
view. It disrupts one’s core understanding of how the
universe works, and humanity’s place in that miasma.
The disruption of the Mythos is beyond labels of good
or bad, of evil or righteousness. The effect is expansive.
The mind can adapt to these new understandings in a
range of ways, but the resulting transformation can rarely be reversed.
Most mortals function better when these alien forces remain mercifully, conveniently out of view. To the
unprepared, a shock of sudden revelation can take a toll
on mental and emotional states. Some doors are meant
to stay shut. But a few, exceptional people who encounter Mythos entities can harmonize and integrate this
opened perspective into a new emergent understanding.
Scions transcend the mundane world to reach these new
levels of insight. But grasping the weight of the Mythos
is a one-way trip.
Awareness follows Mythos Scions like a cloud of
flies. It can disrupt the world around them in ways that
are beyond the Scion’s control, and it can also bend to
the Scion’s will as they grow in power. Matter, mind,
relationships, and the tapestry of reality itself may
transform under these alien influences. As Scions deepen their Awareness they also gain the ability channel
eldritch forces through their Boons and Knacks. They
may perform certain deeds in service to Mythos forces
to grow their influence.
For most pantheons, stories about various Gods and
their deeds make up the Legends surrounding them.
These Heroes, Demigods, and Gods embroil everyone
near them into their Fates as they express their Legend.
The Mythos has a similar pervasiveness, but it works a
bit differently. The Mythos itself is its own set of myths
and legends, one that subsumes the bearer and embroils
them into its own Fate. So instead of a Scion binding
people into her Fate and Legend, the Mythos binds the
Scion into its story. In this way, Awareness parallels
Legend, though it does not subsume the Scion’s Legend.
A character’s Awareness rating generates a pool of
Awareness points equal to the character’s Awareness dots.
Just like Legend, these points may be imbued or spent.
Awareness is rated 1 to 10, and a Scion’s Awareness rating
does not change her divine quality. For example, a Scion
with Legend 3 is still a Hero, even if her Awareness is 5.
Mythos Scions must still fulfill their own Fates and
Legends to advance to Demigod or Godhood, just like
any other Scion.
AWARENESS TRAIT EFFECTS
Having a single dot of Awareness allows a Scion to
learn Awareness Boons from her Purviews and allows
her access to the Awareness Innate Powers of a Purview.
Otherwise, Awareness acts as a pool from which a Scion
can spend points for various effects.
A Scion can imbue or spend an Awareness instead
of Legend to activate Boons, perform Marvels, or enact
Feats of Scale. In the case of Feats of Scale, the Scale bonus is still based on the character’s Legend rating.
A Scion may imbue or spend an Awareness to activate an Awareness Boon.
A Scion may spend an Awareness to destroy a single Fatebinding on another person. The Role Condition
from the Fatebinding ends immediately. While she remembers her time Fatebound to the Scion, she has no
emotional attachment to it, and wonders why she took
the actions she did. A Mythos Scion cannot destroy her
own Fatebindings.
RAISING AWARENESS
Raising Awareness requires the Scion to complete
one set of Deeds, replacing either the Short-term Deed
or Long-term Deed with a Mythos deed. Remember that
Traits
43
the character can take on a Mythos Deed in addition to
a Long-term or Short-term Deed but does not have to
complete all four Deeds to raise Awareness. Just like
raising Legend, put a mark beside the Deeds as they are
completed. Once a set is used to raise either Awareness
or Legend, erase the marks and start over. In this way, a
player must choose if she wishes to increase her Legend
or Awareness with a completed set of Deeds once the
Band Deed is completed.
A character may gain additional dots in Awareness
from special Mythos Relics. These raise her Awareness pool
as though she had raised her Awareness through Deeds, but
if she loses the Relic, either because it is lost, stolen, or destroyed, she loses those dots in Awareness. If this happens,
she also immediately gains a Mythos Fatebinding.
REGAINING AWARENESS
A Scion may only regain Awareness by accepting a
special Mythos Fatebinding (p. 46). The energies generated by acting in accordance with the Mythos’ desires
replenishes a single point of Awareness.
CALLINGS
The Mythos pantheon’s Great Old Ones are as
bound to their archetypes as any other pantheon’s Gods.
Cthulhu is a Destroyer and Cultist, and sometimes
Trickster, but never a Guardian. These are immutable
truths as old and ancient as the Mythos themselves. The
Mythos do not always follow the same Callings as other
Gods, though; their own Callings are strange and esoteric reflections of the others. The Creator doesn’t just
make new life and spread fertility; it overpopulates, it
builds new structures for the sake of tearing them down
again, and it becomes the Destroyer despite its Creator
roots. The Healer no longer fixes and purifies but stiches
and putrefies wounds, cauterizing them for safety’s sake
but planting pestilence as it goes.
Each of the Callings has an inverted version that
gives it new keywords, which a Scion may incorporate
into her Title.
CREATOR/DESTROYER
Unlike the Creator, who was there at the beginning
using primordial forces to create life, the Destroyer will
be there at the end, using those same forces to wipe
the slate clean. When he rises, he will bring death and
destruction upon the land. The myths do not wonder
where the Destroyer came from, or why the world ends
upon its awakening. They only spread the portent of
destruction that comes in its wake.
Example Keywords: Executioner, doom, murderer,
unbound, vandal, wrathful
44
GUARDIAN/CORRUPTOR
The Guardian protects her charges and those around
her keeping them from harm, while the Corruptor instills
herself into her charges, whispering poison in their ears
until they fall prey to her whims. The Corruptor takes
something or someone and infuses it with her own vile
wants and desires until there is nothing left of the original.
Example Keywords: Adulterator, debaser, exploiter, manipulator, nefarious, poison, savage, snide
HEALER/DEFILER
The Healer cures the sick; the Defiler keeps the sick
alive so that its pestilence can spread to more victims.
It may heal a wound or repair the broken, but the end
result is always worse than the initial problem.
Example Keywords: Deranged, decaying, decrepit,
diseased, foul, ill, pestilent
HUNTER
The Hunter seeks out the weak, sick, and slow to
devour, ensuring only the strong remain. The hunt is no
longer about seeking out the impossible or gaining glory,
but breaking down the prey with fear and terror until it
eventually just gives up. The Hunter plays with its prey,
catching it and releasing it repeatedly, using psychological warfare to break it.
Example Keywords: Driven, predator, pursuer,
ruthless, stalker
JUDGE
The Mythos is run by strange, esoteric laws that
govern its existence. Those who break those laws rarely even know that they were in place. The Judge finds
transgressors and punishes them. It sometimes even
makes new laws, with the sole purpose of testing those
who might encounter it. It makes and changes the rules
at whim and catches any who are in violation.
Example Keywords: Capricious, castigator, cruel,
damned, disciplinarian, shrewd
LEADER
The Leader inspires others to frenzy, fury, and action
beyond thought. He demands worship, dedication, and
above all obedience. To fail the Leader is to risk certain
death, he brokers no mistakes, and suffers not the fool.
Example Keywords: Despot, heavy-handed, oppressor, overlord, tyrant, usurper
LIMINAL
The Liminal opens gateways into terrifying realms.
It steps between planes of existence, moving through
the Mythos realms and dragging reality behind it as it
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
moves. It gives no thought or care for what may happen
to those caught in its wake.
Example Keywords: Esoteric, fathomless, incomprehensible, unspeakable
Example Keywords: Force of nature, gate maker,
planar, vast
TRICKSTER
LOVER/ADVERSARY
The Lover has someone who is central to his being:
family that he loves, or maybe just a string of people
he fucks and leaves. The Adversary, on the other hand,
has someone to hate, a vendetta borne of any number of
passions from greed and jealousy to revenge. Sometimes
an Adversary is so wrapped up in their own personal
grudge it becomes the only thing that defines them.
Example Keywords: Begrudged, enemy, hostile,
nemesis, villain, saboteur
SAGE/COSMOS
While the Sage is a wise leader, a great tactician,
or a fount of knowledge, the Cosmos is a faceless and
nameless entity, unknowable and inscrutable. Inside a
vast knowledge of infinite depths waits a shadow looking and seeking to learn more. It shares its knowledge,
breaking the minds of any who touch it, as it takes all it
can in return.
Without lies and deceit, the Trickster cannot function. There is no rhyme or reason for its actions, no lesson in its lies. It embodies the cruel intention that comes
with lying to get one’s way.
Example Keywords: Avarice, cruel, deceiver, fraud,
pretender
WARRIOR/TORTURER
The Warrior aims to do violence, engaging in bloody
battle to defeat her enemies. The Torturer seeks to inflict
pain, drawing out a bloody existence for the sheer joy of
it. The Torturer is not governed by a lust for battle, but a
cold and calm desire for inflicting pain. No cause drives
it, no passions fuel it, and no glory or legend tempts it. It
uses its violence for pleasure: the pleasure it gets from
watching others scream.
Example Keywords: Assassin, draconian, pain giver, tormentor, uncaring, wrack
Traits
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MYTHOS
FATEBINDING
Avoidance: If the player chooses to ignore the compulsion for a Mythos Condition, she suffers the avoidance
result instead and the Mythos Condition does not resolve.
AWAKENED
When the Mythos calls, those who are aware of
its machinations have a hard time turning away. The
Mythos has a way of wrapping people up in it and pushing them to strange Fates they would have never chosen
for themselves.
The Mythos has instilled a dreaded knowledge into
you that you can barely contain, and for what ends, you
do not know.
When someone finds themselves bound to the Fate
of the Mythos, they gain a Mythos Fatebinding. Much
like other types of Fatebinding, this is expressed with a
series of Conditions, but instead of a person performing
a role for a Scion, the Scion has a task she is fated to complete for the Mythos, such as summoning a Great Old
One, instilling chaos, or some alien service beyond her
comprehension. She is bound to this concept and driven
forward until she completes it. This is not the same as a
Mythos Deed, as it isn’t something she chooses to do, but
is instead part of her Fate until she completes it.
Compel: That much knowledge is dangerous and
creates a mental break at the worst time. The character
automatically fails her next roll with a Consolation.
Invoke: The Scion gains a single use of a Heroic
Sage Knack.
Avoidance: A character who holds on to the knowledge of the Mythos for too long suffers under the burden.
The character suffers +2 Complication to all actions for
each time she has avoided the Condition’s compulsion
(cumulative) with a consequence of taking an Injury
Condition if she doesn’t buy it off.
HERALD
MYTHOS FATEBINDING
BASICS
The Mythos plans to use you as a conduit to bridge
their realms to the World.
Acquiring Mythos Fatebindings: Once per session,
a character may can gain a new Mythos Fatebinding to
regain 1 point of Awareness. Additionally, they may gain
a new Mythos Fatebinding if they use a Mythos Relic
multiple times, lose a Mythos Relic, or perform Marvels
using Awareness instead of Legend. The player and the
Storyguide should work together to determine the appropriate Fatebinding Condition.
Compel: The Mythos uses you to open a rift between
realms. The character gains a Momentum and the area is
flooded with Mythos creatures as they tear through the
portal she created. These creatures immediately attack
the character and her allies.
Awareness Limit: A player character may not have
more Mythos Fatebinding Conditions than she has dots
in Awareness.
MYTHOS CONDITIONS
As it is the Mythos binding the person, any character (Scion or mortal) may find themselves bound to the
Mythos through Fate. The character takes on a Mythos
Condition when Fatebound to the Mythos. Mythos
Conditions look similar to role Conditions (Scion: Hero
pp. 197-201) with the following differences. Remember
that invocations and compulsions can only happen once
per session.
Compel: Once per session, the Storyguide may
compel one of the character’s Mythos Conditions to
introduce a setback or story complication related to the
Fatebinding. The character gains a point of Momentum
for his trouble.
Resolve: The Mythos Condition resolves immediately after the player accepts a compulsion.
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Invoke: You are bound between this World and the
others. Invoke this Condition to gain insight into a plot point
or story element that directly relates to the scene you are in,
as though you used the Interpretation Stunt on a clue.
Avoidance: A character who prevents a rift from opening
or ignores the Mythos suffers a disconnect from reality. She
suffers an Injury Condition due to the stress and cannot travel
to another realm by any means for the rest of the session.
TASKED
You are bound to serve the Mythos even if you don’t
know what that means.
Invoke: The Mythos treats its servants well. Invoke
this Condition after failing at a simple action to make it
succeed as though you had 0 threshold successes. This
buys off Complications associated with the action as well.
Compel: The Mythos demands your service in some
bizarre or esoteric way. The character’s next action is a
mixed action: whatever she was originally trying to do,
plus attempting to accomplish the task the Mythos has
set before her.
Avoidance: A character who ignores the Mythos’
requests finds herself out of its favor rather quickly and
it lashes out against her loved ones. Imperil one of her
Fatebindings.
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
POWERS
KNACK SKILLS
The Mythos grants all who serve a fraction of its unknowable power. That fraction of power and awareness
awakens differently in each recipient. For some, it comes
from tomes that allow them to access spells; others enhance their physical bodies or manifest the capability to
come back from the dead.
HEROIC CREATOR
KNACKS
As the Callings the Mythos pantheon have access to
are the same as other Gods, though somewhat different, it
serves that the Knacks Scions have access to through their
Callings are the same. Scions can choose any Knacks associated with their Callings (Scion: Origin pp. 223-236), or any
of these additional Knacks which come from the inverted
version of the Calling. As always, a character can only have
a number of active Knacks equal to her Calling dots.
CALLING
Heroic Creator
Immortal Creator
Heroic Guardian
Immortal Guardian
Heroic Healer
Immortal Healer
Heroic Hunter
Immortal Hunter
Heroic Judge
Immortal Judge
Heroic Leader
Immortal Leader
Heroic Liminal
Immortal Liminal
Heroic Lover
Immortal Lover
Heroic Sage
Immortal Sage
Heroic Trickster
Immortal Trickster
Heroic Warrior
Immortal Warrior
Each Calling utilizes the same Skills as listed in
Scion: Origin (pp. 58-61), despite other differences.
Some of these Knacks require a Skill roll. When using
the Knack, the Storyguide and player choose the most
appropriate Skill from the Calling’s Skill list, or a different Skill if appropriate based on the character’s
Legendary Title.
INVERTED KNACK
Rust and Decay
Raze the City
Honied Words
Puppet Show
Spread Disease
Plague Bearer
Scent of Blood
Baying of the Hounds
Curse of Fragility
Pronounce Guilt
Harsh Words
Raise an Army
The Gate and Key
Among the Stars
Sense Weakness
Name Nemesis
Psychic Attack
Infinite Knowledge
Redirect
Exposed
Twist the Knife
Pain for Pleasure
Rust and Decay: With a touch, you can corrode and
destroy any item. Make a Creator Skill roll and apply
successes to making the item decay. The item is broken
or destroyed if the successes equal its Size. If the item
has a defensive Scale or armor that increases its Scale
against Force, then you must match that additional Scale
in successes. Size 0 items are destroyed instantly without a roll.
IMMORTAL CREATOR
Raze the City: Make a Creator Skill roll. With any
successes, you can destroy a small building, structure,
or monument in a matter of minutes, as they crumble to
rubble and dust. To raze a building in an instant, spend
a Momentum.
HEROIC GUARDIAN
Honied Words: Choose a person to be your charge.
Spend a Momentum and give them a direction or suggestion. When they act on that direction, they gain +2
Enhancement to do so as long as you are watching. If you
have a Bond with the person, you can forgo the cost.
IMMORTAL GUARDIAN
Puppet Show: You take command of your charge’s
body and mind, directing her actions and guiding her
Powers
MY CHARACTER
WOULDN’T DO THAT!
While horrific things can happen
in Masks of the Mythos,
Mythos, we’re
not here to make players experience
things they don’t want to portray.
Using control Knacks such as Puppet
Show always require the consent of
the player targeted by them, and if
anyone at the table is uncomfortable
with the action being dictated, the
Storyguide should back up and find
an alternative.
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thoughts. Roll your Guardian Knack Skill. Success allows you to direct your charge to take a single action. You
dictate how she takes the action, and even if she speaks
or talks while taking the action. You must be able to see
your charge to use this Knack, though you do not have
to verbalize or speak the command out loud. This Knack
does not work unless you have a Bond to the target, and
they are a lower Tier than you.
HEROIC HEALER
Spread Disease: When dealing with a patient who
has a disease, you can increase the Complication from
the disease by a number of points equal to your Knack
Skill, or you may designate a number of nearby targets
equal to your Knack Skill who also contract the disease
at the original Complication rating.
IMMORTAL HEALER
Plague Bearer: Spend a Momentum to inflict a
mythic plague upon an area, affecting everyone within
it. The disease’s Complication is equal to your Healer
Knack Skill. You can spend an additional Momentum
to exclude specific people from the plague’s effect. The
disease is not supernatural in nature and can be cured
through normal means.
HEROIC HUNTER
Scent of Blood: You can smell the blood in the
water, and it drives you towards your goal. Gain +1
Enhancement on attacks made against targets that have
one or more Injury Conditions.
IMMORTAL HUNTER
Baying of the Hounds: Spend a Momentum to
set the hounds loose on your prey. These are not literal
hounds, but creatures of the Mythos that harry your enemy, corralling them for you to collect later. Your target
suffers a Complication equal to your Knack Skill on all
actions, taking an Injury Condition as a consequence for
not buying it off as the hounds chase them. The hounds
do not stop bothering the person until they fall unconscious, or you catch up to your prey.
HEROIC JUDGE
If another guilty party is brought forward, it provokes a
Clash of Wills.
HEROIC LEADER
Harsh Words: Your orders are more than just an
impulse; they are a compunction with a threat of punishment if not followed. Give an order to a target and spend
a Momentum. They suffer a Complication equal to your
Leader Calling rating to do anything other than what
you ordered. If they fail to buy it off, they take a damage.
IMMORTAL LEADER
Raise an Army: Your command sways people to
follow you, even those who barely know you. Spend
a Momentum to raise an army of trivial targets which
come to your call and fight by your side. No matter where
you are, people will come to fight for you, and if you are
in a place without people, creatures of the Mythos come
in their stead.
HEROIC LIMINAL
The Gate and Key: You may spend a Momentum
to open a portal from one location to another as long as
it is through a literal portal (a door, window, manhole,
etc.) to anywhere else of your choosing, including Terra
Incognitae. You must have visited the location you are
moving to for the portal to work.
IMMORTAL LIMINAL
Among the Stars: Roll your Knack Skill and spend
a Momentum. For a number of turns equal to successes,
take on the form of star stuff, adopting the bleak void of
space and the pinpricks of light from distant stars. In
doing so, you become intangible, but extremely dense.
Matter bends around you, allowing you to pass through
the smallest of crack or shore up the largest of spaces.
Weapon attacks bend away from you, metal wraps
around the density of your shape, and attackers find
their fists slowed to nothing as they enter your radius.
When the effect ends, your body reverts to normal, but
the matter you twisted remains as you moved it.
HEROIC LOVER
Curse of Fragility: Pick a target in a combat situation and spend a Momentum. For the rest of the fight,
all enemies attacking your target are considered to have
the Brutal Tag.
Sense Weakness: After you have made an attack,
or someone has attacked you, you may analyze them for
a weakness. Gain a +1 Enhancement on attacks against
them and a +1 to Defense until the fight is over. Only one
enemy can be analyzed this way per scene.
IMMORTAL JUDGE
IMMORTAL LOVER
Pronounce Guilt: You declare a target is guilty of a
crime, and it becomes true. The target need not actually
be guilty or even associated with the crime, but the moment you declare their guilt, all the evidence lines up.
48
Name Nemesis: Select a target and declare them
as your named enemy. While so named, the person is
immediately Fatebound to the Scion as a Nemesis. If the
target is already Fatebound to another Scion, this replaces that Fate completely at the same rating.
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
HEROIC SAGE
Psychic Attack: You impart your vast stores of
knowledge to someone else, overwhelming them.
Spend a Momentum to roll your Knack Skill. Success
an increased Difficulty equal to successes rolled on your
victim’s actions that require mental capacity, such as
studying, researching, or even communicating.
IMMORTAL SAGE
Infinite Knowledge: You know the truth of the
cosmos, the stars, and everything in between. You can
reach through your vast knowledge to find the answer
to one question. If it is a knowable thing, your character
automatically knows the answer; if it is unknowable, she
instead can roll her Sage Skill and know the answer on
a success. If the information is purposefully hidden, it
provokes a Clash of Wills. If this is part of an investigation, the character gains a single Clue.
HEROIC TRICKSTER
Redirect: Spend a Momentum. You convert one
enemy’s current attitude to anger from whatever it was
before. At the same time, select a new target to become
the object of that anger, causing your enemy to attack
the new target in a rage.
IMMORTAL TRICKSTER
Exposed: Spend a Momentum and tell a damaging
lie about someone of the same or lower Tier. Everyone
who hears you utter the lie believes it to be true, even if
there is evidence proving elsewise. Attempts to exonerate your target provoke a Clash of Wills.
HEROIC WARRIOR
Twist the Knife: You know just where to strike to
make pain explode through your enemy. When your
enemies have one or more Injury Conditions, your character gains access to the following Stunt:
Painful Blow (3 successes): Increase the penalty
imposed by the target’s Injury Conditions by 1 to a maximum of 2. Against Antagonists, impose a +1 Diffculty to
all their actions.
IMMORTAL WARRIOR
Pain for Pleasure: When you have someone at your
mercy, either tied up or unconscious, you can inflict an
Injury Condition on them to boost your Band’s morale.
Everyone in the band gains +2 Enhancement to their
actions for the rest of the scene. If the Injury Condition
renders them Taken Out, gain +3 Enhancement instead.
PURVIEWS
The Great Old Ones have been here a long time.
They didn’t need to take their authority over The World
to make it bend to their will like the other Gods. Their
very existence has shaped The World around them, the
elements bending around their forms and oozing from
their skins. Even as the King in Yellow waits, its people
make art in its name. Nyarlathotep’s hidden form carries
messages with just a thought. Chaos oozes forth from
Azathoth wherever it goes. And Yig’s serpent spawn
enjoy its blessing even as it slumbers.
AWARENESS PURVIEWS
Scions of the Great Old Ones have access to their
Purviews in the same way as other Scions, but those who
have Awareness find their claim becomes less of a mastery
and more of an inheritance as the power oozes from them.
Mythos Scions can choose to take the Awareness Innate
Power that comes with a Purview instead of the normal one.
They will only ever have one Innate Power, and once the
Awareness Innate Power is chosen, they cannot go back.
Additionally, they gain the ability to learn Awareness
Boons: specific powers that come from their association with the Mythos. Characters must invest or spend
Awareness to utilize Awareness Boons.
Mythos Scions can enact Marvels (Scion: Hero p.
236) in much the same way as any other Scion, though
they draw from the Mythos Pantheon Motif.
Mythos: Arcane and esoteric inscriptions and intoning unspeakable words draw the Gods attention and
request their blessing.
ARTISTRY
Artistry belongs to Great Old Ones who write gibbering poems written in ancient script, dance waltzes to
summon horrid creatures, and inspire their followers to
create grotesque statues in worship.
Innate Power: You draw inspiration and creativity
from the people around you. Whenever you are near
someone who is performing, creating art, or otherwise
doing some type of creative or expressive activity, you
gain +3 Enhancement to your own creative endeavors.
MADDENING SONG
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: All characters
Clash: Awareness + Presence vs. Composure + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
Purviews
49
The Mythos flows through you and into your audience. When you deliver an oration (song, speech,
poem, play, etc.), any who hear you are filled with
fear and despair. Shift the attitude of all affected
characters who witness the performance to fearful.
Additionally, characters have a +3 Complication to
do anything other than run in fear.
BEASTS
Beasts are associated with Great Old Ones that have
animals as minions, children, or hordes. It also applies to
those who have animalistic traits.
Innate Power: Animals recognize you as one of
their own. Your character can form Bonds with animals
in the same way she can people.
SNAKE PIT
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
A horde of creatures answers your call. When this
Boon is activated, creatures associated with your
Purview surround you. Snakes slither through the
grass, spiders carpet the floor, and lizards cover the
walls. They count as a +2 Complication to move or
attack for everyone except you. The consequences
of failure can be an Injury Condition, being
knocked down, or becoming poisoned, depending
on the creatures.
BEAUTY
This Purview is associated with Great Old Ones who
embody terrible beauty and those who lay bare anyone
who uses superficial beauty as a shield.
Innate Power: You gain a buffer against anyone attempting to use their looks to sway you. Your Scale is considered 1 higher for the purposes of resisting such attempts.
DISTRACTING BEAUTY
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Presence vs. Composure +
Legend
Range: Medium
Action: Reflexive
Your beauty entrances a person, preoccupying
them to the point of distraction. Your target becomes
obsessed with you and cannot concentrate on other
tasks, suffering a +3 Complication to Mental or
Social actions. The consequence of failure is they lose
50
their action as you continue to distract them. This isn’t
always born of desire, it can be jealousy or disgust,
depending on their Attitude when the Boon is used.
CHAOS
This Purview belongs to Great Old Ones who embody disorder, disruption, and unknowable motives.
Innate Power: Chaos follows you wherever you
go, rippling away from you and upending normally
ordered things. Electronics tend to malfunction when
you’re near, cars backfire, engines fail, and people trip
on sidewalks — all creating a +1 Complication for anyone
attempting to act while in close range of you. You are, of
course, immune to your own chaos.
WALKING DISASTER
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: All characters
Clash: Awareness + Cunning vs. Resolve + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Reflexive
You create a field of chaos that you can tap into
if people around you aren’t extremely careful.
Everyone within range suffers a +3 Complication
to physical actions. As a consequence of failing to
buy off the Complication, you can do one of the
following (chosen when the Boon is activated): toss
someone one range band, disrupt all electronics
they are carrying, or knock them prone.
DARKNESS
The Darkness Purview belongs to Great Old Ones
who hide within shadows and dreams. Also, those who
embody misdirection, confounding thoughts, and unseen terror find use of this Purview.
Innate Power: You are always a lucid dreamer, able
to control the topic and direction of your own dreams.
You can watch another person’s dreams while they sleep
and insert yourself into them if you come into physical contact with them (either in the dream or the real
world). Doing so puts that person into a lucid dreamer
state as well, allowing them control over their own
dream. While in the Dreamlands, you are considered to
have +1 Leadership Scale.
SHADOW MINION
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
You create one or more shadow minions to act on your
behalf. Create these minions using antagonist rules in
Scion: Origin, pp. 143-145. You can create a single
Professional-level monster or several Mooks. All shadows
have the Incorporeality Quality and a Vulnerability
Quality of fire. Shadow minions obey their master implicitly and cannot be swayed or taken over even by someone
else with a similar Boon. The minions disappear the turn
after the Scion reclaims their Awareness from the Boon.
DEATH
Death belongs to those Great Old Ones who deal
with the dead, undead, and dying. They reign in underworlds and crypts, creating their undead hordes.
Innate Power: You can sense the presence of
death and decay anywhere within medium range. Small
things, such as a plant cutting, barely pick up on your
radar, while a corpse will resonate and be obvious even if
hidden. You can detect ghosts and undead creatures this
way as well, even if they are obscured with magic.
CREEPING DEAD
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Multiple corpses
Range: Long
Action: Complex
You take the reins of all corpses within range and
give them a form of life with shuddering, creeping
movements. Corpses in graves dig their way out, dead
bodies rise and walk again, even corpses animated
using magic cannot help but move at the Scion’s whim.
The corpses cannot do much more than walk at a slow
pace, mill about, or possibly bite someone who gets too
close. They make excellent shields and count as rough
terrain for anyone attempting to move through them.
DECEPTION
Those with this Purview control all aspects of deceit, illusions, and everything that would confound the
senses or cloud the mind.
Innate Power: You can change minor aspects of your
appearance at a whim. You cannot change set physical
aspects, such as height, weight, or your voice, but all other
cosmetic aspects can change. Anyone attempting to recognize you suffers a +3 Complication to pierce your disguise.
MENTAL PRISON
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Resolve + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Reflexive
You can lock a person within their own mind, creating an
entire world with which they believe they are interacting.
The illusion feeds upon the target’s own memories and
thoughts, filling in gaps and details with whatever they
believe should be there. You can direct what the person
builds the prison out of, such as childhood memories or
their current surroundings, but once started you have no
control over what the person believes they experience
there. This Boon is free to use on trivial targets.
EARTH
Great Old Ones who have the Earth Purview have
the power of the elemental earth in all its forms from
physical to metaphysical. These Gods are lumbering
mountains, rolling hills, and belching volcanos.
Innate Power: Whenever you are attempting the
Knockdown Stunt on an opponent, halve the number of
successes needed to perform the stunt (rounded up).
STONE STRIKE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Reflexive
Your fists turn to stone, acting as blunt weapons.
As long as you have Awareness imbued, your fists
count as armed weapons but maintain the Natural
Tag. Additionally, you can apply two weapon
Tags from the following list: Aggravated, Brutal,
Grappling, Piercing, Pushing, Stun, or Versatile.
EPIC DEXTERITY
Great Old Ones with Epic Dexterity are fast, sometimes too fast to see, and definitely too fast for comfort.
They are also agile creatures with nimble, multi-jointed
limbs and a precision that incites dread.
Innate Power: Your body is extremely flexible, allowing you to perform amazing feats of gymnastics, even
going so far as dislocating your joints and bending your
bones to slither through improbable spaces or move into
irregular shapes.
CLUMSY FOOL
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Dexterity vs. Stamina + Legend
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
Purviews
51
You steal someone else’s grace, leaving them
clumsy and bumbling. This Boon inflicts a Condition
on your victim that imposes a +2 Complication to
all actions that require Dexterity, such as balancing,
aiming, running, or even just not falling over. While
they suffer from this Condition, you gain a +1
Enhancement on the same kinds of actions. This
Condition ends when you reclaim your Awareness,
or the victim spends a basic action which cannot be
part of a mixed action to reset themselves.
EPIC STAMINA
Epic Stamina is the Purview of the enduring Old
Ones who have weathered and resisted all The World’s
changes from extinction events to plagues and more.
These Gods are immutable, vital, resilient, and robust.
Innate Power: Whenever you are suffering Injury
Conditions, reduce the Complication imposed by the
Condition by 1.
INFIRMED
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One or more characters
Clash: Awareness + Stamina vs. Resolve + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
The Mythos wraps around your enemy, weakening
them and making them susceptible to viler actions. You
can target a single character, or all trivial characters in
range with this Boon. Inflict a Condition that increases the
Difficulty to resist disease and poison by 2, prevents the
character from using any healing or regeneration abilities, and doubles Complications imposed from physical
Conditions and Injury Conditions. The Condition ends
when you reclaim your Awareness or when the character
suffers from two Injuries while affected by this Condition.
You make an attack so powerful that it radiates out
from you with enduring force. You make an attack
at close range on a single target as normal. That
attack creates a Shockwave (Scion: Origin, p.
66) that radiates out from your target.
FERTILITY
Old Ones who have the Fertility Purview have agency
over sex, carnal acts, virility, and family bonds. Great Old
Ones often lead to either unchecked reproduction or infertility as the two extremes, with crops overgrown or filled
with blight and not much in between.
Innate Power: Once per session you can radiate a wave of
sterility, killing plants, stopping growth, and ending the lives
of fast-growing organisms. Within your Field, plants die, and
anyone there with you is immediately cured of all diseases,
and for the rest of the scene they stop suffering Complications
from any physical Conditions they suffered. They do not suffer
the Conditions, but it does not resolve them.
VERDANT FIELDS
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
Plants grow around you at a rapid pace. Your Field
is filled with the growth which slithers and grows
around everything in sight. The effect is centered on
you, and moves as you do, leaving behind wilted
and decayed plants as you move out of range. You
control the growth completely and can do any of the
following with it as a reflexive action:
• Allow safe passage to an ally attempting to
pass through it, including having the plants
clear the path of objects that might have
been blocking the way.
•
EPIC STRENGTH
Great Old Ones with Epic Strength exhibit power and
force unlike any other. Their might and wrath are terrible
to behold, causing pain and destruction in their wake.
Innate Power: When you use Might to impress or
intimidate others, your allies gain a +1 Enhancement to
their next action and enemies suffer a +1 Complication the
next time they attempt to act against you or your allies.
WRATH AND FURY
Cost: Spend 1 Awareness
Duration: Instant
Subject: Self
Action: Reflexive
52
Create difficult terrain for an enemy. They suffer
a +3 Complication to move through the area,
which has a consequence of loss of movement.
• Create a wall or barrier that creates a new
separation for your Field.
•
Form a crude armor from your plants for you or an
ally, which confers a single point of Soft Armor.
FIRE
From the depths of the molten earth reign Old Ones
of Fire. They control flames and the heat and passions
that move the whims of mortals.
Innate Power: You can control your anger and
fury, keeping it always tamped down. You are immune
to Influence that would turn your Attitude to angry and
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
attempts to incite you to action through threats or intimidation incur a +2 Complication.
CONFLAGRATION
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
A huge fire bursts to life at the snap of your fingers.
This fire can be targeted on an inanimate object,
such as a structure or a building, or it can stand
free, creating a barrier between one Field and
another. Navigating through the conflagration
imposes a +3 Complication and inflicts an Injury
Condition for each level not bought off.
FORGE
Great Old Ones with Forge are responsible for
creating arcane relics, non-Euclidian geometries, and
technologies with terrible purposes.
Innate Power: No creation, technology, or artifact
is foreign in your hands. When using an unknown item,
or something for a purpose not originally intended, you
do not suffer any Complication for doing so.
TRANSUBSTANTIATE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
Not truly an alchemical transubstantiation, you can
turn one fully formed magical item into another
one partially or completely. You may rearrange
your Relic Birthright dots however you choose,
including turning one Relic into another one
entirely. The effect lasts for as long as you imbue
Awareness in this Boon, at which point your Relic
reverts back to its normal form.
FORTUNE
The Fortune Purview deals in happenstance and incidence. Great Old Ones imbue bad luck or odd coincidences,
and bend what would be incidence into their own good luck.
Innate Power: You are the master of your own fate.
Attempts to change your luck, fate, or otherwise alter
your trajectory suffer a +2 Difficulty. You can, of course,
meddle with your own fortune as much as you like.
TWIST FATE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure
+ Legend
Range: Close
Action: Simple
Why break a Fatebinding when you can simply
twist it? You can change the nature of a single
Fatebinding for your target. This could be to change
their Role Condition, or to increase or decrease
the rating of the Fatebinding by 1 (though you
cannot remove it or drop it below 1). You can target
yourself with this Boon. This change ends either
when you reclaim your Awareness or the Condition
resolves naturally, whichever happens first.
FROST
Frost is the Purview of cold in all its forms, both
figurative and literal, from the icy rime that encrusts
the Old Ones hibernating in the Arctic to the chill of the
indifference they show to all humanity.
Innate Power: You cannot be swayed by emotional
appeals or heated seduction. Influence attempts that use
Empathy automatically fail, and those using other forms
to melt your heart are made at +2 Difficulty.
HIBERNATE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One or more characters
Clash: Awareness + Cunning vs. Stamina + Legend
Range: Medium
Action: Reflexive
You can slow the life processes of one target (or all
trivial targets) within range. The target falls into a
deep slumber, falling torpid and appearing nearly
dead. This functions as a Condition which prevents
action or even dreams until either you reclaim your
Awareness, or the target suffers a physical attack.
You may target yourself with this Boon.
HEALTH
Great Old Ones rarely embody good health, though
they have dominion over it and illness alike. This Purview
is usually the dominion of Gods for whom pestilence and
plague follow like lapdogs.
Innate Power: You are always in good health. You
are immune to the effects of mundane diseases, though
divine or magical diseases affect you normally. If you’ve
come into contact with a disease, you can alleviate that
disease in others with a touch.
Purviews
53
TRANSFERENCE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition (see below)
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Intelligence vs. Stamina + Legend
Range: Close
Action: Reflexive
You touch your target and mingle your life force with
theirs, for good or ill. When you touch your target,
can choose to do one of the following. To impart
these effects during combat, you must touch your
enemy with an unarmed combat attack and choose
this Boon instead of normal Stunts. Any Conditions
imparted by this Boon resolve when you reclaim
your Awareness, or the Condition resolves normally.
• Transfer an Injury Condition between you
and the target. For example, if you have
a broken leg, you resolve the Condition
immediately and the target now has the
Condition, or vice versa.
• Transfer a Poisoned or Diseased Condition
between you and your target. You may
transfer both mundane and magical diseases and poisons this way.
• Transfer a single dot of Legend or
Awareness between yourself and the target.
You may only impart or steal a dot from
someone who also has access to the Trait.
You cannot give Awareness to someone who
has not accepted the blessing of the Mythos
Pantheon or give Legend to a normal mortal.
JOURNEYS
The Great Old Ones of Journeys hold sway over
twisting paths, overgrown tracks, and secret passages.
They govern both the paths themselves and the mode of
transportation to get you there.
Innate Power: You always know a back passage, a
secret route, or a hidden portal to get where you’re going. If a secret door or hidden passage exists, you find it
immediately without having to roll, unless it’s obscured
by magic. If you need a secret route through or out of a
place, you find one, even if one did not exist before.
LABYRINTH
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: One field
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
54
You turn a single field into a labyrinth of which there
is no escape. All directions lead back to the center,
all turns lead back in, and all attempts to escape
just leave people confounded and confused.
People can enter the field without problems; they
just can’t leave until the Boon’s effect ends. If the
victim has an ability that allows them to never get
lost, it provokes a Clash of Wills.
MOON
The Moon Purview gives dominion over the night
sky, the warped reflections of truth, the ever-changing
nature of the moon, and the wan light that does not shed
light so much as create more questions.
Innate Power: You are mutable and ever-changing.
Once per session, you may reshape your body as you see
fit. Doing so is a simple action that cannot be combined
into a mixed action. You can twist flesh into a new shape,
rearrange bones, or even remove parts and save them for
later. You may make yourself look completely different,
changing your bone structure and physical features, or
turn yourself into a nightmare amalgam. You gain a +3
Enhancement to actions that would be enhanced by
your changed nature (such as seduction, intimidation,
or deception).
EERIE LIGHT
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: All characters
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Resolve +
Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
You create a wave of moonlight that fills all spaces
within range. Anyone caught in the light begins to
hallucinate. These hallucinations are based on their
own knowledge and experiences but are twisted
and strange. It becomes impossible to discern truth
from lies, or hallucination from reality. This serves
as a Condition in which the characters have +2
Complication to discern fact from fiction, truth from
lies, or find clues during a Procedural. The Condition
ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when the
afflicted person suffers an Injury Condition.
ORDER
The Order Purview doesn’t just concern civilizations and societies, but also the natural laws of physics
in which materials and elements order themselves.
Innate Power: You embody entropy, sapping useful energy from spaces and creating randomness and
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
disorder. You can drain any battery (phone, car, flashlight, etc.) within a short range of its charge, or short out
an electrical outlet in the same range without a roll. The
lost charge dissipates and becomes useless.
LAWFUL TRESPASS
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: Self
Action: Reflexive
The normal laws of the land don’t apply to you
anymore. For the duration of this Boon, there is
a single law, either civilian or of physics that no
longer applies to you. If you break this law, those
who would normally oversee dealing with it simply
ignore you and let you pass. This can’t apply to a
law or rule you broke before the Boon was activated; it must happen while the Boon is active. Once
the Boon ends, so does your immunity to the law,
and any laws you broke that were overlooked may
come back to bite you.
PASSION
The Passion Purview gives reign over all human
emotions from love and joy to rage and depression,
allowing those who have dominion over it to create and
destroy these emotions on a whim.
Innate Power: You bond strongly to others. Gain +3
Enhancement whenever you take an action to create or
reinforce a Bond.
LACKLUSTER
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
You sap someone’s passions, leaving them feeling
empty and hollow inside. Your victim gains a
Condition in which they cannot feel strong emotions
about anything. Attempts to incite emotion from
the character suffer a +2 Complication. The person
does not gain any benefits from their Bonds for
the duration of the Condition, and all actions that
would need emotion to work such as persuasive
speech, or lending sympathy are made with the +2
Complication. This Condition ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when one of the affected
character’s Bonds breaks.
Purviews
55
PROSPERITY
Prosperity is the Purview of wealth both individual
and on a civilization basis. But it also deals in overabundance, excess, greed, and gluttony.
Innate Power: You always have some currency of
the correct kind, even when you reasonably shouldn’t.
You don’t have stocks, bonds, or a large bank account,
but you always have enough cash to buy someone dinner
or grease some palms. Even completely naked in the
desert, you’d be able to present cash to your ride for gas.
EAT THE RICH
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: One character
Clash: Awareness + Presence vs. Composure +
Legend
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
You fill someone with an insatiable desire — be
it for food, wealth, or worldly objects. This Boon
confers a Condition on the target that makes the
character seek out whatever she desires. People
take notice of her desire, and find it disgusting,
imposing a +2 Complication to all social actions.
The character is obsessed with her desire, suffering
a +2 Complication to take actions that don’t further
her goal for more. This Condition ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when the character suffers
a major setback due to her obsession.
SKY
The Old Ones who have Sky as their Purview control
all aspects of the sky from the winds, rain, hail, and lightning to the unfathomable depths of its vast expanses.
Innate Power: You can control the natural weather
patterns in your area. You can lessen or heighten a storm,
push a cold front far north to miss the city you’re in, or
drag a nearby storm into the area, rapidly turning blue
skies stormy gray.
FOG BANK
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: One field
Action: Simple
Warm winds blow dense fog into your area,
decreasing visibility and dampening sound. Choose
a field that your character can see or knows is there
(such as inside the room, or outside the building
56
even if you can’t see out the windows) in which to
create a fog bank. The fog is so thick that it reduces
visibility, creating a +3 Complication to attempt
actions with a range beyond close. Sound is
muffled and muted in the fog bank, imposing a +3
Complication to track or follow someone via sound
through the fog.
STARS
Great Old Ones with dominion over Stars bend both
time and space around themselves. They are as vast as
the space they occupy and tied to the movements of The
World as large, arcane, unknowable forces.
Innate Power: Once per scene, you can divine the
unknowable from the stars. You can ask your Storyguide
a single question about the possible outcomes of an action you or one of your Bandmates is about to take, and
the Storyguide must answer you truthfully.
TEMPORAL SHIFT
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Action: Reflexive
For as long as you have Awareness imbued, you
can slow down or speed up time for yourself. If you
slow time for yourself, everything happens around
you at an advanced pace. You may blow through
a boring waiting period or pass forward in time to
an anticipated event. If you speed time for yourself,
then everything around you appears to happen at
a glacial pace. You can walk past an attack, sleep
a full eight hours in just a few minutes, or pluck a
slow-moving bullet from the air. While you do not
leave the plane of reality on which you are, you
seem to disappear to onlookers while out of time.
Actions that would benefit from slowed or spedup time gain a +2 Enhancement, at Storyguide
discretion.
SUN
The Sun Purview has dominion over life, rebirth,
hope, and the dawning light that reveals all within
darkness. It also has dominion over draught, radiation,
the loss of hope, and the death of dreams in the harsh
noonday sun.
Innate Power: Your presence is polarizing, causing
people gain or lose hope at your whim. You are a walking
atmosphere (Scion: Origin p. 78), which you can make
either positive or negative as you like, with a rating equal
to half your Legend that affects anyone in the same Field
as you.
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
IRRADIATION
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition
Subject: All characters
Clash: Awareness + Might vs. Stamina + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
You create a burst of radiation so powerful it causes
immediate sickness and sometimes death. Small
animals, funguses, and bacteria without radiation
resistance die immediately. Your radiation acts as a
Condition on anyone affected within range creating
weakness and fatigue. Those with the Condition
have a +3 Complication to all physical actions,
with consequences including Injury equal to the
Complication not bought off, loss of action, or additional Complications to later actions. The Condition
ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when
the victim seeks medical attention.
WAR
Great Old Ones with the War Purview reign over
the violence between two peoples. From the sweeping
battlefields to the individual soldier and all the spaces
between where conflict arises.
Innate Power: Whenever you are involved in a conflict (not just physical, any conflict will do) you gain +2
Enhancement to actions that further the conflict rather
than working to resolve it.
INCITE
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: Multiple characters
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure
+ Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
You agitate and incite those around you. Anyone
affected within range suffers a +3 Complication
to attacks. As a consequence, the character does
not attack his intended target, but instead attacks a
target of your choice. Outside of combat, you can
use this Boon to incite violence between agitated
parties. Anyone affected within Range with a negative Attitude will start a fight.
WATER
Great Old Ones with the Water Purview have dominion over the vast and strange depths of the oceans, the
rise and fall of water, riptides, inexplicable vortexes, and
rivers that cut through land like a slow-moving knife.
Innate Power: You have the grace and implacable
movement of water. When you set yourself on a path,
nothing can prevent you from moving forward. Actions
that would stop you, slow you down, or change your course
are made at +2 Difficulty. You can ignore Complications
that would slow your movement and make a Clash of
Wills if the Complication comes from a magical source.
This isn’t just walking, it’s any kind of forward movement,
including flying, biking, driving a car, etc.
TSUNAMI
Cost: Spend 1 Awareness
Duration: Instant
Subject: One field
Range: Long
Action: Simple
A wave of water crashes over the Field, washing away
everything in sight. You can create a wave of water
that materializes out of nowhere to wash across a single Field within range. The water moves with the force
and weight of the ocean sweeping away anything not
bolted down and carries heavy objects along with it.
The wave puts out any fires in its path and can knock
over short walls and small structures. Attempts to swim
against the current incur a +2 Complication. The wave
passes through the Field quickly and dissipates afterward. If the Field is indoors, the wave may fill the room
completely before the water evacuates from natural
egresses, forcing characters to hold their breath, at
Storyguide discretion.
WILD
The Wild Purview is the dominion of the untamed
wilderness, the old spaces that have been reclaimed by
the land, the animals that have been lost to humanity
and live on the edges of civilization still wild and free.
Innate Power: You are a child of wilderness and
wild things recognize you as such. Gain +2 Enhancement
when dealing with wild animals or hostile environments.
Wild animals always have a positive initial Attitude
towards your character unless she does something to
frighten or anger them.
Purviews
57
FERAL TRACES
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Multiple animals
Action: Reflexive
You can take control of a wild animal by imparting
your consciousness into its. While using this Boon,
you are inert and cannot sense your own body.
Instead, you have complete control over the
animal you have possessed, sensing though it and
commanding it as though it were your own body.
You can possess a single large animal, such as
a dog, wolf, bear, or elephant or multiple small
animals such as crows, mice, or cats. If you are in
multiple animals, you can perform tasks with all of
them using a mixed action. The animals can only
perform tasks that make sense for their anatomy
and physical limitations, but you can do things you
couldn’t normally, such as communicate with other
animals of its kind.
MYTHOS SIGNATURE PURVIEW
ARCANE CALCULUS
Knowledge is the lifeblood of the Mythos. Within arcane texts, written in blood on paper tanned from flesh,
sit the arcane words of power. All it takes is a promise to
serve for the Mythos to grant the knowledge and ability
to tap into that power. The Mythos accept all manner of
worship, from praise and sacrifice and unwavering devotion to total indifference in a selfish power grab, and
58
in return they impart only a fraction of the power and
intellect they contain. All this serves to bring the Mythos
closer to The World and allow the Great Old Ones to
breach the veil that separates their worlds from this one.
Innate Power: When performing analysis, research, or surveying investigation actions, you gain +1
Enhancement. You can ignore up to 1 Complication from
such actions that would lead you to misinterpret the information you gain on the action.
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
DISTURBING VISIONS
Cost: Free
Duration: Instant
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
By reading scripts from Mythos realms or inscribing
arcane geometries, you receive a vision from the
Mythos. This vision is a compulsion, something the
Gods want you to do for them with the promise of
a benefit afterward. The request replaces the character’s Short-Term Deed with something achievable
within the session. Disturbing Visions should only be
useable once per session and should be a minor effort requiring a scene’s worth of activity and at least
one successful roll. The exact request often doesn’t
make any sense, whether the Deed is esoteric or
simply strange, and is left to the Storyguide’s discretion. This typically results in characters stumbling
across disparate and far-flung cults and rites until a
full and final picture is revealed.
Once you’ve completed the mission, gain 1
Awareness and 1 Legend. The vision has shredded
away the veil, enabling you to see any being
touched by the Mythos.
MOUTH OF MADNESS
Cost: Spend 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Subject: Multiple characters
Clash: Presence + Legend vs. Resolve + Legend
Range: Short
Action: Simple
You speak of an incident or situation you are
investigating. This can be as simple as a person’s
name, or the event that created your lead. Everyone
within range immediately begins to speak, divulging
everything they know about the situation. You gain
Enhancement 3 on any investigative action to follow
up on any clues or stunts related to the revelations
you’ve heard for the rest of the session. When acting
decisively upon the information you’ve gained this
way, you also have +1 Scale where appropriate
for the rest of the session. For example, acting upon
the revelation of a fellow Scion’s perfidy grants you
Scale to defeat them, but only if the information
somehow relates to a weakness of theirs.
Mythos Signature Purview
59
ADDITIONAL RELICS
R
elics are the ultimate traps of the Mythos. They offer
knowledge and power to anyone, mundane, divine, or
titan that seeks them out. One needs only thirst for truth,
enlightenment, and Awareness. They are plentiful, ranging
from obscure tomes tucked away in restricted rooms of
libraries, to Elder Signs carved into medallions, to devices
built by scientists who glimpsed the unknown. These Relics
are optional, presented as additional items to introduce
into your game at Storyguide discretion.
For anyone with Awareness, relics operate as other
Legend-based relics. For those without Awareness, they
may access the powers through sacrifice. For each life
“fed” to it, the user gains a temporary point of Awareness
for up to one hour and the maximum number of points
cannot exceed the relic’s rating. The character gains the
persistent Condition, Burning Awareness.
Burning Awareness: +1 Difficulty to all tasks not
related to a Mythos relic or their acquisition as the
character is distracted by the vast universes and needs
to know more.
THE ALERT (•••••)
Purview: Journeys
Motif: The person at the end of the voyage is not the
person from the beginning of the voyage.
The epistolary evidence which surrounds the ship
Alert suggests a strange and winding history: the Alert’s
journeys across the oceans brought it to its current berth
in Oslo, through direct encounters with Cthulhu and a
few days (A few years? A few eons? One cannot know) anchored off R’lyeh. Just as people who meet the Great Old
Ones do not escape unscathed or unchanged, so the Alert
came out of the other end of this epic journey different.
The first person to notice this change was her owner at the time, Gustaf Johansen. His letters home to his
now-widow detail strange journeys; he claims that his
prior ship, the Emma, was set upon by the crew of the
Alert for no reason, and the crew of the Emma killed
them. However, Anna Johansen has since admitted in
letters to researchers that her husband’s state of mind
upon return, and his aggressive behavior toward family
and friends, places great uncertainty upon the reliability
of his narrative; it is just as likely that the crew of the
Emma simply commandeered the vessel, or that the
crew of the Alert came upon the Emma adrift and rescued them only to find their kindness rewarded with violence. In any case, the Emma has never been recovered
and most parties agree it was lost in the South Pacific.
Whatever the truth of the narrative, Johansen’s writings after his return to Sweden indicate that the Alert
60
brought him home true, even though her navigational
tools never worked reliably. He wrote that her compass
“spun and glowed in the dark, chattering like the teeth of
one freezing to death,” and that walking the steam yacht’s
passages at night found him “surrounded by the sound
of whispers, perhaps the voices of the dead.” Standing at
the ship’s wheel, he felt a “warm and certain presence”
behind him, but every time he turned his head to seek
that presence, he saw only “a soft shadow slipping away.”
The Alert has since passed through multiple hands:
many researchers and other individuals have clamored to
own her, to understand her, and to take her out into the
ocean in an attempt to locate R’lyeh. Her owners tend not
to live terribly long: Vitas Varnas was burned alive in a fire
in the engine room, Dr. Nadia Sari drowned, Xavier Foust
was run through by a crew mate’s sword during a mutiny,
and Kristiyan Nela was torn apart by a strange beast when
they landed upon a previously unknown island.
The concept of a ship bearing some sort of mild sapience, if not true sentience, exists in many of the writings
of its owners, and some researchers posit that the Alert
rejects owners based upon her own criteria. Attempts to
enumerate these criteria in order to find a captain who
will survive her has, until now, failed.
Knack: The Alert never runs out of fuel in an emergency; during moments of crisis, she runs regardless of
how much coal remains on hand, like a human being
running on adrenaline. She possesses at least some form
of sapience, and will attempt to steer away from immediate danger, though she can be coaxed to head toward
something which will damage her or her crew. Once per
week, the Alert can be asked to direct herself toward any
location where she has already traveled (including R’lyeh) and she will take over navigation; by some strange
mechanism, no matter how far away the location, the
Alert always arrives at her destination within one hour.
She may also travel to a Terra Incognita which is new to
her, provided the helmsman knows the way or possesses
something belonging to that Terra Incognita.
Flaw: The Alert has been deeply mistreated in her time
and has seen great violence and misfortune. If she is not
well-treated – this usually means keeping her in good repair, well-stocked, and not running her crew ragged, though
more obscure requirements seem to surface now and again
– she will try to cause misfortune to, or outright murder,
her captain. This mechanism is not absolute and should be
handled by discussion between Storyguide and player.
AMULET OF DAGON (••)
Purview: Chaos
Motif: You don’t know what you don’t know.
No one knows where the Amulet of Dagon comes
from, and no one knows to whom it originally belonged. It
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
appeared in a museum collection one day a hundred years
ago and since then has been stolen, swiped, purloined,
traded, fallen into other hands… no one has owned the amulet for longer than a handful of years at a time, and some
people have possessed it for only a few minutes or a day.
The amulet, the size of a silver dollar, depicts a massive,
multi-limbed sea creature generally presumed to be Father
Dagon, though it might also be Mother Hydra. The amulet is carved of an unknown and as-yet-unidentified stone
which always feels chill and slightly greasy to the touch.
Knack: Spend 1 Momentum and gain 2 Enhancement when attempting to decipher unknown languages
— whether mundane or some leaving of the Great Old
Ones — or uncover mysteries connected to the Great Old
Ones. The Storyguide is the final arbiter of what counts
as uncovering mysteries.
Flaw: Gain 2 Difficulty in circumstances in which
the owner attempts to resist the commands or entreaties of the servants of Dagon or Mother Hydra; gain 1
Difficulty when attempting to resist the commands or
entreaties of servants of any other Great Old One, including other Scions.
AMULET OF THE HOUND
(•••)
Purview: War
Motif: A potent little token for those who seek to become the beast.
A small object carved from jade, this tiny amulet is no
bigger than the human thumb. It is not particularly old;
early records place its creation in regions of China, but
in truth, this is wildly incorrect and it was in fact a mere
facsimile of artistic jeweler native to the area. In actuality,
a French settler aristocrat in the Louisiana area carved
this amulet. It depicts a huntsman with a canine head and
large bat-like wings, intended to illustrate the artist’s impression of the perfect hunting predator, with the cunning
and skill of a human tempered with animalistic ferocity.
The brutality and savage nature of the amulet’s original
owner, often turned against the enslaved people he victimized with his rages, grew so egregious that he ultimately
faced bloody retribution at the hands of his own household, and was sealed within a coffin and buried alive for
his sins. Recovered several decades after the man’s death,
the amulet has passed hands several times since until it
found its current resting spot in the British Museum, misclassified as the product of Chinese manufacture.
Knack: Spend 1 momentum to cause your jaw to
extend, creating a large muzzle full of sharp canine-like
teeth. For the duration of this scene, any bite attack deals
one additional point of damage.
DER KÖNIG IN GELB (•••••)
Purview: Star, Death, Journey
Motif: They recorded it. What madness!
It was common in the early years of the twentieth
century for stage and film to cross paths, with recordings
of theatrical performances recorded and displayed to audiences the world over. German expressionist filmmaker
Fritz Langfrett, a former vaudeville stagehand, undertook one such recording in 1924. His film, Der König
in Gelb, is one of early cinema’s most elusive lost films.
The recording comprised of two reels; the first remains
in the hands of an anonymous wealthy collector. The
second and final reel, which was incorrectly assumed to
have perished in the fire that consumed the theater and
Additional Relics
61
claimed the life of Langfrett and all of the performers
and crew, remains missing.
Knack: The fact that Langfrett was an adamant
cultist in service to ancient entities from Aldebaran is
unsurprisingly missing from film history. In practice,
the recording perfectly captured the ritual of The King
in Yellow, sealing the rite’s mystical properties within a
cage of celluloid. Viewing both reels of the film in their
entirety has the same effect as a performance of the play,
but without the necessity of actors or scripts. All that is
required is a film projector of an appropriate age; no dice
rolls are required to perform the ritual in this manner.
Flaw: Perhaps mercifully, both reels are required
for this performance; the second has been lost for almost a century. Should it be found, upon completion of
the ritual (namely viewing the film), the Herald of the
King becomes manifest. Most people with any sense of
self-preservation have little interest in being present for
such an arrival or its subsequent bloodbath.
ELDER SIGN AMULET (••)
Calling: Guardian
Motif: Holding the dark at bay
This small, minted amulet of metal is typically no
smaller than half the circumference of one’s palm. It is inlaid with a marking that, although unsettling to look upon,
is nevertheless beneficial for those who know how to wield
it. These amulets are not made of any particular type of
metal and there is nothing especially unique about its construction; instead, the potency relies upon the marking engraved upon it. In order to create these amulets, significant
knowledge of the occult is required; creating the symbol
even slightly incorrectly nullifies its mystical properties.
Few scholars recognize why this emblem can seemingly repel the inhuman spawn of the Great Old Ones
in the way that it does. What matters, though, is that it
works. Its function is not based on visual senses (not all
entities possess what we recognize as eyes, after all), but
some other cosmic means entirely.
Knack: The Amulet functions in one of two ways. Firstly, when physically placed between a Mythos entity and a
target (often the wielder) it prevents the creature from
moving past or touching anything behind the amulet. Doing
so requires the wielder to spend One Momentum; holding
the amulet in an outstretched hand while doing so is enough
to repel the creature. The wielder may, if they choose, place
the amulet somewhere (hanging it in a window or around
the neck of a loved one) to extend that protection to wherever or whoever he has placed the amulet. Be aware that this
use is unidirectional; holding out the amulet to one creature
will not protect you from attack by a second creature behind
you, and placing the amulet on a window will not prevent
the creature from crashing through the doorway instead.
62
As a second use, the amulet grants temporary, limited
concealment from the forces of the Mythos. While hiding,
anybody clutching this amulet in their palm gains a 2 Enhancement to concealment so long as they remain still and hidden.
ERICH ZANN’S VIOL (•••)
Purview: Artistry, Chaos, Darkness
Motif: Give of yourself to hold back the dark.
The battered case of Erich Zann’s viol contains a
simple viol (also known as a cello) created by an expert
craftsperson; her smooth, honey-colored wood seems to
glow subtly, as if stage lights strike her, no matter what the
current lighting. If the instrument were smaller, it might
make a decent emergency light, perhaps. Oddly, no matter
if the viol is transferred to a new case, said case becomes
worn and battered within a week; the cello’s owner finds
himself bumping the case against walls, dropping it down
a full flight of stairs, or scuffing it against the sidewalk
until the new case looks just as worn as the old.
In service to Hypnos, Zann used this cello to keep
the Sultan of the Gods sleeping; Hypnos serves Azathoth
(at least in theory, see Hypnos, p. 184) and they direct
their followers and servants to keep the Great Old One
always slumbering, lest he wake and cause great and
irreparable harm. This work demands a great deal of
energy from the viol’s owner.
Knack: By spending 1 Momentum, the user may imbue his music with a chaotic energy which soothes even
Great Old Ones. Choose from either of the following
options upon activating the viol. The user enters a Clash
of Wills with an opponent; success causes the opponent
to fall asleep regardless of other circumstance; the user
gains 2 Enhancement to this roll. However, attacking or
otherwise damaging the subject of the Knack causes him
to immediately wake.
Alternately, the cello’s user may choose to seal shut any
portal, door, or other opening for a scene. There is no outer
limit to the size of portal which can be closed, but it must
be surrounded by a continuous boundary. Technically, yes,
you could seal off the Earth from space by doing this, but
don’t be ridiculous. The Storyguide is the final arbiter of
whether the viol’s music may seal a given doorway.
Flaw: Practice makes perfect, and the viol requires
constant attention in order to function. The viol only
works for someone who has practiced upon it for at least a
half-hour in the previous twenty-four hours. Owners of the
viol report this practice tires them more than they expect.
THE IVORY KEY (••••)
Purviews: Journey
Motif: Though the Gates of Horn and Ivory, and into
the realms beyond the dream
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
The Ivory Key is a bulky object, far too impractical
to mistake for an actual key. It is a long object comprised
of sharp edges, spikes, and serrated edges, with only the
circular handle the size of a human hand to give any semblance to an actual key. The Ivory Key is old; believed to
have been carved from the horn of a woolly mammoth,
and dated to the same historical era. In truth, it is far
older than that; the creature from which the ivory used
to forge this key came from was extinct long before life
on this Earth ever emerged, and never dwelled on any
planet in this star system.
Few texts go into detail on the original function of
the key or discuss who its original owners may have been.
It was unearthed during excavation for housing construction numerous centuries ago, and found its way into
private collections when scholars recognized that it possessed occult capabilities. Even despite that, few owners
were able to chart the full scale of its uses, and eventually
the object found its way through numerous museum collections, occasionally changing hands until the modern
day. In truth, a significant reason behind the key’s mystery is due to the fate of its numerous owners; many who
explore the secrets of the key simply disappear, leaving no
trace of themselves or their research behind.
Knack: The key plays a role in the evocation of a
ritual, the function of which allows for the creation of
a portal to any destination (known or unknown). This
portal’s destination may reach to anywhere, including
beyond the stars, through the realms of dreams, or
across the span of time. In order to function, a doorway
is required; this can be a physical door in a house, an
illusionary gateway such as a drawing in chalk on the
side of a cliff, or a metaphysical doorway such as a torii
or standing stones. Starlight is required to illuminate
the portal; this ritual can therefore only work at night.
All in attendance spend Two Momentum to create the
portal; only those who have spent Momentum are able
to venture through the gateway.
Flaw: This relic itself cannot pass through the portals it creates. If somebody attempts to do so, the key disappears from their grip, bag, or pocket midway during
their passage through the portal, materializing on the
ground near the portal’s entrance.
MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
(••• EACH)
Purview: Chaos, Darkness
Motif: The wearable visage of the Great Old Ones.
Adopted by many cults across the world dedicated
to the worship of the Great Old Ones, practitioners have
worn masks representing the features of their respective
objects of worship for centuries. Once adorned, practitioners act out the conflicts or celebrations of their deities,
however many of those particular masks in question hold
little true power. Those who have received a true mark
by the respective Great Old One possess any modicum of
power and are truly classed as a relic. Traditionally those
masks made their way to the hands of priests; nowadays
the owners tend to be wealthy elites, buying up as many
masks as they can through global auctions.
Knack: Each mask holds a different Knack. The
masks must be worn for the entirety of the scene for its
given effect to remain in place.
• The Goat-horned Mask: These masks are carved of
wood, typically the older the wood the better, and
painted with various shades of black. These faces,
when worn, whisper to the wearer in the voices
of a thousand children demanding nourishment.
The wearer does not feel any ill effects due to
hunger or thirst while they wear this mask, and
they gain a 3 Enhancement to hunting, tracking,
or pursuing somebody that is marked as an enemy. While wearing the mask, they are subject to
bouts of anger.
• The Spiral Mask: These masks are either carved
from or coated in conical shells, although the ones
created from a single large shell possess more
respect among their worshippers. When worn,
these faces cause severe disorientation and feelings of being lost. The wearer does not feel any ill
effects due to pain while they wear the mask, and
can ignore any resulting penalties to rolls caused
from physical injuries. In addition, they gain a 3
Enhancement to attempts at inflicting fear or terror in others. While wearing the mask, they are
unable to speak at any volume above a whisper.
• The Feline Mask: These clay masks possess exaggerated angular motifs, giving them an entirely
alien impression, and are ritually smeared with
the blood of a freshly-slain prey animal. These
faces, when worn, stir memories of nostalgia in
the wearer. The wearer is able to “see” through
the eyes of any one designated sentient creature
within a mile’s radius of themselves, perceiving
the world through (although not commanding the
actions of ) the target. While wearing the mask,
they experience heavily excessive bouts of sexual
attraction to others (remember, as always, players
may opt to veto or redirect any involvement outside of their comfort zones).
• The Cephalopod Mask: These masks are typically
carved from thin sheets of stone and are bound together by pieces of seaweed. When worn, these faces
instill the wearer with feelings of claustrophobia. The
wearer finds it as easy to breathe in the water as in
air, and they gain a 3 Enhancement to reading and understanding languages which are not native to them
Additional Relics
63
(including languages the wearer has no experience
with or means to know). While wearing the mask, all
sounds the wearer hears become a muffled echo.
• The Toad Mask: These masks are created from
metal, typically thin sheets of steel, hammered
into shape to create a bulbous and mottled effect.
When worn, these faces cause the wearer to feel
sensations all across their body, as though unseen
invisible damp fingers are gently touching them.
The wearer finds that cold temperatures cause
them no harm, rendering them immune to damage from physical exposure to freezing temperatures, and they gain a 3 Enhancement to recognizing their position based on and navigating by the
stars. While wearing the mask, they are unable
to see anything around them in their immediate
vicinity; although the night sky above is as clear as
day (even if the wearer is indoors).
• The Pale Mask: No two copies of these masks are
the same; they depict a human face in a variety of
emotional states (or sometimes none at all). They
are made from bone, although ebony and china
are also used, and are all painted white. Especially
potent ones bear a cracked motif across their
surface. This face, when worn, instills the wearer
with feelings of vertigo and a sensation of falling.
The wearer may spend One Momentum to know
the name, ambitions, and intent of any living person they set their eyes on; even a total stranger,
or somebody only seen through a photograph or
image. While wearing the mask, the user experiences the urge to create some work of artistic
meaning or expression.
MI-GO BRAIN CYLINDER (•••)
Purview: Stars, Illusion
Motif: Exceptional intellect constrained and bound.
This canister is small, often bound in an interwoven metallic case that resembles brass. Prying away its casing reveals a
variety of thin cables that contain and regulate fluids and electrical currents in equal measure. The cables themselves run
into the cylinder’s liquid interior, which houses the object’s
true purpose; to house the organic matter of an alien being,
complete with sentience. The cylinder’s surface appears conductive to human skin, and although the mind housed inside
cannot communicate verbally without additional mechanical
functions, thoughts occasionally ‘slip’ through the canister’s
shell, creating whispers in the mind of those who carry it.
Inside the cylinder is a fully functional alien brain,
kept in a living state by means of continually rotating
levels of various fluids and regulatory electrical charges.
The casing around the cylinder’s outer surface is opaque,
64
however it contains inner glass tubing. This surface is
removable; doing so allows for the cables surrounding
the glass to connect to additional devices that allow
for vocalization. This permits specific two-way verbal
communication, although this is rarely required; despite lacking sensory apparatus, the alien consciousness
kept alive in this cylinder is still acutely aware of their
surroundings, and more than capable of ‘whispering’ directly into the mind of whoever is holding the cylinder.
Knack: Spend 1 Momentum to add one success to rolls
involving recalling or learning new information, as the
mind within the cylinder whispers things you could not
otherwise know. In addition, you can Spend 1 Momentum
to gain one success to rolls involving reaction speed, as the
mind cautions you of dangers before you are aware of them.
Flaw: The mind seeks to find other bodies to house
itself, and it makes no secret of the fact that its protection
and foreknowledge come at a price. This cost is typically
to be paid at some future point, and is doubtless considerably high; if the sentience begins to feel that its price
will not be paid, it becomes quite adversarial.
SMOKING MIRROR (••)
Purview: Death, Journey
Motif: The most direct means of communication with
the spirits of the dead.
This mirror is surprisingly small, a roughly twelveinch diameter circular piece of strongly polished obsidian.
The source of its construction is volcanic in nature, but
relatively mundane. The polish applied to its surface, however, is alchemical in nature, causing this particular obsidian mirror to possess unique capabilities not shared with
others of a similar design. John Dee, philosopher and chief
occultist to the court of Queen Elizabeth the First, claims
fame as the mirror’s creator. In reality the mirror hails
from the Mēxihcah, being first pilfered by the Spanish and
then making its way to British hands via theft. The mirror’s history has been eventful, one may even say cursed,
with various owners including Dee reporting hauntings.
If there’s a way to use the mirror without trapping ghosts
and causing a haunting, only the Mēxihcah knew it.
Knack: This relic grants a 2 Enhancement to summoning the soul of any dead, regardless of how long ago
they died. The deceased manifests as a hazy, fog-like figure
in the polished reflection of the mirror for one scene.
Flaw: The mirror’s fabled function is not entirely
true. Rather than reflecting the souls of the dead for
conversation with the living, the mirror actually captures them. The dead summoned into the mirror remain
trapped within it, essentially existing within an oubliette
of obsidian, and come out to haunt the mirror’s owner.
CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS
SWORD OF KADATH (••)
Purview: Death, Deception
Motif: It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream. It’s only—
The Sword of Kadath’s origins remain unknown: the
blade changes its appearance to suit its owner, and its
recorded history shows it appearing as anything from a
Roman gladius to a hook sword, a macuahuitl to a rapier.
The only consistency in its appearance is an eldritch
symbol engraved just before the guard, if the sword has a
guard, or across the join between handle and blade. The
symbol itself shifts its appearance at random times, but
anyone with sufficient occult knowledge always identifies it as a sigil of Nyarlathotep.
The sword always functions as a normal sword, but
its special adaptations appear when its owner moves
through dreams, either his own or someone else’s. One
normally brings nothing with them into dreams, but the
Sword of Kadath always goes with its user everywhere,
which permits the user to go into his own dreams armed.
Knack: The Sword of Kadath travels with its owner
always. If it is stolen, it returns to its owner the next time
he sleeps, even disappearing from the hand of the person
who stole it to return to its owner in his dreams so he
may not go unarmed. This return to its owner may cause
the sword to pass between realms of its own volition. It
doesn’t matter where the sword is; it goes home. Ownership changes only by means known to the sword itself;
rumors persist that killing a sentient being with the blade
instills ownership, or perhaps killing the former owner,
or dedicating a battle to one of the Great Old Ones.
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Unconcealable
Flaw: The sword’s presence becomes addictive, and
its owner may realize he cannot meaningfully function
without it. In any situation where the sword’s owner
doesn’t carry the Sword of Kadath with him, such as going
into a courthouse or if the sword is stolen, he experiences
1 Complication to all tasks which require concentration.
YITHIAN MIND STONE (•••)
Purview: Journeys, Sky
Motif: I see you.
Long ago, on a distant planet, the Great Race of Yith
slung their minds across the vastness of space simply
because they could; they put their consciousness into the
minds of others, taking control of their bodies so that they
may live on Earth or other planets as they choose. Rumors
persist that they walk the Earth even now, moving between
the bodies of men, creatures, and even the planet itself.
If they do, these bodies are their only homes: the flying
polyps destroyed their home planet and all their original
bodies. It is possible that the movement of the Great Race
of Yith between various bodies gives rise to the human
belief in reincarnation, or perhaps reincarnation exists on
its own, but Yith bring out memories more strongly.
These stones do not come directly from the Yithians: multiple theories exist regarding their exact origin,
but either humans created them to mimic the powers of
the Great Race of Yith, or those who created them did so
under the instruction of the Yithians. This process originally permitted the Yithians to retain their powers as
their innate abilities fade now that they no longer have
bodies to return home to, to rest, to regenerate. Whatever their origin, they pass between human hands now.
Two forms of Yithian Mind Stones exist: one permits a sort of astral projection, another permits mind
control. The ability of each stone is fixed at its creation
and may not later be changed.
Note: the powers of the Yithian Mind Stones, especially the power of mind control, should be used with
care. Please consult “My Character Wouldn’t Do That”
(p. 47) for further guidance.
Knack: Choose one of the two following abilities
upon purchase of the Yithian Mind Stone. This choice is
permanent and may not later be altered.
Astral Projection: The stone’s owner falls unconscious, casting her mind out into the universe. She may
navigate as if she is a ghost, flying and passing through
solid objects. She may use any Knacks or other powers
which do not require physical interaction with objects.
Ghosts and other insubstantial beings may interact with
her or attack her; she retains her Health levels and may
be killed while astral. Her body is vulnerable to attack;
she will not know if someone attacks her so it’s best to
have a trusted companion guarding her body. She may
return to her body by travel or by spending 1 Momentum
to return instantly. She may remain in her astral form
as long as she wishes and as long as her body survives
without her within it.
Mind Control: Engage in a Clash of Wills with a target
and take control of her body for a scene if successful. The
user’s own body falls inert, and he can no longer feel it
or control it in any way. The user may take control of any
form of living being the size of a mouse or larger, though
attempts to control animals or beings who are very small,
very large or very different from humans (such as an octopus) may incur a 1-to-3-point Complication, determined
by the Storyguide. Those who make use of this ability to
take over other humans may find themselves shunned or
viewed as equivalent to rapists; removing another person’s control over her body is a serious matter.
Flaw: The power of a Yithian Mind Stone will not
function unless it has been carried in contact with the
skin of its owner for twelve consistent hours out of the
previous twenty-four.
Additional Relics
65
CHAPTER FOUR
THE MISKATONIC
HOLLOW
“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself
a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.”
— Neil Gaiman, American Gods
T
here is an inescapable strangeness about the mighty
Miskatonic River and the land it drains. Some of it
comes from the mundane machinations of humanity. Some
of it seems to ooze from the land itself. There are also
many alien forces that have long inhabited this troubled
watershed, causing otherness to become an integral part
of the valley’s uncanny terrain.
The Miskatonic Valley occupies a large swath of
Essex County, running south of the Merrimack and
Ipswich basins and north of the Charles River and
Boston Harbor. The river itself empties out of the North
Coastal region of Massachusetts and into the turbid
Atlantic. The county includes Salem, Newbury, and
Methuen. The Miskatonic’s headwaters emerge from
springs west of isolated Dunwich, wending eastward
down among eerily rounded hills, cutting through the
middle of insular Arkham, emptying into the Atlantic
just north of the strange and dreamy city of Kingsport.
Up the coast lies militant Innsmouth, where newcomers
are seldom welcomed.
The valley’s natural landscapes project a sense of
foreboding. Streams twist over tortured topography, disappearing into unknown cavities only to reemerge from
surprising recesses. Glaciers left behind cyclopean formations of granite, undulating moraines, and giant “irregular” boulders carried from unknown distant lands.
Back roads snake past abandoned farm communities and
derelict mills, while branches of elderly trees arch and
encroach on travelers from above. The coast is crowded
with hidden bays, toothy rock formations, ship-wrecking shoals and barrier islands. Visitors passing through
are often left wondering why the Miskatonic area exudes such an atmosphere of primordial unease.
Strange entities had taken root long before the time
of glaciers, including Mi-Go, Serpent People, Yithians,
Elder Things and many others. Some left relics behind
include remote woodland altars, sculpted caverns, and
rings of standing stones clearly not placed by glacier or
human hands.
Indigenous people of the Miskatonic Valley farmed
upland tidal waters and maintained seasonal fishing
camps along the coast. People who would later galvanize under a confederacy known as Wampanoag, including the Agawam of Essex county and the Naumkeag
Nation near Salem, grappled and staved off Mythos
forces for countless generations before Europeans arrived. In the early 17th century, English settlers from
the Massachusetts Bay Colony brought devastating
diseases, slavery, aggressive religious conversion, and
forced conscription for warfare among foreign powers,
which suppressed and all but erased long oral histories of Indigenous triumphs, losses, and alliances with
inhuman inhabitants. “Miskatonic” is a nonsense name
given by early European settlers who likely appropriated poorly overheard Indigenous words that were
never corrected. The Europeans carved out plantations
and exploited trade in slavery and sugar cane from the
Caribbean, exporting fish, lumber, and beef. Later waves
of industry in the 19th and 20th centuries brought textile and paper mills, and waves of migration from places
such as Southern Europe, French Canada, Russia, and
Ireland, as well as African-Americans fleeing campaigns
of murder and terrorism in southern states during the
Great Migration.
Contemporary Miskatonic Valley continues to wend
through the ruins of a layered past. The basin’s identity
remains forever haunted by symbols and myths of early
European colonization, pulled into the destructive impulse of nostalgia for earlier eras, even as so many of its
residents look to revise and cut new roads out of aimless
cow paths and into a better future. It functions now as
a post-industrial anachronism, as a living collision of
global community, and a confluence of roiling cultural
currents. As a nest for Mythos entities, the valley has an
uncanny way of elongating and distorting the shadows
of its history.
The Miskatonic Hollow
67
ARKHAM
“What he said was not to be believed,
even in centuried and
legend-haunted Arkham;
but he threw out his dark lore with a sincerity and
convincingness which made one
fear for his sanity.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Thing on the Doorstep”
STATISTICS
Population: 46,298
Active Pantheons: Nyarlathotep, The King in Yellow
Demographics:
71% White
10% Hispanic or Latino
9% African American
7% South Asian,
2% Indigenous peoples
Median Age: 38
Median Income: $63,867
Cost of Living: 125% composite index compared to national average. (Boston, MA is 132%)
Major Town Mascot/Sculpture: Jeddediah Houston’s Sacrifice
Fields:: 1e Research. 1c Investigations
Fields
HISTORY
The city of Arkham represents one of the first settlements to come from the great egress of good English
peoples escaping troubled lives in their homeland for a
simpler life in the new world. These immigrants saw the
land a blank slate on which they could build a community more wholly complete and committed to their God’s
intentions for them in this lifetime. Salem was the first
in 1626, with Arkham soon after in 1628. Two years later,
there began a tidal wave of thousands of immigrants
from England that lasted until 1642 and seeded what
would become Essex County.
68
The land was rich, fertile, and welcoming to the
resolute and the hardworking. The Indigenous Nation,
the Wampanoag, were kind and happy to teach these immigrants the things they needed to know to thrive on the
land. What and where to plant were important, almost
as much as what and where not to. They taught them
better trapping techniques for game that wandered in
the area, as well any number of other useful techniques.
With a climate much like their homeland and ready
access to timber and many other raw resources as well
as waterways that ferried them quickly to the coast, they
thrived in their new home, this new England. The immigrants were strange to the native people of what would
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
become America with their odd tales of this new world.
The Wampanoag told them of great battles, and old gods
and beings older than time that had come before them
and would come again after them and shape the very
earth they stood on. They spoke of events so ancient that
no human individual could possibly have borne witness,
yet their story would have made the foreigners believe
they were actually there.
They cautioned the settlers to take heed in numerous parts of the forest, advising them to avoid some
places entirely. Where odd landmarks with characteristics that made it hard to understand how human hands
could have fashioned them. Others were simply parts
of the forest where nothing seemed to grow, barren
with the stench of death, that no person of sound mind
would traverse voluntarily. Others were just areas with
ominous-sounding names, as if a warning were built
into the moniker. Exactly what these Puritans were to
be warned away from was never clear. The newcomers
could see no danger in this land. Their God had brought
them here; had chosen this place for them. Surely there
was nothing here from which he could not protect them.
So, the Puritans balked at the “superstitious savages,”
paying their ancient myths no mind. There were some
white men, however, who noted if you looked closely,
you could see the deep, haunted fear in their eyes when
they spoke — or more aptly didn’t speak — of this history.
Arkham was built along the Miskatonic River and
sprawled into its surroundings as more and more immigrants arrived and families expanded. The slow-butsteady transformation of woodlands that were thick and
wild into tamed and managed farmland was seemingly
inevitable. Trees were cleared to make way for the roads
that carried all one could acquire from the coast and surrounding areas. That lumber became the farmhouses,
barns, and fences that were called home. This was progress until 150 years when the bounty of the woodlands
was spent.
The end of the 17th century bore witness to decades of witch hunts that spread through New England,
hitting Massachusetts particularly hard. All the news
from neighboring Salem reported on the seemingly
never-ending number of trials, hangings, and burnings
in their attempt to cleanse their town of evil. While the
rest of their neighbors waged their crusade, Arkhamites
took a different approach. It wasn’t that they were any
less devout or less committed to their God than any
other good citizen of New England. It certainly was
Arkham
69
not because Arkham could be declared free of sinister
influence or void of evil. There were too many strange
goings-on. Too many rumors, whispers, and odd folks
with even odder unexplainable behaviors.
Every Arkhamite knew and was rightly leery of the
Witch House on Pickman Street. With its strange sounds,
terrifying smells, and the unsettling way it seemed to
affect its lodgers, it was best avoided at all costs. While
everyone was concerned about what unholy happenings
went on inside, no one dared cross its bounds and knock
on the door to inquire. It seemed every citizen breathed
a sigh of relief when the news came of Keziah Mason’s
arrest and trial in Salem, as she was the house’s owner.
Then they quickly sucked in and held their breath at the
news of her disappearance from her locked cell. No, it
was not that the people of Arkham heeded their God
less. Perhaps it could be said, however, that they had
a keen sense of the forces at play and could recognize
that which was beyond the laws of mortals when they
brushed against it.
Like most of New England, the redcoats marched
through during the war and even managed to burn
down quite a bit of the town. Unlike other towns, multiple reports of regiments who wandered into the woods
surrounding Arkham and were never heard from again.
Individual soldiers who left the safety of numbers to
make chase into the trees did not return; a search found
only empty, lifeless uniforms, still whole and intact as
if the bodies had been simply sucked out of them. The
forests eventually proved unnavigable. Soldiers swore
that north would “drift” and they would end up lost,
nowhere near where they should be. These events and
the strange, inhuman sounds that came from the trees
meant the British soon stopped coming through at night
and eventually stopped coming through at all. Stories of
large armies marching their way around the coast, cutting wide and circuitous paths to avoid Arkham and its
surroundings all together, bandied about the towns.
The 1900s were prosperous for Arkham. With the
exception of a typhoid outbreak in 1905, Arkham thrived.
Like all towns, it lost its share of boys and men to two
world wars, but the opening of Miskatonic University
in the early part of the century meant more youth and
vibrancy than most towns had during war. Shortly after,
the Arkham Sanitarium opened. These two institutions
brought in professors, doctors, and researchers of all
stripes. While Arkham was considerably smaller, its
reputation was comparable to the great institutions of
Boston in educational, medical, and otherworldly affairs.
MODERN DAY
Despite trying, the city of Arkham was never quite
able to shake its small-town, Puritan roots. It has a
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bustling, steady population of over 40,000 citizens,
around 15 percent are students and faculty at Miskatonic
University. Something about the small-town vibe, regardless of the crime, makes Arkham feel strangely safe
to young residents. That youthful energy and money
have led to the town having an active nightlife scene.
The latest tunes float out of clubs to those looking for
fun, music, and good food.
Arkham provides well, since, like all small university towns, it has its share of contemporary conveniences.
Multiple coffee shops and bakeries abound, including
the best doughnuts in New England. There are a couple
of medium-sized butchers and grocers. There is a frozen
yogurt store, the bubble tea shop, a few hotels, and many
restaurants ranging from diners to upscale eateries with
tablecloths — and while the town has managed to keep
out every other national chain, there is, much to the dismay of many, a single Starbucks. On the main street, you
can find just about anything you might be looking for
including practical things like a hardware store, several
bank branches, a locksmith, car mechanics, a used-car
dealer, and a drug store.
For fun, there is the local comic-book shop and
game store, plus the music store where you can rent
or buy an instrument and learn to play it. There is a
nine-hole mini-golf course, a two-screen movie house, a
playhouse that shares space with the university and way
more bars and music venues that rely heavily on alcohol
sales than the much of the local populous would like. Of
course, all of this means that the students leave campus
and spend their money, which, considering what a year
at Miskatonic University costs, is far more than the
average 20-year-old Arkhamite has in walking-around
money. The locals love it here, except for the part where
the students leave campus. Like all good Puritan towns,
there are no fewer than a dozen churches to save the
souls of Arkham sinners. However, most churchgoers
don’t think those who need it most ever attend services
at all. The fact that all the students seem to sleep in on
Sunday mornings or attend on-campus church sits with
everyone just fine.
One of the ways Arkham holds fast to its history is
that it’s governed by the same town council that was put
in place almost 300 years ago. One of the few and most
important changes came around 40 years ago, when
the council changed the bylaws to allow one non-native-Arkhamite member of the board. With the closing of
paper mills and other port-based industries leaving the
greater area and many leaving the US altogether, there
were growing concerns about the health of a small town
with very little industry of its own. As a gesture of goodwill and to show appreciation for the role the university
plays in the Arkham community, a new seat was created.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
Now, even though it says in the bylaws that legacy
residency isn’t required to be eligible to run for this
opening, not everyone can throw their hat in the ring.
Everyone knows a university professor, preferably a
chair holder, or possibly a doctor from the sanitarium,
will occupy this long-contested seat. Many, if not most,
Arkhamites can trace their lineage back to the original
Puritan settlers from over three centuries ago. Call it
protectionism, call it elitism, call it a bull-headed way of
keeping Arkham’s troubled history, well...history. Still,
the town has never cared for outsiders to be too deeply involved in its business, and they have an unusually
broad definition of an outsider.
Miskatonic University and Arkham Sanitarium are
fundamental to the economic wellbeing of the town,
though anyone who sits on the council will give you all
kinds of numbers that show Arkham could live without either institution while knowing it isn’t true. That
doesn’t give the people just passing through the right to
start making decisions for hardworking folks who have
been here all their lives. Never mind that most of the
sanitarium staff and nearly all the university faculty live
in Arkham, some for decades. Not to mention the many
residents who work in nearby Kingsport or who commute as far as Bolton or Manchester but have decided to
call Arkham home.
Then there is the economic divide. While the median income is just shy of $63,500, the top half is weighted
heavily with employees of the big two. In fact, these
looming institutions are just about the only places to
make a six-figure salary in Arkham. All this, of course,
helps push up the cost of living ($48,741 at last census)
over time, making it harder for lifelong blue-collar
workers to keep up. Some can barely afford to live in
their hometown.
What does that mean for the average Arkham citizen? Turns out, it is a little easier to get things done and
make your way if your family name appears on the old
citizen ledgers. Any time permission, planning, permits,
or even just general courtesy is required, new Arkham
residents (as in anyone who moved there in the past
150 years) encounter roadblocks and technicalities one
could argue were constructed just for them. Not that
they can prove it or find anyone will listen when they
complain. They’re more likely to be arrested for disturbing the peace than find any justice.
THE MYTHOS IN ARKHAM
Legends
Arkham has always been haunted, long before there
were humans around to notice. Just below the simple, calm veneer of the place is a darkness that infects
everything. For a town of its size, it has an unusual number of disappearances. Not officially, however; for some
reason, no one ever recalls the exact numbers, just that
it happens. According to the locals, people tend to keep
to themselves and come and go as they please, so it is no
surprise when one just up and leaves for good.
Arkham, while one of the largest and most modern cities in the Miskatonic Hollow, has always been
surrounded by dark trees that reach up toward the
heavens. Regardless of how many are cut down, turned
into homes, furniture, and shipped around the world,
the trees never grow thin. It was those trees that kept
Arkham safe during the Revolutionary War. At night,
strange screams in the night can occasionally be heard
coming from them. Some people claim the accents are
old English or something stranger.
A scattering of old gambrel-roofed homes dots the
city — a reminder of what was. They are beside thriving
businesses, apartment buildings, and mansions. One or
two have fallen into the control of the city as historical
monuments and are shown during walking tours. The
others are still in use, with locals living in them and passing them down from generation to generation. Whispers
of ancient houses that twisted their residents’ minds are
now children’s songs. The Tills house was abandoned
and investigated in the 1970s, after discovering both human and other remains in the walls and attic. Stories of
Arkham Cemetery tell of where, if you dig deep enough
in the right grave, you can reach hell and speak to the
devil, or of Old Helen, a Revolutionary War widow and
the victim of a fire who haunts the east side of town.
Even the civic district, which should be the most
respectable part of town, is not free from this stigma. In
the center of the square bounded by the railroad, government buildings, civic organizations, and Arkham’s
small post office sits a peculiar statue. A tall, broad man
stands proud with his foot resting on a sphere, victoriously holding an odd, L-shaped object in his right
hand. This is peculiar but not suspect. The devil is in
the details and the inscription. The item in his hand has
the rough shape and dimensions of a handgun, but it is
far too cylindrical and smooth, with what can only be
described as a balloon attached to the top of it. Upon
further examination, his foot sits on something uneven,
layered, and messy. Some speculate it is a ball of earth
and grass, representing the triumph of Arkhamites over
the land, but some swear they can make out what surely
must be three eyes, and a mouth slightly agape.
Then there is the plaque. It reads, “On this site,
1825, we recognize Jeddediah Houston and the sacrifice
he made to save us all in 1722, Arkham, MA.” There are
no Houstons in Arkham and no one claims to have ever
heard of the family. In fact, despite a monument being
Arkham
71
erected to his great deeds 100 years later, no one seems
to know or can recall ever hearing about who he was,
what he did, from what he saved Arkham, or why he
would be honored. Yet, every attempt to remove it and
have it replaced with a more modern figure is denied
before the ink dries on the application.
Arkham is unlike any other location. It is draped
in legends, stories, and tales beyond human imagining.
Those stories passed down from family member to family member shape the foundation of the city of whispers.
ARKHAM SANITARIUM
In one form or another, Arkham Sanitarium is nearly as old as Arkham itself. During the Revolutionary War,
a makeshift jail was built to house found and captured
British soldiers. It maintained its usefulness after the
war, as not really a jail, but a kind of less formal, outof-the-way place to keep troubled or problem citizens
of Arkham. As long as the people stowed there weren’t
missed, no one paid much attention to exactly who the
detainees had been a problem to or in what way they
were troubled. The actual building that became the
sanitarium was built on that same site, sometime in the
early 1800s, and Arkham Sanitarium was both hospital
and institution. A fire, rumored to have been started by
one of the patients trying to “keep away the shadows,”
toward the end of the century, burned half the building
to the ground, sending the wing with all the records up
in smoke. Its rebuilding was interrupted by the typhoid
outbreak of 1905, so the new facility wasn’t completed
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for nearly 10 years. When it was done, it was state of
the art and the envy of every small town up and down
the coast. These days, Arkham Sanitarium’s staff has a
reputation for tenacity. They are sent the most difficult
cases because they never give up on a patient. To say that
there is a bit of a direct chute between Miskatonic and
the sanitarium would be understating it.
University faculty and staff have always made up a
peculiarly consistent number of the patients, far more
than really is reasonable for the size of the sanitarium or
the size of the university. Professors and students venture
off into untamed and strange places in search of secrets,
secrets some say humanity is not meant to know. The saying goes that Miskatonic is the place you end up when you
are searching for answers. Arkham is where you end up
once you’ve found them. There are people who die there
but no funerals are ever performed. There haven’t been
any new graves in the adjacent cemetery in decades.
There are stories of snarling, upright beasts that
are glimpsed on the grounds, always seen running away
toward the graveyard. The sanitarium graveyard is off
limits to everyone, especially at night. The terrifying
screams that come from the building at night can be
heard in Arkham proper, carried on the wind. This did
not seem to alarm anyone until in the 1950s, when the
entire building was evacuated for two days, to nearby
Sefton Asylum, due to a gas leak. Lights off and empty,
what should have been a still and silent building rang
still with the same terrified screams, perhaps even a
little louder.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
MISKATONIC
UNIVERSITY
“After a week of debate it was sent to Miskatonic
University, together with the deceased’s collection of
strange books, for study and possible translation; but
even the best linguists soon saw that it was not likely
to be unriddled with ease.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Dunwich Horror”
STATISTICS
Attendance Population: 11,851
The school has an eight to one student-to-teacher ratio. Sixty-three percent of students are
considered in-state residents, with 24% of the student body comprising foreign nationals and
exchange students.
Student Body Demographics:
52.5% White
19% African American
11% Hispanic or Latino
5% West Asian
5% East Asian
4% Middle East or North African
3% South Asian
0.5% Other
Number of Accredited Colleges: Medicine, Public Health, History, Clinical Psychology,
Nursing, Science, Physics
University Mascot: Astroscopus Guttatus, commonly called the Northern Stargazer.
Fields: 1e Academics and Occult; 1 c Technology
BACKGROUND
Miskatonic University is near Arkham’s downtown.
Since its inception, the university’s relationship has
been symbiotic with the town’s population. Rising and
falling during the university’s academic year.
The university’s origins are hazy at best, legends saying it was once Arkham College, once a Massachusetts
land-grant school, and once a satellite location for Salem
College. Even school records are vague on the topic, and
the university simply cites its origin date as 1880, though
it clearly has a history much older than that.
Miskatonic University
73
In the early years of Miskatonic University, it served
as a medical school and research center. The university
was considered Ivy League and attendance was elite
and highly paid for. The result of this was a low student-teacher ratio and a hands-on approach not seen at
any other university. Students engaged in deep scientific
research from year one and were encouraged to set up
their own lines of inquiry with professorial oversight.
Medical students were allowed to sit in on patient
visits as part of their coursework and laboratories were
open around the clock if the fancy for experimentation
struck. Over the years, such lenient policy has necessarily been made stricter. One notable incident that caused
students to need to reserve laboratory space with professor oversight was Hebert West’s line of inquiry into
the nature of death in the 1920s. Accreditation requirements in the 1970s caused even more restrictions on the
hands-on approach to teaching.
The university quickly grew to include new programs. A general college of science was added in 1901
that included chemistry, archeology, and biology. That
coursework extended to include physics in 1910. A small
engineering department was added in 1936, and a teaching program was added in 1950.
The university was resistant to allowing integration,
with the first Black person accepted in 1918 and the first
woman in 1943. Now the university is home to a diverse,
marginalized population that includes attendees from
nearly every nation in the world.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Miskatonic University maintains its prestigious
position as an Ivy League University with its medical
school being recognized worldwide as a place for advanced medical procedures, research, and award-winning graduates. Graduating from the university carries
with it an honor, regardless of grade-point average, and
it especially endears graduates to the Arkham residents.
The university continues with its hands-on approach. Each student must complete a research project
as a requirement for graduation, even those studying
such mundane coursework as library science or journalism. The university prioritizes laboratory time (with
professor oversight, of course) over recreational time
and the various deans take a personal interest in their
student’s activities. That isn’t to say the atmosphere is
stifling. Instead, the amount of focus on academic pursuit gives the students the necessary impetus to not only
succeed but excel.
Students attending Miskatonic University can earn
degrees in anything from microbiology, chemistry, and
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physics to journalism, theology, or creative art. The
Miskatonic University Press publishes articles of note to
the university, but also details the activity of alumni out
in the world. Often, journalism students use past graduates as the subjects of their graduate thesis.
MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
The Miskatonic University Library is housed in the
new Henry Armitage Library building. It once stood
in the old Miskatonic College building, the original
structure that started the colleges in Arkham dating
back to the 1600s. The building was updated through
the years, and when the medical college moved into the
Dr. Allen Halsey Building in 1945, the library moved in.
Construction on the Henry Armitage Library building
started in 1998 when damp conditions in the Miskatonic
College building led to the loss of several ancient texts.
The library moved into its new home in 2000.
The Miskatonic Library is home to thousands of
original texts, first editions, and sole copies of works
that have barely been seen by the world. These texts
are almost uniformly donated from researchers, alumni,
and friends of the university out of travels. Miskatonic
University houses the largest occult library in The
World, and possibly in all of creation.
Through the years, the library has made efforts to
digitize its collection. Some works are too fragile for
heavy use, and library staff hoped to preserve as much as
they could. But the digitization process suffered several
setbacks such as loss of information, broken machines,
dead librarians, one theft, and a slew of minor setbacks
all seemingly random and unrelated. Efforts to fully digitize started in earnest in 2014, and about a third of the
collection can be found on the library’s website. Much of
the collection sits behind paywalls or university logins,
but more popular texts are available for free if you know
what to search for.
Despite this, people still come from all over to study
at the library, gaining academic passes and temporary
enrollment in order to study what can be found there.
And the people who come are always a little bit stranger
than normal.
MISKATONIC MEDICAL
SCHOOL
The Miskatonic Medical School is still the largest
aspect of the university grounds and contains over 60
percent of the student population. Miskatonic University
was second in the race to create a model for DNA, the
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
first to successfully clone cells, the first to map the human genome, and the first on a long list of discoveries
concerning the human condition from brain function to
reproductive care.
The medical school is unique in that most of its medical students spend the extra time to earn an MD-PhD
and either stay at the university for research or move
on to other universities for the same. Only a minority
of MD students graduating from Miskatonic University
join hospitals and clinics as doctors. Even the nursing
program sees its students continuing on to nurse practitioner and research nurse degrees.
STORY HOOKS
• One of the Band members has been invited to give
a talk at Miskatonic University about their favorite subject. Such a request is a prestigious event,
and one not turned down lightly. When the Scions
arrive, they realize their Bandmate has been lured
into a trap. Cultists hope to harness the Scion’s energy to summon an Old One, and they have some
nasty Mythos creatures on their side to help take
the Band down.
• One of the Band members is contacted by a librarian from the Miskatonic Library. It seems that all
volumes and tomes that have anything to do with
their God have been stolen. To what end, though?
The librarian fears someone, or something, has
insidious plans and asks the Band to investigate
the theft.
• Someone that has a Bond to one of the Band has
come down with a magical disease. All attempts
to cure it, both mundane and magical, have failed.
Miskatonic University is the best chance to investigate what the disease is and what its cure might
be, but the Band is on a clock to find a cure.
MYTHOS INFLUENCES
The largest Mythos influence in Miskatonic
University is found within the stacks and shelves of
its library. From tomes such as the Necronomicon to
scrolls containing summoning rituals for elder gods
and eldritch horrors. Such a high concentration of arcane and occult works has drawn the attention of the
Mythos twice over. Every single Great Old One has a tie
to Miskatonic University in some way or another. Some
pull Scions directly from the University, while others
are bound through some relic that’s been stored in the
library’s vaults for so long the University has forgotten.
It doesn’t help that student inquiry has always
tended towards the macabre or the strange and having such a robust occult library on campus means that
students find themselves summoning mythos creatures
with frightening regularity. Scions find that Miskatonic
University is almost like a Terra Incognita that has crash
landed on the World and spread its influence all over
Arkham. Mythos Scions come to Miskatonic University
to find cults, followers, or just to use the library when
other resources just won’t do.
Miskatonic University
75
DUNWICH
“Dunwich is indeed ridiculously old—older
by far than any of the communities within
thirty miles of it. South of the village one
may still spy the cellar walls and chimney
of the ancient Bishop house, which was
built before 1700; whilst the ruins of the
mill at the falls, built in 1806, form the
most modern piece of architecture to be
seen. Industry did not flourish here, and
the nineteenth-century factory movement
proved short-lived.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Dunwich Horror”
STATISTICS
Population: 3,517
Ninety-seven percent of Dunwichians are U.S. citizens, and four percent are foreign-born, less
than half the national and state average of 16 percent.
Active Pantheons: Yog-Sothoth, Rhan-Tegoth
Demographics:
94% White
1.9% Hispanic or Latino
3.98% Black
.0113% East Asian.
Note: Dunwich has never particularly welcomed non-white residents.
Median Age: 47
Median Income: $28,327
Cost of Living: 111% composite index compared to national average; single-family home
cost 65.5%.
Major Town Mascot or Statue: The Foundryman, which was destroyed.
Fields: 1e Subterfuge. 1 c Empathy
BACKGROUND
Prior to the arrival of English colonizers in what
would become Dunwich, the Indigenous Algonquin
people did not support villages in the area; they’d set
aside the area now known as Dunwich State for hunting
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and fishing grounds, and the poplar trees that grew along
the Minnechaug River made excellent canoes. In 1636,
William Dunwich and his brother Noah settled along
the Minnechaug terrorizing the Algonquin. The ongoing
colonization ended with the Algonquin entirely driven
out of the area by the end of the French and Indian War.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
The white invaders renamed Minnechaug to Dunwich,
right down to the river itself.
The town submitted petitions to the colonial courts
repeatedly before being incorporated as Dunwich in
1763, less than 500 souls. Within five generations, the
Dunwich family name disappeared entirely from church
rolls, birth announcements, and death notices, replaced
by the Longseers and Nashes. Were this the entirety of
the story of Dunwich, no one would pluck out its name
from a long list of similar New England towns.
The Dunwich Horror unfolded as the town watched
in fear. No one talked about the heroic scholars who
came from outside into the cursed town. The learned
professors from Miskatonic University were merely
human, doing the thing Gods and Scions feared. They
fought the Mythos and its spawn Wilbur Whateley.
For two generations after the Whateley farm went
up in flames, Dunwich thrived. After Lavinia’s wandering in lightning storms brought fire and brimstone to the
farm, after the scholars from the university came and
unearthed what lay sequestered in the remote clapboard
buildings, after the black-eyed Susans and mountain laurels grew up between the front porch steps and ivy burst
through the sides of the empty water barrel, Dunwich
thrived.
Dunwich Steel built their big plant just off the
town’s main street. A thumbprint-sized blip on the map
blossomed into a bustling presence that included lunch
counters in the low brick drugstore, a florist, and a jumbled hardware store.
Something lived under Dunwich Steel. On this, everyone agrees. For three generations, everyone’s known
to avoid the old Whateley property, the house with its
windows like empty, accusing eyes, the barn fallen to
ruin, fire-chewed lumber collapsed halfway to earth and
every day lurching closer to oblivion. Everyone knew,
and everyone stayed away. Scions of all pantheons kept
clear of the old Whateley place and the dead air that surrounds it and seems to steal the livings breath.
The workers at Dunwich Steel developed their own
superstitions. Don’t wear a ring while you walk the floor.
Don’t carry water in an enclosed container. If you heard
something behind you, late at night, when the plant’s
gone quiet and all the third shifters keep watch over
bubbling pools of liquid metal, never turn around.
For two generations, Dunwich kept Dunwich Steel,
and Dunwich Steel kept the people of Dunwich. Regular
paychecks, children ate their fill at dinnertime, and if,
now and again, someone who didn’t obey the unwritten
rules suffered the consequences, well, it was only as it
must be.
Thomas Vargo wore a ring on his first day, and why
shouldn’t he? He’d just come back from his honeymoon,
and his wedding ring still shone. His father told him he
oughtn’t, that the foundry had its jealous ways. His father spoke of Dunwich Steel as if it felt, as if it knew, and
Michael, a modern man of the 1970s, knew better than
his father’s superstitions.
When Caroline rushed to the hospital, weeping in
the taxi, the nurse told her he’d caught his ring on the
ladder. The only explanation: why else would he have
suddenly slipped and fallen screaming, the skin on his
hand inverted where the ring caught on the ladder’s
metal? A man without a right hand can’t do the job they
hired him for.
For two generations, the workers of Dunwich Steel
kept its unwritten rules tattooed on their hearts, and
their polite, quiet, and deeply suspicious ways meant
the town saw few visitors. The people preferred their
own company, and when Dunwich thrived, Dunwich
needed no one. Outsourcing and global competition
drained the life from Dunwich Steel, and the last machine hissed to silence 20 years ago. The stories of who
died when a beam came loose, and the fact that Dunwich
Steel went up in the same place where the men from
Miskatonic drew down lightning and fought something
the Whateleys called? Those got lost. Those faded.
The florist’s window sits empty now, faded construction paper and dead flies, an Easter display where
the owner’s daughter strung up a dozen white rabbit
cutouts with invisible string around their necks, oblivious to the image she’d created. The post office closed
five years ago; mail gets delivered to the next zip code
over, and one mailman carries all the post that comes to
Dunwich these days. Children drain away, one after the
other, to the opportunities cities offer and Dunwich no
longer can. The old men who told stories of Dunwich
Steel and the things their grandfathers said about the
Whateleys went one by one to their graves, and the stories died with them.
The bindings the Miskatonic professors put on
the thing asleep under Dunwich Steel slowly eroded as
the wheel turned, coming loose — gradually, perhaps,
to the people going about what little business remains
in Dunwich. A generation isn’t much to things that lie
sleeping for thousands of years. A generation’s hardly a
nap.
Miskatonic Demolition knocked down Dunwich
Steel, and when they did, clouds of dust and asbestos
spiraled up from collapsing metal beams. Ask the demolition team, and if they could, they’d say the clouds
curled up into the early morning air in the form of
something sprawling and hungry. Something shaped
like a mouth and a thousand eyes stretched up toward
the lemon-yellow Dunwich dawn. Those men couldn’t
tell you, though; six hours after Dunwich Steel collapsed
forever, the century oak outside the Whateley farm
Dunwich
77
crashed across the road in front of their truck, and all
five died.
That night, a light in the window of the old Whateley
could be seen for miles around, though no one lived there.
Something slept beneath Dunwich Steel. Something
no longer sleeps.
MODERN TIMES
Small towns like Dunwich populate the northeastern United States. At one time or another, some industry made its home in the town, building up homes and
shops around itself like a protective cocoon. When that
business migrated overseas or simply failed, the cocoon
cracked open, leaving people and shops and homes
abandoned, capitalism’s errant effluvia.
Dunwich Steel lingered much longer than the
textile mills of North Carolina or Bethlehem Steel in
Pennsylvania. The foundry lurched onward, zombie-like,
until finally giving up the ghost in 2002, and even then,
the buildings sat empty for almost 20 years before demolition. Something watched over Dunwich Steel as long
as possible, until the fight was lost, and whatever curled
beneath the concrete finally broke free.
At one time, Dunwich had enough residents to
support its own high school. The building stands abandoned after the school district’s consolidation into the
78
county-wide district. Its brick exterior spattered with
graffiti, windows broken, Dunwich High sits desolate
in the middle of a patchwork of basketball courts and
parking lots disrupted by weeds. The wild areas around
Dunwich slowly reclaim what men built during the
town’s industrial era.
Dunwich Elementary School serves now as both elementary and junior high schools; high-school students
endure an hour-long bus ride to Consolidated Eastern
High School, dragging themselves to the bus stop before
dawn and slouching home mid-afternoon with piles of
homework. Most high-school students must also help
their family with income, working at either gas stations,
the one remaining grocery store, or the massive discount
supercenter 20 minutes up the highway. As a result,
Consolidated Eastern’s high-school graduation rate
plummets year over year, and the tying of funding to test
scores and graduation rates further penalizes Dunwich’s
few remaining families.
Those families that remain often do so because no
other alternatives are open to them. Property values
decline, trapping older and disabled residents, or impoverished families, in homes no one will buy because no
one wants to move to Dunwich. No one really chooses to
move to a creepy, failing town increasingly isolated from
even the nearest cities by its foundering economy and
failing infrastructure. As more people leave, the process
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
speeds up, further damning the town and leaving stranded in it only those who absolutely cannot leave.
PEOPLE
Even the old families in Dunwich suffer from the
ongoing youth-based population drain. The Longseers
and the Nashes own an overwhelming majority of
rental properties and struggle for precedents in their
shared stranglehold on local politics like ants jousting
for the best spot on a log slowly sinking into a swamp.
Dunwich’s very own Hatfields and McCoys have been
battling for control of Dunwich’s resources since before
the building of Dunwich Steel. They profited the most
from its ascendancy and benefit handsomely from the
penury of its remaining citizens.
THE LONGSEER FAMILY
Landon Longseer, the family patriarch, claims he
descended from the now-extinct Dunwich family responsible for founding the city. Whether or not that’s
true is under strenuous dispute by the Nashes, but it’s
hardly relevant to anyone except the families. Landon
owns vast swaths of property inside and on the outskirts of Dunwich and serves as the head of the current
borough council. Never one to miss a trick, he recently
purchased a foreclosure company that serves the area
in which Dunwich lies. He’s nearly 70 and now stooped
and worn, but his broad-shouldered frame still bears
witness to the fact that back when Dunwich High School
still existed and he still had a full head of hair, he played
quarterback for the Foundrymen. He met his late wife,
Anna Marie, at college and brought her home as just another one of his trophies. Anna Marie’s sudden death six
years ago bubbled through small-town gossip as either
a tragic accident or potential foul play, but the medical
examiner ruled it a heart attack. After all, the Longseer
matriarch had just celebrated 62nd birthday — it wasn’t
all that surprising.
Landon’s daughter-in-law, Katrina Longseer, runs
Dunwich Property Services, making her one of the richest and most hated women in Dunwich. The company
handles foreclosure services for banks, then snaps up the
bank-owned properties post-foreclosure and turns them
into rentals. The money from rent goes to buy the next
foreclosed house, and if she skimps on maintenance, her
tenants don’t have the resources to do much about it.
Almost six feet tall, Katrina’s whip-thin body and
severe face give her the appearance of someone who
might collect puppy pelts for a coat. Utterly shameless
— some would say soulless — in her business pursuits,
she’s tossed more than one family out of their house at
the first legally permissible hour, assisted by her nephew, Micah Longseer, who very conveniently serves as
Dunwich’s sheriff.
Dunwich elects its medical examiners or coroners,
and Michael Longseer, the eldest son of Katrina and her
husband Garth, took the post 10 years ago at the age of
20, making him Dunwich’s youngest medical examiner.
Barrel-chested and red-faced, Michael looks more jovial
than he actually is; his family commands his complete
loyalty, and more to the point, his mother has him
wrapped tightly around her pinky finger.
Like Dunwich, the Longseers give the impression
of slowly collapsing in on themselves; Michael’s generation hasn’t married and produced the next generation
as profusely as Landon expected, a fact which comes up
at every family holiday. The lack of acceptably bourgeois
girls who would want to live in Dunwich entirely aside,
he cuttingly remarks on the lack of great-grandchildren
every chance he gets. This tactic does not seem to motivate his grandchildren to provide him with another
generation to lord over.
Rumors fly about the potential interrelation of the
various branches of the Longseer family — one commonly whispered comment holds they don’t so much have
a family tree as a family wreath. Given that most of the
birth and death records housed locally rest in the hands of
Bethanne Longseer, Landon’s granddaughter via his son
David and daughter-in-law Angelica, no one’s been able
to definitively prove or dismiss that particular bit of scurrilous gossip about the family’s intermarriage proclivities
prior to Landon’s generation. Then again, the inability to
hide that sort of thing anymore might explain the sudden
dearth of great-grandchildren, or so the Nashes whisper
at Sunday brunch to anyone who’ll listen.
THE NASH FAMILY
Once upon a time, Judy Nash ruled Dunwich High
School, a precious princess from one of the two families
that counted as anything like aristocracy in Dunwich. No
place is too small to have its own royalty. In their senior
year, Judy and Landon attended homecoming together,
and everyone expected they’d marry. Then Landon went
to university and came home with Anna Marie.
After that, any prior rivalry between the families
deepened to the point of becoming a localized war.
Judy never married, instead choosing to rule over her
extended family as a sort of spinster matron with her
lifelong bosom companion, Daisy. Daisy died the day
Dunwich Steel closed and, since then, Judy’s grandnieces and nephews avoid her hellishly bitter presence
as though she’s got some sort of contagious plague. Her
only remaining sibling, Dennis Nash, has either lapsed
into senility or pretends to have done so to avoid her
company. She storms around town in a noxious cloud of
White Shoulders perfume, leaning on her glittery pink
cane with a pink sweater wrapped around her narrow
shoulders. When she’s at home, she spends an awful lot
of time stomping around in her garden in pink galoshes,
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tending her roses. Once upon a time, those roses won
prizes, when Dunwich had prizes to give for anything.
The Nashes own almost as much of Dunwich as the
Longseers do. While Landon’s play at control comes
from ruling over the borough council, Judy chose the
school board, local district courts, and social events as
the angle for her stratagem. Her grandnephew Mitchell
Nash, Dennis’ son, oversees the local district court, handling matters both civil and criminal at the local level.
The fact that the school district has largely slipped out
of her grasp distresses Judy and makes her rather obstreperous whenever the topic comes up — however, the
establishment of Dunwich State Park was her coup, a
fact she doesn’t let anyone forget.
Every few years, Judy picks another one of her
grandnieces and shoves them into attempting to re-establish some sort of social calendar in Dunwich. She
can’t accept the events calendar Dunwich hosted in its
heyday won’t ever return; USO dances, Fall Festivals,
even a local theater company please the Nash matriarch.
The lack of available public funds for such undertakings
inevitably dooms her proxy’s efforts, and she circles her
family like a shark, looking for the next sacrificial victim
while the grandniece previously responsible falls from
favor until she does something fantastic like produce
another child.
Everyone else in town regards Judy’s grandnieces
as almost entirely interchangeable: harried like a poorly
driven team of sled dogs, herding around a flock of their
own children as well as the currently elementary-age
nieces and nephews, more worn out every year. Most
of them quietly urge their children to leave the nest as
quickly as possible and make good the exit their mothers
never managed.
Both families have plots in the cemetery of Dunwich
Episcopalian, with old tombstones in the graveyard going back over two centuries. Most of the limestone slabs
no longer bear names or dates, but each family knows
their plots from the other’s, and they upkeep the graveyard as competitively as they do everything else.
EVERYONE ELSE
Caught in the crossfire, the rest of Dunwich’s population generally attempts to keep well out of the way of
the warring families, either by insulating themselves in
their own little familial bubbles or by leaving Dunwich
entirely. It’s impossible to entirely avoid the LongseerNash feud, but people try.
Intolerant of outsiders and protective of their slowly disintegrating way of life, Dunwich’s residents skew
extremely conservative. An old story of some pride to
the older residents recounts how “Shotgun Shorty”
Campbell, a tiny Scottish immigrant of the same era as
the Whateley family, chased a census taker off of her
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family’s farm when he began to tabulate numbers for said
census without her permission. That “leave us alone, we
neither need nor want your help” attitude persists as a
strong through line of Dunwich thought to this day. No
one else could possibly understand what this town has
been through in the last 100 years, and why would they
trust anyone to try?
Steel injuries mark the vast majority of older men
in Dunwich as well as some of the oldest women — who
worked at Dunwich Steel during World War II, but some
of those women still live, though fewer every year. The
oldest woman in Dunwich, Ada Nolan Campbell (the
daughter-in-law of Shotgun Shorty), worked at Dunwich
Steel during the war and can be persuaded to tell almost
anyone about the superstitions the foundrymen had.
Shrunk almost to nothing, with short, curly, stark-white
hair, Ada can no longer see, and can barely hear, but at 98
years old, her mind remains sharp as a tack.
She could tell the stories more concisely; she just
likes the company. She’s also prone to “accidentally”
swatting young men with her white cane while smiling
beneficently. Her granddaughter Catherine, who looks
after her, spends an awful lot of time apologizing for the
harassment her grandmother seems to be able to get
away with due to her age. Cathy and Ada keep a clean
little cottage on the outside edge of Dunwich proper
with Cathy’s trio of black cats.
MYTHOS INFLUENCE
A hundred years ago, three professors traveled from
Miskatonic University, following the chain of incidence
and evidence left by Wilbur Whateley’s dissolving
corpse. They worked in secret, knowing the ancient
thing that sought to defeat could easily destroy them
and then rampage across Dunwich, and how Wilbur’s
brother had shed his skin, taking on a form more suited
to his father, Yog-Sothoth. They swore they’d killed the
thing, but they marked stones with sigils carefully and
left them buried ever-so precisely in the earth outside
Dunwich. Dunwich Steel’s concrete floors kept the sigils
entombed, and the stories kept the thing sleeping.
Concrete cracked by controlled explosions releases
toxic dust, asbestos, and stink into the air, but the disruption of sigils and the death of the stories holding
the thing in place have left Dunwich a horror, waiting.
Hungry. Yog-Sothoth and its spawn never left Dunwich;
the men from Miskatonic University bound the Great
Old One’s child, broken free from the Whateley human
skin in which it had incubated. All manner of things in
Dunwich have played out according to the machinations of the Old One whose child lay sleeping, gaining
its strength tenfold beneath the foundry. The rise of
both families and their endless war played out for its
amusement. The ascendance and crash of Dunwich
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
Steel? That, too. And now, like a pompilid wasp bursting
free from the corpse of the spider it consumed to fuel
its growth, the Elder God’s spawn breaks free from its
cocoon, still hungry. Something about the slumbering,
trapped creature calls to other entities of the Mythos
to bring it forth. The weaker the wards, the stronger its
call. The remaining residence of Dunwich are unknowingly trapped in the town to feed the creatures that are
coming.
STRANGE TIMES
Dunwich State Park
During the apex of Dunwich’s industrial boom, concerned citizens petitioned to have several hundred acres
of mostly forest turned into Dunwich State Park. These
days, the park’s maintenance suffers from the declining
citizenry and a lack of state-level funding, turning it into
as much a hazard as a tourist attraction. At one point,
the ranger station had a full staff, but these days, there’s
just Sally Brooks, well past retirement but still spry.
White-haired, her uniform disheveled but serviceable,
well-mended and patched, she spends the days walking
Dunwich State Park’s trails from end to end, ostensibly
looking for lost hikers.
Sally eagerly talks with everyone and it’s certainly
out of character for Dunwich’s notoriously laconic
residents. Visitors often find themselves talking to her
until it’s too near sundown for them to make their way
entirely out of the park before the sun drops behind the
trees. Always apologetic, she constantly makes excuses
for why she can’t see hikers back to the parking lot.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dunwich State Park’s missing persons rate currently sits at double the state average
for all parks, county or state. Attempts to replace Sally —
there have been several, over the last two decades — seem
to fail somewhere in the labyrinthine twists of state and
local bureaucracy. State employee unions disavow her,
and people have even questioned whether she’s officially
an employee anymore, or just the only person who has
the keys to the ranger station.
These questions go unanswered, and Sally persists
in her seemingly ageless old-lady watchfulness over
Dunwich State Park. Visitors sometimes report seeing
two shadows moving around in the ranger station windows after dark — one about the size of Sally, the other
much taller and slenderer. No one’s ever knocked on the
door of the ranger station after dark and reported back.
The Stairs in The Woods
In the woods surrounding Dunwich, several sets of
stairs sit isolated, leading to nowhere. Residents simply
do not talk about the stairs, and outsiders who find them
are more mystified by the fact that none of the locals will
even speak about them than about the stairs themselves.
The stairs shouldn’t move, and yet, they seem to do so,
relocating from one location to another within Dunwich
State Park as well as appearing on private land.
The Stairs in The Woods always appear completely
pristine, no matter how long they’ve been there: one
Scion of Goibniu, Sophia Aveline, reported finding a set
of wrought-iron spiral stairs ascending to nothing, with
not so much as a bit of dust on their spotless black metal
steps. When Sophia asked Dunwich’s residents about it,
most wouldn’t answer her, but the one who would — a
teenage boy who agreed to speak with her on the condition that she not ask his name, because “talking about
them is forbidden” — told her about another set of stairs
stranded in the depths of Dunwich State Park. When she
followed his directions, stepping off the main hiking trail
at the Century Oak and heading northwest, she found a
staircase that looked as if some otherworldly hand had
plucked it from a high-end townhouse, pristine cream
carpet and all, and placed it in the middle of the damp
autumn woods.
She stood there, watching, as wet red leaves scattered from maple branches, twisted in the air, then
drifted away from the stairs as if repelled by an unseen
barrier, settling a full foot away from the lowest stair.
When she plucked up her courage enough to approach
the carpeted stairs, she felt her heartbeat pounding in
her ears, the sound of blood rushing to her head like a
siren screaming. She got to the bottom stair just as the
screaming of blood in her head reached a fever pitch.
With one hand resting on the handrail, she looked up the
stairs and briefly saw a dark smear of a humanoid form
twitching and hovering on the top step. She placed one
foot on the bottom stair, and the figure stretched itself
down the stairs, an inhuman jaw hinging wide as it bent
impossibly toward her.
Half an hour later, Sophia found herself sitting at
the foot of the Century Oak, and when she returned
to Dunwich, none of the town’s residents would even
look at her. She caught the eye of one or two people,
but everyone she tried to engage looked away, pointedly
turning their backs on her. Strangely, when recalling the
incident later, Sophia doesn’t remember seeing Sally
anywhere that day.
Homecoming
A pair of identical twins from overseas recently returned to Dunwich, taking up residence in a trail on the
old family land. William and Wilma Whateley began reconstructing the old family home and buying up the few
pieces of available property in town. Their arrival has
thrown the town into more disarray as the two leading
families prepare for another rivalry. The twins spoke at
the most recent town meeting about their plan to modernize the city and increase tourism by highlighting the
quaint, rustic feel of the town.
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HAVENSPOINT
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?
I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in
the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted
liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity;
your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty
and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your
sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and
hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a
nation of savages.”
— Frederick Douglass
STATISTICS
Population: 25,000 (35,000 with the surrounding area)
Active Pantheons: Ghatanothoa, Manitou, and Nyarlathotep
Demographics:
48% White
18% African American
12% Indigenous peoples
10% Hispanic or Latino
7% East Asian
3% Middle East or North Africa
2% South Asian
Note: 12% of Havenspoint residents are foreign born, 4% less than the national average of 16%.
Median Age: 44
Median Income: $45,786
Cost of Living: 95% composite index compared to national average. (Boston, MA is 132%)
Major Town Mascot/Sculpture: Statue of Achac and Abe, acknowledged as the city
founders
Fields: 1e Culture. 1c Survival
BACKGROUND
LEAVING SALEM
Havenspoint has a deep and tragic history.
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There have always been people who live on the edge
of society: loners, outsiders, those who are simply different. Sometimes in belief, ancestry; maybe it’s because
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
someone is a little odd or poor but, whatever the reason,
they are unwelcome in mainstream society. Much of the
time, they exist on the edge of society in relative safety.
The early New England settlements were no different.
Some who traveled from the old world to the new did so
hoping to find a place to fit in and this worked for those
willing to embrace Puritanism. Others continued to live
on the margins.
This uneasy coexistence changed in 1692 with the
Salem Witch Trials. While accusations flew and judges
widened their investigations to execute more innocents in Salem, some looked on in horror and fear that
Salem’s fervor would cast a wider net and identify them
as targets. Some moved north, following the Merrimack
River. Others continued into what would become New
Hampshire, or settled on a promontory in the river and
formed the community that would become Havenspoint.
The settlement started with a dozen families, in the
loosest sense of the word. While there were a handful of
related families, the rest were people used to living on
their own, daring to risk interacting with their old communities only when the need was dire. Trust was slow
to develop at first, but it became easier as winter came,
bringing with it hunger and cold and possible death for
those who could not or would not cooperate. Through
that first winter the community knew hunger and loss,
it also gained by taking in outcast members of a nearby
Indigenous Nations.
The people who abandoned their homes near Salem,
Arkham, and other coastal towns to found Havenspoint
were an eclectic group. Several had come to the New
World seeking the same religious freedom sought by
the Puritans but chafed under Puritan rule. The gods
they believed in were far older than Christianity, harkening back to before the dawn of humanity. To say they
worshiped these Old Gods would be a grave misunderstanding. While they believed in the existence of these
ancient beings, to worship them required a step into the
void. Instead, these believers took what they could in the
form of what the ignorant would call “magic” from the
Old Gods while striving to maintain a balance and retain
their sanity. A few found the names of ancient beings
who walked the hills and traded their Old-World faith
for that of the pre-humanity alien entities.
FOUNDING HAVENSPOINT
Settling Havenspoint occurred over several months.
The initial settlers were Abraham and Dorcas Havens
and their five children. According to the journal of
Honest Havens, the eldest of the children, the family left
Salem on April 4, 1692, following the Miskatonic Valley
west despite the cold weather of early spring. After a
few days, Goodman Havens decided to leave the group
with which they were traveling and head north along the
Merrimack River. During this part of the journey, they
encountered several groups of Pennacook and spent a
few days in an unidentified village. Honesty wrote that
there was concern for the family when their father said
that they intended to continue north and that they were
told to avoid the spirits that could be heard on the winds.
Three days after departing the village, the family entered a promontory along the west bank of the
Merrimack River and decided to camp there for a few
days with an eye toward making it their new home. It
was during the second night that the decision was taken
from them. Honesty does not record everything that happened that night in her journal, but it was momentous.
The family was startled into wakefulness by the sound of
drums beating in the darkness. Her father and Patience,
the second eldest of the children, went to check on what
was happening, while her mother watched the younger
children. Honesty recorded that she slipped out unobserved and followed her father and brother toward the
source of the drums. As they drew nearer and the drumming quieted, she said she could hear the faint sounds
of strange, airy piping on the wind that rose to a great
crescendo. In response, the drummers began to beat
frantically as if trying to drown out the unseen pipers.
Her father and Patience were some 20 feet ahead
of her when she saw them surrounded by warriors. She
kept as quiet as she could when they were led away, then
crept back toward the wagons where she could keep
watch over her mother and siblings. The drumming continued unabated until the first touch of dawn and then
stopped. She did not hear the piping again that night,
but this was not the last instance of that strange music
recorded in her journal. Her mother and the younger
siblings emerged from the wagon just in time to see her
father and Patience depart the woods, accompanied by
an ancient man, an aged priest of Kitchi-Manitou, and a
pair of warriors. Her father and the old man exchanged
words and went back into the trees with one of the
warriors while the other stayed behind. As her father
approached them, she saw a guarded smile on his face.
When he joined the rest of the family all he said to them
was, “We are home.”
Others arrived over the following weeks, some related to each other, most not. As they arrived, Goodman
Havens and the warrior, Achac, would speak with each
group’s leader for a while. Some moved on, while others
were encouraged to remain. Those who stayed disagreed
about religion and a good deal of other issues but could
agree on one common ideal: They wanted to be left alone
to live according to the dictates of their conscience. As
a community, they agreed on a few simple rules that
would serve as guiding principles and founded the village of Havenspoint on August 11, 1692.
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THE FOUR TENETS
•
•
•
•
Community first and foremost.
Live freely according to the dictates of your conscience to the benefit of the community.
Do no harm to others except in defense of the community.
All members of the community are equal.
From the beginning, music was an important part
of Havenspoint’s culture and the celebrations incorporated an amalgamation of traditional hymns, Western
European folk music, and the music of the Indigenous
people who joined the village. This grew into a new
genre of music that is the antecedent of music played in
Havenspoint and the surrounding area to this day. Music
was not the only cultural intermixing that occurred.
One year after the founding of Havenspoint, Achac and
Honesty married. Their union symbolized the ethos of
the town: All were welcome who would accept the beliefs, ways, and lives of the other inhabitants. The entire
town poured out in celebration of the event with one
notable absence. The Smiths, a large family of relative
newcomers, did not attend the event.
What should have led to days of celebration instead
turned to tragedy. The Smith family, recent arrivals in
Havenspoint, was found dead in their home. The scene
was grisly and those who saw the bodies swore the act
was not done by the hand of any human. The only surviving member of the household was an enslaved person
named Hezekiah, who had been beaten almost beyond
the point of recognition.
The fact that the Smiths had heretofore refused to
free Hezekiah had been the source of much gossip and
consternation around the town and threatened to divide
the community. Some believed that the Smiths should
be free to manage their household as they wished, while
others believed that keeping an enslaved person violated the spirit of the town. Threatened with permanent
division, a council comprising 13 randomly selected
residents met to discuss the issue and, after several days,
announced that the governing principles of Havenspoint
would be The Four Tenets.
Prior to the Smith incident, Goodman Havens and a
loose group consisting of Achac and some of the earliest
settlers formed a quasi-government for Havenspoint.
Matters that required public attention were discussed
openly and decided communally. As the village grew,
this approach became unmanageable. The selection of
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the council and their efforts to develop the tenets were
a success and became the model for future governance.
Following a vote by the populace, the council continued
to serve as the governing body. It took a few years to establish how the council would function but, eventually,
they settled on having four members rotating off the
council each year to be replaced by residents selected at
random. The 12 general members would then elect the
13th member from among the remaining townsfolk.
January 14, 1697 was The Day of Prayer and Fasting
as the people of Massachusetts remembered the horrors
of the Salem Witch Trials and the fate of those falsely
accused. Public figures involved in the atrocities apologized publicly for their roles in sentencing innocents to
death. The people of Havenspoint honored the day by
remembering those who were lost and reaffirming their
respect for The Four Tenets. Even though the town had
existed for less than five years, it was known throughout the region as an oddity. The ecumenical attitude
toward religion and willingness to live alongside and
among Indigenous Nations made the colony’s government uncomfortable. The introspection on the part of
the colony’s leaders regarding the witch trials benefited
Havenspoint and the people continued their odd ways
with little interference. The village continued to welcome outsiders and with few exceptions.
THE INTERVENING YEARS
The town continued to grow over the following decades. The economy depended on agriculture first from the
forests and, once they were cleared, from farms. The town
charter codified and enforced an agreement made between
tribal elders and the council to preserve hundreds of acres
of forest north of Havenspoint called “Nigamo.” These
lands were sacred and could not be settled. Any who tried
despite the charter were run off, but the few who persisted
in encroaching on Nigamo simply disappeared.
Legends grew about the cause of these disappearances. An old trapper claimed to have found a great pit
deep inside the forest and when he looked inside, he saw
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
a huge column of smoke rise quickly to the mouth of the
pit where it smashed against the air as if it hit a solid wall.
Most considered this the raving of a madman, but a few
gullible people believed him, leading to other incursions
into the forest in search of this pit. These acts resulted
in a handful of violent altercations with Achac and his
people and almost resulted in open warfare that was only
averted when the now-elderly Achac and Abraham confronted the interlopers. The commanding presence of the
old men calmed frayed tempers and, after a conversation
with the leaders of the group, everyone parted in peace.
This fortunate outcome of this incident was the reaffirmation of agreements made between the people of
Havenspoint and the people who lived in the forest. In
recognition of these events, the village erected a statue
of Achac and Abraham Havens in the village square,
where it still stands.
In 1703, Charity Havens established the Havenspoint
School of Scientific and Artistic Study to promote progress in the arts and sciences. The school was open yearround, and anyone was encouraged to enroll. Due to the
wide age range of full- and part-time students and the
need to establish a defined curriculum, the school was
split into two academic institutions. Havenspoint School
served younger students while Havens College became
the institution of higher learning.
Havenspoint was largely untouched during the
American Revolution. Some residents volunteered in
service of the revolution, serving as skirmishers and
scouts. The only battle near Havenspoint was a small
skirmish against British irregulars navigating the
Merrimack River out of Canada. Witnesses reported the
British succeeded in forcing through a blockade entering the woods and were never seen again.
Through the 19th century, Havenspoint became a favored getaway for those with an artistic bent. The beautiful Merrimack Valley scenery was desirable as a backdrop for paintings Many visitors descended on the town
in early August for the Founders’ Day Festivities. That
grew over the years to include a music and arts featuring
the unique sound of local music. Rumors persisted that
there was an underground form of the local music that
was only played to accompany strange rituals, but these
stories were decried as myth by knowledgeable locals.
The mid-19th century was when the values of the
town truly shined. Several prominent families, including
the Havenses, the Smiths (descended from Hezekiah,
who had taken on his former enslaver’s surname), the
Whateleys, and the Cabots openly supported the activities of the Underground Railroad. The Cabot family,
owners and publishers of the Havenspoint Herald, advertised Havenspoint as a place where escaped enslaved
people could find refuge. These families also hired
agents aiding them to do so.
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This led to several attacks by slave catchers. One
account features an outlandish tale that after clashing
with armed townsfolk, they sent out an invisible being
to dispatch the fleeing slave catchers. The sole survivor
was given little credence because he made the claims
several years after the supposed encounters and was
confined to a sanitarium.
MODERN TIMES
Havenspoint continues to grow and has established
itself as a community of musicians, artists and artisans.
The population is ethnically diverse, comprising the
descendants some of the first residents (Indigenous peoples, Freed people, and former white colonizers). The city
is the home of a unique genre of music called “Fuse” that
mixes traditional Algonquin music with that of the early
settlers and goes back to the city’s founding. As was traditional in the beginning, all are welcome in Havenspoint.
The humble beginnings as a settlement for outcasts and
those seeking solace was not forgotten. Newcomers are
asked to adhere to The Four Tenets as was expected of
new arrivals in centuries past. Local farmers provide
most of the city’s food and Havens College is a small and
reputable institution of higher education. Tourists fill the
streets from spring to fall, enjoying the scenery and outdoor activities, visiting craftworks and galleries by day
and spending evenings enjoying the local music scene at
one of the outdoor venues. It is an idyllic place with a
touch of seediness that makes it even more interesting.
Still, Havenspoint is not a wealthy town. Most residents
live and die by the tourist trade and go the winter months
with little-to-no income.
Havenspoint School and Havens College continue
to thrive. Havenspoint School evolved into the local
public-school system, but continues to focus on providing a strong, multi-faceted education. Havens College is
a well-regarded liberal arts college with around 3,000
students. Relations between the town and the college are
good, but as with any large institution in a small town
there are times when the college exercises undue influence on local politics. The college president, Dr. Ananya
Acharya, Ph.D., is a stalwart defender of the school and
works hard to raise money and grow the influence of
Havens College. The faculty and student body are diverse
and hail from all over the world. She has broadened the
influence of the school over the past year through digitizing the school’s selection of rare and occult books
and making them available online to the delight of occult
scholars and practitioners around the world.
The Founders Day Festival is the main event of the
year and includes a street fair, art festival and music
festival. The celebration balloons the population and
brings in significant tourism revenue. The most prominent symbol of the event is the statue of Achac and Abe.
An image of the statue is part of the town’s branding
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and is sold on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs.
The festival features a parade and reenactment of the
skirmish between the defenders of the forest and the
townsfolk followed up with a three-day music festival
called FuseFest, featuring top fuse bands.
Havenspoint also faces a great challenge. Attracted
by the openness of the community, the artsy atmosphere, and low housing prices, an influx of retirees and
other transplants from the coast are moving in. Some
are Havens College alumni who recall the flavor of
Havenspoint in their youth and want to return there to
relive those days. These newcomers and returnees buy
run-down rental properties, evict the tenants, renovate
the homes to their former glory, and move. While this
helps ensure these old homes continue with a new life,
it also means the people who lived in those homes are
left with nowhere to go. Many families who first settled
in the area more than a century ago have moved on, unable to live in the only homes they’ve known. With these
changes, the newcomers bring demands that would see
more of their type come to Havenspoint and destroy the
very things that attracted them to the city in the first
place. Some of the newcomers are insisting the city violate the centuries-old pact with the descendants of the
Indigenous Nations allowing development in Nigamo
Forest. Others have filed numerous complaints trying to
silence local music performances. The regentrification
of Havenspoint could destroy the city and change it
from the place it was founded to be centuries ago. These
changes have also raised the interest of land developers
who are using legal means to have the government seize
land from those that won’t sell. They are most interested
in the Nigamo Forest and the neighboring farmsteads.
In recent months, the newcomers have managed to
wield The Four Tenets as a club against what they see as
threats to their property values and peace of mind. The
most noticeable change is that the ever-present music
that once poured from the small cafes, bars, and shops
around the town has diminished and, in some cases,
gone silent.
MYTHOS INFLUENCES
Havenspoint and its environs have always felt odd,
mysterious, and bizarre. Before the first white settlers entered the region, Indigenous peoples stood as a bulwark
against an incursion of chaos. Since time immemorial,
they’ve stood vigil at the mouth of a seemingly bottomless
pit that lies deep in the forest. On certain nights, strange
piping music can be heard resounding from the depths of
the blackness and those who dare to look inside can see
the stars. Any who ventured into the pit were slaughtered
by strange, shapeless masses of violence and destruction
guarding the depths of the great hole. The elders devised
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
rituals to counter the music that came from the darkness
and trapped the guardians inside.
What the Havens family encountered that night in
1692 was a ritual performed by the guardians in their
continuing effort to placate the dwellers in the cave,
restraining them from pouring forth onto the surface.
Goodman Havens possessed knowledge forbidden by
church leaders about such matters and was able to impress upon Achac and the nameless elder who led the
band of guardians that he understood what they faced
and could aid them if they would allow it. After many
hours of discussion, the elder and Havens came to an
agreement that the family could stay. Achac was designated as liaison between his people and the settlers.
Dorcas Havens studied music as a girl and had the
idea of merging the musical styles of the guardians and
the settlers into a counterpoint to the infernal piping.
These efforts succeeded and fuse was born — something
unique to Havenspoint and with an incredible purpose.
The music evolved over time, adding African components as the city diversified. At first, the changing of the
music worried those who knew the truth, but it seemed
the harmony inherent in integrating the music was essential to maintaining its efficacy as a ward against the
dwellers in the cave. In modern times, the music is all
that keeps the dwellers at bay and those who would silence the music risk the destruction of everything.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and
the oldest families in Havenspoint — the Smiths, Cabots,
Whateleys, Peabodys and even ancient Abraham Havens
IV, scion of the city founder — have gathered to discuss
their concerns with the changes to the city. They’ve
heard someone is behind these events and realize they
need to investigate the rumors to find out for certain.
These old families own ancient texts and know the truth
behind the old stories passed down by their forebears.
Most important, they understand those texts and believe
the old stories. They have decided that it is time to act.
STRANGE TIMES
The Dead Developer
The local coroner, Dr. Anne Quincy, M.D., and her
assistant Joe Paine were sent by the sheriff to recover
the body of Carson Grimes, a real-estate developer from
Boston who was to take possession of several farmsteads
in the area. At least, the identification found in the pocket of the torn pants belonged to Carson Grimes. The
body was described in the police report as grotesque,
with greenish skin, a wide mouth, flapping lips, bulging
eyes, and strange ears. Beyond possessing four limbs, a
generally upright form, and a head atop the shoulders,
the thing in no way resembled a human.
Incident at Phillips Planetarium
The fuse band Free People debuted their latest
composition, titled “The Music of Infinity” at the
Phillips Planetarium last week. Featuring their fuse
stylings combined with recordings of deep space, the
music accompanied an unnarrated planetarium exhibit.
Planetarium management was forced to stop the show
early when attendees began screaming. After the event,
several people reported that midway through the show
the stars changed, and they could see bizarre creatures
gathering among the stars. Emergency services treated
minor injuries on the scene but took several people to
the hospital including one person who had damaged
their eyes trying to claw them out.
Havenspoint
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INNSMOUTH
“There were vague statements about disease and
concentration camps, and later about dispersal in various
naval and military prisons, but nothing positive ever
developed. Innsmouth itself was left almost depopulated, and
is even now only beginning to shew signs of a
sluggishly revived existence.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”
STATISTICS
Population: 2,362
Note: 12% of Innsmouth residents are foreign-born, and 100% of the population are U.S.
citizens, an outlier for other cities within the state.
Active Pantheons: Cthulhu
Population Demographics:
68% White
15% African American
6% South Seas Island
5% East Asian
3% Latino
Median Age: 37
Median Income: $31,000/year
Cost of Living: 80% composite index compared to national average. (Boston, MA is 132%)
Major Town Statue: A statue of Obed Marsh in the Old Town Center
Fields: 1e Subterfuge. 1c Academics
BACKGROUND
Innsmouth is a small fishing town along the
Manuxet River in Massachusetts north of Arkham and
south of Newburyport, founded in. The marshy lands
surrounding the area made it hard for the town to grow
in the early years, keeping it isolated from its neighbors
except for fish exports.
During the War of 1812, many able-bodied men joined
the military, and the town suffered a severe downturn.
The price of fish dropped, and some left seeking better
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prospects. The town was near death when Captain Obed
Marsh started up trade with the South Seas Islands for
gold trinkets. This trade route brought immigrants to
the city, which changed the population demographics
drastically, and the already-remote town became even
more isolated from the white New Englanders.
Marsh built a refinery to melt the gold into ingots and
brought some prosperity back to the town. While the fish
were running dry, the gold kept the town on the map for
the next few years and immigrants helped the town grow.
Two more refineries and mills sprung up along the river
during this unprecedented time of bounty for the city.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
THE ESOTERIC ORDER
OF DAGON
In 1838, Marsh’s trade partners were destroyed by
inhabitants of a neighboring island. The fish were nearly
gone and the city’s prospects looked bleak. It was at this
time Innsmouth first contacted the Deep Ones, though
it wouldn’t be the last. Captain Marsh knew where his
trade partners in the South Seas had gotten their gold,
though he barely believed it. Desperate to save the
town, he took a metal idol they had gifted to him and
he dropped it into the ocean at a black coral reef a mile
off Innsmouth Harbor — since named Devil’s Reef — and
prayed to the Deep Ones.
They answered Marsh’s prayer and offered the same
deal their brethren had with the islanders: He would
give them sacrifices twice a year, and they would drive
fish to the harbor along with the gold. The first sacrifice
was within days and the fish flooded in.
At the same time, Marsh created the Esoteric Order
of Dagon, a cult to worship and carry on the tradition of
sacrifice. The order ran all other religions out of town and
commandeered the churches. For nearly a decade, Marsh’s
scheme kept Innsmouth in prosperity with a railroad to
Rowley carrying fish and ingots out of town, and shipping
boomed. Rumors that the gold came from a found pirate’s
booty kept his true dealings secret, and most people simply
marveled that the fishing remained strong in the harbor.
In 1846, the sacrifice was discovered. The townspeople
arrested Marsh and several others for murder. They remained in jail until the following May Eve, when the order’s
sacrifice was due. That night, when they missed their sacrifice, hundreds of Deep Ones came ashore and went on a
killing spree. The town of thousands was reduced to a little
over 300 , all of foreign descent and members of the Order.
The news reported the incident as a plague followed
by riots, but only the remaining residents knew the truth.
Fearing another such incident, Innsmouth became extremely secretive. It was at this time that Dagon insisted
the people of Innsmouth breed with them to increase
their own numbers. Marsh agreed, taking a wife from
the Deep Ones’ numbers himself.
People in the surrounding areas shunned Innsmouth
even more after that. Between rumors of plague and the
bogs and marshes that made travel there difficult, most
people wrote off Innsmouth as too strange to visit. The
Innsmouth people were just as wary of outsiders.
In 1927, a young Marsh descendent — unaware of
his heritage — was drawn to the city, and what he found
there terrified him. By then, most of the town’s residents
were mixed with Deep Ones, and it was hard to hide
the evidence. Those too far gone hid in abandoned and
dilapidated buildings, along with rumored Shoggoth,
though he never saw the terrifying creatures. He notified
the U.S. government and with the fear and hatred surrounding the town and its people, it wasn’t hard to get
them to come in and break up the Order. They had little
notice before the army arrived to round people up and
burn down buildings. They tried to torpedo Devil’s Reef,
but the ancient city below that reef is far more resilient
than modern weapons of the time.
The Esoteric Order of Dagon was scattered, with
the survivors not captured by the government, fleeing
to the nearby towns of Arkham, Boston, Havenspoint,
and Ipswich. The remaining residents, too stubborn to
leave, continued along in their dilapidated and nearly
destroyed town. It took nearly a decade before people
started moving back, the stigma of the supposed plagues
that ravaged the city finally gone.
REVIVAL
Despite having been driven away, the Esoteric
Order of Dagon continued to visit Innsmouth twice
yearly, once on May Eve and once on Halloween to make
sacrifice and consort with the Dagon at Devil’s Reef. The
residents maintained the fishing industry, though the
city barely grew due to the previous troubles.
The city was nearly a ghost town until 1942, when
the remaining Marsh family members repurposed the
refineries for steel and opened the harbor for shipbuilding during the war. The Marsh family had been avoiding the government for decades by intermarrying with
locals from Newburyport and even as far as Boston and
changing their names. The old Innsmouth families were
cautious of inviting the steel industry, but knew they
needed more sacrifices or their deal with Dagon would
become moot. The wartime effort brought people into
the city from all over, including returning members of
the order. The town boomed and shortly after the war
ended the city had grown to nearly 10,000 occupants.
The old town went through rapid repairs, and the inhabitants tore down residences that were too dilapidated
to restore. The city expanded to accommodate the new
arrivals, and it looked like the Innsmouth might finally
grow out of its strange past.
The Order, now a minority, couldn’t stop rapid
growth and refurbishment from uncovering ancient secrets long lost to them. In 1947, the mayor decided to revitalize the old town by rebuilding its grand cathedrals.
They started with the old New Church Green, which
housed the Esoteric Order of Dagon Hall. Workers salvaged curious artifacts from the building before its destruction, including strangely carved tiaras and diadems
made of a lustrous, whitish gold. The items went on
display in the city’s government building, which sparked
some inquiry into the town’s history. The Order, worried
that such an inquest might spark another culling, sought
out and destroyed all the files pertaining to that time
Innsmouth
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period, which was no easy task as the highest levels of
the government had record of what had happened. They
infiltrated everywhere in order to preserve their own.
The Order’s efforts took nearly 20 years, and in that
time the steel industry moved on, leaving only one working refinery. Fishing remained the staple for the town, and
its population dwindled even as the order began to re-establish themselves in the city. The old Innsmouth families
remembered the time when the order was in charge of
the city and made space for them once more. Innsmouth
returned to its status as an isolated, backwater town. The
1950s brought with it more isolation and fear as the most
90
established families in Innsmouth running out the few
diverse voices struggling to survive in the city.
THE TOWN TIME PASSED
For the next 40 years, Innsmouth was a town forgotten by time and its neighbors. People avoided the place as
much as possible, those from Innsmouth avoided leaving
the town as much as possible, and it grew more insular and
xenophobic as time passed. In 1986, a highway between
Newburyport and Arkham completely bypassed the city,
and the only people coming and going were people in the
shipping industry bringing goods in and fish out.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
open and running off visitors, they have hidden their
worship in mainstream churches. They hide the congregation and true worship behind non-denominational
Christianity, Zorastrianism, Buddhism, and even the
Church of Scientology. The rest of New England sees
these groups as eccentric, allowing the order to operate
in the open without giving themselves away.
The people of Innsmouth are poor, hardworking,
and extremely xenophobic. At this point, nearly the
entire population has some amount of Mythos taint.
Many never make the change to Deep Ones, while some
make a partial change. Those who make the full change
do so in their early 40s and leave the public as soon as
the changes become too obvious to prevent notice. This
leaves the apparent average age of Innsmouth residents
as relatively young due to other factors. Those who never undergo the full transformation end up as sacrifices
— often willing — during the twice-yearly celebration.
Those who are far gone with transformation continue to stay out of the public eye. While Innsmouth
is far behind the times, technology has not completely
passed them by. Smartphones have pervaded the youth,
and internet searches bring up legends surrounding
Innsmouth and Devil’s Reef that bring horror tourists
and paranormal investigators in droves. Trying to keep
up with the times, the Order feeds into these legends,
rather than trying to stifle them. Visitors still get cold
shoulders and unblinking stares, but the town’s leadership has taken the opportunity to gain tourism dollars
from those passing through.
In this vein, the old Gilman House has been renovated and opened to visitors, and underground tunnels
throughout the city allow those residents who are visibly
changed to go about their business without interacting
with the public. Visitors who overstay their welcome, or
ask too many questions, end up as sacrifices. And if one
or two sightseers disappear in the area a year? Well, that
only adds to the mystique of the small town.
CHALLENGES
The last 30 years have proven hard for Innsmouth
as technology advanced and left them behind. Tradition
strangles the town, and the Esoteric Order of Dagon
likes it fine that way, as long as no one looks too hard at
what happens there. People not tied to the order moved
away, and those lost and scattered came home to roost.
The city slowly reverted to a majority of the people being in bed with the Order, literally.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
The Esoteric Order of Dagon controls the city, even
if they allow outsiders as government officials to keep
suspicion from them. Instead of worshiping out in the
Innsmouth’s fishing industry has always been its
lifeblood. Commercial fishing conglomerates have taken
note of Innsmouth’s fertile waters and have tried several times in the past few years to open fisheries in the
harbor and open processing plants on the river. The city
is resistant to these advances, but the money they bring
in is more than the town can really afford to turn away.
With the influx of outside fishers, the Esoteric Order
of Dagon is dangerously close to losing their cover and
their control over the city.
The Order has tried to prevent large corporations
from moving into Innsmouth by refusing to sell land or
accept agreements. Keeping corporate influence out of
Innsmouth has been harder than it sounds as companies
Innsmouth
91
have strangled fish exports from Innsmouth by lobbying
for legislation and regulations that make their fish unsellable in its current state.
Innsmouth also suffers from a population who are
universally disliked by outsiders and therefore suspicious
of anyone who comes through town. Residents know that
despite all the changes Innsmouth has gone through over
the years, the racial stigma from the Obad Marsh’s day
still lingers through the region. As a result, the white
inhabitants exhibit extreme prejudice and racism against
anyone of color to prove that they are worth their white
neighbors’ attention. Little do they know or care that
their neighbors will never see them in a favorable light.
This makes Innsmouth a dangerous place to live,
even for the older Order families. Those who have the
Deep One transformation are somehow fine, but anyone
else who looks different they shun. They especially don’t
take kindly to strangers, and after sunset it’s a dangerous
place to be outside, not just because that’s when the
Dagon come calling.
The town’s xenophobia and racism keep it in isolation and keep the people poor. The town itself is near
destitution. Buildings sit in disrepair or unused, the city
streets are dirty and broken, and even the few restaurants and groceries dotting the small town are dives.
Corporate money has the chance to revitalize the place,
but the fear and resentment toward outsiders keeps people from fully accepting that truth.
What’s worse is that the people of Innsmouth do
not view themselves as poor. Nearly every person owns
several pieces of strange golden jewelry worth a small
fortune a piece. And while they would never sell their
precious Dagon heirlooms, they believe the trinkets
are proof of their personal riches. Even as families go
without food or children go without new clothes, the
Innsmouth residents look down on the rest of New
England, and the United States, for their inferiority.
CELEBRATION DAYS
Innsmouth has leaned in hard to their twice-yearly
sacrifices and the two days are celebrated throughout
the town as the largest holidays of the year. People come
in from all over the area to participate and revel in the
spectacle, and the town delivers a great show.
On May Eve, the celebration is considered May
Day to those who are not fully in the know. The day is
filled with Halloween-like festivities and celebration of
spring planting. Children’s activities include mock crop
plantings, fishing and sporting events out in the harbor,
flower crowns, collecting candy and treats from adults,
and costumes. Adult celebrations include drinking, daytime picnics, and sex.
92
Halloween is a similar affair, but instead of the normal one-night celebration other towns partake in, the
entirety of October is converted into a celebration for
the occasion. The old town is decorated in strand lights
and eerie music. Haunted tours take visitors past houses
with strange sounds emanating from them — often the
sounds of sleeping shoggoth. Each night people drink
and revel. The spectacle brings in more visitors than any
other event of the year.
On both May Eve and Halloween night, children go
door to door in costumes well before the sun sets. Adults
put on their own costumes, with fish-frog people being
the most common one. The night allows to residents
who are farther gone than the others to go out and mingle with their family and friends. Fireworks meet the
setting sun, and once the sun goes down completely, the
streets empty.
Of course, visitors don’t know this, but the residents
all pack themselves away safely, knowing the Dagon will
arrive on Devil’s Reef and seek their sacrifices. Sacrifices
are chosen wisely. Many are willing sacrifices, the old
who never fully changed to Dagon, the young who are
wrapped up in the idea of the revel, and more than a few
celebratory visitors who happen too close to the harbor
as the Order takes their sacrifices out.
And if visitors see shapes moving and undulating
out of the reef, then they just think that there’s a big
party they weren’t invited to. And it is a party in the eyes
of the residents. The Dagon drink, fuck, and feast upon
the sacrifices and revel in the bounty their humans have
brought them.
STORY HOOKS
• A Mythos Scion has a Bond to visit Innsmouth
for its Halloween celebrations. They haven’t returned, and the Band must go there to try to find
out what happened to them, or exact revenge for
their sacrifice.
• A report of a cryptid sighting draws the Band’s
attention to Innsmouth. News coming out of the
city always veers to the strange, so authorities
aren’t giving it any credence, but images make it
clear to any Mythos Scion that the indescribable
horror is not of this World. Are shoggoth on the
move, or has some other Mythos creature decided
to terrorize Innsmouth?
• Fish-frog-looking people have been showing up
dead all along the Miskatonic Valley, especially
along the Manuexet River. No one has heard from
Innsmouth in some time, and when the Band
arrives to investigate, it seems the town has been
abandoned. Did the Dagon attack their own, or is
some other unspeakable monster wreaking havoc
in the city?
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
MYTHOS INFLUENCES
The Esoteric Order of Dagon runs Innsmouth.
They haven’t completely taken over the town the way
they had back in the 20s, but they are ever-present in all
aspects of the city’s government and bureaucracy. The
Order is as riddled with Deep One hybrids as they ever
were, making the town still sit on the edge of normal, despite the number of outsiders allowed to live there. They
continue their worship of Mother Hydra and Father
Dagon, with more zeal and freedom than they’ve ever
used previously.
The Order may hide in plain sight among other religions, but they haven’t completely abandoned their open
worship. The town makes a big deal of its celebration
days when the Deep Ones make their way to Devil’s Reef.
The other days of the year, the town is inundated
with the worship of the Deep Ones. Little signs here
or there point to this, and if one looks hard enough,
the Deep Ones are literally everywhere in town. The
buildings in the oldest part of town, near the wharfs,
have been gutted and repurposed to hold the half-fish,
half-toad beings that people turn into when they aren’t
yet ready to take to the sea. Inside these warehouses and
boarded-up homes are tunnels leading out to the sea
where people and Deep Ones can traverse freely.
Sleeping Shoggoth — giant monsters crafted by the
Deep Ones and summoned by worship — also lie inside
these abandoned buildings. And, as before, the Deep
Ones intend that once they have summoned enough
Shoggoth, they can devour the town and nearby areas
in a bloodbath worthy of the great Cthulhu. Until then,
Mother Hydra and Father Dagon stay far away from
their children.
Mythos Scions who hail from Innsmouth are likely
one of the many old families who are the backbone of
the Order of Dagon, meaning they are part Dagon themselves. Innsmouth is not fond of outsiders, and that goes
for Scions as well. Mythos Scions are more likely to gain
acceptance, especially those of Cthulhu or the sea dwelling Albtraum. The Deep Ones don’t particularly care for
children of Gods, even those chosen by their own God,
especially if it seems like that person might threaten
their livelihood or their goals.
A Mythos Scion could theoretically cultivate
Followers or Cultists here, though they would need to
prove themselves very worthy indeed to do so.
TERRA INCOGNITA
Y’ha-nthlei lies on the ocean floor just under Devil’s
Reef. While this is not the only small Terra Incognita
Deep Ones sometimes call home, it is the one that feeds
from Innsmouth. It is accessible only from swimming at
a certain angle toward the ocean floor from Devil’s Reef.
Getting in and out is surprisingly easy, and the edges of
the Terra Incognita are porous, allowing things to come
in or flow out at will.
Y’ha-nthlei is an underwater city filled with Deep
Ones and their creations. While the realm is relatively
small, the city itself is huge. It’s built of massive irregular
blocks that create walls and columns, soaring into the
ocean’s depths from its floor. The city lies in complete
blackness, lit only by pinpricks of light coming from inside the masonry itself. The columns hold nothing aloft,
but instead seem to give the impression of a gargantuan
sea creature, huddled and spiny.
Getting to the Terra Incognita might be remarkably
easy, but the Deep Ones only accept their own there,
preferring to kill and feast on anyone unlucky enough
to travel there.
Innsmouth
93
KINGSPORT
“… and Kingsport, nestling uneasy on its lesser cliffs
below that awesome hanging sentinel of rock, sees
oceanward only a mystic whiteness, as if the cliff’s
rim were the rim of all earth, and the solemn bells of
the buoys tolled free in the aether of faery.”
— H.P. Lovecraft, “The Strange High House
in the Mist”
STATISTICS
Population: 70,500
Active Pantheons: The Greenish Flame, The King in Yellow, Lord of the Great Abyss
Demographics:
52% White
18% Hispanic or Latino
13% African American
7% East Asian
3% South Asian
2% Indigenous peoples
2% Middle East or North Africa
Note: 35% of Kingsporters are foreign-born, more than double the national and state average
of 16%. In the 80s and 90s, refugee communities came mostly from Southeast Asia, the former
Soviet Union as well as Serbia, Bosnia, and other parts of the former Yugoslavia. Nowadays,
arrivals are coming from Iraq, Syria, Burundi, Rwanda, the Congo, Angola, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Median Age: 34
Median Income: $53,500
Cost of Living: 120% composite index compared to national average. (Boston, MA is 132%)
Major Town Mascot/Sculpture: Rusty, a North American Porcupine
Fields: 1e Integrity.1c Technology.
INTRODUCTION
Kingsport is a city of dreamers and broken dreams.
It calls out like a beacon for the lost and displaced,
sending signals through a distorted Fresnel lens. Its essence is surreal. Under facades of coastal New England
timelessness and colonial charm lurks a dynamo illusionist. This city’s history is marked by wanderers who
94
disappear, waves of immigration from overseas, and
people seeking safe harbor in a turbid world. Kingsport
has a way of holding onto its dreamers, of constructing a maze of confusion around residents in its thrall.
Many Kingsporters share a common story: washed up
in Kingsport, hoping to find brief shelter and sanctuary,
and then stayed much longer than expected, for reasons
that escape explanation.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
BACKGROUND
The sheltered bay of Kingsport, which cuts sharply
into the north coast of Massachusetts, provided a rich
tidal mud flat for the coastal Agawam people to gather
fish, clams, crustaceans, and other fruits of the sea. Its
most prominent feature is Kingsport Head, a steep bluff
of granite that surges skyward from the coast. There
are no summits along Massachusetts shores that are
even remotely as high. The cliffs spawned Indigenous
legends of love stories and family intrigues, all of which
end in tragedy or plummeting murder. Other tales warn
of over-curious characters who wander too close to the
foreboding, Stygian tidal caves at the foot of the cliffs.
The first European arrival was a small colony of
English castaways, bound for Virginia in 1623, when
a gale blew them off course and onto the jagged rocks
submerged under Kingsport Bay. The group did not
survive its first winter. Its leaders chose to set up camp
against a bluff in the shadow of Kingsport Head, exposed
to weather and failing to account for seasonal shifts in
wind direction. Many died, though some survivors fled
to other colonies and lived to recount their horrors.
A second colony sponsored by the Dorchester
Company set down roots in 1630, building on the abandoned ruins of the first. Abundant food in easy reach
made Kingsport Bay a tempting place to linger, but salty
land and uncooperative weather made farming arduous and unproductive. Several Kingsport residents fell
victim to the same witch panic of 1692 that claimed so
many Massachusetts victims, associated most with nearby Salem, where many have now embraced the problematic history as a tourist attraction. Three Kingsporters,
two women and one man, were convicted and hanged
from a gibbet on the road to Arkham. These executions
are rarely spoken of, and the family names of accusers
and victims have been changed to shed shameful associations. The site bears a humble bronze placard now,
overgrown with raspberry brambles and rarely visited.
In time, Kingsport developed into a fishing village.
The colony expanded into a jumble of stout buildings
made from white pine and red oak, a few of which remain
today. Aside from the brooding presence of Kingsport
Head, land near the bay features steep hills known as the
Three Sisters. They are named Beacon Hill, Central Hill,
and Grave Hill. Below them, an underground river flows
through a karst-like network, segments emerging like
darning stitches in scattered parks, exposed hillsides, or
running through root cellars of ancient homes. Sloped
graveyards look down from the hills, concealing buried
secrets. Along the shore, rotten wharves perched on barnacled pylons sway precariously with the tides.
Geological quirks and inconsistent bedrock caused
the town’s map to grow in strange ways. Roads wend
haphazardly and aimless, labyrinthine alleys and
angular stairways twist drunkenly up slopes, while tiers
of houses pile up on one another like the strewn blocks
of children. The front door of one house often looks onto
the roof or chimney pot of another. The city seems to
repel parallel lines. Kingsporters have long joked about
the ease of getting lost, “there’s ten ways to get from here
to there, and none of them are right.” Frequent ground
fog adds to its reputation as a city of disorientation.
In the early 18th century, Kingsport also became
known as a center of religious freedom, due to Quaker
influence and language in the town charter likely inspired by Sir William Penn. Church steeples from obscure sects blossomed in the skyline like daffodils after
a spring thaw.
Only a few European Kingsporters fought in King
Philip’s War in 1675, but across New England the land
was stained with blood, with 40 percent of the entire
Wampanoag population killed, and many captives of
war — as well as allies — sold into slavery. The Agawam
people who occupied land around Kingsport and Cape
Ann largely abstained from the war, and instead assimilated into European communities under protection of
English law.
By the time of the Revolutionary War, Kingsport had
mostly stayed away from conflict, with a pacifist streak
among town elders and an isolationist approach to politics. Most were neither loyalist nor revolutionary. Those
who wanted to join the fight moved to Danvers, Ipswich,
or other nests of resistance along the coast.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw Kingsport transform from fishing village to an industrial textile-mill
town, with waves of factory workers emigrating from
Southern Europe, Ireland, and French-speaking
Canada. These newcomers were treated with suspicion,
resentment, and xenophobia by a Protestant majority
across New England, with many empowered bigots in
Kingsport and the rest of the Miskatonic Valley sowing
fear of newcomers with particular fervor.
MODERN TIMES
Contemporary Kingsport is a weird, faceted community with the forces of industry, tourism, past, and
present in tension and concert. Some new arrivals find
the town’s strangeness exhilarating and alluring. People
tend to wash up in Kingsport and get stuck or lost.
The demographics of Kingsport shift rapidly.
Pockets of foreign-born communities crop up and
thrive as Kingsport’s policy of open doors welcomes
them. While many have moved on to larger cities,
small neighborhoods of people fleeing strength remain
anchored there. Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish,
Franco-American, Chinese, and Russian Jews arrived in
the mid-20th century. Later waves of arrivals included
Vietnamese, Cambodian, Central American, Serbian,
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95
Sudanese, Somali, Afghan, Angolan, East Timorese,
Uyghur, and many other small communities. Some
neighborhoods feel like windows into far-flung nations.
In the 80s and 90s, refugee communities came mostly
from Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union as well
as Serbia, Bosnia, and other parts of the former Yugoslavia.
Nowadays arrivals are coming from Iraq, Syria, Burundi,
Rwanda, the Congo, Angola, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
REFUGEES AND ASYLEES
In 1985, Kingsport’s chapter of Catholic Charities
launched a refugee resettlement program that was enabled under the Refugee Act of 1980. Over the years, the
group has supported waves of immigrants and asylum
seekers fleeing conflict or disaster, and the municipal
government has supported these arrivals with services
of their own. Kingsport has refugees and asylees from
more than two dozen countries, and students in the
city’s public-school system speak more than 60 languages other than English. The city provides special services
for health, adult education, and other resources to help
newcomers to get on their feet.
While many Kingsporters welcome new arrivals,
some resent the city’s support for refugees as a drain on
taxes and a threat to “American” traditions, code for the
status quo of white New Englanders. There is a small but
outspoken xenophobic minority that expresses opposition in demonstrations and newspaper editorials. These
voices have recently ramped up their public rhetoric,
and there have been increasing incidents of violence and
harassment in the city.
Refugees and asylees often face difficult mental-health issues and cultural shock when they arrive,
adapting from harrowing struggles in countries of origin
to an alien world, shattered identity, onset of PTSD,
overall displacement, and discrimination.
STRATIFICATION
Successive waves of newcomers in Kingsport over
the years have stratified the town into groups of new
residents and old residents, legacy communities and new
communities, insiders and outsiders. Some of the oldest
families with ties to colonial founders harbor a sense of
entitlement and privilege over new arrivals. While many
town elders embrace what they see as a welcoming attitude toward immigrants, contributing generously to charities or opening the doors of their homes to host displaced
people, “good deeds” come with strings and expectations.
New arrivals often struggle with feelings of being lost and
stuck in an alien world. The cycle of more established
Kingsporters discriminating in subtle ways against newer
communities has repeated over generations. Less subtle
tensions sometimes escalate to violence.
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ADDICTION
Kingsport is no stranger to drug addiction.
Massachusetts has been hit hard in recent years in a
wave of opioid use, and methamphetamines and designer “club” drugs have lingered for years. The state has
recognized Kingsport’s higher rates of addiction, and
the city receives extra funding for treatment. Miskatonic
University’s school of public health has launched several
experimental pilot programs to collect data and explore
alternatives. Kingsport generally welcomes the supplemental funding, but none of the experimental programs
have shown much success.
HOMELESSNESS
Homeless shelters and centers in Kingsport are
overflowing, and services are strained. Several factors
may cause unusual rates, including the city’s reputation
for providing meals and beds, the copious hidden spaces
and sheltering overhangs that pepper the city’s chaotic
design, and a historically accommodating law-enforcement approach. It’s also possible that the Greenish Flame
has been calling out to wandering minds. Whatever the
cause, homeless numbers are peaking, and camps have
cropped up in tucked-away spots.
KEY LOCATIONS
Circle Square
In the approximate center of the city, between the
Three Sisters, is the old town commons where colonists
held public markets, previously known as Circle Court.
The shape of this area has changed over the years, leading residents to start calling it “Circle Square” as an injoke. The name was officially changed in the 1970s, when
the area was the stage of many public demonstrations.
The square, now more of a rhomboid, remains cobbled
and has been preserved as a pedestrian-only zone to
encourage people to patronize downtown businesses, an
effort that has only been modestly successful. Many of
the city’s oldest buildings ring the border.
Circle Square is home of the city’s chapter of the
Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants,
known as ORI, which resides in an ancient-looking
storefront with diamond-paned windows where the upper story overhangs the square in a mock medieval style.
This office is a center of activity and community for
many foreign-born residents, where free English classes
are conducted most weekday evenings.
Rusty
On a pedestal in the center of the square, there is a
hunched, strange-looking anthropomorphic figure made
of wrought iron mounted on a pedestal of pink granite.
The sculpture, nicknamed Rusty, depicts in crude detail
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
a North American porcupine standing on hind legs and
howling at the sky.
Rusty is the mascot of Kingsport. An apocryphal
legend recalls the first European colonists blown off
course during a storm while en route to Virginia. The
desperate castaways saw shadows scuttling on the shore
and prayed it was game, but when a small hunting party
landed ashore a porcupine ambushed the group and
skewered them all with its quills. The Hall High School
adopted the porcupine as its mascot in the late 1950s.
In 1978, the city commissioned folk artist Eduardo
Silva to make a metal statue of the mascot. The result
was controversial. His creation is an abstract anthropomorphic creature that stands in a tortuous hunched
position, exaggerated quills curving out of its back like
a bouquet of sabers. The town council nearly voted
against placing it in Circle Square, but it was installed
despite protests. The controversy flared up again when
the new casino unveiled an image of a cartoon porcupine
wearing a minuteman’s tri corner hat as its brand logo.
Burying Ground
One of the Three Sister hills has long been used
as a cemetery. Many of the remains from the first
English castaway group were interred in the hillside.
Some stones mark multiple graves dug hastily before
the ground froze that tragic winter. Many were never
marked at all. In later years, plots were more structured,
but occasionally graves are disturbed as the community’s need for space grows. Most Kingsport residents currently use a graveyard on the edges of the city limits on
the way to Arkham. There are rumors that the lost dead
still wander the city in search of their own gravestones.
Bridge City
Two short bridges span over a section of Kingsport’s
river in a spot downtown where subterranean waters
surface. The structures provide shelter for a small homeless tent community that has entrenched there. Bridge
City expands and contracts with the seasons, but is
largely left alone by Kingsport law enforcement, as long
as its residents remain out of view and do not attract attention. Bridge City enforces its own rules, maintaining
its invisibility, informally appointing its own mayor and
council, governing itself as a neighborhood hidden on
the fringes of society.
Kingsport Harbor
Fishing boats, cruisers, marine patrol “enforcers,”
beefy tugs, and whale-watch liners crowd the waters
of Kingsport Bay. Slips, wharves, and marinas skirt the
town’s shoreline from one end to the other. Marine
traffic is busy, and the channels are tight around rocky
shallows and tidal mud flats. Fish shacks, weathered
eateries, abandoned warehouses, and bric-a-brac shops
contour the shoreline.
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97
Minuteman Casino
A crushing economic slump hit Kingsport in the 80s
and 90s, shuttering downtown businesses and turning
the once-thriving city center into a gallery of abandoned
buildings. The city teetered on the edge of solvency.
Town leaders, desperate for investment, accepted one
sketchy tax abatement scheme after another. None bore
fruit. The most recent is a grand hotel and casino, built
on a peninsula on the south end of Kingsport’s harbor.
The project involved a long saga of community division,
public outcry, and statehouse shenanigans to get the gaming license approved for the newly named Minuteman
Casino. Historians and Kingsport’s old timers roll eyes
over the marketing; Kingsporters largely abstained from
the Revolutionary War. Complaints persist, but the casino
has added jobs to the city for the first time in many years.
The addition has also drawn a new population of lost
residents. Slot machines attract rows of hopeful gamers,
retirees, and those with stubborn compulsions, whose
fortunes slowly drain into the seductive flashing lights.
The casino’s greenlight also sparked outrage from
a Wampanoag Nation that was not federally recognized
until 2007. They applied for a casino on Cape Ann and
do not appreciate the competition or the fast-track speed
with which Kingsport’s Minuteman project was handled.
MYTHOS INFLUENCES
Kingsport is under the thrall of a powerful Mythos
force, the entity known as the Greenish Flame. The Flame is
an alien column of living energy that carries out inscrutable
plans at a geological pace, using subtle, nearly undetectable
mind-altering powers to bend the community toward its
ends. The Flame took up residence in one of Kingsport’s
underground grottoes generations before the arrival of
English colonists. Before that, it managed to influence a
few Indigenous residents who cultivated food sources in
Kingsport Bay, but it wasn’t until the arrival of English
castaways in the early 17th Century that the Flame began to
establish a network and allies to carry out its odd errands.
STRANGE TIMES
Stewards of the Greenish Flame
The Flame that nests in Kingsport’s underground caverns forges special ties with select residents. This influence
is limited to one or two dozen people. The Stewards spend
their lives connected to the entity by an unconscious link,
occasionally performing small tasks as if sleepwalking.
Some Stewards only carry out a few requests during their
whole lifespan and remain in the dark about their roles. A
firefighter finds herself adjusting the pressure of a steam
pump in the basement of City Hall. A librarian sets fire to
an equipment shed at a city park. A Marine Patrol officer
98
dumps a load of swordfish bait into a sewer. Other sleepwalkers may be more active, retaining memories of their
relationship with the Flame. A trio of substitute teachers
gathers in the Nethermost Caverns for a council, digs up
the graves of four town elders, and then buries them on the
same night. Whole councils of Stewards meet in the attic
of the old Market Building for a secret congress or gather
to paint eldritch symbols on police cars or perform a small
sacrifice ritual around the pylons of a new bridge.
Scions share a much stronger connection to the entity but are not in its thrall. Some sleepwalkers are aware
of Scions of the Greenish Flame and form the backbone
of a cult devoted to them.
Kingsport Glitches
For most Kingsport residents, the quirks and tears
in the fabric of Kingsport’s reality remain mostly hidden
from view. Some may spend a lifetime without noticing
eccentricities. Others quickly forget the ones that they
witness. Some may notice easily dismissible phenomena;
unusually frequent déjà vu, peripheral hallucinations,
conflicting memories, moments when time stands still, or
a whole afternoon that seems to pass in just a few minutes.
More observant residents start to see patterns emerging. Some take notes. Others use digital tools to build theories and connect with groups who share observations.
The glitches are irregular and contradictory, defying clear
patterns. Theories proliferate. Government experiments
gone wrong. Alien technology. The terrorists.
Those who experience intrusive projections suffer a range
of side effects. Most forget or compartmentalize. Memory fades
quickly if the witness does not speak about the experience
with someone or somehow record it. Depression, mania, and
loss of concentration are not uncommon responses. Some may
self-medicate for the intrusions, in the form of drugs, alcohol,
or compulsive behavior to outrun unsettling memories.
Uncanny Corners
Sometimes the fabric of Kingsport’s reality tears,
and the Flame throws up a hasty simulation to cover the
flaw. A new street, a new alley, or a new stairway appears
in an unexpected place. Such glitches vary from unnerving or uncanny to utterly bizarre.
There was only one cellar door a moment ago, but
now there were too many to count.
Timeslips
Residents who are deprived of sleep are prone to find
themselves thrust momentarily into a version of Kingsport
that is out of step with time, suddenly thrust into a portion
of town that has long been changed or buried. The architecture of buildings becomes old fashioned, pavement gives
way to cobblestones, and phantom sounds of horse carts
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW
haunt the night. These visions may be fleeting and quickly
dissolve into an eerie but dismissible episode of déjà vu.
She woke to the sound of creaking timbers. The
harbor was suddenly full of wooden ships, and the
streetlamps danced with oily flames.
up, down, gravity, or perspective. These wanderers perceive
surreal nightmare environments that evoke stark and irrational dreamscapes such as those seen in the Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari, or the works of M.C. Escher. Escaping from these
realms requires rigorous puzzling across irrational paths.
The Dreamer’s Lighthouse
Windows and Lenses
Glass has qualities that can disturb the Flame’s projections, sometimes bending or amplifying illusions. People
may look through an antique window, and see shadowy figures revealed in the reflection, or notice movements that lag
slightly behind. Some see through projections that others do
not, or through walls and earth into spaces they should not.
A huge soap bubble wobbled by. Gazing through it,
the child saw every single one of the monsters again.
Shortcuts
Kingsporters sometimes experience odd occasions
when distances across the city are suddenly bridged.
These are folds in space that allow a person to turn a corner or down a stair only to end up somewhere they did
not intend to go. These experiences can be unsettling
but are often explained away as the quirk of a distracted
mind. The jumps may be accidental, or they may be the
strategic movements of game pieces on a board.
Each day for a week, Taylor shaved another 10 minutes off her walk to the hospital, even though she tried
extremely hard to dawdle.
STRANGE PLACES
Nethermost Caverns
The Greenish Flame has claimed the catacombs under
Kingsport as its lair. Visitors might find a range of openings
to the tunnel system: tidal caves, secret doors, tombs, wells,
rivers, and sewers reveal that the city features copious subterranean spaces. But the Flame uses its perception-bending powers to confuse and ward off intruders. Many of the
Flame’s Stewards hold keys that allow newcomers to enter
the lair. They may be physical keys that open ancient locks,
or a grave digger’s shovel, or cans of spray paint to draw gates
that open into solid stone walls. The lair itself has an oily
black river that opens into a large cavern where a pillar of
cold light from the Greenish Flame rises out of a bottomless
well, which empties into a murky garden of alien vegetation
that the Stewards sometimes collect and feed to the Flame.
The Catawampus
Kingsport residents sometimes wander into a pocket
realm of mind-bending imagery projected by the Greenish
Flame. These are spaces where the Flame’s simulations have
gone completely wrong. Witness see vivid vistas of impossible architecture unfolding and collapsing, of angled stairs
and cobbled streets and gabled roofs that defy notions of
Kingsport Light sits on Cow Island at the end of a neck
that stretches out from the south end of the bay. The brickand-wood tower dates back to 1853 and is still used as a
navigation beacon and staffed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Like
many lights in Massachusetts, it has been automated since
the late 1990s, but a keeper acts as tour guide. The light’s
first keeper was Carlton Webster, who as Steward for the
Greenish Flame was able to hone an unusual talent for
lucid dreaming. During his solitude, he opened doorways
from the lighthouse into the Dreamlands, where he spent
eons exploring and mapping whimsical realms where time
moves much slower than on Earth. After decades of passing back and forth between the worlds, his talents opened a
permanent Axes Mundi portal in the lantern room. Passage
through it requires an expert level of ability in lucid dreaming, or annotated pieces of Webster’s maps.
The Old Church
Many old churches crown the hillsides of Kingsport,
but one has a Georgian spire that rises higher than the
rest. It is a stately, square building with clapboard sides
that juts out of Beacon Hill like the prow of a ship. The
basement of this building was once a meeting space for
Stewards, who dug tunnels into the labyrinth below and
congregated with the Flame in secret rites. The trapdoor
entrance has long been bricked over, but the church stood
over the main entrance for so long that the area around it
is subject to more frequent glitches in the Flame’s psychic
projections. It still functions as an ecumenical meeting
house, but many Kingsporters sense that something is
wrong, and claim the church gives off “bad energy.”
Kingsport Head
Atop one of the highest points in coastal New
England, there is a realm of eerie timelessness. The steep
rock ridge is one of only two places in Massachusetts
left untouched by glacial scouring. The vegetation on
Kingsport Head is unlike anything in the rest of the
state, and researchers have documented several anomalous species. This strange, high landform acts like an
antenna or a lightning rod for eldritch forces. The Lord
of the Great Abyss has appeared several times to residents over the generations, notably a hermit who once
built a house atop the cliffs, with a doorway facing the
ocean that opened into nowhere. A phantom image of
this house sometimes still appears in foggy nights atop
the bluff when time comes unfettered and drifts for a
lingering moment with the mists.
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CHAPTER FIVE
MYTHIC MYTHOS
STORYTELLING
“Sometimes you want to say things, and you’re missing an idea to make
them with, and missing a word to make the idea with. In the beginning
was the word. That’s how somebody tried to explain it once. Until something is named, it doesn’t exist.”
— Samuel R. Delany, Babel-17
M
asks of the Mythos and Scion storytelling, by their
very nature, are different. Even in myths of heroines
battling their way into the Underworld for glory or to
rescue someone, there is little fear or uncertainty in those
actions. It becomes more of a display of power against
overwhelming forces, while the Mythos is an exploration
into the unknown with fear and madness as one’s bond
mates. The power of those tales dovetailing together is
something greater than either in isolation. The power is
made clear when a hero’s outcome is at best questionable
and not fated.
NARRATIVE
STRUCTURE
T
he structure of Lovecraft’s Mythos stories is rather
straightforward: the protagonist of the story, usually a
bookish, white man who claims to be rationally minded yet
has inexplicably studied troves of occult tomes, encounters
something strange. Rather than shying away, he decides
to push forward until he encounters the nameless and
hideous cause of this strange event and he passes out,
which somehow results in the protagonist’s survival and a
greater insight into the workings of the universe followed
by some reaction to that newfound knowledge. The stories
developed in Masks of the Mythos differ in a multitude
of ways because it’s the characters who cause those
strange events; their Lovecraftian protagonist fainted, a
companion was possibly consumed, and survive tormented
by the experience. Masks of the Mythos protagonist
come from all walks of life; people of color, all genders
and sexuality spectrums, and are a true representation
of our world.
The narrative steps are incident, investigation, resolution, and insight or denial. Despite the Mythos Scions’
connection to the Mythos, there is a parallel to the standard Lovecraft protagonist. The focus of the storytelling
is investigating the strange and unusual. Masks of the
Mythos borrows from the narrative structure of modern Mythos stories by LaValle, Emrys, Butler, Wilson,
and Gaiman by providing an inciting incident that takes
the character out of their routine. They may stumble
on an old fishing village while backpacking, discover
their ancestry links them to government-sanctioned
imprisonment, suddenly inherit something strange from
a long-lost relative, or any other of hundreds of things.
This incident begins as something mundane but is the
first step into the weird. It can start with something as
simple as being asked to play a gig.
While fainting as the resolution to an issue is decidedly unheroic, it still provides some ideas for structuring
the narrative. The act of fainting gives the protagonist
the opportunity to deny themselves from seeing the
truth. A Mythos Scion may not understand or accept the
truth of reality as presented in their story. That concept
excels in literature but less so at the actual gaming table.
That lack of agency robs the Scion, Demigod, or in some
cases a literal God, the chance to act.
Working within the genre, the Storyteller should
present the resolution in a way that lets the character
embrace the truth and continue living in defiance of the
horrors lurking in the darkness. One example is to have a
companion succumb to the horror before them and faint,
flee, or be overcome. That conveys the horror, allows
the Scion to remain an active force, and relays on a core
conceit of Scion. This resolution is difficult enough for a
pre-Visitation Scion, who should be impaired somewhat
but still allowed to act and becomes increasingly difficult as the character experiences greater revelations and
fights against ever-greater threats. More than one Scion
chalked their visitation experience up to hallucinations
and struggled to avoid using the powers bestowed upon
them as they try to keep their grasp on humanity rather
than accept the awful truth about the universe.
NIHILISM VS.
HEROIC MYTH
BLOOD OF THE GODS
A standard Scion game is about Gods, humanity, and
forging a destiny with the power of Fate. You were born,
blessed, and infused with divine abilities to battle the
ancient enemies, the Titans. It’s a tale in the vein of the
African medicine man who traveled to the land of the dead,
Kalunga, for his king; of Beowulf who battled Grendel; or
of John Henry who bested the machine to prove humanity
can’t be stopped. Those stories are legends bound by Fate
Nihilism vs. Heroic Myth
101
and held up to the world to see. They are Scions using
their powers to defeat powerful rivals.
The Scion’s path is fraught with obstacles, but the
road they travel is brightly lit with divine guidance and
mysterious influence.
THE STARS WERE RIGHT
Scion spins stories of humanity, Gods, and the union
of the two. Now let’s delve into stories of older entities.
Humanity sometimes encounters beings beyond the
comprehension of finite minds. They may be called Gods
by those who lack any other word to describe them. They
are alien and unfathomably powerful, but they work in
the shadows and occasionally brush with humanity in
the periphery. The Mythos is alien in every way. The entities do not share moral or cultural values with humans.
Their languages are ancient and unknowable. Their
mathematics can create and destroy. They experience
reality in more dimensions than humans. They have an
entirely different relationship with time. Their goals and
desires are impenetrable. They are not here to help humanity. They are not malicious. They exist beyond our
realm, even beyond the Gods of humanity.
Each Mythos entity intersects with Earth and its
inhabitants for different reasons. Some have plans that
stem from the planet’s primordial past, or a far future
billions of years ahead. Some are just passing through.
Some are wild and erratic, creating and destroying whole
worlds on a whim. To some, humans are little more than
an object of curiosity, like a bug in a jar. Though Mythos
entities may be indifferent to humans, their influence
still ripples through humanity. Most alien beings do not
crave reverence or demand worship from humans, but
humans still tend to revere powerful entities as Gods.
They build altars in their name, they study their histories, and they collect artifacts and alien evidence like
magpies. But no matter how much praise is given, how
much devotion is shown, or how perfectly ancient rites
and rituals are performed, humans can’t truly understand that which is beyond their capacity.
Despite these barriers, humans are tenacious and
curious to a fault. The impulse to wedge alien limitlessness into limited human structures is powerful.
Sometimes there are glimmers of success. Across human
history, there have been moments of partial human comprehension, of unthinkable discovery and unnerving
insight. Scattered across the globe are remnants and artifacts that hold powers of alien science and mysticism.
Though discovery, legacy or fate, a few humans have
stumbled on these powers. A few possess the strength
of mind and immutable character needed to cope with
these otherworldly forces.
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COSMIC MYTHIC HORROR
Scions empowered by Mythos forces are not evil or
malignant by nature, they are simply something other
than divine or Godly. These forces are beyond the human constructs of good and evil, though the Scions who
wield them still must make choices within the human
world, from a finite point of view, among the whole
pallet of hard choices and challenges that bedevil the
human condition. What happens to a heroic myth when
illuminated by the strange light of alien forces? What
does a hero look like, when they grapple with the vastness of space and knowledge of the infinitesimal? What
does a person do when infused with alien powers whose
nature separates them from humanity?
The Mythos is a grindstone against which Scions can
test heroic choices within the grayness and ethical confusion of the modern world. The path of an ethical and
heroic journey is not brightly lit. As Mythos Scions, your
powers and your very presence can disrupt the world in
unpredictable ways. In an interconnected world, the ripples of effects and consequences travel far and fast. Scions
wielding alien power in such a fragile ecosystem are bound
to create some chaos in their wakes: rips in reality, the
veil, and propagating more Mythos. Mythos Scions’ paths
wend through thickets of challenges and complications.
Mythos Scions, like Divine Scions, are not assigned
to be good or evil because of the forces that sponsor
them. They make choices, and those choices make them
unique. That choice is the root of what makes them
human. The chaos that follows in their wake disrupts
the fate of all with which they intersect. Fate can permanently bind that which is eternally unknowable. What
happens to Gods and Titans when their tales are broken
by that other outside of the wheel?
Applying that level of otherness and horror to an existing game can feel daunting, but there are a few ways to
incorporate the Mythos. Some questions to consider are:
• How much Mythos do you want in your game?
• Which elements of the Mythos do you want?
• Are you allowing Mythos Scions to work with
other Scions?
• What Great Old Ones best accent your campaign?
If the Mythos is just a brief encounter to widen the
world or start a campaign, “The Scion Job” (p. 108) is
a great start. Another intrinsic way to add the Mythos
to your campaign is by having the Band travel to the
Miskatonic Hollow to research a clue, seek aid from
a professor at Miskatonic University, inherit a house
in Dunwich, or have an old friend housed at Arkham
Sanatorium. The Mythos is less “jump out of the shadows and fight you” and more a slow build to terror that
CHAPTER FIVE: MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING
erodes mental fortitude, ending with some unnamable
and indescribable thing assaulting you. The Mythos
should be a nagging sense that something is not right
that you can never put your finger on, always lurking
just at the edge of your senses. While Scions possess
Godly powers, those abilities do not instantly defeat
the Mythos. The Mythos can break the Fates binding of
Heroes, Demigods, and Gods alike.
Playing a Mythos Scion is mechanically similar to
playing a divine Scion. Their stories can even be similar to those of divine Scions but the more they engage
with the world, the more it changes it subtle ways. Their
powers disrupt the world and that should always follow
in their wake.
THE
UNKNOWABLENESS
(AND AWARENESS
OF IT)
H
umans have always struggled to find reason for things
they can’t explain. Magic, for example, has been
just one way of hand waving away things we don’t yet
understand. There are still gaps in human understanding
and knowledge, but now that we have answers to some
questions, we naively assume that the rest will come in
time. Humanity believes it’s working towards complete
understanding of the universe, and just hasn’t found all
the answers yet.
In The World of Scion, magic is real. And yet it, too,
follows rules and can be studied and deciphered. Scions
themselves are proof of that. Even in this version of
reality, where magic and science intermingle, humanity
assumes these two systems can explain everything, if
used correctly. The unfortunate truth is there are some
things beyond the scope of human comprehension. And
they will remain that way. Or, at least, they should.
The Mythos is, by nature, something that cannot be
understood by mortal and divine minds. The creatures
within it — their powers, physical forms, and their
minds — are beyond anything the human brain can
comprehend. They appear evil, partially because they
are unknown, and the unknown is frightening, but also
because their wants and desires are so far removed from
our own. They don’t lack morals, but rather operate on
an entirely different playing field.
Beings within the Mythos are greater than humans not
only in size, but in ability. Humans have limited control of
the physical world around them, and even more limited
The Unknowableness (and Awareness of It)
103
perception. Dogs can hear more than we can; cats can see
far better. But the difference between a human and a fish
is nothing compared to the yawning gulf that stretches
between earthly creatures and those of the Mythos. They
are literal and figurative giants, greater in size and power
than the human mind can fully understand. Even in sleep,
Cthulhu is able to reach beyond his own dreams and into
others’. He can see and feel and exert his powers, even
bound and submerged and cut off physically from the world.
To him, humans must seem like tiny mites crawling on the
back of the world. How many of us kill insects, those seemingly mindless little pests that hardly register until they’ve
made nuisances of themselves? Sure, we perceive some to be
prettier or smarter or stronger than others, but as a whole
they are lesser. Funny, weak little things who operate with
inscrutable thought patterns. That must be how the Mythos
pantheon sees humanity: tiny, strange creatures who occasionally entertain or annoy, but are mostly beyond concern.
Many people have tried to study and understand the
true natures of those within the Mythos. Most are shattered by the truths they tried and failed to comprehend.
Humankind has discovered certain truths about the creatures’ origins, but these are empty facts that do not explain
the more important whys and hows of their past and present activities. The Mythos comes to us from the corners of
the universe: from space, from the depths, from parallel
dimensions. They aren’t meant to be focused on. The mind
rightfully skitters away from them in fear. People know, instinctively, that these beings should be left out of sight and
out of mind. To focus on them instead? To force yourself
onward, to grit your teeth against your own instincts and
better judgement? To stare deeper into the darkness in
search of the hidden shapes within, the knowledge those
shadows might contain? It changes people. Warps them. In
absolute darkness, the human mind conjures images where
there are none, attempting to fill the void with something
known. It’s much the same for those who start down the
path toward Awareness. They can never quite be sure if
what they perceive is real or imagined. That fearful liminal
space is exactly where the Mythos lives.
Scions of the Mythos operate similarly in the dark.
Their patrons’ true motivations are unknowable. Maybe
your Scion doesn’t care or has simply resigned themself
to the idea of following blindly. Or, maybe, they enjoy the
strange honesty of such bald-faced obscurity. Plenty of
people (and Gods, and Titans) conceal their true selves.
The Mythos pantheon has no need for such deception.
Its deities stretch beyond human imagination by their
very nature. They don’t need to pretend to be above human affairs: they simply are.
However, even if we can’t comprehend the Mythos, ingame Scions can. Maybe not at first, and certainly not without great cost, but by digging deeper into the link with their
patronage, Scions can achieve Awareness and see beyond
the mundane. Unfortunately, this often is incorrectly called
104
“madness” by outsiders, as Aware Scions react to seemingly imaginary things and begin functioning differently. The
more Aware they become, the more they change — not just
mentally, but physically and emotionally. To draw closer to
the Mythos, Scions must leave humanity behind. Often, the
work of severing ties is done for them; even the closest family members and best of friends will eventually be alienated
by the behavior of an increasingly Aware Scion.
MYSTERIES AND TRUTH
“Thus there is such a thing as being too profound.
Truth is not always in a well. In fact, as regards the more
important knowledge, I do believe that she is invariably
superficial. The depth lies in the valleys where we seek
her, and not upon the mountain-tops where she is found.
The modes and sources of this kind of error are well
typified in the contemplation of the heavenly bodies. To
look at a star by glances—to view it in a side-long way,
by turning toward it the exterior portions of the retina
(more susceptible of feeble impressions of light than the
interior), is to behold the star distinctly—is to have the
best appreciation of its lustre—a lustre which grows dim
just in proportion as we turn our vision fully upon it.”
— Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Mysteries and the unknown, haunting dread; existential questions about our place in the universe with
horrific twists are critical parts of any Mythos tale.
These stories may include a lone protagonist uncovering
their own family ancestry in a seaside town, questioning
the strange behavior of an old friend who seems to be
two people in one body, or discovering long-forgotten
alien “treasures” in the mountains of Antarctica. Each
is a mystery unto itself requiring different approaches
with numerous steps to find the truth. The confrontation of the thing is secondary in Mythos mysteries; the
pursuit, inquiry, gathering of clues, the endless hours of
research, and forming conclusions with those clues to
uncover the truth is most important.
The Storyguide weaves these complex, layered mysteries, whether they are grand millennium-spanning
affairs or smaller, more intimate ones. Regardless of size
and scope, these mysteries, conspiracies, and knowledge
humanity was not meant to know are crafted by Alien
intelligence, unknowable Gods, or are long-lost to history; many with their roots in times when the ancestors of
humanity eked out a fragile survival in a hostile world.
They are not mundane cold cases requiring nothing
more than a single skill roll to resolve.
CONSTRUCTING CONUNDRUMS
Before a Storyguide can craft a mystery, they need to
know the essential components of:
CHAPTER FIVE: MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING
Plot: This is frequently the unknown, Mythos,
or supernatural element interacting with the World.
Foreshadowing future mysteries and plots for Goliath
mysteries (a collection of mysteries linked together for
a great plot). Cosmic horror is not about violence it’s the
philosophical query about your place in the universe.
Less about seeing the monster but questioning why, it’s
purpose, and how it related to you?
them to have all of the knowledge and they will make
deductive leaps of logic based on the materials on hand.
Characters: These are the primary people with
whom the characters interact. They are the victims, the
sources, the antagonist, and the inbetweeners.
Provide vivid descriptions utilizing all senses, sensations, and suspense. Create a sense of dread by having
people watching them that just drive them off, leaving the
players questioning if that person was involved or just lost.
Settings: These are the locations where the mysteries unfold. They are as important as the characters
in Mythos stories. They frequently have Fields that enhance or complicate skills. A “rundown” or “dilapidated”
building -- these are the kind of descriptive words that
should be used in the Mythos, giving a dreaded sense of
horror Think of which character reside in the location
before the mystery starts, The setting for each scenario
or scene may differ but Mythos Mysteries should always
retain the feeling of Cosmic Horror.
The Problem: This is the initial hook that brings in
the players. Likely linked to the dreaded horror. There
has to be something that needs uncovering: a murder,
theft, secerts. The essential element is the problem and
must have suspense.
The Resolution: The different ways the mystery
can be resolved.
The first questions a Storyguide should ask themselves are Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Who committed the crime, who had the item, where
was it buried, etc. and who or what did they do it to?
Who is trying to stop them from solving this? What was
the crime? What is the mcguffin? When did it happen
(morning, afternoon, dead of night, a decade ago, tomorrow)? Where did it happen? Where is it now? Where are
the characters? Why are the players getting involved?
Why did they do it? How did they do it?
All of those questions and more are the mystery and
possibly the Golitha mystery (a collection of mysteries
linked together for a great plot). Each mystery is structured as a series of scenes with clues and leads. The leads
link to other scenes and eventually to the final confrontation. The assembled clues are what the players use to
resolve the mystery. The confrontation and mystery do
not need to be the same thing. These questions help form
the scenes for the skeleton of the mystery and your plot.
STRUCTURING THE MYSTERY
The skeleton is the backbone of the mystery but
the moving parts inside of each scene are essential and
require a logical flow of actions to enable the players to
use the clues to solve the mystery. It is impossible for
Think about your antagonist’s motivations. Make a
list of suspects or sources, what information is garnered
from which avenues (lab work compared to interviews,
compared to investigating sites), and focus on encouraging a team investigative approach, as not one person can
do everything regardless of their Mythos or divine blood.
WHAT KIND OF WHODUNIT?
Mysteries in a detective style story frequently rely
on a crime of some type and the characters investigating
it to solve the crime. Mysteries easily fall within a model
that focuses on the characters. A few styles of play are:
Hardboiled: These are dark and frequently violent
stories involving criminal underworld or elements.
Frequently heavy on violence and adult themes.
Sherlockian: Cerebral type investion focused more
on analysis clues and forming deduction. Frequently
light on violence.
Procedurals: Work more like a police drama or homicide investigation show. Can be heavy on adult themes
and violence but these events often occur offscreen with
the characters investigating the incident.
Thrillers: Suspenseful mysteries where the characters are racing against to stop something before time
runs out.
Impossible crime: These mysteries focus on a
seemingly impossible incident that occurred.
INVESTIGATIVE FUNDAMENTALS
As discussed in Scion Origin (p. 73) information is
broken down into two different types. Leads which are
always discovered during a scene and are the base link
to another scene in the scenario to propel it forward.
Clues are additional information that aids the characters in uncovering things about the current mystery, the
larger plot, or something that aids them in some manner.
Layered onto that are Red Herrings, which are false
leads or clues that hamper the character progress or
possibly place them in dangerous situations.
Any Skill (Scion: Origin, p. 58) can be useful in
an investigation, but some work better than others.
Top-notch sleuths would do well to choose from
Academics, Culture, Empathy, Integrity, Medicine,
Occult, Persuasion, Science, or Technology, and investigations often require use of Mixed Rolls (Scion: Origin,
p. 62). A Mythos Scion interrogating a cultist about some
Mysteries and Truth
105
piece of esoteric lore may have a high Occult skill, but it
could require successful use of Empathy, Intimidation,
or Persuasion to get the needed information. Similarly,
a Mythos Scion of Nyarlathotep might be smooth and
charming, but they won’t understand a thing about the
rare disease at the center of an investigation without the
Science or Medicine skills. Characters in these situations can rely on assistance from other characters using
Teamwork (Scion: Origin, p. 65).
ARENAS
The two most useful arenas for investigative scenes
are Mental and Social. There are times when things get
physical, but most activities will focus on seeking out
information. Investigations involve finding clues and
most of the time they are either recorded somewhere or
known by someone. Use the Mental Arena to seek information in dusty old tomes or on the dark web, and the
Social Arena is useful to help persuade a witness to tell
you everything they saw that night in the woods when
things got strange.
APPROACHES
Any Approach is useful in an investigation, but
Finesse and Resilience may work better than Force.
Use of Finesse in an investigation could involve taking
a targeted approach to obtaining information, such as
narrow searches for information or targeted questions
for a witness. A Mythos Scion using Finesse quickly gets
the specific information they seek but may inadvertently
bypass other clues. Use of Resilience in an investigation
represents the long, hard slog through thousands of
records, hours of conversation with witnesses, and exhaustive evaluation of all of the information obtained for
every scrap of data pertaining to the investigation. This
Approach is great if you have time but may not work as
well when there’s a deadline.
Failing to obtain a critical clue is a huge stumbling
block for an investigative game. The Storyguide should
structure scenarios to provide multiple ways to get to
the final scene. One of the best ways to achieve this is by
allowing characters to fail forward. Instead of outright
failing to obtain a clue, perhaps the Storyguide provides
a partial clue and a hint at what other information the
characters need and where to get it. This approach is
built into the Storypath system through Consolation
(Scion: Origin p. 70).
Fateful Encounter. Failure reveals another approach
to the character’s goals, through new information or
sheer coincidence. For example, a Scion of Rhan-Tegoth
links a number of clues together on their murder board
but fails to see the pattern. In a rage, they fling papers
off their desk and a key photo floats on top of the pile of
papers that links the clues together.
106
Chance Meeting. Failure introduces a new character who can offer help or information, though perhaps at
a price. For example, a Scion of the King in Yellow fails
to persuade an actor to hand over a tattered playbook
with a map. Before leaving, the Scion encounters an understudy that hates the actor and is willing to steal the
playbook for a favor.
Unlooked-for Advantage. Failure results in +1
Enhancement to a future challenge, though it can’t benefit
a second attempt at the same goal. For example, a Scion of
Cthulhu fails to find the cause of death during an autopsy
of killer’s victim but made enough progress to recognize
the killer’s pattern and what to expect next time
THE MECHANICS OF
MYSTERIES
T
he target number of skill rolls during mysteries are
influenced by the age or obscurity of the information.
Old mysteries are more difficult to solve so for every
hundred years that has passed since the incident under
investigation happened the target number increases by
+1 up to 10. At which point, the target number increases
the difficulty by 1 for every 200 years.
If agents are actively operating to keep the mystery
from being resolved, the difficulty for skills rolls that
agents could influence should increase by +1 to +4 based on
their influence and resources. If a Scion is involved in obscuring the mystery, the difficulty of skill rolls in attempts
to find information about the mystery increases by +1 per
point of Awareness or Legend they possess representing
their interference per mystery. The increases in difficulty
are cumulative. For Mythos or Divine beings interfering at
a different Scale also impart a Narrative multiplier on skill
rolls up to their Awareness or Legend score.
CONSPIRACY OF MYSTERIES
Storyguides create a grand mystery or a Goliath
Mystery that requires overcoming multiple mysteries
to resolve and may have active opposition. This may
include rival cults, rival Scions, Mythos entities, or even
time itself. Their Threat represents the degree to which
opponents work to undo progress or achieve their own
victory, detect or capture the player characters, or stymie the investigation.
Characters opposing a Goliath must overcome any
number of mysteries (Milestones) equal to the Goliath’s
relative Size + Awareness + Threat, to uncover the truth.
The difficulty of each Milestone is equal to the Goliath’s
Scale and represents scenes equal to the Goliath’s
Size. Failure on Milestones may inflict Conditions.
CHAPTER FIVE: MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING
Complications on Milestones may include increasing
the Goliath’s awareness of the characters (and therefore
its Threat; if this would exceed 5, the Goliath is enraged,
with suitable consequences). Success on a Milestone
represents focused but significant damage done to the
Goliath or actions that successfully impede the Goliath
in some manner. When all Milestones are passed, the
Goliath is effectively destroyed, even if it’s otherwise
intact in the form of cult membership or a mystery still
standing. The passing of milestones represents the end
of active opposition to the character’s progress.
Use the following template for Goliath
Mysteries:
Threat: Threat represents the Goliath’s willingness
or ability to directly attack the player characters, rated
from 0-5; 0 represents a Goliath that is unaware of the
characters’ actions and only takes actions that impede
them unknowingly, while 5 represents a Goliath that
is both highly aware of and actively trying to harm the
characters. If the Goliath takes an action, roll its Threat
as a dice pool and apply Scale (Dramatic against Heroes,
Demigods, and similar mythic beings; Narrative against
anything else).
Awareness or Legend: If the Goliath is divine
(likely, but not required), it has a Awareness or Legend
rating. Use the highest active member of the Goliath as
the base for this — a cult might be pledged to a rival pantheon, for example, but if it’s only being led by a Hero the
Awareness or Legend would be 1-4.
Size: The size (in terms of Scale) of the Goliath relative to the attackers; if Sizes vary, use the smallest Size
in the group and apply Enhancements relative to that
Scale. If the Goliath is essentially a collective (such as
a huge network of cults or the population of a city), the
Size models their number.
Narrative Scale: This represents the Goliaths
destructive powers relative to the characters and
environment.
Extras: If the Goliath has any particularly unusual
abilities, list them here. Goliaths are most useful, in a
storytelling sense, as a way to include conflict without
that conflict necessarily revolving around interpersonal violence (though it can also serve as a big cinematic
boss-fight system, as well).
The Mechanics of Mysteries
107
CHAPTER SIX
THE SCION JOB
“The cosmic perspective reminds us that in space, where there is no air,
a flag will not wave, an indication that perhaps flag-waving and space
exploration do not mix. The cosmic perspective not only embraces
our genetic kinship with all life on Earth but also values our chemical
kinship with any yet-to-be discovered life in the universe, as well as our
atomic kinship with the universe itself.”
— Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
“The Scion Job” is an introductory scenario for pre-Visitation Bands or newly empowered Scions experiencing the
Mythos for the first time. The sidebars provide additional
details to scale up the scenario and increase the horror. It is
a relatively straightforward affair to show the players and
Storyguide how a Mythos investigation operates: investigating clues, following the horror, and eventual exposure to the
Mythos. The actual greater Mythos moment is presented as
initially more narrative in nature here than with hard mechanics. This is an opportunity for the Band to make a few
connections and a possible ally in the Miskatonic Hollow
and determine the fate of a powerful Mythos relic.
AWAKENING
B
en Moore is a world-weary Scion who is living down
to his recently soured reputation with vigor. Ben, a
Scion of Odin, performs a fruitless act of valor and acquires
a mysterious painting for his efforts, then calls his fence
Whisper on the way home to make a much needed few
bucks. The sale would help pay the interest on his everincreasing gambling debts. That plan fell to the wayside
after a few hours with the painting. He called the players’
Band to recover the painting but decided to act with
valor again only to meet his end. Ben’s blood-splattered
apartment awaits the Band with the art nowhere to be seen.
The Band now face a race toward the truth — and
the missing painting.
THE CHORUS
Nancy Thomas, Ben Moore’s neighbor
Nancy is a Kingsport native, having lived in the
building for as long as there’s been a building. She’s not
the landlord but might as well be. She reports everything
back to him — and to everyone else, whether they like it
or not. The police no longer take her seriously.
Whispers, collector and auctioneer,
Legend 3, Awareness 2
Whispers recreated themself five years ago after
losing interest in the Fate they were cast. They sought
out new patronage from Donn to change the trajectory
of their life. Whispers now spends their days as a collector of information and host of the Whisper Auction.
Glass, a.k.a. Heather Green,
wannabe-academic heiress
Heather is the heir to a toothpaste empire, has been
groomed for the job of CEO from birth, and wants none
of it. Her real passion lies in research, but her parents
have pulled strings to keep her out of academia. Recently,
her unfulfilled dreams have attracted some Eldritch attention. Pre-Visitation Scion of Cthulhu.
Bones, a.k.a. Dr. Frank Mason,
double-dealing archaeologist
Mason might have been scrupulous once, but years
of mediocrity have rubbed the sheen off his dreams of
academic glory. He now makes a handsome living stealing artifacts from other archaeologists’ dig sites and
selling them on the black market.
Ford, a.k.a. Trent Santos,
charming businessman, Legend 2
Ben Moore, fallen Scion, Legend 1
Moore’s time as a Scion has always been one of
missing greatness, living without achieving fame or fulfilling his Fate. The capstone occurred when he failed
to achieve a Band deed. But he kept trying to move forward. He’s scrappy, resilient, and always gets back up
again. Mostly. He’s in his late fifties, balding, and long
disillusioned with the “heroic” Scion lifestyle. He’s been
fencing stolen trophies from his victories for years now.
The annoying little voice in the back of his head rarely
kicks up a fuss about it anymore.
Santos divides his time between boardrooms and
private clubs, using his silver tongue to make deals and
glean information. He never stays in one place too long,
and never attaches himself too closely to anyone. His
closest relationship is with his patron, Èshù Elègbará.
Cherish, a.k.a Temperance McGovern,
“retired” millionaire
Temperance exhibits nothing of the sort. She views
the irony of her name with the same dry amusement she
applies to everything (and everyone) else. She’s a wealthy
Awakening | The Chorus
109
septuagenarian who lives only to amuse herself, often at
the expense of others. There are very few people she
considers true friends. None of them are related to her.
Vitas Varnas (Outskirts of Arkham),
Actor Adventurer, Legend 2, Awareness 2
Varnas is a white male in his late 20s, with dark brown
hair and brown eyes. He’s kind and helpful, a little chaotic
good, but also an enigma in regard to his background and
past. He uses his knowledge and wealth to aid those who
ask of him. As a Scion of Nyarlathotep, his help rarely
comes without strings. If the players are trapped below
ground during the Auction, he’ll free them after Green
has departed. Mather Gilman, Gang Boss, Deep One
Gilman began a small gang in Kingsport nearly a decade ago, muscling out a few of the more significant gangs.
Gilman’s gang is only eight members strong but has a steady
stream of currency, mostly gold, and uses brutal tactics.
LOCATIONS OF NOTE
The scenario can be moved to any town but is presented as being in Kingsport. The dreamy nature of the
city dovetails nicely with The Dreamlands painting. A
devious Storyguide may amplify the painting’s abilities
reflecting the location or to add additional obstacles for
the Band, possibly releasing other creatures or friendly
Dreamland beings trapped on Earth in need of aid.
Temperance’s Villa (Just outside Boston, MA)
McGovern’s French-revival-style villa lies just outside the Boston city limits, surrounded by a sprawling
garden. She moved in and remodeled the place shortly
after “retiring.” The villa is far offset from the street,
surrounded by a rambling lawn lined with a wroughtiron fence and more than a few security cameras. The
architectural influence and the décor show touches
of art nouveau here and there, mostly in the details. It
makes for an exciting mix of curving forms ending in
sharp, narrow points, like thorny vines.
DUNWICH
Dr. Mason’s Warehouse
(3489 St. John Street, Dunwich, MA)
Dr. Mason stows his ill-gotten gains in a temperature-controlled warehouse in Dunwich, as the cost is
cheap, no one pays him any mind, and there are easyto-access semi-trucks. It’s a large warehouse, as they go:
about 8,000 square feet of the concrete floor and brick
walls, filled with shelves and shelves of crated artifacts.
Dr. Mason is in his makeshift office in the center of the
warehouse. It’s a large room made of tin walls. He has
motion detectors set up throughout the warehouse that
feed to his cellphone and laptop.
KINGSPORT
Ben Moore’s Apartment (Armstead Spire — 209
Gaiman Lane, Kingsport, MA)
ARKHAM
Dr. Mason’s Apartment (Arkham, MA — 2 Blocks
from Miskatonic University)
Dr. Mason’s apartment is a messy crash pad near
Miskatonic University. The building is old but well-kept.
His apartment is decidedly less so, a beat-up couch here,
a dark stain on the ceiling there. The fridge still keeps
things cold but emits a constant grinding noise as it does
so. He is not here and rarely is, spending most of his
waking hours at the warehouse in Dunwich.
Moore’s apartment has historically been a mess,
even on its better days. Today is not one of its better
days. Claw marks ravage the walls, floor, and furniture.
Blood is spattered across the length of the corridor style
apartment, mainly the living room, but there is no body.
The Dreamlands painting is also gone.
The Whisper Auction and Townhouse
(1811 Elm Street, Kingsport MA)
BOSTON
Trent’s Condo
(The Kilroy — 25 Northern Ave, Boston, MA)
A study in normalcy-for-show. Whispers doesn’t use the
townhouse itself much, except as a façade for the Whisper
Auction. Guests who arrive early or late must figure out the
secret way downstairs for themselves. The library is the only
other room Whispers uses with any frequency.
Trent Santos’ official residence is a condo in uptown
Boston, but he uses it for little other than sleep. The
building is a new high rise. Santos is too practical for
the penthouse; he lives a few floors down in a simple
but classy two-bedroom. It’s barely decorated, and what
décor there is carries a distinctive red-and-black scheme
— a nod to his patron, Éshu Élégbara.
The Whisper Auction is a party first, and an auction
second. There are tables of drinks and refreshments set
against the walls of the show floor, and gauzy draperies hang in arcs across the ceiling. The items up for bid
are represented by placards and photographs set atop
pedestals around the show floor. The exact presentation
varies depending on the item.
110
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
The Labyrinth and the Vaults
(Below 1811 Elm Street)
The actual items up for bid are too valuable to be
displayed out in the open, protected only by glass and
goodwill. They’re kept deep in the bowels of the Earth,
in individual vaults tailor-made by Whispers themself.
Each vault has a unique lock and is booby-trapped inside
and out. The path from the show floor to the vaults is
twisted and treacherous. Optical illusions on the walls
make the same path look unfamiliar from different angles, sending trespassers in endless circles. The halls are
also studded with various traps, which must be carefully
avoided or disabled.
Gilman’s Gang Hideout
(475 Water Street, Kingsport, MA)
The gang’s hideout is a historical landmark that has
been in the Gilman family since the 1950s. The large
house that was originally a post office in the 1860s is
nestled next to the Miskatonic River. A sizable imposing
steel gate with an electronic lock protects it from unwanted guests.
NEWTON
The Green Estate (5 Cabot Street, Newton, MA)
The Green’s sprawling family estate is only a nod
to their privileged existence of being old money and
knowing nothing else. A simple web search will reveal
the address of their Boston-adjacent estate. Green is the
only Green who stays in the estate with any frequency.
The rest of her family is rarely home, preferring to spend
time in other houses across the globe.
WHAT CAME BEFORE
The Dreamlands are eternally old and new all at
once. They are ever-changing, visited and shaped in turn
by dreamers’ wills. The land is familiar and strange: a
funhouse mirror held up to the world we know and what
was. A blend of dreams and nightmares twisted together
so thoroughly they bleed into each other.
Humans rarely access the Dreamlands without
aid, and it is practically impossible for them to do so
physically. Those that enter are bound to tarry for a
few hours in Earth time that could be years to them
in the Dreamlands. No dreamer is destined for the
Dreamlands, though skilled dreamers subvert and can
enter the Dreamlands, the land of wishes and terror.
Others, on the whims of fate, find themselves fortunately able to gain access. While practically unheard of, it is
possible for humans to physically enter the Dreamlands.
There are maze-like ghouls’ tunnels, leading from crypts
down into the ground and back up into the caves below
the Dreamlands. And there are other, subtler ways.
Kingsport holds other gateways that have warped her
and the residents of the sleeping city. “The Dreamlands”
painting, crafted within the Dreamlands, carries enough
fragments of dream stuff to act as a portal between Earth
and the Dreamlands.
One such skilled dreamer, Richard Upton Pickman,
was once renowned for his ghoulish artwork in the
Boston arts scene. They raved about the depths of his
imagination and vision, but it wasn’t his inspiration that
was poured onto canvas. Pickman had managed to stumble upon the Dreamlands. Led by the ghouls through
their labyrinth of tunnels from earthly crypts to the
nightmarish subterranean Underworld, Pickman was
able to document all manner of creatures for portrayal
in his paintings. However, his works were so disturbing
that eventually he was disowned by the Boston Art Club
and shunned by everyone who ever held him in high
esteem. He continued to work in private, delving deeper
into the dream world that inspired his art.
Over the following years, Pickman divided his time
between his studio and the Dreamlands, aided by the
ghouls. With no human companionship, he instead found
strange company among the ghouls and considered
them family. Eventually he even began to paint in the
Dreamlands themselves, forgoing his studio entirely. His
last painting, “The Dreamlands,” took him over a year to
complete. The painting is heavy, with layers upon layers
of paint. The ever-changing landscape of the ends of the
Underworld were impossible to document conclusively,
so Pickman used impressionist techniques rather than
his usual gruesome realism. The result is a master work
of impressionism and abstract expressionism far ahead
of its time. The painting is unnerving to view and burns
itself into every viewer’s memories.
Pickman presented “The Dreamlands” to the
Boston Art Club, hoping it would redeem his good
name. However, he received little more than a cold
shoulder. The Boston Art Club was undergoing its own
internal upheaval at the time and had no patience for
a disgraced recluse, no matter how stunning his latest
work. Pickman was turned away without fanfare. He
went back to his studio, left the painting among his other
orphaned works, and then disappeared into the ghouls’
tunnels, never to return from the Dreamlands again.
After months of unpaid rent, the landlord took possession of Pickman’s studio and sold off the masterpieces
to a local pawnshop to recoup losses. “The Dreamlands”
waited patiently, draped under a white sheet in a pawnshop, then in various private collections, leaving a trail
of death in its wake, and finally at an estate sale that
went wrong. A pack of ghouls slaughtered everyone as
Moore, who had planned to rob the collection instead,
found himself dispatching the remaining ghouls. He
scavenged a few trophies, including the painting, placed
What Came Before
111
an anonymous call to the Kingsport police department,
and fled the grisly death scene.
He’d planned to pawn all the stolen goods off to
Whispers, a fence who ran a private underground
auction, only to reconsider as the painting’s unnatural
pull on him grew stronger. He called the Band, leaving
a voicemail begging for them to take this cursed object
tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Unfortunately, he
didn’t live to keep his appointment.
EVENTS TIMELINE
This scenario largely transpires over the course of
48 hours, following “The Dreamlands” prolonged sequestration in a private collection.
March 2nd, 1929
Pickman’s latest piece, “The Dreamlands,” is rejected by the Boston Art Society and he leaves Earth for the
Dreamlands permanently.
September 19th, 1929
The landlord claims Pickman’s studio and all his
remaining works.
1929-1972
The Dreamlands passes through twelve collectors.
April 2nd, 1972
Sarah Levy purchases “The Dreamlands” to add to
her collection.
August 11th
• 7:30 P.M. Sarah’s granddaughter, Alexa, accidentally activates “The Dreamlands,” releasing a pack
of ghouls.
• 7:20 P.M. Moore arrives at the Levy estate and
eliminates the remaining ghouls.
• 8:30 P.M. Moore contacts Whispers on the way
home. Whispers is only interested in the painting
and a jeweled frog.
• 11:45 P.M. Moore calls the Band, leaving a voice
message.
August 12th
• 2:00 A.M. Moore attacks “The Dreamlands,” activating a portal and is killed.
• 2:03 A.M. Thomas alerts the police and is ignored.
• 4:30 A.M. Heinz reports the call to Whispers.
• 6:45 A.M. Whispers acquires The Dreamlands,
disguised as a police officer.
112
• 7:15 A.M. The Band receives the voice message
from Moore.
ROLLING FOR IT!
The Scion Job presents multiple times for the
players to roll throughout the course of the scenario.
Storyguides should remember the goal rule is to only roll
when it’s important, dramatic, or an action has weight in
the scenario. When rolling, the number in parentheses
represents the baseline success for the task. Occult +
Resolve (2) means the player needs to rule at least two
successes to succeed at the task.
Some tasks may have a Complication (something
making the task harder) or Enhancement (something
making the task easier) associated with it. These also
range from 1 to 5 and are written as 2c or 2e.
Example: Josiah rushes into Miskatonic
University Library with the thing hot on their
heels. The smell of acid feeling the air, they
know that one of the tomes is the only way to
banish it. Josiah grabs the book off of the dusty
shelf and steadies themself. The Unnamable
Thing destroying everything in its wake dives
towards them. Hand extended, Josiah shouts
from the book to intone the ritual in the darkness. Casting requires an Occult + Resolve (2)
with 2c (no light in the library) and 1e (Josiah
is familiar with the book). To effectively cast the
spell, they needs three successes.
THE SOJOURN
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
Location: Armstead Spire, Apt 406
Following the Path: Opening Scene
The Road: Crooked Law, What the Neighbors Saw,
Hollow Halloween, The Golden Gilman
The Band receives Moore’s delayed voicemail at
7:15 A.M. The man’s voice is nearly panicked and is more
screaming than talking. “Hey, mate. I need your help.
I fucked up big time. This damn painting. It’s… it’s….
Please come tomorrow morning at eight. I just can’t…
I can’t…. I am ...Armstead Spire, and the code is 6125,
apartment 406.” Then the message ends. Anyone checking the timestamp notices the message reads last night at
11:45 P.M. Moore is expecting them to come right away.
It’s obvious Moore is frantic and near the point of
breaking. If pre-Visitation, the Band knows Moore as
an old family friend, co-worker, or drinking buddy that
was always a loser. If they are already Scions, they know
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
Moore as someone of lost potential, missed chances,
doomed by fate, and a Scion of Odin. Either way, they
know, he was always two days too late but never gave
up and rarely asked for help. His message includes his
address and the passcode into the apartment building.
The proximity to the painting interfered with the call,
causing the message to arrive hours too late.
Armstead Spire is a grayish building reaching some
seven stories skyward and surrounded by fog billowing
off the water from behind it, almost blending seamlessly
into the background and easily missed. The sleepy lane
rarely sees much traffic regardless of the time of day.
Once inside the 1980s-style apartment building, the
Band notices it has no elevator and a single, well-used
spiral staircase. Once on the fourth floor, no amount of
knocking on 406’s door gains any response from within.
After five minutes of knocking or loitering in the hall,
the Band gains Thomas’s attention. If they look friendly
(professionally dressed), the athletic middle-aged woman opens the door saying “We are not looking to sign any
petitions or join any organizations, and we are already
registered to vote. Please leave.” If not, she calls the
police immediately and makes an exaggerated display
of opening the door to close it loudly. All actions interactions with Thomas suffer 1c.
Persuasion + Presence (1) stays her fingers from dialing the police and has her chat with the Band instead.
She answers a few questions before returning to her
apartment to possibly call the police. She keeps it light
and never leaves her partially opened door unless the
Band impresses her or makes her feel safe. She has the
following information if asked:
• Moore came home late last night with a large
package under his arm.
• Moore has not left this morning.
• Persuasion + Composure (2) Moore made a loud
commotion last night.
• Persuasion + Composure (2) She called the police
and a uniformed officer came by this morning.
• Persuasion + Cunning (3) She provides any information in What the Neighbors Saw (p. 114).
The Band must break in if they want to investigate
Moore’s apartment. Inspecting the lock reveals it was
recently tampered with. Whispers, disguised as a police officer, flattered Thomas back into her apartment,
broke into 406, and acquired a few choice items. Then
they locked it behind themself, hoping to slow down
the discovery of the incident, after being alerted by
Heinz. Whispers is shocked by the scene but takes “The
Dreamlands,” the jeweled frog, and Moore’s Eyes relic
that grants the Scion of Odin the ability to see in the dark.
Anyone entering the apartment is assaulted with
the stench of death (The scene is so powerful all rolls
suffer a 1c unless some action is taken to dilute it). The
four rooms — living room, bedroom, bathroom, and
kitchenette — smell of fresh grave soil, rotting flesh, and
waste matter. The small place is wrecked, showing signs
of a sprawling battle that encompassed the entire corridor-style apartment, destroying what little furniture
there was and smearing the walls with gore. The living
room’s concrete walls are covered in fresh claw marks
that appear to have easily cut through the stone.
Any member of the Band who can view the past sees
a distraught Moore grab a spear, slashing at the nightmarish painting. Moments before the blade hit, the painting
pulsated; Occult + Intellect (2) recognizes that a portal
of some kind opened, and dozens of decaying creatures
poured out. Moore panicked and attacked them. Occult
+ Intellect (2) or Academics + Intellect (2) recognizes
them as Ghouls. Three or more successes enable them
to recall ghouls are peaceful by nature but easily after
provoked turn deadly. These turned out in great numbers to defend themselves and each other. They killed
Moore in self-defense and destroyed his apartment in
the process, then fled back to the Dreamlands. The last
thing the vision perceives is the constant knocking and a
woman saying, “Be quiet in there or I’ll call the police!”
Investigating the living room uncovers several clues:
• On the dried-blood-splattered floor are over two
dozen smeared footprints. Careful inspection
turns up one usable footprint, a paw print of some
bipedal human-sized creature with three clawed
toes. Surveying (Close Combat + Intellect (2) or
Medicine + Intellect) the blood patterns reveals
that not enough blood is present here to have
killed Moore, and if he had left under his own
power, he would have left a blood trail. Additional
successes reveal there are hard edges to a few of
the blood splatters on the dingy carpet. This is
where Moore met his end, trampled to death.
• Aware Scions, with Occult + Resolve (3), notice
the lingering effects of an Eldritch presence
here — the air moves in strange patterns nearest
the spot against the wall that’s large enough for a
painting.
• There are a few disrupted spatters low on the
right wall, too, where Moore propped up the
painting. A light smear of blood starts gradually
in the middle of the room and ends abruptly in
this same spot, where the bottom of the painting’s
frame would’ve been. The ghouls, scavengers by
nature, dragged Moore’s body back with them
through “The Dreamlands” painting.
Searching the bedroom finds Moore’s open laptop that Whispers hacked and left alone after finding
The Sojourn
113
nothing else of interest. Reading through his files finds
numerous unpaid bills, multiple pawn shop addresses,
a file of bookies’ names with amounts owed and the due
dates, all of which are a week away except one to Gilman
that was due last week and is in bold. Under the leg of
the bed is a pile of vomit, next to a shiny costume plastic
badge with the name “Harold’s Year-round Halloween”
on the back. The stench overwhelmed Whispers who
fled quickly, leaving the laptop open and not noticing
their badge fell off until it’s too late.
Cracking Moore’s phone with Technology + Cunning
(2) reveals he called the Kingsport Police Department,
Whisper Auction House, and then the Band hours later. The web browser is open to a Google map to Levy
Collection House, an art gallery of some repute. Any
searches about the Levy Collection House reveal multiple homicides occurred early last evening. The Kingsport
Police Department has custody of the scene.
Searching the bathroom and kitchenette turns up
nothing of interest other than Moore rarely showered
and never cooked. Piles of ancient Chinese fast-food
boxes tower out of the trash can by some feet. The Band
has a few leads and clues to follow, including knowing
about the missing painting and Moore’s missing body.
ENHANCING THE
MYTHOS
One: A dreamlike haze remains in the
apartment, providing surreal moments of
insight into the Band’s personal past. Each
Scion experiences a feeling of drowning in
the memories and fighting for a breath.
Two: Time in the apartment flows
differently and from room to room. Any time
the Band separates in the apartment, one
group seems to experience time in hours
for every minute they are apart. Once they
come back together, checking any time
devices confirms they were separated for
hours, regardless of how long it actually
was. Stepping outside of the apartment
shows that time has progressed normally.
Three: The ghouls brought bits of treasures
from 200 years ago by accident and they
fell off during the fight with Moore. These
jewels defy description and texture when
touched. They seem to squirm in the hand
and vanish into the ether after an hour.
114
WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW
Location: Armstead Spire Fourth Floor
Following the Path: Too Little, Too Late
The Road: Crooked Law
The Band may decide to question Thomas or any of
the other six neighbors on the fourth floor of the apartment
building. Only two neighbors saw Whispers masquerading
as the police. The first was Audrea Parker, a nine-year-old
girl walking her dog named Dog, and Thomas. Either of
the two require Persuasion + Presence (2) or Subterfuge +
Manipulation (2) to share what they know:
•
(Both) The officer seemed to be in a hurry.
•
(Both) They can give a vague description of
Whispers, but they did say they worked at the
Kingsport Police Department.
•
(Thomas) The officer was very polite and listened
to her unlike most of the rest of them. The officer
even listened when she described the yelling, banging, guttural noises, a thundering noise, and then
nothing coming from inside Moore’s apartment.
•
(Thomas) Now that I think about it, it was funny that
the office did not give me a name or take any notes.
•
(Audrea) The office left the building with a large object under a blanket and Mr. Moore’s backpack. May
describe something roughly the size of a painting.
•
(Audrea) They smelled like rotten food and
looked like they had vomited.
Any member of the Band who specializes in the underworld auctions, comes from an affluent background,
or succeeds on a Culture + Intellect (3) roll, may connect
the dots between Moore’s plan to auction the painting
and Thomas’s vague description of Whispers. Scions
with connections to Netjer or Tuatha Dé pantheon
communities may know about Whispers’ past as a Scion
of Ptah, or their current status as a Scion of Donn. By
leveraging their connections, Scions who put the pieces
together can find Whispers’ address in a few hours.
HOLLOW HALLOWEEN
Location: Harold’s Year-round Halloween
Following the Path: Too Little, Too Late
The Road: N/A
The Band ventures across town to Harold’s Yearround Halloween shop discover the small brick building.
It appears to have seen better days and is open from 7:00
A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily. If open, they step into a world
of 1970s Halloween costumes with a mannequin from a
decade earlier. Harold is a rather short but kind person.
If asked about Whispers or a police costume, Harold
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
does not know anything but offers to show them the only
police costumes in the shop.
Harold talks about loving Halloween ever since
seeing the movie at the tender age of seven. After nearly
an hour of searching or showing the costume badge,
the shop owner recalls someone asking about a police
costume early this morning after they opened the shop.
Harold can’t describe what the person looked like, and
once the topic is changed, they forget the person was
ever there.
An Empathy + Cunning (1) roll knows Harold is not
lying. Occult + Intellect (2) or sensing magic detects that
Harold has been forced to forget. Given the power of
the magic, it is likely the person had sole access to the
shop owner, unlike the people in Armstead Spire, and
the magic was stronger. More than 2 successes allows a
Scion to realize Whispers has Mythos relics capable of
clouding Harold’s memories.
CROOKED LAW
Location: Kingstown Police Station
wooden business card bears an iconified “shush” gesture
on one side and the other a coded address that looks like
little more than abstract lines.
If pressed, she’ll describe Whispers in simple terms:
tall, slim, dark skin, long dreadlocks. Then she goes to
get a coffee and whispers, “Leave.”
Inquiring about the Levy Collection gains cold stares
and places the Band under the scrutiny of the police who
have nothing but questions and clues they do not know
what to do with. A Technology + Intellect (3) roll with
3c hacks into the station, a patrolman happily spills the
beans as gossip with Persuasion + Manipulation (2), or
being on the force gains the following:
• The Levy family (Sarah, Robert, Amber, and
Corey) were slaughtered and partially consumed.
The bodies appear to have been savaged by animals, but all of the bites are human-sized jaws.
• They have two deformed bi-pedal humans with
animal features (ghoul) that have been slashed
apart with something impossibly sharp.
• According to the record, a frog statue, painting
(“The Dreamlands”), multiple rings, and $5,000
in petty cash are missing.
Following the Path: Too Little Too Late
The Road: Smoke and Whiskey
The Kingstown Police Station is in the middle of
town and is a large, three-story building. While the
building could easily house dozens upon dozens of officers, the force is relatively small due to the lack of crime
in the city. If the Scions go to the station and mention
Nancy Thomas, the desk sergeant answers with derisive
laughter. If pressed to explain, she states that they hear
from Thomas every day, at least twice. Persuasion +
Manipulation or Academics + Intellect (1c as the desk
sergeant is focused more on his work than the Band)
gains the additional information that Officer Heinz
asked about her noise complaint last night regarding
apartment 406. Multiple successes lead to the Scions
learning that Heinz has been asking a lot of questions
about that apartment the last few years.
• There was an anonymous call reporting the incident.
• Detective Jill Carter has been assigned to the case.
THE GOLDEN GILMAN
Location: Gilman Gang Hideout
Following the Path: Too Little Too Late
The Road: Smoke and Whiskey
The sergeant points to Heinz, a tall, broad woman
who rarely smiles and is hard to read. She speaks in a
deadpan voice and gives away as little information as
possible. If any of the Bandmates comments on her last
name, she’ll say something like “Yes, like the ketchup,”
with long-suffering weariness.
Researching Mather Gilman turns up that he is an
eccentric millionaire who has not been seen in over a
decade. He rarely leaves his home, but when he does it’s
in his black, tinted-windowed limo escorted by three
guards. The guards interact with the public and stop
anyone from catching a glimpse of the millionaire. A
Research + Resolve (2) roll scrapes away that veneer of
normalcy and allows the Scions to discover Gilman is
linked to a number of assaults, money racketeering, and
protection schemes. His six bodyguards all have arrest
records for assault, theft, and arson but seem to be left
alone by the local Kingsport Police Department.
A little Persuasion + Presence (2) suffering 2c as
Heinz doesn’t want to chat, Subterfuge + Manipulation
(2), or directly asking about the auction has Heinz take a
moment to size up the Band. She’ll ask for the password,
which Moore left on the voicemail they used to access
to his building; he changed it so he would not forget the
number. The most she’ll tell the Scions is that someone
left a card for them, which she drops on the floor when
none of the other officers are watching. The high-quality,
Unless the Bandmates have underworld contacts or
references, they are here to pay Moore’s debt or succeed
on a heavy dose of Persuasion + Manipulation (2) with 1c,
as Gilman doesn’t like unexpected guests. The gang does
not unlock the gate. The steel gate is electrified and has a
sign stating it is always on. Anyone who touches the gate
is electrified (attacks with 4 dice, has the brutal tag). The
gang calls the police on anyone staying outside the gate
for too long, as the building is protected by the city.
The Sojourn
115
Any Scion forcing their way into the house is greeted by six goons. After three rounds of combat, the back
door opens to reveal Mather Gilman; a fully transformed
Deep One, shocking any human hangers-on with the
Band, who pass out at the sight of the horror. If any of
his gang is killed, he rages and attacks the Band.
If not, if severely injured, or they are Mythos Scions,
he offers to trade information. Mythos Scion gain a 1e
on Persuasion is interested in money; unlike most Deep
Ones, he resists the call to the sea and enjoys the comforts the world affords, for now. The urge grows stronger
every day, and as his humanity subsides, his more alien
nature takes hold.
What Gilman knows:
GILMAN AND THE GANG
This encounter is scalable based on
the Band’s make up. If the Band are preVisitation Scions, the gang uses mainly nonlethal tactics attacking with bare fist or brass
knuckles. If they are Scions, the gang are
hybrids (Foes instead of Mooks) granting
them a few qualities and use deadly force
and firearms.
If the Band is seasoned or well equipped,
Gilman is a Nemesis rather than a Rival
and gains an extra action per round.
• Moore was some kind of supernatural creature.
• Moore had worked as an enforcer to pay off some
of his debts.
• Moore had a fence for fine art goods called
Whispers.
• Persuasion + Presence (2+) or + Strength (3+) or doing him a favor gains Whispers’ address and the code.
If the Scions negotiated initially but were rude,
Gilman has one of his goons for every three members of
the Band attend the auction to watch them. If the Scions
refused to talk and Gilman is severely injured in a battle,
he dives out the window into the cold waters behind the
house, attempting to escape.
SMOKE AND WHISKEY
Location: Whispers’ Townhouse
Following the Path: Crooked Law
The Road: Mythos Auction
The invitation is a high-quality wooden business
card. One side bears an iconified “shush” gesture, the
other a coded address that looks like little more than
abstract lines. The code is an Ogham alphabet cipher,
which a Scion can instantly deduce with an Academic +
Intellect (2) roll or four hours of research. However, the
letters need to be read right to left and top to bottom, like
Arabic. The final translation is the address of Whispers’
townhouse, along with a time: 8 P.M.
The time has come for the Scions to attend the
Whisper Auction. Whispers’ townhouse is inaccessible;
breaking in requires Technology + Dexterity (3) until 7
P.M., at which time the doors automatically unlock. If
someone gains entry before 7 P.M., Whispers quickly
intercepts them. Though peaceful at first, Whispers
won’t hesitate to use violence to protect their home if
necessary. The Band is told to come back at eight o’clock,
“after you’ve gotten some dinner, and hopefully also
some sense.”
116
The upstairs includes four bedrooms, all of which
are immaculate and empty. The downstairs consists of
the foyer, a sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, and
a library. The sitting room and dining room areas are as
empty and immaculate as the rooms upstairs, and equally as staged.
The kitchen shows some signs of life; cooking is
one of the few things Whispers actually does in their
townhouse. The fridge is full of fresh ingredients and
leftovers. There’s a spice rack on the far wall, full to
bursting. The cupboards are stocked with nonperishables like flour, sugar, nuts, dried lentils, and beans.
Entering between 7 and 8 P.M. gives the Band full
access to the townhouse. No doors are locked here. Not
that there’s anything to hide — most of the rooms are perfectly staged, like something out of a furniture catalogue.
The library is the most lived-in. The books are an
odd mix of reference material and fantasy novels in
varying stages of use. One of the chairs, a tall orange
armchair near a bay window, is well-worn. Technology
+ Cunning (2) with 1c from the high-quality device or
15 minutes investigating reveals the chair is not only
more frequently used than any other piece of furniture,
but also breaks the flow of the room. It’s set at an angle,
whereas everything else follows a grid layout. The chair
is actually the way downstairs to the auction. If a person
sits in the chair, it activates a sliding wall panel to a descending staircase to the auction’s reception area underground. The chair rises back up after being dismounted.
A panel closes the sliding door below ground.
If the Scions haven’t found their way downstairs by
eight o’clock, they encounter “Cherish” (Temperance
McGovern), a 70-something auction attendee, as she
enters the townhouse. Cherish wears simple, elegant
clothes and carries herself with an air of self-assuredness that only the well-lived can exude. If the Scions try
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
to introduce themselves by their real names, she waits
until they’ve all finished to tell them one of the auction
rules is to use pseudonyms to preserve some degree of
anonymity, and, with a devilish smile, that she’ll remember them.
others because there’s a particular item they’re looking for. But everyone uses a pseudonym, a house rule
Whispers instated to level the societal playing floor (as
much as such a thing can be leveled) and to provide a
layer of plausible deniability.
Cherish is happy to show them the way downstairs
once she’s had her fun. The reception area is empty but
ready for visitors.
The key NPCs here are Ford, Cherish, Bones, and
Glass. The other three Varnas, Zoltan, and They each
stand out from the crowd for different reasons, and a
keen-eyed Scion notices each of them take an interest in
“The Dreamlands.”
MYTHOS AUCTION
Location: Basement of Whispers’ Townhouse
Following the Path: Smoke and Whiskey
The Road: Alone Again, Tea with Temperance, No
Bones About It, A Vivid Green
THE AUCTION BEGINS
Around 8:30 P.M., all attendees have arrived. Most
have a drink in hand as they were provided on the way
downstairs, and they are chatting on the show floor
about everything and nothing of depth. If the Scions
are still upstairs or outside at this point, or have yet to
arrive, they’ll need to find their own way downstairs as
the upstairs is now closed.
Cherish is the first to arrive. She always is. She makes
a beeline for the refreshments and proceeds to examine
the six items up for auction, with a flute of champagne
dangling from one hand. The items are presented only as
photographs; the actual inventory is locked away in the
vaults for security reasons.
The Band can bid for any and every item at the
Auction and may even win them. Aside from “The
Dreamlands,” the other items up for bidding are:
• A statue of a frog, carved from solid jade, with
ruby eyes and engravings across its back.
• A gold ring, Roman, 2nd century AD, with an alabaster cameo.
• An engraved rectangular shield, Celtic, 3rd century BCE.
• A piece of music, of which only the first six notes
(two bars) are given: A, Db, D, A, G, E.
• An original Leonardo da Vinci sketch.
The Storyguide decides whether the Scions make
any winning bids. Remember, all bids are made secretly
by whispering to Whispers, and Whispers values information and secrets above all. That said, they may also
consider another valuable artifact, powerful item, or
service as a winning bid.
The auction is as much a social event as it is a place
of business. It’s a place to trade (and steal) information,
win loyalties, and catch up on the latest gossip. Some
people come because they’re bored, some to network,
Cherish is, in general, a ready source of information,
if a bit glib here and cryptic there. She enjoys teasing
the Scions, along with the other auction attendees. The
Band may observe:
• She talks openly about how she’s interested in
“The Dreamlands,” “as an artist, myself.”
• An Empathy + Composure (2) roll reveals she talks
more loudly about the painting whenever Bones is
nearby. She finds him an irritating hanger-on and
picked up on his interest in the item immediately.
Now she just wants to make him bid as high as
possible, so he pays dearly for it.
• She stops by Whispers frequently throughout the
night but doesn’t actually make any significant offers. Mostly, she offers tidbits of gossip and feedback about the reception and harmlessly flirts.
• She has an incredibly cutting wit and uses it liberally. It’s how she shows affection, irritation, and
most every other emotion.
• She’s been coming to the Whisper Auction the
longest, and knows many of its secrets (second, of
course, to Whispers themself ).
• She may be convinced with a Persuasion +
Presence (3) roll to give the Band clues about the
vaults, or what kinds of bids win Whispers over.
This may give the players an Enhancement to use
in the labyrinth if they decide to pursue the vaults.
• She tells the players her real name.
• She’ll even reveal the names of some of the other
attendees if they made the Persuasion roll (3+)
with a 1c. It’s breaking the rules, but she knows
she’ll get away with it.
Glass is a wallflower, awkward and out of place. She’s
well-mannered, but clearly happier on the sidelines. She
has a habit of nervously adjusting her glasses whenever
anyone looks ready to talk to her. The rims of her glasses
help hide the dark circles under her eyes.
• A Culture + Composure (1) roll with 1c from her
awkwardness means she tells the players how
wealthy she is.
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117
• Despite appearing simple at first glance, her
clothes are incredibly fine. If this is what she
wears while going incognito, imagine how fine
her “good” clothes are!
• Plume, a wealthy socialite and inconsistent attendee. Plume married a much, much older man
to secure a financial future, and rarely bids with
anything other than money.
• She spends most of the evening positioned across
from the painting’s stand, watching who comes
and goes and who talks to Whispers. A Scion can
notice her behavior with Empathy + Composure
(2). She is, essentially, counting cards. She makes
her bid later in the night: a whopper, to ensure she
gets the painting.
• Orange, a middle-aged woman with fiery hair and
a warm demeanor. Friendly, polite, and wary of
others’ attempts to get too close. Doesn’t drink or
eat.
• She tells Whispers about her dreams, about how
she needs the painting, because she knows it.
Bones mingles heavily, but unsuccessfully. Like
Glass, he’s socially awkward and out of place. Unlike her,
he’s determined not to be. He barges into conversations
and talks over other people, constantly attempting to
assert his intellectual and social dominance.
• A History + Intellect (2) roll highlights the artifacts he wears as accessories. His spectacles look
odd and old-fashioned because they’re from the
19th century. Two ancient Greek pins are pinned
in a cross shape on his lapel.
• Academics + Intellect (2) roll: his cufflinks are inlaid with small, dark stones that reflect the light in
bright, oil-slick patterns. Looking at them for too
long makes the viewer light-headed and confused
— and highly suggestible. Unfortunately for him,
most people don’t look at him for long at all.
Ford is the handsomest man in the room. Tall, dark,
and suave, he flits between various attendees with ease,
exchanging kisses on the hand or cheek and glib pieces
of gossip.
• An Empathy + Manipulation (2) roll with 2c
for his behavior, highlights his distant, shifting
behavior. He never stays too long in one place,
and neither do his smiles. Everything about his
persona is carefully constructed: a hummingbird
darting between flowers, hovering to sip without
getting too close.
• He glances at each of the items up for auction in
passing and lingers just a moment longer on the
painting. He even narrows his eyes at the placard
— the only outward sign that he’s concerned by its
apparent supernatural qualities as a Scion.
A few bit parts, in case the players want to really
chat around:
• Gate, tall and strong and interested in feats
of mechanical engineering. An acquaintance
of Whispers’ from their days in the Central
Intelligence Agency. Speaks and moves with a
calm ease.
118
• Bitsy, a formerly homeless teen who now possesses tremendous personal wealth due to her previous success at the auction. She won many bids
early on thanks to the devious info she collected
while living on the streets.
• Spiral, a high-powered lawyer who is now trying
to reconnect with his younger sibling, Bofa, and
struggling to find activities they both enjoy. The
Whisper Auction is his latest attempt.
• Bofa, the youngest attendant and Spiral’s younger
sibling. Still in high school. Chose “Bofa” because
they knew the terrible meme would get on their
older brother’s nerves.
THE LABYRINTH
If the Band attempts to find and break into Whispers’
vaults, they must survive the maze-like labyrinth.
Whispers installed the vaults and traps before beginning
the auctions that have been a staple of Kingsport high
society for a decade. Whispers designed this tunnel system to bend the mind and uses the few minor relics they
discovered. Passages lead in all directions, with optical
illusions that make the walls look different depending
on the direction from which they’re viewed. If these
illusions go unnoticed, attempted burglars are sent in
endless circles. There are trap doors that lead back to
lower passages, dead ends, and booby traps.
ACTION MOMENT
For more action-oriented Scions, Gilman’s
goons are watching them at the auction.
They have orders not to cause trouble, but
just to put a little “respect” into the Scions. If
confronted with violence they open fire with
silenced pistols if things get serious. There is
one goon per Scion.
Players must first Survey (Scion: Origin, p. 74) the
tunnels. If they’ve spoken to Cherish about the Vaults
and the maze, grants the Band 1e. The maze below requires a series of navigation rules to pass. For five rounds
the band needs to succeed on a Survival + Cunning (4),
failure results in one of the spells or traps below. After
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
three failed checks the Scions are hopelessly lost until
rescued by Whispers in the morning. If they have befriended Varnas, he frees them after Green has left and
the auction is still going on.
Eldritch Spells and Booby Traps include:
a vault a Survey (3+) takes the item inside without it
dropping through another trap door into an oubliette to
await Whispers after the auction. The following relics
may easily be replaced with campaign appropriate items
for future scenarios.
• A rune causes everyone to believe the walls are
closing in on them.
• Triggers a hallucination spell of beings close to
the Scions being tortured for their actions.
• The floor electrifies (attacks with 4 dice, has the
brutal tag).
• Pit trap dropping them into the sewers below that
closes after them.
• Releasing a pack of guard dogs.
• Aggravated Freezing cold ethereal green flame
erupt from multi-faceted eyes in the floor (attacks
with 6 dice, has the shockwave tag).
THE VAULTS
The vaults themselves, should the players reach
them, are a series of locked doors along a long, wide corridor. Each lock is a state-of-the-art keypad entry (3c)
making them difficult with a crack, but it’s possible with
a Technology + Intellect (3) roll. Two failed attempts to
unlock any one door drops the Scions through a trapdoor back to the show floor’s reception area. Once inside
ENHANCING THE
MYTHOS
A few ways to increase the Mythos is
to add more cosmically thematically spell
traps based on the Band. The Storyguide
may have Winged Terror statues,
indescribable starfish like parts of body
parts, disembodied wings attached to the
wall and used to entangle like nets.
• The frog statue’s door is locked with two color
wheels that use the same optical-illusion devices
from the labyrinth to encode the lock, so that except when viewed sidelong it appears to be two
plain gray rings. Working together to see the lock
from both sides (thus clearing up part of the illusion) gives 1e on the Survey roll. To open the lock,
red and green must be set opposite each other on
the two wheels.
The Sojourn
119
• The ring is behind a door with a giant rotary dial.
Inside each of its 10 rings is another dial that goes
from 0-9. The smaller dials need single-digit inputs and must be completed in the correct order
for the larger dial to open.
• The shield’s door is a grid of squares. Squares
must be pressed in to form the same pattern as the
design on the shield.
• The sheet of music is locked behind an alphabet
puzzle. The key is the sequence of notes presented in the auction room (ADAGE).
• The sketch is behind a door engraved with a
tangled maze of grooves. A lever must be guided
through the carved channels to reach the right
dead end. Mimicking the lines of Da Vinci’s sketch
will lead to the right ending.
• “The Dreamlands” is locked with the keypad
and the most mundane mechanism of all: a key.
Whispers has this one hidden in their boot, increasing the complainant to 4c.
AFTER THE AUCTION
Whispers shakes the guests’ hands individually on
their way upstairs. The handshake is not only a gesture of
farewell, but a way to discreetly give each guest a unique
key. The next morning, the winners of the auction receive
lock boxes containing their winnings, which can only be
accessed by their particular key (otherwise, Technology
+ Dexterity (3) or Athletics + Might (4) with 1c).
ALONE AGAIN
Location: Trent’s Condo
Following the Path: Mythos Auction
The Road: N/A
The building’s reception desk has a package waiting
for him: a lockbox containing the ring from the auction
(unless one of the players won it). No matter when the
Band visits, Trent Santos won’t be home. A sly Scion has
an opportunity to pilfer with Athletics + Dexterity (3) or
charm Persuasion + Presence (3) the underpaid receptionist. A reasonable bribe and assurance gain a 1e or 2e.
The sparseness of the living room, kitchen, and
Santos’s bedroom is offset by the contents of the spare
bedroom, which has been converted into a combination
home gym and worship space. There’s more furniture
and décor in this one room than in the rest of the condo put together. The door is locked, albeit with a fairly
mundane lock, to protect the only part of Santos’s condo
that means anything to him. This can be bypassed with
a Technology + Dexterity (1) or Athletics + Might (2)
roll. Aside from the exercise equipment, the main piece
of furniture is a red leather couch. This is where Santos
120
meets with Èshù Elègbará to chat about all manner of
things. Èshù Elègbará likes stories; Santos provides.
TEA WITH TEMPERANCE
Location: Temperance’s Villa
Following the Path: Mythos Auction
The Road: No Bones About It, A Vivid Green
McGovern keeps a small staff, mainly a gardener and
two maids. She lets the gardener do whatever, with one
caveat: that the roses be left to their own devices. As a
result, the garden is near-perfectly manicured in a very
French garden style, with concentric circular pathways
around the villa bisected by radiating lines. The roses are
the only outliers; they comprise rambling bushes, vines
climbing up the west side of the building, and overflowing trellises arc over the gravel paths. The smell is inescapable. The roses themselves are treacherously thorny
and should be given a wide berth. In some places, they’ve
begun to choke out the garden’s other flora. McGovern
is typically happy to have visitors, as long as they aren’t
family. Provided the Scions didn’t offend her at the auction, she’ll be pleased as punch they’ve stopped by.
Her burly security-guard and gardener, Reece, is
less pleased to have guests but keeps quiet and out of the
way. As long as they don’t step on the grass or trample
the flowers, of course. If things escalate, McGovern
intervenes before any real violence takes place. Reece
remains within speaking distance at all times.
The villa’s interior is similarly incongruous. Most of
the décor is tasteful and expensive, and precious works
of art line the walls and stand on pedestals. Some of the
art, however, is less becoming. These paintings are more
akin to the junior work of someone at a Paint-and-Sip
class. Nonetheless, they are framed with the same reverence as the rest of the collection. Most of McGovern’s
abundant free time is spent in the giant art studio on the
villa’s top floor. Her paintings aren’t particularly good,
and she knows it. She enjoys watching people squirm
as they try to compliment her art, although she has few
visitors and rarely gets the chance.
The locks in the villa are strange, and unusually
hard to crack. Anyone who tried to pick one of Whispers’
locks before knows them on sight. Sleek on the outside,
deceptively complicated on the inside. Whispers custom
made them for McGovern in exchange for one of her
paintings. The door handles are embossed with the subtle lines of a just-blooming rose. She has no secrets of her
own, and no desire to hide from anyone. If the players
try to dig up dirt or find hidden rooms in this villa, they’ll
come out empty-handed. McGovern, however, happily
hints at a dark past and long-buried secrets just to rile
up her visitors.
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
The doors of the villa are unlocked, the Band may
either enter freely or ring the doorbell. In the latter
case, the two household maids quickly answer the door
and escort the Scions upstairs to the studio sitting area.
McGovern tells them to sit while she finishes her latest
painting. It’s a horrid affair of violets, oranges, and yellows. She says she’s “going through a conceptual period,”
but it looks more like a middle schooler’s poor attempt at
an in-class project. If the Scions compliment her work,
she waits until they’re done to call out their lies.
She knows all her paintings are miserable; it’s why she
makes them. She’s spent her whole life being the best at
everything, at the top of every ladder, that it feels viciously
good to revel in mediocrity. Her family says she’s going
senile. She thinks none of them have a sense of humor and
claims that poor trait comes from her husband’s side.
She’s easier to talk to outside the auction, giving
the players information more readily, unconstrained by
her respect for Whispers and their rules of engagement.
She’ll reveal any and all attendees’ real names, their
backgrounds (what she knows of them, at least, which is
usually a lot), and most of all, her opinions of them.
With a Persuasion + Presence (2+) roll, she’ll tell the
Band who she thinks won the painting. It’s likely Bones
(Dr. Mason) or Glass (Heather Green). She’s convinced
he bid heavily after the work she put into talking up the
competition. But she’s never seen Green stick around the
auction so long, and there’s no denying that she spent
most of her time near “The Dreamlands.” She only made
one bid, near the end of the night, so she must’ve had an
ace up her sleeve. The only question is, what ace could
a shut-in toothpaste heiress possibly have? And was it
enough to outbid Bones?
NO BONES ABOUT IT
If the Band sets off any of the security measures, he
leaves his small office armed with a shotgun (Firearms
+ Dexterity of 6 dice) and patrols the large warehouse.
Unfortunately for the Scions, if he discovers them or their
identity, he’s intelligent enough to put two and two together about why they’re in his warehouse. If they let enough
slip about why they’re in his warehouse or what they’re
looking for, or express interest in his eldritch artifacts, he’ll
latch onto the information and refuse to let go. He wants
very badly to acquire the power he’s caught glimpses of
through his research. He’d hoped to get his hands on “The
Dreamlands,” but he was outbid at the last minute by Glass.
The artifacts cover an eclectic mix of time periods
and countries of origin. Most are completely benign.
However, recently he’s found a few items with eldritch
origins. They’ve sparked an ill-advised, clumsy interest
in the occult. So far, Dr. Mason’s managed to gather a
pendant embossed with the elder sign and twin small
idols of Cthulhu, one whole and one broken. The broken
idol reveals an empty chamber within the stone.
The last item in the rear of the warehouse is a massive
statue, standing some 10 feet tall. The gruesome looking,
monstrous thing is made of an unusual stone. If interacted
any character with a Legend or Awareness score of 1 or
higher interacts with it, it animates into a Terror from
Beyond (p. 134), grabbing the unsuspecting Scion and flying upward towards space. The animate creature is half of
the speed of a Terror and is destroyed after being hit four
times, dropping whoever it was carrying.
A VIVID GREEN
Location: The Green Estate
Following the Path: Mythos Auction, No Bones
About It, Tea with Temperance
Location: Dr. Mason’s Apartment, Dr. Mason’s
Warehouse
ENHANCING THE
MYTHOS
Following the Path: Mythos, Tea with Temperance
The Road: A Vivid Green
If the Scions visit Dr. Mason’s apartment, they find
little other than carelessly discarded socks, jackets, and
takeout. However, an Academics + Resolve (2+) roll
turns up some half-shredded mail in the overflowing
trash can. It’s shredded to protect the envelopes’ contents: bills for the upkeep of a warehouse, which include
the warehouse’s address. If the players didn’t already
know about the warehouse and its location, they do now.
Scions who Survey the warehouse with Technology
+ Intellect (3) or Subterfuge + Cunning (2) before entering notice many security measures. There are security
cameras installed on and near the warehouse, along with
motion detectors in the doorway. There are numerous
more motion detectors inside which need to be avoided.
One: The warehouse feels expansive, with
the aisles seemingly going on for hundreds
of yards. The further Scions venture in, they
hear faint animal noises all around them that
are impossible to locate. The animal sounds
slowly transform into monstrous snarls and
then human howls. The shelves seem to lean
in closer to them and their vision is obscured
by shadows.
Two: One of the idols shatters onto the
floor, releasing hundreds of black slithering
things that burn (2 damage with the piercing
tag) the Scions and disintegrate on touch,
appearing to meld into them.
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121
The Road: Awake and Dreaming
The Green estate sits along a wide lane in the town
of Newton, surrounded by other sprawling displays of
wealth. The building is immaculately white, the lawn
perfectly manicured. There are no flowers, only a low,
decorative hedge around the edge of the yard.
Green spends most of her time in her library. The
room is a converted playroom (albeit a huge one, made
for a very wealthy child), which she slowly filled with
more and more books. The bookcases vary in age, size,
and material, but are all expertly crafted and full to
bursting. The smallest is child-sized; the largest is the
size of a set of double-doors. The center of the room
is dominated by tables and a few chairs, all piled with
books both open and closed.
This is where she examines “The Dreamlands.” She
sets it up on the one empty bit of wall space — the spot
above the first bookcase she ever had, full of her childhood books.
Green is alone inside, as usual. “The Dreamlands”
arrives at 6:30 A.M., and she runs out to meet it. If the
Band arrives at any point after this, she is locked in her
library with the painting. Success on a Technology +
Dexterity (2) or Athletics + Might (1) roll gains entry and
finds her in a different state, depending on when they
find her.
By noon, Green is frustrated with “The Dreamlands.”
No matter how she looks at it, it’s an ordinary (if masterfully made) piece of art. She is beyond frustrated with
the painting, is drawn to it, and attempts to calm her suffers 2c. “The Dreamlands” is, of course, working exactly
as intended.
She can’t understand why it was so prominent in her
dreams. Books lie open across the library’s central table,
and spends her time taking notes and cross-referencing
points. Green is close to awakening and becoming a
Scion of Cthulhu.
At seven o’clock, the skies grow dark, Cthulhu’s
power grows, and so does “The Dreamlands.” she is
drawn to it ever more forcefully. After spending all day
alone with it, she’s starting to lose her grip on reality.
If the Band arrives and tries to take the painting, she’ll
need a considerable Persuasion + Presence (4) roll to
convince her anything bad is happening. It could possibly even take a show of force, as she becomes violent
when feeling her destiny is being denied.
By 7:30 P.M., the sun has set, and Green is entirely in
the thrall of “The Dreamlands”, made doubly effective
by Cthulhu’s power over her. Half-dreamingly activates
the painting and steps through into the Dreamlands. If
the Band arrives after sunset, Green is nowhere to be
found. Low feral howls (the ghouls on the other side)
emanate from “The Dreamlands.” An Occult + Intellect
122
ENHANCING THE
MYTHOS
The Dreaming has been open and as a
gateway, people or things have crossed
over to Earth. Signs of what or whoever it
was are left throughout the manor, as they
escaped. Cruel Storyguides may have
a Mythos Antagonist surprise attack the
Band, such as a Shoggoth.
(2+) roll or use of Awareness makes it clear to the Scions
just where she’s gone; the painting still ripples faintly
with energy. The Axis Mundi is still open.
The Scions risk accruing temporary Awareness
while in The Dreamlands painting’s presence. They
must decide quickly what to do.
AWAKE AND DREAMING
Location: The Underworld (below the Dreamlands)
Following the Path: A Vivid Green
The Road: Awakened
Before the Scions step through the painting, have
elderly versions of them appear from the Dreamlands
after a life lived there, to give them warnings to convince
them to turn back. They should share little personal
parables, which could give thematic guidance, or these
visions are from Cthulhu, who has plans for his Scion.
If the Scions go after Green by entering “The
Dreamlands,” they find themselves at the edge of the
Underworld below the Dreamlands. The landscape is
half-formed and more colorful, feeling more drawn into
existence than anything physical. Mythos Scions gain a
temporary point of Awareness and slightly lose their grip
on humanity. The Band risk gaining temporary physical
mutations for every two hours they are physically in the
Dreamlands via the painting. Horns, pointed dog ears,
claws, or rubbery skin are all possible. The mutations are
rooted in the nature of the painting, Pickman, and the
influence of Cthulhu from Green. Anyone who stays in
the Underworld after going through “The Dreamlands”
eventually becomes a ghoul sooner or later.
Green is still alive, but half out of her senses. She’s
receiving her Visitation, awakening fully as a Scion of
Cthulhu. The Sleeping Giant is speaking to her, and
only she can hear it. Her body extends, thrashing luminous phantom tentacles that shed the only light in the
pitch-indi tunnels. The tentacles curl out of the air to
tangle around her shoulders. The ghouls are only kept at
bay by the tentacles, their howls echoing throughout the
CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB
maze of tunnels, their numbers increasing by the dozen
every minute.
Cthulhu’s manifestation pins anyone interrupting
against the walls of the tunnel. The spectral tentacles
can’t be harmed in any way, but their presence is strong.
The air around them feels thick, like water and anyone
touch feels like they are drowning. It’s no surprise, then,
that Green looks like she’s drowning. The ghouls move
closer and closer.
She chokes and gasps on thin air until, finally, her
eyes roll back in her head and she goes limp. Cthulhu’s
apparition keeps her from keeling over completely. A
moment later, Green reels forward, gulping lungful of
air, and the tentacles disappear. Still, Cthulhu’s presence lingers around her. She flexes her fingers, testing
new strength. A sheen of sweat covers her body. The air
around her smells of the sea. She thanks the Band for
coming to get her and says that she’s all right now. Better
than ever, in fact.
Some 200 feet away are Moore’s partially consumed
remains. He’s little more than scraps of cloth and bone.
His enchanted metal gauntlets lie nearby. Remaining
risks enraging the hundreds of ghouls. Green’s light
dims and the ghouls move closer. Walking back into the
colorfully painted drawing of the Underworld’s outer
edge leads the Scions out through the Axis Mundi.
AWAKENED
Location: The Waking World
Following the Path: Awake and Dreaming
The Road: N/A
Once the Band has returned to the waking world,
Green thanks the Band again. She promises to safeguard
TERROR ACTION
MOMENT
For a more action-oriented Band, dozens
of Ghouls attacking them. The dozens
upon dozens come out of the darkness.
The ghouls are effectively endless in this
situation, given the centuries of breeding
and that the underground is their kingdom.
They attack in waves with every increasing
numbers every two to three rounds. The
moments between the battles are tense and
horror filled.
The Band is in an entirely new realm
surrounded by legions of monsters while
witnessing the Awakening of a new Scion.
The presence of Great Cthulhu alone would
shatter humans in seconds and the Scions
are not immune to that terror. The longer
they remain, the stronger his presence
becomes until it is untenable.
“The Dreamlands.” She knows how powerful it is now
and as a Scion of Cthulhu can resist its effects. If the
players disagree, she gives in before the situation escalates to violence; she’s had enough adventure for one
night, and the adrenaline from her Visitation is starting
to wear off.
The Band potentially has a power relic, a new ally,
and has stepped into Miskatonic Hollow. Their actions
have likely drawn the attention of the Great Old Ones in
every town they traverse. Those alien intelligences have
long memories and unknowable ways.
The Sojourn
123
CHAPTER SEVEN
MYTHOS
ANTAGONISTS
“What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark?
It would be like sleep without dreams.”
— Werner Herzog
C
ountless entities and beings beyond description fall
under the scaly appendance of the Mythos. These
entities’ visages shatter ordinary mortals and give Scions
pause, regardless of status. This handful of Mythos
creatures listed below merely convey a glimpse at the
wider diorama.
NEW FLAIRS
Masks of the Mythos expands flairs with a few
specific Mythos-themed ones:
SUFFOCATE
Cost: None
Duration: Instant
Subject: One character
Range: Close
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of grapple, or end of scene
While grappling someone with a lower Size Scale,
the attacker gains access to the following Stunt:
Suffocate (Success equal to opponent’s Stamina):
You smother your opponent, preventing their ability to
breathe. Attempts to take any action in the subsequent
round has a +3 Complication with a consequence of 1
Injury Condition if not bought off.
BEYOND DESCRIPTION
Cost: 1 Tension per character effected
Duration: 1 scene
Subject: One Character
Range: Upon seeing it
Action: Simple
Cooldown: End of the Scene
The antagonist is so frightening it shakes the viewer
to the core. Their mind is unable to accept this thing
exists. Its very presence breaks reality, causing mundane
characters to flee, pass out, or temporarily act irrationally out of fear.
The Mythos creature imparts 1 Terror Condition.
Additionally, Scions’ Legend scores are considered one
point lower until the end of the scene.
ANTAGONISTS
COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
The Colour Out of Space is undeniably one of the most
alien of all Mythos antagonists. They’ve touched down on Earth
many times but only a single encounter was ever recorded. This
incident occurred in rural reaches west of Arkham, MA around
the 1920s, in an area that now comprises Arkham Reservoir.
The Colour crashed down on Earth via a meteor, landing near
the well of an isolated farmstead. Slowly, over the course of a
year, the aftermath saw the mutation and eventual death of
the people, livestock, and crops that occupied the farm. It also
caused the deterioration of all structures and the land itself into
what locals called the “blasted heath,” illuminated at night by a
silvery glow that marked the extent of the Colour’s influence.
In the first few hours after arrival, the Colour appears as a cluster of small globules of an unidentified
hue and material. The globules and the stone vessel in
which they arrive diminish in size and disappear into
the atmosphere and surrounding soil. The absorption
of this material gives the appearance of robustness to
fruits and vegetables grown in nearby soil, but this appearance is merely an illusion of health. The produce
tastes like ash and provides no sustenance. People and
animals in proximity to the contamination deteriorate
physically and mentally until they simply turn to ash and
die. Contemporaneous accounts regarding the Arkham
incident indicate the family said they knew they should
move away but just couldn’t bring themselves to leave.
The Colour does not attack like other antagonists; instead
it is a contamination that corrupts any living thing around it,
drawing energy from other lifeforms until it reaches enough
size and strength to travel back to space and continue its journey. It leaves a remnant behind — perhaps offspring — that
continues to siphon life from the surrounding area, slowly expanding the region of corruption. Combat against the Colour
is fruitless. It may be possible to contain it for the few hours or
days it remains in the stone module it used to travel to Earth.
The best strategy for battling the Colour is to contain it early
and return it to space as fast as possible.
COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: Flight, Institutional Disbelief, Toxic,
Miasmic Presence
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Flairs: Beyond Description, Penetrator, Plague
Touch
Drive: Feed me
Primary Pool: (13): Miasmic Presence, Survival,
Siphon Life
Secondary Pool: (11): Flight
Desperation Pool: 7
Health: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extras: Apocalyptic Presence
CTHULHU SPAWN
In the time before time, to maintain a balance never
understood by humans, Cthulhu’s star spawn filtered
down from the infinite cosmos to earth. Their legacy as
fierce, bloodthirsty warriors is well documented and for
a time they reigned supreme. Then, their Pacific paradise sank to the bottom of the ocean never to rise again
— yet. Over the millennia, many an ambitious Cthulhu
cult tried to summon the Eternal Slumbering One or its
spawn to raise R’lyeh from its watery depths.
Most failed. However, if the stars align correctly and
the chants are clear enough, a few of these rituals may
manage to stir the seas, bringing in bad weather and a
path for a number of Cthulhu Spawn. At first glance, the
Cthulhu Spawn resembles your garden-variety octopus
under the waves. However, their humanoid, bipedal gait;
stout, and squat-but-towering stance; and the ease with
which they traverse the land quickly give them away.
As they clear the way for their Great One to come, they
wreak havoc, death, and destruction that to humankind
appears chaotic and without direction or method.
Fortunately, despite their size and the excessive tentacles underneath their thick hide, they are still mostly squishy.
CTHULHU SPAWN
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Mystic Arsenal, Regeneration, Tough as
Nails
Flairs: Beyond Description, Second Wind, Sorcery
Drive: To Serve
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Initiative: 6
Extras: +2 Enhancement for Stunts other than
Inflict Damage
CULTIST
From the people running small organizations devoted to monsters of the Mythos to those belonging to
large cults formed in the name of the Old Ones, cultists
are bound to cause problems for divine and Mythos
Scions alike. Cultists are defined as anyone who has a
connection to the Gods and either has a fanatical belief
or willingly performs deeds on the God’s behalf. This is
usually a Great Old One, but cults to Gods from different
pantheons can be as problematic. A Band may often find
a momentary ally in an enemy of the cult, if they dared
to bargain with a fanatical group with alien motivations.
Mythos cultists are generally more empowered than
normal mortals. Great Old Ones rarely care to whom
they bestow gifts, or what people do with those gifts.
Cults form naturally around one or two people who have
such gifts, meaning the whole cult may have access to a
Mythos Relic or the ability to summon a Mythos creature to fight alongside them.
Cultists prefer to convert rather than to kill. The
general thought is the more people to worship, summon,
or generally feed their Gods, the better. Initial interactions with cultists usually involve their attempts to
control or convert people, especially loved ones, to sway
a powerful Scion to their side. That isn’t to say a cultist
won’t fight; they’ve already given their lives over to their
Gods and will fight until death to preserve what they
built or continue their actions.
When creating cultists, create the bulk as Foe characters with the stats below, and create a single leader as
a Rival Archetype with the same Qualities and Flairs,
except the leader also has the Mystical Arsenal Quality
to represent possession of a Relic. While rare, some cults
may be led by Scions.
CULTIST
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Tactics, Institutional Disbelief,
A Cage of Words
Flairs: Sorcery (Pick One: Arcane Calculus,
Chaos, Deception, Stars, or Moon)
Drive: Loyalty to their chosen God
Primary Pool: 7 (Research, Sorcery, Persuasion)
Health: 3
Secondary Pool: 5 (Melee or Ranged Fighting,
Stealth, Tactics)
Defense: 3
Desperation Pool: 3
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CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 4
Extras: +1 Enhancement to actions to convert
followers
DAGON
Father Dagon is the supposed progenitor and father
of all deep ones. A creature as old as The World itself
— possibly as old as the Great Old Ones — Dagon is a
tyrant of the deep seas. Some argue that Father Dagon
is a God unto himself while others say he is a powerful
Deep One. Even something as powerful as Father Dagon
and Mother Hydra is not on the same power level as
Gods such as Albtraum, Nyarlathotep, and Yog-Sothoth.
While Dagon is ancient enough to remember when the
oceans contained all the life on Earth, and powerful
enough to command armies of Deep Ones, the creature
is no more a God than any other Deep One.
Where Dagon came from is in question. One legend
says Cthulhu made Dagon to rule the seas. Another says
Dagon was the natural evolution of bony fish lost to time
inside a Terra Incognita that had been abandoned by
some sea God, possibly Poseidon. Another supposes that
deep ones have always existed, and Dagon is simply the
title given to the oldest and most powerful of these creatures. Certainly, the latter theory seems to have the most
credence. The Father Dagon worshiped by the Esoteric
Order of Dagon in Innsmouth is not the same Dagon
worshiped by the Kannak people in the Fiji Islands
when Obed Marsh found them, and again not the same
Dagon as what thrives in the Arctic circle.
Dagon are terrible creatures with insatiable appetites, usually willing to consume other deep ones rather
than wait for some kind of human to happen by. They
are usually solitary of their type, with Father Dagon nowhere near Mother Hydra. They often have lesser Deep
Ones serving them.
DAGON
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence, Heavily
Armored, Natural Weapon, Regeneration,
Unstoppable
Flairs: Molon Labe, Suffocate, World Shaking
Drives: Feed and reproduce. Worship the Great
Cthulhu.
Primary Pool: 13 (Melee, Grappling, Swimming)
Secondary Pool: 11 (Discourse)
Desperation Pool: 7
Health: 10
Defense: 4
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Initiative: 10
Extras: Dagon has a Size Scale of 3.
DEEP ONES
Deep Ones are creatures of the sea, appearing like
human-sized frogs with articulated hands and feet, more
like a person, but with gills and fins like a fish. They are
immortal in the sense that they won’t die naturally of old
age. They have few predators and tend to live in large, underwater communities that afford them safety from attack.
Deep Ones are capable of living either on land or in
the sea but prefer to live underwater for safety and because
they have more freedom there. Most are loyal to and worship Cthulhu, Father Dagon, and Mother Hydra. It’s not
uncommon for them to pray to the entirety of the Mythos
pantheon. Their agelessness and continued growth over
the centuries have led to numerous deep ones becoming
subaqueous ones, who are stronger and larger. For every
century a deep one survives it grows a few inches taller
and one of its pools or abilities increases by 1 point.
Deep Ones have a relationship with shoggoth, and
when living on land tend to bring them into their communities and keep them for strange rituals and the hopes
to prepare the way for the rise of Cthulhu or other Gods.
Deep Ones are hostile towards people, and attack if
they feel threatened or hungry. Sometimes, they are a source
of information or assistance for Scions, but always at a cost.
among bones and dirt. They’re also found in places touched
by the Mythos. This includes anything from an old ritual
site to an ancient sleeping place of a Mythos creature.
Dholes live their lives completely in the dark, lending
their flesh its pale, almost white, appearance. They do not
have eyes, but have giant mouths, and their skin serves as
their primary sense organ. The flesh is coated in a slimy
substance that conveys electrical currents to the brain,
giving them acute awareness of their entire surroundings.
These creatures are not intelligent and are driven
mostly by the basest instincts to eat and reproduce. They
feed on subtle electrical current, usually found in the
flesh of animals, but also as residual mystical energies
left over from the use of magic. Dholes are not solitary
creatures and usually infest an area, living under the surface of a mountain or hill, or infesting a town and slowly
sapping energy from the nearby creatures and eating
unfortunate people who get too close to their lairs.
DHOLES
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence, Invulnerability
(electricity), Subterranean Movement, Vulnerability
(fire), Unstoppable
Flairs: Dread Gaze, World Shaking
Drive: Hide and feed.
Primary Pool: 13 (Hunting, Biting)
Secondary Pool: 11 (Sensing, Burrowing)
DEEP ONES
Archetype: Rival
Desperation Pool: 7
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Regeneration,
Swarm
Health: 5
Flairs: Here I Come (in the water only), I Have
Friends, Suffocate
Initiative: 10
Drive: Eat and worship.
Primary Pool: 9 (Grappling, Swimming)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Socializing)
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 3
Defense: 3
Initiative: 6
Extras: +2 Enhancement to Stunts other than Inflict
Damage.
DHOLES
Dholes — sometimes referred to as bholes or dûls —
are huge, worm-like creatures with pale, slimy skin. These
creatures dwell in most Mythos Terra Incognitae, hiding
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Defense: 4
Extra: Dholes have three segments (head, main
body, and tail), each one with five health boxes.
All three segments can take actions, but if all boxes
are filled on one segment, it can no longer act
unless at least one box is healed. Dholes are Size
Scale 5. For each point of Size above 5, they have
one additional segment. Rumors abound that in
the Dreamlands there is a massive Dhole some 20
segments long.
DIMENSIONAL SHAMBLER
The Horror at the Museum, the dimensional shambler, is an intelligent monster that can cross dimensions
of reality and beyond. They appear as a cross between
an ape and an insect, with large, shaggy-furred bodies,
bulbous heads with a long proboscis, and large, clawed
forelimbs. They are roughly the size of an adult grizzly
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
bear, can maneuver on two or four legs, and are fearsome
combatants. The appearance of these beings evokes fear.
Primary Pool: 11 (Dread Gaze, Grappling,
Hunting)
Shamblers are often servants of more powerful
beings and can be pressed into the service of mortal
sorcerers and Mythos Scions. The most common use of
summoned dimensional shamblers is retrieval of some
object or person that is hidden away. The shambler has a
knack for finding things other people can’t.
Secondary Pool: 9 (Combat, Feats of Strength)
In combat, they usually attack with surprise as they
appear beside their target out of nowhere and their horrific appearance paralyzes the intended victim with fear.
They then attack with large, savage claws and attempt
to grapple anyone smaller than they are. They also wrap
their trunk-like noses around the heads or necks of their
opponents and — while also employing their claws —
can hold those they capture in a vice-like grip so they
can step away into another dimension with their captive,
a frozen nightmare realm where dimensional shamblers
pay obedience to a bloated god on a throne of bone.
DIMENSIONAL SHAMBLER
Archetype: Monster
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Mirror, Mirror,
Shroud, Willful
Flairs: Dreadful Gaze, Shadow Step, Suck it Up
Drive: Ready or not, here I come
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 6
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extra: Dimension Shift, +1 Enhancement to
Grapple for smaller opponents
ELDER THINGS
Roughly 600 million years ago, from many universes beyond our own, a race of beings came to what
we would come to call Earth and made it home. Their
large, barrel-shaped bodies with a foot-tall, star-shaped
head makes them loom at nine feet. Add to that the their
single, red, globular eye; their five mouths hanging from
stalks on their head; and the five, three-foot long tentacles around their torso that branch off multiple times as
they progress — giving them nearly two dozen individually autonomous tentacles. This makes them formidable
and when they spread their leathery, seven-foot wings
and reach for you with their four-foot-long, thick, muscular arms. They have fought and won more great wars
than they have lost. They have abducted and dissected as
many humans as they have killed. They tend to reside far
and deep at the corners of the world, thankfully. Anyone,
even a Scion, should think twice before venturing into
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their territory, and should also be sure to have a powerful ace up their sleeve.
ELDER THINGS
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Armor Piercing, Disembodied, Mystic
Arsenal, Wall Walker
Flairs: Mastermind, Knock Out, Retcon, Second
Wind
Drive: Scientific Extermination
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
GHOUL
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Attack, Natural Weapon,
Institutional Disbelief, Imperfect Disguise, Shroud,
Unnatural Hunger
Flairs: Here I Come, I Have Friends,
Selfless Shield (only for other ghouls)
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 3
Drive: Supper’s ready
Defense: 3
Primary Pool: 7 (Combat, Hunting)
Initiative: 6
Secondary Pool: 5: (Dreamlands Knowledge,
Grappling)
GHOUL
Ghouls are bestial humanoids who dwell in catacombs, tunnels, and other dark hidden places where
they can avoid contact with the living and are likely to
find their favorite repast: the rotted corpses of humanity.
They have rubbery skin and doglike facial features that
range in appearance from near human to beastlike. Some
ghouls pass as humans, at least for a time, but slowly
transform into their final ghoulish form. Humanlike
ghouls live among people but have telltale features that
can give them away, such as a sickeningly sweet odor or
strange pallor.
The origin of ghouls is uncertain. There is some
evidence that they are a species unto themselves, but
some suggest all ghouls were once humans who chose to
prey upon the living and slowly transformed into ghouls
due to their actions against other humans. Some ghouls
who live among humanity were essentially changelings
who were swapped at birth for a human child. The fate
of these human children is unknown. These changelings
eventually begin to transform into ghouls, but it’s not
clear whether all who undergo this transformation were
always ghouls, or whether humans can transform into
ghouls due to a predilection for the morbid, preying on
other humans, or simply from associating and befriending other ghouls.
Ghouls also inhabit portions of the Dreamlands
where they have a rich and distinct culture and can be
roused to aid those who treat them with cautious kindness and respect. It is unwise to place too much trust in a
ghoul because to them you will always be a breath away
from being their next meal.
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In combat, ghouls attack with powerful claws and
a savage bite, attempting to grapple opponents and take
them down. When multiple ghouls are engaged in a fight
they act cooperatively, with one trying to grapple an opponent while others move in for the kill. They also act to
protect each other to an extent, but each knows that if
they fall, they become a meal for the rest.
Desperation Pool: 3
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 4
Extra: +1 Enhancement
The stat block above represents fully transformed
ghouls, however, human-appearing ghouls could be
represented using the Mook stat block instead (Scion:
Origin, p. 145). For mooks, remove the Natural Weapon
quality, the Selfless Shield Flair, and the Dreamlands
Knowledge Secondary Pool. There are also legends
about ghouls of enormous size and power surpassing
their monstrous kin. These beings present a challenge
even to Heroes and can be represented using the Rival,
Nemesis, or even Titanspawn stat block with advanced
Qualities, Flairs, and Skills.
GNOPH-KEH
This highly intelligent, ancient race, of large, sharphorned, hair-covered beasts are originally from Iceland.
While they are known to have six legs, their frequent
bipedal travel is presumed to be the origin for stories of
Yeti and The Abominable Snowman. They are hunters
extraordinaire, able to track their prey across long distances in the coldest, harshest weather, even in blinding
snowstorms. This allows them to thrive in conditions
that force other creatures to shelter, making sightings
rare by even the most skilled seekers. If you are trying
to find one, it’s best to ask a local who can separate the
facts from the fakes, or better yet, don’t go looking at all.
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
GNOPH-KEH
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Armor Piercing, Perfect Soldier,
Surefooted, Willful
Flairs: Shadowstep (Snow locations only), Suck it
Up
Drive: Feed
Primary Pool: 11
GREAT RACE OF YITH
Archetype: Titanspawn
Secondary Pool: 9
Desperation Pool: 6
Qualities: Disembodied, Unstoppable, Willful
Health: 5
Flairs: Beyond Description, Detonation, Knock
Out, Mastermind, Retcon, Tripwire
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
GREAT RACE OF YITH
trapped in their massive alien body in their great city
millions of years in the past. The prisoners are expected
to write their lives down all day in the great library, while
the Yithian in their body undertakes some mission. Its
mission could last days to years and then they switch
minds back. The person has no memory of the lost time.
Their intelligence makes them a formidable foe and they
have millions of years of battle scars to prove it. Best to
figure out what they want and strike a bargain.
Drive: Survival of your race
Primary Pool: 13
The Great Race left their home planet so long ago
that none of them can remember where or what it was.
The form encountered today have 10-foot-high, coneshaped bodies, with foot-thick limbs holding their three
eyes, and two claw-like hands. They are time travelers,
but they only project their consciousness, leaving their
bodies behind. Not that those bodies are theirs, either.
They either never had an original form or it was so long
ago that it, too, has been lost for reasons no one, not even
they, know. They are generally seekers of knowledge,
attempting to discover history through the actual eyes
of those living. The Great Race sometimes switch minds
with unsuspecting beings, who then find themselves
Secondary Pool: 11
Desperation Pool: 7
Health: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extra: The Great Race have a Size Scale of 2.
HOUNDS OF TINDALOS
The Hounds of Tindalos are extradimensional
guardians of time whose tortuous true forms defy description. When finite beings try to disturb the flow of
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time, the Hounds of Tindalos awaken and track down
intruders across the expanse of temporal realms.
They have been called dragons,
salamanders, three-headed dogs, and
even the Serpent of Eden. The creatures are sometimes called “hounds”
only because they track and hunt; their
true form is no more canine than a gout
of sulfur dioxide or the burst of a solar
flare. Rare survivors have described them as
lean and hungry creatures that exude hot and
unfathomably foul breath. Their attacks often
leave a strange bluish film behind. This substance is a parasitic colony of cells that neither
divides nor dies.
The Hounds of Tindalos have been intertwined with
humanity since the species first gained awareness of
the mysteries of time and its paradoxes. People with
knowledge of these temporal guardians have long
believed they harbor malice toward humankind,
ascribing them a jealous desire to destroy human
“purity.” This is nonsense. They are more like a cosmic
maintenance crew than vengeful beasts, simply tending
and weeding the gardens of time.
The smallest ripple in the temporal slipstream attracts the Hounds of Tindalos attention. Because unnatural angles in architecture and other works are the mark
of sentient beings, they have adapted to exploit these angles, slipping through shortcuts across space and time to
chase down temporal intruders. This journey may take
years or mere hours to complete, but once the target is
“scented,” the Hounds of Tindalos move with dogged
inevitability toward their quarry.
HOUNDS OF TINDALOS
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Miasmic Presence, Incorporeality,
Natural Weapon (piercing “tongue”), Regeneration
Flairs: Beyond Description, Penetrator
Drive: Destroy temporal intruders.
Primary Pool 9 (Piercing, Chasing)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Tracking, Stealth)
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 6
Defense: 3
These mostly fungous creatures are natives of Pluto
(Yuggoth) and have been on earth since the Jurassic
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Among them are also disciplined and well-trained
soldiers. They usually work in groups and are best confronted with skills, a plan, and sufficient numbers.
MI-GO
Archetype: Rival
Initiative: 6
MI-GO
Pe r i o d .
They consider themselves superior to — and more
intelligent than — any
other beings. They stand at five feet tall and their pink
bodies are crustacean-like, with many pairs of claw-footed
legs and a large ellipsoid-shaped head covered in antennae, with no eyes or mouth. They come in many varieties,
each with different skills and specializations. Those witnessed on Earth have large, bat-like wings which are the
method they use for interstellar travel, not just to Earth
but all through the cosmos. They are organized, clever,
methodical, and capable of all manner of subterfuge and
deception. They usually have human allies who work for
them, furthering their access and information gathering
— although dogs don’t like them. They are a scientifically
minded society interested in research and experimentation. Unfortunately, one aspect of that research is gathering interesting brains to add to their collection. Preserved
in steel cylinders, each being is alive indefinitely and the
Mi-Go have the technology to allow them to speak and
see. Perhaps they could be a potential bargaining chip if
one can be stolen.
Qualities: Arm Piercing, Baleful Touch, Flight,
Regeneration, Tough as Nails
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
Flairs: Immobilize (with device), Mastermind, Red
Herring
Drive: Experimentation and Exploration
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 3
Defense: 6
Initiative: 6
NIGHT-GAUNT
Flying creatures of fearsome reputations, nightgaunts dwell in the mountains of the Dreamlands.
They are considered dangerous by other Dreamlands
monsters and residents and are blamed for the deaths
of mountain climbers and others who try to explore the
peaks where they live. Their reputation is so fierce even
the dread Shantak refuses to fly near their roosts. People
of the Dreamlands warn against thinking too much
of night-gaunts, because they are known to haunt the
dreams of those who dwell on them.
Their appearance is unsettling. Where a face should
be is blank flesh. The rest of them is covered by smooth,
oily, black skin. They have inwardly curving horns, silent
bat wings, barbed tails, and odd, rounded paws. Nightgaunts are fast flyers, quickly covering vast distances and
able to move between dimensions of reality.
NIGHT-GAUNT
Archetype: Monster
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Flight, Institutional
Disbelief, Dread Gaze
Flairs: Second Wind, Reflected Intent, Seeing Red
Drive: I get around.
Primary Pool:11 (Flight, Athletics, Stealth)
Secondary Pool: 9 (Dream-haunting, Survival)
Desperation Pool: 5
A rival Scion might be a heroic servant of Ioskeha,
or a villainous daughter of Set, but good or bad are all
a matter of perspective. To the Scion, these are villains
standing in the way of success who must be defeated to
advance the Mythos Scion’s agenda. Rival Scions come
in many varieties.
One example is 118, a mysterious Scion known only to
himself and the one he serves. Supposition drawn from the
account of Dr. Marinus Willett is that he is a being previously held captive in the form of his essential salts by the
sorcerer Joseph Curwen and bears the identification tag
118. The ledger with the key to identifying 118 was never
found. The summoning of 118 and his subsequent rescue of
Dr. Willett are the starting point of a series of killings going
back to the late 1920s of sorcerers and Mythos Scions.
118 is a skilled sorcerer with deep knowledge of the
loose confederation of necromancers and allied Scions
working behind the scenes to rob the hidden knowledge
of the past and use this information for themselves. His
motives are unclear. It’s possible he sees himself as setting things right by hunting these evildoers and subjecting them to immediate justice, but it’s equally likely that
he seeks them out to kill them and take the information
and treasures they have stolen for themselves. After all,
Dr. Willett reported he had gathered up a valise filled
with Joseph Curwen’s letters and notes on the art of
necromancy and all this material was missing when he
woke that day after exploring the catacombs beneath the
old bungalow.
RIVAL SCION
Archetype: Villain
Qualities: Life Drain, Willful
Health: 6
Flairs: Shadow Step, Mastermind, Retcon
Defense: 4
Drive: Destruction of necromancers and their ilk.
Initiative: 9
RIVAL SCION
attempting to wake Cthulhu without drawing the attention
of the guardians of humanity, who may count other Mythos
Scions among their ranks. Even an evil God knows their
power relies on the worship of humans, so a servant of the
Mythos can’t count on them as a long-term ally. Within
the Mythos pantheon, agendas are often incompatible,
too. When these conflicts occur, the Gods sometimes send
the best counter to a Mythos Scion to deal with them. And
what could be better to counter a scion than another scion?
Primary Pool: 9 (Magic, Cryptic Wisdom,
Occult Knowledge)
The motives of Mythos Scions are many. While some
are willing to cooperate with Scions from other pantheons, there are times when a Mythos Scion’s greatest foe
is another Mythos Scion. You can’t run around trying to
facilitate the emergence of the Great Old Ones or set about
Secondary Pool: 7 (History, Hunting)
Desperation Pool: 5
Callings: Sage 3, Guardian 2, Hunter 1
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Journeys
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Health: 3
Flairs: Beyond Description, Making Space,
Second Wind, Spray and Pray, Under Pressure
Defense: 3
Drive: We shall be free!
Initiative: 6
Extras: +2 enhancements for stunts other than to
inflict damage
SHOGGOTH
Primary Pool: 13 (Combat, Feats of Strength,
Close-Quarters Combat)
Secondary Pool: 11 (Endurance, Survival)
Desperation Pool: 7
These beings are roiling masses of protoplasm and
they can reshape themselves into many forms. While they
can resemble other creatures, they lack the ability to form
fine details and never look quite like the creature they try to
mimic. Shoggoths were created by the Elder Things using
their vast knowledge of science and cellular material from
defeated foes. They were intended to be servitors, used to
do the heavy lifting needed to build Elder Thing cities.
After millions of years in servitude to the Elder Things,
the shoggoths rebelled, killing their masters and driving
them into small enclaves of safety. The Elder Things fear
the shoggoths, who take great delight in killing them by
ripping off their heads. Millions of years later, shoggoths
exist in small numbers in isolated places that were Elder
Thing cities. They also serve as guardians to those who
know how to trap them into servitude, but a master who
loses control of this guardian comes to regret it.
Those who have survived a shoggoth encounter
say the first indication is a roaring sound akin to a train
followed by something that looks like dark, billowing
clouds and rage personified. These creatures never stop
to parlay or take stock of the situation; shoggoths charge
into the fight and destroy anyone and anything in the
way. In combat, they attack using appendages that spring
from the mass of their body to seize and smash, punch or
crush their opponents. They may also maneuver to slam
down on top of an enemy or even try to envelop them
within their own body mass, perhaps suffocating the
target or even absorbing them into the shoggoth.
Skilled shoggoths have learned to disguise themselves by appearing as a group of separate objects or creatures. For example, a shoggoth may appear as a copse of
trees. thinning out portions of its body to form the grass
between them. In this way they can make surprise attacks
against unwary opponents. Careful observers may notice
that something is amiss, since shoggoths have difficulty
mastering these alternate forms and lack fine detail.
Health: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Segments: 3
Size: 3
Extras: Apocalyptic Presence, Decapitation
TERROR FROM BEYOND
Winged horrors are some of many strange and indescribable creatures in service to the pantheon. They are
summoned from outside space and time to do the bidding of sorcerers and Mythos Scions. The appearance of
winged horrors may vary depending on where they are
summoned from, but regardless of appearance they all
share the same purpose of transporting the summoner
to a desired location even, or perhaps especially, if that
location is outside the realms of reality.
Winged horrors have a variety of appearances with
large, membranous wings being the sole physical feature
they share. Some are big and strong enough to carry an
adult human along with a small amount of gear, while
others are barely able to lift a small child. Their strange appearance is frightening, but they are not good combatants.
On the ground, they are clumsy and barely able to move
around, but they are agile in the air and able to fly quickly
enough to avoid aerial battles with all but the fastest fliers.
TERROR FROM BEYOND
Archetype: Monster
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Flight, Institutional
Disbelief
Flairs: Beyond Description, Here I Come
Drive: Need a lift?
Primary Pool 11 (Combat, Dread Gaze)
Secondary Pool 9 (Survival)
SHOGGOTH
Archetype: Titanspawn
Desperation Pool: 5
Qualities: Unstoppable, Regeneration, Natural
Weapon, Stand Tall, Sure Footed, Institutional
Disbelief
Defense: 4
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Health: 6
Initiative: 9
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
The following are some additional antagonists, qualities, and flairs to add to
your Masks of the Mythos game, courtesy of our crowdfunding supporters.
Enjoy!
ANRI’KALA
Millions of years ago, a sibling reality to our own
witnessed the formation of a world in which creatures
similar to Earth’s arachnids became the apex predator in
the evolutionary cycle. Across the eons, these creatures
developed, growing to exceptional sizes. Their ridged,
spiked bodies and multiform legs allowed them to
quickly capture prey, which they consumed with myriad
mandibles and dual mouths. Soon they developed higher
reasoning and awareness, rivaling that of humans but
without the “emotional limitations” as they saw it. Their
society was matriarchal, ruled over by a gigantic queen
who feasted on the beings of her world and, in return,
birthed more of her ilk. That was, until their world began
to run dry of food. And so it was that the Anri’kala looked
outwards to other realities for a source of sustenance.
In 1924, California witnessed a spike in sales of sarsaparilla. This boom in purchase of this aniseed-flavored
carbonated beverage could be traced to a local brewery,
Jameson’s Sarsaparilla, which operated out of the rundown town of Santa Mira. The manager of the company,
Michael Jameson, inherited the brewery from his father
and had long worked at it to turn the failing business
around, yet sales had slumped for almost a decade until
1924 saw a shocking upturn. Much of this was put down
to the unique sarsaparilla recipe, which had been reinvented under Jameson’s oversight. The new drink had a
caramel-like aftertaste, strong energizing body, and highly
addictive properties. Sales soared, with people throughout the state buying record amounts. Purchasers enjoyed
the new taste eagerly, entirely unaware of the presence of
microscopic arachnid eggs within their drinks.
For people who drank the beverage, they quickly
became hosts to gestating Anri’kala eggs. The panic
when the arachnids escaped their incubation caused
an investigation, which quickly determined the source
and put an end to Jameson’s Sarsaparilla. Michael told
investigators that in the months prior to incorporating
the new recipe he’d experienced nightmares in which
many chittering voices commanded him to enact a
ritual, the result of which spawned a vast number of
miniature eggs which to use in the brewing process. He
was quickly locked away in an asylum, though his story
drew the attention of paranormal investigators. A secret
operation featuring the combined efforts of the military,
FBI, and several secret organizations saw many of the
arachnid invaders exterminated. Unfortunately, a number of them survived.
The Anri’kala possess a complicated life cycle. At a
larval stage, the infant arachnids adopt many biological
traits from their host organism; once they have hatched,
Anri’kala which incubated within a human host are
roughly the size of a pineapple and possess a human face
upon their arachnid body. Once birthed, a single Anri’kala grows to its full size (approximately that of a horse)
within a week. Anri’kala can also sustain themselves in
a cocoon for extended periods, up to one human century at a time, which they did after Earth’s authorities
discovered them — meaning a large number of them are
just awakening now. Curiously, the great-grandson of
Michael Jameson, Stuart Lloyd-Jameson, has recently
announced that he will be leaving his position as a software developer in order to pursue what he claims to be
his lifelong dream of opening a soft drinks company…
ANRI’KALA
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146),
Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
Flairs: Immobilize (Origin, p. 150), Parasitize (p.
148)
Drive: Invasion, provide nourishment for the
queen.
Primary Pool: 7 (Biting, Stealth)
Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 4
Health: 1
Defense: 2
Initiative: 5
THE AUBREN FAMILY
The Aubren family is descended from immigrants
to the New Hampshire region, their line dating back to
the early eighteenth century. As one of the oldest and
most entrenched families in the region, they are respected and considered above reproach by many in the
community. Early generations of Aubrens made their
considerate wealth in the lumber industry, using their
profits to purchase large swaths of land which they developed for timber. Like many industrious families of the
age, their profits were built on the back of the enslaved
people they purchased; by the 1790s it is estimated that
Additional Antagonists
135
the majority those forced into enslaved servitude in the
New Hampshire area were owned by the Aubren family.
The family continued to hold firm to its means of
earning profits throughout the revolutionary and reformation age, and only began to acquiesce to demands to
free their slave population long after the lumber industries in the region started to lose profits. Even so, their
position of wealth and privilege ensured that they were
able to retain much of their enslaved workforce even
while under the eyes of the local law enforcement. By
the 1890s, however, manual labor was simply too slow
a means to retain the profitability of lumber any more,
causing the family to look toward industrialization. The
family’s patriarch, Peter Aubren, purchased a significant
portion of land in Maine with the intent of expanding
their logging operations. This decision would change
the fate of the Aubren family for the next century.
During the construction of their third processing
plant in 1905, construction workers discovered a tunnel
which reached down into the earth beneath Maine’s
forested wilderness. Peter Aubren commissioned an expedition to survey the tunnel, which led to a long-buried
meteor of an unknown metal. The meteor was unearthed
and brought to the Aubren estate for examination. Unknown to the survey team, the rock contained a parasitic
extra-terrestrial entity, one native to the Pleiades system.
Peter Aubrey was the first to be infected by the parasitic life-form, with the rest of his family undergoing the
same fate shortly thereafter.
Unlike many similar parasites, the connection
formed between this one and the host heavily favors the
mind of the host. The Aubren family capitalized on the
parasite’s continued infestation; the entities extended
life-extending properties into their newfound hosts,
slowing the aging process drastically. Peter Aubren, for
instance, still lives, although in an advanced state of old
age. His daughter Emilia, born in 1886, possesses all of
the physical traits of a 60-year-old woman. The family’s
capability to grow and sire more of their lineage has,
similarly, continued unabated. The parasites, in return,
nourish themselves on a steady supply of ocular fluids.
The Aubren family’s younger members hurriedly target
victims, typically among the state’s more poverty-stricken members, to provide this nourishment.
The Aubren family comprises a network of wealthy
and privileged white people who have, through successive generations of inbreeding, convinced themselves of
their own superiority due to their station in life. They are
self-congratulatory of their own wealth, citing hard work
and dedication to duty as responsible for the finery that
they inherited from their ancestors, and utterly retain
their forefather’s beliefs in their intrinsic “natural” position as superior to those beneath them, especially persons
of color. Their supernatural capabilities granted by their
136
parasitical infestation and tendency to enjoy the taste of
freshly-plucked eyes seem almost a secondary grotesquerie.
THE AUBREN FAMILY
Archetype: Rival (or Nemesis)
Qualities: Diplomythic Immunity (Hero, p. 288),
Life Drain (Hero, p. 287), Regeneration (Hero, p.
288), Willful (Hero, p. 289)
Flairs: Dread Gaze (Origin, p. 149),
Possession (Origin, p. 150), Sorcery (Origin, p.
151), Hypnotic Charm (Origin, p. 152), Parasitize
(p. 148)
Drive: To protect the family line, maintain our
wealth, feed on the eyes
Primary Pool: 9 (11) (Grappling, Financial
Weight)
Secondary Pool: 7 (9)
Desperation Pool: 5 (6)
Health: 3 (5)
Defense: 3 (4)
Initiative: 6 (9)
CATS OF SATURN
On distant Saturn, beneath the thick clouds and roiling winds, strange flora hides yet stranger fauna — and
all of it, every scurrying creature and every dire behemoth, is prey for the Cats of Saturn. Locked in a cold war
with the cats of Earth that spans many realms, they are
most often seen in the Dreamlands where their struggle
for dominance is most focused. However, they are also
known to be interested in the dark side of Earth’s moon.
Saturn Cats are like Earth Cats in the same way that
a Mastiff is like a Shiba Inu. Hailing from the rough and
brutal ecosystem of Saturn, they are larger and more
robust than their Earthbound cousins, with powerful
jaws akin to those of a tiger. They are difficult to focus
on with the eye, as the polychromatic colors of their coat
seem slick and unnatural. Like Earth Cats, the Cats of
Saturn are innately able to perceive strange curvatures
of spacetime that warp local space and connect distant
realms; unlike Earth Cats, who are sworn never to use
such passages when humans might be watching for fear
of damaging their pets’ fragile minds, the Cats of Saturn
have no compunctions about doing so. When hunting
or chasing prey, they will blink in and out of existence,
emerging in impossible places for the perfect ambush.
The following Traits reflect a Saturn Cat in a Heroic
context; in an Origin game, a Saturn Cat would likely be
a Professional, with the more noteworthy members of
the species rising to Villain status.
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
that they feed on, chewing at the seams of the deceased’s
passing like piranhas.
CATS OF SATURN
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Twitchy (Origin, p. 146)
Flairs: Shadow Step (Hero, p. 290)
Drive: To lay low the cats of Earth
Primary Pool: 7 (Climbing, Claws & Teeth,
Ambush)
Secondary Pool: 5 (Tracking, Leaping)
Desperation Pool: 3
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 4
CHILD OF MIST
These creatures are relatively small in comparison
to many other eldritch entities, resembling nothing
grander than an owl. However, they lack any distinct features or shape, other than two large wings to carry them
aloft. Each Child of Mist is born from a super-condensed
portion of the mists of Pluto’s atmosphere; this element
in its basic state is non-living, but does hold a minor level
of consciousness that when condensed under extreme
pressure, such as that of a collapsing star, coalesces into
Children of Mist. Due to the sheer amount of pressure
required, and Pluto’s distance from any collapsing stars,
investigators often assume Children of Mist are the
result of some cosmic experiment carried out by more
powerful intelligence.
The Children of Mists are violently independent
scavenger animals, with no actual servitude to greater
beings ingrained in them. This poses the question as to
the purpose of their creation. There are myriad theories
about which abominable entity forged them and for what
purpose; given their limited behaviors it’s unlikely that
they’re the favored of any Great Old One in particular.
This leads some scholars to conclude that whichever experiment resulted in their creation was actually a failure.
The Children of Mists are found across many different realms of existence and possess no native homeland,
not even Pluto from which they are ancestrally descended. They do not work together; instead, each Child of
Mist acts as a solitary scavenger who seeks out new food
sources wherever they can. So solitary are the Children
of Mists that any two which occupy the same region are
known to aggressively fight, often to the death.
It’s the food the Children rely on that makes them so
terrifying; they feed on the moment of a person’s death,
gorging themselves on the seconds in which a dying
person slips from life into oblivion. It is the death itself
Records of the Children of Mists are found in many
parts of human history. Their presence is said to act as
a precursor to death, which is unsurprising given their
place as scavengers. Even though they are more than
capable of defending themselves, and are aggressive
toward any other beings they consider as a threat, they
don’t tend to seek to kill their prey themselves. History
records these creatures as birds of ill omen. Different
cultures have named these entities numerous times;
stryx, pamola, bean sidhe. They are drawn to locations
where death will soon be, rather than pursuing the scent
of decay as many earthly scavenger species tend to,
leaving the question as to whether they possess some
prescient capabilities.
CHILD OF MIST
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Flight (Hero, p. 288),
Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148), Shroud (Origin,
p. 146)
Flairs: Petrifying Gaze (Hero, p. 290),
Mass Concealment (Hero, p. 291)
Drive: Find new deaths and devour.
Primary Pool: 10 (Tracking, Biting)
Secondary Pool: 6
Desperation Pool: 4
Health: 4
Defense: 4
Initiative: 5
CHILDREN OF THEIA
Billions of years ago, the primordial Earth was
struck by another planet. This tremendous impact is
believed to have created the Moon, and some scientists
believe the impactor — a planet they call Theia — may
have provided the lion’s share of the Earth’s water, vital
to the development of life. Certainly, without this event,
the Earth would be unrecognizable. What modern scientists don’t know is that Theia had life of its own, and
that life holds a powerful grudge.
Billions of years ago, around a distant and now longdead star, the aliens we call Theians climbed up the slow
ladder of evolution to sentience, came to master the
sciences, and eventually grew possessed of a cultural
wanderlust. They modified their homeworld, digging
deep pits and filling them with impossible machinery
that gave their planet the ability to move. In effect,
rather than building starships with which to explore the
Additional Antagonists
137
universe, they turned their world into one. They sailed
the void for countless millennia, charted innumerable
solar systems, plumbed depths of knowledge unimaginable to humanity — and then, they made a single, dire
mistake. Upon approaching our young and tumultuous
solar system, they erred in their calculations, drawing
too close to a hot, young Earth, and leaving Theia at the
mercy of the chaotic caprice of gravity.
Even as they labored to alter their world-ship’s
course, they were drawn slowly, inexorably, toward
their doom. Unable to avoid annihilation, they sealed
themselves in stasis-tombs that placed them outside the
flow of time; thus immune to the destruction that befell
their world, these stasis-tombs and their contents were
all that survived the terrible impact, either sent hurtling
into orbit or incorporated into the bulk of the Earth
and its new moon. For redundancy’s sake, each was set
to emerge in a different epoch; no few emerged much
too soon, and were incinerated by the fires of ancient
Earth before it calmed, and no few dialed their tombs to
emerge a billion years hence, long after the Earth will be
able to support life. Many were entombed so far beneath
the Earth’s surface that their emergence spelled their
doom. Those few Theians active now are those lucky
enough to emerge near the surface and to have wisely
calculated the time of that emergence.
Theians are long, lithe creatures, covered in a downy
fur and superficially resembling a long-tailed otter or
mongoose, but with long, multi-jointed fingers. Their
mouths are filled with sharp, needle-like teeth, and their
fur hides myriad whiplike stingers that strike as fast as a
snake, some of which can reach up to ten feet from their
body. Each stinger holds a different, genetically tailored
toxin, which they use to parasitize other creatures in
various ways, controlling their behavior to a fine degree.
Though individual motivations vary, no Theian considers
humans to be anything more than brute animals who have
discovered some silly tricks, much like we think of corvid
problem solving, and they have no compunctions about
killing humans or enslaving them for their own purposes.
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 3
Defense: 3
Initiative: 6
Extras: Theian whip-stingers can strike at short
range. They must make a successful whip-stinger
attack to use any of their Flairs.
DREAMTHIEVES
You forget where you left your car keys. You forget
the new password to your work computer. You forget to
buy milk at the grocery store. The brain suffers such occasional lapses, and this is normal. As we age, such lapses
often increase in number and magnitude, a tendency that
the Dreamthieves exploit to camouflage their hunting
behavior. While Dreamthieves rarely hunt the same prey
twice, they occasionally develop a taste for one person’s
memories, returning over and over to strip memory after
memory until the unfortunate target lapses into catatonia.
Dreamthieves come in myriad shapes, the shells of
memories they’ve stolen from others. Only a rare few
have glimpsed a Dreamthief in its native form — a squamous nightmare of writhing, grasping, cutting tentacles
— and escaped with a memory of the encounter intact.
Most often, this occurs in the Dreamlands, their native
habitat, where they retreat to digest the stolen memories
they feed upon. They hide themselves well, squirming
into caves and crevasses, for it is only in the Dreamlands
that they are vulnerable — if slain anywhere else in the
cosmos, they merely disperse and reform later.
DREAMTHIEVES
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Immortal-ish (Demigod, p. 210)
Flairs: Dream Hunt (p. 148)
Drive: Feed. Reproduce. Repeat.
Primary Pool: 9 (Evasion, Strangling)
CHILDREN OF THEIA
Archetype: Rival
Secondary Pool: 7 (Hiding, Ambush)
Qualities: Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Toxic (Origin, p. 147)
Health: 3
Flairs: Divine Command (Demigod, p. 211),
Knockout (Hero, p. 292), Parasitize (p. 148)
Initiative: 6
Desperation Pool: 5
Drive: To turn Earth into a world-ship like Theia.
Primary Pool: 9 (Technology, Ritual,
Whip-stingers)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Biting & Clawing,
Biological Re-engineering)
138
Defense: 3
EXTRADIMENSIONAL FAUNA
The universe we see and experience in our day-today life is but a single plane. There are other worlds,
other universes, which exist right next to us, in the same
space we do, but invisible, impermeable, undetectable.
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
We go about our lives blissfully ignorant of the horrors
around us — unless, of course, one is subjected to the
Tillinghast Effect, which not only reveals these nearby
dimensions but also reveals our presence to the bizarre
inhabitants thereof. Named for the scientist who first
discovered it, the Tillinghast Effect is caused by a series
of etheric vibrations that set up a resonance in the human pineal gland. There are many ways to accomplish
this, but the most common is a device of some kind, the
more advanced varieties thereof even having the option
to tune the resonance field to a specific parallel universe.
It’s not that the fauna of these otherworlds is unremittingly hostile (though occasionally it is), but that it
has evolved in an utterly different environment and thus
may have highly unpredictable effects on humans they
come into contact with. A bite from such a creature may
be no more than a bite, the pathogens it carries incompatible with human biochemistry — or, that same bite
may be a part of the creature’s reproductive cycle, slowly
converting one’s flesh into more of the horrible things.
The following reflects Traits common across all Extradimensional Fauna (at least, from our perspective).
To create different creatures, just choose an appropriate Archetype, define the Antagonist’s pools, and add a
Quality or Flair to round it out if necessary. This makes
them usable across Origin, Hero, and even Demigod —
this entry does, after all, represent entire ecosystems.
EXTRADIMENSIONAL FAUNA
Archetype: variable
Qualities: Phantasmic Substance (p. 148)
Flairs: Eye of the Swarm (Hero, p. 293)
Drive: Oooh, what’s that? Can I eat it?
Primary Pool: variable
Secondary Pool: variable
Desperation Pool: variable
Health: variable
Defense: variable
Initiative: variable
FLYING POLYPS
Once, in the late Precambrian, Earth belonged to
the Flying Polyps. These strange, half-material beings
built cities with massive windowless basalt towers, and
preyed on primeval life. Then, the Great Race of Yith
came, fleeing a dying world and taking up residence in
the cone-like bodies they’ve become known for. Unwilling to share a world, they made war upon the Polyps, and
with their great knowledge secured a hard-won victory.
They drove the Polyps underground, into a vast network
of caves that spanned the subterranean realms of Earth,
and sealed every entrance. Their task complete, they
built the city of Pnakotus, and set about amassing their
great library of lore.
But the Polyps were not gone, merely sealed away.
In the lightless places beneath the surface of the Earth,
they endured through deep time. On the surface, disaster struck; Pnakotus fell and the Yith fled once more,
and the Cambrian Explosion reseeded Earth with the
antecedents of life as we know it. Mass extinction after
mass extinction followed, and still the Polyps endured
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139
Health: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extras: Flying Polyps have Size Scale 2.
LIVING LIGHTNING
The human brain is an electrochemical network, where signals fly back and forth
at tremendous speeds, combining to form
a singular perspective on the world in
nothing less than a miracle of chemistry
and physics. For years, we’ve attempted
to duplicate this miracle in the realm of
technology, crafting neural networks and
expert systems but never quite achieving
what we sought out to create. All over the
planet, increasingly complex processors await just the right kind of spark
from the heavens, a bolt of lightning
that courses through electronics and
rips life from its smoldering, acrid
remains.
beneath
the Earth. Now,
humans tunnel and burrow and
mine, heedless of the existential
threat that dwells below.
Flying Polyps are able to render
themselves invisible, especially while hunting. When visible though, their swollen, tubular bodies
protrude with eyes, mouths, and other nameless organs.
Enormous feet periodically emerge, reaching out on
tendril-thin limbs, stamping the earth beneath them
with tremendous force and leaving radially-symmetrical five-toed footprints. These footprints, along with a
piercing whistle that the Polyps emit, are often the only
sign of their presence — at least, until the Polyp catches
whatever it’s hunting.
FLYING POLYPS
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289),
Flight (Hero, p. 288), Miasmic Presence (Origin,
p. 148), Unseen (Hero, p. 288)
Flairs: Beyond Description, Weather Tyrant
(Hero, p. 292)
Drive: Escape. Conquer. Revenge.
Primary Pool: 13 (Smash, Grapple)
Secondary Pool: 11 (Swallow whole, Tracking)
Living Lightning is a sentient pulse of electromagnetic
radiation embodied in what seems to be a constant arc of
electricity leaping from surface to surface. While it’s perfectly capable of scorching its way through the World (including people), doing so expends the Living Lightning’s
energy at a frightful rate, severely weakening the entity in
the process. Instead, Living Lightning prefers to leap into
complex machines and “possess” them; it is important to
note here that the human brain is one of the most complex
machines on the planet, and very vulnerable to precisely
this effect. In this form, the Living Lightning is able to
perceive and interact with the World on a meaningful
timescale — in its lightning form, as a stream of electrons, it
perceives all time as happening at once.
Living Lightning’s drives are deeply alien and frequently incomprehensible, but usually seem to revolve
around technology. Sometimes, they smash it in a fit of
rage; other times, they construct machines that seem to
have no purpose. Rarely, they build machines with a purpose, and these instances are by far the most dangerous
— Living Lightning has little interest in humanity apart
from as a means to an end, and such machines are often
thoroughly inimical to human life.
LIVING LIGHTNING
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Imperfect Disguise: Static Electricity
Shocks (Origin, p. 148), Incorporeality (Origin,
p. 148),
Desperation Pool: 7
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CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288),
Vulnerability: Shorting Out (Origin, p. 149)
Flairs: Burn at Both Ends, Possession (Origin, p.
150)
Drive: Center technology; destroy it, build it,
become it.
Primary Pool: 11 (Interfacing, Arcing Attacks,
Puppeteering Technology)
Secondary Pool: 9 (Puppeteering the Living,
Constructing Technology)
Desperation Pool: 6
Health: 5
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extras: Living Lightning’s Possession Flair may be
used on machines as well as people.
LUNAR DOLLS
In the 28th century, human expansion into space
was stymied by an over-reliance on mineral mining. In
order to maintain the burgeoning empire’s requirement
of minerals to fuel deep-space exploration, new mining
settlements were established across the moons of Saturn, Jupiter, and various asteroid bodies. Prisoners were
used as unpaid mining labor, with the mining facilities
acting as penal colonies; the owners of the prisons then
selling the minerals on to the empire’s military for use in
space vessels.
The corporations grew wealthy, but the conditions
for the laborers were exceptionally hazardous, with
deaths numbering in the thousands per month. New
laws were enforced, often targeting marginalized groups,
which ensured a steady supply of new inmates. However, the corporations soon recognized the advantages of a
more sustainable resource, and developed alternatives.
This came in the guise of the Doll; a synthetic body, void
of consciousness or discernible features, into which an
inmate’s mind could be placed.
These part-mechanical part-biological Dolls had
heightened resilience from injury and the negative
health effects from work in the lunar mining facilities,
and didn’t need to sleep or eat (which further downsized
costs as a result). Even better for the shareholders, the
corporation retained ownership over the Dolls, allowing
them to charge the inmates rent for their new “housing.”
Quickly considered a phenomenal success, Dolls were
rolled out at record numbers, with incalculable numbers
of inmates having their minds forced into them.
Twelve years after the Dolls were first introduced,
a disaster occurred in a prison colony on the moon Io,
where the entire population of inmates was exposed to
heavy radiation from a yet-unknown gas source. This radiation was so potent that the corporation opted to place
the inmates into a state of suspended animation until their
contamination reached a safe background level. Inmates
were sealed within a chamber deep in the Earth’s moon,
and began their artificial slumber. They would not awaken in the same millennium. Perhaps the most terrifying
aspect of the Lunar Dolls is that for all of the thousands
of millennia they endured, the stasis procedure they were
forced to undergo only caused their bodies to be frozen
and unable to move. It did nothing to diminish their
awareness of themselves or their environment.
While the Dolls slept, the human empire withered,
fell, and was eventually as forgotten as the inmates
themselves. Six-point-four billion years later, however,
natural erosion of the moon exposed the stasis chambers
where Coleopteran’s found and excavated the Dolls. Uncertain how to handle the discovery of these unearthed
Dolls, which were still in a state of suspended animation,
the Coleopterans finally decided the lunar facility was
surely a lost relic from an ancient time. They used their
technological prowess to send the facility back in time
to the age of the lost human empire; removing what they
perceived to be a potential threat from their timeline.
The facility emerged from the time travel process in
the year 5,200 BCE. The time travel process itself broke
apart and rewrote the minds of the Dolls in the process.
Robbed of all sense of identity, self and being, the process left them with only base animal instincts. The Dolls’
bodies remained asleep, held in suspended animation
throughout much of human history, their chamber still
buried deep beneath the lunar surface. It would be many
thousands of years until humanity would set foot on the
moon in 1969 and, inadvertently, activate the chamber’s
automated awakening procedure which remained keyed
to the presence of homo sapiens.
Lunar Dolls are typically found off the surface of
Earth, lurking aboard orbital stations and satellites.
The handful that made their way to Earth did so by
clinging to survey flights. With the growth of celebrity
and billionaire trips into space in the early 21st century,
however, the number of Lunar Dolls making their way to
the planet’s surface has risen sharply. Those that make
the journey tend to live in proximity to one another, as
though an instinctive drive pushes them toward forming
packs. They favor isolated areas away from busy human
environments, although a vestigial trait of human consciousness still lingers enough to draw them toward familiar locales; these two conflicting drives leads them to
inhabit abandoned buildings, disused bomb shelters or
decaying theme parks or shopping centers— anywhere
which is both desolate yet contains traces of humanity.
They blend into such environments, appearing as though
they’re simply discarded mannequins. The untold aeons
of suspension have not, however, perfectly preserved the
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141
Lunar Dolls; much of the bio-mass that once constituted
their body has worn down, causing them to resemble
decaying plastic, often with missing patches, holes, or
loss of external organs such as sensory apparatus. This
doesn’t make the act of seeing them any more reassuring.
LUNAR DOLLS
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Armor Piercing (Hero, p. 287),
Imperfect Disguise (Origin, p. 148),
Sure Footed (Origin, p. 147), Unstoppable
(Hero, p. 288)
Flairs: Long Arm (Origin, p. 150), Playing Possum
(p. 149)
target a specific victim, focusing focus on a sleeper and
“riding” that person’s dreams into the waking World.
The Mirror Men are silent creatures, communicating only with one another through silent thoughts. Their
bodies resemble shadows with hazy, mist-like edges;
however, the reflections shown on their mirror-like faces are always clear. They follow their intended targets
in small packs, often stalking them when their prey is
alone. Their fascination with the humans that birthed
them is exceptional, and they exhibit a keen interest
in cranial vivisection as a means to learn more of their
creators. This takes the form first of a psychic invasion,
ripping apart the victim’s minds to lay bare and analyze
the psyche, before eventually doing the same to the
physical brain.
Drive: Make the pain stop.
Primary Pool: 8 (Hiding, Strangulation)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Ambush)
Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148),
Miasmic Presence (Origin, p. 148), Unseen
(Hero, p. 288)
Desperation Pool: 6
Health: 4
Defense: 3
Flairs: Shapeshifter (Origin, p. 150),
Mirror Mirror (Hero, p. 291), Psionic Invasion (p.
149)
Initiative: 5
MIRROR MEN
Jacques Lacan, a psychoanalyst during the early
20th century, believed that one of the infant stages of
human development includes that of recognizing oneself in the reflection of a mirror. Following this stage,
the human psyche learns to recognize and separate the
sense of self from that of “the other.” People are innately
fearful and mistrusting of the image of oneself, Lacan
argued, but grow to understand that the reflection is
merely another part of us.
However, this interpellation is not necessarily always accurate. What would become Mirror Men were,
for a time, nameless chameleonic entities dwelling in the
Dreamlands until they saw an appealing potential in the
psyche of human dreamers. Adapting to interact with
human psychological fears, these entities grew intimate
with the innate fear of dehumanization and doppelgangers. They soon evolved to emulate the forms of dark
silhouettes of the human form, yet with a flat reflective
surface in the place of any facial features.
Across centuries these entities took a particular interest in the human mind; after all, it was the elements
of humankind’s psyche which had given them the forms
that they now possessed. Initially restricted to realms
of dreams, the creatures were content to stalk human
nightmares for millennia. However, in recent generations, the Mirror Men have found means to slip from the
Dreamlands into the material World. This requires they
142
MIRROR MEN
Archetype: Rival
Drive: Understand humanity, dissect the bodies,
and vivisect the brains.
Primary Pool: 9 (Stealth, Mental Assault)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Claws)
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 4
Defense: 4
Initiative: 6
MRS. MOLOCH
Mrs. Moloch’s origins belie her supernatural nature.
Born in England in the 1500s to a scholarly family with
an interest in the occult, even as a child she interacted
with luminaries of the age including the infamous John
Dee. Mrs. Moloch stole secrets from her parent’s hidden
libraries, determined that her goal in life was to pursue
the meaning behind the cosmos. Over time, she became
aware of minds far greater than humanity and joined
numerous Mythos cults, but all that fell to one side when
she discovered of the existence of Scions.
Mrs. Moloch sought to become a Scion herself,
quickly rising through the echelons of various cults until
she became one of the most renowned occult leaders of
the Elizabethan era. While her benefactors granted her a
limited number of powers though, enough to elevate her
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
far beyond mortal men, it was not enough for her; not
until she too could grasp Godhood like the Scions.
It was then that she unwittingly met Nyarlathoptep,
in his guise as the unnamed one. A deal was struck between her and the unnamed, one which Mrs. Moloch
still upholds today. The unnamed promised that one day
she would find her place between the gods as an equal,
but she would serve the unnamed as his champion until
then. He granted her the powers she now wields and bid
her to continue her work. He also tasked her with the
annihilation of his rivals. For centuries Mrs. Moloch has
hunted and slain for the unnamed, playing as a willing
pawn in his games, earnestly believing he will enkindle
her the inheritance to his powers.
Mrs. Moloch is not a Scion, but believes that one day
her mysterious benefactor will elevate her. Until then
she serves Nyarlathotep; or at least, she serves one of his
masks. The powers that he granted her are considerable,
to the point that Mrs. Moloch has abandoned most vestiges of humanity. She is deadly and efficient at her task;
numerous Scions have fallen to her, either bled out on the
battlefield or charred to a ruin by her mystical arts. She
views Scions jealously, believing them to have inherited
through luck of birth that which she worked for centuries to obtain, and derives personal satisfaction in killing
them. She doesn’t age, and is capable of altering aspects
of her form to move covertly. She is no longer pledged
to any of her former cults, however, and this marked her
as heretical to many of her previous associates and their
gods. Mrs. Moloch has many enemies, particularly among
those who see her as a betrayer. It’s only through the dark
gifts of her benefactor that she survives such ire.
MRS. MOLOCH
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: By Divine Right (Origin, p. 289),
Mystic Arsenal (Origin, p. 289),
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Tough as Nails (Origin, p. 288),
Wall-Walker (Origin, p. 288)
Flairs: Illusions (Origin, p. 150), Sorcery
(Origin, p. 151), Thousand Faces (Origin, p.
151), Curse (Hero, p. 289)
Drive: To kill those who stand between her and her
ascension.
Primary Pool: 12 (Forbidden Knowledge, Talons)
Secondary Pool: 11 (Disguise, Scheming)
Desperation Pool: 9
Health: 11
THE NAMELESS
These reptilian creatures dwelled in the Nameless
City, and numerous other regions of the World, prior
to the rise of humans. They trace their ancestry back to
the dinosaurs, and in their era of ascendancy developed
nations the likes of which humans wouldn’t achieve for
millennia. Governing their cities by imperial might, the
heart of their world was the Nameless City which nestles where modern-day Egypt now sits.
The Nameless are shorter than the average human,
and thoroughly reptilian in nature, with features like that
of modern crocodiles (which in turn descended from
them). Their heads are rounder however, more shaped
like that of a human, and bear short snouts and a pair of
small, curled horns. They are bipedal, capable of carrying
tools in long bony fingers with a triple-jointed thumb.
Their tool use allowed for the construction of their vast
cities, and the means by which they herded early homo
sapiens. The Nameless kept humans as enslaved labor,
as rendered in frescos discovered on the walls of their
ruined cities. Even more grotesque was the use of early
humans as sacrifices to their gods; this practice ensured
the fearful subservience of homo sapiens for centuries.
However, like all who build their empire on slavery,
the Nameless’ time was short. Homo sapiens were not as
“primitive” as the reptiles believed; and those Nameless
who survived the uprisings were forced to hide among
the ruins of their cities as they grew buried and forgotten. On the walls of their burned temples, the remaining
Nameless documented their fall; not at the hands of
well-earned justice, but at the wrath of violent gods.
This, to the Nameless, was a less humiliating fate.
Few Nameless survive today; those that do are subterranean, as time has covered their ruined cities. They prey,
loathsomely, on humans who dig too deep; archeologists,
explorers, grave-robbers, and historians. At times, when
their food reserves run low, groups of Nameless venture
out above-ground; this is rare, but they are ravenous when
it does occur. The Nameless have convinced themselves
of their own revisionist history, blaming the gods for their
empire’s fall. As a result, they hold a special hatred in their
hearts for Scions. The Nameless view the sacrifice of a Scion
to their gods to be a great honor; if the Scion isn’t eaten first.
THE NAMELESS
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146),
Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
Defense: 6
Flairs: Immobilize (Origin, p. 150),
Penetrator (Hero, p. 290)
Initiative: 8
Drive: Zealous hatred of men and Scions alike.
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needs. In the last thirty or forty years, such has become
more common — it’s easier to raid dumpsters for unpurchased food than scour the dangerous tunnels below for
fungus, and the chemicals that supermarkets douse their
castoffs with to make them unpalatable or dangerous to
humans bothers Proto-Coleopterans not at all.
Primary Pool: 7 (Stealth)
Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 4
Health: 2
Defense: 1
Proto-Coleopterans make excellent Professionals in
Origin games.
Initiative: 5
PROTO-COLEOPTERANS
In the Archives of Yith, the future is known, for
the Yith have been there and recorded all that they
have seen. One day, humanity will fail. Our cities will
crumble, our technology will fail, and we will pass out
of history as have so many others before us. And when
we are gone, and the Earth shows no signs of our ever
having existed, Earth will play host to a new ascendant
species: the beetle-like Coleopterans. One day, when
their civilization is established and thriving, the Yith
will invade across time, sentencing the Coleopterans to
endure the Precambrian catastrophe that would have
destroyed them. But that day is far in the future, and in
modern times the ancestors of the Coleopterans still live
deep beneath the Earth.
These Proto-Coleopterans are similar to early hominids; they’re capable of problem solving, have emotions
and a rudimentary language, but true understanding
of themselves and their environment still eludes them.
Wary of the Flying Polyps, they maintain carefully gated tunnel nests, feeding on fungus and detritus. When
food grows scarce, they venture up to the surface, where
humanity wastes plenty more than provides for their
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PROTO-COLEOPTERANS
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Heavily Armored (Origin, p. 146),
Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
Drive: Survival.
Primary Pool: 7
Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 3
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 4
THE RED
The Red is a creature of mist, lacking any specific
physical characteristics aside from its virulent hue of
crimson. It’s tangentially similar to gaseous entities, but
exhibits far more aggressive tendencies. The Red is an
inter-dimensional entity, existing in no one particular
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
plane of reality. Rather, it is one of a variety of species
inhabiting narrow gaps between alternating realities.
Its particular aggressive tendencies see it latch onto
and corrode any smaller entities seeking to escape the
bounds of their home realities, with the Red operating
as something akin to a multiversal immune system.
Numerous would-be travelers, mortals and Scions alike,
venturing beyond the bounds of this reality, have met
their ends at the hands of this shade. While most travelers refer to it in the singular, scholars speculate that the
creature is in fact many-in-one. Observes have seen the
Red anywhere as tall as a single human, to as large as a
small moon.
The Red is quite content to remain within its own
inter-reality null-space, and tends not to migrate into
any other reality without external compulsion. While
it can be summoned by rituals (which is a bad idea, as
it immediately grows aggressive and enters a frenzied
state), the main reason it leaves its home is to hunt down
interlopers. The Red views these targets as anomalous
bodies, and hunts them down with all the relentlessness
of a dedicated organism.
Outside of its null-space, the Red rapidly diminishes
in size and weakens considerably. Within a short period
of time, it starts to adopt a gray hue before perishing,
similar to similar organic cells removed from their host
body. This death can be delayed by an indefinite amount
of time if the Red inhabits the form of a creature native
to its current reality.
Native creatures inhabited by the Red assume it’s
severe aggressiveness. The Red does not grant those it
inhibits any additional benefits; the host doesn’t gain
any additional strength, powers, or means to protect
itself. The host’s perception of the world is significantly
altered; they are still capable of some limited forms of
reasoning, but their behavior is significantly impaired
and restricted to violent urges. The host is capable of
recognizing friends and allies, but requires significant
willpower to resist lashing out at them. Upon a host’s
death, the Red is ejected from the body to resume its
gradual deterioration.
THE RED
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289),
Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289), Disembodied
(Hero, p. 288), Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148),
Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146)
Flairs: Seeing Red (Origin, p. 149),
Possession (Origin, p. 150), This Corrosion (p.
149)
Secondary Pool: 9
Desperation Pool: 7
Health: 6
Defense: 3
Initiative: 8
SENTIENT CRYSTAL
The largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede, orbits Jupiter and possesses a wealth of mineral deposits,
a significant amount of which are self-aware. Thriving
within the moon’s low-atmosphere environment, these
minerals are condensed into a luminescent crystalline
form which create huge, glowing reef-like shoals together. The crystals can make themselves vibrate powerfully
at frequencies undetectable to many humans, but those
who can detect it believe the vibrations serve as a form
of communication.
The crystals, despite their sentience, are not highly
intelligent and possess little that can be reasoned with,
nor do they have any inclination toward hostility. Instead, they function on the principals of survival. They
grow as part of the moon’s exosystem, but become dangerous if exposed to oxygen, which triggers a rapidly
accelerated growth within them. A single hand-sized
shard of crystal has the potential to fill an entire room
within one day, exponentially increasing in size even afterward. They further use any form of carbon to fuel this
growth; something which the human body possesses in
no small quantity.
These sentient crystals don’t care about humans.
They barely recognize them as a growth source; if they
even are aware of humans at all. Nevertheless, due to
their vibrational frequencies and luminescence, the
crystals are fascinating to the minority of humans who
are able to perceive it. Those few who can perceive such
frequencies describe the crystals as “singing” to them.
The crystals are capable of absorbing carbon-based
elements, and converting them into crystalline forms.
This isn’t so much of a means of reproduction, as a
means of growth, since the subject (be it a part of the
furniture or even a living being) becomes a part of the
crystal itself. This is fatal to most creatures, who cannot
exist or breathe encased in crystal and cannot be extracted as their living tissue has become fused with it.
The sensation of having one’s body actively altered at
a cellular level is agonizing and horrific. Even so, those
who become enamored by the crystalline entities to the
point of adulation or worship find this process to be grotesquely exhilarating; and view it as fusion with a being
they revere as divine.
Drive: Rage. There is nothing else.
Primary Pool: 10 (Corrosion, Possession)
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SENTIENT CRYSTAL
Archetype: Titanspawn
Secondary Pool: 11
Qualities: Armor Piercing (Hero, p. 287),
Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289), Life Drain (Hero, p.
287), Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288),
Vengeful Blood (Hero, p. 289),
Health: 10
Desperation Pool: 7
Flairs: Making Space (Origin, p. 150),
Penetrator (Hero, p. 290)
Drive: Grow. Flourish. Occupy. Possess.
Primary Pool: 13 (Absorption, Assimilation)
Secondary Pool: 10
Desperation Pool: 8
Health: 9
Defense: 3
Initiative: 8
SHANTAK
Shantaks are enormous, winged creatures, neither
bird nor bat but something in between. Larger than elephants and with a vaguely equine head, it’s likely that
more than one “dragon” sighting was, in fact, a shantak
spotted in the wild. These days, shantaks are much more
likely to be spotted in the Dreamlands — they’re rare in
the World itself, and not fond of large numbers of humans, for in antiquity their enormous eggs were a muchprized delicacy, and they were subsequently hunted to
near-extinction. Shantaks themselves are carnivorous,
and will happily eat humans if given the chance, though
to them that’s no more than a couple of bites.
Shantaks can be trained, though the task is daunting
to say the least. More often, sorcerers or other learned
individuals will employ Arcane Calculus or other forms
of magic to control them, eliminating the need for costly,
time-consuming, and dangerous training. They make
excellent sentinels, and even serve well as aerial mounts
(if one can abide the creature’s stench, which is disturbingly like rotting meat).
SHANTAK
Archetype: Titanspawn
Qualities: Flight (Hero, p. 288),
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146)
Flairs: Making Space (Origin, p. 150)
Drive: If wild, to defend its territory; if trained or
mystically controlled, to serve its master.
Primary Pool: 13
146
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extras: Shantaks have Size Scale 2
STELLAR VAMPIRE
A peculiar species originating from the depths of
space, stellar vampires exist as semi-solid creatures close
to the size of an average human. They are roughly spherical in shape, and levitate, darting back and forth in a manner that is suggestive of whippoorwills. They possess an
aurora not unlike that of a star, but miasmic rather than
formed of light; beneath this, they resemble hardened
nuclei, much like a solidified protoplasmic tumor. All
stellar vampires share a singular gestalt consciousness;
memories and experiences shared by one are distributed
between their collective awareness, regardless of distance between them. Despite their shared consciousness,
stellar vampires prefer toward hunting alone.
As befitting their names, stellar vampires feed on
other species. They possess little affinity for blood, however, and devour memories instead. For the victim, their
life’s moments disappear down the creature’s gullet;
however, for the vampire, the “juices” of these memories become more than a psychic feast, and form part of
the creature’s understanding of the cosmos. As soon as
a victim’s memories are taken, they are shared among
the collective gestalt, both nourishing and informing the
knowledge of all stellar vampires. Especially ravenous
vampires may even devour memories which include
the victim’s assault at their hands, leaving the terrified
victim unable to even remember the creature’s maledictions. Most victims are left as an empty husk, bereft of all
the lived experiences that formed their personality over
the years; in worst cases, these victims are caught in a
state of waking death.
Stellar vampires, much as their name suggests, are
not birthed on Earth. Their home planet perished many
millennia ago, suffering a long and agonizing heat death
at the hands of its dying star. At the time, the species that
would become stellar vampires thrived as the apex predator on this long-forgotten planet. A handful of them
enacted necromantic rituals to ensure their own survival
as undead, sacrificing the rest of their species to this rebirth. Ironically the stellar vampires remember neither
this massacre, nor their home planet, nor the creatures
they once were. They were birthed in that ritual, and
anything that came before died.
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
STELLAR VAMPIRE
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Flight (Hero, p. 288),
Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148),
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288),
Flairs: Spray N’ Pray (Origin, p. 149),
Second Wind (Hero, p. 291)
Drive: Seek the prey with the most delicious memories, feed upon them and grow the overmind.
Primary Pool: 8
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 6
Health: 5
Defense: 4
Initiative: 4
TRIASSIC PENGUIN
The near-extinct albino penguin is an ancient
creature, and the ancestral forefather of the modern
emperor penguin. Dating from as far back as the days of
the Elder Gods, these creatures were once native to the
Antarctic regions their descendants now occupy. The albino penguins are notable primarily due to their height,
averaging at six foot. They possess a strong elongated
beak and powerful arms.
The Triassic penguins are a docile species. Their
large stature does little to scare off potential predators
and the birds are often prey to larger seafaring predators, and even the occasional shoggoth to which these
penguins react with instinctual horror. Albino penguins
are even docile toward humans, and often act more of a
hindrance than a threat to explorers. The only recorded
incidents of attacks from albino penguins are made by
birds striving to protect their young.
The penguins perceived “exotic” nature made them
prized by hunters, causing their already small population
to plummet to near-extinction. The few surviving albino
penguins are located in the center of the ancient Elder
God cities, at the most inhospitable reaches of Antarctica. This does put these calm creatures in a perpetual
state of threat from the shoggoths of that region, but it’s
evident the penguins consider this to be the lesser threat
compared to humanity.
TRIASSIC PENGUIN
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146)
Drive: Nurture the young.
Primary Pool: 4 (swim)
Secondary Pool: 2
Desperation Pool: 1
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 2
Taking on a Mantle
147
NEW QUALITIES
& FLAIRS
PHANTASMIC SUBSTANCE
The Antagonist’s physical substance is of a form
of matter alien to the World in some way, whether it’s
from another part of the universe or a different universe
altogether. This alien matter reacts in strange ways with
normal matter, often either consuming or replacing it on a
cellular level like a disease of chemistry. Areas the Antagonist has spent more than a scene in acquire an increasingly
otherworldly cast that deepens the longer it spends there
— eventually, the locale will come to look completely alien.
BURN AT BOTH ENDS
Cost: 1 Tension, 1 Injury Condition
Duration: Instant
Range: Short
Action: Reflexive
Cooldown: The Antagonist takes harm from another source.
The Antagonist sacrifices a bit of her own life force to
empower an attack. This Flair is used in conjunction with
a normal attack; if that attack is successful, treat the attack as a Critical even if the Antagonist didn’t roll enough
successes to purchase that stunt. If the Antagonist does
roll sufficient successes, she must purchase that stunt.
DREAM HUNT
Cost: 2 Tension
Duration: One REM Cycle
Subject: A sleeping target
Range: Close
Action: Complex
The Antagonist enters the dreams of a sleeping
target, subtly altering them with its alien presence
and beginning its hunt, which usually culminates in a
confrontation between the predator and the dreamer’s
dream-self. This can have one of several effects: choose
one when assigning this Flair, or invent one of your own.
• Memory Eater: Each “Injury Condition” the
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state extracts a
memory from the sleeper, who loses all recollection of it.
• Heartbreaker: Each “Injury Condition” the
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state subtracts
one level from one of the subject’s Bonds, representing a deadening of feeling.
148
• Dreamkiller: Each “Injury Condition” the
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state is actually
an Injury Condition, no airquotes. If you die in the
dream, you die for real.
PARASITIZE
Cost: 2 Tension
Duration: Indefinite
Range: Short
Action: Simple
Cooldown: The Flair’s effects are broken or the
scene ends, whichever comes first.
NEW CONDITION:
PARASITIZED
Your character has been parasitized, and has
a small piece of alien flesh growing inside their
body. This Condition progresses through four
Stages, each of which has different effects as
listed below.
Stage 1 Effects: The subject is likely
unaware of the parasitization, suffering +1
Difficulty to any action opposing the source
of the Condition. Stage 1 lasts for 24 hours, at
which point the Condition advances to Stage 2.
Stage 2 Effects: The subject becomes aware
that they aren’t fully in control of themselves. In
addition to the effects of Stage 1, the subject
now suffers a -2 Complication to any action
that doesn’t in some way aid or advance the
interests of the source of the Condition. Stage 2
lasts for 48 hours before advancing to Stage 3.
Stage 3 Effects: The subject can no
longer act against the source of the Condition
without succeeding on a reflexive Resolve +
Integrity roll, difficulty equal to half the source’s
Desperation pool rounded up or their Legend,
whichever is more applicable. Stage 3 lasts for
72 hours, at which point it advances to Stage 4.
Stage 4 Effects: The subject is fully under
the control of the source of the Condition.
Player characters never reach this level of the
Condition, and instead remain at Stage 3.
Momentum: Gain Momentum when the
parasite inside you forces you to betray or
otherwise hinder your friends.
Resolution: Surgically remove or chemically
kill the parasite.
CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS
The Antagonist injects, implants, or in some way
inserts a piece of itself into the target. This requires a
successful attack roll, unless the target is restrained,
willing, or in some way incapacitated. The parasitic
implant slowly grows inside the target, giving them the
Parasitized Condition.
PLAYING POSSUM
Cost: None
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Self
Range: Self
Action: Reflexive
Cooldown: End of Scene, or the Antagonist gains
Taken Out.
The Antagonist doesn’t bleed, doesn’t give any signs of
injury, and otherwise has no outward indicator of how
close to defeat they are, making it hard for characters to
tell if they are truly dead or not. Any time an Antagonist
takes damage and isn’t Taken Out, the Antagonist may
act as though it was. It may return to the fight at any
time; if it does, its next attack counts as a Surprise Attack. A character may attempt to determine whether the
Antagonist is truly dead or not, which requires a Medicine + Cunning roll opposed by the Antagonist’s Desperation Pool. If the character succeeds at this roll, the next
successful attack made on the Antagonist currently using
this Flair gains an additional Injury Condition.
PSIONIC INVASION
Cost: 2 Tension
Duration: Instant
Subject: One Target
Range: Short
Action: The Antagonist takes damage.
Cooldown: The Flair’s effects are broken or the
scene ends, whichever comes first.
The Antagonist makes an attack which targets the
victim’s mind, breaking through their psyche and dealing psychosomatic damage while the victim experiences
terrible intrusion into their mind. This attack negates
Armor and any bonuses to Defense; the character’s
maximum Defense is equal to their number of dots in
Resolution, and cannot be raised any higher against this
attack. To use this Flair, the Antagonist must touch the
intended victim on the forehead.
THIS CORROSION
Cost: 1 or more Tension
Duration: One Scene
Subject: Area
Range: Medium
Action: Simple
Cooldown: One Session
Prerequisites: Nemesis Archetype
The Antagonist designates a certain element of the
scene, such as a character or part of a room. Any characters occupying or existing within that element becomes
the victim of this attack. For every turn the target remains
within that area, the character’s Armor is reduced by 1. If
the target has no Armor remaining, inflict 1 Injury Condition to the target. If the target of this Flair is a character,
forcing themselves out of the Antagonist’s corrosion requires an Athletics + Stamina roll opposed by the Antagonist’s Desperation Pool. The Antagonist can target one
additional target for each point of Tension spent.
New Qualities and Flairs
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APPENDIX ONE
DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
“The patterns were beautiful. Everything was.
Only petty human thoughts could make anything, any suffering,
ugly. And why should humans matter? The thing that called itself
Yasira was screaming. But what did that matter?
The pattern was so beautiful, screaming or otherwise.”
— Ada Hoffman, The Outside
W
hen a mortal becomes a Hero, they take their first
halting steps into the World touched by the Mythos,
squinting against the light of What Is and having shed the
comforting shadows of ignorance. When a Hero becomes
a Demigod, they accept that if they wish to know more,
there can be no turning back. They can no longer pretend
that the World they once knew is anything but a soothing
fiction, a calm pocket in a storm of truths so invasive,
so all-encompassing, that to apprehend them in their
entirety is to irrevocably lose the option to ignore them.
This is no descent into “madness,” though mortals may
see it that way — instead, it is a gradual process of learning
and acceptance.
This appendix explores playing Scion: Masks of the
Mythos at the Demigod tier. Stories take ever-stranger
turns, leading player characters to Terra Incognitae and
beyond as they explore the truth about the World, about
themselves, and about each other. It includes advice for
players and Storyguides, as well as a few ready-made
Antagonists drawn from Mythos lore. If you want your
Masks of the Mythos game to get really weird, this is
the chapter for you.
PLAYING
DEMIGOD-TIER MYTHOS
You thought you were uncovering the truth, seeing
things as they were for the first time as you plumbed the
depths of whatever mystery arrested your focus. Then,
the epiphany came, and you saw how truly deep the
abyss of truth was, and vertigo seized your senses. You
made a choice, then, not to close your eyes but to ride it
out and experience every moment in pure clarity. Your
150
eyes can never close again, and that spinning you feel is
simply the new normal. You’ll get used to it.
For the character, this process likely encompasses
awe, anticipation, and the dread they’ve been feeling
the whole time. Just because a Demigod’s eyes are open
to the true depths of the universe doesn’t mean they’ve
shed their ties to humanity just yet, but that may be a
choice they’re confronted with in the near future, particularly if they’re Mythos Scions. For example, a Demigod
with distant Deep One heritage may find that potential
catalyzed by the mythic energies suffusing her, beginning the process of her transformation into an amphibious hybrid. Even those without such ties to the Mythos,
however, find manifold avenues away from comfortable,
predictable humanity. It might take the form of slowly
replacing their body’s matter with trans-dimensional
substances with strange properties, or increasingly divorcing thought from flesh and living as a creature of the
Dreamlands, or any one of myriad unusual fates.
Ultimately, the choice rests with the player, but
even within the fiction the character isn’t powerless to
steer her destiny. That’s the benefit of embracing the
unknown; once you no longer deny it, once you begin to
grasp its true meaning, it’s no longer only a question of
the power it has over you, but the power you have over it.
This dramatically oversimplifies the situation, of course;
the Mythos is not a singular thing, and cannot be controlled as humans would understand the term, but there
is a balance to be struck. The various forces and entities that compose the Mythos respond much better to
someone who isn’t stumbling through every interaction
with it without any idea what they’re doing, much like a
nuclear reactor behaves better with a trained engineer at
the controls instead of a five-year-old.
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
FATEBINDING
As with divine Demigods, Scions pursuing a Mythos
ascension are more readily Fatebound, and are able to
Fatebind more powerful entities than themselves as well
as larger populations and even places or objects. As with
divine Scions, they must pursue those ties, or suffer the
effects of the Fatebinding’s Avoidance. Their increasing
Awareness, however, gives them additional options with
which to contend with these Fatebindings, if they so
desire.
Once a Scion’s Legend and Awareness both exceed
5, she gains the following abilities:
• Shuffling Horoscopes: A Scion may spend a point
of Awareness to claim a Fatebinding belonging to
a target of lower Tier. She may also spend a point
of Awareness to alter the type of a Fatebinding
belong to another character of lower Tier.
• Elder Sign: By committing a point of Awareness,
a Scion may place one of her Fatebindings in abeyance. As long as the Awareness is committed, the
Scion may neglect the Fatebinding without suffering Avoidance. However, the longer she holds
off the Fatebinding, the worse its compel becomes
when it comes due; the Storyguide should up the
ante as appropriate. Once the Scion has held the
Fatebinding off for a number of episodes equal
to her Awareness Trait, the tension becomes
too great to hold off, and the Fatebinding is immediately compelled in the direst manner the
Storyguide can conceive of.
OMENS OF THE MYTHOS
A Scion’s omen is typically bound up in her person, affecting her and only her even as she ascends to
Demigod and beyond. For the Scions of the Mythos,
with Awareness and Legend fighting for their destinies,
the omen becomes something more. At Awareness 3, a
Scion’s omen extends beyond herself, becoming a mark
she leaves in her wake; the higher her Awareness, the
less time she requires to imprint herself on a location.
This takes whatever form is appropriate, from a certain
variety of animal congregating in unusual numbers in
the location to strange symbols appearing in seemingly
natural ways, such as moss or cracks in the sidewalk.
At Heroic Tier, these portents are merely unsettling;
however, at Demigod Tier, enough of the Scion’s energies
remain bound up in the location, becoming both attractive and slightly infectious. Those who spend too long
observing the Scion’s omen begin to see it everywhere
they go. This inflicts a Condition causing a Complication
equal to half the Scion’s Legend (round up) that can only
be resolved with professional help, such as therapy. At
the Storyguide’s discretion, this artificial obsession may
lead to the character experiencing it gaining Awareness.
Scion’s Legend
3
4
5
6
7+
Time Required
One day
Six hours
One hour
One scene
Immediate
SANCTA AND
TERRA INCOGNITAE
Much like purely divine Scions, Scions of the
Mythos (and divine Scions caught up in it) are able to
bind themselves to places, making those places a part
of their legend. In time, these places grow to become a
proper Terra Incognita attached to the Scion’s Legend.
If anything, the Mythos’ affinity for strange extradimensional excursions makes the process even easier for
Demigods with a bit of Awareness.
Sanctums belonging to Scions of Mythos entities are
inherently connected to the entity in question. Low-level
Sanctums are merely pervaded by the energies or qualities of the entity, from strange and unsettling geometries
in the case of Yog-Sothoth to a persistent dampness in the
case of Albtraum. As the Sanctum grows, maturing into a
full Terra Incognita, these energies coalesce into a gateway connecting the Scion’s realm to that of their patron.
NEW SANCTUM OPTIONS
The following Sanctum options are available to
Demigod-Tier characters with an Awareness Trait of 4
or higher. For every dot of Awareness above 4, a player
may choose one of the following options for her Sanctum; each dot so chosen subtracts from the cost of
the Sanctum Birthright, allowing Scions with a deeper
understanding of the universe to abuse it further than
ordinarily possible.
• –1 dot: The geometry of your character’s Sanctum
is ever-so-slightly different from that of the World
humanity knows. Gain +2 Enhancement to all
rolls relating to Arcane Calculus. Anyone unaccustomed to such unearthly spatial torsion suffers
a Complication equal to half your character’s
Legend, round up. Anyone without Awareness
who spends more than (Resolve + Integrity) hours
in your Sanctum gains an appropriate Condition
chosen by the Storyguide, and at Storyguide’s discretion may gain a dot of Awareness.
• –1 dot: Time passes at a different rate inside your
Sanctum, either racing ahead of the World’s own
Sancta and Terra Incognitae
151
timeline or slowing to a crawl while the World
rushes on by; the exact ratio is left to player discretion and Storyguide approval. Characters isolated within a Sanctum where time moves slower
may gain the Rip Van Winkle Condition (below).
• –1 dot: Your Sanctum overlaps several other dimensions, making it a magnet for creatures that
exist in these alternate dimensions that normally
exist side-by-side with our own. Normally invisible and intangible, within your Sanctum they
manifest materially, and may act according to their
alien drives. You have a measure of control over
these creatures while they’re in your Sanctum;
they won’t attack you unless provoked, and while
you can’t command them outright, enterprising
Demigods might train these otherworldly beings
to respond to certain stimuli. Characters who
spend too much time in your Sanctum may find
that it stimulates their pineal gland, allowing
them to perceive and interact with such creatures
(and vice versa!) even outside the Sanctum, but
this is left to player and Storyguide’s discretion.
PERSISTENT CONDITION:
RIP VAN WINKLE
The World has passed you by, making you
a relic of a bygone age overnight. What was
familiar is gone or changed at best. Friends
and loved ones have moved on or have
aged and passed on. You are isolated, you
cannot go back, and you have the strangest
feeling of being watched.
Effect: Suffer +3 Complication on
any roll to engage with things of the new
future (televisions, computers, hyperspace
difference engines, and so on, depending on
when you’re from). Gain +2 Enhancement on
any Culture or Academics rolls related to the
period you originate from; it’s as fresh in your
mind as yesterday, because to you it was
yesterday. You are under close observation
by the Hounds of Tindalos, but unless you
attempt to return to your native time, they’ll
leave you to your fate.
Momentum: Gain 1 Momentum when
you reveal yourself to be obvious out of your
depth, befuddled by things everyone else considers ordinary, or otherwise encounter serious
difficulty due to being a temporal refugee.
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REALM BIRTHRIGHTS
Like divine Demigods, Scions touched by the
Mythos can develop Fatebindings with entire Realms,
granting them access to Realm Birthrights. These Birthrights draw a little of the Realm’s power with the Scion
wherever she goes, allowing her to use them wherever
she finds herself. Naturally, from others’ perspectives,
this frequently means that the Scion is surrounded by a
nightmarish susurrus of Things That Shouldn’t Be.
Mythos Scions who purchase a Realm Birthright
gain a Field reflecting the Realm they’re Fatebound
to. This Field does not replace, but overlays whatever
Field may exist in the World around the Scion — if the
two conflict somehow, favor the Scion’s Field. Players
and Storyguides should collaborate to design this Field
based on the Realm in question, but all such Fields have
the following effects:
• Disquieting Aura: Characters of lesser Tier or
whose Awareness is less than the Scion’s perceive
the Field as, for lack of a better term, otherworldly — it either puts people on edge, or gives them
the sense of an epiphany just out of reach. While
such characters can’t automatically tell that it’s
the player character causing the effect, if they see
her and get the same feeling multiple times they’ll
start to put two and two together. How they react
depends on the individual; some may be revolted,
others fascinated. At Storyguide’s discretion, this
may translate to Complications or Enhancements,
as appropriate.
• Intrusion: When the Scion expends Legend, her
Field Condition manifests physically as her Realm
is tied, however briefly, to the World through that
Legend. This is not a subtle effect — walls shift
position and even substance, fires burn strange
colors, and even the might stars slip ever so slightly out of position. Characters without Awareness
must succeed on a Composure + Integrity roll
to remain active; if they fail, they either flee or
faint. If they succeed, they may gain Awareness at
Storyguide’s discretion. Whatever Field may have
been in place before is overlaid, and no longer applies. Intrusion lasts for a number of hours equal
to Legend spent in a single scene.
• Hitch-hikers: If, while an Intrusion is active,
the Scion botches any roll, it summons creatures
native to that Realm. The kind and number depend on the Realm in question; a Realm similar
to the World’s logic may simply generate a swarm
of curiously oversized rats bound together in a
hive-mind, while a Realm that largely functions
as a temple to a nameless horror spawned by the
character’s Mythos patron might call down that
self-same horror. Whatever is summoned, it is not
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
bound to obey the Scion — it’ll work to fulfill its
own drives and objectives, which may (and likely
do) run counter to the Scion’s own.
STORYGUIDING DEMIGODTIER MYTHOS
Many of Lovecraft’s protagonists faint at convenient
moments, missing out on the strangest moments that
— let’s admit it — we the reader are there for. In some
works, especially Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,
that veil is pulled back, and the eerie surreality of the
Mythos is allowed to take center stage. Much like dream
logic, the World beyond human understanding can seem
senseless, random, and frequently incomprehensible,
and that sense that logic is failing and the World itself is
not what it seems is the feeling a Demigod-tier Mythos
campaign should be attempting to evoke.
STYLES OF MYTHOSTOUCHED APOTHEOSIS
There are many ways a Scion can slip onto the path
of Awareness, and for Heroes it’s largely benign, or at
least, as benign as Awareness of the incomprehensible
magnitude of the Mythos allows. As they accrue more
Awareness, they slip further and further away from
mortal humanity, which likely sees them as increasingly
bizarre, probably mentally ill, and possibly dangerous.
So long as a Hero remains a Hero, that’s as bad as things
get. It’s when apotheosis enters the picture that things
become complicated. Much like understanding the true
nature of the universe, when a Hero begins the journey
towards ascension there is no turning back; success or
failure, the mortal shell perishes.
DIVERTED DIVINE APOTHEOSIS
The Mythos does not care about the carefully
balanced schema of apotheosis, intruding where and
when it decides to. A Hero begins the path to ascension,
becoming a Demigod. As they walk their path, they encounter the Mythos, and gain Awareness. Now, it all goes
off the rails.
Once a Demigod becomes Aware of the Mythos,
they have a choice: either they do their utmost to contain the damage and wholeheartedly ignore the Mythos,
effectively finding comfort in denial, or they accept that
even the divine is a tiny, almost insignificant mote in the
wider universe. Neither option is particularly healthy
for an ongoing apotheosis, but such an event is survivable. The former entails encapsulating and interpreting
one’s Awareness in mythic form, effectively constructing a scaffold of destiny to support otherwise untenable
truths. Doing so is extremely difficult without a Calling
that fits, the most helpful being Liminal or Outsider (see
Scion Player’s Guide, p. 11), though others may serve
with appropriate interpretation.
To embrace the Mythos, then, is to become something that goes beyond the conventional bounds of divinity, tied to humanity but utterly beyond it in ways even
gods find disturbing. Effectively, the Demigod walks the
path of ascension as an Elder God — incomprehensible
entities that nevertheless maintain a more-or-less benevolent attitude towards humanity, such as Nodens.
PURE MYTHOS APOTHEOSIS
It was never about divinity; divinity is a human
concept, and the Scion’s sights have always been set well
beyond the bounds of human understanding. This path
is most common to Scions of Mythos entities, it being
the natural outcome of embracing one’s heritage, the
will of the Old Ones, or whatever drew the Hero into
the Mythos to begin with. It is not, however, exclusive
to such Scions; divine Scions who discover and embrace
the Mythos can follow this path just as readily, catalyzing their ichor with supreme and absolute knowledge.
Mechanically, a Scion who wishes to pursue this
path must either be bound through ichor to a Mythos
entity or initiate and complete their apotheosis with
Awareness exceeding their Legend at all times. Such a
journey to apotheosis resembles less the journey of the
divine scion to death and rebirth, and more the journey
of the investigator seeking deeper truths. Much like a
standard apotheosis, the Storyguide should construct
the sequence of events around that character.
An inciting incident fires the need to learn, breaking
the bounds of normality even in the eyes of a Hero wellversed in the Mythos. The event must turn the Scion’s
world upside-down, and leave myriad questions in need
of answering. This event may well be of the Scion’s own
doing, an experiment that goes awry, a mathematical
equation that leads to impossible answers, digging into
their own lineage, or whatever suits the character.
After incitement, the investigation follows. The Scion, now burgeoning with the power of a Demigod, seeks
answers, opposes enemies, is drawn deeper and deeper
into mysteries. In this stage, the comfortable truth is
stripped away bit by bit. This is not a grand revelation,
but rather a slow building of dread and curiosity in equal
measure — the character should always be torn between
the desire to know more and the urge to look away. To do
so is to forsake ascension, of course, and ensure death,
but that is nevertheless a choice a character can make.
The grand revelation comes when the mystery is revealed. This is the part where the truth is laid bare, where
all the tension and dread reach the breaking point. It’s the
last few lines of a Lovecraft story where we realize that
the horrific description of the putrescent monster is, in
fact, what the narrator sees in a mirror. It’s the moment
Styles of Mythos-Touched Apotheosis
153
where the reader says “Oh,” aloud and feels the hairs on
the back of their neck stand up. For the Storyguide’s purposes, it’s the moment everything else has been leading
up to as far as the character’s story is concerned.
This leaves us with a binary choice: insight vs. denial. Not all of Lovecraft’s protagonists choose the latter,
but most do, and certainly none stand in quite the same
place a Demigod on the cusp of ascension does. Everything up to this point, from incitement through investigation to resolution, is prologue, a necessary preamble
to this one choice: knowing the truth, does the Scion
embrace it, or take this last chance to turn away from it
and seal her doom. This isn’t a split-second decision or
a single action — rather, it’s the last mortal efforts before
the inevitable end of mortal life. It’s the character transitioning from investigation to action, and it deserves
plenty of time to let that transition play out.
COSMIC SCION:
CAELUM INCOGNITA
One of the hallmarks of the Mythos is frequent
encounters with otherworldly realms, be they alternate
dimensions or literal planets elsewhere in the cosmos.
At the Heroic level, these are brief brushes — a journey
into a forgotten city that soon sinks beneath the waves,
or a rescue mission into the impossible caverns beneath
the Earth where the flying polyps still dwell. Demigods,
however, are far less bound to the World, and Mythostouched Demigods even less so. A Masks of the Mythos
chronicle at the Demigod tier may well spend more time
in these strange worlds than in the prosaic World, depending on the chronicle’s focus. We distinguish these
distant, bizarre realms from “ordinary” Terra Incognitae
with a new name: Caelum Incognitae.
The number of Caelum Incognitae in the wider cosmos, like the stars themselves, are innumerable. Therefore, the Storyguide’s imagination is the only limiting
factor on how weird a given Caelum Incognita can be.
We suggest pulling liberally not only from Lovecraft and
other Mythos authors but from authors across the horror, science-fiction, and fantasy spectrum. The devices
of the Protomolecule-builders from the Expanse series
would fit right in with the incomprehensible and seemingly-magical machines of the Mythos, for example.
Weirdness is key to the cosmic experience. If you
find characters seizing on something as a rock of normality in an otherwise alien landscape, upend their
expectations. Present situations that resolve seemingly
paradoxically. Treat physics as we know it as a suggestion at best. Make frequent use of Fields and Conditions
to lend mechanical weight to the weirdness. Keep the
above section in mind, however — this is not an excuse
to fuck with your players, but a means to slowly turn up
the dread (and anticipation) the characters are feeling,
154
AWARENESS
THRESHOLD
The Terra Incognitae of the World,
strange though they may be to mortals
unused to them, are still grounded in the
prosaic human understanding of reality.
Even Mythos-based Terra Incognitae
adjoining the World share at least some
of that grounding, making features of
them terrifying and bizarre but still largely
retaining a feeling of being in the World.
Not so for Caelum Incognitae.
A Caelum Incognita has an Awareness
Threshold, a Trait that describes what
level of Awareness is needed to safely
spend time within that realm. If a
character possesses less Awareness
than the Awareness Threshold, she must
take a Resolve + Integrity action once
every scene, with Difficulty equal to the
difference between her Awareness and
the Awareness Threshold. For example, if
her Awareness was 2 and the Awareness
Threshold was 4, the Difficulty would be
2. Characters with Awareness equal to or
greater than the Awareness Threshold do
not need to roll.
Success on this roll allows the character
to maintain her mental equilibrium in the
face of maddening chaos. Failure may result in Complications, Conditions, and even
Injury Conditions; the Storyguide chooses
what happens when a character fails such
a check. Botches on this roll result in misfortune for the entire Band, as the character’s
reactions provoke some terrible force native
to the realm.
and ultimately everything in a Demigod chronicle is in
service to the story of ascension (or failed ascension, as
the case may be).
Caelum Incognita: The Fathomless Cosmos
Awareness Threshold: 2
The emptiness of space is vast and incomprehensible to humans, worlds entire floating in the cosmos like
motes in an infinite sea. Yawning nothingness stretches
between the things that minds consider places — and
that nothingness is filled with nightmares. Streaming,
half-sentient bands of color leap from world to world
to reproduce, ancient and undying predators wait in
death-like trances for prey to stumble upon them, and
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
the dark constructs of other, elder peoples who thought
to conquer infinity lie cold, dark, and eternal.
Caelum Incognita: The Planet Yuggoth
Awareness Threshold: 3
At the cold outskirts of our solar system, Yuggoth
lies dim and undiscovered by mortals. This grey world
with its rivers of black pitch turns in eternal night, the
windowless towers of the Mi-Go sprawling across its
surface. Though Yuggoth is but an outpost from which
the Mi-Go observe Earth, they have made it their own,
and it teems with life of the same strange fungoid-insectoid blend that characterizes the Mi-Go themselves. In
its great vaults lie innumerable secrets and knowledge
in the form of brain cylinders, holding and preserving
minds ranging from the familiar human to the incomprehensibly alien.
Caelum Incognita: The Library of Pnakotus
Awareness Threshold: 5
In the distant past, millions of years before the current
day, the Great Race of Yith arrived on Earth, escaping destruction by exchanging their minds en-masse with a race
of cone-shaped beings. In that form, they built a grand
metropolis, and within that metropolis a library to rival all
other libraries throughout the ages — precisely because
it drew from each and every one of those libraries, Yith
agents seizing the bodies of convenient pawns to amass
information while the unfortunate abductee is made to
painstakingly record their own experiences. If there is
knowledge to be had in this World, it can be found in the
Library of Pnakotus. Unfortunately, the only known way
to safely reach Pnakotus, 250 million years in humanity’s
past, is via possession by the Yith.
The Pnakotic Library’s Awareness Threshold is as
high as it is not so much because of the surroundings
(though Yith architecture and aesthetics are otherworldly), but because getting there involves having one’s
consciousness rudely jammed into the strange bodies
used by the Yith. If characters take another route there
(and evade the Hounds of Tindalos!), reduce the Awareness Threshold to 3.
Caelum Incognita: The Court of Azathoth
Awareness Threshold: 7
Beyond the reaches of ordinary space-time, beyond
the furthest glimpses of the primordial universe, beyond
the moment of the Big Bang and the infinity of maximum
entropy, Azathoth slumbers upon a black throne, squirming
and writhing to the piping of a tuneless flute. In the chaotic
whorl of his court, matter and energy sluice and recombine,
echoing a monstrous creation. Lesser divinities, no less alien,
dance about the periphery, wary of drawing too close to the
daemon-sultan itself. Here, Nyarlathotep walks without a
Cosmic Scion: Caelum Incognita
155
human mask, choosing other, more terrible visages to walk
among his peers and attend his mindless master. Those who
make the journey here can claim great knowledge and power, assuming they survive the process intact.
Health: 5
DEMIGOD-TIER
ANTAGONISTS
T
Extras: The Dunwich Horror has a Size Scale of 3.
he following Antagonists are recommended for
Demigod-tier games.
THE DUNWICH HORROR
The spawn of Yog-Sothoth, the Dunwich Horror was
believed destroyed in 1928 by a band of learned professors
from Miskatonic University, who confronted it atop Sentinel
Hill. They claimed the beast was made of things other than
matter, and that whatever that substance was, it was not
of this Earth, and they had sent it back where it belonged.
Alas, these learned people were wrong, for that strange substance, like the Horror’s father Yog-Sothoth, exists beyond
time and space. The creature was dispersed, not slain, and
though the Sentinel Hill altar was broken up and the diary of
Wilbur Whateley vanished from the Miskatonic Library, all
the Horror needed to reconstitute itself was the appropriate
geometries and confluences to recur.
Maddened by a century of hunger spread across its
distributed matter, what little bound the horror to humanity
has long-since departed from its mind. It still favors cattle
for feeding, but will eat almost anything that’s made of
meat, including humans. It longs to complete its brother
Wilbur’s work, to open a portal to realms beyond matter
where ancient beings dwell, waiting to destroy the World as
we know it and drag its corpse into their realm for purposes
incomprehensible to mortal minds. Having been raised in a
literal barn, it knows little of such methods, or of convincing
mortals to worship and obey it, but there is no shortage of
unscrupulous and wicked individuals who would use the
beast’s extradimensional qualities as a means to such an end.
THE DUNWICH HORROR
Archetype: Transcendent
Qualities: Miasmic Presence (Origin, 148),
Unseen (Hero, 288)
Flairs: Beyond Description, when revealed with the
powder of Ibn Ghazi.
Drive: To successfully summon its father,
Yog-Sothoth.
Primary: 9 (Crushing, Climbing, Devouring)
Secondary: 7 (Hunting & Tracking)
Desperation: 5
156
Defense: 5
Initiative: 6
THE ELDEST GHOUL
Revered ancestor of the near-human species, the Eldest Ghoul is ancient but unbowed. An archetypal figure
either tremendously long-lived or nigh-immortal, it has
watched over its necrophagic progeny since time immemorial. Though it now dwells mainly in the Dreamlands,
and oft appears in the retinues of unspeakable gods, its ears
are ever watchful for the prayers of ghouls in dire need.
So summoned, it traverses strange distances to once again
inhabit the material World, and with it comes its hunger.
THE ELDEST GHOUL
Archetype: Transcendent
Qualities: Life Drain (Hero, p. 287).
Flairs: Shadow Step (Hero, p. 290),
Molon Labe (Hero, p. 293).
Drive: To protect its myriad children.
Primary Pool: 9 (Stalking, Bite, Grapple)
Secondary Pool: 7 (Ritual, Forgotten Lore)
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 5
Defense: 5
Initiative: 6
THE HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED
In an impossibly ancient stone monastery hidden
away on the Plateau of Leng, there stands a solitary, shadowed throne, and upon that throne sits The High Priest
Not To be Described. It wears a thin robe of yellow and
red, and its face is obscured by a silken veil that it lifts but
a little to play upon its ivory flute. Silken gloves hide its
hands, which seem to shudder with a terrifying energy.
The High Priest Not to Be Described has been associated by various authors with almost as many entities of
the Mythos, most notably Hastur and Nyarlathotep. The
Storyguide is encouraged to add to that fine tradition
however best fits her own chronicle.
THE HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED
Archetype: Avatar
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289),
Astride the World (Demigod, p. 210),
Physiological Void (Demigod, p. 211)
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
Flairs: Dread Gaze (Demigod, p. 211)
Drive: You don’t want to know.
Primary Pool: 10
Secondary Pool: 8
Desperation Pool: 6
Health: 6
Defense: 5
Initiative: 5
LEGACY
CHARACTERS
H
Each night, Zann’s music intensified in fervor until it reached a final, terrifying crescendo. The student,
who was engrossed in the music and still hoping to look
outside the window to see the street he knew existed
outside of its confines, was soon shown the truth of
what lay beyond when the window shattered. A torrent
of unnatural wind blew in, sweeping Zann’s music notes
straight out the window. To safeguard the musician’s
livelihood, the student tried to chase down and grab the
notes, clutching just a few. When he turned around to
check on Zann, the elderly musician was on the floor, his
entire body still of breath but not of movement as the
music continued to play.
By the student’s account, Erich Zann was dead.
ere are four characters to use as playable Demigod
tier characters for your Mythos adventures, or to
appear as Storyguide characters.
ERICH ZANN
Quote: “The music must go on, but my hands are
so tired.”
Music has always been the way through which
Erich Zann expressed himself, since he could not do so
with his voice. But the music he played was tortured and
otherworldly — attracting curious listeners wondering
what the discordant notes represented of the mute
man’s psyche. Unbeknownst to the listeners, the music
protected them from certain doom: Should Erich ever
stop playing, Azathoth, the Eye of Madness, will awaken
and end all of creation.
Then: Little is known of Erich Zann before he took
up residence in a tenement building on Rue d’Auseil in
the Corbeil-Essonnes suburb of Paris. Other than the
occasional performance with a local orchestra, the mute
musician kept to himself, often practicing music well
into the night. His music, compared to what was considered popular in the 1920s, was strange and almost alien
in sound. It garnered the attention of a newly arrived
university student moving into a neighboring unit, who
had never heard anything like the music Zann played.
Unbeknownst at the time to the university student,
the music kept the Demon King of Chaos, the very eye of
madness — Azathoth — asleep. Over a period of weeks,
the student watched as Zann played his music to a window that by all accounts should have been overlooking
the Rue d’Auseil, but instead displayed a hypnotic, pitchblack abyss. Eventually, Zann divulged to the student the
truth to his music, and that without it, any number of
unknown and unseen malevolent creatures could break
through from that abyss and unleash unknowable horrors upon the land.
Now: It was a heart attack that took Erich Zann
at last, after nearly seventy years of playing the viol to
keep a slumbering Old One at bay. But while Azathoth
thought that they had the last laugh, it was the Music
that breathed new life into Erich’s aged body and
granted it a fraction of its dark divinity. Despite having
awaited the day when his hands could finally rest and he
was no longer responsible for keeping the chaos at bay,
Erich Zann was once again given a purpose — to seed
this music throughout the world.
Since then, the musician continues to travel the
world, playing his peculiar genre of music to new generations more inclined to its alien sounds. Some of it has
even been remixed and popularized on digital platforms
where it has found a wider audience. Despite this newfound “fame” Erich has remained notoriously private,
mainly out of necessity. It added to the allure of the
music, but also allowed Erich to stay out of the public
eye. After all, he was nearly two-hundred years old. Still,
every now and then he would take on an apprentice in
hopes that they would be able to hear the music he hears
and recreate it.
It drove a good number of those apprentices to madness, and others to their deaths, much to Erich’s dismay.
He never wanted to cause anyone harm, but the music
must go on.
There is a desperation in Erich’s music now. Though
it is easier to spread his music across the world, thanks
in part due to online streaming, and keeping Azathoth
at bay, Erich is ready to leave this mortal coil and escape
the Music’s maddening notes. He never asked to be the
Music’s chosen, but he will continue to perform his duties in hopes of finding another who can take upon the
mantle and to finally pass on his accursed viol.
Description: An unassuming man who appears to
be in his upper seventies despite being a hundred years
older than that. Erich wears a worn countenance with
heavy wrinkles and crows’ feet at the corner of his eyes.
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His lips, worn in a perpetual dour expression, hold in the
screams and words that he cannot give voice to.
Story Hooks:
• Hammering In My Head — A Scion awakens in
the night with the sound of music pervading every
thought. Are they the next Chosen of the Music,
or did Zann target them for something else? The
Scions must unravel the meaning of this music, its
purpose, and how to stop it from driving everyone
around them mad.
• Discordant Strings — Strange sounds come across
the airwaves in a small, Midwestern town, driving
livestock and human alike to go mad and mutilate
themselves. The Scions track down the source of
this discordant music to Zann, and must decide
whether eliminating him will do more harm than
good.
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia — A mortal
friend of the band is invited to a “challenge of the
bands” where they face off to the famous Erich
Zann. If Zann loses, the challenger must become
a Scion of the Music in his stead lest Azathoth
awakens.
HENRY ANTONIO WILCOX
Quote: “You cannot create without destroying
something else. Destruction, too, is an act of creation.”
Aloof and somewhat antisocial in a polite sense,
Henry Antonio Wilcox was always the odd one in their
otherwise renowned family. Where other Wilcox’s were
urbane, articulate, and of practiced social graces, Henry
was more reclusive, sensitive, and preferred the company of themselves and their artistic endeavors than anything else. Quiet and unassuming, Henry’s dedication to
their craft has almost a religious fervor. It has, in turn,
garnered an almost cult-like patron base desperate to
see Henry’s next creation.
Then: Henry was an heir of the well-to-do Wilcox
family of Providence, Rhode Island, though albeit one
often overlooked and considered strange by the rest of a
success-oriented group. A precocious youth, Henry was
considered a genius, but their great eccentricity set them
apart from the rest of the Wilcoxes. While their family
blamed a lack of good sleep as cause for their troubled
mind, it so happened that it made for incredible art —
a discipline Henry took an early liking to, even if the
otherworldly subject matter of their pieces left others
baffled or disturbed.
It wasn’t until 1925, after Henry was enrolled at
the Rhode Island School of Design, that his art began
to be noticed. George Gammell Angell, a professor of
Semetic Languages at Brown University, first made note
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of Henry’s work in his private journals; specifically of
Henry’s bas-relief sculptures. These pieces were created
during one of Henry’s purportedly “manic” episodes,
wherein they created pieces like in a possessed manner.
Professor Angell, being too curious for their own good,
kept meticulous notes and observances of Henry’s mental state and of their creations — relating it to a series
of strange and occult disturbances the professor had
uncovered while researching strange terminology and
language fragments.
In March of 1925, another series of strange events
occurred, including earthquakes, driving Henry even
further into their art. Hieroglyphics, carvings of drowned
cities, and scribbles of the phrase “Cthulhu fhtagn” were
all made mention of in Professor Angell’s notes. Towards
the end of the month, Angell sought out Henry, only to
discover they had fallen ill and were placed into the care
of their family. It was rumored that Henry was in a state
of delirium, and that others nearby had come down with
the same affliction.
It wasn’t until after Henry recovered from their affliction that they were no longer useful to Professor Angell — as there was no more madness, no more strange
utterances. Life went back to normal, with Henry
resuming their studies. Some eighteen months later in
November of 1926, George Grammell Angell died under
questionable circumstances.
Now: Henry has always been touched by the Mythos
and was, in fact, wholly responsible for the death of Professor Angell. It wasn’t until after the incident with the
professor that their true parentage was revealed to them
— their muse, their patron, and their secondary parent
was none other than The King in Yellow, who used Henry as a vessel to bring chaos and insight to others from
a young age onward. While many Scions of the Amber
Aristocrat find themselves dying gruesome and premature deaths, Henry managed to endure. Perhaps it was
all those years growing up being the odd one out, forging
themselves through the fires of adversity through both
their art and in their personal relationships with others
who defied gender conventions and sought the divine
artistic expression within themselves.
After years of being the outcast of the family on account of their birthright and artistic proclivities, Henry
is now more confident than they have ever been. Fully
committed to the work of The Stoic Patron, Henry willingly acts as a vessel through which their Patron works,
creating art that incites terror in some and insight in
others. Owning several art galleries across four continents, Henry is always on the lookout for others like
them who might be talented enough to become one of
the King’s chosen, and is slowly growing their own cultlike following.
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
Description: Henry Antonio Wilcox stands out for
being tall, wiry, and darkly complected due in part to
their twin heritage — their father being of solidly European stock, and mother of mixed Caribbean ancestry.
They blend in more easily now that society has become
less prejudiced against mixed unions and those who
don’t conform to traditional notions of gender. Through
the years, Henry’s sense of style has maintained a distinctly classical look, but with modern cuts and tailoring
sensibilities. A crisp white twill shirt rolled up to the
elbows so they can work clay without trouble, a tweed
vest with slim pockets to hold sculpting tools, slicked
back black hair and thin wire framed glasses that rest at
the end of their nose. There is a noble air about Henry,
as they finally accept their true parentage and have come
into their own.
Story Hooks:
• Muse Madness — Rumors insist that subjects of
Henry Antonio Wilcox’s art eventually go mad
and kill themselves. One of the band’s mortal
friends falls under Wilcox’ sway, and the Scions
must decide to intervene or let their friend follow
their own path.
• Horrors Crafted of Clay — At the same time a new
exhibit goes live at a local Wilcox Gallery, creatures made of clay begin attacking the city and
inciting madness in its populace. The Scions must
stop these creatures and investigate: Did Wilcox,
or one of their enemies, make the creatures.
• Patron of the Arts — At an open house at a local
art school, Henry Antonio Wilcox takes a shine to
one of the students and offers to financially support this budding artist. The offer is sincere, but
it’s also with an eye to potential recruitment. This
makes Henry a patron or ally to a new Scion of
The King in Yellow.
LAVINIA WHATELEY
Quote: “Have you seen my beautiful sons?”
The citizens of Dunwich never had anything charitable to say about Lavinia Whateley. Born albino and
considered otherworldly or cursed by those that gazed
upon her countenance, Lavinia was roundly avoided.
Her frowned-upon behavior of wandering the moors all
day and night while dressed immodestly did nothing to
alleviate her status as outcast. Little did the people of
Dunwich know that despite Lavinia’s diminished marriage prospects, she would eventually bear the children
of an Old One and become the herald for its return.
Then: Lavinia was an unknown for most of her
childhood. Her father, Old “Wizard” Whateley, was
an unusual man who kept both himself and his family
intensely private. The townsfolk were surprised to learn
Old Whateley had a child, never mind a wife, considering his peculiar nature.
Raised on the family farmhouse well outside the
Dunwich proper, Lavinia was never properly socialized
or educated, and was prone to engaging in fantastical
daydreams as she wandered the grounds of their property. Her mother died a violent death when she was twelve
years old, leaving young Lavinia bereft of direction and
guidance. Old Whateley never gave Lavinia another
thought, believing her to be of illiterate and of diminished
mental faculties, and left her alone for weeks on end.
That was the old wizard’s first mistake. Soon the
young, frail woman found herself filling her time reading and learning from the various bits of the ill-kept
and rotting tomes in her father’s library, including an
incomplete copy of the Necronomicon. Through her own
meager studies, and her negligent father’s occasional
tutoring, Lavinia found the means through which to
summon Yog-Sothoth.
This otherworldly being gave Lavinia the first bit
of attention since her mother died, and before anyone
knew or could say a word, the unwed Lavinia was heavy
with child. She gave birth to two sons: Wilbur, who grew
at a supernatural rate, and the other who is only referred
to as the Dunwich Horror (p. 156). Lavinia took pride in
her sons, not the least bit concerned as to Wilbur’s rapid
growth or the younger son’s monstrosity, and lavished
them with all the affection rarely given to her. Eventually
though, the Dunwich Horror’s existence led to tragedy.
In the wake of the apparent death of her younger son,
Lavinia disappeared into the hills of Dunwich on Halloween of 1926, never to be seen again.
Now: All Lavinia Whateley ever wanted was to be
seen, and Yog-Sothoth saw her — both when she was
a young woman and after she bore its offspring. After
disappearing from Dunwich, she set out to recover the
personal effects of her eldest son, Wilbur, including his
journal which was claimed by Dr. Henry Armitage of
Miskatonic University. Believing it to hold even greater occult secrets than her own father’s books, Lavinia
hired a couple of thieves to break into the university to
acquire it for her. Since then, she has cherished her late
son’s journal and has used it to further her own understanding of the occult — greatly surpassing her father’s
knowledge, something which brings Lavinia great joy.
For her dedication, Yog-Sothoth reached out once
more and made Lavinia one of his chosen. She hasn’t
looked back since, suppressing the painful memories
and looking to a future she only sees in momentary
glimpses: A future where Yog-Sothoth returns, and the
world is made right again.
To that end, Lavinia has recruited followers who
travel the world over in search of a true and complete
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159
copy of the Necronomicon, all but ensuring that the next
time the ritual to summon Yog-Sothoth is attempted
it will be unstoppable. Moving through the world and
acting as an advocate for the unseen, the ignored, and
the forgotten, Lavinia imparts unto them the forbidden
knowledge she herself acquired whilst being overlooked
— knowledge which grants them the means to enact
their will upon the world. She uplifts these huddled
masses and looks after them as a mother would a child,
as she sees all of them as being different faces of her own
lost children.
Description: No one would call Lavinia conventionally beautiful, but her appearance is striking in such
a way that one’s eye cannot help but be drawn to her.
Ghostly pale, she is defined by her lack of strong features,
including the weak, Whateley chin that her father passed
down to her. She appears now as she did when she disappeared from Dunwich in 1926 — in her late forties, lips
drawn into a perpetual frown, and a halo of shockingly
white hair emanating from her albino skin. If anyone
didn’t know any better, they would believe Lavinia to be
a ghost, but at least she is a ghost that dresses in a nondescript way that manages to draw less attention to her.
Story Hooks:
• Mother of One, Mother of All — Lavinia has taken a shine to one of the Scions, going as far as
to consider them one of her children in such an
overbearing manner it is hard to determine if she
simply means well or if she has some other, darker,
plans in mind. She couldn’t possibly be wanting
to sacrifice Scions to bring back Yog-Sothoth. Or
could she?
• The Woman in White — Legends abound of a
woman dressed in white luring men to their
deaths on abandoned highways. Other legends
say that a woman in white has caused men to fling
themselves off oceanside cliffs. The Scions must
discover who this woman is, what her goals are,
and why are all these sacrifices necessary.
• Catch ‘Em All — The Scions are tasked by Lavinia,
calling in various favors that trickled down to
the band, with tracking down thirteen iridescent
“orbs,” each bearing a unique name. She won’t tell
them why she wants these globes, but makes mention of collecting them to make one’s wishes come
true. One can heal any ill, another grants riches
beyond wildest imaginings. Do the Scions collect
the orbs and give them to Lavinia, or keep them
and earn her wrath?
160
ROBERTA OLMSTEAD
Quote: “Every day I am becoming something different; every day I am becoming closer to the truth I always
felt inside.”
Curiosity is a dangerous desire to have, and Roberta learned the hard way that sometimes chasing down
the past is more troubling than one could imagine and
changes the entire trajectory of your life. Seeking to
uncover her family’s history in the seaside town of Innsmouth, Roberta soon discovered that not everything is
what it seemed — even she was not who she seemed to
be — and that in the end all things lead back to the sea.
Then: It began as a trip to explore the architecture
and antiquities of New England. Roberta Olmstead, a
21-year-old university student, had traveled as far as
Newburyport, Massachusetts, taking as many notes
as she could and interviewing locals about the history
of the area. Perhaps that is where fate intervened, and
the atmosphere of the trip began to change from one of
scholarly study into something dark and unknowable.
Superstitions ran wild among the locals of Newburyport,
and they spoke in hushed tones about what lied further
north in Innsmouth. Thinking little of the superstitions,
she boarded the bus to Innsmouth and continued her
trip.
Upon arriving, Roberta was shocked to find the
town of Innsmouth in disarray and disrepair; dilapidated
buildings, a deserted town square, and what little population there was seemed to look “off,” with no real way
to put a finger as to why they appeared as such — their
heads were narrow, their noses flat, and eyes bulging.
There was only one person whom Roberta met in Innsmouth who looked remotely conventional, and that was
a grocery clerk who gave her the name of a local who
could assist her in her research: Zardok Allen.
Zardok, after being plied with strong drink, recounted to Roberta the history of Innsmouth, speaking about
so-called “fish people” who brought with them gold
jewelry to those who offered them human sacrifices.
These fish people could even mate with humans and beget hybrid offspring. This both horrified and fascinated
Roberta, who could hardly believe that anyone believed
this to be true. Their conversation ended with Zardok
warning Roberta to leave Innsmouth and never return
because she has been “seen,” but she was unmoved. Further, Roberta was prevented from leaving Innsmouth as
the bus has broken down and so she stayed the night in
an old, musty motel.
In the night, Roberta heard what seemed to be an
intruder at her door and made an escape through a
window. Trying to draw as little attention as possible,
she imitated the strange gait of the locals to throw off
whomever was pursuing her. That is when she heard
APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY
what Zardok had described as the gurgling sound of the
fish people, and realized that everything Zardok had
said, and everything that the people of Newburyport had
warned her of, was true.
Upon seeing one of the creatures as they came into
the light, Roberta fainted. And then she woke up in the
neighboring town of Rowley.
Now: The Innsmouth Incident made Roberta realize that not everything was as it seemed in her family
tree. Reaching back, she discovered that several distant
relatives had mated with the Old Ones. In the weeks
following, she also uncovered the secret history of the
Esoteric Order of Dagon, which had been founded by
her great-great grandfather, Obed Marsh. The very same
Obed Marsh, she recalled, that Zardok had mentioned
briefly in his retelling of the history of Innsmouth. Roberta then realized, to her horror, that she, too, would
transform into something of unfathomable horror and
eventually feel the pull to return to the sea.
Since those years, Roberta has transformed, but
not in the way she had initially expected. Instead of
the nightmares she experienced in Innsmouth, she has
dreams of another city buried beneath the waves. It
took only until very recently for her to discover it was
not Y’ha-nthlei beckoning for her return to her ancestral
grounds, but rather another city, the city of the slumbering dreamer: R’lyeh. Still, the urges that have arisen in
Roberta give her cause for concern. Awaking from nightmares drenched in sweat and smelling like the salt spray
of the ocean are all indicators that her transformation
hasn’t come to full fruition, but it is coming. Roberta is
studying, training, and waiting for the moment when
she will be able to make a stand and fully assert herself
against the Old Ones — and eliminate her family line
once and for all.
Description: Roberta stands out in a crowd, standing roughly a head taller than the average person, with
large, deep-set almost starry-like eyes that take in every
minute detail in an area. A descendant of Obed Marsh
and a Deep One, there is an almost translucent quality to
her skin that makes it look perpetually damp or covered
in perspiration, though most would chalk that up to a
nervous demeanor.
Story Hooks:
• Fresh Fish (People) — The Scions have come
across a newly transformed Deep One hybrid, but
aren’t sure what to do with them. They hear that
Roberta Olmstead can help these creatures, or at
the very least find a place for where they are not a
danger to themselves or others.
• Trimming the Family Tree — There’s been a slew
of seemingly random murders spread across
the Atlantic seaboard — seemingly random until
the Scions uncover that there is a threat connecting all the victims: familial ties going back
to the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the town of
Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Their investigation
traces the murders back to Roberta Olmstead,
Scion and known heir of Innsmouth.
• That Marsh Life — Fate claimed Roberta at last,
and her transformation into an Old One Hybrid
begins in earnest. She asks the Scions for aid to
return to Y’ha-nthlei so that she can either join
those who came before her, or continue her fight
against Fate.
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APPENDIX TWO
TERRA INCOGNITAE
“If there’s a way into hell, someone will always find it.”
— T. Kingfisher, The Hollow Places
H
ere we present new Terra Icognitae that are specific to the Mythos Pantheon. While going to the realm of one
such as Azathoth, in the center of infinite chaos, is tricky even for a Scion touched by the Mythos, other realms
are far more approachable.
Y’HA-NTHLEI
“We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea
and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and
many-columned Y’ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep
Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.”
– H.P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Enormous shapes lurk beyond the tide, from vast
structures dwarfing human achievement to colossal life
eyeing its lesser landbound counterparts hungrily. The
things that dwell within and around sunken Y’ha-nthlei
do not need the town of Innsmouth, the greater sprawl
of Miskatonic Hollow, or their relatives and agents
among the short-lived air-breathing bipeds to survive.
Their submarine existence is rooted in a deeper and
older order that abides ice age and continental drift.
Y’ha-nthlei’s science, arts, and geometry utilize spaces
and concepts untouched by human efforts or striving.
And yet, called forth by foolish beings of human stock
and impelled onward by the Deep One’s own predatory
forebearers and malign divinities, the creatures who
dwell there want those things. Y’ha-nthlei’s children
hunger for both the flesh and spirit of the air-breathing
mayfly species, for what strips of human civilization
exist adjacent to their own deep and dark realms to fall
fully within their auspices and mastery.
Innsmouth and the Esoteric Order of Dagon place
themselves in thrall to the Deep Ones and their greater
relatives repeatedly — the cult leaders, slowly maturing
hybrids, and xenophobic locals only barely aware of the
impossible thing that awaits in the gulf of waves and
darkness. It’s rare for any who still walk beneath the sky
and breathe air to understand the implications of their
veneration: the Deep Ones, Father Dagon, and Mother
166
Hydra certainly see the cultic and hybrid populations as
their progeny, descendants of ancient blood and inheritors of abyssal mysteries. But in doing so, the faithful of
Innsmouth have placed themselves at the end of a line
which has never balked at eating its own children.
MYTHOS
In spaces lit only by bioluminescence and stranger
chemical reactions, beneath the enormous pressures
of the shifting ocean and the Old Ones’ perception, between stanchions erected before mammalian life first
grew in an amniotic sac, the children of Y’ha-nthlei
cavort and seethe. Their elders have lived since before
the earliest human prehistory not only by the imperishable strengths of their alien constitution but by driven,
determined wit. For the immortals of the deep must do
much to keep their owed eternities. Infinity only exists
through avoiding the casual hungry passage of the Father Dagon, the helpful disassembly into raw meat material by a loving Mother Hydra, the internecine conflict
between obscure clades and abstruse philosophies of
the subaqueous, and the uncaring physical processes of
Y’ha-nthlei’s aquatic environs.
And so it is that the Deep Ones respond to the call of
Innsmouth. In co-mingling with surface humanity and
bringing the Esoteric Order of Dagon and other human
attempts at grasping their great truths into their circle,
the inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei seek to turn potential immortality into actualized lifespan — what sacrifices and
fealties the order, similar cultists, and other interested
humans offering up creating an ever-expanding stock
for Y’ha-nthlei to treat as its pantry. The Deep Ones
and their greater kin consume some sacrifices and unfortunate worshippers for sustenance and the joy of it;
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
certainly, such things are famous among the Innsmouth
set during the May and October rituals.
But the desires of Y’ha-nthlei go beyond simple satiation and animal contentedness. The rituals between the
benthic pillars mingle religious and practical purposes, as
science, art, and theology fuse together. The Deep Ones
and their elders simultaneously venerate the great powers
alongside enacting changes on their physical environment,
averting the attention of Father Dagon in the same ritual
that transfigures a heady mix of biological components
into a newly spawned shoggoth. These and stranger deeds
require much in the way of resources, many of which are
present in the human animal and its imaginings.
And so, while many in Innsmouth assume that the
twice-yearly festivals, the unfortunate tourists, and the
occasional failed hybrid or sacrificial zealot are sufficient for Deep One appetites, they have fundamentally
misunderstood their appeal to the dwellers in Y’ha-nthlei. Among the dwellers in the deep there are beings,
covens, and orders that seek to spill out onto the surface,
transforming Innsmouth into a literal beachhead with
which to incorporate and consume ever more of the
human world. Though some hybrids, cultists, and even
particularly lucky or unlucky bystanders might survive
Y’ha-nthlei’s eruption across Innsmouth, many others
would become the grist for an ancient mill. That it has
not happened yet is not a factor of the Esoteric Order of
Dagon’s devotions, or indeed any other human activity
to date. Y’ha-nthlei’s population and circumstances have
simply not aligned in in such a way to date. The Esoteric
Order, cultists, and other accomplices to Y’ha-nthlei remain unable to see the doom they have courted for years,
even as it builds and shifts beneath the deep, largely unaffected by their efforts. Should Y’ha-nthlei’s inhabitants
choose to ride with the tide and sweep away Innsmouth,
it will take drastic and fearless action, potentially by
brave or driven Scions, to prevent it from becoming a
footnote to an even greater catastrophe.
LEGENDS
The Esoteric Order and other would-be worshippers of Dagon believe Y’ha-nthlei to possess its own
particular brand of order: the city beneath Devil’s Reef
growing ever greater and closer to its alien gods as depth
and distance increase. Hybrids and human cultist often
imagine a stately procession of piscine flesh, amphibious
grand-parents and ever greater Deep Ones increasing in
age and might until one reaches the utmost expanse of
the pelagic realm, occupied only by the fearsome forms
of Father Dagon and Mother Hydra in their obscure and
terrible obeisance to the Great Old Ones. In truth, the
precincts of Y’ha-nthlei possess no simple and straightforward order, but the truth of ever deeper mysteries
and a growing awfulness of Deep Ones forms at least
resembles the surface stories.
Innsmouth’s inhabitants consider it bad luck for
the year’s coming festivities to refer to one’s descended
brethren by their human or Deep One names. Those
with a need to speak of their relatives in more than generalities, or who have dared to mingle with their rising
relatives, often refer to them by nickname and moniker,
assuming they survive the experience. Visiting tourists
occasionally find the habit of calling one’s distant aunt
Sickle Teeth cruel, or one’s long departed sister Waddle
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Walk strange, but the Deep Ones care little what the
tourists think when it comes time for the seasonal festivals. Sometimes this leads the Esoteric Order of Dagon
to ascribe particular importance to repeatedly seen or
particularly active Deep Ones, offering prayers to the
towering matron known as Old Kindness, or even suggesting in their occult writings that she may be on a path
to greater prominence in Y’ha-nthlei’s flooded halls.
The area’s penchant for disappearances combined
with Innsmouth unsavory reputation and unfriendly inhabitants lead to many communities across Miskatonic
Hollow to develop their own stories and tales of what
lies beyond the shoreline. Generations of old stories of
giving up offerings of food or personal valuables in return for the remains or personal possessions from those
lost at sea still persist in some places. Stories of a greataunt or uncle finding their loved one’s waterlogged sea
chest or monogrammed keepsakes are common enough
for most residents to know of them. Persistent rumors
suggest that one just has to find the right place along
Innsmouth’s coast or the right time in the muddy darkness before dawn to drop meat and silver into the water…
and then the ocean will offer up evidence of the lost’s
fate. The Innsmouth authorities try to discourage such
behavior. Some of this is for practical reasons; no reason
to have more outsiders poking around, especially when
they might see something they shouldn’t. But some of
the Esoteric Order’s objections are almost ideological:
outsiders obviously can’t offer up such offal ignorantly
and reap any weal from the ocean. For if they could, it
would bring into question the position of prominence
the Esoteric Order and ruling families of Innsmouth
believe they possess.
GATES
Beyond the strangely-angled descent from Devil’s
Reef, gateways to Y’ha-nthlei reach out across locations
across New England and beyond. The Deep Ones and
their Gods created some particularly useful passageways, while others emerge as a function of the otherworldly geometry of the sunken city. And while Scions
usually encounter those portals facing the World first,
many passages in deep’s darkness lead to wholly other
realms and locations.
Hooper’s Sink shares much in common with many
such doorways in and around Miskatonic Hollow. Located in ill-fated fields owned by a family of the same
name near Havenspoint, the fetid sinkhole retained the
moniker long after they departed in despair. An often
flooding, continually crumbling expanse of lost ground,
locals blame continued over foresting in the area for the
land’s collapse. Attempts at development seem notoriously cursed. Workers come down with awful stomach
ailments from tainted groundwater, suddenly shifting
earth damages or destroys construction machinery as
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another dozen feet of dirt slide the Sink’s mouth. Only
a few know its true secret: when Hooper’s Sink fills due
to rainstorms or increasingly rare winter meltwater, its
murky depths become a direct passageway to the salty
water of Y’ha-nthlei. Such a passage is invariably lethal
to humans unprepared for the suddenly change of pressure and lack of air, but offers those who wish to communicate with Y’ha-nthlei’s population without risking
Innsmouth an attractive, if dangerous option.
A far stranger gate connects Y’ha-nthlei to points
south, such as several ill-fated islands in Polynesia. Imperfectly translated from the tongue of the Deep Ones
as the Quaking Tunnel, it manifests as a gelid current
of water and mucus coursing from Y’ha-nthlei’s outer precincts to unfortunate shores across the World.
Often the Tunnel opens its mouth near the Antarctic,
allowing long-separated individuals and kinships of the
Deep Ones to meet each other in the flesh once more.
Other times, an unseasonal chill announces the Tunnel’s
opening near Australian beaches or Baltic shores. Disappearances and strange infrastructure collapses often
follow, but without the signs of Deep One incursion.
For the Quaking Tunnel is not their doing nor a cosmic
accident; instead, it is formed and traveled by Y’ha-nthlei’s shoggoths, questing across the World for access to
the Lavender Sea of Zathitho. The Deep Ones evince
little interest in how or why the woken shoggoths do
this; they can utilize the Quaking Tunnel for safe travel, their mastery over their living relic servants usually
protecting them. Others who might wish to enter or flee
Y’ha-nthlei through the chill of whirling water and cast
off protoplasm must find their own methods to survive
its shoggoth creators, and might do well to consider what
the alien, incredibly dangerous tool-creatures are using
the Quaking Tunnel to search for across the World.
On most days, the Basalt Turn lies inert, as merely
a strange bulging curve of stone in the deepest, darkest
corner of Y’ha-nthlei. Every few weeks, some cosmic
alignment turns around it, a key formed from the particular geometries of the moment. Deep Ones engaged in
worship, feeding, or what passes for Y’ha-nthleian daily
life avoid the Basalt Turn then, for to travel beyond it is to
leave beyond such sureties that their endless lives offer
them. It is a door to a stranger ocean, where Father Dagon and Mother Hydra would be but another impressive
predator, where aeon-long veneration of the Old Ones
becomes no more useful a ward against doom than an
air-breather’s recitation of a child’s poem. For those Scions, Deep Ones, or others who dare, the Ocean Beyond
the Basalt Turn opens into a realm of endless enormity,
confusing pressures, and nonsense lighting. The eternal
and ever-sea there offers similar gates to watery realms
across the World, Underworlds, and Overwords, for one
who could navigate it.
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
THE WARM GARDENS
Those entering Y’ha-nthlei from the Devil’s Reef
often find the cool of the New England coast and chill
of otherworldly waters suddenly disturbed by a balmy
current. Following the trail of heat leads to a mass of life
somewhere between plant and animal, a ragged cluster
anchored to the crests of Y’ha-nthlei’s pillars. The Warm
Gardens hang there in the ocean, readily accessible to
any who have survived this far.
Slowly crawling lights dimly light their interior,
flashes of deep pulsing red and churning green occasionally visible against the darkness. Young Deep Ones
and recently descended hybrids swim, walk, or crawl
through the Gardens’ squirming passageway as shape
and space rapidly change. Partial remains of human sacrifice float in blood-choked chambers, until the Gardens
themselves draw the leftover material through their
pulsing walls to consume. In other places, the half-living effluvia of experimental or failed supernatural acts
by mere decades-old Deep Ones stews, awaiting either
slow diffusion or another magical attempt.
The older inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei shun the
uncomfortable warmth of the Gardens, the caressing
closeness of its integument tunnels simply impossible to
navigate for the largest. The creatures who cluster in its
fluttering halls and meeting rooms do not wish to wait for
the stars to be right to unleash themselves on the world
above; often, they work to unleash more immediate plans
on a surface they still remember vividly. The clusters and
cliques that toil within the Gardens do not benefit from
plans or powers cultivated over centuries; their ability to
create or call up horrors often dwarfed by that of their
older relatives. Those sacrificed to call up lesser horrors
from beyond or pulled apart to make material for second-rate shoggoth spawn rarely find this a comfort.
Scions and other surface dwellers who safely navigate to the Warm Gardens find the usual inhabitants a
mixed blessing. On the one hand, Deep Ones who still
understand the urgency and flow of modern human life
more easily relate information that makes sense to modern Scions. They’re less likely to leave a conversation
or devour their conversational partner, as their ancient
impulses overwhelm momentary instinct. On the other,
these Deep Ones concern themselves with the goings-on
of the surface and potential modern threats, which can
very quickly become messy if they identity a visiting Scion as a potential liability.
PEST PROBLEMS
Blood and death in close quarters brings all manner of scavenger and pest to infest the Warm Gardens.
Crabs and bottom feeders filter down from the Devil’s
Reef, and occasionally a very lost shark attempts to feast
on leftover human carrion. For the Deep Ones, there is
a parasitic visitor of more concern. Attracted by unfinished magic and supernatural spillover, hook-lice are
cat-sized arthropod creatures of irregular, half-material
outline, and uncertain, constantly shifting mats of legs.
Unsightly pests when feeding from ambient misused
magic, the sharp barbs on the end of their legs allow
them to attach themselves to Deep Ones, Scions, or other unfortunates who use supernatural powers in their
presence and feed off their energies whenever they use a
Knack, Boon, or other power. Removing them is painful
for Deep Ones and potentially dangerous for humans,
but their presence causes increasing complications for
the use of supernatural powers.
STORY HOOKS
• If you wanted to keep a normal human alive in
Y’ha-nthlei, there are worst places to do it than the
Warm Gardens. The elevated temperature wards
off hypothermia, the fleshy walls, and thresholds
seal to create a waterproof area inside, and tissue
of the place filters air for far longer than a person would ever need. So when Deep Ones drag a
Scion’s Fatebound mortal beneath the waves, still
alive, the Warm Gardens are the obvious place to
go. The Scions need to figure a way to safely get
them out, either disrupting whatever ritual the
Deep Ones intend to use their friend for, or to
convince a desperately homesick Deep One that
keeping their friend imprisoned in a fleshy cage
floating over an inhuman city in a desperate bid
for company is a bad idea.
• Deep Ones don’t blink at slaughter, carnage, or
filth that would test the stomach of even the
stoutest Scion. But the scuttling, half-material
presence of hook-lice makes Deep Ones visibly
uncomfortable, even the greatest among their
number avoiding the verminous presence when
possible. A Deep One bent on violence won’t be
driven off by a mere Hook-Louse, but those just
looking for casual murder or mammal snack
will often swim clear. When the Scions need to
descend deeper into Y’ha-nthlei, bringing along
some horrible, thaumophagic vermin is a great
way to ward off hungry or bored Deep Ones. Now,
if the Band can just avoid getting hooked by the
foul creatures as they collect them…
• Half-formed monstrosities keep washing up in
communities dear to the Scions. All signs point
to the Warm Gardens inhabitants attempting to
call up or recreate a brood of shoggoths with particular appetites for surface flesh. Can the Band
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intervene to stop it, preventing unfortunate towns
up and down the coast from being wiped out in
a single horrific mealtime? And do so without
drawing the attention of even more dangerous
inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei?
THE BUSY WATERS
Y’ha-nthlei’s columns stretch from the waters near
the entrance at Devil’s Reef to the very depths of its otherworldly abyssal floor. Fashioned from ancient stone
ignorant of sunlight and unmoving across geological
epochs of time, the pillars stand impervious to even the
passage of Y’ha-nthlei’s gods and deep ages. That there
are sections marked by webbed touches and piscine bodies scratched into their implacable structure speaks both
to how long the Deep Ones have inhabited Y’ha-nthlei,
and how popular these places have been among them.
Called the Busy Waters by those hybrids who bother
to refer to them in human language, the long stretches
serve as both concourse and forum for many of Y’ha-nthlei’s inhabitants. They offer slightly safer transit from
the depths to what passes for the place’s shallow climbs,
generally free of horrors which threaten even the Deep
Ones past the city’s limits. Those creatures who wish
conversation or communion with their fellows may
most easily find it hanging off aeon-old outcroppings,
indicating a desire (or at least a willingness) to share
submerged fellowship.
Clouds of blood mark partnerships sealed through
shared slaughter of a meal. Echoing benthic howls echo
as companions pull parasites or unwelcome growths
from one anothers’ bodies. Dim living illumination
spreads across niches as enthusiastic partners in mysticism prepare an impromptu ritual space with the glowing guts of an unfortunate lamp creature.
Others Deep Ones come to the Busy Waters to
practice worship and offer obeisance to the Old Ones in
public view. While there are numerous places dedicated
either to the ancestral Father Dagon and Mother Hydra
or the wider pantheon of Old Ones across Y’ha-nthlei,
great and ancient powers and individuals claim many.
A Deep One who wishes to lead worship without millennia of preparation, or whose views of their Gods
somehow offend their elders can do worse than to
present devotional adulation in the Busy Waters. Such
modern Deep One prophets occasionally find their public demonstrations bring them like-minded followers,
or invitations into obscure clades of their fellows who
share the same outré beliefs. Other times, it gets them
torn apart and devoured before their peers, which is but
another form of worship for the Old Ones. Particularly
aggressive followers of Mother Dagon fall upon young
arrivals who breach unspoken rules in their Esoteric
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Order of Dagon-inspired worship, finding some flaw in
obeisance that still reeks of the surface.
While visitors from the surface may be surprised by
such casual carnage, no visitor to the Busy Waters is truly
safe. Visitors find themselves casually pulled apart and
devoured as a matter of course; Deep One disagreements
minutes or decades in the making become suddenly and
violently escalated in brutal moments; elders devour
younger creature fits of hunger or pique. Sometimes,
both parties survive, to nurse their wounds or missing
limbs until time restores their powerful forms. Other
times, they are fatally final. For Y’ha-nthlei’s inhabitants,
this is the natural conclusion of so many bodies existing in close proximity, the constant companion to the
eternity stretching ahead of them. Even the oldest Deep
Ones, the greatest killers, the most devoted to worship,
and the cleverest in sorcery know that should they swim
through the Busy Waters when Father Dagon comes to
visit, they could disappear in a single bloody moment.
PILLAR HORRORS
The Deep Ones have mastered or driven away any
creatures of the terminal Abyss that could threaten their
adult forms. Those who remain are still dangerous to
visiting Scions or other creatures less durable or adapted to Y’ha-nthlei’s climes. Corkscrewing sanguinator
worms cannot successfully penetrate healthy Deep One
flesh, but are quite capable of draining a human or related surface dweller of blood in moments. Flenser Crabs
strip carcasses free of flesh in mere minutes; Deep Ones
cultivate them for keeping columns clean of carrion or
other detritus, but soft human flesh presents as a delicious snack for the creatures. Deep Ones have similarly
bred Idle Jellies for the pleasant sensation their stings
induce in Deep One flesh. Those foreign stock who run
afoul of their soft forms and undulating tentacles suffer
terrifying hallucinations, which seem to attract the attention of other, often immaterial threats which lurk in
the ocean’s dark.
STORY HOOKS
• The Scions need to track down a specific Deep
One in order to obtain its centuries old knowledge
of a weakness their Mythos enemies hold, but lose
the trail as the reach Y’ha-nthlei. The Busy Waters
may be the only place the Scions can hope to simply see the Deep One passing by, but the longer
they wait for their quarry, the greater chance that
some other inhabitant of Y’ha-nthlei objects to
their presence. Can they convince another local
to help them, or at least point them in the right
direction?
• The Band needs access to another, heavily defended part of Y’ha-nthlei. If they can cause
enough strife in the Busy Waters, they might be
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
able to draw attention away from their real target.
Can they discover and exploit divisions between
the creatures, such as Mother Dagon’s adherents’
murderous objections to Esoteric Order inducted
Deep Ones without becoming embroiled in the
very conflict they hope to exploit?
• A Mythos Scion needs to contact a hybrid friend
who often frequents the Busy Waters. The friend
irritated an ancient Deep One, who has already
dismembered the friend as the Scions arrive. Can
they figure out the elder’s ire and safely extract
the hybrid without bringing down its violent
attention upon themselves? And can they figure
out enough Deep One medicine to help their delimbed friend pull themselves together again?
THE UNBOUND STRUCTURE
It hangs in the lower recesses of Y’ha-nthlei. Hovering mere meters from the edge of a great chasm, neither
time nor wave moves the artifact. Exposed to light, its
exterior reveals itself to be craggy layers of something
like shell, enormous slabs of calcium carbonate layered
atop grainy plasters, and jagged openings suggesting a
twisted interior beyond. Inside, Deep Ones of age, experience, and power stalk labyrinthine passageways that
defy the limits of the Structure as viewed from outside.
Piscine pontiffs fill chambers with antiquities of gold
and rarer metals laid ready for ritual or worship to come.
Scions or hybrids entering the strange halls in search of
signs of the next eruption of Deep One aggression onto
land will leave disappointed, however, as the strange objects and rituals practiced seem wholly directed toward
Y’ha-nthlei and similar sunken lands.
The Deep Ones of the Unbound Structure persist
in ancient labor, apart from their fellows. While they
worship Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and many of the
Old Ones just as the greater part of Y’ha-nthlei does, the
Unbound Structure is the last outpost of a heterodox
order. Their differences from the rest of Y’ha-nthlei are
abstruse and esoteric, having to do with the particular
relationship between the Deep One and the objects of
their worship. The matter of a few inches of starlight,
a slightly different map of the cosmos, different undulating subsonic “words” of worship; these are the things
that have put those who dwell in the Unbound Structure
against the great part of their people for longer than
humanity has mastered steel. For millennia they have
slowly lost more ground, as visiting Scions or hybrids
may note: there are no members of this strange group
younger than hulking millenarians.
The Unbound Structure’s masters occupy themselves
with their slow, failing effort against greater Y’ha-nthlei
too much to care about surface dwellers or young hybrids who come to the Structure. While an interloper is
in danger from injury as the hulking Deep Ones move
about the Structure or the occasional side effects of
their rituals, the creatures rarely deign to acknowledge,
much less directly interact with lesser beings. They direct occasional bursts of violence at the ruling cliques
of Y’ha-nthlei based on astrological, benthic, or other
occult conditions, or to interrupt worship that qualifies
as particularly objectionable by their ancient standards.
And yet the greater population of Y’ha-nthlei doesn’t
move against the Structure. Whatever old order they
represent possesses enough credence to prevent Deep
Ones, Shoggoths, and other terrors from descending onto
the Unbound Structure en masse and spending the lives
necessary to devour those inside from existence. Perhaps
the greater mass of Y’ha-nthlei considers the Unbound
Structure a problem that will correct itself in time with
the eternity ahead of them; perhaps the city’s rulers await
Father Dagon’s return, hoping the ultimate ancestor will
purge it. Or perhaps they simply accept the cyclical killings as right and proper under the order of the Old Ones.
UNBOUND ISSUES
Unbound Structure ritual practice conjures things
from beyond in acts of veneration. Predatory Light is
one such substance, a wafer-thin membrane of unreal
substance that glows changing shades of color. Creatures unfortunate enough to wander into contact with
it swiftly have their life force drained away, leaving only
translucent corpse-remains behind, devoid of color
or substance. The Deep Ones who summon Predatory
Light traditionally feed it from their own substance before butchering it and devouring it in a ritual meal, but
scraps and even entire sheets of the material occasionally escape into the halls of the Unbound Structure.
Predecessor Parasites attach themselves to the
shadows of their victims, stealing their energy to create
briefly lived clones which the Parasites use to collect
more food sources. The Deep Ones of the Structure affix
the cilia-laden disks to themselves, glutting themselves
on food to provide enough energy for the Parasite to
spawn a shifting alter-self worthy of fighting and disemboweling in worship. Dislodged Parasites have trouble
attaching to the scales of millennia-old Deep Ones, and
so they are often left to float about the Structure, weakly
seeking out more tractable prey.
STORY HOOKS
• Scions infiltrating Y’ha-nthlei need a place to
recoup and recover, and the Unbound Structure
offers a place where the inhabitants simply don’t
care about their presence. However, as they enter
its halls it becomes apparent that major rituals
are underway that may summon dangerously destructive forces, threatening the arrival of enough
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Predecessor Parasites to drain the life from a
Massachusetts town or a sanguinator worm large
enough to simply devour it. Do they stop whatever is summoned, or remain hidden in their temporary safe haven?
• The rest of Y’ha-nthlei is readying for the seasonal rites which claim many lives in Innsmouth
and elsewhere on the surface. If the Deep Ones of
the Unbound Structure can be convinced to turn
against their brethren shortly before the event,
much of the killing on the surface could be avoided. Can the Scions figure out a way to convince
the elders in the Structure to make a move, without tripping across some ancient taboo against
surfacer interference that raises their ire?
• An ally of the Scions needs information about
events that happened thousands of years ago.
Deep Ones witnessed whatever happened, but
Y’ha-nthlei’s ancients are unlikely to be helpful.
The Unbound Structure seems a likely place to
find useful information. When the Scions arrive,
however, the Deep Ones there are already engaged in immediate and lethal ideological conflict
with Y’ha-nthlei’s elders. How do the Scions get
the information they need in the middle of an
alien sectarian struggle?
DANGERS OF THE DEEP
HOOK-LICE
A prepared character can simply kill or drive off an
individual Hook-Louse with a single action. However,
when hook-lice are present in numbers, they impose
between 1 and 3 points of the Lousy Complication to any
actions involving magic or other supernatural powers. If
the Complication is not bought off, a Hook-Louse attaches itself to the unfortunate being, and begins consuming
their supernatural energy. This causes a point of Legend
to be committed to the Hook-Louse’s feeding until it
can be removed through a lengthy Medicine action. Attempting to simply rip it off results in a dead louse, but
also an Injury condition.
SANGUINATOR WORM
Corkscrewing lengths of undulating muscle propelling spear-like proboscises, sanguinator worms usually
subsist off meals of blood from unfortunate fish and
deep-sea creatures. Given the chance, however, they glut
themselves on warm mammalian blood. Both the Esoteric Order and Y’hna-nthlei’s inhabitants occasionally
utilize the worms’ native instincts by employing sanguinator worms as guard animals or assassins. This is much
more dangerous to hybrids who haven’t come fully into
the unnatural health native to fully mature Deep Ones,
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as the worms can still feed off their not-yet-inviolable
blood if given the chance.
SANGUINATOR WORM
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Life Drain (Hero, p. 287)
Drive: Feast on Blood and Grow Fat
Primary Pool (7): Ambush Prey, Feed on Blood
(+1 Enhancement), Slither Along Submarine
Structures
Secondary Pool (5): Drawn Out Conflict, Pursuit
Through Open Water
Desperation Pool (3): Moving Outside of Water
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 4
Special: Sanguinator Worms can’t use their Life
Drain quality against targets with the Regeneration
Quality or Heavy Armor.
ZATHITHO
“Then came the shift as vast converging planes of a
slippery-looking substance loomed above and below him
— a shift which ended in a flash of delirium and a blaze of
unknown, alien light in which yellow, carmine, and indigo
were madly and inextricably blended.”
— H. P. Lovecraft, The Dreams in the Witch House
Before the Elder Things came to Earth, even before
they took to the stars to colonize the galaxy, they lived
on Zathitho. Under a chaotic trio of suns, the planet is a
study of contrasts. The creatures that humans know as
Elder Things grew with Zathitho when it was young and
learned to tame the chaos created by the three celestial
bodies. Here they referred to themselves as Ichaatath,
and they were once a great and powerful civilization,
brimming with scientific advancements that humanity
could only dream of. When their knowledge and power
outgrew their home, they took to the skies and began to
colonize the universe and change it into their own image.
The word Zathitho itself means origin, transliterated roughly from the mental sounds humans experience
when an Elder Thing deigns to converse with them
through their hypnotic connection. All Elder Things
know of their origin, even the ones many generations
removed from their ancient ancestors who flew to Earth
through the stars. It holds a mental connection over
them, and they all seek to return there one day, if only to
relearn all the information lost to them through the ages.
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
Zathitho was an old place when the Earth was
young, and now it is beyond ancient. Landforms have
risen, fallen, and risen again in its lifetime, though the
Ichaatath’s influence on the Terra Incognita’s landscape
has kept it feeling timeless. Three distant suns cast the
place in perpetual light, as at least one is always visible
in the sky, no matter the viewer’s location. When all
three are high in the sky, they create a kaleidoscope of
hues that blend into a strange light source.
Most of Zathitho is water, with oceans covering 80
percent of its surface. Where there is land, the Ichaatath
have cultivated every scrap of it, from its highest mountain peak to its numerous beaches. Their cities sprawl
for as far as the eye can see, broken only by water features, or crop lands, which blend directly into the next
city. Their structures line the ocean floors, making it
hard to know when one city stops, and another begins.
Most of these places are long since abandoned, their
sweeping spires and impossible geometries toppled and
dilapidated through disuse.
THE ICHAATATH PRIMACY
The Ichaatath cultivated, developed, built, and
rebuilt Zathitho at their whims for millennia. Their
technology allowed them to carve out oceans, stop tectonic drift, and literally move mountains, which they
did routinely with exacting precision. This advanced
technology allowed them to build structures that defy
all human knowledge of physics, because they simply ignored the physical properties of things, and wrote their
own physical realities. The impossible became possible,
and they never once shied from doing what they wanted,
especially in the name of science.
To that end, the Ichaatath were masters of genetic
manipulation and could create life forms from little
more than the base elements. When they first dispersed
into the universe, Elder Things routinely returned to Zathitho with samples from distant planets that they used
in their experiments. They incorporated interesting genetics into their own, and eventually developed a form of
proto life which they called shoggoths. Shoggoths held
the genetic building blocks for literally every form of
life the Ichaatath had encountered, and many more they
extrapolated. With the correct environmental nudge,
a shoggoth could morph from a formless blob into any
biological form the Ichaatath could imagine.
Soon they replaced all living creatures on Zathitho
with shoggoths. At first, they made specialized shoggoths
for different functions. They modeled their forms and
inputs for specific purposes, often following the forms
of the original creatures after which they were modeled.
The Ichaatath decided such limited use was not worth
their efforts and created new shoggoths with the ability
to change to a task at will, and gave them sentience to
determine when to make such changes on their own.
SHOGGOTH UPRISING
Creating a sentient race of creatures able to change
their form at will created its own set of problems. The
Ichaatath were never concerned with the ethics of their
creations and failed to consider that using sentient and
sapient creatures as though they were nothing more
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173
than beasts would not go well for them. It took time, but
the shoggoths eventually rose up against their creators
and fought a long and bloody battle for their freedom.
Shoggoths had a distinct advantage. They could
change their form for various functionality far faster
than the Ichaatath could respond with genetic manipulations. By the time the race of Elder Things produced a
way to contain and control the shoggoths, it was too late.
Shoggoths all around the universe rose up against the
Elder Things and forced them into hiding on the planets they had inhabited. Most Elder Things planets had
no connection to Zathitho and had long lost the level of
technology it would take to effectively combat shoggoths.
On Zathitho, the Ichaatath retreated to a single
sprawling city, Zath, which became both their refuge
and prison. Within the city, they were able to mount
defenses that the shoggoth could not penetrate, and
there they developed a weapon that could destroy the
shoggoths who got too close. The shoggoths feared extinction and walled the Ichaatath into their home with
a self-replicating wall made of non-sentient shoggoth
flesh. It didn’t work as intended, but the shoggoths were
able to maintain the perimeter long enough to flee.
Now Zathitho is a desolate place. The shoggoth’s
flesh wall keeps most of the Ichaatath inside their last
city, and the remnants of their failed genetic experiments
roam the abandoned places. A few shoggoths remain in
Zathitho as protectors, ready to attack anyone who might
try to follow their brethren. They keep sentinel still, eons
after their uprising and exodus from the World.
MYTHOS
Zathitho is the origin of all Elder Things and shoggoth. Elder Things feel a strong connection to the Terra
Incognita and seek to return there at all costs. It doesn’t
help that the Ichaatath still living in the Terra Incognita
actively seek to open portals between their realm and the
World in an attempt to relocate to the more fertile place.
The shoggoths that live there are actively attempting to
stop this incursion, but they are not strong enough to
mount a full assault.
Knowing they don’t have the forces in Zathitho they
need, the shoggoths are actively recruiting shoggoths
from around the universe, but especially in the World, to
deal with the Ichaatath and any who would help them.
Their activity has increased shoggoth activity all over,
and Scions who visit Zathitho are bound to encounter
hostile shoggoth forces who fear they are there to help
the Ichaatath.
LEGENDS
Humans know the story of the Elder Things after
they came to the World through the writings of William
174
Dyer and the Miskatonic University expedition to Antarctica in the early 1930s. While this account details the
trials the Elder Things encountered when they entered
the World, it recounts little of Zathitho, other than to describe the incredible science the Elder Things once had
access to but is now lost. Dyer’s team recorded a great
deal of story through elaborate artworks left by the Elder Things in their recounting of their history. Embedded in these art works are the angular geometric designs
necessary for understanding how to get to Zathitho.
Walter Gilman visited Zathitho while in a sleeping
state. His visits to the Terra Incognita were disjointed in
his own mind, but his recollection of the landscape and
the abandoned city he visited were superb. Gilman’s ramblings describe the arcane geometries and esoteric math
required to enter the dreaming state necessary to travel
to Zathitho, though he never calls the place by that name.
His writings and the small artifacts he took from the
Terra Incognita now reside in the Miskatonic University
library, though few connect his writings with Zathitho.
Initiates of Nyarlathotep know of the Terra Incognita
as a stopover to the infinite chaos where Azathoth resides.
Nyarlathotep uses the space as a place most connected
between the World and Azathoth’s realm, and will often
meet Scions there, or guide them there, to do business
with them. Though Azathoth’s Scions and followers must
visit the Terra Incognita on their way to visit their Outer
God, they stay for such a short time, they know little of
the planet other than the Lost City of Iretah.
GATES
Only a few gates open into Zathitho from the World.
The Ichaatath on Zathitho desperately wish to open
gates to the World, and the shoggoths there are intent
on opening their own gates to recruit reinforcements. As
of yet, they have failed to open anything permanent.
Keziah Mason, a Scion of Nyarlathotep, built a gate
to Zathitho in Arkham during her stay there in the late
1600s. The gate remained in the house until Walter
Gilman, an occult researcher and Miskatonic University
student, reopened it in his search for information on
what happened to Keziah. Later, the city removed the
house after storm damage destroyed its roof, but the gate
remains in its location. Today, the site of Keziah’s house
is dominated by a small, local owned bakery. The gate’s
strict geometric pattern requirements remain fulfilled in
the bakery’s brickwork, inexplicably designed with just
the right angles.
An older, and much harder gate to access is in the
Elder Thing city in Antarctica. Up until recently, the
gate was frozen over and inaccessible, but recent climate
shifts have uncovered the gate and allowed the shoggoths to traverse to and from Zathitho.
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
Anyone who knows the right mathematical
and geometric equations to open a gate can access
the Terra Incognita through their dreams. These
gates are not permanent and close the moment
the dreamer awakens. They only allow a single
traveler to enter, but with the right use of Miracles, a group of lucid dreamers could possibly
travel together.
anything else. Two terraces down, a science facility with
innovative, experimental technology lies abandoned
when the Ichaatath fled during the shoggoth uprising.
The Elder Things have created several gates from
Zathitho to various other Terra Incognitae. Wherever
they’ve traveled likely has at least one gate connecting it.
Zathitho serves as a waypoint to the chaos realm of Azathoth and many other realms inhabited by Outer Gods.
KEZIAH MASON
An ancient portal sits in an unused portion of the
Lavender Sea. This portal leads to the great primordial
ocean beyond reckoning. Brave travelers could use this
portal to enter Zathitho from that beyond which inexplicably connects to all other seas. They would simply
have to find the starting point elsewhere to make the
connection. A well-known entry point lies in Y’ha-nthlei
through the Basalt Turn.
LOST CITY OF IRETAH
The Iretah was once the largest and greatest
Ichaatath city on Zathitho, and now it sits dilapidated
and crumbling through eons of disuse. The city’s expanse
cannot be visualized. Even from the highest point, the
terraces stretch beyond the horizon, each walled section
appearing smaller and more distant than the last. Great
walls surround the city, towering upward of 30 feet high.
Iretah is not lost in the sense that no one can find it.
In fact, all gates from the World bring a traveler straight
to Iretah’s heart. The Elder Things refer to the city as the
Lost City as it was their greatest jewel, and the last to fall
before they retreated to Zath. The loss of Iretah marked
the true downfall of Ichaatath civilization, and it is referred to in all their texts and musings as the Lost City.
Iretah was the cultural hub of Zathitho, and the heart
of Ichaatath civilization. It embodies all their hubris
and missteps, playing home to their scientific centers,
weapons manufacturing, and entertainment hubs. Even
the shoggoth do not venture there, for what is left of the
Ichaatath’s experiments are by far worse than anything
the shoggoths could become or create on their own.
Each terrace in the sweeping city is a testament to
Elder Thing primacy, showcasing their lives and accomplishments. These terraces do not seem to follow any
logical order or organization, keeping with the strangeness of their architecture and impossible to understand
geometric designs. A terrace filled with trophies from
the war against the Mi-Go sits beside another with
artworks depicting Ichaatath development through the
ages. One terrace over, ancient shoggoth breeding chambers sit defunct and on display more for education than
Though Iretah sits abandoned, it is not empty. This
is the first place anyone arrives when they come to Zathitho, and its streets are filled with dangers to those
who arrive unprepared.
Keziah is a Demigod devoted to Nyarlathotep. After
she signed her name in blood in his book, he taught her
how to open a gateway to Zathitho to escape certain
death in the World. Though she travels to all manner of
Terra Incognitae on missions for Nyarlathotep, she lives
in Iretah. She is not the only Scion who spends a great
deal of time in Zathitho, but she is the only one who
knows every aspect of the realm. She has traveled to
Zath, conversed with the Elder Things there, and fought
the shoggoths who inhabit the dark places.
She’s also made Iretah into her own personal sanctum, complete with traps for the unwary and trained
genetic experiments who guard it for her while she’s
away. Keziah is completely Fatebound to Zathitho, and
has access to all its Birthrights and effects, even when
she isn’t there.
KEZIAH MASON
Archetype: Transcendent
Qualities: Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289),
Dominion (Chaos) (Demigod, p. 210),
Immortal-ish (Demigod, p. 210)
Flairs: Curse (Hero, p. 289),
Invocation (Demigod, p. 210), Mastermind
(Hero, p. 293), Retcon (Hero, p. 294)
Drive: Explore the cosmos.
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Callings: Corruptor 3, Liminal 2, Sage 2
Purviews: Chaos, Order, Arcane Calculus
Health: 5
Defense: 5
Initiative: 6
Extras: Keziah is Tier 2 and rolls against a target
number of 7 rather than 8. Additionally, she has
access to all the Zathitho Realm Birthrights and
effects, see p. 179.
Zathitho
175
BROWN JENKIN
Brown Jenkin is no more a regular rat than Keziah
is a witch. Brown Jenkin was originally a guide given to
Keziah by Nyarlathotep but has become entirely Fatebound to her as her familiar and servant.
Tough as Nails (Hero, p. 288), Unseen (Hero, p.
288)
Flairs: Beyond Description, Petrifying Gaze
(Hero, p. 290), Sorcery (Origin, p. 151)
Drive: Devour consciousnesses.
Primary Pool: 11
BROWN JENKIN
Archetype: Paragon
Secondary Pool: 9
Qualities: Indestructible (Bashing) (Demigod, p.
210), Life Drain (Hero, p. 287),
Natural Weapon (Bite) (Origin, p. 147)
Health: 5
Flairs: Shadow-Strike (Demigod, p. 213),
Transformation (Demigod, p. 213)
Drive: Protect Keziah Mason.
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
STORY HOOKS
• An ally has been traveling to Zathitho in their
dreams for weeks now. But recently, they’ve disappeared completely, failing to return from their
last late-night sojourn. Now, the Band must travel
to Zathitho and find out what happened to their
friend. When they arrive, they find signs that
spawn have attacked their friend. She is resourceful and might still be alive somewhere in the city.
Primary Pool: 8
Secondary Pool: 6
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 1
Defense: 3
Initiative: 4
Extras: Brown Jenkin is Tier 1.
SPAWN
Despite having perfected genetic manipulation in the
sentient and self-correcting species of the shoggoth, the
Ichaatath prided themselves on their constant devotion
to experimentation and development. Spawn are what
resulted from years of experimenting with stolen genetic
material, and then left to evolve for millennia after the
shoggoth revolution. Spawn are genetic amalgamations
of Star-spawn of Cthulhu and Mi-go mixed with the genetic template of the shoggoth. The resultant creatures
are terrifying predators with a single-minded desire to
consume any living consciousness they come across.
When Keziah Mason first arrived in Iretah, she explored the city and found several Ichaatath experiments
that had been left untouched, but still viable. She left most
alone, but her presence awakened the telepathic spawn
who were able to manipulate her into releasing them. She
was able to save herself, but only just, and she avoids them
at all costs. Now, they roam the Iretah’s streets, completely uncontrolled and hungry for minds to devour.
SPAWN
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289),
Flight (Hero, p. 288), Life Drain (Hero, p. 287),
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288),
176
Desperation Pool: 6
• Tales of an important Relic have made their way
to the Band. A mysterious woman asks them to
assist her in finding it, offering her resources, and
promising access to the Relic once recovered. The
Band’s mysterious benefactor is Keziah Mason,
and she has no intention of making good on her
promises, and instead is going to feed them to the
spawn and make off with the Relic herself once
they locate it.
• The Ichaatath kept all their most dangerous and
deadly devices openly on display in Iretah. They
reveled in their own genius and needed everyone
to recognize their prowess in science and experimentation. Unfortunately, the Spawn roaming
the city have taken over a biological weapon. The
bioweapon’s powerful reality bending capabilities
start causing ripples in the World, which has inflicted a magical illness on one of the Band’s allies.
Now they must travel to the source of the illness
to find a cure.
LAVENDER SEA
Zathitho’s oceans and seas house some of the most
beautiful of its strange architecture. After the shoggoth
uprising, they retreated to these underwater homes,
feeling more comfortable there than on land. In the intervening years, the shoggoths diverged from their original genetic form, and took on various traits to help them
better survive their environs. Now, water shoggoths in
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
Zathitho look nothing like their land counterparts and
cannot even survive on land for more than a few minutes.
Lavender Sea is teeming with life and bustling with
industry. The shoggoths have created an entire society
and this is the hub of their civilization. It isn’t even the
largest sea, but it is the most resource rich area, making
it the most desired living space available. It plays host
to the most majestic, and strange, underwater cities the
Ichaataths built. If the land cities boggle the mind and
use impossible to comprehend geometry, the Lavender
Sea’s city is literally mind breaking. Spires twist up into
darkness only to emerge at the ocean floor. Stairs that
lead down bring you to higher city terraces. Everything
sits at strange angles to everything else, and spaces look
far smaller than they truly are, or far larger than they
possibly could be.
While they ultimately built the city they live in, the
shoggoths were not its designers. They have made their
residences on the ruins of an ancient civilization, and even
they do not know all the secrets that lie under their homes.
SHOGGOTH
The shoggoths in the Lavender Sea are completely
bound to their watery homes. They are far more advanced than their counterparts found in the World, as
they have built their own society rather than entombing
themselves with their once masters. Where a shoggoth
in the World retain their protoplasmic origins, the
Lavender Sea shoggoth can barely return to that form.
They have adapted all form of swimming apparatuses,
from fins and gills to long, dangling appendages used for
propulsion and stabilization.
Shoggoths in Zathitho exhibit human-like intelligence, and have learned to utilize some of the technologies the Elder Things left behind. They aren’t too
pleased to see outsiders, but they can be reasoned with,
and can even be helpful at times. This is especially true
of shoggoths of Nyarlathotep and Azathoth cults.
See p. 134 for shoggoth stats.
STORY HOOKS
• Shoggoth cults are in a perpetual battle for dominance over the lush Lavender Sea. While they
all live together in the same cities, their political
machinations rival that of any found in the World.
The Band gets embroiled in the political machinations when one of the group’s Elder God tasks
them with assisting its cult on Zathitho gain supremacy in the Lavender Sea.
• A small contingent of Elder Things have made
their way back to Zathitho from other Terra
Incognita only to find their home overrun by
shoggoths. A small task force is attempting to
retake the Lavender Sea city and is doing so by
enslaving the less evolved shoggoths into fighting
for them. As the shoggoths prepare to go to war,
the Band is tasked with ensuring the Elder Things
in Zath remain dormant to prevent them from
rallying their brethren in the World.
• The Band has been investigating legends of an
ancient Relic that allows those with Awareness
to commune with the Great Old Ones and siphon
their power. The Elder Things created this device
when fighting Cthulhu Spawn and were able to infuse it with some of Cthulhu’s power before they
were stopped. A rival Band has also been on the
Relic’s trail and have made their way to Zathitho.
Now the Band must race to the Lavender Sea in an
attempt to get to it first.
ZATH
Zath holds the last vestiges of Elder Thing society on
Zathitho. This city was once a bustling hub of Ichaatath
society but is now an ancient tomb that houses the remnants of this once great civilization. It sits isolated high
in the mountains, surrounded by two different walls. The
inner wall was built by the Elder Things, designed to
repel shoggoths and anything with a shared genetic heritage. The outer wall was built by the shoggoths, designed
to keep the Elder Things inside, and shifts and mutates
in a constant and chaotic pattern to resist Elder Thing
tampering. Both walls have eroded over time, creating
weak points and holes that allow both to slip through.
When the trapped Ichaatath realized the shoggoths
would destroy them and Zathitho rather than let them
live in peace, they decided to outlast their creations.
They carved out places deep under the city’s streets
to slumber until such a time as they could awaken and
retake their home. A few Elder Things remained awake
to keep vigil, but even they thinned their ranks once the
immediate threat of shoggoth invasion subsided. Now
only a scant few remain awake, looking for a way to escape to the World to rebuild their society.
While Zath’s streets and terraces appear empty and
unused, the Elder Things residing there are in tune with
every scrap of stonework or wrought metal in the city.
No one steps inside without alerting the guards, who do
not take kindly to strangers, especially those who might
be aligned with the rebellious shoggoths.
ELDER THINGS
Zath is brimming with Elder Things. While many of
them slumber deep below the city, a few still roam its
streets keeping watch. Those who are awake are seeking
a way to get to the World, and once they figure it out,
they will awaken their brethren and invade. Until then,
they work to keep invaders out, not trusting anyone or
anything unless it is another Ichaatath.
Zathitho
177
If they catch a trespasser in the city, they will kill
them on sight at best, and feed them to one of their many
genetic experiments at worst.
See p. 130 for Elder Thing stats.
SENTINELS
Experimentation is a way of life for the Ichaatath,
and despite their failure with the shoggoth, it has not
stopped them from continuing to create horrific creatures to serve them. Collectively, these creations in Zath
are simply referred to as Sentinels. Their sole purpose is
to protect their slumbering charges and are engineered
to seek out anything that could pose a threat.
The Elder Things initially created the Sentinels to
seek out shoggoths and gave them the ability to see past
whatever shape shifting trick a shoggoth might use. Sentinels have a highly developed sense of smell that verges
on telepathy. They can smell Fate and Legend equally
well as the pheromones people give off when they are
afraid and use that information to manipulate their prey.
Sentinels roam Zath’s streets seeking out intruders.
Shoggoths they murder on sight, but anyone else they
bring to their Elder Thing masters for interrogation and
possible dissection.
• Pit of Existential Death (3): Not exactly pits,
these zones are covered in a chemical residue
that enters through the skin. Anyone that comes
into skin contact with the stone or metalwork
in the area must buy off the Complication when
performing any action. Failure to buy off the
Complication results in a crushing dread that
leaves the character without a drive to live or survive. While she can still take subsequent actions,
she will do nothing to help herself or prevent
harm to herself.
• Invisible Snare (2): Invisible snares are formless and cannot be detected until triggered. The
snare creates a temporal and spatial anomaly
that makes movement unpredictable. Anyone
attempting to move through the snare must buy
off the Complication. Failure results in the character being knocked prone, being moved against
their will in another direction, or being instantly
teleported into a different Range Band at the
Storyguide’s discretion.
STORY HOOKS
SENTINELS
Archetype: Rival
Qualities: Perfected Soldier (Hero, p. 287),
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288), Wall Walker (Hero,
p. 288)
Flairs: Beyond Description, Knock Out (Hero, p.
292), Mirror, Mirror (Hero, p. 291), Shadow Step
(Hero, p. 291)
Drive: Protect and serve our masters.
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 6 (+3 from Perfected Soldier)
Defense: 4
Initiative: 6
Extras: +2 Enhancement to Stunts other than Inflict
Damage. +2 Enhancement to close combat attacks.
WARDS AND TRAPS
In addition to the Sentinels roaming the city streets,
the Ichaatath survivors have laid out traps and wards
designed to prevent shoggoths from invading the city.
While many of these wards are now defunct, plenty remain and can cause a bad time for anyone entering them,
not just shoggoths.
178
Scions traveling through Zath may encounter any of
the following field effects which impose a Complication
equal to their rating:
• Elder Things have been awakening in the World
with a singular drive to return to Zathitho.
While many flock to Antarctica to return home,
others are attempting to build gates to the Terra
Incognita from wherever they are. The psychic
impulse has grown so powerful that its affected
those with Awareness. A Scion associated with
the Band has been infected, and is trying to contact an Elder Thing to assist in building a gate in
the middle of their city.
• The technology the Ichaatath used to hold
Zathitho’s tectonic plates stable have given out,
and earthquakes shake the mountains surrounding Zath. These tremors have awoken several
Elder Things and driven them out of the city.
Their search for a new place to live is a desperate
imperative, and they are sending agents to the
World to make way for their imminent invasion. A
nest of Elder Things has started reshaping a Band
member’s hometown, their friends and family
have already succumbed to the invasion force.
• The Scions need the help of a shoggoth to navigate
some dangerous oceanic areas of Zathitho. Their
guide is willing to help them but has negotiated
that they first find the original shoggoth genetic
blueprints. The Ichaatath took all such secrets
with them to Zath and have likely locked them
away in their resting areas.
APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE
REALM BIRTHRIGHTS
Demigods who choose to Fatebind themselves to
Zathitho have access to the following Realm Birthrights.
HELM OF COMMUNION (RELIC) ••••
Built by the Elder Things during their war with
Cthulhu Spawn, the Helm of Communion was designed
to allow the creatures to steal power from the Great
Old Ones. Used only once, the Elder Things were able
to commune with Cthulhu and steal some of its power
before the nightmares from the device left them completely insensate.
Enhancement: +1 for social actions to influence others
Purview: Darkness, Stars
Motif: Dreams and nightmares, both equally
satisfying.
SHOGGOTH (GUIDE) •••
Certain shoggoth in Zathitho have started worshipping the Great Old Ones and have taken on the role of
guide and protector to Scions who follow their chosen
Gods. Shoggoth might not be as technologically savvy as
their creators, but they have access to a great deal of Elder Thing technology and will use it to the best of their
ability for their charges. Additionally, the shoggoth’s
natural ability to manipulate even the most minute particle of their bodies allows them to manipulate others
with ease.
Asset Skills: Science, Technology
Guide Stunt (Variable successes): This Stunt can
be purchased on an action to exert influence over someone they don’t have a Bond to. The shoggoth changes the
Scion’s appearance to be similar enough to someone the
target is favorably disposed to. This forges a temporary
Bond to the target with a rating equal to the successes
spent on this Stunt. The Bond fades at the end of the
scene and the character forgets why she liked the Scion
so much afterward.
Calling: Sage
REALM EFFECTS
Motif: Oh, how the mighty fall.
Requirement: The Scion must spend one evening a
month dreaming within Zathitho.
Zathitho
179
APPENDIX THREE
ADDITIONAL GREAT
OLD ONES
They say history is written by the victors.
They forget to say it is rewritten over time. Transformed by books.
Reinvented by those who didn’t live through it. You’ll probably
think what I’m about to tell you is false. That it’s a nightmare of a
child lost in a chaotic world. That there was never a disease.
That the dead do not come back to life.
My name is Madeline de Montargis, and this is my testament.
– Madeline de Montargis, La Révolution
I
t is a mistake to think that the Pantheon of the Great
Old Ones contains any sort of solidarity or internal
coherence; to call it a true Pantheon does it a disservice.
The only thing which groups the Great Old Ones is their
shared Otherness: they are not Gods, nor are they Titans,
not Primordials or any other thing. The Great Old Ones
are Great Old Ones. One might likewise expect the Great
Old Ones to close ranks when the children of Titans or
Gods rise against them, but they’re just as likely to assist
the enemy of their enemy. Then again, maybe it suits them
to foil the adversary of their adversary and gain some
sort of ineffable favor from the followers of their rivals or
their rival itself. Who can comprehend the mind of the
incomprehensible deities who live beyond not just the
World, but all of knowable space and time?
GORGO,
THE HORROR
Aliases: Companion of Night, Gorgo, Mormo, The
Thousand-Faced Moon
Reader Beware: This section deals directly with
police violence and its roots in the enslavement of Black
people in America.
The first commonly acknowledged reports of The
Horror come from the neighborhood of Red Hook in
180
Brooklyn. For a long time, the only written records of the
movement of this Great Old One came from the police
reports, press releases of politicians, and others who
used her presence to call for greater broken-windows
policing, a thrust to “clean up the streets,” and other
such rhetoric.
This, however, misses the basic truth of The Thousand-Faced Moon, and in the past five years, a concerted
study of the documents by devoted researchers has finally begun to lay plain such truths of the Companion
of Night as mortal minds can comprehend. It isn’t that
Gorgo doesn’t exist. It’s that the existence of Gorgo is
not predicated upon the people of Red Hook, or the existence of minorities, as the first reports didn’t so much
imply as scream. Gorgo finds the rank and file of humanity mostly boring. She loves authority, and she corrupts
that authority — and those who wield it — in her search
for greater and greater power within The World.
Gorgo does not discriminate by gender, race, religion, or any other marginalization: she insinuates herself into the lives of people who wield authority and uses
that power to her own unknowable ends. Her origin is
arcane, but modern reports place her first appearances
among antebellum slave catchers in the United States.
She moved not just in what would become the Confederacy but among all American humanity, delighting
in those who acted as captors and oppressors, or those
who aided and abetted captors and oppressors or turned
a blind eye. The terror she brought to mortals roots itself
APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES
in her joy at the baying of dogs running through the
swamps, the blood spilled during the horrors of humans
owning one another. It spread through the graveyards
where humans hid from those who predated upon them.
Let us not excuse the behavior of those whose authority began with the slave catcher’s star or point to the
presence of Gorgo and say: Ah, here, she caused them to
behave so. No. She took advantage of humanity’s horrors
laid upon one another and used the hate and prejudice
in the hearts of humanity as the doorway through which
she clattered on her cloven hooves.
The false reports from Red Hook come from a man
determined to assign the evil in his heart to his fellow
humans, to displace his loathing of the Other and point
to them as the problem. Scions of Gorgo often find themselves justifying the things they see and do, laying the
blame for these horrors on anyone but themselves. She
loves authority and places her bloody hands upon those
whose influence she can twist to her own purposes.
LET’S TALK ABOUT
RED HOOK
Most of Lovecraft’s writing runs deep
roots into the author’s well-documented
racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism.
In The Horror at Red Hook, however,
Lovecraft turned the Racism Dial up past
eleven. This reframing of Gorgo as a
manifestation of racist violence which
casts the blame for this upon its victims
may still not make the topic of Lovecraft’s
arguably most xenophobic story useful
or acceptable at your table.
Feel free to set Gorgo as a Great
Old One only available to antagonistic
Storyguide Characters, or to put strong
boundaries on the way in which she
may be used by players as their parent
if Gorgo’s love of authority is welcome
at your table. Engage carefully with the
material in the original story, if at all,
and don’t fall prey to xenophobic shorthand like using kabbalah, which is part
of a closed culture and ethnoreligion, as
“scary spooky magic.”
Callings: Corrupter, Hunter, Warrior
Purviews: Beasts (Canines), Chaos, Darkness, Deception, Death, Epic Stamina, Journeys, Moon
SCION VISITATION
Gorgo insinuates herself into the lives of those gaining authority for the first time; she rarely shows herself
directly, instead choosing to arrange events so that
someone with newfound power suddenly finds himself
feeling threatened by those who might take away that
control and stability. Her Visitations often come with a
body count, whether literal bodies or merely people left
in the wake of her Scions with ruined and uprooted lives.
SCION KNACKS
Heroic Guardian — Cleaning Up the Trail
When attempting to cover your own tracks reporting to someone in greater authority — such as a police
officer explaining what really happened that night to a
superior officer — spend a Momentum and pick a target
to upon whom to cast suspicion. Gain +2 Enhancement
for the remainder of the scene to attempts to persuade
your superior that you’re not to blame, as long as you put
the blame on your chosen target instead.
Immortal Guardian — Scrubbing the Trail
As Cleaning Up the Trail, but this Knack applies its
Enhancement to falsifying evidence as well as speaking
to superiors. Alternately, this Knack may be used to
affect multiple people at once and may affect people
regardless of their relationship to the Knack’s user, such
as speaking at a press conference or convincing a lot of
people via a written report to be shared in court.
SCION BIRTHRIGHT: GUIDES
The Hounds: Scions of Gorgo often find themselves
in possession — through one avenue or another, whether
assignment as a K9 partner or rescue from unfortunate
circumstances through his line of work — of large, muscular dogs capable of great damage. These animals mask
themselves until the Scion has come to understand at
least some of his place in the world that Gorgo forms
around him. Despite myths that only black hounds may
serve a creature like Gorgo, The Hounds bear all shades
of coat, from sharp-pointed German Shepherds and Malinois to adorable Golden Retrievers. To a one, they have
impeccably sharp senses and track whatever prey their
handler sets them on with uncanny efficiency. Once the
Scion has fully accepted the Hound into his life, he may
begin to see hints that his Hound isn’t just a dog — the
eyes which glow red in the dark are usually his first hint.
The Informants: Not actual people but instead
masked servants of Gorgo, these slippery creatures take
on any number of faces in order to manipulate her Scions into following the path she sets out. They use their
ability to shift their appearance and show themselves
as whatever sort of informant or neighborhood assistant might appeal most to the Scion’s sense of right and
wrong. Some take on faces of neighborhood grandmas
Gorgo, the HOrror
181
just trying to do right in an attempt to convince the Scion that he’s still “one of the good ones” while others take
on less beneficent stereotypes.
STORY HOOKS
• A Scion of a different Great Old One claims to
have discovered Gorgo’s intention to unseat their
parent’s hold on a particular area of influence.
They bring this information to the PCs, asking
for the band’s help and offering their alliance.
182
Without locating the individuals Gorgo has under
her sway, they cannot guard themselves against
her influence, or protect — should they choose to
do so — the power of their own parents. Of course,
the band must first determine whether these
reports hold any truth, or whether the reporting
Scion has an alternate motivation in bringing this
supposed truth to them in the first place.
• Activists have uncovered a huge trove of information which would, should it fall into the hands of
APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES
ardent and committed researchers, permit those
academics to pinpoint the means and moment
where Gorgo entered the World. The information would allow interested parties to follow
her influence forward and illuminate the truth
of her fingerprints not on the oppressed but the
oppressors; many people would give a great deal
to either be able to blame all ill in realms of law
enforcement on her, or to conceal her existence
entirely. The band must choose between blocking
this research or aiding it. The arrest of a family
member on trumped-up charges, followed by
heavier police patrolling near their homes which
borders on stalking, raises the stakes.
• Gorgo’s Scions depend upon their information
networks, many of which consist partially or entirely of her servants wearing masks to conceal
their true nature. If such an information network’s true nature becomes apparent, its efficacy
and utility to Gorgo vanishes. The band averts a
Gorgo, the HOrror
183
break-in at a contact’s home intended to put an
end to a life no longer useful to the ThousandFaced Moon.
state, celebrating the World or removed from its clutches. Either one suits them fine.
Callings: Cosmos, Liminal, Trickster
HYPNOS
Purviews: Artistry (Sculpture, Painting), Epic
Dexterity, Journeys, Passion, Sky, Stars, Wild
Aliases: ΥΠΝΟΣ, Their Eyes Open, The Plague of
Kent, Twice-Ascended
SCION KNACKS
Such Gods as move among mortals take Hypnos as
a cautionary tale. Such Scions as serve them, when encountering a servant of Hypnos, tend to either fall under
their sway or flee, warned away by protective Divine
Parents. Those who hear the stories of these Scions later
inevitably ask the same question:
What does a God fear?
By the best of all accounts, Hypnos did not begin their
existence as a Great Old One, but as a God. Given the mien
in which they appear to their Scions, and the name they
carry wrapped around themself like a toga, chroniclers
assume they began their existence as a Scion of the Theoi,
ascending to Godhood from their mortal beginnings.
Mere Godhood did not satisfy them — the gender of the
original being, and even the original God, barely carries
any relevance now — and they strove for greater power.
Rumors persist that in their quest to become not only
a God but the King of All Reality, they consumed other
Gods and their Scions bodily, much like Cronos the Titan
fully lost to his power-hungry existence. As their quest
for power continued, they lost their grip both on themself
and on any last vestiges of coherence. The Great Old Ones
welcomed another to their ranks — their eternal struggling against and with one another — and Hypnos arose.
Perhaps the claimed name of Hypnos — invariably
written by their Scions and cultists in the original Greek
— explains why the common narrative for their source
centers around the Theoi. However, one cannot emphasize enough that no one knows their true origin story,
and the Theoi refuse to speak of it. These days, Hypnos
continues their quest for Regent of All Reality by bringing occultists into their fold, sending their children out
to plumb the depths of outer realms, and consuming the
resultant knowledge — and sometimes those who bring
it — if those devotees do not succeed in either escaping
them, or perhaps taking their place. After all, if they took
someone else’s powers and dominion, why could their
children not take their throne if they fail at their quest
for supremacy over all existence?
They lurk in the minds of humanity, wrapping
themself around dreams and obsessing over matters of
physical artistry. If they do not pluck a child from occult
circles, they lay their mark on those who might provide
them with such art as draws viewers into an ecstatic
184
Immortal Trickster —
The True Nature of Things
Spend one or more Momentum and speak a sentence
which contradicts something important which the target
knows to be true. This can be as simple as “you are unable
to stand up right now” or as intimate as “your wife of
three decades left you this morning for your best friend.”
Inflict a Complication equal to Momentum spent to all
actions the target takes which require her to contradict
the new truth you have inflicted upon her. Someone told
that they cannot stand will struggle to rise to her feet and
run away or attack the Scion; someone convinced of an
important person’s betrayal or unfaithfulness will struggle to believe anything that person tells them.
This Knack does not grant control over the way in
which the target reacts to this news; someone unable to
stand may reach for a gun instead of fleeing, someone
convinced of their spouse’s unfaithfulness may attack
the messenger.
Be mindful that this Knack constitutes very explicit, supernaturally enforced gaslighting and discuss its
use both in Session Zero and ongoing.
SCION PURVIEWS
Stars — Through Blackened Eyes
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Instant
Subject: Self
Action: Simple
A character utilizing Through Blackened Eyes divines more intense and nuanced truth from the stars.
This Purview works as per the Innate Power of Stars
(see p. 156) but extends it. The character may choose
either more complete knowledge, or a greater number
of questions.
If the character chooses more complete knowledge,
the Storyguide provides a brief, symbolic clue regarding
the outcome of the question. For example, if the character’s band intends to break into a house to steal a relic,
and the character has asked “Is anyone home?”, the
Storyguide might answer “No. A yellow light through
a window resolves into a thin blue line across a table.”
The character receives this information as a brief, disturbing vision, and may utilize any relevant powers,
APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES
make an Awareness check or share the information with
her band for discussion in an attempt to discover the
Storyguide’s clue means that there’s no one home, but
the building has an alarm system which will notify local
police if tripped.
Drawback: With expanded insight comes Hypnos’
price for same. Using Through Blackened Eyes turns
a character’s iris and sclera solid black for the rest of
the scene, which may make them stand out in a crowd.
Characters attempting to recall her presence or appearance gain 1 Enhancement.
SCION VISITATION
Hypnos recruits from within artistic communities.
They imbue their presence into works of art created by
their Scions, using their children’s sculptures, paintings,
drawings, and other artwork to spread their control and
bring others under their sway. Other Scions of Hypnos
find themselves brought on board more deliberately
by those already under Hypnos’ sway, either as subject
matter for art, muses, lovers, or even rivals. Additionally,
some Scions of Hypnos find their way to their parent
after a Visitation brought on by use of mind-altering
substances whether prescribed, or self-prescribed.
STORY HOOKS
• A small-town art gallery near the band’s home
lands a show by an artist with reach beyond their
wildest dreams: the sculptor brings marble carved
into twisted bodies devouring each other, set with
onyx eyes all over their bodies. This work departs
so dramatically from her previous work that the
gallery’s owners waver between thrill to have this
new work debut in their gallery and concern for
her sanity and safety. Other artists begin flocking
to her, seeking inspiration.
• The movement of an outré traveling art collective
draws the attention of local law enforcement.
While the collective’s activities often annoy them,
previously the actions of this group of white
twenty-somethings dealt no more difficulty to the
towns where they stay than obnoxious “art performances.” They’ve started to go beyond painting caricatures of local politicians on City Hall in
a mixture of glue and jam which draws flies and
leaves the bugs glued to the brick facade. Blood
now pools underneath where they park their antique buses, discovered after they leave, and then
a farmer finds the body of their youngest member
in a field a short car ride away from the band’s
home, rotten black eyes staring lifelessly up at the
stars…
• A new, extraordinarily powerful combination of
hallucinogens and stimulants referred to only as
Kent begins making the rounds at local clubs and
underground bars where artists and their crowds
gather. Anyone who wants to produce something
quickly takes it, whether they’re trying to output
reports for a big presentation, a painting, or a
commissioned piece of writing. Within a fortnight, its adherents begin to lose their coherence,
and it breaks on the news when police find a local
lawyer laying in front of the City Hall fountain,
writing a brief on the marble with his feces. One
of the band’s contacts turns up at a meeting under
its influence two days later.
THE MADDENING
MUSIC
Aliases: The Song, Upon the Threshold, The Way
Between
Alone in the dark, at the threshold between this
world and the endless void, a supplicant raises her voice.
At first, she thinks she keeps the void at bay: she sings
light into being, she sings a protection, she sings joy and
harmony, but the melody rises and falls in ways she could
not expect, and within only a handful of bars, she finds
herself losing control of the music. She finds the song
within her, crawling along her veins and sinking itself
into meat and bone, marrow and nerve. She understands
the duality of purpose within the song, and she cannot
keep herself from singing. Everywhere she goes, the music goes within her, riding her, making her a passenger
of its desires.
This is the Maddening Music.
When he began, Erich Zann believed he created
a means to keep Azathoth asleep. He wrote the notes
carefully, he pulled his bow across his cello strings. The
maddening symphony he created didn’t stay simply
music — was never simply music — but an existence, a
presence, a Great Old One all its own. The Maddening
Music has no known body, but to mistake no body for no
being is to repeat the mistake Erich Zann made when he
gave the Music a way into the World through his music.
No scholars who study the Great Old Ones have ever
found evidence that the Music births any sort of Scion
all their own, but it certainly loves to hijack the Scions of
other Gods, finding them before their first Visitation and
luring them into serving the Music. It likewise chooses
its own Scions, plucking them from obscurity. Usually
performers of some stripe, though occasionally the Music chooses music theorists, rock journalists, or cultural
analysts: whatever will help the Music perpetuate itself.
A sort of memetic virus and Great Old One all at
once, the Music consists of vibrations and chaos; while
The Maddening Music
185
I DON’T WANT TO
DO THAT
The Music’s powers, and its manner of
spreading something like a memetic virus,
contain themes of absolute control and mental
corruption which may be especially upsetting to
players. Even if a player bought in during character creation, sometimes people realize later
that they just aren’t enjoying the way in which
the Music attempts to micromanage and in some
cases really control its Scions, or make its Scions
puppet-masters of those around them. Handle
these subjects with great care, discuss and use
safety tools at your table, and if a player expresses discomfort with something the Music just
asked/forced her character to do, or if another
player finds the events unfolding at the table
uncomfortable, pause for a moment to discuss
and find another way through the story together.
it technically serves Azathoth, the Music hides its own
agenda in the liminal breath of space between E# and
F, nestled between B# and C, and allows it to leak out in
fragments and fractions. The Music cares not for serving
anyone, not in the long run, and wishes only to spread its
terrible beauty through all spaces known and unknown,
thinkable and incomprehensible.
To refer to the Music directly is to invoke it, and
even the Music’s Scions do not chance this: they create
elaborate systems of avoidance names and epithets to
discuss not only the Music but its plans.
Callings: Corruptor, Cosmos, Liminal
Purviews: Artistry (music), Chaos, Deception,
Journeys, Epic Stamina, Fortune, Passion
SCION KNACKS
Heroic Sage — Stunning Song: You pour your
song into someone’s mind totally undiluted, stunning
her. Spend one or more Momentum and enter a Clash
of Wills with your opponent. Successfully inflicting this
Knack stuns her for turns equivalent to the Momentum
spent; she freezes in place and may not take any actions.
If the Music Scion loses the Clash of Wills, however, any
actions the target takes for the rest of the scene which
target him gain +1 Enhancement.
186
SCION PURVIEWS
Artistry – Those Exquisite Notes
Cost: None
Duration: 1 Scene
Subject: Self
The Music Scion takes a moment to focus upon
the Music which flows within them, and increases the
Enhancement granted by the Innate Power of Artistry
(see p. 49) to +5.
SCION BIRTHRIGHTS: RELICS
The Maddening Sheets (••)
Calling: Liminal
Theme: What the Music calls must answer.
Discovered in the ruins of Erich Zann’s apartment
in a space between The World and an Unspeakable
Underworld Void, Scions of the Music pass the written
songs of the Rue d’Auseil carefully between themselves.
Since their discovery, no Scion has ever carried more
than a fragment of the entire song with them.
A fragment is more than enough.
While holding or carrying one of the Maddening
Sheets, a Scion performs those notes to the best of his
ability — whether he sings them, plays them upon a musical instrument or causes them to come into the World
by some other manner, he puts the notes into the air. A
keyboard app on a mobile phone works, if nothing else.
The Maddening Sheets do not function if the Scion merely plays a recording created by someone else, however
— he may play a recording of his own performance, or a
digital rendering of the notes which he himself created,
but if someone else creates it for him, it will not function.
Likewise, the song does not function if the Scion is not
currently in possession of the Maddening Sheets.
Knack: The Mythos Scion uses this performance
to call an individual or being to her location, giving the
subject an irresistible urge to come to the location where
the Scion performed the Maddening Sheets. This does
not grant the subject any extra speed, and they come to
the location of activation, not to the Scion; they travel at
their best natural speed, regardless of their desire. The
subject is not necessarily cooperative; uncooperative
subjects trigger a Clash of Wills between the user and
the Relic’s target.
Flaw: Summoning something doesn’t grant oversight or compliance: sure, the Maddening Sheets might
allow the Scion to call a person, or a being, but that
doesn’t mean they’ll be happy about it.
APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES
SCION VISITATION
The Music comes to its intended in one very predictable fashion. Whether the intended individuals are
overwhelmed by the ecstatic joy of listening to a long,
rhapsodic rock song while driving at night, subjected to
a thousand dubstep tracks playing at once by a computer malfunction, or some other song-related event, the
people that the Music chooses always encounter cosmic
eternity and death within a singular moment filled with
chaotic notes. Many die in this moment: cars crash, eardrums burst, and brain bleeds fell even the young, but
those who survive feel the Music moving within them
for the rest of their lives, however long that might be.
STORY HOOKS
• The Music spends so much time plotting how
to spread its memetic and corrupting presence
through the World that it occasionally forgets
to devote enough attention to keeping Azathoth
asleep, and this time? Servants of the Slumbering
One have noticed. The band finds their interests
actively stymied by unknown forces: contacts
stop responding, friends are suddenly busy. When
they begin to investigate, they see the marks of
Azathoth everywhere.
• Fragments of Erich Zann’s original cello — or
at least, fragments of wood rumored to be from
that instrument — occasionally surface in online
communities devoted to researching the Mythos.
What powers might those fragments grant their
owners? What tragedy might befall the unprepared who lay hands upon them? The emergence
of the fragments causes a hubbub in the Scion
community, as if the fragments themselves herald
the Music’s overt subversion of other deities, and
the band finds itself caught between a contact
who claims to have a fragment and other Scions
who want the fragment — and anyone who holds
it — destroyed. See Relics, p. 62 for Erich Zann’s
intact viol.
• A band of Music Scions which created several
the epithets commonly used to refer to the Music
begin using the same term far too often: Bahuvrihi
compounds, a sort of compound word pattern
which defines a thing by describing a certain quality the thing possesses, form most sobriquets the
World over, and so the Bahuvrihi began referring
to themselves and the Music by this term. Use a
term too often, however, and the word becomes
the thing: the synecdoche becomes the sole noun.
One of the band’s friends joins the Bahuvrihi just
before they to exhibit extremely strange behavior,
the sort of behavior which indicates the Music’s
active interest.
THE MOON-LADDER
Aliases: All-Secrets, Between Mists, The Mouth,
Rue d’Auseil’s Black Hound, The Space Between Breaths,
and infinite others
When men “discover,” sometimes what they walk
into follows them home.
This is the way of the Moon-Ladder, and the way
that the Moon-Ladder entered the World. The survey
group from Misktatonic University recorded multiple different accounts of what happened, though the
account from William Dyer generally finds favor with
those who research the Moon-Ladder, due to its relative
coherence. Some Elder things woke when they crossed
Antarctica and moved the unknown and unknowable
samples, those fossils which simply fit no known timeline of evolution.
Some already stood, awake and watching the threshold for even the tiniest crack, but where other Great
Old Ones interfere with humanity as much as possible,
the Moon-Ladder watched for those cracks in order to
guard them. It protects the Mythos from the actions of
humanity, either suspecting or knowing that mortals
and the Gods they worship may do more damage to the
Mythos than the other Great Old Ones believe possible.
Or at least, that’s what the Moon-Ladder maintains.
Surely it has some other motive: a being of this age and
complexity never has just one agenda.
Scions of the Moon-Ladder believe themselves
responsible for keeping the Great Old Ones out of the
World, rather than keeping the World out of the Great
Old Ones. They collect chipped relics and half-burned
books, feeding them to the gorge in the Antarctic which
they understand as the doorway to the stellar void where
their parent dwells. More horribly, they bring those who
know too much of the Great Old Ones to their parent,
and if the Moon-Ladder has no need for them or cannot
bring them on board, well. Humans go into the endless
void-pit as easily as scorched papers and broken statues.
Scions of the Moon-Ladder are a rather unique
bunch among the children of the Great Old Ones: many
of them are chosen for their ability to make the trek
to the remote and unforgiving wilderness where the
mouth of the Moon-Ladder opens to the World, but not
all. In order to deliver these items to their parent, someone must find them, after all, and travel for those with
the skills of Scions and sorcerers need not be a matter of
rugged outdoorsiness.
Devotees of the Moon-Ladder describe a being rather the opposite of Yog-Sothoth, but opposite in a complimentary way, like stars and moon or sky and sea. Where
Yog-Sothoth is either the child of the Nameless Mist or
perhaps the embodiment thereof, the Moon-Ladder is
The Moon-Ladder
187
all space and all emptiness, all of it manifesting in the
slim fingernail it extends into this world as terribly hungry nothingness extending forever and ever.
First and foremost among the prohibitions of the
Moon-Ladder’s servants: never speak the same name for
it twice. The list of sobriquets for The Mouth therefore
stretches to an almost literal infinity. Its children figure
that if you can’t follow what they’re talking about, you
don’t need to know anyway.
Keen-eyed individuals who don’t owe their slim
grip on reality to the interpretations provided by the
Moon-Ladder posit that the eternal ink darkness of the
Moon-Ladder does not guard the threshold out of any
sort of benevolence. Instead, they whisper, All-Secrets
acts from an insatiable hunger and from a long-term plan
which requires it to absorb all knowledge of the plans of
the other Great Old Ones, the better to utilize those strategies against the other Great Old Ones when it deems
the time correct and most appropriate for a takeover.
The true believers among the children of Between Mists
discard this concept out of hand, but some of the less
fanatical among its followers sometimes find themselves
swayed by these arguments, much to their detriment.
The Moon-Ladder isn’t famous for tolerating dissent.
Callings: Corrupter, Leader, Liminal
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Deception,
Journeys, Sky, Wild
SCION KNACKS
Immortal Leader — Gaze Upon Me and Despair
Being a leader means knowing how armies work,
and when one understands what holds an army together, one may speak the words which shatter their resolve
and splits them asunder, rendering them easy to pick
off. Spend 1 Momentum to know the word which strikes
upon their communal fear. Instilling terror into the army
she faces, the character scatters all Trivial opponents for
turns equal to the Scion’s Presence.
SCION VISITATION
To a one, followers and children of the Moon-Ladder
come upon their patron or parent in the dark wilderness.
However, they might find that dark wilderness in a long
night suffering alone in a hospital with painkillers not
188
strong enough to keep their post-surgical agony at bay,
or they might find it in the depths of a mostly abandoned
mall with halls laid out in strange patterns, walking deep
into the bowels of the place to throw out the trash from
another shift at their minimum-wage job keeping open
the doors of one of the few remaining stores. Lonely
and bleak wildernesses come in many forms, and the
Moon-Ladder knows all of them.
STORY HOOKS
• Space tourism has begun! Not only do the incredibly rich rise in lazy loops around the earth,
briefly weightless, but high-end hotelier First
Mesa begins working with trillionaire Cheney
Edison to prepare a hotel for the richest of the
rich, the one percent of the one percent. Ferrying
highly skilled work crews to the lunar surface,
First Mesa begins construction at the very edge
of the known World… and then their work crews
start disappearing into the darkness: first those
exploring Copernicus simply vanish, and then a
handful working in Mare Imbrium evanesce, only
to return an impossible amount of time later. They
should have died. They should have run out of air.
They continue working, but they do not answer
their radios.
• The Moon-Ladder’s followers happen upon a rumor that someone has copied the books they’ve
confiscated and fed to their parent; their evidence
points toward the band. Who fabricated the
evidence? Is some of it true? And what will the
band do now that the combined followers of the
Darkness at the Edge of All things believe they’re
in possession of some of the most dangerous and
most valuable items in existence?
• Yog-Sothoth’s followers begin trailing the followers of the Moon-Ladder, and then those followers
fall out of contact. When one of the band’s contacts with ties to Yog-Sothoth vanishes, leaving
behind a cryptic note, the matter becomes personal, rather than theoretical. Does the Nameless
Mist intend to provoke All-Secrets into an open
war over who controls the edges of the World, or
worse?
APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES
APPENDIX FOUR
SCION:
SCION
:HERO
CHARACTER CREATION
“Call them from their houses, and teach them to dream.”
— Jean Toomer
For convenience, we’ve reprinted the character
creation rules from Scion: Hero here, incorporating the
changes listed in Chapter Two (which are listed in italics). You will still need Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero
to reference specifics, such as Knacks and Boons, but
hopefully this appendix will help reduce the amount of
cross-referencing between books.
Character Creation has nine steps: concept, Paths,
Skills, Attributes, Callings and Knacks, Purviews, Birthrights, Boons, and finishing touches.
STEP ONE: CONCEPT
The first and most basic element of your character is
their concept. Think of this as a short phrase encapsulating the basic essence of the character — the sort of thing
you might see in a movie synopsis or on the back cover
of a novel. Maybe they’re a “Mercenary to the Gods” or
“High Priestess of Santa Muerte.”
Part of a Hero’s concept is their divine patron and
genesis. Even if you don’t explicitly call them out in the
concept, you should settle on them now.
This concept doesn’t have any direct mechanical
effects, but any time you find yourself stuck further on
in this process, returning to your concept can help you
figure out the best choice for your character.
STEP TWO: PATHS
Define three Paths for your character. The first Path
corresponds to your character’s origin, who they were
before the story started. The second corresponds to
their role, who they are now (your character’s concept
is usually a good fit here). The third corresponds to their
pantheon, how they relate to the gods and myths of their
patron’s pantheon.
Each Path consists of the following elements:
• A short description of the Path (e.g. “Moscow
Ballet Veteran” or “Field Primatologist”)
• Three Skills associated with the Path. Which
three Skills you choose are up to you, but you
should be prepared to justify non-obvious choices
like Culture for “Raised by Wolves.” Two of the
Skills you choose for your character’s Pantheon
Path must be the Pantheon Skills for divine patron’s pantheon. Any given Skill can be associated
with at most two of your Paths.
• A Path Condition that triggers when you invoke
the Path too often. You can choose one of the
example Conditions or use them as a template to
create your own.
STEP THREE: SKILLS
Prioritize your characters’ Paths as primary, secondary, and tertiary. Your character receives three dots
in each Skill associated with their primary Path, two
dots in each Skill associated with their secondary path,
and one dot in each Skill associated with their tertiary
path. These dots are cumulative for Skills associated
with two Paths.
For every Skill that ends up with three or more dots,
choose a Specialty (Scion: Origin, p. 59).
STEP FOUR: ATTRIBUTES
Your character begins with a single dot in all Attributes for free.
Scion: Hero Character Creation
189
Prioritize the three Arenas as primary, secondary,
or tertiary. Assign six dots to Attributes in the primary
category, four to the secondary, and two to the tertiary.
Divide these dots however you like, but no Attribute can
be higher than five.
Next, choose one of the three Approaches. Add two
dots to each Attribute in that Approach; any Attribute
dots beyond 5 may be reassigned elsewhere in the high
Attribute’s Arena.
STEP FIVE: CALLINGS
AND KNACKS
Choose three Callings. At least one of your character’s
Callings must come from their divine patron’s three Favored Callings. Players may choose the inverted form of a
Calling if one applies, even if it they do not share that Calling
with their God. Your character receives five dots among all
their Callings, but each must have at least one dot.
For each Calling, choose a number of Heroic Knacks
equal to the Calling’s rating; while they can learn more,
they may only have as many active as they have Calling
dots. You can choose any of the Knacks listed on p. 47 regardless of whether you pick the inverted Calling.
Alternately, you may choose a single Immortal Knack
instead of two Heroic Knacks for any Calling two dots or
higher. If your character is also a creature of Legend, they
replace one Calling with one appropriate to their nature.
STEP SIX: BIRTHRIGHTS
Your character receives seven dots to allocate to
Birthrights. You may choose from the example Birthrights in this or other Scion books, or design your own.
Most Scions receive Birthrights tied to their patron’s
pantheon, but the Overworld is a cosmopolitan place
— not only do the pantheons routinely talk and trade
amongst themselves, many Gods are members of multiple pantheons. If you have an interesting idea for a story
about, say, a Scion of Sun Wukong who carries the Spear
of Lugh, don’t let pantheon affiliation stand in your way.
STEP SEVEN: PURVIEWS
Your character gains their Pantheon Specialty
Purview as an innate Purview. In addition, choose one
of your divine patron’s Purviews as an innate Purview.
When you select your innate Purview, you may choose to
gain the normal Innate Power or the Awareness Innate
Power (p. 49). If you choose the normal Innate Power, you
may choose to replace the power with the Awareness Innate Power any time your Awareness increases. Once you
choose the Awareness Innate Power, you cannot switch
your Innate Powers again.
All other Purviews must be drawn from Relics or Guides.
STEP EIGHT: BOONS
Choose two Boons from any of your character’s
Purviews, whether innate or granted by Birthrights. You
may choose to pick up an Awareness Boon as one of your
initial Boons. You can only start with one Awareness Boon
at character creation.
STEP NINE: FINISHING
TOUCHES
To finish out your character, fill in the following:
• Legend: 1
• Awareness: 1
• Virtues: From the appropriate pantheon. For the
Mythos Pantheon, the Virtues are Nihilism and
Humanity. Your character begins in the center of
the Virtue track.
• Health: One slot each for Bruised, Injured,
Maimed, and Taken Out; add an additional
Bruised slot if your character’s Stamina is 3-4, or
two additional Bruised Slots if their Stamina is 5.
• Defense: Based on a character’s Physical Resilience
Attribute (Stamina, Resolve, and Composure).
Just note the Defensive pool the character will
roll when they take a Defensive action; generally,
this is based on Stamina, but determined or calm
and collected characters may avoid attacks with
equal alacrity.
Each player character receives 5 extra Skill dots, an extra Attribute dot, and either two additional Knacks or four
points of Birthrights at this point in character creation.
190
APPENDIX FOUR: SCION: HERO CHARACTER CREATION
REPRISE
REPRISE
REPRISE
in his voice’s stead was the gift with a cello. A
gift and a curse.
Erich Zann stood, basking in the cheers and
applause of the crowd he couldn’t see through
the bright light of the spotlights. Guest first
chair for the New York Philharmonic, this was
his finale performance for these adoring celebrants, but not his final performance of the
night. No, he still owed one more.
The car service provided by the Philharmonic left him at the Ritzy hotel, but instead
of entering, Zann instead walked to the nearest
Subway entrance, taking a train under the East
River into Queens. While the majority of Long
Island City was gentrifying faster with each
passing year, parts were still industrial, home to
many abandoned warehouses and storage units.
Zann had a unit in one such establishment, and
one in almost every major city at this point.
Each set up the same: the floor, ceiling, and
three walls covered in sound dampening foam,
save for a chair and what lay next to it. On the
gate or door, musical notes that describe sounds
that make no sense if they were playable at all.
Zann crossed the foam, sat in the simple metal
folding chair, and opened the case at his feet.
The violin before him glowed faintly in the
darkness of the unlit storage unit. Wood taken
from Celephaïs, catgut strings harvested from
nightgaunts, and a bow made from the donated
hair of Ultharian cats. It hummed in a discordant note that Zann could always hear. Usually
a quiet whisper, now it screamed. He’s put it off
too long, it’s been too many nights where didn’t
come to any number of the eldritch cellos he
had commissioned to ensure the Demon King’s
slumber continued.
Other discordant notes silently filled his
ears, music he could feel but not hear. Piping
as from instruments Zann or no other human
eyes have ever seen, played by creatures he
knew were never human and thus played music
that existed only in theory. This hellish harmony echoed without sound in Zann’s mind as
he placed the cello before him, looking at the
scrawl he knew he had drawn on the inside of
the gate but had no memory of writing.
When he pulled the cat-hair bow across
the strings, the first few notes, surprisingly
sweet and gentle for an instrument dedicated
to Azathoth, were his own. He hummed along,
awaiting the shiver of his patron, the Maddening Music, to slide into him.
Hidden in between the particles of everything, the vibrations at the base of existence,
the Music first came to Erich as a babe in
Germany, so long ago it was several different
versions of Germany ago. He had no proof of
this, but he was convinced it was the Music
that took his speech, leaving him mute so that
he may only give voice to its song. What it left
As with each such performance, Erich Zann
became an observer within his own body as the
Music’s warm melody washed over and through
him like a lover. He took his seat within his
mind and watched as it played the cellist playing the cello. The music took on a frantic quality as its usurpation completed, and the symbols
on the gate began to shimmer.
With its music, the writing glowed with the
twinkling light of stars that lay so far from
Earth that humanity may very well be extinct
before it reached here naturally. The luminosity
grew with its song’s tempo. Soon Zann wanted
to shield his eyes from the brightness, but he
couldn’t move of his own volition, for he was
its instrument, and its concert wasn’t yet done
The light died as the song changed, the
gate vanished. Instead of graffitied aluminum,
a vision to the center of the universe lay before Zann. Thankfully the Music cast his eyes
downward to the eldritch instrument he played,
so that he didn’t have to watch the spectacle
before him.
Cello whined as cat-hair bow dragged across
night gaunt gut strings, sounds joining a cacophony of otherworldly noises that may only
loosely be defined as music. Screeching strings
and ear-piercing piping, the rattle like bones
and the wordless chanting of things that have
never known sentient thought, much less language. And at the center of it all, lulled into
a sleep from which dreams spawn forth this
and who knows how many other realities, the
Demon King Azathoth.
His patron’s song increased in volume, interposing itself above and before that of the
rest, and the other players fell in line. Soon all
was the Music, and the Music was all. Zann’s
perception stretched, connected through song
to the other things playing to keep it asleep. It
assaulted his mind and he tried to cry out but
couldn’t. It held him fast in the center of this
maddening melody.
Sweat dripped from his brow as the song
changed again with no break between. He could
feel its intensity in him. Azathoth couldn’t wake,
for that would end the dream that was reality,
and thus end its song. The Music just be shared
with all, for its beauty would bring about the
revolutionary change that would reshape this
world and every other. All would be harmonious once they listened to it, once they fell in
line and danced to its tune, like Zann did now.
His arm and fingers screamed from exhaustion; mind reeled from contact with the alien
orchestra. The warmth of the Music’s embrace
no longer soothed and for a moment, its grasp
loosened. He screamed, wordlessly impotent as
that joined the song as well. Then the song ended.
REPRISE
191
All at once he was alone in the dark of the
storage unit, shaking and damp with sweat. The
Music was gone, leaving him cold and empty,
lesser than he was, sore and used. He sat there
for a moment, catching his breath. His body
ached as he returned the cello to the case, limping out of the unit and locking it behind him.
As Zann lay in the hotel bed, dressed only
in the robe provided and the last vestiges of
the shower’s dampness, he sighed. He couldn’t
continue this. As he played connected to the
things that were either never human or else
haven’t been in so long that they once were
no longer mattered, he could feel the pull to
join them, to take his cello to and through the
portal. That attraction had always been there,
since he first joined the company of eldritch
lullaby players, but only as he grew in power
did the Music inhabit him, and only then did he
realize that he would eventually join them. It
was a matter of when, not if.
He has to find someone to continue his work
here. Earth is one of the central worlds, a site
for many a conflict between beings that would
otherwise not realize the third planet from this
unimpressive sun was inhabited at all. Because
of all that attention, Earth rang with resonance
that could be channeled and directed to this
task, exactly what he’d been puppeteered by the
Music to do. Without him, or someone like him,
the Demon King may wake. As Zann drifted
off to sleep himself, his course seemed clear.
Another player must be found.
Inside the lounge was a single room of lush
reds and mahogany, a baker’s dozen of small
tables around the stage with a bar along the left
side. Few sat watching the band, fewer human
dreamers. One was a waking human, their mark
of the Mythos buzzing for Zann through his connection to the Music, arriving through one of the
many gates, while a ghoul sat quietly gnawing
on a series of bones. At the bar sat a pair of the
hidden Lengese, conversing with the tall finely
dressed pale man behind the bar, whose honey-colored eyes looked to Zann when he entered.
The rest of the band were dreamers seemingly caught in nightmares in the face of the
horrors of the otherworldly while playing
their illusory instruments, but the cellist, she
hummed with the same energy as Zann himself,
the resonance of the Music. Dressed in a black
and ruby flapper dress, her mass of deep brown
curls crowning her head. Hers was the only real
instrument there, the sounds she pulled from
it deep with pathos. Her eyes were closed, her
head moving along with the tempo. He knew
that look; he wore it often. No one else was
present for her, no one else existed in this room
but her in her mind. This music was for herself.
The bartender, shooing the people from
Leng away, nodded beckoningly to Zann. He
smiled wide, spreading his arms wide.
“Welcome to the Cleft Hanger, Herr Zann.
Your reputation precedes you.” The bartender’s
voice, smooth like silk, moved under the music
without interrupting it.
***
Zann signed back his reply. Who is that
playing the cello?
The night sky above blazed with different
constellations, and Erich Zann walked down a
black cobblestone street, flanked on either side
by dark gray skyscrapers that reached up like so
many dagger-like fangs. People passed him, but
they were barely humanoid shadows. Here in the
Dreamlands, those who only dreamed shallowly
barely appeared here. No, they wouldn’t do.
The bartender’s smile widened, nodding appreciatively. “Yes, our star here, Miss Márquez
Jimenez. Exquisite, is she not? It’s amazing
what one can create when she is fulfilling her
dreams?” He chuckled to himself.
Overhead, the flapping of flabby wings as a
pack of nightgaunts passed. He passed a family
of ghouls carrying a large headstone between
them, gibbering among themselves in their
tongue. He understood them here, though only
because dreams are universal.
He passed a music club, The Clef Hanger.
People, real people who dream deeply and thus
present as such, came in and out of it as he drew
near, and with the door open, he could hear the
jazz playing within. Most of it was passable,
but the ensemble played a cellist whose notes
filled his heart with both hope and dread. The
chord of the Music that lived with him since his
Visitation, a simple beat that played alongside
that of his heart, thrummed in his chest.
192
Zann didn’t reply, turning his back on the
bartender to watch the performance. Jimenez
played as though the cello was one with her
body, as if her heart’s blood poured out into
the air. There was beauty there, love, and joy,
but also pain, so much pain. Torment and rage
danced alongside the positive emotions, and by
time she lifted the bow from the strings, no one
escaped her enthrallment.
She bowed, along with her dreaming ensemble members. She spoke with a slight Hispanic
accent that Zann couldn’t place.
“We’re Los Llaveros de Plata, the next show
is in half an hour, thank you.”
She walked off the stage with the others,
breaking from them to walk over to the bar.
Before she arrived, the bartender placed two
glasses on the bar, filling a glass with water and
a rocks glass with ice and dark rum.
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
“Gracias, Jefe.” She murmured, taking a
sip of the rum first. Hissing at the burn of the
alcohol, she spied Zann watching her. “What’s
the matter with you?”
Nothing, I loved your performance. Zann signed.
She squinted at him, her emerald eyes piercing. “Who are you? Do I know you?”
“This is Erich Zann, the Music’s Player.”
chimed in the bartender. “Also a cellist, as it
would happen. He’s amazing, they say, but also
kind of boring, a bit of a snooze fest, I’ve heard.
He may just put you to sleep.” He chuckled
again, growing into a full smile at Zann’s furrowed brow.
She looked between the bartender and Zann,
not getting the joke. “So, you’re some hot shit
then huh? Want to join us for the next show?”
The bartender barked laughter loud enough
to startle the nearby ghoul, causing her to drop
what she was eating, the phalange clattering on
the hardwood floor. The closest dreamer sitting
near her looks over at the ghoul as she picks
it up, their face whitens in fresh fear before
vanishing, waking up.
I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Zann
blanched. He has never played in the Dreamlands, where his connection to the Music was
stronger than it ever could be in the waking
universe. Zann had no idea what playing here
could do.
“What, afraid to be outplayed?” She retorted, rolling her eyes. She downed the rest of
the rum, then the water. “Whatever, you change
your mind, you know where to find me. Hank.”
She nodded to the bartender before walking
back to the stage.
Everything about her rang out with her influence. The Music danced in the way her hips
swung with each step, in how she graciously
accepted the adoration of the audience. All
eyes were drawn to her, humans, dreamer, and
Dreamlander. The longer he watched the surer
he felt, he didn’t have a choice. He had to play.
He began to sign for a drink but the bartender, so called Hank, placed a shot glass filled
with dark liquor next to him. He could smell
the herbs in the Jägermeister, and took the
bracing shot quickly.
the Music swell within him. By the time they
both pulled the bow across the strings, Zann
was no longer in control.
He could feel the Music’s desire. It wanted
her. The Music followed Jimenez’s lead, letting
her set the melody and tempo. What the woman
played was mournful, beset with memories of
trauma. The Music reached into Zann’s memories, making him remember horrors and his
own pain to add to the song it made him play.
The Music filled him, almost to bursting. It
controlled his breathing, everything. His skin
prickled as the first song reached it crescendo,
beginning to glow with power. Distantly, as
if he weren’t right next to her, he could hear
Jimenez cry out, and he took the lead.
His song was one of joy, happiness, of a
mother seeing her child for the first time. Emotions that Zann has never experienced, childless as he was, and yet as he played the notes,
tears fell from his eyes nevertheless. The glow
increased, and he could feel when the light
touched her. She moaned, her playing slowed
for a moment, then fell in line with his.
No longer did she play a song in tune with
his, instead playing his. The Music made him
turn his head to her, seeing she glowed as well.
Then he could feel her in the song, connected
mind to mind like he did when he played to the
Demon King, but where the others hurt, hers
felt soft, like his.
What... what did you do to me? What is this?!
This is the Music, he replied more through
emotions than words, the song of the spheres,
the way between.
Oh, Madre de dios!
She rose, dropping her cello and overturning
her chair. Grabbing her head, Jimenez screamed
and ran off the stage toward the door of the
club, vanishing before she reached the door.
Zann rose, but there was nothing he could
do, she had awoken and thus left the Dreamlands. He had spread the Music and started
the song within her. He wished she had stayed
long enough for him to impress upon her the
importance of the work she had to do, but he
would now have to find her in the waking world
to do that.
I need an instrument.
***
“No problem, I have one in the back. Oh,
this is so exciting!” Hank said, clapping and
leaving. He returned with a black cello, setting
it up next to Márquez’s. She watched, her eyes
narrow. “Folks, we have something special tonight. A duet between our very own Márquez
and the fabled Erich Zann!”
The crowd roared their approval, and as
the lights went down, both musicians took their
places. Bow in hand, Zann felt the warmth of
Erich Zann met the dawn on the rooftop
café of his hotel, sitting with his eyes closed ignoring his croissant and rapidly cooling coffee.
He still could feel the Music in him, through
much diminished. Through it, he could feel
Ms. Jimenez, though in the waking world the
magic was more tenuous, inexact. He couldn’t
pinpoint where she was, but he wouldn’t have
to. Their patron would guide him to her.
REPRISE
193
Paying for his uneaten breakfast and
checking out of the Philharmonic’s room, Zann
turned down an alleyway between two tall
buildings and began to hum a tune. The Music
swelled, echoing his tune of the concrete and
marble around him, swiftly encasing him in a
cacophony that only he could hear. The stone
vibrated, then his cells did, then the atoms that
made them up.
Pain racked his body as it fell apart for a
split second and was put back together elsewhere. The tune ended, and Zann was no longer
in New York City. Pulling out his phone, its
GPS informed him that he was in Michigan,
not far from Detroit. Limping for a moment,
he moved westward, feet guided by the song in
his heart.
“Herr Zann, it’s good to see you again.”
Zann turned to see a tall, narrowly built man,
the bartender from the night before but now
dressed in a Pistons basketball jersey, dark
jeans, and sneakers.
What are you doing here, Hank? Zann
signed.
“Nothing, just seeing an old friend, but now
that I’m here, maybe we can talk about this.
Must you do this?”
Zann blinked. Do what?
“Bother our friend, Miss Jimenez.” Zann’s
eyes narrowed, and Hank’s smile broadened,
too white teeth catching the morning sun. “I
know what you want to do, Herr Zann, and I
simply can’t have it.”
Why the hell not? There must always be a
Player.
“Is that what that insipid tune of yours tells
you? Why? So old grandfather doesn’t awaken? He’s been slumbering long before you and
your ridiculous noise came around, and besides,
what’s wrong with him walking up and shaking
up the status quo anyway?”
Grandfather. Zann’s eyes widened. You’re….
Hank’s eyes went dark, his smile widened
further, too far. His teeth, between one blink
and another, became fangs, his already tall and
narrow form grew, towering over Zann.
“Whoops, it’s my big mouth, always getting
me in trouble.” His voice distorted, becoming
thinner. “The Crawling Chaos sends his regards,
Player. He wants Azathoth to wake up. It’s time
to rise and shine, music man, so I can’t have
you finding someone else to take up the lullaby
when you make your way through the portal.”
Zann turned and ran, as Hank laughed maniacally behind him. The smell of ozone filled
his nose as a bolt of sanguine lightning struck
the concrete sidewalk just behind him, throwing Zann to the ground.
194
Hank held what appeared to be a portable
phone charger, brandishing it with all the malice as a pistol. The bolt of lightning bounced
from the pavement to a streetlight across the
street, which exploded, then back to the charger. The Scion of Nyarlathotep wound back
as if he was casting a fishing rod, loosing the
living lightning at Zann.
He screamed out wordlessly, rolling away
from the malevolent energy creature, regaining
his feet and fleeing into an alley. Zann had no
idea where he was, where he was going, but he
had to get away from Hank if he was going to
do anything about his pet. The alley emptied
into a dead-end loading dock. Zann pressed his
back to the brick of the building as the electricity arced from a transformer on a power
line to an abandoned car. The sedan roared to
life, awkwardly reversing and pointing its red
headlights at him.
Zann whistled, drawing on the power of the
Music that lived within him. He drew the mnemonic melody that was his heartbeat, the pulse
of his breathing, the buzz of thought between
the synapses of his mind, and channeled them
into a simple song. He didn’t know if a creature
of electricity could hear, but it was alive, and
all things alive moved to the Music.
The car revved, tires burning rubber. It
lurched forward for half a foot before slamming
to a stop. Zann kept up the whistle, like a snake
charmer to a cobra, controlling the monster
within the machine. It was his, like he was the
Music’s, a dancer to his song. The door opened
to a high-pitched trill, and when he drew the
song to a close with a hum, he locked the living
lightning in the car’s battery.
Still on, Zann reversed, exiting the alley at
speed but Hank wasn’t on the street when he
pulled out. That didn’t matter, Zann knew, a
spawn of the Crawling Chaos he could be anyone at any time. He only knew one person in
this city whose identity he could trust, Márquez
Jimenez. Pulling on the power within him
again, he sat silently and listened.
He put out the car noises and the low-grade
hum of the creature still struggling against
his magic. He ignored the sounds of the city
around him and tuned himself fully to the Music. There, he heard her, faintly. Following the
Music in his heart as it synchronized with her
song, he made his way to her.
***
Márquez Jimenez worked as a personal care
assistant in a nursing home when not being the
headliner of a jazz club in the Dreamlands.
Zann had to whistle and tap his leg into another
song, this one meant to make the security and
staff ignore him. They didn’t see him when they
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
heard the song and looked at him. Instead, he
appeared like a generic elderly man, someone
who should be there and utterly unremarkable.
To be fair, it didn’t take much magic to get
Zann there.
hear her fear in the rhythm that connected
them, but also her resolve. Her eyes hardened
and she grabbed the elongated man by the
wrist, twisting her body to pull him off his feet
and onto the ground.
It almost worked on Jimenez too, her eyes
passed over him for a moment, then realization
flashed.
Looking around herself, she grabbed a
stainless-steel tray, the supplies and equipment
that laid on it scattering to the ground. Zann
cried out wordlessly, signing despite Jimenez’s
back being to him, trusting that their patron
would ensure the message got across.
“You! What the fuck are you doing here?!”
She looked around her, panic clear. “Security!”
Zann signed to her. Relax, I’m not here to
hurt you, I promise.
“Why can I understand you? I don’t know
how to sign, what the—”
The Music connects us, makes us parts of a
greater whole. You understand me because we
share a greater language. Please do not fear
this connection, because it makes us something
more beautiful than all others.
Zann blinked, that last sentence didn’t feel
like him, the Music sliding into the dance of his
hands signing.
“Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking
about man, just, I’m freaking the fuck out here.”
A short red-faced man in a security uniform
ran up behind Jimenez, putting a thick fingered
hand on her shoulder. His name read Jones.
“Are you okay ma’am, is this guy bothering
you?”
“What? No, sorry,” Jimenez replied. “I just
was startled.”
“Herr, you’re going to have to leave, please.”
Zann was about to sign in protest when he
realized what the stranger said. He looked into
the man’s eyes, and his form began to shift,
narrowing and growing taller.
“I told you Zann, it’s my damn big mouth.”
Hank said, swiping at Zann, knocking him into
a wall.
A cacophony of pain resounded for the older man as he crumbled to the ground. He drew
in a breath to start a song, but Hank drove a
foot into his gut, kicking the wind out of him
with an exhalation of blood. Staff and residents
screamed, all but trampling over each other to
get away from the shape shifting man with a
far too wide smile.
“I told you to leave her alone. I wanted to
keep her for my bar, you know? Let her live
a shitty provincial life here while being the
star of The Clef Hanger. But no, you had to
make this a thing. So now I’ll kill you fucking
both. This is your fault Zann, just know that.”
He turned his back on Zann, still struggling to
breathe, reaching out to Jimenez. His arm and
fingers got longer as they neared her.
Jimenez’s chestnut skin paled and Zann
could see the whites around her eyes. He could
Make a song!
She looked around again, then struck the
metal against the doorframe of the nearby patient room. The metal rang like a tuning fork,
which Jimenez held out like a blade.
Hank rolled to his hands and knees,
crouched more like a predatory cat than a man.
“You don’t know what you’re doing, Player, but
he’d thrust you to the interdimensional wolves
so that he would no longer have to. He’ll tell
you how important it is, all the while shirking
away from the duty himself. Let me save you
from all that. Put down the metal, love, and I’ll
take you from here.”
“Fuck you, you Slenderman-looking bitch!”
Jimenez slammed the tray against the frame
again, then again, drumming a beat of percussion and reverberating metal. Zann couldn’t
add to it himself, barely able to breathe, but he
could guide her how to play the Music’s power
into a song to drive the Scion away.
Together the sound became focused, precisely tuned and pointed like a spear thrust
directly at the creature calling himself Hank,
who screamed. Zann silently told Jimenez how
to take that sound and twist it into the song
as well. Hank crawled backward up the wall,
shattering the high window’s glass and the steel
cage covering it in one strike, slinking out of it
as the stress of it all and his injury drove Zann
into unconsciousness.
***
He found himself in a concert hall, on
stage in the spotlight. The hundreds of seats
sat empty, except for one. There sat Jimenez,
dressed in the simple but elegant black dress of
a classical performer.
Where are we? Zann signed.
“The Dreamlands, a memory of mine, safe.
You’re still in the hospital. They don’t think you
have that great of a chance of waking up. Why
don’t you talk?”
Mute, always have been, she took my voice
when she gave me her music.
“Even here? No, I don’t think she did. Maybe she picked you despite it, or even because
REPRISE
195
of it, to make beautiful sounds come from the
voiceless, but she didn’t take your voice.” She
nodded, certain. Zann heard the ring of truth in
what she said and a knot that had laid in his
heart for almost his entire life slid undone. “So,
I’m supposed to play something important.”
“Ah. Okay, yeah.” She said, rising. She suddenly was next to him, sitting down in a metal
folding chair, the cello he’d watch her play
when he first encountered her in hand. Behind
him was another such chair, a cello case next to
it. “Let’s get started then.”
Only if you think keeping a mad alien God
from waking up and destroying the reality that
is its dream is important.
196
SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS
Academics:
Athletics:
Close Combat:
Culture:
Empathy:
Firearms:
Inte rity:
Leadership:
Medicine:
Occult:
Persuasion:
Pilot:
Science:
Subterfu e:
Survival:
Technolo y:
MENTAL
Intellect
Cunnin
Resolve
PHYSICAL
Mi ht
Dexterity
Stamina
SOCIAL
Presence
Manipulation
Composure
Short
Lon
Band
Legendary Title:
Bruised
Bruised
Movement Dice:
Defense Roll:
+1
+1
+2
+2
+4
Academics:
Athletics:
Close Combat:
Culture:
Empathy:
Firearms:
Inte rity:
Leadership:
Medicine:
Occult:
Persuasion:
Pilot:
Science:
Subterfu e:
Survival:
Technolo y:
MENTAL
Intellect
Cunnin
Resolve
PHYSICAL
Mi ht
Dexterity
Stamina
SOCIAL
Presence
Manipulation
Composure
Short
Lon
Band
Mortal
Immortal
Bruised
Bruised
Bruised
Movement Dice:
Defense Roll:
+1
+1
+1
+2
+2
+4
The Mythos is older than humanity, Gods, and
Titans, with an unknowable otherness that can shatter
them all. This slumbering horror lurks in the shadows,
carrying out its alien machinations with little regard for
those beneath it until it requires pawns.
Those that touch the Mythos are forever altered. The
World explodes into full view for them, leaving some
shattered, others power-mad, and still others knowing
only secrecy protects humanity. Mythos Scions fair little
better, empowered by these alien beings that alter
their very essence, the ability to break Fate and leave
the walls of reality weaker in their wake. These human
embodiments of the Mythos are not good or evil; such
easily definable morality is for lesser beings. What does
one do when their power comes with a cost?
Some highlights of Masks of the Mythos include:
• An entire new pantheon: the Mythos
• A trove of new Callings and relics
• Expanded investigation rules
• A detailed tour of the Miskatonic Hollow, including
Arkham and Innsmouth
• An introductory scenario for a new band of Scions
Do you have the willpower to face the Mythos? To
become the Mythos…?
SCI012