Scion Masks of The Mythos (Final Download)

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 (adi-
tional material)
Additional development by: Eddy Webb
Scion Lead Developers: Neall Raemonn Price and
Hiromi Cota
Writers: Adam Alexander, David Castro, Ariel Ce-
leste, 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 Sto-
janovic, 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 REQUIRES THE USE OF
my spirits high, and allowing me to burn away countless SCION ORIGIN AND SCION HERO
hours while working.
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 copyright-
ed 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 copyright-
ed 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 CHAPTER TWO:
CHARACTER CREATION 28
INTRODUCTION:
Ready-Made Characters 29
THE MYTHOS VS. LOVECRAFT 8 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
CHAPTER ONE:
Dice Pools 41
MYTHOS PANTHEONS 12 Momentum 41
Principal Members 13
CHAPTER THREE:
Albtraum 13
Azathoth 14
MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS 42
Bokrug 14 Traits 43
Cthulhu 15 Awareness 43
Ghatanothoa 15 Callings 44
The Greenish Flame 16 Mythos Fatebinding 46
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 Powers 47
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
Relationships 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
Table of Contents 3
Heroic Sage 49 Moon 54
Immortal Sage 49 Eerie Light 54
Heroic Trickster 49 Order 54
Immortal Trickster 49 Lawful Trespass 55
Heroic Warrior 49 Passion 55
Immortal Warrior 49 Lackluster 55
Purviews 49 Prosperity 56
Awareness Purviews 49 Eat the Rich 56
Artistry 49 Sky 56
Maddening Song 49 Fog Bank 56
Beasts 50 Stars 56
Snake Pit 50 Temporal Shift 56
Beauty 50 Sun 56
Distracting Beauty 50 Irradiation 57
Chaos 50 War 57
Walking Disaster 50 Incite 57
Darkness 50 Water 57
Shadow Minion 50 Tsunami 57
Death 51 Wild 57
Creeping Dead 51 Feral Traces 58
Deception 51 Mythos Signature Purview 58
Mental Prison 51 Arcane Calculus 58
Earth 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
Wrath and Fury 52 Elder Sign Amulet (••) 62
Fertility 52 Erich Zann’s Viol (•••) 62
Verdant Fields 52 The Ivory Key (••••) 62
Fire 52 Masks of the Mythos (••• each) 63
Conflagration 53 Mi-Go Brain Cylinder (•••) 64
Forge 53 Smoking Mirror (••) 64
Transubstantiate 53 Sword of Kadath (••) 65
Fortune 53 Yithian Mind Stone (•••) 65
Twist Fate 53
Frost 53
CHAPTER FOUR:
Hibernate 53
THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW 66
Health 53 Arkham 68
Transference 54 History 68
Journeys 54 Modern Day 70
Labyrinth 54 The Mythos in Arkham 71

Arkham Sanitarium 72 The Mechanics of Mysteries 106
Miskatonic University 73 Conspiracy of Mysteries 106
Background 73
CHAPTER SIX:
What’s Happening Now? 74
Miskatonic University Library 74
THE SCION JOB 108
Miskatonic Medical School 74 Awakening 109
Story Hooks 75 The Chorus 109
Mythos Influences 75 Locations of Note 110
Dunwich 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
Kingsport 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
CHAPTER FIVE: CHAPTER SEVEN:

MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING 100 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 Antagonists 125
Cosmic Mythic Horror 102 Colour Out of Space 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
T
Gnoph-keh 130 Lavinia Whateley 159
Great Race of Yith 131 Roberta Olmstead 160
Hounds of Tindalos 131
Mi-Go 132
APPENDIX TWO:
Night-gaunt 133
TERRA INCOGNITAE 166
Rival Scion 133 Y’ha-nthlei 166
Shoggoth 134 Mythos 166
Terror from Beyond 134 The Warm Gardens 169
Anri’kala 135 The Busy Waters 170
The Aubren Family 135 The Unbound Structure 171
Cats of Saturn 136 Dangers of the Deep 172
Child of Mist 137 Zathitho 172
Children of Theia 137 The Ichaatath Primacy 173
Dreamthieves 138 Shoggoth Uprising 173
Extradimensional Fauna 138 Mythos 174
Flying Polyps 139 Lost City of Iretah 175
Living Lightning 140 Lavender Sea 176
Lunar Dolls 141 Zath 177
Mirror Men 142 Realm Birthrights 179
Mrs. Moloch 142 Realm Effects 179
The Nameless 143
Proto-Coleopterans 144
APPENDIX THREE:
The Red 144 ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES 180
Sentient Crystal 145 Gorgo,
Shantak 146 The Horror 180
Stellar Vampire 146 Hypnos 184
Triassic Penguin 147 The Maddening Music 185
New Qualities & Flairs 148 The Moon-Ladder 187
APPENDIX ONE: APPENDIX FOUR: SCION:HERO

DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY 150 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 191

B O G W O M A N
TH E 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 sup-
posed 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 am-
bled 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 be-
fore; 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 fa-
miliar 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
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.
interchangeability is not quite right, as the Mythos has The state of the modern world has prompted some to say
expanded well beyond the man who penned his first Lovecraft’s legacy received the most fitting retribution
Mythos story in 1897, which sat unpublished until 1916. possible: He lost. White ascendency ended while immi-
There is an intergalactic creation full of Gods, monsters, gration and diversity continued.
and beings beyond any existing definition that dwell The world today appears far more tolerant than
outside the realm of humanity. Some may be familiar. his, and that would surely have made Lovecraft weep
Phrases like “Outer Gods,” “Elder Things,” and “Great Old and faint like his protagonists. If the last decade in the
Ones” are a bit more obscure but have found their way United States has proven anything, it is that hate is alive
outside of their niche. There has been a wave of Cthulhu and well and far too often living down the street from
fandom, from Victor LaValle’s novella to Alan Moore’s each of us. It turned from the violent, deadly force of
comic books to T-shirts to “Cthulhu-For-President” 1920s lynchings to a more invasive one of redlining and
bumper stickers. an unbalanced prison system, and now in the 2020s, a
Let’s take a minute to discuss the man himself. merger of terrible aspects of both.
Lovecraft, for those who don’t know, was an ardent It is clearly not so much that Lovecraft’s vision of
racist, anti-Semite, misogynist, and held a slew of other the world did not triumph but has simply shifted. Like
backward beliefs. He was so racist for his time that some Lovecraft, many people are afraid of losing and con-
of his contemporaries, of whom a few were also racist, stantly blame “the other” for an impending downfall.
wrote to him about being too racist and misogynistic. There’s been an increase in hate crimes and violent
There is no defending the man, his beliefs, actions, or attacks against people of color, queer and trans people,
hatred. The core of Lovecraft’s work is tied into his own and marginalized houses of worship. Threats and name
beliefs under a thin layer of cosmic horror. calling make our communities feel hostile, and the out-
In reality, his writing, while the foundation of this side world seems even worse.
universe, represents a small percentage of Mythos writ- In Masks of the Mythos, there is an attempt at
ings. For all his faults, he believed in allowing others making it better. Masks shines a light on this legacy of
to help shape the Mythos and collaborated with other hate that extends back to Lovecraft and beyond him. It
white writers. He did not want the Mythos contained holds it up and dare it to reflect at us the worst of who
to one person or company and believed additional ideas we are so we may create a Mythos that reflects the world
made it better. However, his explicit, self-expressed we wish to see. Every word is a testament to a world full
racism and xenophobia shaped the world he saw and of patience, tolerance, inclusion, and most importantly,
created the Mythos. the interconnectedness that binds other to other: the
We don’t intend to ignore this reality; we intend hope for a better future for humanity. A future that looks
to take it back. We’re not giving lip service but inform- as little like Lovecraft’s world as we can muster and one
ing you, the reader, of our mission statement upfront. where he and his kind have truly lost.
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
THE MYTHOS
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.
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
That’s how change happens; it’s not something that just nor Titans. In Masks of the Mythos, they exist in another
occurs. It comes from people confronting it head on. 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 of unfathomable odds. They embrace the hard work of
meaning. It is full of beings, Gods, and Old Ones that do defending and thwarting and confronting threats from
not require worshipers and are generally uninterested humans and their Gods, steadfast against the weight of a
in humans, the plight of humanity or any of its related perilous cosmos.
affairs — aside from an active few. The crux of Mythos Storyguides should use these alien entities to add a
stories involves regular folks encountering things be- layer of complexity to the Scions’ journeys, a contorted
yond their keen and struggling against them, regardless lens through which they can look, and a specific atmo-
of the cost, which is frequently madness. Lovecraft cre- spheric flavor of otherworldly challenges with which
ated a literary version of madness that is not reflective Scions must contend. Unusual or conflicting descriptions
of real-world mental illness and other pain real people can help evoke this sense of otherness. Words that mask
suffer. We’ve taken the root of that idea and altered it. or obfuscate the horrors are often more effective than a
The impact of strangeness still remains. This otherness, picture painted in full vivid color. Put details just out of
while not of their own doing, causes the creatures and reach: Shadows passing a window, the sound of scuttling
those touched by the Mythos to disrupt our universe, in a closet, or a whiff of something tenebrous and foul
breaking the natural order and laws of reality. Think of are unsettling than a full-frame wide shot of some writh-
it as a clash between matter and anti-matter with fewer ing monstrosity. Reveal horrors slowly and indirectly.
explosions and more unpredictable side effects. This Engage the senses in unusual, illogical ways. Try using
creates the ability to find meaning in everything, and synesthesia in description; a smell that is frothy, a color
one’s place inside it. that is coarse, or a sound that casts shadows. Lean into
The Mythos is not an evil or enemy pantheon to the vastness of space and fallibility of the senses.
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 HOW TO
Scions by destroying the very Fate that fuels their ac-
tions. What makes a hero? The legend, the tales woven
into history about them, or the actual acts? Mythos
USE THIS BOOK
Scions illuminate that moral quandary.
M asks of the Mythos is a sourcebook for Scion:
Origin and Scion: Hero. While the majority of Scion
THEMES focuses on real-world mythologies and religions, Masks
of the Mythos is a step off that path into a more fictitious
Masks of the Mythos, much like the rest of the
World. The material presented here is as canonical to an
books in the Scion series, depicts humans touched by
ongoing Scion campaign as every individual Storyguide
something greater and more powerful than they are.
and group wish it to be.
They have been gifted, cursed, or born into a mythol-
ogy waiting for them to make their own paths. While The book includes the information needed to
the core Scion game focuses on bonding these humans create Mythos Scions and dive into the dread-soaked
into a group and sweeping others up into their legend; cursed towns that thrive under the insidious nature of
Masks of the Mythos is about the otherness of power. 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
MOOD balanced to challenge those seeking Demigod-hood, and
An atmosphere of uneasiness, eeriness, and menace the Mythos Scions themselves seeking transcendence.
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
MEDIA
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 grap-
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
ple with the knowledge that humanity’s niche in the how to change it and apply it to your own Scion game.
universe is tenuous, a fragile mote swirling in a sea of
The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
overwhelming power. But heroism is not fearlessness.
Courage does not dismiss or ignore threats; it stands This novella follows a Black protagonist during
against them despite fear and horror. In this way, Scions the Harlem Renaissance as he struggles to get by while
touched by the Mythos have the singular opportunity caring for his ailing father, enduring racism, and getting
to show unfathomable heroism and sacrifice in the face swept up into the Mythos. What choice will he make
10 INTRODUCTION: THE MYTHOS VS. LOVECRAFT

under the weight of it all? The story explores the racism Hellboy, rather than wreaking havoc on the world, be-
and horror tropes from “The Horror at Red Hook.” comes a paranormal investigator who aids humanity
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth by Headfirst despite being an outsider. He frequently works with a
Productions with Bethesda Softworks group of other outsiders who face Mythos horrors, pulp
adventures, and folklore.
This video game is one of the best adaptations of
classic Mythos stories in this format. You play as a lone Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
investigator exploring the town of Innsmouth. During the An anthology of stories that revolves around Black
exploration and discovery of the Mythos, they must come characters, touching on different aspects of the Mythos
face to face with reality and their place in it. It is not a mat- and race, and how they intersect. It highlights the area in
ter of survival but doing the best one can before the end. which Lovecraft’s work frequently occurs.
The game is known for its difficulty and actual suspense. The Works of H. P. Lovecraft by Howard Phillip Lovecraft
Cthulhusattva: Tales of the Black Gnosis by Ruthanna Emrys The originator of what we call the Cthulhu Mythos.
This anthology is about enlightenment through Content warning for readers.
the Mythos and the madness it brings. The book high- Twin Peaks by Mark Frost and David Lynch
lights the concept as viewed through the eyes of those
experiencing it rather than combating it. Focus on the A soap-opera drama about the impact and investi-
mysticism and how it changes a person. gation of a murder in a small town. It is an example of
how small-town life can move a story forward with a
Get Out by Jordan Peele constant building undercurrent of the weird. The focus
This masterful horror film is about racism and ob- is not on the weird itself but the impact because of it.
jectification. It explores the journey of a Black man who Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
stumbles into a cult of white suburbanites stealing the
bodies of Black people through weird science. A novel about being a descendant from the Mythos,
living among the unawakened world only to be drawn
Hellboy by Mike Mignola back in. It plays with the established tropes and subverts
The long-running comic book features a half-de- them creating an engaging tale.
mon summoned to Earth from hell as a weapon by Nazis.
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
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
witnessing the birth of the universe at the same instant. the visage of a strong and athletic youth crowned with
Some exist at every moment and place in the multiverse: laurel, the bacchanalian statues surrounding the temple
substantial and insubstantial all at once. belie his trickster nature.
This “pantheon,” as humans have labeled and gen- In the times before, Albtraum was one of the lesser
dered it, is neither God nor Titan but comprises extradi- Old Ones of R’lyeh, serving under Azathoth. Her vora-
mensional aliens whose horrific otherness warps every- cious appetite for all things unknown eventually saw
thing it encounters. Their movements were traced and her visit The World. But Fatebinding was a powerful de-
linked by humans believing them to be Gods in the form terrent for spending too much time around humans. So,
of others. These aliens do not have defined locations she sought solace and to learn about The World from the
such as other Gods’ realms. Some reside in Azathoth’s bottom of the sea to protect herself during dormancy.
court, listening to the maddening music; others walk From here she learned about The World,
the Earth, while some lie eternally asleep but but she could not learn about the
never dying. land dwellers, so she decided
to bring them to her domain.
PRINCIPAL Albtraum created hundreds of ivo-

ry statues of her likeness out of her
MEMBERS own bones and scattered them to the

currents. She always knows where
these pieces of herself are, and if
someone touches one, she forg-
T he Great Old Ones are eternal
and can forever lay dreaming.
Their Calling is like a tide that
es a connection immediately.
In this way, she learned
seeps in around the fringes of one’s everything she needed to know
reality until they are drowning. about humanity. Now, when she
They care little for right or wrong, grows lonely — or hungry — she
only their own machinations. The sends dreams through the talismans
mad Azathoth reigns supreme to their owners, drawing them to her.
with its servant Nyarlathotep, And when they enter the water, she sends
executing countless plans in dolphins to guide their way and protect
its name as it slumbers. The their voyage until the person is firmly in her
Great Old Ones act through grasp. By the time they make the voyage, they are com-
their Scions by forcing their will pletely under her sway, and any with the will to resist
upon them or offering more power are crushed to dust or turned to statues to decorate his
for small, undefinable tasks. temple. Those who come quickly and beg for mercy earn
a place in the city dwelling forever in the depths — or a
ALBTRAUM place in his vast stomach.
Aliases: The Slumbering One, The Caller in the Albtraum does not grace the land and left the other
Wave, The Terror from Below Mythos Gods long ago. But he reigns free in his under-
water city. Scions of Albtraum are beautiful, intelligent,
Albtraum sleeps deep in the south Atlantic Ocean,
and obedient — always chosen from those who heed his
in a city hewn directly from the valley floor covered in
call after finding a talisman. Scions from other panthe-
Hellenistic friezes, marble pillars, and pristine cobble
ons may find themselves under Albtraum’s protection
paths. This city, often called Atlantis, but possibly a
after encountering such a talisman, without ever meet-
reflection of R’lyeh, is Albtraum’s home and lair. Few
ing him in the flesh.
know what Albtraum looks like, save for those who have
Principle Members 13
Callings: Corruptor, Liminal, Trickster
Purviews: Artistry (sculpture), Beasts (dolphins),
BOKRUG
Aliases: The Great Water Lizard and The Lord of
Beauty, Water
Monsters
Bokrug was the God of the people of Ib, a race of
AZATHOTH voiceless humanoids characterized by their bloat-
Aliases: Nuclear Firestorm, The Eye of Madness ed, green-skinned flesh; bulging eyes; wide, flapping
At the center of infinity, a twisted God slumbers, cre- mouths; and small, oddly shaped ears. In prehistoric
ating bits of reality from its dreams and destroying them times, the people of Ib were butchered, their city was
when it wakes. This is Azathoth, the Demon Sultan of destroyed, and their lands were taken by the humans.
Chaos, head of the pantheon, dwelling with its court out- The occupiers built a new city called Sarnath where Ib
side time and space. Manifesting as a voracious black hole, once stood and prospered over the next 1,000 years. At
Azathoth is a God who knows only sensation and hunger, first, the people of Sarnath honored Bokrug, but through
gobbling up anything around it unless placated by a court the passing centuries Bokrug’s memory became more
of musicians, who beat drums and play airy pipes to soothe of a humorous jest as people passed on the street. Still,
Azathoth’s unrest. When Azathoth begins to awaken, its Bokrug gave the occasional reminder of its presence
attention is attracted to places where the walls between the by causing the waters of the lake that lay adjacent to
Outside and reality are thin, which often manifest as some Sarnath to emit a strange glow on the anniversary of Ib’s
sort of opening wherein the viewer can see the eternity of destruction.
space and hear the infernal piping of Azathoth’s court. The Great Water Lizard is a being in tune with and
Azathoth is head of pantheon not because it is inhabiting lands dedicated to it. These lands always
adored, but because it is the most powerful. Universes contain a swampy body of water and somewhere on
are born and destroyed as side effects of its dreams. or beneath these lands can be found an idol depicting
Azathoth is the embodiment of the chaotic and destruc- the God. Bokrug manifests through these idols when
tive nature of the universe but is also the music of the it is time for the God to rise. It is characterized by the
spheres. Scions of Azathoth are creative and destruc- desire to enact vengeance on behalf of worshipers who
tive. They might be experimental musicians exploring fall victim to those who would take their land, but also
new forms of aural expression. Other Scions emulate possesses great patience in taking this vengeance. It
Azathoth by being powerful and destructive influences sometimes allow many generations to pass before act-
at the centers of vast organizations. Unable to sate their ing against interlopers, but when vengeance comes it is
appetite for power and chaos, these amoral Scions act swift and complete. Strange lights glowing from beneath
on instinct rather than reason and can manage to rise the waters in its territories are a sign of Bokrug’s grow-
to positions of power and influence to the detriment of ing wrath and, when these lights are strongest, it is ready
everyone around them. Like Azathoth, they surround to strike.
themselves with toadying courts of followers who pro- Within the Miskatonic Hollow, the deity was be-
tect the rest of society by placating the Scion. lieved to have been venerated among Indigenous people
Among mortals, there are musicians who live in ob- as a spirit of the land. Few European settlers made the
scurity and squalor who are gifted by Azathoth’s power connection between legends about Bokrug from the
with the ability to compose and play exquisitely chaotic Old World to the New and themselves venerated this
music that at once attracts and placates Azathoth. One little-known deity. Knowledge of Bokrug is scarce and
such musician was the cellist Erich Zann, who, accord- worship of The Great Lizard even rarer. Still, Bokrug has
ing to a firsthand account, would play wild music that affinity for those who are attuned to places once dedi-
was at was at once magnetizing and loathsome. From cated to it and may choose to manifest through them
the single window in Zann’s attic apartment, the wit- to enact vengeance on those who would corrupt these
ness saw outside reality and realized it was Zann’s wild once-sacred spaces. Scions of Bokrug are avid protec-
playing that kept the beings who lived in this place at tors of the places they call home and all who dwell there
bay. The power of Zann’s drive was so great that he con- eventually lose their humanity as the power of Bokrug
tinued to play beyond death. Such musicians exist in the grows within them. Over time, they take on a reptilian
present, playing in small clubs and dive bars to eke out appearance, with wide mouths, bulging eyes, and small
a living while composing and playing music that saves ears. The most powerful of Bokrug’s Scions can no lon-
humanity during the hours of darkness. ger speak any human tongue and become alien even to
those who knew them.
Callings: Adversary, Destroyer, Liminal
Callings: Guardian, Judge, Leader
Purviews: Artistry (Music), Chaos, Epic Stamina,
Stars, Sun
14 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

Purviews: Darkness, Death, Fortune, Moon,
Prosperity, Water, War GHATANOTHOA
Aliases: Petrifyer, Burrowing Ooze
CTHULHU Ghatanothoa is a giant, chimeric monstrosity with a

form so abhorrent that its mere image can paralyze and
Aliases: Master of R’lyeh, The Slumbering Titan
mummify witnesses alive. Those who succumb to its
Cthulhu does not speak directly to his Scions. gaze are forever frozen but remain aware, looking out at
How could he? He sleeps, dreaming, and through those the world from inside the prison of a desiccated body.
dreams he makes himself known. Communions with the Ghatanothoa dwells in an undersea fortress atop the
Old One straddle the line between dream and nightmare, submerged mountain called Yaddith-Gho, on the sunk-
strange dark curling shapes in deep water. The only en continent of Mu. The Muvians treated the entity as a
semblance of words they hear are burbling sounds, low God, placating the creature over countless generations
and gurgling, bubbles struggling to rise to the surface. with sacrifices to prevent it from seeping out of its nest
Scions wake from these encounters gasping for air. and destroying the Earth.
These Scions awaken with an affliction worse after a
The bodies of those who glimpse this horror turn
shared dream, their bodies soaked, trembling, and the
into leathery corpses, and its image sears into their ret-
monstrous visage of Cthulhu temporarily burned into
inas, imbuing the victim’s eyes with the same Medusa-
the underside of their palms, writhing and pulsating
like qualities. Over time, their trapped minds become
before fading.
twisted with desperation. Reaching out from isolation
The Old One’s purviews, like his dream messages, are spurs many to develop a weak, whispering form of telep-
two-sided. His Scions are expert swimmers, but their prow- athy. Over eons, a psychic network of these mummified
ess derives from a fear of being submerged and trapped as victims has spread across the globe, forming a thought-
their patron was. His Scions gather close in sleep, empow- cult of nattering corpses that relays messages across
ered by their visions, but are as alone in the waking hours continents. These rantings hint at revenge conspiracies,
as anyone has ever been, isolated by the same knowledge of forming a resistance against the alien God, but there
that empowers them. Death is among his purviews, but is little hope of any real coordination amid the chorus of
for Cthulhu and his Scions, death is as temporary as sleep. unfocused telepathic blather. Ghatanothoa knows of this
Cthulhu promises awakening of all kinds. network, and taps into the signal for amusement, like an
Cthulhu and his Scions are drawn together by eternal radio station that plays concertos of suffering.
their dreams, both literally and figuratively. Scions of Before Mu submerged, Ghatanothoa made enemies
Cthulhu often feel trapped by circumstance, waiting to among followers of Shub-Niggurath, namely a high priest
be freed. Cthulhu promises freedom — if they work to called T’yog who tried to shield themselves against the
secure his own return. Meanwhile, the Great Dreamer entity’s gaze with a magical scroll written on the inner
lives vicariously through them: walking freely with their skin of a lizard, stored inside a cylinder made of metal
feet, seeing the world through their eyes, and sowing the from the planet Yuggoth. But Ghatanothoa’s guardians
seeds of revenge with their hands. At times, his Scions switched the scroll and thwarted the priest’s attack.
feel him under their skin, cold and sluggish but making Since that time, followers of both entities have squared
his presence known. off against each other in far corners of the globe. Neither
In times of great urgency, Cthulhu can force sleep Ghatanothoa nor Shub-Niggurath take much notice of
on his Scions to impart his desires or knowledge upon their followers’ rivalry. T’yog believed the scroll could
them more immediately. For the Scion, this experience help defeat the menace of Ghatanothoa and restore the
is not unlike being dragged underwater. The more they humans who had fallen under the spell of its gaze. That
try to tread water and resist, the more overwhelming scroll is lost to time.
their exhaustion — and the more violent their visions. Scions entangled with Ghatanothoa tend to harbor
Cthulhu is especially drawn to people the closer quiet reflection and introspection. They are thinkers,
they live to R’lyeh, where he slumbers. His influence keen observers, and valuable collectors of information
dwindles as his Scions move further away — but he can and secrets. They sometimes tap into the network of
never be shaken. His stride is too great to be outpaced, ceaseless whispering voices for insight. However, listen-
and he can always reach his Scions in their dreams. ing in on those conversations comes with great risk to
Soon, he will be able to reach farther, out of dreams and the Scion’s stability.
water and into the waking world. Callings: Corruptor, Cosmos, Tyrant
Callings: Cosmos, Liminal, Monster Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Deception,
Purviews: Darkness, Death, Epic Stamina, Epic Epic Strength
Strength, Health, Water
Purviews: Artistry, Darkness, Deception, Forge,
THE GREENISH FLAME Journeys
Aliases: Solstice Fire, Uncanny Light, The Gloaming
The Greenish Flame is a column of living energy
whose light reveals hidden things and subtly reshapes
LORD OF THE GREAT ABYSS
Aliases: Nodens
the world it illuminates. It takes root in subterranean
reservoirs like wells, springs, or cenotes. Lacking the A parasitic interdimensional construct known as
ability to move easily, it reaches out to sentient minds, the Lord of the Great Abyss mimics Gods and other
emanating signals like a psychic beacon. The Flame calls targets of worship to feed on adoration. The entity
out to hosts for help providing protection and growing rarely appears in its true form: a lattice of shifting alien
its power. It has what humans would call rudimentary algorithms that can only be perceived as pure thought
intelligence: a seemingly simple reactor core with little with no sensory analog. To manifest a visual form, the
more than self-protective instincts or programming. entity probes the deepest corners of its target’s cortex
But the Flame carries out its higher, more sophisticated and projects figures from the host’s mythology, using
designs over generations and eons, working at a cosmic images like the luminous lures of angler fish to draw
pace that makes plans inscrutable to humans. believers. Some targets perceive entire courts of char-
acters and creatures gleaned from deep neural recesses.
The Flame can warp reality with its heatless radia-
The projections sometimes unravel, allowing underly-
tion. It bends perception and over time even shapes the
ing structures to peek through. The Lord’s particular
physical realm in its own image. For most, these effects
Fibonacci-like pattern often causes humans to interpret
may be minimal or impossible to detect.
spirals, whorls, helices, or spoked wheels at the entity’s
The Flame selects a particular number of hosts center. Common visual themes include chariots, sea-
within its range to act as its stewards, maintaining no shells, spiral stairways, or the vortices of storms. Some
more than a few dozen at one time. The stewards build merely perceive a clamor of strange repeating tones or
things. They tear things down. They choose unusual unearthly music.
decorations. The Flame inspires Sisyphean impulses in
The Lord of the Great Abyss tends to stay anchored
these chosen crew members, so each believes they are
to geographical “power” spots, such as summits, re-
acting under their own volition. They may have elabo-
mote valleys, or islands, where it can funnel the paths
rate personal justifications for the tasks they carry out.
of curious seekers. At the top of Kingsport Head in
For particular tasks, these jobs are done in a fugue-like
Massachusetts, one of the entity’s many roosting spots,
state of waking dreams.
residents have observed whole pageants of creatures
The actions of the stewards may seem eccentric, from the courts of Nodens and Poseidon, who considers
obsessive, or even artistic. Some actions appear munici- it an insult. In other parts of the globe, people have wit-
pal in nature: digging ditches in the middle of the night, nessed sea queens of island kingdoms, sun Gods in des-
spray painting strange markers on roads, or braiding ert canyons, or chariot-riding cherubim on snowy peaks.
telephone wires. Other activities look more like art in-
Even perceiving the Lord’s tailored, illusory, myth-
stallations or amateur science experiments.
ical forms can send witnesses into fits of dream-like
The Flame has taken root in many cities on Earth, reverie that leave them permanently changed. Followers
particularly those with subterranean networks. usually convince themselves that the Lord’s avatars
Kingsport, Massachusetts is a notable example. are manifestation of deities or myths to which they are
Like the Flame’s chosen stewards, Scions of the already attached. This is strong medicine. Such visions
Greenish Flame can be driven, and singular of purpose can disrupt core pillars of faith and existential stability.
to the point of obsession. They are trustworthy, but they Those under the Lord’s influence must maintain con-
work hard to gain trust from strangers. They tend to stant self-delusion to ignore and justify glitches that
be playful, affable, flamboyant, or quixotic, but are also belie its real form. People who experience this may
awkward and have trouble fitting in. Their plans and appear to grow detached and increasingly despondent
actions may seem eccentric or even absurd. They give as the mind weighs dull tones of mundane life against
generously and show kindness, but their help can take profound feelings of divine bliss and awe.
unusual or twisted forms. They hand out and stamp Scions of the Lord of the Great Abyss are excellent
“loyalty cards” after performing good deeds. The Flame’s storytellers or word smiths, embracing paradox and
Scions are not always silly, but their good intentions are allegory, walking a line between reality and illusion.
often misinterpreted. They tend to be seekers and travelers with restless life-
Callings: Liminal, Sage, Trickster styles. They are excellent mimics. They are convincing.
They deflect. They misdirect. They outrun. They can

make nonsense seem like sense — at least for a fleeting Rhan-Tegoth came to Earth from Yuggoth, a gray
moment. planet of deep, warm seas and sunken cities. It came for
Callings: Cosmos, Guardian, Trickster one reason, and one reason only: to feed.
Purviews: Darkness, Deception, Frost, Health Rhan-Tegoth has no peers, no family, and no friends.
Water 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
NYARLATHOTEP uniqueness, it is more like the other alien beings than
Aliases: The Crawling Chaos, The Messenger anything from Earth.
Of all the pantheon, Nyarlathotep is most attuned to Its body is shapeless and ever-shifting, covered in
humanity. It is not clear whether this is because he finds millions of tiny, squirming filaments tipped with asp-
humanity interesting, enjoys corrupting those seeking like mouths. These are the mouths it uses to feed. Its
power beyond themselves, or has some reason beyond face is implied by a loose arrangement of features: a tri-
the ken of mere humans. What is clear is that he appears angle of three bulbous, fishy eyes; two sets of distended,
to people in a multitude of forms and is said to have bulging gills; and a drooping proboscis reminiscent of an
1,000 faces. In ancient times he was The Black Pharaoh; elephant’s trunk or a howler monkey’s nose. Its six limbs
to medieval witches he was The Black Man offering function as both arms and legs and terminate in paws
power in exchange for entering their name in The Black with black, crab-like claws.
Book. He is the showman, offering something new and Rhan-Tegoth is used to worship and devotion in
exciting to people bored with quotidian life. He is the the form of sacrifices. It lives in pursuit of its next meal
pseudo-scientist, offering new and outlandish theories but is alarmingly patient. It knows it will eat; it’s only
intended to overthrow the consensus truth of the es- a matter of when. Rhan-Tegoth doesn’t need speed or
tablishment and he is the politician, sowing dissent and desperation to hunt its prey. Its presence paralyzes its
hate. He is a Svengali, presiding over a worshipful cult or intended victims with fear and inspires devotion in
the gullible masses waiting to follow the latest fad and a others, who proceed to offer worship in the form of
movie star, attracting the adoration of millions. He is the live sacrifices. When confronted with obstacles, Rhan-
ultimate trickster — he is corruption and deception and Tegoth tackles them with single-minded determination
chaos personified. He does it all simply to undermine and self-assuredness. There’s no rush. There’s no wor-
what humanity perceives as reality. ry that it might go hungry. It doesn’t matter if its prey
It is impossible to provide a description of a typical escapes; everything is prey. Everything can and will be
manifestation of Nyarlathotep. His avatars are legion, consumed, crushed, and drained dry by Rhan-Tegoth’s
and he is more easily identified by what he does than by many mouths.
his appearance. By sowing chaos, he causes those who In the ancient Arctic, when Rhan-Tegoth first came
are aware of him to suspect anyone with similar traits to Earth, it was worshiped by towering, six-limbed
of being him. Many a would-be do-gooder has landed in primates. It sat on an ivory throne, awaiting eternal
prison believing they are thwarting the Crawling Chaos, tribute. Its worshipers gained no special status through
only to learn that what they thought was a God was a their devotion. Neither do its Scions. With a stroke of
two-bit con artist. His Scions are similarly challenging bad luck, even the most devoted follower could become
to identify as they have no common characteristic other Rhan-Tegoth’s next meal.
than a desire to cause chaos and to deceive. Strangely,
his Scions often work at cross purposes to one another, Despite this ever-present danger, Rhan-Tegoth’s
creating even greater chaos in the wake of their compet- strange brand of self-confidence appeals to its potential
ing schemes. Knowingly or not, they simply follow the Scions. Rhan-Tegoth attracts the desperate, the hun-
pattern of their progenitor, who could just as easily play gry. Its Scions may be literally or figuratively starving,
the part of the crusader against evil combating another desperate for something material or something more
avatar of himself. intangible. Whether acceptance, power, or wealth,
Rhan-Tegoth’s followers draw on its strength to acquire
Callings: Adversary, Corruptor, Sage whatever they desire.
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Deception, Epic Callings: Hunter, Leader, Torturer
Dexterity, Journeys, Order, Passion, Sky, War
Purviews: Beast, Death, Epic Dexterity, Epic
Stamina, Frost, Passion
RHAN-TEGOTH
Aliases: Terror of the Hominids, She of the Ivory
Throne, The Many Mouthed
and her presence disrupts things at a cellular level. She
SHUB-NIGGURATH will likely bring with her bounty and fertility and an
Aliases: The Black Goat of the Woods with a unparalleled act of creation: reviving and expanding the
Thousand Young, She of Endless Eyes field of a plagued crop, the spontaneous birth of a dozen
Shub-Niggurath is the all-mother. It is rumored, calves from a single cow, a forest where before only bar-
she is the creator and destroyer of all that is nature and ren land stood. It is also just as likely that the new field
of the Earth. From the largest mountain to the smallest will strangle the soil for acres all around, killing every-
bacteria, these are her spawn. Not only is everything of thing; that some of those calves may have two heads; and
her, she is in everything. There are those that believe she the valley you live in, under those two mountain peaks,
is the very creator of time, space and all that occupies is suddenly one mountain shy.
it. She is a cosmic being of unknown origin, calling no Little is known of her form, but these facts are true.
particular place home, but is seemingly everywhere at Before she is seen, the air becomes thick and clogged
once. She is worshiped across the stars. with the smells of earth and grass, loam and rot. She
Her devout must be counted in multitudes of multi- appears in a dense cloud as if she is surrounded by a
tudes. She transcends divinity. Unlike most of the Gods sandstorm. From this could extend tentacles from the
in her pantheon, she hears and feels the adulation of top and four goat-like, hooved legs from the bottom. Her
her worshipers and at times even rewards their fealty, most dedicated can peer into that storm to make out her
although not always in a manner they understand as one form, but no two accounts are alike. Some say she ap-
of appreciation. She may come when summoned but pears as you wish to see her, or that she merely reflects
few are prepared for what her manifestation will beget. yourself back at you. All who have gazed upon her are
While she may be in this world she is not of this world either horrified or enlightened.

It is not known how many Scions are counted in her beings is unknown, and it is possible that Yig is the sole
numbers how it is they are chosen, or how their powers survivor of this family simply because people continue
develop. The same innocuous tree, piece of coral, or bac- to venerate him out of fear of his children. Yig views
teria that thousands have encountered will change one all snakes as his children and takes terrible vengeance
individual’s life forever when they touch it. In exchange on those harm them. While more widely known in the
for her gifts, all she expects of her Scions are loyalty and Southwestern United States and Mexico, worship of
that they protect her children as fiercely as she would. Yig occurs anywhere snakes are present. Yig has several
Callings: Creator, Primeval, Torturer forms. To humans he is an imposing, hairless, man with
mottled skin. His features bely his origins as even in this
Purviews: Beast, Earth, Epic Strength, Epic form he possesses large fangs and eyes with vertical slits.
Stamina, Fertility, Wild —Among his children, he appears as an extraordinarily
large specimen of the species he is visiting. These visits
YIG are rare.
Aliases: Father of Snakes, Scaled Death According to tales and superstitions told by colo-
Yig is a nature God affiliated with the Mythos. The nizers of the great plains, some tribes used ceremonial
myths surrounding the Father of Snakes claim he is one drumming and other rituals, including charms as a
of a multitude of such deities. These legends say that all means of propitiating Yig for accidental harm they may
creatures, including humans, have a parent who count have done to his children. These rituals usually occurred
themselves among Yig’s siblings. Other Mythos deities in the late summer and fall as Yig was known to take his
tied to nature, such as Shub-Niggurath, are affiliated vengeance around the time his children began to con-
with Yig and his siblings. The whereabouts of these gregate in their winter dens. Those who did not practice
these rituals or failed to find Yig’s forgiveness found Contact with Yog-Sothoth erodes the illusion of in-
themselves under the sway of the Curse of Yig: an effect dividual consciousness, imparting an expanded view of
whereby the victim slowly transforms into a snakelike sentient beings as part of a larger alien whole. The entity
creature “gifted” with long life. has been known to swap minds of sentient beings for
The most learned occult scholars know that venera- unknown purposes. The crusty, fungoid Mi-Go worship
tion of Yig predates humanity, going back to the hidden the entity as the embodiment of linked, faceted minds
people — the civilization of K’n-yan — who arrived on that work with a singular purpose.
Earth with Cthulhu and lived on the surface when the Scions under Yog-Sothoth’s influence stand in the
world was young. This hidden race now lives deep be- doorway to perilous knowledge of the universe and the
neath the surface in a subterranean world of decadence mysteries of its clockwork. Expanded perspective gives
and boredom. Scions an aura of outward calm and casts them as an-
Scions of Yig are uncommon. They are known for chors in times of crisis, stalwart in the eye of a storm.
their dispassionate, rational natures. Each Scion tends But on the inside, Scions experience a constant sense of
to take on the aspects of a specific snake species, at first unease as they stave off visions of the frothing, iridescent
manifesting attributes of that species in human form be- slipstream. They offer a quiet comfort to those around
fore eventually obtaining the ability to transform into a them, while grappling with the unsettling awareness of
snake. These Scions are not harbingers of cosmic horror the insignificance of mortal busywork. To function, they
like others in the pantheon and are similar in motivation suppress the fullness of their perspective and shield
and outlook to non-Mythos deities. those who are unprepared to cope. Flashes of insight
about past and future shine through the keyholes. This
Callings: Hunter, Leader, Warrior allows them to react with uncanny reflexes, and to intuit
Purviews: Beasts (Snakes), Earth, Epic Dexterity, correlations of cause and effect.
Fertility, Wild Callings: Judge, Liminal, Sage
Purviews: Epic Dexterity, Epic Strength, Epic
YOG-SOTHOTH Stamina, Journeys, Order, Stars
Aliases: Iagsat, The Beyond-One, Unlocking, Entity,
Supreme Archetype
THE KING IN YELLOW
Yog-Sothoth is a being of immense power that Aliases: The Amber Aristocrat, Inspired Madness,
dwells in interstitial spaces outside the reach of human The Stoic Patron
perception. When it takes form in the terrestrial realm,
a giant roiling cluster of glowing spheres materializes The origins of the King in Yellow are shrouded in
— growing, shrinking, and metastasizing, a protoplas- mystery. There is no formal church dedicated to the
mic mass that undulates with dizzying speed. It opens King and his worshipers are few and scattered. The King
abrasions in reality that spark fits of lightning, issue an in Yellow is a trickster and corruptor known for laying
unbearable stench, and peal foreboding shrieks from low the proud and destroying the minds of decadent
earth and sky. artists. The most well-known reference to the King in
Yellow is his namesake play. Readers of the play are driv-
Many Mythos sorcerers are drawn to Yog-Sothoth’s en mad by the content and see visions of death — usually
ability to bridge profound distances or scry into un- their own — and die within a matter of days. The King in
earthly worlds and dimensions. The entity is both Yellow is most often described as a figure wearing a mul-
gateway and key to alien realms. Those who call on its tihued and tattered mantle and a pallid mask. In other
power to peek through cosmic keyholes also invite the accounts, what appears to be a horrid mask is the King’s
Unlocking to manifest in The World. Direct contact with true visage. Others see the King as death, dressed all in
this being causes distortion of living flesh and hastens its black with pale flesh. He is sometimes known to visit
destruction. new victims through servants who may be the animated
With the help of sorcerers, Yog-Sothoth has been corpses of previous victims.
known to beget hybrid offspring with human hosts. Cults dedicated to the King in Yellow are often led
Sometimes the progeny is humanoid, though they ma- by a jaded artist or aesthete attempting to either find an
ture at an unusual rate and show strange characteristics, original copy of the play or trying to translate the play
such as elongated or hircine features. Other offspring to another medium. The advent of the motion picture
become formless entities invisible to human sight that led to multiple attempts to adapt the play to the screen
grow enormous as they slake a voracious appetite for and rumors fly about secret, underground viewings of
“Earth meat” — human flesh. these films that bring death and madness to those who
see them.

The King in Yellow selects Scions from among — all before humanity took its first toddling steps. Many
those who are artistic, morbid, or possess a flair for grim of these alien species originate from Earth. Humans are
and ironic justice. Scions are often found among artists the newcomers in this celestial neighborhood.
where they inspire them to new heights of avant-garde It is crucial in Mythos storytelling to portray the
art that challenges consensus morality. They also cor- entities’ overall lack of malice or care toward human-
rupt those who pretend at morality and expose their kind and other sentient races. Humans with knowledge
hypocrisy. After receiving a Visitation from the King, of the Mythos have long tried to jam these entities into
his Scions are forever changed. The sight of the King in hierarchical structures, putting cosmic sovereigns like
Yellow’s true face drives many to death, but those who Azathoth on top of a pyramid, with courtiers and fol-
survive become Scions of the King and use their awak- lowers like Deep Ones lined up along lower tiers, all
ened powers to invoke madness in others. Scions of the lording over less powerful species down below. These
King are also attracted to those with power who lack are human concepts. Entities in the Mythos pantheon
responsibility, tempting them into ever-greater lapses in are not fixated on taxonomy or rigid power structures.
judgement until they destroy themselves. Rumors of things like alien pedigrees, family trees, rival-
Callings: Corrupter, Leader, Trickster, ries, and allies are often only petty projections of human
Purviews: Artistry, Chaos, Death, Deception, observers trying to make sense of a boundless miasma
Fortune, Health, Journeys that defies sense and consistency.
Rather than talk about rulers and subordinates, it’s
MYTHOS PATH 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.
Path Skills: Academics, Occult
At the most expansive levels, an entity like Azathoth
Virtue: Humanity vs. Nihilism operates on a galactic scale. Its realm is that of black
Mythos Scions know humanity’s efforts are all in holes, dark matter, and globular nebulae. Yog-Sothoth,
vain. Whether they’re doomed or ascend to Godhood, as a gateway between dimensions and meeting point of
everything is fruitless. Yet, there is a drive for knowledge many cosmic spheres, inhabits gigantic interdimensional
to fight against the hopelessness that the next discovery domains. Other entities such as Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa,
may change the course of the universe or provide one and Rhan-Tegoth operate on a solar-system level. They
more good day. are unnervingly large compared to humankind but can
still reasonably exist on the planet’s surface.
Signature Purview: Arcane Calculus
Beings such as the Elder Things, Mi-Go, or Deep
Knowledge at all costs, regardless of risk for univer-
Ones work at a near-human scale, forming their own
sal truth, is at the heart of a Mythos Scion. The dangers
analogs of civil life, society, arts, sciences, and plans that
associated it with mean nothing aside from how it can
parallel those of humankind — though such similarities
expand one’s comprehension.
are mostly illusory. Mythos forces carry out specific
COSMOLOGY
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
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
mining operations. Resulting violence may be interpret-
ed as murderous rage and cruelty from a human point of
view, but those actions could just as easily be described
in the cosmos is enough to induce existential vertigo. in terms of a gardener eliminating weeds, or a beekeeper
Otherworldly creatures that happen to intersect with the maintaining a hive.
infinitesimal mote of sand called Earth account for only
the barest sample that inhabit spheres of the omniverse. The incongruity of scale provides opportunities for
Storyguides to exploit. There is an uncanniness about
Waves of Mythos forces colonized Earth hundreds Mythos intrigue. At the human scale, Mythos Scions,
of thousands of years before the arrival of humans. Elder cults, and sorcerers wielding eldritch powers ascribe
Things established cities in Australia, Hyperborean civi- human-like intentions on alien actors. Scion legends
lizations rose and fell, and the continents of Atlantis and unfold in human terms, and assumptions and misunder-
Mu reached apex and then slunk beneath the inky seas standings humans make about the Mythos can enrich
the drama.
Mythos Path | Cosmology 21

DISRUPTION 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
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
long after it’s closed. The eldritch residue of a meteorite
begins a process of decay that turns whole communities
like static disturbing a signal or wind in trees. Entities slowly, inexorably into dust.
working within the larger spheres of operation harbor no Scions, by nature, adapt more gracefully to the
malice and do not send diabolical villains to thwart the disruption than others. They have exceptional talents
best aspects of mankind. But humans do not see things for integrating, holding paradoxes, and compartmental-
from light years away. They see things through a myopic izing. These abilities help them interpret and adapt on
lens that favors their attachments and norms. That’s why behalf of others. They channel and redirect the effects
disruption is so often misinterpreted, and so often taken of Mythos disruption in the world. Their dual nature, as
personally. There are indeed plenty of ground-level threats both human and alien, can be a force to help mitigate
spawned from Mythos realms, such as Deep Ones, Mi-Go, the disturbances on humanity. But this dual nature and
or Serpent People, whose affairs often overlap and clash affinity with alien powers can just as easily become wea-
with that of humanity. ponized. In some ways, Mythos Scions are distinct from
It is disruptive to open the doors of awareness into other Scions in the breadth of their agency, because they
vistas of strange new worlds, of alien creatures with undo not always receive clear guidance about the impact
fathomable goals, and creatures that do not conform to the of their powers on humanity, or how best to manage the
laws and codes of humanity. Those who learn and adapt consequences of disruption.
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 dis-
ruptive to begin seeing oneself as a stranger in one’s home.
MYTHOS PLACES
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,
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,
even before they begin to grasp it. The mental disrup- astral projection, dreams, spells, or alien technology. These
tion of these changes is undeniable. Confronted with the worlds function much like other Terra Incognitae, shirking
knowledge that Mi-Go are keeping human brains inside of known physical laws, replete with weird phenomena, and
canisters, a person could recoil at the idea of a conscious- only reachable by means of mythic mystery. Most differ
ness trapped in isolation or begin to question the very from typical Terra Incognitae of human myth because
relationship between mind and body. Alien knowledge they are physical planets with gravity, atmospheres, and
disturbs values and anchor points of faith. It shakes the surface features that are consistent with known physics.
ground and knocks a person off balance. Exceptions include the Dreamlands and other realms that
stem more from myth and imagination than the physical
The Mythos also impinges on the workings of hu-
realm. The following is only a handful of the worlds
man society. Humanity tries to exploit new and alien
to which Mythos entities may be connected. This list
energies, technologies, and resources, which disrupts
serves as examples of the range and variety of off-world,
the flow of history and the path of humankind. Subtle
interdimensional settings that Storyguides could build on.
shifts in power can exert profound destabilizing effects.
You can find more in Appendix Two, p. 166.
Mythos entities can deplete resources or create new
ones and change climates or economies with little levers Elderian Home Planet
of influence. Human responses to such microscopic
Elder Things have visited hundreds of planets across
shifts can upset delicate social and geopolitical equilib-
the cosmos and seeded them with life. These beings
riums. A Color Out of Space may land in a farmer’s field
have spawned so widely that it would be near impossi-
and fertilize bumper harvests for the year, but it could
ble to tell which planet is their true home world, though
also spark suspicions among neighbors, a collapse of
some humans under their influence have been drawn to
local economics, and fan the flames of a town’s political
a spot in Earth’s sky that lies between the constellations
rivalries. Disruption rarely comes without costs. Gains
of Hydra and Argo Navis.
and losses are always applied unevenly.
Kythanil
At the highest levels, the Mythos can even rupture
the thin fabric of human understanding. From fissures A double planet that formerly orbited the red giant
in time and space to transference of minds across eons, star Arcturus (in the Herdsman constellation of Earth),
the disruption of electrons in their orbits, and planetary where a race of formless gaseous creatures worship

unknown alien entities that now dwell in subterranean hastily construct illusions, like the forests of towering
Earth. Kythanil could only be reached with the help of a corkscrew spires some survivors have described, to nav-
powerful interdimensional entity such as Yog-Sothoth. igate the realm in hopes of escape.
Yaddith Dreamlands
Near the star Deneb in Earth’s sky, five multicolored One of the strangest of the Mythos Terra Incognitae,
suns shine on the surface of the planet of Yaddith, which this is a realm accessible mostly through lucid dreams,
is infested with giant worm-like creatures that smaller, shaped by the imagination of inhabitants across the
scholarly inhabitants with snout-like noses keep at bay omniverse. It features expansive cities and landscapes
using magical spells. The snouted people built towering formed by dreamers from all realms. They forge islands,
cities of metal and explored dozens of galaxies using continents, and kingdoms according to their own fantas-
remote projection and vessels that travel on light waves. tic images. There are a few physical gateways through
These spacecraft may be discovered stashed in remote perilous subterranean tunnels or remote secret loca-
terrestrial locations, though launching and operating tions, but the most common way to get there is through
them requires inhuman insight or instruction. dream casting or fever nightmares. Unlike alien planetary
Yith realms, the Dreamlands only adhere to their own internal
and subjective logic and are only bounded by the limits
The trans-galactic home world of the mind-swap- of the minds that shape them. Time passes very slowly
ping, precognitive Yithians, this world was dying when there. A dreamer’s single day on Earth can span lifetimes
the so-called Great Race embarked to colonize new in this realm. Willfully shaping the Dreamlands is only
worlds and landed on Earth eons before terrestrial life possible after many years of disciplined practice.
began. They were ousted from Earth by Flying Polyps.
The planet of Yith may not still exist, but through time-
and mind-bending powers its enormous mountain rang-
es and abysmal canyons may yet be seen again. Humans
MYTHOS BIRTHRIGHTS
can reach Yith by changing places with alien minds, a
process that not only results in an unforgettable visit CREATURES
to a spectacular remote planet but invites the mind of a Terror from Beyond: Indescribable winged horrors
Yithian to visit Earth. from outside space and time capable of ferrying a rider.
Yuggoth
A planet in an irregular orbit of the outer solar sys- FOLLOWERS
tem beyond Neptune that has served as a stopover for Cultist: Numerous human zealots waiting to car-
many Mythos entities, including Nyarlathotep, Rhan- ry out the whims of the Great Old Ones, frequently in
Tegoth, and the Mi-Go — which dwelled there in cities hopes of power.
of windowless, tiered towers of black stone above canals Ghouls: Cunning cannibalistic canine humanoid
of dark pitch-like liquid that flows under gigantic bridg- creatures that operate in packs.
es. 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. RELICS
Mi-Go have sent a few humans to visit Yuggoth, by way Amulet of Leng
of remote psychic projection, to expand their minds or
expose them to sudden mental shocks. The Amulet of Leng is made of green jade and de-
picts the symbol of the corpse-eating cult of Leng. It is a
Tindalos representation of a winged hound atop a skull. A strange,
This interdimensional realm has been compared indecipherable script adorns the amulet just below the
to myths of deep underworld realms such as Tartarus, figure. A Mythos Scion who dies while wearing the amu-
Patala, Niflhel, or Alam Ghaib. In the Mythos, it is a let can eventually return to a semblance of life. The am-
transitionary time-space realm that links all parts of the ulet attracts those who are of a ghoulish mindset: grave
omniverse and allows the temporal guardian Hounds robbers, death cults, and perhaps even archaeologists.
of Tindalos to span great distances and eras of time. Erich Zanns Viol
It is a realm of incomprehensible noumena for those
who are not adapted to its strangeness. Scions or other The viol is a simple, yet high-quality, cello-like in-
humans who slip into Tindalos confront a world of im- strument found in a battered case. Playing it released
possible angles and intervals, though their minds might 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 bonds that often have clear familial overtones, but the
cost to the musician. link between Mythos and Scion also reflects the strange-
Idol of Bokrug ness of alien forces at work. Human Scions may project
parental qualities onto their sponsor, and the alien entity
Consecrating lands and waters to Bokrug involves may emulate human family bonds to help make the in-
placing a statue of the deity on the land and worship- teraction work. But the bond is also defined by irrevers-
ing Bokrug through this representation. Long after the ible and potent changes of perspective, form, and reality
people who placed the statue die off, the statue remains itself. In human mythology, analogous strange relation-
and maintains Bokrug’s influence even though these ships crop up in stories of the twins Romulus and Remus
once-sacred lands may be under the physical control of of Rome, raised by their wolf mother, or in the unknown
others. Mythos Scions may use these statues to reaffirm beasts who raised Enkidu, sidekick of Gilgamesh. Their
Bokrug’s dominance and take back control of its lands. family ties are between wild forces and Scions who are
Necronomicon human but changed by an inhuman parent.
Mythos entities, like warm sunlight or an angry
The Al-Azif was penned by Abdul Alhazrad in Arabic
thunderstorm, can seem to show qualities of care or
during the eighth century. The Al-Azif contained all uni-
fury, but their true nature is that of elemental forces
versal knowledge and truth. The original tome was lost
that do not conform to human bonds. A Mythos-Scion
centuries ago after being translated into Greek and became
relationship may seem like that of other Gods and Scions
known as the Necronomicon. Dozens of other translations
on the surface, but there will always be an uncanniness
endured as the Greek was also lost. Latin translations and
about the connection. When the illusion lifts, even for a
fragments of an English translation are tucked away in var-
moment, the effect can be disconcerting.
ious libraries and collections worldwide.
Whether Mythos Scions are Born, Created, Chosen,
Each translation of the Necronomicon lost more
or Incarnate, the Mythos entity involved comes from
and more Awareness. The most common intact versions
outside conventional myth. Communication between
are in Latin and can be found at various universities,
Scion and entity is peppered with occasional awk-
including Miskatonic University’s Orne Library. The
ward moments. Some entities have learned how to
quality and content of these vary, and it may be possible
interact more gracefully with the human world, such
to gain access to additional information by comparing
as Nyarlathotep. Their relationships may more closely
different copies. The most common are the fragments of
mimic parental roles for their Scions. Roiling cosmic
the John Dee English translation. This book was never
entities like Azathoth or Yog-Sothoth navigate human
bound or published and scattered when Dee’s personal
contact clumsily, barely able to conceal their alienness
library was plundered. Fragments usually contain a sin-
and sometimes presenting a farce of human relation-
gle Boon.
ships. They exist at much higher levels of energy, and the
RELATIONSHIPS
subtle nuances of human interaction are beyond them.
Visitations from entities can leave a Scion con-
fused and shaken instead of comforted and supported.
Filtered through a Scion’s understanding of human
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, Mythos Visitations may feel volatile or
nonsensical, marked by dizzying shifts in the conversa-
Relationships among Mythos forces are strange and tion and charged with conflicting tones and emotions.
incomprehensible, but they still provide plenty of building But despite the off-kilter interactions, humans have a
blocks for drama and mythic narrative. Indifference is talent for finding moments of kindness in chaos. Mythos
a key theme of Mythos realms, but that does not mean Scions are those who are best suited among humanity to
Scions, entities, or adversaries lack any of the bonds, rationalize strangeness and integrate cosmic knowledge
animus, or alliances that contribute to vital stories. Evoking into their beliefs without falling apart. The essential
idiosyncrasies of these relationships is a key ingredient in bond between Mythos entity and Scion is durable, and
the flavor of a Masks of the Mythos game. 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
SCIONS AND than any other person in the world. They are forever
MYTHOS ENTITIES intertwined, even if each side has a completely different
understanding of the relationship.
The relationship between a Mythos entity and their
Scion is unusual. Scions and traditional Gods share

on strict cosmic laws see those rules bent or broken.
AMONG SCIONS Pantheons that have Gods with cosmic knowledge, such
Mythos Scions share a common expanded cosmic as Geezhigo-Quae of the Manitou or Benzaiten of the
perspective and effects of Transcendence. No matter Kami, could be assets in forging favorable relationships.
which entities sponsor their unique abilities in the One thing is sure — awareness of Mythos entities will
world, they become more sensitive to otherworldly en- challenge the cosmology of any pantheon.
ergies of the Mythos and have the ability to detect others
There are several entities that are so powerful and
whose natures are touched by alien forces.
outside the realm of understanding that humans can
Despite this link, Mythos Scions are not automati- only describe them as Gods. Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath,
cally unified by common goals, nor are they natural ad- Yog-Sothoth, and the true form of Nodens operate at
versaries. They share the bond of life-shaking encoun- thermonuclear levels of energy. In physical form, qua-
ters, and their footing on the slopes of mundane reality sars or worm holes are more closely related to them than
is unsteady. They are as likely to aid, oppose, or ignore any creature on Earth. But because of their conscious-
each other as any other Scion. However, when Mythos ness and sapience, they transcend even such awe-inspir-
Scions meet, they share a palpable sense of common dif- ing cosmic phenomena. Humans are hard pressed to see
ference from the rest of the world. What Scions do about them as anything other than Gods. Giant, alien Old One
this shared aura of otherness is up to them. beings like Cthulhu or Ghatanothoa inspire awe and are
treated as Gods by earthlings, but others may also see
AMONG MYTHOS them as giant monsters. Conscious aliens that live in the
liminal space between dimensions like Yog-Sothoth, or
The entities of the Mythos each function in the uni-
the nuclear chaos of Azathoth, have no better human
verse at different scales. When they come into conflict,
word to describe them than God. Their interactions
or in the rare cases when they work in concert, their re-
with humanity are often mediated through some kind of
lationships tend to be forged by convenience or territo-
proxy or avatar.
rial rivalry. According to passages in the Necronomicon,
Yig and Nyarlathotep have clashed, possibly due to the The alien creatures of the Mythos may attract and
latter’s apocalyptic leanings. Bas reliefs in Antarctic exploit human followers, but they are different than the
lairs recount wars among Elder Things and Star Spawn, standard parental figures of divine symbolism and myth.
Mi-Go and Yithains, as well as their own genetically One represents a renewal of ties with pantheons that
engineered Shoggoths. The Mi-Go’s voracious search many have abandoned in the modern world. Traditional
for new mining resources caused them to square off Scions rediscover divine relationships. Mythos Scions
against many Mythos forces that oppose them. In many explore relationships with alien forces that humanity is
cases, human cults that serve these entities are prone to mercifully unaware of. Traditional Gods and humanity
come in conflict for the same reasons religious groups are defined by each other, whether they are projections
have fought each other across human history. Sorcerers of faith or sources of spiritual power. Mythos entities
of Shub-Niggurath plotted against Ghatanothoa and its defy earthly definition.
caretaking minions, yet the two entities scarcely no- Mythos entities could very well come in conflict
ticed the petty conflicts of their followers. Since these with traditional Gods where both compete for human
skirmishes are fleeting, Storyguides should not be con- followers and worship. Much like relationships among
strained by rivalries established in previous Mythos sto- Mythos entities, the aliens’ concerns about traditional
ries. It may be more useful to think of entities as spots of Gods are likely fleeting, rather than drawn-out rivalries
mold that crowd each other on the surface of an orange, or warfare. Cooperation between traditional Gods and
competing viruses that infect livestock, or parasitic lar- Mythos forces is unlikely and rare, but such collisions
vae that control the brains of certain ant species. could spawn unique story lines.
TRADITIONAL GODS TITANS VS. THE OLD ONES

Other pantheons that come in contact with Mythos Titans and titanspawn differ significantly from
entities regard them with wariness if not extreme cau- Old Ones. Both have primordial, pre-human roots, and
tion. Traditional Gods begin with no more insight about both stand as outsiders compared to the mythic realm
the Mythos than mortal humans. Reactions to their of Gods and Heroes. But while Titans are bound to The
first discovery range from fascination and curiosity to World and its elemental nature, Old Ones stem from
violence and panic. Pantheons may decide these cosmic cosmic forces outside any earthly understanding. Titans
forces need to be walled off and suppress knowledge of often represent a fierce natural order, possibly violent,
them with taboos. Others could try working with them, but not malevolent. Mere contact with Old Ones begins
to adapt to their existence. Over eons, some may find a to unravel such earthly notions of balance, elemental
workable, if uneasy, equilibrium. Pantheons that depend
Relationships 25
structure, and permanence in The World. Humans often But cosmic indifference doesn’t mean the entities
regard Old Ones as Gods because they have no other have no occasion to manipulate or draw power from hu-
framework in which to place them. Any divinity humans man devotees. Eldritch forces pursue plenty of goals and
perceive is just an illusion to preserve the boundaries of plots of their own, but they remain inscrutable to human
fragile and finite minds. intelligence. In the case of cults focused on Mythos
Mythos entities share many qualities that are as- Scions, humans find a welcome translator for the strange
cribed to Titans. They have ancient, primordial origins forces at work. That puts Scions in the absurd position of
that predate human myths. They appear to be in con- having to make it up as they go along, as interpreters of a
flict with the precepts of religion and undermine the fully idiosyncratic language or liaisons between devoted
notion of pantheons entangled in the machinations of human throngs and aloof masters. That also puts Scions’
humanity. The term “monster” describes them more feet on precarious ethical terrain. Due to the nature of
accurately than Gods. But the difference is that Mythos the Mythos, there is a great danger of sowing confusion
entities are not a counterweight to balance the mythic and misdirection among followers or tipping good in-
reality of Gods. They are not sides of the same coin; they tentions over into destructive ones.
are an entirely different currency made of alien metals. Cults are savvy, technological, sometimes-global
Unlike Titans, Mythos entities are not trapped or sup- industries that take advantage of everything modern
pressed by Gods, and are not dependent on them. The society has to offer. Cultists have day jobs. Sometimes
very existence of Mythos beings threatens the tenets of being in the cult is their day job. Corporations, large and
traditional pantheons. small, are some of the best, most efficient ways to run a
Mythos entities may find opportunities to exploit covert organization. Generally, people just do their jobs
Titans and titanspawn to further their particular goals. and don’t ask why. You don’t have to know you are in the
Mythos creatures often find temporary value in human cult to actually be in the cult.
worship and adoration, usually for some secondary stra- In our alienated, fragmented world, recruiting
tegic purpose. They may see the fear and power Titans couldn’t be easier. Flash mobs, Facebook groups, online
have over humanity as a tool for manipulating earthly video game guilds, factions or clans waging perpetual
realms, in the way a gardener uses pesticides and fer- war — Azathoth doesn’t care whether the violence is re-
tilizer to shape a landscape. Mythos entities that revel al-life or virtual. Reality shows feature groups of people
in chaos, like Nyarlathotep, could also exploit the rela- sharing secrets, reinventing social norms, breaking them
tionship between Gods and Titans to sow confusion and down, and then weeding them out. Which contestant
disorder. Titanomachy is a tempting plaything for those will our lucky star choose to marry? Can this arranged
who might benefit from disrupted equilibrium. marriage last? Who will manage to stay on the island?
Mythos cults fall into the same categories as all hu-
CULTS man cults, though Covens, Family Traditions, Mystery
Tales of shadowy figures dressed in robes with Societies, Reliquarians, Social Clubs, and Temples are
secret hideouts and altars hidden deep in ,the woods, particularly well suited for groups devoted to Mythos
chanting and sacrificing by torch light — these notions Scions. Many of the Mythos cults are focused on col-
are millennia old. Then there are the helpful, protective lecting and uncovering knowledge of the Mythos, and
cults: once-again hooded figures, traveling the world, the nature of that knowledge will tighten its grip on the
sabotaging attempts to unearth the ancient and sacred. minds of the curious. There are several other subtypes
They are individuals on quests to protect a person, place, that gather around Mythos forces.
or thing that will ensure a prophecy and save their peo-
ple. This may be what springs to mind when you hear
BOOKHOUNDS
the word, but the truth is those stereotypes are your Because so much of the ancient knowledge of the
grandfather’s cult. Mythos is contained in moldy tomes, collecting such
work becomes the obsession of some groups. They tend
Many groups that worship Mythos entities are to be connected with vast, global networks of collectors,
mired in self-delusion. Rituals, worship, and acts of faith linguists, and experts who also seek the same knowl-
devoted to Mythos creatures are rarely reciprocated edge. A particular group may be focused on hunting one
with favors or attention. This stems from the otherness particular edition of a book, or a set from a particular
of Mythos beings, which are operating at such different author. They share qualities of other Historian cults.
scales of time and dimension that the nattering and
mundanity of humankind fails to register against the FRINGE SCIENTISTS
colossal timpani of their senses. Some cults find the door to Mythos knowledge
through the sciences, gathering around an unusual

theory or by original experimentation of their own. They power of a Scion and become enthralled. Police, detec-
form societies, often connected through digital means, tives, bereaved loved ones of the lost, white-hat hackers,
that share findings and build caches of evidence about activists, seekers of supernatural proof, or virtually any
the unnatural world. They may be professional scientists group seeking answers to a burning question may find
who conduct research anonymously, or shunned profes- themselves accidentally in contact with forces or enti-
sors who find a way to operate outside of conventional ties they can’t explain away. These groups may galvanize
work. Those devoted to Scions may see them as super- around those experiences, or they may send them spin-
human, or as specimens whose example may unlock ning off in different directions. A Scion may find them-
further mysteries. selves taking on the role of caretaker of those who have
witnessed greater mysteries than they were ready to see.
EXPLORERS
These groups are highly motivated and tend to be
well-resourced, with access to equipment, grants, and
GREATEST WEAKNESS
funding for quests for Mythos sites, buried artifacts, or The Great Old Ones are immensely powerful and
even dimensional gates to other worlds. They may be unstoppable. Their plans may be thwarted, but they are
anything from marine-wreck salvage divers or spelunk- slowly moving toward victory. However, their unknow-
ers to private space-travel firms. Their interest in Scions able plans run counter to each other more often than
and the Mythos lies in the ability to expand frontiers of not, making them their own worst enemies and provid-
space and mind. ing 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 boat-
ing, 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 num-
ber 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 sur-
prised 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 clear-
ly 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 coloni-
zation. 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 rudimenta-
ry 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.

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 con-
sidered the capital of the world to a pair of loving parents. They fostered
her interests and gave her freedom whenever she wanted. She was nav-
igating the Metro system alone by the age of six, much to her parents’
chagrin, although they never commented. She seemed to just be natu-
rally 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 re-
chargeable 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 be-
yond belief. It was the very science of life and death with which
her dear old Uncle Herbert West wreaked havoc nearly a centu-
ry 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 aver-
age build. She is constantly found head down in the latest Apple
device with her raven-black hair tied back. She wears loose-fit-
ting 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.

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 seek-
ing 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 muscu-
lar, African-American man with
a military bearing. He dresses
in jeans, flannel shirts, and
Converse. He appears per-
fectly serene and radiates
an air of authority.

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 univer-
sity 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, fol-
lowing his destiny, accepted the challenge. The six-month-
long 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 of-
ten 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.

CHARACTER Ones create incarnations of themselves, though these
Scions are just as rare as with the any other pantheon.
CREATION The most common type of Mythos Scion comes either as

one who was chosen by the Gods, or one who has tran-
scended from normal Scion.
Character creation parallels that of other Scions
(Scion: Origin pp. 94-98 and Hero pp. 182-185) with TRANSCENDED
nine steps: concept, Paths, Skills, Attributes, Callings A Scion of another God may find herself enticed
and Knacks, Purviews, Birthrights, Boons, and finishing by the Mythos. It happens slowly, insidiously, and
touches. Masks of the Mythos character creation fol- often without the Old Ones’ interference. A Great Old
lows the same path, with four steps slightly altered and One doesn’t usually seek out a Scion to convert to the
explained below. Mythos; it happens the other way around. A Scion look-
Step Five: Callings and Knacks — Players may ing for more power, something different, or just fed up
choose the inverted form of a Calling if one applies, with her own Fate may find her way to the Mythos. Here
even if it they do not share that Calling with their God. she seeks Awareness and, just like for anyone else who
The number of starting Knacks is the same, but you can seeks them out, the Great Old Ones respond. They care
choose any of the Knacks listed on pp. 47-49 regardless not to whom they give their power, and a Scion may find
of whether you pick the inverted Calling. a new patron with something as simple as a request for
more. Before too long, she’s seen too much to go back,
Step Six: Birthrights — Pantheon Birthrights can be and her patron subsumes her ties to her divine parent
found on p. 23. Optional additional Relics can be found and takes over.
in the next chapter, starting on p. 60.
Step Seven: Purviews — When you select your VISITATIONS
innate Purview, you may choose to gain the normal A Mythos Scion, just like any other, must go through
Innate Power or the Awareness Innate Power (p. 49). If a visitation to realize their true potential. Great Old Ones
you choose the normal Innate Power, you may choose rarely show up in person, though some take a special in-
to replace the power with the Awareness Innate Power terest in their created or born Scions. Most allow Fate to
any time your Awareness increases. Once you choose the bring the Mythos to the Scion, letting them deal with a
Awareness Innate Power, you cannot switch your Innate trial by fire, as it were, when the creatures of the Mythos
Powers again. show up intent on destroying the Scion. Some Great Old
Step Eight: Boons — You may choose to pick up an Ones visit their Scions through dreams, sending visions
Awareness Boon as one of your initial Boons. You can only or coopting their subconscious to give the Scion their
start with one Awareness Boon at character creation. blessings or share their desires.
Step Nine: Finishing Touches — Your Mythos TRANSCENDED VISITATIONS

Scion begins play with Awareness 1 (p. 43) in addition The conversion to Mythos Scion usually doesn’t just
to Legend 1. For the Mythos Pantheon, the Virtues are happen. It isn’t a case of prolonged exposure or repeated
Nihilism and Humanity. use. The God, just like when creating other Scions, must
visit the prospective Scion and grant its power. Great
TYPES OF SCIONS Old Ones who have begun answering a Scion’s questions
Mythos Scions come from the same place as other take keen interest in the Scion, watching for the perfect
Scions, for the most part. Just like a Scion of Oya could moment to offer the bargain. Some Great Old Ones, like
be the God’s child, born into her power through the Nyarlathotep, revel in stealing Scions from other pan-
birthright of parentage, so too can a Mythos Scion be theons, and so they wait until they know exactly what
the child of Lilith, or the Green Flame. Often this isn’t they need to offer to win the Scion over.
exactly the same as any other God, as the likelihood Scions often seek out their new patrons, and finding
that a Great Old One had sexual relations with a mortal them, either in person or through dream, is the final
is low, though not unheard of. Instead, some Old Ones test from the Old One to receive their patronage. As the
give birth to a child by providence and personal sacrifice Scion gains more and more knowledge of the Mythos,
rather than debase themselves with a human. The Great the God sets out more and more clues on how to find
Old Ones are far more likely to Awaken a Scion, choosing them. Even sleeping Cthulhu has left breadcrumbs for
someone who has shown aptitude or learned their mys- those seeking to find him, though his Scions can only
teries, over creating or siring a Scion. Some Great Old visit him in dreams.

Mythos Ripples tear down more of the barriers of
DICE POOLS the universe allowing greater Mythos activity at the site.
Players build dice pools in Masks of the Mythos This activity is not defined by time; it may ripple back-
using the same rules found in Scion: Origin (p. 58). ward or forward. Consolation generally causes localized
fields or Complications that last a few days or possibly
MOMENTUM summon a Mythos entity when they occur. Botches rip
away parts of the veil, allowing Mythos entities easy
Mythos Scions’ expanded understanding of the
entry into this plane of existence or drawing the direct
universe alters the flow of momentum for them and any-
attention of a Great Old One. Each of these instances can
one in their momentum pool. Each Mythos Scion adds
easily become a new scenario with the Great Old One
two points of momentum rather than one and the pool
becoming a mini-arc of a campaign to resolve.
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.
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 MECHANICS
For most pantheons, stories about various Gods and
their deeds make up the Legends surrounding them.
S 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
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
returned from fatal assaults, and can shatter a human’s bit differently. The Mythos itself is its own set of myths
mind with a glance, or simply live on for centuries. These and legends, one that subsumes the bearer and embroils
Scions may have even bonded with a Mythos companion, them into its own Fate. So instead of a Scion binding
an ethereal thing of neither flesh nor spirit. people into her Fate and Legend, the Mythos binds the
Scion into its story. In this way, Awareness parallels
AWARENESS Legend, though it does not subsume the Scion’s Legend.
Awareness is the quality and measure of Mythos A character’s Awareness rating generates a pool of
influence on Scions. It also includes the Scions’ dis- Awareness points equal to the character’s Awareness dots.
tinct influence on the world, as well as the toll it takes. Just like Legend, these points may be imbued or spent.
Awareness represents an opening of the mind and body Awareness is rated 1 to 10, and a Scion’s Awareness rating
to hidden realities that lurk just beyond human and does not change her divine quality. For example, a Scion
non-Mythos Scions’ senses. Contact with the Mythos with Legend 3 is still a Hero, even if her Awareness is 5.
changes people. It opens doors. It shifts one’s point of Mythos Scions must still fulfill their own Fates and
view. It disrupts one’s core understanding of how the Legends to advance to Demigod or Godhood, just like
universe works, and humanity’s place in that miasma. any other Scion.
The disruption of the Mythos is beyond labels of good
or bad, of evil or righteousness. The effect is expansive. AWARENESS TRAIT EFFECTS
The mind can adapt to these new understandings in a Having a single dot of Awareness allows a Scion to
range of ways, but the resulting transformation can rare- learn Awareness Boons from her Purviews and allows
ly be reversed. her access to the Awareness Innate Powers of a Purview.
Most mortals function better when these alien forc- Otherwise, Awareness acts as a pool from which a Scion
es remain mercifully, conveniently out of view. To the can spend points for various effects.
unprepared, a shock of sudden revelation can take a toll A Scion can imbue or spend an Awareness instead
on mental and emotional states. Some doors are meant of Legend to activate Boons, perform Marvels, or enact
to stay shut. But a few, exceptional people who encoun- Feats of Scale. In the case of Feats of Scale, the Scale bo-
ter Mythos entities can harmonize and integrate this nus is still based on the character’s Legend rating.
opened perspective into a new emergent understanding.
Scions transcend the mundane world to reach these new A Scion may imbue or spend an Awareness to acti-
levels of insight. But grasping the weight of the Mythos vate an Awareness Boon.
is a one-way trip. A Scion may spend an Awareness to destroy a sin-
Awareness follows Mythos Scions like a cloud of gle Fatebinding on another person. The Role Condition
flies. It can disrupt the world around them in ways that from the Fatebinding ends immediately. While she re-
are beyond the Scion’s control, and it can also bend to members her time Fatebound to the Scion, she has no
the Scion’s will as they grow in power. Matter, mind, emotional attachment to it, and wonders why she took
relationships, and the tapestry of reality itself may the actions she did. A Mythos Scion cannot destroy her
transform under these alien influences. As Scions deep- own Fatebindings.
en their Awareness they also gain the ability channel
eldritch forces through their Boons and Knacks. They
RAISING AWARENESS
may perform certain deeds in service to Mythos forces Raising Awareness requires the Scion to complete
to grow their influence. 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 GUARDIAN/CORRUPTOR
a Long-term or Short-term Deed but does not have to
The Guardian protects her charges and those around
complete all four Deeds to raise Awareness. Just like
her keeping them from harm, while the Corruptor instills
raising Legend, put a mark beside the Deeds as they are
herself into her charges, whispering poison in their ears
completed. Once a set is used to raise either Awareness
until they fall prey to her whims. The Corruptor takes
or Legend, erase the marks and start over. In this way, a
something or someone and infuses it with her own vile
player must choose if she wishes to increase her Legend
wants and desires until there is nothing left of the original.
or Awareness with a completed set of Deeds once the
Band Deed is completed. Example Keywords: Adulterator, debaser, exploit-
er, manipulator, nefarious, poison, savage, snide
A character may gain additional dots in Awareness
from special Mythos Relics. These raise her Awareness pool HEALER/DEFILER
as though she had raised her Awareness through Deeds, but
The Healer cures the sick; the Defiler keeps the sick
if she loses the Relic, either because it is lost, stolen, or de-
alive so that its pestilence can spread to more victims.
stroyed, she loses those dots in Awareness. If this happens,
It may heal a wound or repair the broken, but the end
she also immediately gains a Mythos Fatebinding.
result is always worse than the initial problem.
REGAINING AWARENESS Example Keywords: Deranged, decaying, decrepit,
A Scion may only regain Awareness by accepting a diseased, foul, ill, pestilent
special Mythos Fatebinding (p. 46). The energies gener-
ated by acting in accordance with the Mythos’ desires HUNTER
replenishes a single point of Awareness. 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,
CALLINGS but breaking down the prey with fear and terror until it
The Mythos pantheon’s Great Old Ones are as eventually just gives up. The Hunter plays with its prey,
bound to their archetypes as any other pantheon’s Gods. catching it and releasing it repeatedly, using psychologi-
Cthulhu is a Destroyer and Cultist, and sometimes cal warfare to break it.
Trickster, but never a Guardian. These are immutable
Example Keywords: Driven, predator, pursuer,
truths as old and ancient as the Mythos themselves. The
ruthless, stalker
Mythos do not always follow the same Callings as other
Gods, though; their own Callings are strange and eso- JUDGE
teric reflections of the others. The Creator doesn’t just
The Mythos is run by strange, esoteric laws that
make new life and spread fertility; it overpopulates, it
govern its existence. Those who break those laws rare-
builds new structures for the sake of tearing them down
ly even know that they were in place. The Judge finds
again, and it becomes the Destroyer despite its Creator
transgressors and punishes them. It sometimes even
roots. The Healer no longer fixes and purifies but stiches
makes new laws, with the sole purpose of testing those
and putrefies wounds, cauterizing them for safety’s sake
who might encounter it. It makes and changes the rules
but planting pestilence as it goes.
at whim and catches any who are in violation.
Each of the Callings has an inverted version that
Example Keywords: Capricious, castigator, cruel,
gives it new keywords, which a Scion may incorporate
damned, disciplinarian, shrewd
into her Title.
CREATOR/DESTROYER LEADER
The Leader inspires others to frenzy, fury, and action
Unlike the Creator, who was there at the beginning
beyond thought. He demands worship, dedication, and
using primordial forces to create life, the Destroyer will
above all obedience. To fail the Leader is to risk certain
be there at the end, using those same forces to wipe
death, he brokers no mistakes, and suffers not the fool.
the slate clean. When he rises, he will bring death and
destruction upon the land. The myths do not wonder Example Keywords: Despot, heavy-handed, op-
where the Destroyer came from, or why the world ends pressor, overlord, tyrant, usurper
upon its awakening. They only spread the portent of
destruction that comes in its wake. LIMINAL
The Liminal opens gateways into terrifying realms.
Example Keywords: Executioner, doom, murderer,
It steps between planes of existence, moving through
unbound, vandal, wrathful
the Mythos realms and dragging reality behind it as it
44 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

moves. It gives no thought or care for what may happen Example Keywords: Esoteric, fathomless, incom-
to those caught in its wake. prehensible, unspeakable
Example Keywords: Force of nature, gate maker,
planar, vast
TRICKSTER
Without lies and deceit, the Trickster cannot func-
LOVER/ADVERSARY tion. There is no rhyme or reason for its actions, no les-
The Lover has someone who is central to his being: son in its lies. It embodies the cruel intention that comes
family that he loves, or maybe just a string of people with lying to get one’s way.
he fucks and leaves. The Adversary, on the other hand, Example Keywords: Avarice, cruel, deceiver, fraud,
has someone to hate, a vendetta borne of any number of pretender
passions from greed and jealousy to revenge. Sometimes
an Adversary is so wrapped up in their own personal WARRIOR/TORTURER
grudge it becomes the only thing that defines them. The Warrior aims to do violence, engaging in bloody
Example Keywords: Begrudged, enemy, hostile, battle to defeat her enemies. The Torturer seeks to inflict
nemesis, villain, saboteur pain, drawing out a bloody existence for the sheer joy of
it. The Torturer is not governed by a lust for battle, but a
SAGE/COSMOS cold and calm desire for inflicting pain. No cause drives
While the Sage is a wise leader, a great tactician, it, no passions fuel it, and no glory or legend tempts it. It
or a fount of knowledge, the Cosmos is a faceless and uses its violence for pleasure: the pleasure it gets from
nameless entity, unknowable and inscrutable. Inside a watching others scream.
vast knowledge of infinite depths waits a shadow look- Example Keywords: Assassin, draconian, pain giv-
ing and seeking to learn more. It shares its knowledge, er, tormentor, uncaring, wrack
breaking the minds of any who touch it, as it takes all it
can in return.
Traits 45
MYTHOS Avoidance: If the player chooses to ignore the com-
pulsion for a Mythos Condition, she suffers the avoidance
FATEBINDING result instead and the Mythos Condition does not resolve.
AWAKENED
When the Mythos calls, those who are aware of The Mythos has instilled a dreaded knowledge into
its machinations have a hard time turning away. The you that you can barely contain, and for what ends, you
Mythos has a way of wrapping people up in it and push- do not know.
ing them to strange Fates they would have never chosen Invoke: The Scion gains a single use of a Heroic
for themselves. Sage Knack.
When someone finds themselves bound to the Fate Compel: That much knowledge is dangerous and
of the Mythos, they gain a Mythos Fatebinding. Much creates a mental break at the worst time. The character
like other types of Fatebinding, this is expressed with a automatically fails her next roll with a Consolation.
series of Conditions, but instead of a person performing
a role for a Scion, the Scion has a task she is fated to com- Avoidance: A character who holds on to the knowl-
plete for the Mythos, such as summoning a Great Old edge of the Mythos for too long suffers under the burden.
One, instilling chaos, or some alien service beyond her The character suffers +2 Complication to all actions for
comprehension. She is bound to this concept and driven each time she has avoided the Condition’s compulsion
forward until she completes it. This is not the same as a (cumulative) with a consequence of taking an Injury
Mythos Deed, as it isn’t something she chooses to do, but Condition if she doesn’t buy it off.
is instead part of her Fate until she completes it.
HERALD
The Mythos plans to use you as a conduit to bridge
MYTHOS FATEBINDING their realms to the World.
BASICS Invoke: You are bound between this World and the
Awareness Limit: A player character may not have others. Invoke this Condition to gain insight into a plot point
more Mythos Fatebinding Conditions than she has dots or story element that directly relates to the scene you are in,
in Awareness. as though you used the Interpretation Stunt on a clue.
Acquiring Mythos Fatebindings: Once per session, Compel: The Mythos uses you to open a rift between
a character may can gain a new Mythos Fatebinding to realms. The character gains a Momentum and the area is
regain 1 point of Awareness. Additionally, they may gain flooded with Mythos creatures as they tear through the
a new Mythos Fatebinding if they use a Mythos Relic portal she created. These creatures immediately attack
multiple times, lose a Mythos Relic, or perform Marvels the character and her allies.
using Awareness instead of Legend. The player and the Avoidance: A character who prevents a rift from opening
Storyguide should work together to determine the ap- or ignores the Mythos suffers a disconnect from reality. She
propriate Fatebinding Condition. suffers an Injury Condition due to the stress and cannot travel
to another realm by any means for the rest of the session.
MYTHOS CONDITIONS TASKED
As it is the Mythos binding the person, any charac-
You are bound to serve the Mythos even if you don’t
ter (Scion or mortal) may find themselves bound to the
know what that means.
Mythos through Fate. The character takes on a Mythos
Condition when Fatebound to the Mythos. Mythos Invoke: The Mythos treats its servants well. Invoke
Conditions look similar to role Conditions (Scion: Hero this Condition after failing at a simple action to make it
pp. 197-201) with the following differences. Remember succeed as though you had 0 threshold successes. This
that invocations and compulsions can only happen once buys off Complications associated with the action as well.
per session. Compel: The Mythos demands your service in some
Compel: Once per session, the Storyguide may bizarre or esoteric way. The character’s next action is a
compel one of the character’s Mythos Conditions to mixed action: whatever she was originally trying to do,
introduce a setback or story complication related to the plus attempting to accomplish the task the Mythos has
Fatebinding. The character gains a point of Momentum set before her.
for his trouble. Avoidance: A character who ignores the Mythos’
Resolve: The Mythos Condition resolves immedi- requests finds herself out of its favor rather quickly and
ately after the player accepts a compulsion. it lashes out against her loved ones. Imperil one of her
Fatebindings.

POWERS KNACK SKILLS
Each Calling utilizes the same Skills as listed in
The Mythos grants all who serve a fraction of its un- Scion: Origin (pp. 58-61), despite other differences.
knowable power. That fraction of power and awareness Some of these Knacks require a Skill roll. When using
awakens differently in each recipient. For some, it comes the Knack, the Storyguide and player choose the most
from tomes that allow them to access spells; others en- appropriate Skill from the Calling’s Skill list, or a dif-
hance their physical bodies or manifest the capability to ferent Skill if appropriate based on the character’s
come back from the dead. Legendary Title.
HEROIC CREATOR
KNACKS Rust and Decay: With a touch, you can corrode and
As the Callings the Mythos pantheon have access to destroy any item. Make a Creator Skill roll and apply
are the same as other Gods, though somewhat different, it successes to making the item decay. The item is broken
serves that the Knacks Scions have access to through their or destroyed if the successes equal its Size. If the item
Callings are the same. Scions can choose any Knacks associ- has a defensive Scale or armor that increases its Scale
ated with their Callings (Scion: Origin pp. 223-236), or any against Force, then you must match that additional Scale
of these additional Knacks which come from the inverted in successes. Size 0 items are destroyed instantly with-
version of the Calling. As always, a character can only have out a roll.
a number of active Knacks equal to her Calling dots.
IMMORTAL CREATOR
Raze the City: Make a Creator Skill roll. With any
CALLING INVERTED KNACK successes, you can destroy a small building, structure,
Heroic Creator Rust and Decay or monument in a matter of minutes, as they crumble to
Immortal Creator Raze the City rubble and dust. To raze a building in an instant, spend
a Momentum.
Heroic Guardian Honied Words
Immortal Guardian Puppet Show HEROIC GUARDIAN
Heroic Healer Spread Disease Honied Words: Choose a person to be your charge.
Spend a Momentum and give them a direction or sug-
Immortal Healer Plague Bearer gestion. When they act on that direction, they gain +2
Heroic Hunter Scent of Blood Enhancement to do so as long as you are watching. If you
Immortal Hunter Baying of the Hounds have a Bond with the person, you can forgo the cost.
Heroic Judge Curse of Fragility IMMORTAL GUARDIAN
Immortal Judge Pronounce Guilt Puppet Show: You take command of your charge’s
Heroic Leader Harsh Words body and mind, directing her actions and guiding her
Immortal Leader Raise an Army
Heroic Liminal The Gate and Key
MY CHARACTER
Immortal Liminal Among the Stars
WOULDN’T DO THAT!
Heroic Lover Sense Weakness
Immortal Lover Name Nemesis While horrific things can happen
in Masks of the Mythos,
Mythos, we’re
Heroic Sage Psychic Attack not here to make players experience
Immortal Sage Infinite Knowledge things they don’t want to portray.
Heroic Trickster Redirect
Using control Knacks such as Puppet
Show always require the consent of
Immortal Trickster Exposed the player targeted by them, and if
Heroic Warrior Twist the Knife anyone at the table is uncomfortable
with the action being dictated, the
Immortal Warrior Pain for Pleasure Storyguide should back up and find
an alternative.
Powers 47
thoughts. Roll your Guardian Knack Skill. Success al- If another guilty party is brought forward, it provokes a
lows you to direct your charge to take a single action. You Clash of Wills.
dictate how she takes the action, and even if she speaks
or talks while taking the action. You must be able to see HEROIC LEADER
your charge to use this Knack, though you do not have Harsh Words: Your orders are more than just an
to verbalize or speak the command out loud. This Knack impulse; they are a compunction with a threat of punish-
does not work unless you have a Bond to the target, and ment if not followed. Give an order to a target and spend
they are a lower Tier than you. a Momentum. They suffer a Complication equal to your
Leader Calling rating to do anything other than what
HEROIC HEALER you ordered. If they fail to buy it off, they take a damage.
Spread Disease: When dealing with a patient who
has a disease, you can increase the Complication from IMMORTAL LEADER
the disease by a number of points equal to your Knack Raise an Army: Your command sways people to
Skill, or you may designate a number of nearby targets follow you, even those who barely know you. Spend
equal to your Knack Skill who also contract the disease a Momentum to raise an army of trivial targets which
at the original Complication rating. 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
IMMORTAL HEALER in a place without people, creatures of the Mythos come
Plague Bearer: Spend a Momentum to inflict a in their stead.
mythic plague upon an area, affecting everyone within
it. The disease’s Complication is equal to your Healer HEROIC LIMINAL
Knack Skill. You can spend an additional Momentum The Gate and Key: You may spend a Momentum
to exclude specific people from the plague’s effect. The to open a portal from one location to another as long as
disease is not supernatural in nature and can be cured it is through a literal portal (a door, window, manhole,
through normal means. etc.) to anywhere else of your choosing, including Terra
Incognitae. You must have visited the location you are
HEROIC HUNTER moving to for the portal to work.
Scent of Blood: You can smell the blood in the
water, and it drives you towards your goal. Gain +1 IMMORTAL LIMINAL
Enhancement on attacks made against targets that have Among the Stars: Roll your Knack Skill and spend
one or more Injury Conditions. a Momentum. For a number of turns equal to successes,
take on the form of star stuff, adopting the bleak void of
IMMORTAL HUNTER space and the pinpricks of light from distant stars. In
Baying of the Hounds: Spend a Momentum to doing so, you become intangible, but extremely dense.
set the hounds loose on your prey. These are not literal Matter bends around you, allowing you to pass through
hounds, but creatures of the Mythos that harry your en- the smallest of crack or shore up the largest of spaces.
emy, corralling them for you to collect later. Your target Weapon attacks bend away from you, metal wraps
suffers a Complication equal to your Knack Skill on all around the density of your shape, and attackers find
actions, taking an Injury Condition as a consequence for their fists slowed to nothing as they enter your radius.
not buying it off as the hounds chase them. The hounds When the effect ends, your body reverts to normal, but
do not stop bothering the person until they fall uncon- the matter you twisted remains as you moved it.
scious, or you catch up to your prey.
HEROIC LOVER
HEROIC JUDGE Sense Weakness: After you have made an attack,
Curse of Fragility: Pick a target in a combat situ- or someone has attacked you, you may analyze them for
ation and spend a Momentum. For the rest of the fight, a weakness. Gain a +1 Enhancement on attacks against
all enemies attacking your target are considered to have them and a +1 to Defense until the fight is over. Only one
the Brutal Tag. enemy can be analyzed this way per scene.
IMMORTAL JUDGE IMMORTAL LOVER

Pronounce Guilt: You declare a target is guilty of a Name Nemesis: Select a target and declare them
crime, and it becomes true. The target need not actually as your named enemy. While so named, the person is
be guilty or even associated with the crime, but the mo- immediately Fatebound to the Scion as a Nemesis. If the
ment you declare their guilt, all the evidence lines up. target is already Fatebound to another Scion, this replac-
es that Fate completely at the same rating.

HEROIC SAGE
Psychic Attack: You impart your vast stores of PURVIEWS
knowledge to someone else, overwhelming them.
The Great Old Ones have been here a long time.
Spend a Momentum to roll your Knack Skill. Success
They didn’t need to take their authority over The World
an increased Difficulty equal to successes rolled on your
to make it bend to their will like the other Gods. Their
victim’s actions that require mental capacity, such as
very existence has shaped The World around them, the
studying, researching, or even communicating.
elements bending around their forms and oozing from
IMMORTAL SAGE their skins. Even as the King in Yellow waits, its people
make art in its name. Nyarlathotep’s hidden form carries
Infinite Knowledge: You know the truth of the
messages with just a thought. Chaos oozes forth from
cosmos, the stars, and everything in between. You can
Azathoth wherever it goes. And Yig’s serpent spawn
reach through your vast knowledge to find the answer
enjoy its blessing even as it slumbers.
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 AWARENESS PURVIEWS
a success. If the information is purposefully hidden, it Scions of the Great Old Ones have access to their
provokes a Clash of Wills. If this is part of an investiga- Purviews in the same way as other Scions, but those who
tion, the character gains a single Clue. have Awareness find their claim becomes less of a mastery
and more of an inheritance as the power oozes from them.
HEROIC TRICKSTER
Mythos Scions can choose to take the Awareness Innate
Redirect: Spend a Momentum. You convert one
Power that comes with a Purview instead of the normal one.
enemy’s current attitude to anger from whatever it was
They will only ever have one Innate Power, and once the
before. At the same time, select a new target to become
Awareness Innate Power is chosen, they cannot go back.
the object of that anger, causing your enemy to attack
the new target in a rage. Additionally, they gain the ability to learn Awareness
Boons: specific powers that come from their associa-
IMMORTAL TRICKSTER tion with the Mythos. Characters must invest or spend
Exposed: Spend a Momentum and tell a damaging Awareness to utilize Awareness Boons.
lie about someone of the same or lower Tier. Everyone Mythos Scions can enact Marvels (Scion: Hero p.
who hears you utter the lie believes it to be true, even if 236) in much the same way as any other Scion, though
there is evidence proving elsewise. Attempts to exoner- they draw from the Mythos Pantheon Motif.
ate your target provoke a Clash of Wills.
Mythos: Arcane and esoteric inscriptions and in-
HEROIC WARRIOR toning unspeakable words draw the Gods attention and
request their blessing.
Twist the Knife: You know just where to strike to
make pain explode through your enemy. When your ARTISTRY
enemies have one or more Injury Conditions, your char-
Artistry belongs to Great Old Ones who write gib-
acter gains access to the following Stunt:
bering poems written in ancient script, dance waltzes to
Painful Blow (3 successes): Increase the penalty summon horrid creatures, and inspire their followers to
imposed by the target’s Injury Conditions by 1 to a max- create grotesque statues in worship.
imum of 2. Against Antagonists, impose a +1 Diffculty to
Innate Power: You draw inspiration and creativity
all their actions.
from the people around you. Whenever you are near
IMMORTAL WARRIOR someone who is performing, creating art, or otherwise
Pain for Pleasure: When you have someone at your doing some type of creative or expressive activity, you
mercy, either tied up or unconscious, you can inflict an gain +3 Enhancement to your own creative endeavors.
Injury Condition on them to boost your Band’s morale.
Everyone in the band gains +2 Enhancement to their MADDENING SONG
actions for the rest of the scene. If the Injury Condition Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
renders them Taken Out, gain +3 Enhancement instead. 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 audi- their action as you continue to distract them. This isn’t
ence. When you deliver an oration (song, speech, always born of desire, it can be jealousy or disgust,
poem, play, etc.), any who hear you are filled with depending on their Attitude when the Boon is used.
fear and despair. Shift the attitude of all affected
characters who witness the performance to fearful.
Additionally, characters have a +3 Complication to CHAOS
do anything other than run in fear. This Purview belongs to Great Old Ones who em-
body disorder, disruption, and unknowable motives.
BEASTS Innate Power: Chaos follows you wherever you
Beasts are associated with Great Old Ones that have go, rippling away from you and upending normally
animals as minions, children, or hordes. It also applies to ordered things. Electronics tend to malfunction when
those who have animalistic traits. you’re near, cars backfire, engines fail, and people trip
on sidewalks — all creating a +1 Complication for anyone
Innate Power: Animals recognize you as one of attempting to act while in close range of you. You are, of
their own. Your character can form Bonds with animals course, immune to your own chaos.
in the same way she can people.
WALKING DISASTER
SNAKE PIT
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: One scene
Duration: One scene
Subject: Self
Clash: Awareness + Cunning vs. Resolve + Legend
Action: Simple
Range: Short
A horde of creatures answers your call. When this
Boon is activated, creatures associated with your Action: Reflexive
Purview surround you. Snakes slither through the You create a field of chaos that you can tap into
grass, spiders carpet the floor, and lizards cover the if people around you aren’t extremely careful.
walls. They count as a +2 Complication to move or Everyone within range suffers a +3 Complication
attack for everyone except you. The consequences to physical actions. As a consequence of failing to
of failure can be an Injury Condition, being buy off the Complication, you can do one of the
knocked down, or becoming poisoned, depending following (chosen when the Boon is activated): toss
on the creatures. someone one range band, disrupt all electronics
they are carrying, or knock them prone.
BEAUTY
This Purview is associated with Great Old Ones who DARKNESS
embody terrible beauty and those who lay bare anyone The Darkness Purview belongs to Great Old Ones
who uses superficial beauty as a shield. who hide within shadows and dreams. Also, those who
Innate Power: You gain a buffer against anyone at- embody misdirection, confounding thoughts, and un-
tempting to use their looks to sway you. Your Scale is con- seen terror find use of this Purview.
sidered 1 higher for the purposes of resisting such attempts. Innate Power: You are always a lucid dreamer, able
to control the topic and direction of your own dreams.
DISTRACTING BEAUTY You can watch another person’s dreams while they sleep
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness and insert yourself into them if you come into physi-
cal contact with them (either in the dream or the real
Duration: One scene
world). Doing so puts that person into a lucid dreamer
Subject: One character state as well, allowing them control over their own
Clash: Awareness + Presence vs. Composure + dream. While in the Dreamlands, you are considered to
Legend have +1 Leadership Scale.
Range: Medium
SHADOW MINION
Action: Reflexive
Your beauty entrances a person, preoccupying
them to the point of distraction. Your target becomes Duration: Indefinite
obsessed with you and cannot concentrate on other Subject: Self
tasks, suffering a +3 Complication to Mental or Action: Simple
Social actions. The consequence of failure is they lose

You create one or more shadow minions to act on your Range: Short
behalf. Create these minions using antagonist rules in Action: Reflexive
Scion: Origin, pp. 143-145. You can create a single
Professional-level monster or several Mooks. All shadows You can lock a person within their own mind, creating an
have the Incorporeality Quality and a Vulnerability entire world with which they believe they are interacting.
Quality of fire. Shadow minions obey their master implicit- The illusion feeds upon the target’s own memories and
ly and cannot be swayed or taken over even by someone thoughts, filling in gaps and details with whatever they
else with a similar Boon. The minions disappear the turn believe should be there. You can direct what the person
after the Scion reclaims their Awareness from the Boon. 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
DEATH there. This Boon is free to use on trivial targets.
Death belongs to those Great Old Ones who deal
with the dead, undead, and dying. They reign in under- EARTH
worlds and crypts, creating their undead hordes.
Great Old Ones who have the Earth Purview have
Innate Power: You can sense the presence of the power of the elemental earth in all its forms from
death and decay anywhere within medium range. Small physical to metaphysical. These Gods are lumbering
things, such as a plant cutting, barely pick up on your mountains, rolling hills, and belching volcanos.
radar, while a corpse will resonate and be obvious even if
Innate Power: Whenever you are attempting the
hidden. You can detect ghosts and undead creatures this
Knockdown Stunt on an opponent, halve the number of
way as well, even if they are obscured with magic.
successes needed to perform the stunt (rounded up).
CREEPING DEAD
STONE STRIKE
Duration: Indefinite
Subject: Multiple corpses
Subject: Self
Range: Long
Action: Reflexive
Action: Complex
Your fists turn to stone, acting as blunt weapons.
You take the reins of all corpses within range and As long as you have Awareness imbued, your fists
give them a form of life with shuddering, creeping count as armed weapons but maintain the Natural
movements. Corpses in graves dig their way out, dead Tag. Additionally, you can apply two weapon
bodies rise and walk again, even corpses animated Tags from the following list: Aggravated, Brutal,
using magic cannot help but move at the Scion’s whim. Grappling, Piercing, Pushing, Stun, or Versatile.
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 EPIC DEXTERITY
terrain for anyone attempting to move through them. Great Old Ones with Epic Dexterity are fast, some-
times too fast to see, and definitely too fast for comfort.
DECEPTION They are also agile creatures with nimble, multi-jointed
limbs and a precision that incites dread.
Those with this Purview control all aspects of de-
ceit, illusions, and everything that would confound the Innate Power: Your body is extremely flexible, al-
senses or cloud the mind. lowing you to perform amazing feats of gymnastics, even
going so far as dislocating your joints and bending your
Innate Power: You can change minor aspects of your
bones to slither through improbable spaces or move into
appearance at a whim. You cannot change set physical
irregular shapes.
aspects, such as height, weight, or your voice, but all other
cosmetic aspects can change. Anyone attempting to recog- CLUMSY FOOL
nize you suffers a +3 Complication to pierce your disguise.
MENTAL PRISON Duration: Condition
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness Subject: One character
Duration: One scene Clash: Awareness + Dexterity vs. Stamina + Legend
Subject: One character Range: Medium
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Resolve + Legend Action: Simple
Purviews 51
You steal someone else’s grace, leaving them You make an attack so powerful that it radiates out
clumsy and bumbling. This Boon inflicts a Condition from you with enduring force. You make an attack
on your victim that imposes a +2 Complication to at close range on a single target as normal. That
all actions that require Dexterity, such as balancing, attack creates a Shockwave (Scion: Origin, p.
aiming, running, or even just not falling over. While 66) that radiates out from your target.
they suffer from this Condition, you gain a +1
Enhancement on the same kinds of actions. This
Condition ends when you reclaim your Awareness, FERTILITY
or the victim spends a basic action which cannot be Old Ones who have the Fertility Purview have agency
part of a mixed action to reset themselves. over sex, carnal acts, virility, and family bonds. Great Old
Ones often lead to either unchecked reproduction or infer-
tility as the two extremes, with crops overgrown or filled
EPIC STAMINA
with blight and not much in between.
Epic Stamina is the Purview of the enduring Old
Ones who have weathered and resisted all The World’s Innate Power: Once per session you can radiate a wave of
changes from extinction events to plagues and more. sterility, killing plants, stopping growth, and ending the lives
These Gods are immutable, vital, resilient, and robust. of fast-growing organisms. Within your Field, plants die, and
anyone there with you is immediately cured of all diseases,
Innate Power: Whenever you are suffering Injury and for the rest of the scene they stop suffering Complications
Conditions, reduce the Complication imposed by the
from any physical Conditions they suffered. They do not suffer
Condition by 1. the Conditions, but it does not resolve them.
INFIRMED VERDANT FIELDS
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Duration: Condition Duration: Indefinite
Subject: One or more characters Subject: Self
Clash: Awareness + Stamina vs. Resolve + Legend Action: Simple
Range: Short Plants grow around you at a rapid pace. Your Field
Action: Simple is filled with the growth which slithers and grows
The Mythos wraps around your enemy, weakening around everything in sight. The effect is centered on
them and making them susceptible to viler actions. You you, and moves as you do, leaving behind wilted
can target a single character, or all trivial characters in and decayed plants as you move out of range. You
range with this Boon. Inflict a Condition that increases the control the growth completely and can do any of the
Difficulty to resist disease and poison by 2, prevents the following with it as a reflexive action:
character from using any healing or regeneration abili-
ties, and doubles Complications imposed from physical • Allow safe passage to an ally attempting to
Conditions and Injury Conditions. The Condition ends pass through it, including having the plants
when you reclaim your Awareness or when the character clear the path of objects that might have
suffers from two Injuries while affected by this Condition. been blocking the way.
• Create difficult terrain for an enemy. They suffer
EPIC STRENGTH a +3 Complication to move through the area,
which has a consequence of loss of movement.
Great Old Ones with Epic Strength exhibit power and
force unlike any other. Their might and wrath are terrible • Create a wall or barrier that creates a new
to behold, causing pain and destruction in their wake. separation for your Field.
Innate Power: When you use Might to impress or • Form a crude armor from your plants for you or an
intimidate others, your allies gain a +1 Enhancement to ally, which confers a single point of Soft Armor.
their next action and enemies suffer a +1 Complication the
next time they attempt to act against you or your allies.
FIRE
From the depths of the molten earth reign Old Ones
WRATH AND FURY of Fire. They control flames and the heat and passions
Cost: Spend 1 Awareness that move the whims of mortals.
Duration: Instant Innate Power: You can control your anger and
fury, keeping it always tamped down. You are immune
Subject: Self to Influence that would turn your Attitude to angry and
Action: Reflexive

attempts to incite you to action through threats or intimi- Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure
dation incur a +2 Complication. + Legend
Range: Close
CONFLAGRATION
Action: Simple
Why break a Fatebinding when you can simply
Duration: Indefinite twist it? You can change the nature of a single
Subject: Self Fatebinding for your target. This could be to change
Action: Simple their Role Condition, or to increase or decrease
the rating of the Fatebinding by 1 (though you
A huge fire bursts to life at the snap of your fingers. cannot remove it or drop it below 1). You can target
This fire can be targeted on an inanimate object, yourself with this Boon. This change ends either
such as a structure or a building, or it can stand when you reclaim your Awareness or the Condition
free, creating a barrier between one Field and resolves naturally, whichever happens first.
another. Navigating through the conflagration
imposes a +3 Complication and inflicts an Injury
Condition for each level not bought off. FROST
Frost is the Purview of cold in all its forms, both
FORGE figurative and literal, from the icy rime that encrusts
the Old Ones hibernating in the Arctic to the chill of the
Great Old Ones with Forge are responsible for
indifference they show to all humanity.
creating arcane relics, non-Euclidian geometries, and
technologies with terrible purposes. Innate Power: You cannot be swayed by emotional
appeals or heated seduction. Influence attempts that use
Innate Power: No creation, technology, or artifact
Empathy automatically fail, and those using other forms
is foreign in your hands. When using an unknown item,
to melt your heart are made at +2 Difficulty.
or something for a purpose not originally intended, you
do not suffer any Complication for doing so. HIBERNATE
TRANSUBSTANTIATE Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness Duration: Condition
Duration: Indefinite Subject: One or more characters
Subject: Self Clash: Awareness + Cunning vs. Stamina + Legend
Action: Simple Range: Medium
Not truly an alchemical transubstantiation, you can Action: Reflexive
turn one fully formed magical item into another You can slow the life processes of one target (or all
one partially or completely. You may rearrange trivial targets) within range. The target falls into a
your Relic Birthright dots however you choose, deep slumber, falling torpid and appearing nearly
including turning one Relic into another one dead. This functions as a Condition which prevents
entirely. The effect lasts for as long as you imbue action or even dreams until either you reclaim your
Awareness in this Boon, at which point your Relic Awareness, or the target suffers a physical attack.
reverts back to its normal form. You may target yourself with this Boon.
FORTUNE HEALTH
The Fortune Purview deals in happenstance and inci- Great Old Ones rarely embody good health, though
dence. Great Old Ones imbue bad luck or odd coincidences, they have dominion over it and illness alike. This Purview
and bend what would be incidence into their own good luck. is usually the dominion of Gods for whom pestilence and
Innate Power: You are the master of your own fate. plague follow like lapdogs.
Attempts to change your luck, fate, or otherwise alter Innate Power: You are always in good health. You
your trajectory suffer a +2 Difficulty. You can, of course, are immune to the effects of mundane diseases, though
meddle with your own fortune as much as you like. divine or magical diseases affect you normally. If you’ve
come into contact with a disease, you can alleviate that
TWIST FATE disease in others with a touch.
Duration: Condition
Subject: One character
Purviews 53
TRANSFERENCE You turn a single field into a labyrinth of which there
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness is no escape. All directions lead back to the center,
all turns lead back in, and all attempts to escape
Duration: Condition (see below) just leave people confounded and confused.
Subject: One character People can enter the field without problems; they
just can’t leave until the Boon’s effect ends. If the
Clash: Awareness + Intelligence vs. Stamina + Legend victim has an ability that allows them to never get
Range: Close lost, it provokes a Clash of Wills.
Action: Reflexive
You touch your target and mingle your life force with MOON
theirs, for good or ill. When you touch your target,
The Moon Purview gives dominion over the night
can choose to do one of the following. To impart
these effects during combat, you must touch your sky, the warped reflections of truth, the ever-changing
enemy with an unarmed combat attack and choose nature of the moon, and the wan light that does not shed
this Boon instead of normal Stunts. Any Conditions light so much as create more questions.
imparted by this Boon resolve when you reclaim Innate Power: You are mutable and ever-changing.
your Awareness, or the Condition resolves normally. Once per session, you may reshape your body as you see
fit. Doing so is a simple action that cannot be combined
• Transfer an Injury Condition between you into a mixed action. You can twist flesh into a new shape,
and the target. For example, if you have rearrange bones, or even remove parts and save them for
a broken leg, you resolve the Condition later. You may make yourself look completely different,
immediately and the target now has the changing your bone structure and physical features, or
Condition, or vice versa. turn yourself into a nightmare amalgam. You gain a +3
• Transfer a Poisoned or Diseased Condition Enhancement to actions that would be enhanced by
between you and your target. You may your changed nature (such as seduction, intimidation,
transfer both mundane and magical diseas- or deception).
es and poisons this way.
• Transfer a single dot of Legend or EERIE LIGHT
Awareness between yourself and the target. Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
You may only impart or steal a dot from Duration: Condition
someone who also has access to the Trait.
You cannot give Awareness to someone who Subject: All characters
has not accepted the blessing of the Mythos Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Resolve +
Pantheon or give Legend to a normal mortal. Legend
JOURNEYS Range: Short
The Great Old Ones of Journeys hold sway over Action: Simple
twisting paths, overgrown tracks, and secret passages. You create a wave of moonlight that fills all spaces
They govern both the paths themselves and the mode of within range. Anyone caught in the light begins to
transportation to get you there. hallucinate. These hallucinations are based on their
own knowledge and experiences but are twisted
Innate Power: You always know a back passage, a and strange. It becomes impossible to discern truth
secret route, or a hidden portal to get where you’re go- from lies, or hallucination from reality. This serves
ing. If a secret door or hidden passage exists, you find it as a Condition in which the characters have +2
immediately without having to roll, unless it’s obscured Complication to discern fact from fiction, truth from
by magic. If you need a secret route through or out of a lies, or find clues during a Procedural. The Condition
place, you find one, even if one did not exist before. ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when the
afflicted person suffers an Injury Condition.
LABYRINTH
ORDER
Duration: One scene The Order Purview doesn’t just concern civiliza-
Subject: One field tions and societies, but also the natural laws of physics
Range: Medium in which materials and elements order themselves.
Action: Simple Innate Power: You embody entropy, sapping use-
ful energy from spaces and creating randomness and

disorder. You can drain any battery (phone, car, flash- allowing those who have dominion over it to create and
light, etc.) within a short range of its charge, or short out destroy these emotions on a whim.
an electrical outlet in the same range without a roll. The Innate Power: You bond strongly to others. Gain +3
lost charge dissipates and becomes useless. Enhancement whenever you take an action to create or
reinforce a Bond.
LAWFUL TRESPASS
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness LACKLUSTER
Duration: One scene Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
Subject: Self Duration: Condition
Action: Reflexive Subject: One character
The normal laws of the land don’t apply to you Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure + Legend
anymore. For the duration of this Boon, there is Range: Short
a single law, either civilian or of physics that no
longer applies to you. If you break this law, those Action: Simple
who would normally oversee dealing with it simply You sap someone’s passions, leaving them feeling
ignore you and let you pass. This can’t apply to a empty and hollow inside. Your victim gains a
law or rule you broke before the Boon was activat- Condition in which they cannot feel strong emotions
ed; it must happen while the Boon is active. Once about anything. Attempts to incite emotion from
the Boon ends, so does your immunity to the law, the character suffer a +2 Complication. The person
and any laws you broke that were overlooked may does not gain any benefits from their Bonds for
come back to bite you. 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
PASSION Complication. This Condition ends when you re-
The Passion Purview gives reign over all human claim your Awareness or when one of the affected
emotions from love and joy to rage and depression, character’s Bonds breaks.
Purviews 55
PROSPERITY even if you can’t see out the windows) in which to
Prosperity is the Purview of wealth both individual
create a fog bank. The fog is so thick that it reduces
visibility, creating a +3 Complication to attempt
and on a civilization basis. But it also deals in overabun- actions with a range beyond close. Sound is
dance, excess, greed, and gluttony. muffled and muted in the fog bank, imposing a +3
Innate Power: You always have some currency of Complication to track or follow someone via sound
the correct kind, even when you reasonably shouldn’t. through the fog.
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
STARS
desert, you’d be able to present cash to your ride for gas. Great Old Ones with dominion over Stars bend both
time and space around themselves. They are as vast as
EAT THE RICH the space they occupy and tied to the movements of The
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness World as large, arcane, unknowable forces.
Duration: Condition Innate Power: Once per scene, you can divine the
unknowable from the stars. You can ask your Storyguide
Subject: One character a single question about the possible outcomes of an ac-
Clash: Awareness + Presence vs. Composure + tion you or one of your Bandmates is about to take, and
Legend the Storyguide must answer you truthfully.
Range: Medium
TEMPORAL SHIFT
Action: Simple
You fill someone with an insatiable desire — be
it for food, wealth, or worldly objects. This Boon Duration: Indefinite
confers a Condition on the target that makes the Subject: Self
character seek out whatever she desires. People
take notice of her desire, and find it disgusting, Action: Reflexive
imposing a +2 Complication to all social actions. For as long as you have Awareness imbued, you
The character is obsessed with her desire, suffering can slow down or speed up time for yourself. If you
a +2 Complication to take actions that don’t further slow time for yourself, everything happens around
her goal for more. This Condition ends when you re- you at an advanced pace. You may blow through
claim your Awareness or when the character suffers a boring waiting period or pass forward in time to
a major setback due to her obsession. 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
SKY a full eight hours in just a few minutes, or pluck a
The Old Ones who have Sky as their Purview control slow-moving bullet from the air. While you do not
all aspects of the sky from the winds, rain, hail, and light- leave the plane of reality on which you are, you
ning to the unfathomable depths of its vast expanses.
seem to disappear to onlookers while out of time.
Actions that would benefit from slowed or sped-
Innate Power: You can control the natural weather up time gain a +2 Enhancement, at Storyguide
patterns in your area. You can lessen or heighten a storm, discretion.
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. SUN
The Sun Purview has dominion over life, rebirth,
FOG BANK hope, and the dawning light that reveals all within
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness darkness. It also has dominion over draught, radiation,
the loss of hope, and the death of dreams in the harsh
noonday sun.
Subject: One field
Innate Power: Your presence is polarizing, causing
Action: Simple people gain or lose hope at your whim. You are a walking
Warm winds blow dense fog into your area, atmosphere (Scion: Origin p. 78), which you can make
decreasing visibility and dampening sound. Choose either positive or negative as you like, with a rating equal
a field that your character can see or knows is there to half your Legend that affects anyone in the same Field
(such as inside the room, or outside the building as you.

IRRADIATION WATER
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness Great Old Ones with the Water Purview have domin-
Duration: Condition ion 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.
Clash: Awareness + Might vs. Stamina + Legend
Innate Power: You have the grace and implacable
Range: Short movement of water. When you set yourself on a path,
Action: Simple nothing can prevent you from moving forward. Actions
You create a burst of radiation so powerful it causes that would stop you, slow you down, or change your course
immediate sickness and sometimes death. Small are made at +2 Difficulty. You can ignore Complications
animals, funguses, and bacteria without radiation that would slow your movement and make a Clash of
resistance die immediately. Your radiation acts as a Wills if the Complication comes from a magical source.
Condition on anyone affected within range creating This isn’t just walking, it’s any kind of forward movement,
weakness and fatigue. Those with the Condition including flying, biking, driving a car, etc.
have a +3 Complication to all physical actions,
with consequences including Injury equal to the TSUNAMI
Complication not bought off, loss of action, or addi-
tional Complications to later actions. The Condition Cost: Spend 1 Awareness
ends when you reclaim your Awareness or when Duration: Instant
the victim seeks medical attention. Subject: One field
Range: Long
WAR Action: Simple
Great Old Ones with the War Purview reign over A wave of water crashes over the Field, washing away
the violence between two peoples. From the sweeping everything in sight. You can create a wave of water
battlefields to the individual soldier and all the spaces that materializes out of nowhere to wash across a sin-
between where conflict arises. gle Field within range. The water moves with the force
and weight of the ocean sweeping away anything not
Innate Power: Whenever you are involved in a con-
bolted down and carries heavy objects along with it.
flict (not just physical, any conflict will do) you gain +2 The wave puts out any fires in its path and can knock
Enhancement to actions that further the conflict rather over short walls and small structures. Attempts to swim
than working to resolve it. against the current incur a +2 Complication. The wave
passes through the Field quickly and dissipates after-
INCITE ward. If the Field is indoors, the wave may fill the room
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness completely before the water evacuates from natural
egresses, forcing characters to hold their breath, at
Duration: One scene Storyguide discretion.
Subject: Multiple characters
Clash: Awareness + Manipulation vs. Composure
+ Legend WILD
Range: Short The Wild Purview is the dominion of the untamed
wilderness, the old spaces that have been reclaimed by
Action: Simple the land, the animals that have been lost to humanity
You agitate and incite those around you. Anyone and live on the edges of civilization still wild and free.
affected within range suffers a +3 Complication
Innate Power: You are a child of wilderness and
to attacks. As a consequence, the character does
not attack his intended target, but instead attacks a wild things recognize you as such. Gain +2 Enhancement
target of your choice. Outside of combat, you can when dealing with wild animals or hostile environments.
use this Boon to incite violence between agitated Wild animals always have a positive initial Attitude
parties. Anyone affected within Range with a nega- towards your character unless she does something to
tive Attitude will start a fight. frighten or anger them.
Purviews 57
FERAL TRACES animal you have possessed, sensing though it and
Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness commanding it as though it were your own body.
You can possess a single large animal, such as
Duration: Indefinite a dog, wolf, bear, or elephant or multiple small
Subject: Multiple animals animals such as crows, mice, or cats. If you are in
multiple animals, you can perform tasks with all of
Action: Reflexive them using a mixed action. The animals can only
You can take control of a wild animal by imparting perform tasks that make sense for their anatomy
your consciousness into its. While using this Boon, and physical limitations, but you can do things you
you are inert and cannot sense your own body. couldn’t normally, such as communicate with other
Instead, you have complete control over the animals of its kind.
MYTHOS SIGNATURE PURVIEW

in return they impart only a fraction of the power and
ARCANE CALCULUS
intellect they contain. All this serves to bring the Mythos
Knowledge is the lifeblood of the Mythos. Within ar-
closer to The World and allow the Great Old Ones to
cane texts, written in blood on paper tanned from flesh,
breach the veil that separates their worlds from this one.
sit the arcane words of power. All it takes is a promise to
serve for the Mythos to grant the knowledge and ability Innate Power: When performing analysis, re-
to tap into that power. The Mythos accept all manner of search, or surveying investigation actions, you gain +1
worship, from praise and sacrifice and unwavering de- Enhancement. You can ignore up to 1 Complication from
votion to total indifference in a selfish power grab, and such actions that would lead you to misinterpret the in-
formation you gain on the action.

DISTURBING VISIONS MOUTH OF MADNESS
Cost: Free Cost: Spend 1 Awareness
Duration: Instant Duration: One scene
Subject: Self Subject: Multiple characters
Action: Simple Clash: Presence + Legend vs. Resolve + Legend
By reading scripts from Mythos realms or inscribing Range: Short
arcane geometries, you receive a vision from the Action: Simple
Mythos. This vision is a compulsion, something the
Gods want you to do for them with the promise of You speak of an incident or situation you are
a benefit afterward. The request replaces the char- investigating. This can be as simple as a person’s
acter’s Short-Term Deed with something achievable name, or the event that created your lead. Everyone
within the session. Disturbing Visions should only be within range immediately begins to speak, divulging
useable once per session and should be a minor ef- everything they know about the situation. You gain
fort requiring a scene’s worth of activity and at least Enhancement 3 on any investigative action to follow
one successful roll. The exact request often doesn’t up on any clues or stunts related to the revelations
make any sense, whether the Deed is esoteric or you’ve heard for the rest of the session. When acting
simply strange, and is left to the Storyguide’s dis- decisively upon the information you’ve gained this
cretion. This typically results in characters stumbling way, you also have +1 Scale where appropriate
across disparate and far-flung cults and rites until a for the rest of the session. For example, acting upon
full and final picture is revealed. the revelation of a fellow Scion’s perfidy grants you
Scale to defeat them, but only if the information
Once you’ve completed the mission, gain 1 somehow relates to a weakness of theirs.
Awareness and 1 Legend. The vision has shredded
away the veil, enabling you to see any being
touched by the Mythos.
Mythos Signature Purview 59

ADDITIONAL RELICS 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
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,
passages at night found him “surrounded by the sound
of whispers, perhaps the voices of the dead.” Standing at
enlightenment, and Awareness. They are plentiful, ranging the ship’s wheel, he felt a “warm and certain presence”
from obscure tomes tucked away in restricted rooms of behind him, but every time he turned his head to seek
libraries, to Elder Signs carved into medallions, to devices that presence, he saw only “a soft shadow slipping away.”
built by scientists who glimpsed the unknown. These Relics The Alert has since passed through multiple hands:
are optional, presented as additional items to introduce many researchers and other individuals have clamored to
into your game at Storyguide discretion. own her, to understand her, and to take her out into the
For anyone with Awareness, relics operate as other ocean in an attempt to locate R’lyeh. Her owners tend not
Legend-based relics. For those without Awareness, they to live terribly long: Vitas Varnas was burned alive in a fire
may access the powers through sacrifice. For each life in the engine room, Dr. Nadia Sari drowned, Xavier Foust
“fed” to it, the user gains a temporary point of Awareness was run through by a crew mate’s sword during a mutiny,
for up to one hour and the maximum number of points and Kristiyan Nela was torn apart by a strange beast when
cannot exceed the relic’s rating. The character gains the they landed upon a previously unknown island.
persistent Condition, Burning Awareness. The concept of a ship bearing some sort of mild sapi-
Burning Awareness: +1 Difficulty to all tasks not ence, if not true sentience, exists in many of the writings
related to a Mythos relic or their acquisition as the of its owners, and some researchers posit that the Alert
character is distracted by the vast universes and needs rejects owners based upon her own criteria. Attempts to
to know more. enumerate these criteria in order to find a captain who
will survive her has, until now, failed.
THE ALERT (•••••) Knack: The Alert never runs out of fuel in an emer-
gency; during moments of crisis, she runs regardless of
Purview: Journeys
how much coal remains on hand, like a human being
Motif: The person at the end of the voyage is not the running on adrenaline. She possesses at least some form
person from the beginning of the voyage. of sapience, and will attempt to steer away from imme-
The epistolary evidence which surrounds the ship diate danger, though she can be coaxed to head toward
Alert suggests a strange and winding history: the Alert’s something which will damage her or her crew. Once per
journeys across the oceans brought it to its current berth week, the Alert can be asked to direct herself toward any
in Oslo, through direct encounters with Cthulhu and a location where she has already traveled (including R’ly-
few days (A few years? A few eons? One cannot know) an- eh) and she will take over navigation; by some strange
chored off R’lyeh. Just as people who meet the Great Old mechanism, no matter how far away the location, the
Ones do not escape unscathed or unchanged, so the Alert Alert always arrives at her destination within one hour.
came out of the other end of this epic journey different. She may also travel to a Terra Incognita which is new to
her, provided the helmsman knows the way or possesses
The first person to notice this change was her own-
something belonging to that Terra Incognita.
er at the time, Gustaf Johansen. His letters home to his
now-widow detail strange journeys; he claims that his Flaw: The Alert has been deeply mistreated in her time
prior ship, the Emma, was set upon by the crew of the and has seen great violence and misfortune. If she is not
Alert for no reason, and the crew of the Emma killed well-treated – this usually means keeping her in good re-
them. However, Anna Johansen has since admitted in pair, well-stocked, and not running her crew ragged, though
letters to researchers that her husband’s state of mind more obscure requirements seem to surface now and again
upon return, and his aggressive behavior toward family – she will try to cause misfortune to, or outright murder,
and friends, places great uncertainty upon the reliability her captain. This mechanism is not absolute and should be
of his narrative; it is just as likely that the crew of the handled by discussion between Storyguide and player.
Emma simply commandeered the vessel, or that the
crew of the Alert came upon the Emma adrift and res-
cued them only to find their kindness rewarded with vi-
AMULET OF DAGON (••)
Purview: Chaos
olence. In any case, the Emma has never been recovered
and most parties agree it was lost in the South Pacific. Motif: You don’t know what you don’t know.
Whatever the truth of the narrative, Johansen’s writ- No one knows where the Amulet of Dagon comes
ings after his return to Sweden indicate that the Alert from, and no one knows to whom it originally belonged. It

appeared in a museum collection one day a hundred years facsimile of artistic jeweler native to the area. In actuality,
ago and since then has been stolen, swiped, purloined, a French settler aristocrat in the Louisiana area carved
traded, fallen into other hands… no one has owned the am- this amulet. It depicts a huntsman with a canine head and
ulet for longer than a handful of years at a time, and some large bat-like wings, intended to illustrate the artist’s im-
people have possessed it for only a few minutes or a day. pression of the perfect hunting predator, with the cunning
The amulet, the size of a silver dollar, depicts a massive, and skill of a human tempered with animalistic ferocity.
multi-limbed sea creature generally presumed to be Father The brutality and savage nature of the amulet’s original
Dagon, though it might also be Mother Hydra. The amu- owner, often turned against the enslaved people he victim-
let is carved of an unknown and as-yet-unidentified stone ized with his rages, grew so egregious that he ultimately
which always feels chill and slightly greasy to the touch. faced bloody retribution at the hands of his own house-
hold, and was sealed within a coffin and buried alive for
Knack: Spend 1 Momentum and gain 2 Enhance- his sins. Recovered several decades after the man’s death,
ment when attempting to decipher unknown languages the amulet has passed hands several times since until it
— whether mundane or some leaving of the Great Old found its current resting spot in the British Museum, mis-
Ones — or uncover mysteries connected to the Great Old classified as the product of Chinese manufacture.
Ones. The Storyguide is the final arbiter of what counts
as uncovering mysteries. Knack: Spend 1 momentum to cause your jaw to
extend, creating a large muzzle full of sharp canine-like
Flaw: Gain 2 Difficulty in circumstances in which teeth. For the duration of this scene, any bite attack deals
the owner attempts to resist the commands or entreat- one additional point of damage.
ies 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, in- DER KÖNIG IN GELB (•••••)
cluding other Scions. Purview: Star, Death, Journey
Motif: They recorded it. What madness!
AMULET OF THE HOUND 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 au-
Purview: War diences the world over. German expressionist filmmaker
Motif: A potent little token for those who seek to be- Fritz Langfrett, a former vaudeville stagehand, under-
come the beast. took one such recording in 1924. His film, Der König
A small object carved from jade, this tiny amulet is no in Gelb, is one of early cinema’s most elusive lost films.
bigger than the human thumb. It is not particularly old; The recording comprised of two reels; the first remains
early records place its creation in regions of China, but in the hands of an anonymous wealthy collector. The
in truth, this is wildly incorrect and it was in fact a mere 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 As a second use, the amulet grants temporary, limited
and crew, remains missing. concealment from the forces of the Mythos. While hiding,
Knack: The fact that Langfrett was an adamant anybody clutching this amulet in their palm gains a 2 Enhance-
cultist in service to ancient entities from Aldebaran is ment to concealment so long as they remain still and hidden.
unsurprisingly missing from film history. In practice,
the recording perfectly captured the ritual of The King ERICH ZANN’S VIOL (•••)
in Yellow, sealing the rite’s mystical properties within a Purview: Artistry, Chaos, Darkness
cage of celluloid. Viewing both reels of the film in their
entirety has the same effect as a performance of the play, Motif: Give of yourself to hold back the dark.
but without the necessity of actors or scripts. All that is The battered case of Erich Zann’s viol contains a
required is a film projector of an appropriate age; no dice simple viol (also known as a cello) created by an expert
rolls are required to perform the ritual in this manner. craftsperson; her smooth, honey-colored wood seems to
Flaw: Perhaps mercifully, both reels are required glow subtly, as if stage lights strike her, no matter what the
for this performance; the second has been lost for al- current lighting. If the instrument were smaller, it might
most a century. Should it be found, upon completion of make a decent emergency light, perhaps. Oddly, no matter
the ritual (namely viewing the film), the Herald of the if the viol is transferred to a new case, said case becomes
King becomes manifest. Most people with any sense of worn and battered within a week; the cello’s owner finds
self-preservation have little interest in being present for himself bumping the case against walls, dropping it down
such an arrival or its subsequent bloodbath. 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
ELDER SIGN AMULET (••) the Sultan of the Gods sleeping; Hypnos serves Azathoth
Calling: Guardian (at least in theory, see Hypnos, p. 184) and they direct
Motif: Holding the dark at bay their followers and servants to keep the Great Old One
This small, minted amulet of metal is typically no always slumbering, lest he wake and cause great and
smaller than half the circumference of one’s palm. It is in- irreparable harm. This work demands a great deal of
laid with a marking that, although unsettling to look upon, energy from the viol’s owner.
is nevertheless beneficial for those who know how to wield Knack: By spending 1 Momentum, the user may im-
it. These amulets are not made of any particular type of bue his music with a chaotic energy which soothes even
metal and there is nothing especially unique about its con- Great Old Ones. Choose from either of the following
struction; instead, the potency relies upon the marking en- options upon activating the viol. The user enters a Clash
graved upon it. In order to create these amulets, significant of Wills with an opponent; success causes the opponent
knowledge of the occult is required; creating the symbol to fall asleep regardless of other circumstance; the user
even slightly incorrectly nullifies its mystical properties. gains 2 Enhancement to this roll. However, attacking or
Few scholars recognize why this emblem can seem- otherwise damaging the subject of the Knack causes him
ingly repel the inhuman spawn of the Great Old Ones to immediately wake.
in the way that it does. What matters, though, is that it Alternately, the cello’s user may choose to seal shut any
works. Its function is not based on visual senses (not all portal, door, or other opening for a scene. There is no outer
entities possess what we recognize as eyes, after all), but limit to the size of portal which can be closed, but it must
some other cosmic means entirely. be surrounded by a continuous boundary. Technically, yes,
Knack: The Amulet functions in one of two ways. First- you could seal off the Earth from space by doing this, but
ly, when physically placed between a Mythos entity and a don’t be ridiculous. The Storyguide is the final arbiter of
target (often the wielder) it prevents the creature from whether the viol’s music may seal a given doorway.
moving past or touching anything behind the amulet. Doing Flaw: Practice makes perfect, and the viol requires
so requires the wielder to spend One Momentum; holding constant attention in order to function. The viol only
the amulet in an outstretched hand while doing so is enough works for someone who has practiced upon it for at least a
to repel the creature. The wielder may, if they choose, place half-hour in the previous twenty-four hours. Owners of the
the amulet somewhere (hanging it in a window or around viol report this practice tires them more than they expect.
the neck of a loved one) to extend that protection to wher-
ever or whoever he has placed the amulet. Be aware that this
use is unidirectional; holding out the amulet to one creature
THE IVORY KEY (••••)
will not protect you from attack by a second creature behind Purviews: Journey
you, and placing the amulet on a window will not prevent Motif: Though the Gates of Horn and Ivory, and into
the creature from crashing through the doorway instead. the realms beyond the dream

The Ivory Key is a bulky object, far too impractical however many of those particular masks in question hold
to mistake for an actual key. It is a long object comprised little true power. Those who have received a true mark
of sharp edges, spikes, and serrated edges, with only the by the respective Great Old One possess any modicum of
circular handle the size of a human hand to give any sem- power and are truly classed as a relic. Traditionally those
blance to an actual key. The Ivory Key is old; believed to masks made their way to the hands of priests; nowadays
have been carved from the horn of a woolly mammoth, the owners tend to be wealthy elites, buying up as many
and dated to the same historical era. In truth, it is far masks as they can through global auctions.
older than that; the creature from which the ivory used Knack: Each mask holds a different Knack. The
to forge this key came from was extinct long before life masks must be worn for the entirety of the scene for its
on this Earth ever emerged, and never dwelled on any given effect to remain in place.
planet in this star system.
• The Goat-horned Mask: These masks are carved of
Few texts go into detail on the original function of
wood, typically the older the wood the better, and
the key or discuss who its original owners may have been.
painted with various shades of black. These faces,
It was unearthed during excavation for housing con-
when worn, whisper to the wearer in the voices
struction numerous centuries ago, and found its way into
of a thousand children demanding nourishment.
private collections when scholars recognized that it pos-
The wearer does not feel any ill effects due to
sessed occult capabilities. Even despite that, few owners
hunger or thirst while they wear this mask, and
were able to chart the full scale of its uses, and eventually
they gain a 3 Enhancement to hunting, tracking,
the object found its way through numerous museum col-
or pursuing somebody that is marked as an ene-
lections, occasionally changing hands until the modern
my. While wearing the mask, they are subject to
day. In truth, a significant reason behind the key’s mys-
bouts of anger.
tery is due to the fate of its numerous owners; many who
explore the secrets of the key simply disappear, leaving no • The Spiral Mask: These masks are either carved
trace of themselves or their research behind. from or coated in conical shells, although the ones
Knack: The key plays a role in the evocation of a created from a single large shell possess more
ritual, the function of which allows for the creation of respect among their worshippers. When worn,
a portal to any destination (known or unknown). This these faces cause severe disorientation and feel-
portal’s destination may reach to anywhere, including ings of being lost. The wearer does not feel any ill
beyond the stars, through the realms of dreams, or effects due to pain while they wear the mask, and
across the span of time. In order to function, a doorway can ignore any resulting penalties to rolls caused
is required; this can be a physical door in a house, an from physical injuries. In addition, they gain a 3
illusionary gateway such as a drawing in chalk on the Enhancement to attempts at inflicting fear or ter-
side of a cliff, or a metaphysical doorway such as a torii ror in others. While wearing the mask, they are
or standing stones. Starlight is required to illuminate unable to speak at any volume above a whisper.
the portal; this ritual can therefore only work at night. • The Feline Mask: These clay masks possess exag-
All in attendance spend Two Momentum to create the gerated angular motifs, giving them an entirely
portal; only those who have spent Momentum are able alien impression, and are ritually smeared with
to venture through the gateway. the blood of a freshly-slain prey animal. These
Flaw: This relic itself cannot pass through the por- faces, when worn, stir memories of nostalgia in
tals it creates. If somebody attempts to do so, the key dis- the wearer. The wearer is able to “see” through
appears from their grip, bag, or pocket midway during the eyes of any one designated sentient creature
their passage through the portal, materializing on the within a mile’s radius of themselves, perceiving
ground near the portal’s entrance. the world through (although not commanding the
actions of ) the target. While wearing the mask,
they experience heavily excessive bouts of sexual
MASKS OF THE MYTHOS attraction to others (remember, as always, players
(••• EACH) may opt to veto or redirect any involvement out-
side of their comfort zones).
Purview: Chaos, Darkness
• The Cephalopod Mask: These masks are typically
Motif: The wearable visage of the Great Old Ones.
carved from thin sheets of stone and are bound to-
Adopted by many cults across the world dedicated gether by pieces of seaweed. When worn, these faces
to the worship of the Great Old Ones, practitioners have instill the wearer with feelings of claustrophobia. The
worn masks representing the features of their respective wearer finds it as easy to breathe in the water as in
objects of worship for centuries. Once adorned, practi- air, and they gain a 3 Enhancement to reading and un-
tioners act out the conflicts or celebrations of their deities, derstanding languages which are not native to them
(including languages the wearer has no experience however it contains inner glass tubing. This surface is
with or means to know). While wearing the mask, all removable; doing so allows for the cables surrounding
sounds the wearer hears become a muffled echo. the glass to connect to additional devices that allow
• The Toad Mask: These masks are created from for vocalization. This permits specific two-way verbal
metal, typically thin sheets of steel, hammered communication, although this is rarely required; de-
into shape to create a bulbous and mottled effect. spite lacking sensory apparatus, the alien consciousness
When worn, these faces cause the wearer to feel kept alive in this cylinder is still acutely aware of their
sensations all across their body, as though unseen surroundings, and more than capable of ‘whispering’ di-
invisible damp fingers are gently touching them. rectly into the mind of whoever is holding the cylinder.
The wearer finds that cold temperatures cause Knack: Spend 1 Momentum to add one success to rolls
them no harm, rendering them immune to dam- involving recalling or learning new information, as the
age from physical exposure to freezing tempera- mind within the cylinder whispers things you could not
tures, and they gain a 3 Enhancement to recogniz- otherwise know. In addition, you can Spend 1 Momentum
ing their position based on and navigating by the to gain one success to rolls involving reaction speed, as the
stars. While wearing the mask, they are unable mind cautions you of dangers before you are aware of them.
to see anything around them in their immediate Flaw: The mind seeks to find other bodies to house
vicinity; although the night sky above is as clear as itself, and it makes no secret of the fact that its protection
day (even if the wearer is indoors). and foreknowledge come at a price. This cost is typically
• The Pale Mask: No two copies of these masks are to be paid at some future point, and is doubtless consid-
the same; they depict a human face in a variety of erably high; if the sentience begins to feel that its price
emotional states (or sometimes none at all). They will not be paid, it becomes quite adversarial.
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
SMOKING MIRROR (••)
Purview: Death, Journey
surface. This face, when worn, instills the wearer
with feelings of vertigo and a sensation of falling. Motif: The most direct means of communication with
The wearer may spend One Momentum to know the spirits of the dead.
the name, ambitions, and intent of any living per- This mirror is surprisingly small, a roughly twelve-
son they set their eyes on; even a total stranger, inch diameter circular piece of strongly polished obsidian.
or somebody only seen through a photograph or The source of its construction is volcanic in nature, but
image. While wearing the mask, the user expe- relatively mundane. The polish applied to its surface, how-
riences the urge to create some work of artistic ever, is alchemical in nature, causing this particular obsid-
meaning or expression. ian mirror to possess unique capabilities not shared with
others of a similar design. John Dee, philosopher and chief
MI-GO BRAIN CYLINDER (•••) occultist to the court of Queen Elizabeth the First, claims
Purview: Stars, Illusion fame as the mirror’s creator. In reality the mirror hails
from the Mēxihcah, being first pilfered by the Spanish and
Motif: Exceptional intellect constrained and bound. then making its way to British hands via theft. The mir-
This canister is small, often bound in an interwoven me- ror’s history has been eventful, one may even say cursed,
tallic case that resembles brass. Prying away its casing reveals a with various owners including Dee reporting hauntings.
variety of thin cables that contain and regulate fluids and elec- If there’s a way to use the mirror without trapping ghosts
trical currents in equal measure. The cables themselves run and causing a haunting, only the Mēxihcah knew it.
into the cylinder’s liquid interior, which houses the object’s Knack: This relic grants a 2 Enhancement to sum-
true purpose; to house the organic matter of an alien being, moning the soul of any dead, regardless of how long ago
complete with sentience. The cylinder’s surface appears con- they died. The deceased manifests as a hazy, fog-like figure
ductive to human skin, and although the mind housed inside in the polished reflection of the mirror for one scene.
cannot communicate verbally without additional mechanical
functions, thoughts occasionally ‘slip’ through the canister’s Flaw: The mirror’s fabled function is not entirely
shell, creating whispers in the mind of those who carry it. true. Rather than reflecting the souls of the dead for
conversation with the living, the mirror actually cap-
Inside the cylinder is a fully functional alien brain, tures them. The dead summoned into the mirror remain
kept in a living state by means of continually rotating trapped within it, essentially existing within an oubliette
levels of various fluids and regulatory electrical charges. of obsidian, and come out to haunt the mirror’s owner.
The casing around the cylinder’s outer surface is opaque,

of Yith between various bodies gives rise to the human
SWORD OF KADATH (••) belief in reincarnation, or perhaps reincarnation exists on
Purview: Death, Deception its own, but Yith bring out memories more strongly.
Motif: It’s only a dream. It’s only a dream. It’s only— These stones do not come directly from the Yithi-
The Sword of Kadath’s origins remain unknown: the ans: multiple theories exist regarding their exact origin,
blade changes its appearance to suit its owner, and its but either humans created them to mimic the powers of
recorded history shows it appearing as anything from a the Great Race of Yith, or those who created them did so
Roman gladius to a hook sword, a macuahuitl to a rapier. under the instruction of the Yithians. This process orig-
The only consistency in its appearance is an eldritch inally permitted the Yithians to retain their powers as
symbol engraved just before the guard, if the sword has a their innate abilities fade now that they no longer have
guard, or across the join between handle and blade. The bodies to return home to, to rest, to regenerate. What-
symbol itself shifts its appearance at random times, but ever their origin, they pass between human hands now.
anyone with sufficient occult knowledge always identi- Two forms of Yithian Mind Stones exist: one per-
fies it as a sigil of Nyarlathotep. mits a sort of astral projection, another permits mind
The sword always functions as a normal sword, but control. The ability of each stone is fixed at its creation
its special adaptations appear when its owner moves and may not later be changed.
through dreams, either his own or someone else’s. One Note: the powers of the Yithian Mind Stones, espe-
normally brings nothing with them into dreams, but the cially the power of mind control, should be used with
Sword of Kadath always goes with its user everywhere, care. Please consult “My Character Wouldn’t Do That”
which permits the user to go into his own dreams armed. (p. 47) for further guidance.
Knack: The Sword of Kadath travels with its owner Knack: Choose one of the two following abilities
always. If it is stolen, it returns to its owner the next time upon purchase of the Yithian Mind Stone. This choice is
he sleeps, even disappearing from the hand of the person permanent and may not later be altered.
who stole it to return to its owner in his dreams so he Astral Projection: The stone’s owner falls uncon-
may not go unarmed. This return to its owner may cause scious, casting her mind out into the universe. She may
the sword to pass between realms of its own volition. It navigate as if she is a ghost, flying and passing through
doesn’t matter where the sword is; it goes home. Owner- solid objects. She may use any Knacks or other powers
ship changes only by means known to the sword itself; which do not require physical interaction with objects.
rumors persist that killing a sentient being with the blade Ghosts and other insubstantial beings may interact with
instills ownership, or perhaps killing the former owner, her or attack her; she retains her Health levels and may
or dedicating a battle to one of the Great Old Ones. be killed while astral. Her body is vulnerable to attack;
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Unconcealable she will not know if someone attacks her so it’s best to
Flaw: The sword’s presence becomes addictive, and have a trusted companion guarding her body. She may
its owner may realize he cannot meaningfully function return to her body by travel or by spending 1 Momentum
without it. In any situation where the sword’s owner to return instantly. She may remain in her astral form
doesn’t carry the Sword of Kadath with him, such as going as long as she wishes and as long as her body survives
into a courthouse or if the sword is stolen, he experiences without her within it.
1 Complication to all tasks which require concentration. 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
YITHIAN MIND STONE (•••) or control it in any way. The user may take control of any
Purview: Journeys, Sky form of living being the size of a mouse or larger, though
Motif: I see you. attempts to control animals or beings who are very small,
Long ago, on a distant planet, the Great Race of Yith very large or very different from humans (such as an octo-
slung their minds across the vastness of space simply pus) may incur a 1-to-3-point Complication, determined
because they could; they put their consciousness into the by the Storyguide. Those who make use of this ability to
minds of others, taking control of their bodies so that they take over other humans may find themselves shunned or
may live on Earth or other planets as they choose. Rumors viewed as equivalent to rapists; removing another per-
persist that they walk the Earth even now, moving between son’s control over her body is a serious matter.
the bodies of men, creatures, and even the planet itself. Flaw: The power of a Yithian Mind Stone will not
If they do, these bodies are their only homes: the flying function unless it has been carried in contact with the
polyps destroyed their home planet and all their original skin of its owner for twelve consistent hours out of the
bodies. It is possible that the movement of the Great Race previous twenty-four.
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
rings of standing stones clearly not placed by glacier or
human hands.
Indigenous people of the Miskatonic Valley farmed
of it seems to ooze from the land itself. There are also upland tidal waters and maintained seasonal fishing
many alien forces that have long inhabited this troubled camps along the coast. People who would later galva-
watershed, causing otherness to become an integral part nize under a confederacy known as Wampanoag, in-
of the valley’s uncanny terrain. cluding the Agawam of Essex county and the Naumkeag
The Miskatonic Valley occupies a large swath of Nation near Salem, grappled and staved off Mythos
Essex County, running south of the Merrimack and forces for countless generations before Europeans ar-
Ipswich basins and north of the Charles River and rived. In the early 17th century, English settlers from
Boston Harbor. The river itself empties out of the North the Massachusetts Bay Colony brought devastating
Coastal region of Massachusetts and into the turbid diseases, slavery, aggressive religious conversion, and
Atlantic. The county includes Salem, Newbury, and forced conscription for warfare among foreign powers,
Methuen. The Miskatonic’s headwaters emerge from which suppressed and all but erased long oral histo-
springs west of isolated Dunwich, wending eastward ries of Indigenous triumphs, losses, and alliances with
down among eerily rounded hills, cutting through the inhuman inhabitants. “Miskatonic” is a nonsense name
middle of insular Arkham, emptying into the Atlantic given by early European settlers who likely appropri-
just north of the strange and dreamy city of Kingsport. ated poorly overheard Indigenous words that were
Up the coast lies militant Innsmouth, where newcomers never corrected. The Europeans carved out plantations
are seldom welcomed. and exploited trade in slavery and sugar cane from the
The valley’s natural landscapes project a sense of Caribbean, exporting fish, lumber, and beef. Later waves
foreboding. Streams twist over tortured topography, dis- of industry in the 19th and 20th centuries brought tex-
appearing into unknown cavities only to reemerge from tile and paper mills, and waves of migration from places
surprising recesses. Glaciers left behind cyclopean for- such as Southern Europe, French Canada, Russia, and
mations of granite, undulating moraines, and giant “ir- Ireland, as well as African-Americans fleeing campaigns
regular” boulders carried from unknown distant lands. of murder and terrorism in southern states during the
Back roads snake past abandoned farm communities and Great Migration.
derelict mills, while branches of elderly trees arch and Contemporary Miskatonic Valley continues to wend
encroach on travelers from above. The coast is crowded through the ruins of a layered past. The basin’s identity
with hidden bays, toothy rock formations, ship-wreck- remains forever haunted by symbols and myths of early
ing shoals and barrier islands. Visitors passing through European colonization, pulled into the destructive im-
are often left wondering why the Miskatonic area ex- pulse of nostalgia for earlier eras, even as so many of its
udes such an atmosphere of primordial unease. residents look to revise and cut new roads out of aimless
Strange entities had taken root long before the time cow paths and into a better future. It functions now as
of glaciers, including Mi-Go, Serpent People, Yithians, a post-industrial anachronism, as a living collision of
Elder Things and many others. Some left relics behind global community, and a confluence of roiling cultural
include remote woodland altars, sculpted caverns, and 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
The land was rich, fertile, and welcoming to the

HISTORY resolute and the hardworking. The Indigenous Nation,
The city of Arkham represents one of the first set- the Wampanoag, were kind and happy to teach these im-
tlements to come from the great egress of good English migrants the things they needed to know to thrive on the
peoples escaping troubled lives in their homeland for a land. What and where to plant were important, almost
simpler life in the new world. These immigrants saw the as much as what and where not to. They taught them
land a blank slate on which they could build a communi- better trapping techniques for game that wandered in
ty more wholly complete and committed to their God’s the area, as well any number of other useful techniques.
intentions for them in this lifetime. Salem was the first
With a climate much like their homeland and ready
in 1626, with Arkham soon after in 1628. Two years later,
access to timber and many other raw resources as well
there began a tidal wave of thousands of immigrants
as waterways that ferried them quickly to the coast, they
from England that lasted until 1642 and seeded what
thrived in their new home, this new England. The immi-
would become Essex County.
grants were strange to the native people of what would
68 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

become America with their odd tales of this new world. white men, however, who noted if you looked closely,
The Wampanoag told them of great battles, and old gods you could see the deep, haunted fear in their eyes when
and beings older than time that had come before them they spoke — or more aptly didn’t speak — of this history.
and would come again after them and shape the very Arkham was built along the Miskatonic River and
earth they stood on. They spoke of events so ancient that sprawled into its surroundings as more and more im-
no human individual could possibly have borne witness, migrants arrived and families expanded. The slow-but-
yet their story would have made the foreigners believe steady transformation of woodlands that were thick and
they were actually there. wild into tamed and managed farmland was seemingly
They cautioned the settlers to take heed in numer- inevitable. Trees were cleared to make way for the roads
ous parts of the forest, advising them to avoid some that carried all one could acquire from the coast and sur-
places entirely. Where odd landmarks with characteris- rounding areas. That lumber became the farmhouses,
tics that made it hard to understand how human hands barns, and fences that were called home. This was prog-
could have fashioned them. Others were simply parts ress until 150 years when the bounty of the woodlands
of the forest where nothing seemed to grow, barren was spent.
with the stench of death, that no person of sound mind The end of the 17th century bore witness to de-
would traverse voluntarily. Others were just areas with cades of witch hunts that spread through New England,
ominous-sounding names, as if a warning were built hitting Massachusetts particularly hard. All the news
into the moniker. Exactly what these Puritans were to from neighboring Salem reported on the seemingly
be warned away from was never clear. The newcomers never-ending number of trials, hangings, and burnings
could see no danger in this land. Their God had brought in their attempt to cleanse their town of evil. While the
them here; had chosen this place for them. Surely there rest of their neighbors waged their crusade, Arkhamites
was nothing here from which he could not protect them. took a different approach. It wasn’t that they were any
So, the Puritans balked at the “superstitious savages,” less devout or less committed to their God than any
paying their ancient myths no mind. There were some other good citizen of New England. It certainly was
Arkham 69
not because Arkham could be declared free of sinister bustling, steady population of over 40,000 citizens,
influence or void of evil. There were too many strange around 15 percent are students and faculty at Miskatonic
goings-on. Too many rumors, whispers, and odd folks University. Something about the small-town vibe, re-
with even odder unexplainable behaviors. gardless of the crime, makes Arkham feel strangely safe
Every Arkhamite knew and was rightly leery of the to young residents. That youthful energy and money
Witch House on Pickman Street. With its strange sounds, have led to the town having an active nightlife scene.
terrifying smells, and the unsettling way it seemed to The latest tunes float out of clubs to those looking for
affect its lodgers, it was best avoided at all costs. While fun, music, and good food.
everyone was concerned about what unholy happenings Arkham provides well, since, like all small universi-
went on inside, no one dared cross its bounds and knock ty towns, it has its share of contemporary conveniences.
on the door to inquire. It seemed every citizen breathed Multiple coffee shops and bakeries abound, including
a sigh of relief when the news came of Keziah Mason’s the best doughnuts in New England. There are a couple
arrest and trial in Salem, as she was the house’s owner. of medium-sized butchers and grocers. There is a frozen
Then they quickly sucked in and held their breath at the yogurt store, the bubble tea shop, a few hotels, and many
news of her disappearance from her locked cell. No, it restaurants ranging from diners to upscale eateries with
was not that the people of Arkham heeded their God tablecloths — and while the town has managed to keep
less. Perhaps it could be said, however, that they had out every other national chain, there is, much to the dis-
a keen sense of the forces at play and could recognize may of many, a single Starbucks. On the main street, you
that which was beyond the laws of mortals when they can find just about anything you might be looking for
brushed against it. including practical things like a hardware store, several
Like most of New England, the redcoats marched bank branches, a locksmith, car mechanics, a used-car
through during the war and even managed to burn dealer, and a drug store.
down quite a bit of the town. Unlike other towns, multi- For fun, there is the local comic-book shop and
ple reports of regiments who wandered into the woods game store, plus the music store where you can rent
surrounding Arkham and were never heard from again. or buy an instrument and learn to play it. There is a
Individual soldiers who left the safety of numbers to nine-hole mini-golf course, a two-screen movie house, a
make chase into the trees did not return; a search found playhouse that shares space with the university and way
only empty, lifeless uniforms, still whole and intact as more bars and music venues that rely heavily on alcohol
if the bodies had been simply sucked out of them. The sales than the much of the local populous would like. Of
forests eventually proved unnavigable. Soldiers swore course, all of this means that the students leave campus
that north would “drift” and they would end up lost, and spend their money, which, considering what a year
nowhere near where they should be. These events and at Miskatonic University costs, is far more than the
the strange, inhuman sounds that came from the trees average 20-year-old Arkhamite has in walking-around
meant the British soon stopped coming through at night money. The locals love it here, except for the part where
and eventually stopped coming through at all. Stories of the students leave campus. Like all good Puritan towns,
large armies marching their way around the coast, cut- there are no fewer than a dozen churches to save the
ting wide and circuitous paths to avoid Arkham and its souls of Arkham sinners. However, most churchgoers
surroundings all together, bandied about the towns. don’t think those who need it most ever attend services
The 1900s were prosperous for Arkham. With the at all. The fact that all the students seem to sleep in on
exception of a typhoid outbreak in 1905, Arkham thrived. Sunday mornings or attend on-campus church sits with
Like all towns, it lost its share of boys and men to two everyone just fine.
world wars, but the opening of Miskatonic University One of the ways Arkham holds fast to its history is
in the early part of the century meant more youth and that it’s governed by the same town council that was put
vibrancy than most towns had during war. Shortly after, in place almost 300 years ago. One of the few and most
the Arkham Sanitarium opened. These two institutions important changes came around 40 years ago, when
brought in professors, doctors, and researchers of all the council changed the bylaws to allow one non-na-
stripes. While Arkham was considerably smaller, its tive-Arkhamite member of the board. With the closing of
reputation was comparable to the great institutions of paper mills and other port-based industries leaving the
Boston in educational, medical, and otherworldly affairs. 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 good-
MODERN DAY will and to show appreciation for the role the university
Despite trying, the city of Arkham was never quite plays in the Arkham community, a new seat was created.
able to shake its small-town, Puritan roots. It has a

Now, even though it says in the bylaws that legacy everything. For a town of its size, it has an unusual num-
residency isn’t required to be eligible to run for this ber of disappearances. Not officially, however; for some
opening, not everyone can throw their hat in the ring. reason, no one ever recalls the exact numbers, just that
Everyone knows a university professor, preferably a it happens. According to the locals, people tend to keep
chair holder, or possibly a doctor from the sanitarium, to themselves and come and go as they please, so it is no
will occupy this long-contested seat. Many, if not most, surprise when one just up and leaves for good.
Arkhamites can trace their lineage back to the original Arkham, while one of the largest and most mod-
Puritan settlers from over three centuries ago. Call it ern cities in the Miskatonic Hollow, has always been
protectionism, call it elitism, call it a bull-headed way of surrounded by dark trees that reach up toward the
keeping Arkham’s troubled history, well...history. Still, heavens. Regardless of how many are cut down, turned
the town has never cared for outsiders to be too deep- into homes, furniture, and shipped around the world,
ly involved in its business, and they have an unusually the trees never grow thin. It was those trees that kept
broad definition of an outsider. Arkham safe during the Revolutionary War. At night,
Miskatonic University and Arkham Sanitarium are strange screams in the night can occasionally be heard
fundamental to the economic wellbeing of the town, coming from them. Some people claim the accents are
though anyone who sits on the council will give you all old English or something stranger.
kinds of numbers that show Arkham could live with- A scattering of old gambrel-roofed homes dots the
out either institution while knowing it isn’t true. That city — a reminder of what was. They are beside thriving
doesn’t give the people just passing through the right to businesses, apartment buildings, and mansions. One or
start making decisions for hardworking folks who have two have fallen into the control of the city as historical
been here all their lives. Never mind that most of the monuments and are shown during walking tours. The
sanitarium staff and nearly all the university faculty live others are still in use, with locals living in them and pass-
in Arkham, some for decades. Not to mention the many ing them down from generation to generation. Whispers
residents who work in nearby Kingsport or who com- of ancient houses that twisted their residents’ minds are
mute as far as Bolton or Manchester but have decided to now children’s songs. The Tills house was abandoned
call Arkham home. and investigated in the 1970s, after discovering both hu-
Then there is the economic divide. While the medi- man and other remains in the walls and attic. Stories of
an income is just shy of $63,500, the top half is weighted Arkham Cemetery tell of where, if you dig deep enough
heavily with employees of the big two. In fact, these in the right grave, you can reach hell and speak to the
looming institutions are just about the only places to devil, or of Old Helen, a Revolutionary War widow and
make a six-figure salary in Arkham. All this, of course, the victim of a fire who haunts the east side of town.
helps push up the cost of living ($48,741 at last census) Even the civic district, which should be the most
over time, making it harder for lifelong blue-collar respectable part of town, is not free from this stigma. In
workers to keep up. Some can barely afford to live in the center of the square bounded by the railroad, gov-
their hometown. ernment buildings, civic organizations, and Arkham’s
What does that mean for the average Arkham citi- small post office sits a peculiar statue. A tall, broad man
zen? Turns out, it is a little easier to get things done and stands proud with his foot resting on a sphere, victo-
make your way if your family name appears on the old riously holding an odd, L-shaped object in his right
citizen ledgers. Any time permission, planning, permits, hand. This is peculiar but not suspect. The devil is in
or even just general courtesy is required, new Arkham the details and the inscription. The item in his hand has
residents (as in anyone who moved there in the past the rough shape and dimensions of a handgun, but it is
150 years) encounter roadblocks and technicalities one far too cylindrical and smooth, with what can only be
could argue were constructed just for them. Not that described as a balloon attached to the top of it. Upon
they can prove it or find anyone will listen when they further examination, his foot sits on something uneven,
complain. They’re more likely to be arrested for disturb- layered, and messy. Some speculate it is a ball of earth
ing the peace than find any justice. 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.
THE MYTHOS IN ARKHAM
Legends Then there is the plaque. It reads, “On this site,
1825, we recognize Jeddediah Houston and the sacrifice
Arkham has always been haunted, long before there he made to save us all in 1722, Arkham, MA.” There are
were humans around to notice. Just below the sim- no Houstons in Arkham and no one claims to have ever
ple, calm veneer of the place is a darkness that infects heard of the family. In fact, despite a monument being
Arkham 71
erected to his great deeds 100 years later, no one seems for nearly 10 years. When it was done, it was state of
to know or can recall ever hearing about who he was, the art and the envy of every small town up and down
what he did, from what he saved Arkham, or why he the coast. These days, Arkham Sanitarium’s staff has a
would be honored. Yet, every attempt to remove it and reputation for tenacity. They are sent the most difficult
have it replaced with a more modern figure is denied cases because they never give up on a patient. To say that
before the ink dries on the application. there is a bit of a direct chute between Miskatonic and
Arkham is unlike any other location. It is draped the sanitarium would be understating it.
in legends, stories, and tales beyond human imagining. University faculty and staff have always made up a
Those stories passed down from family member to fam- peculiarly consistent number of the patients, far more
ily member shape the foundation of the city of whispers. 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,
ARKHAM SANITARIUM secrets some say humanity is not meant to know. The say-
In one form or another, Arkham Sanitarium is near- ing goes that Miskatonic is the place you end up when you
ly as old as Arkham itself. During the Revolutionary War, are searching for answers. Arkham is where you end up
a makeshift jail was built to house found and captured once you’ve found them. There are people who die there
British soldiers. It maintained its usefulness after the but no funerals are ever performed. There haven’t been
war, as not really a jail, but a kind of less formal, out- any new graves in the adjacent cemetery in decades.
of-the-way place to keep troubled or problem citizens
of Arkham. As long as the people stowed there weren’t There are stories of snarling, upright beasts that
missed, no one paid much attention to exactly who the are glimpsed on the grounds, always seen running away
detainees had been a problem to or in what way they toward the graveyard. The sanitarium graveyard is off
were troubled. The actual building that became the limits to everyone, especially at night. The terrifying
sanitarium was built on that same site, sometime in the screams that come from the building at night can be
early 1800s, and Arkham Sanitarium was both hospital heard in Arkham proper, carried on the wind. This did
and institution. A fire, rumored to have been started by not seem to alarm anyone until in the 1950s, when the
one of the patients trying to “keep away the shadows,” entire building was evacuated for two days, to nearby
toward the end of the century, burned half the building Sefton Asylum, due to a gas leak. Lights off and empty,
to the ground, sending the wing with all the records up what should have been a still and silent building rang
in smoke. Its rebuilding was interrupted by the typhoid still with the same terrified screams, perhaps even a
outbreak of 1905, so the new facility wasn’t completed little louder.

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
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
The university’s origins are hazy at best, legends say-

BACKGROUND ing it was once Arkham College, once a Massachusetts
Miskatonic University is near Arkham’s downtown. land-grant school, and once a satellite location for Salem
Since its inception, the university’s relationship has College. Even school records are vague on the topic, and
been symbiotic with the town’s population. Rising and the university simply cites its origin date as 1880, though
falling during the university’s academic year. it clearly has a history much older than that.
Miskatonic University 73
In the early years of Miskatonic University, it served physics to journalism, theology, or creative art. The
as a medical school and research center. The university Miskatonic University Press publishes articles of note to
was considered Ivy League and attendance was elite the university, but also details the activity of alumni out
and highly paid for. The result of this was a low stu- in the world. Often, journalism students use past gradu-
dent-teacher ratio and a hands-on approach not seen at ates as the subjects of their graduate thesis.
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.
MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY
Medical students were allowed to sit in on patient LIBRARY
visits as part of their coursework and laboratories were The Miskatonic University Library is housed in the
open around the clock if the fancy for experimentation new Henry Armitage Library building. It once stood
struck. Over the years, such lenient policy has necessar- in the old Miskatonic College building, the original
ily been made stricter. One notable incident that caused structure that started the colleges in Arkham dating
students to need to reserve laboratory space with pro- back to the 1600s. The building was updated through
fessor oversight was Hebert West’s line of inquiry into the years, and when the medical college moved into the
the nature of death in the 1920s. Accreditation require- Dr. Allen Halsey Building in 1945, the library moved in.
ments in the 1970s caused even more restrictions on the Construction on the Henry Armitage Library building
hands-on approach to teaching. started in 1998 when damp conditions in the Miskatonic
College building led to the loss of several ancient texts.
The university quickly grew to include new pro-
The library moved into its new home in 2000.
grams. A general college of science was added in 1901
that included chemistry, archeology, and biology. That The Miskatonic Library is home to thousands of
coursework extended to include physics in 1910. A small original texts, first editions, and sole copies of works
engineering department was added in 1936, and a teach- that have barely been seen by the world. These texts
ing program was added in 1950. are almost uniformly donated from researchers, alumni,
and friends of the university out of travels. Miskatonic
The university was resistant to allowing integration,
University houses the largest occult library in The
with the first Black person accepted in 1918 and the first
World, and possibly in all of creation.
woman in 1943. Now the university is home to a diverse,
marginalized population that includes attendees from Through the years, the library has made efforts to
nearly every nation in the world. 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
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? setbacks such as loss of information, broken machines,
Miskatonic University maintains its prestigious dead librarians, one theft, and a slew of minor setbacks
position as an Ivy League University with its medical all seemingly random and unrelated. Efforts to fully dig-
school being recognized worldwide as a place for ad- itize started in earnest in 2014, and about a third of the
vanced medical procedures, research, and award-win- collection can be found on the library’s website. Much of
ning graduates. Graduating from the university carries the collection sits behind paywalls or university logins,
with it an honor, regardless of grade-point average, and but more popular texts are available for free if you know
it especially endears graduates to the Arkham residents. what to search for.
The university continues with its hands-on ap- Despite this, people still come from all over to study
proach. Each student must complete a research project at the library, gaining academic passes and temporary
as a requirement for graduation, even those studying enrollment in order to study what can be found there.
such mundane coursework as library science or jour- And the people who come are always a little bit stranger
nalism. The university prioritizes laboratory time (with than normal.
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 MISKATONIC MEDICAL
stifling. Instead, the amount of focus on academic pur-
suit gives the students the necessary impetus to not only
SCHOOL
The Miskatonic Medical School is still the largest
succeed but excel.
aspect of the university grounds and contains over 60
Students attending Miskatonic University can earn percent of the student population. Miskatonic University
degrees in anything from microbiology, chemistry, and was second in the race to create a model for DNA, the

first to successfully clone cells, the first to map the hu- • Someone that has a Bond to one of the Band has
man genome, and the first on a long list of discoveries come down with a magical disease. All attempts
concerning the human condition from brain function to to cure it, both mundane and magical, have failed.
reproductive care. Miskatonic University is the best chance to inves-
The medical school is unique in that most of its med- tigate what the disease is and what its cure might
ical students spend the extra time to earn an MD-PhD be, but the Band is on a clock to find a cure.
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
MYTHOS INFLUENCES
The largest Mythos influence in Miskatonic
join hospitals and clinics as doctors. Even the nursing University is found within the stacks and shelves of
program sees its students continuing on to nurse practi- its library. From tomes such as the Necronomicon to
tioner and research nurse degrees. scrolls containing summoning rituals for elder gods
and eldritch horrors. Such a high concentration of ar-
STORY HOOKS cane and occult works has drawn the attention of the
Mythos twice over. Every single Great Old One has a tie
• One of the Band members has been invited to give
to Miskatonic University in some way or another. Some
a talk at Miskatonic University about their favor-
pull Scions directly from the University, while others
ite subject. Such a request is a prestigious event,
are bound through some relic that’s been stored in the
and one not turned down lightly. When the Scions
library’s vaults for so long the University has forgotten.
arrive, they realize their Bandmate has been lured
into a trap. Cultists hope to harness the Scion’s en- It doesn’t help that student inquiry has always
ergy to summon an Old One, and they have some tended towards the macabre or the strange and hav-
nasty Mythos creatures on their side to help take ing such a robust occult library on campus means that
the Band down. students find themselves summoning mythos creatures
with frightening regularity. Scions find that Miskatonic
• One of the Band members is contacted by a librar-
University is almost like a Terra Incognita that has crash
ian from the Miskatonic Library. It seems that all
landed on the World and spread its influence all over
volumes and tomes that have anything to do with
Arkham. Mythos Scions come to Miskatonic University
their God have been stolen. To what end, though?
to find cults, followers, or just to use the library when
The librarian fears someone, or something, has
other resources just won’t do.
insidious plans and asks the Band to investigate
the theft.
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
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
and fishing grounds, and the poplar trees that grew along
BACKGROUND the Minnechaug River made excellent canoes. In 1636,
Prior to the arrival of English colonizers in what William Dunwich and his brother Noah settled along
would become Dunwich, the Indigenous Algonquin the Minnechaug terrorizing the Algonquin. The ongoing
people did not support villages in the area; they’d set colonization ended with the Algonquin entirely driven
aside the area now known as Dunwich State for hunting out of the area by the end of the French and Indian War.

The white invaders renamed Minnechaug to Dunwich, and his wedding ring still shone. His father told him he
right down to the river itself. oughtn’t, that the foundry had its jealous ways. His fa-
The town submitted petitions to the colonial courts ther spoke of Dunwich Steel as if it felt, as if it knew, and
repeatedly before being incorporated as Dunwich in Michael, a modern man of the 1970s, knew better than
1763, less than 500 souls. Within five generations, the his father’s superstitions.
Dunwich family name disappeared entirely from church When Caroline rushed to the hospital, weeping in
rolls, birth announcements, and death notices, replaced the taxi, the nurse told her he’d caught his ring on the
by the Longseers and Nashes. Were this the entirety of ladder. The only explanation: why else would he have
the story of Dunwich, no one would pluck out its name suddenly slipped and fallen screaming, the skin on his
from a long list of similar New England towns. hand inverted where the ring caught on the ladder’s
The Dunwich Horror unfolded as the town watched metal? A man without a right hand can’t do the job they
in fear. No one talked about the heroic scholars who hired him for.
came from outside into the cursed town. The learned For two generations, the workers of Dunwich Steel
professors from Miskatonic University were merely kept its unwritten rules tattooed on their hearts, and
human, doing the thing Gods and Scions feared. They their polite, quiet, and deeply suspicious ways meant
fought the Mythos and its spawn Wilbur Whateley. the town saw few visitors. The people preferred their
For two generations after the Whateley farm went own company, and when Dunwich thrived, Dunwich
up in flames, Dunwich thrived. After Lavinia’s wander- needed no one. Outsourcing and global competition
ing in lightning storms brought fire and brimstone to the drained the life from Dunwich Steel, and the last ma-
farm, after the scholars from the university came and chine hissed to silence 20 years ago. The stories of who
unearthed what lay sequestered in the remote clapboard died when a beam came loose, and the fact that Dunwich
buildings, after the black-eyed Susans and mountain lau- Steel went up in the same place where the men from
rels grew up between the front porch steps and ivy burst Miskatonic drew down lightning and fought something
through the sides of the empty water barrel, Dunwich the Whateleys called? Those got lost. Those faded.
thrived. The florist’s window sits empty now, faded con-
Dunwich Steel built their big plant just off the struction paper and dead flies, an Easter display where
town’s main street. A thumbprint-sized blip on the map the owner’s daughter strung up a dozen white rabbit
blossomed into a bustling presence that included lunch cutouts with invisible string around their necks, obliv-
counters in the low brick drugstore, a florist, and a jum- ious to the image she’d created. The post office closed
bled hardware store. five years ago; mail gets delivered to the next zip code
over, and one mailman carries all the post that comes to
Something lived under Dunwich Steel. On this, ev- Dunwich these days. Children drain away, one after the
eryone agrees. For three generations, everyone’s known other, to the opportunities cities offer and Dunwich no
to avoid the old Whateley property, the house with its longer can. The old men who told stories of Dunwich
windows like empty, accusing eyes, the barn fallen to Steel and the things their grandfathers said about the
ruin, fire-chewed lumber collapsed halfway to earth and Whateleys went one by one to their graves, and the sto-
every day lurching closer to oblivion. Everyone knew, ries died with them.
and everyone stayed away. Scions of all pantheons kept
clear of the old Whateley place and the dead air that sur- The bindings the Miskatonic professors put on
rounds it and seems to steal the livings breath. the thing asleep under Dunwich Steel slowly eroded as
the wheel turned, coming loose — gradually, perhaps,
The workers at Dunwich Steel developed their own to the people going about what little business remains
superstitions. Don’t wear a ring while you walk the floor. in Dunwich. A generation isn’t much to things that lie
Don’t carry water in an enclosed container. If you heard sleeping for thousands of years. A generation’s hardly a
something behind you, late at night, when the plant’s nap.
gone quiet and all the third shifters keep watch over
bubbling pools of liquid metal, never turn around. Miskatonic Demolition knocked down Dunwich
Steel, and when they did, clouds of dust and asbestos
For two generations, Dunwich kept Dunwich Steel, spiraled up from collapsing metal beams. Ask the dem-
and Dunwich Steel kept the people of Dunwich. Regular olition team, and if they could, they’d say the clouds
paychecks, children ate their fill at dinnertime, and if, curled up into the early morning air in the form of
now and again, someone who didn’t obey the unwritten something sprawling and hungry. Something shaped
rules suffered the consequences, well, it was only as it like a mouth and a thousand eyes stretched up toward
must be. the lemon-yellow Dunwich dawn. Those men couldn’t
Thomas Vargo wore a ring on his first day, and why tell you, though; six hours after Dunwich Steel collapsed
shouldn’t he? He’d just come back from his honeymoon, forever, the century oak outside the Whateley farm
Dunwich 77
crashed across the road in front of their truck, and all county-wide district. Its brick exterior spattered with
five died. graffiti, windows broken, Dunwich High sits desolate
That night, a light in the window of the old Whateley in the middle of a patchwork of basketball courts and
could be seen for miles around, though no one lived there. parking lots disrupted by weeds. The wild areas around
Dunwich slowly reclaim what men built during the
Something slept beneath Dunwich Steel. Something town’s industrial era.
no longer sleeps.
Dunwich Elementary School serves now as both el-
ementary and junior high schools; high-school students
MODERN TIMES endure an hour-long bus ride to Consolidated Eastern
Small towns like Dunwich populate the northeast- High School, dragging themselves to the bus stop before
ern United States. At one time or another, some indus- dawn and slouching home mid-afternoon with piles of
try made its home in the town, building up homes and homework. Most high-school students must also help
shops around itself like a protective cocoon. When that their family with income, working at either gas stations,
business migrated overseas or simply failed, the cocoon the one remaining grocery store, or the massive discount
cracked open, leaving people and shops and homes supercenter 20 minutes up the highway. As a result,
abandoned, capitalism’s errant effluvia. Consolidated Eastern’s high-school graduation rate
Dunwich Steel lingered much longer than the plummets year over year, and the tying of funding to test
textile mills of North Carolina or Bethlehem Steel in scores and graduation rates further penalizes Dunwich’s
Pennsylvania. The foundry lurched onward, zombie-like, few remaining families.
until finally giving up the ghost in 2002, and even then, Those families that remain often do so because no
the buildings sat empty for almost 20 years before dem- other alternatives are open to them. Property values
olition. Something watched over Dunwich Steel as long decline, trapping older and disabled residents, or impov-
as possible, until the fight was lost, and whatever curled erished families, in homes no one will buy because no
beneath the concrete finally broke free. one wants to move to Dunwich. No one really chooses to
At one time, Dunwich had enough residents to move to a creepy, failing town increasingly isolated from
support its own high school. The building stands aban- even the nearest cities by its foundering economy and
doned after the school district’s consolidation into the failing infrastructure. As more people leave, the process

speeds up, further damning the town and leaving strand- Dunwich elects its medical examiners or coroners,
ed in it only those who absolutely cannot leave. 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.
PEOPLE Barrel-chested and red-faced, Michael looks more jovial
Even the old families in Dunwich suffer from the than he actually is; his family commands his complete
ongoing youth-based population drain. The Longseers loyalty, and more to the point, his mother has him
and the Nashes own an overwhelming majority of wrapped tightly around her pinky finger.
rental properties and struggle for precedents in their
shared stranglehold on local politics like ants jousting Like Dunwich, the Longseers give the impression
for the best spot on a log slowly sinking into a swamp. of slowly collapsing in on themselves; Michael’s gener-
Dunwich’s very own Hatfields and McCoys have been ation hasn’t married and produced the next generation
battling for control of Dunwich’s resources since before as profusely as Landon expected, a fact which comes up
the building of Dunwich Steel. They profited the most at every family holiday. The lack of acceptably bourgeois
from its ascendancy and benefit handsomely from the girls who would want to live in Dunwich entirely aside,
penury of its remaining citizens. he cuttingly remarks on the lack of great-grandchildren
every chance he gets. This tactic does not seem to mo-
THE LONGSEER FAMILY tivate his grandchildren to provide him with another
Landon Longseer, the family patriarch, claims he generation to lord over.
descended from the now-extinct Dunwich family re- Rumors fly about the potential interrelation of the
sponsible for founding the city. Whether or not that’s various branches of the Longseer family — one common-
true is under strenuous dispute by the Nashes, but it’s ly whispered comment holds they don’t so much have
hardly relevant to anyone except the families. Landon a family tree as a family wreath. Given that most of the
owns vast swaths of property inside and on the out- birth and death records housed locally rest in the hands of
skirts of Dunwich and serves as the head of the current Bethanne Longseer, Landon’s granddaughter via his son
borough council. Never one to miss a trick, he recently David and daughter-in-law Angelica, no one’s been able
purchased a foreclosure company that serves the area to definitively prove or dismiss that particular bit of scur-
in which Dunwich lies. He’s nearly 70 and now stooped rilous gossip about the family’s intermarriage proclivities
and worn, but his broad-shouldered frame still bears prior to Landon’s generation. Then again, the inability to
witness to the fact that back when Dunwich High School hide that sort of thing anymore might explain the sudden
still existed and he still had a full head of hair, he played dearth of great-grandchildren, or so the Nashes whisper
quarterback for the Foundrymen. He met his late wife, at Sunday brunch to anyone who’ll listen.
Anna Marie, at college and brought her home as just an-
other one of his trophies. Anna Marie’s sudden death six THE NASH FAMILY
years ago bubbled through small-town gossip as either Once upon a time, Judy Nash ruled Dunwich High
a tragic accident or potential foul play, but the medical School, a precious princess from one of the two families
examiner ruled it a heart attack. After all, the Longseer that counted as anything like aristocracy in Dunwich. No
matriarch had just celebrated 62nd birthday — it wasn’t place is too small to have its own royalty. In their senior
all that surprising. year, Judy and Landon attended homecoming together,
Landon’s daughter-in-law, Katrina Longseer, runs and everyone expected they’d marry. Then Landon went
Dunwich Property Services, making her one of the rich- to university and came home with Anna Marie.
est and most hated women in Dunwich. The company After that, any prior rivalry between the families
handles foreclosure services for banks, then snaps up the deepened to the point of becoming a localized war.
bank-owned properties post-foreclosure and turns them Judy never married, instead choosing to rule over her
into rentals. The money from rent goes to buy the next extended family as a sort of spinster matron with her
foreclosed house, and if she skimps on maintenance, her lifelong bosom companion, Daisy. Daisy died the day
tenants don’t have the resources to do much about it. Dunwich Steel closed and, since then, Judy’s grand-
Almost six feet tall, Katrina’s whip-thin body and nieces and nephews avoid her hellishly bitter presence
severe face give her the appearance of someone who as though she’s got some sort of contagious plague. Her
might collect puppy pelts for a coat. Utterly shameless only remaining sibling, Dennis Nash, has either lapsed
— some would say soulless — in her business pursuits, into senility or pretends to have done so to avoid her
she’s tossed more than one family out of their house at company. She storms around town in a noxious cloud of
the first legally permissible hour, assisted by her neph- White Shoulders perfume, leaning on her glittery pink
ew, Micah Longseer, who very conveniently serves as cane with a pink sweater wrapped around her narrow
Dunwich’s sheriff. shoulders. When she’s at home, she spends an awful lot
of time stomping around in her garden in pink galoshes,
Dunwich 79
tending her roses. Once upon a time, those roses won family’s farm when he began to tabulate numbers for said
prizes, when Dunwich had prizes to give for anything. census without her permission. That “leave us alone, we
The Nashes own almost as much of Dunwich as the neither need nor want your help” attitude persists as a
Longseers do. While Landon’s play at control comes strong through line of Dunwich thought to this day. No
from ruling over the borough council, Judy chose the one else could possibly understand what this town has
school board, local district courts, and social events as been through in the last 100 years, and why would they
the angle for her stratagem. Her grandnephew Mitchell trust anyone to try?
Nash, Dennis’ son, oversees the local district court, han- Steel injuries mark the vast majority of older men
dling matters both civil and criminal at the local level. in Dunwich as well as some of the oldest women — who
The fact that the school district has largely slipped out worked at Dunwich Steel during World War II, but some
of her grasp distresses Judy and makes her rather ob- of those women still live, though fewer every year. The
streperous whenever the topic comes up — however, the oldest woman in Dunwich, Ada Nolan Campbell (the
establishment of Dunwich State Park was her coup, a daughter-in-law of Shotgun Shorty), worked at Dunwich
fact she doesn’t let anyone forget. Steel during the war and can be persuaded to tell almost
Every few years, Judy picks another one of her anyone about the superstitions the foundrymen had.
grandnieces and shoves them into attempting to re-es- Shrunk almost to nothing, with short, curly, stark-white
tablish some sort of social calendar in Dunwich. She hair, Ada can no longer see, and can barely hear, but at 98
can’t accept the events calendar Dunwich hosted in its years old, her mind remains sharp as a tack.
heyday won’t ever return; USO dances, Fall Festivals, She could tell the stories more concisely; she just
even a local theater company please the Nash matriarch. likes the company. She’s also prone to “accidentally”
The lack of available public funds for such undertakings swatting young men with her white cane while smiling
inevitably dooms her proxy’s efforts, and she circles her beneficently. Her granddaughter Catherine, who looks
family like a shark, looking for the next sacrificial victim after her, spends an awful lot of time apologizing for the
while the grandniece previously responsible falls from harassment her grandmother seems to be able to get
favor until she does something fantastic like produce away with due to her age. Cathy and Ada keep a clean
another child. little cottage on the outside edge of Dunwich proper
Everyone else in town regards Judy’s grandnieces with Cathy’s trio of black cats.
as almost entirely interchangeable: harried like a poorly
driven team of sled dogs, herding around a flock of their MYTHOS INFLUENCE
own children as well as the currently elementary-age A hundred years ago, three professors traveled from
nieces and nephews, more worn out every year. Most Miskatonic University, following the chain of incidence
of them quietly urge their children to leave the nest as and evidence left by Wilbur Whateley’s dissolving
quickly as possible and make good the exit their mothers corpse. They worked in secret, knowing the ancient
never managed. thing that sought to defeat could easily destroy them
Both families have plots in the cemetery of Dunwich and then rampage across Dunwich, and how Wilbur’s
Episcopalian, with old tombstones in the graveyard go- brother had shed his skin, taking on a form more suited
ing back over two centuries. Most of the limestone slabs to his father, Yog-Sothoth. They swore they’d killed the
no longer bear names or dates, but each family knows thing, but they marked stones with sigils carefully and
their plots from the other’s, and they upkeep the grave- left them buried ever-so precisely in the earth outside
yard as competitively as they do everything else. Dunwich. Dunwich Steel’s concrete floors kept the sigils
entombed, and the stories kept the thing sleeping.
EVERYONE ELSE Concrete cracked by controlled explosions releases
Caught in the crossfire, the rest of Dunwich’s popu- toxic dust, asbestos, and stink into the air, but the dis-
lation generally attempts to keep well out of the way of ruption of sigils and the death of the stories holding
the warring families, either by insulating themselves in the thing in place have left Dunwich a horror, waiting.
their own little familial bubbles or by leaving Dunwich Hungry. Yog-Sothoth and its spawn never left Dunwich;
entirely. It’s impossible to entirely avoid the Longseer- the men from Miskatonic University bound the Great
Nash feud, but people try. Old One’s child, broken free from the Whateley human
Intolerant of outsiders and protective of their slow- skin in which it had incubated. All manner of things in
ly disintegrating way of life, Dunwich’s residents skew Dunwich have played out according to the machina-
extremely conservative. An old story of some pride to tions of the Old One whose child lay sleeping, gaining
the older residents recounts how “Shotgun Shorty” its strength tenfold beneath the foundry. The rise of
Campbell, a tiny Scottish immigrant of the same era as both families and their endless war played out for its
the Whateley family, chased a census taker off of her amusement. The ascendance and crash of Dunwich

Steel? That, too. And now, like a pompilid wasp bursting The stairs shouldn’t move, and yet, they seem to do so,
free from the corpse of the spider it consumed to fuel relocating from one location to another within Dunwich
its growth, the Elder God’s spawn breaks free from its State Park as well as appearing on private land.
cocoon, still hungry. Something about the slumbering, The Stairs in The Woods always appear completely
trapped creature calls to other entities of the Mythos pristine, no matter how long they’ve been there: one
to bring it forth. The weaker the wards, the stronger its Scion of Goibniu, Sophia Aveline, reported finding a set
call. The remaining residence of Dunwich are unknow- of wrought-iron spiral stairs ascending to nothing, with
ingly trapped in the town to feed the creatures that are not so much as a bit of dust on their spotless black metal
coming. steps. When Sophia asked Dunwich’s residents about it,
most wouldn’t answer her, but the one who would — a
STRANGE TIMES teenage boy who agreed to speak with her on the con-
Dunwich State Park dition that she not ask his name, because “talking about
During the apex of Dunwich’s industrial boom, con- them is forbidden” — told her about another set of stairs
cerned citizens petitioned to have several hundred acres stranded in the depths of Dunwich State Park. When she
of mostly forest turned into Dunwich State Park. These followed his directions, stepping off the main hiking trail
days, the park’s maintenance suffers from the declining at the Century Oak and heading northwest, she found a
citizenry and a lack of state-level funding, turning it into staircase that looked as if some otherworldly hand had
as much a hazard as a tourist attraction. At one point, plucked it from a high-end townhouse, pristine cream
the ranger station had a full staff, but these days, there’s carpet and all, and placed it in the middle of the damp
just Sally Brooks, well past retirement but still spry. autumn woods.
White-haired, her uniform disheveled but serviceable, She stood there, watching, as wet red leaves scat-
well-mended and patched, she spends the days walking tered from maple branches, twisted in the air, then
Dunwich State Park’s trails from end to end, ostensibly drifted away from the stairs as if repelled by an unseen
looking for lost hikers. barrier, settling a full foot away from the lowest stair.
Sally eagerly talks with everyone and it’s certainly When she plucked up her courage enough to approach
out of character for Dunwich’s notoriously laconic the carpeted stairs, she felt her heartbeat pounding in
residents. Visitors often find themselves talking to her her ears, the sound of blood rushing to her head like a
until it’s too near sundown for them to make their way siren screaming. She got to the bottom stair just as the
entirely out of the park before the sun drops behind the screaming of blood in her head reached a fever pitch.
trees. Always apologetic, she constantly makes excuses With one hand resting on the handrail, she looked up the
for why she can’t see hikers back to the parking lot. stairs and briefly saw a dark smear of a humanoid form
twitching and hovering on the top step. She placed one
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dunwich State Park’s miss-
foot on the bottom stair, and the figure stretched itself
ing persons rate currently sits at double the state average
down the stairs, an inhuman jaw hinging wide as it bent
for all parks, county or state. Attempts to replace Sally —
impossibly toward her.
there have been several, over the last two decades — seem
to fail somewhere in the labyrinthine twists of state and Half an hour later, Sophia found herself sitting at
local bureaucracy. State employee unions disavow her, the foot of the Century Oak, and when she returned
and people have even questioned whether she’s officially to Dunwich, none of the town’s residents would even
an employee anymore, or just the only person who has look at her. She caught the eye of one or two people,
the keys to the ranger station. but everyone she tried to engage looked away, pointedly
turning their backs on her. Strangely, when recalling the
These questions go unanswered, and Sally persists
incident later, Sophia doesn’t remember seeing Sally
in her seemingly ageless old-lady watchfulness over
anywhere that day.
Dunwich State Park. Visitors sometimes report seeing
two shadows moving around in the ranger station win- Homecoming
dows after dark — one about the size of Sally, the other A pair of identical twins from overseas recently re-
much taller and slenderer. No one’s ever knocked on the turned to Dunwich, taking up residence in a trail on the
door of the ranger station after dark and reported back. old family land. William and Wilma Whateley began re-
The Stairs in The Woods constructing the old family home and buying up the few
pieces of available property in town. Their arrival has
In the woods surrounding Dunwich, several sets of
thrown the town into more disarray as the two leading
stairs sit isolated, leading to nowhere. Residents simply
families prepare for another rivalry. The twins spoke at
do not talk about the stairs, and outsiders who find them
the most recent town meeting about their plan to mod-
are more mystified by the fact that none of the locals will
ernize the city and increase tourism by highlighting the
even speak about them than about the stairs themselves.
quaint, rustic feel of the town.
Dunwich 81
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 con-
stant 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 denuncia-
tions 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 so-
lemnity, 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
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
Major Town Mascot/Sculpture: Statue of Achac and Abe, acknowledged as the city
founders
Fields: 1e Culture. 1c Survival
BACKGROUND LEAVING SALEM

There have always been people who live on the edge
Havenspoint has a deep and tragic history.
of society: loners, outsiders, those who are simply dif-
ferent. Sometimes in belief, ancestry; maybe it’s because

someone is a little odd or poor but, whatever the reason, with which they were traveling and head north along the
they are unwelcome in mainstream society. Much of the Merrimack River. During this part of the journey, they
time, they exist on the edge of society in relative safety. encountered several groups of Pennacook and spent a
The early New England settlements were no different. few days in an unidentified village. Honesty wrote that
Some who traveled from the old world to the new did so there was concern for the family when their father said
hoping to find a place to fit in and this worked for those that they intended to continue north and that they were
willing to embrace Puritanism. Others continued to live told to avoid the spirits that could be heard on the winds.
on the margins. Three days after departing the village, the fam-
This uneasy coexistence changed in 1692 with the ily entered a promontory along the west bank of the
Salem Witch Trials. While accusations flew and judges Merrimack River and decided to camp there for a few
widened their investigations to execute more inno- days with an eye toward making it their new home. It
cents in Salem, some looked on in horror and fear that was during the second night that the decision was taken
Salem’s fervor would cast a wider net and identify them from them. Honesty does not record everything that hap-
as targets. Some moved north, following the Merrimack pened that night in her journal, but it was momentous.
River. Others continued into what would become New The family was startled into wakefulness by the sound of
Hampshire, or settled on a promontory in the river and drums beating in the darkness. Her father and Patience,
formed the community that would become Havenspoint. the second eldest of the children, went to check on what
The settlement started with a dozen families, in the was happening, while her mother watched the younger
loosest sense of the word. While there were a handful of children. Honesty recorded that she slipped out unob-
related families, the rest were people used to living on served and followed her father and brother toward the
their own, daring to risk interacting with their old com- source of the drums. As they drew nearer and the drum-
munities only when the need was dire. Trust was slow ming quieted, she said she could hear the faint sounds
to develop at first, but it became easier as winter came, of strange, airy piping on the wind that rose to a great
bringing with it hunger and cold and possible death for crescendo. In response, the drummers began to beat
those who could not or would not cooperate. Through frantically as if trying to drown out the unseen pipers.
that first winter the community knew hunger and loss, Her father and Patience were some 20 feet ahead
it also gained by taking in outcast members of a nearby of her when she saw them surrounded by warriors. She
Indigenous Nations. kept as quiet as she could when they were led away, then
The people who abandoned their homes near Salem, crept back toward the wagons where she could keep
Arkham, and other coastal towns to found Havenspoint watch over her mother and siblings. The drumming con-
were an eclectic group. Several had come to the New tinued unabated until the first touch of dawn and then
World seeking the same religious freedom sought by stopped. She did not hear the piping again that night,
the Puritans but chafed under Puritan rule. The gods but this was not the last instance of that strange music
they believed in were far older than Christianity, har- recorded in her journal. Her mother and the younger
kening back to before the dawn of humanity. To say they siblings emerged from the wagon just in time to see her
worshiped these Old Gods would be a grave misunder- father and Patience depart the woods, accompanied by
standing. While they believed in the existence of these an ancient man, an aged priest of Kitchi-Manitou, and a
ancient beings, to worship them required a step into the pair of warriors. Her father and the old man exchanged
void. Instead, these believers took what they could in the words and went back into the trees with one of the
form of what the ignorant would call “magic” from the warriors while the other stayed behind. As her father
Old Gods while striving to maintain a balance and retain approached them, she saw a guarded smile on his face.
their sanity. A few found the names of ancient beings When he joined the rest of the family all he said to them
who walked the hills and traded their Old-World faith was, “We are home.”
for that of the pre-humanity alien entities. Others arrived over the following weeks, some re-
lated to each other, most not. As they arrived, Goodman
FOUNDING HAVENSPOINT Havens and the warrior, Achac, would speak with each
Settling Havenspoint occurred over several months. group’s leader for a while. Some moved on, while others
The initial settlers were Abraham and Dorcas Havens were encouraged to remain. Those who stayed disagreed
and their five children. According to the journal of about religion and a good deal of other issues but could
Honest Havens, the eldest of the children, the family left agree on one common ideal: They wanted to be left alone
Salem on April 4, 1692, following the Miskatonic Valley to live according to the dictates of their conscience. As
west despite the cold weather of early spring. After a a community, they agreed on a few simple rules that
few days, Goodman Havens decided to leave the group would serve as guiding principles and founded the vil-
lage of Havenspoint on August 11, 1692.
Havenspoint 83
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 the council and their efforts to develop the tenets were
of Havenspoint’s culture and the celebrations incorpo- a success and became the model for future governance.
rated an amalgamation of traditional hymns, Western Following a vote by the populace, the council continued
European folk music, and the music of the Indigenous to serve as the governing body. It took a few years to es-
people who joined the village. This grew into a new tablish how the council would function but, eventually,
genre of music that is the antecedent of music played in they settled on having four members rotating off the
Havenspoint and the surrounding area to this day. Music council each year to be replaced by residents selected at
was not the only cultural intermixing that occurred. random. The 12 general members would then elect the
One year after the founding of Havenspoint, Achac and 13th member from among the remaining townsfolk.
Honesty married. Their union symbolized the ethos of January 14, 1697 was The Day of Prayer and Fasting
the town: All were welcome who would accept the be- as the people of Massachusetts remembered the horrors
liefs, ways, and lives of the other inhabitants. The entire of the Salem Witch Trials and the fate of those falsely
town poured out in celebration of the event with one accused. Public figures involved in the atrocities apolo-
notable absence. The Smiths, a large family of relative gized publicly for their roles in sentencing innocents to
newcomers, did not attend the event. death. The people of Havenspoint honored the day by
What should have led to days of celebration instead remembering those who were lost and reaffirming their
turned to tragedy. The Smith family, recent arrivals in respect for The Four Tenets. Even though the town had
Havenspoint, was found dead in their home. The scene existed for less than five years, it was known through-
was grisly and those who saw the bodies swore the act out the region as an oddity. The ecumenical attitude
was not done by the hand of any human. The only sur- toward religion and willingness to live alongside and
viving member of the household was an enslaved person among Indigenous Nations made the colony’s govern-
named Hezekiah, who had been beaten almost beyond ment uncomfortable. The introspection on the part of
the point of recognition. the colony’s leaders regarding the witch trials benefited
The fact that the Smiths had heretofore refused to Havenspoint and the people continued their odd ways
free Hezekiah had been the source of much gossip and with little interference. The village continued to wel-
consternation around the town and threatened to divide come outsiders and with few exceptions.
the community. Some believed that the Smiths should
be free to manage their household as they wished, while
THE INTERVENING YEARS
others believed that keeping an enslaved person violat- The town continued to grow over the following de-
ed the spirit of the town. Threatened with permanent cades. The economy depended on agriculture first from the
division, a council comprising 13 randomly selected forests and, once they were cleared, from farms. The town
residents met to discuss the issue and, after several days, charter codified and enforced an agreement made between
announced that the governing principles of Havenspoint tribal elders and the council to preserve hundreds of acres
would be The Four Tenets. of forest north of Havenspoint called “Nigamo.” These
lands were sacred and could not be settled. Any who tried
Prior to the Smith incident, Goodman Havens and a despite the charter were run off, but the few who persisted
loose group consisting of Achac and some of the earliest in encroaching on Nigamo simply disappeared.
settlers formed a quasi-government for Havenspoint.
Matters that required public attention were discussed Legends grew about the cause of these disappear-
openly and decided communally. As the village grew, ances. An old trapper claimed to have found a great pit
this approach became unmanageable. The selection of deep inside the forest and when he looked inside, he saw

a huge column of smoke rise quickly to the mouth of the Havenspoint was largely untouched during the
pit where it smashed against the air as if it hit a solid wall. American Revolution. Some residents volunteered in
Most considered this the raving of a madman, but a few service of the revolution, serving as skirmishers and
gullible people believed him, leading to other incursions scouts. The only battle near Havenspoint was a small
into the forest in search of this pit. These acts resulted skirmish against British irregulars navigating the
in a handful of violent altercations with Achac and his Merrimack River out of Canada. Witnesses reported the
people and almost resulted in open warfare that was only British succeeded in forcing through a blockade enter-
averted when the now-elderly Achac and Abraham con- ing the woods and were never seen again.
fronted the interlopers. The commanding presence of the Through the 19th century, Havenspoint became a fa-
old men calmed frayed tempers and, after a conversation vored getaway for those with an artistic bent. The beau-
with the leaders of the group, everyone parted in peace. tiful Merrimack Valley scenery was desirable as a back-
This fortunate outcome of this incident was the re- drop for paintings Many visitors descended on the town
affirmation of agreements made between the people of in early August for the Founders’ Day Festivities. That
Havenspoint and the people who lived in the forest. In grew over the years to include a music and arts featuring
recognition of these events, the village erected a statue the unique sound of local music. Rumors persisted that
of Achac and Abraham Havens in the village square, there was an underground form of the local music that
where it still stands. was only played to accompany strange rituals, but these
stories were decried as myth by knowledgeable locals.
In 1703, Charity Havens established the Havenspoint
School of Scientific and Artistic Study to promote prog- The mid-19th century was when the values of the
ress in the arts and sciences. The school was open year- town truly shined. Several prominent families, including
round, and anyone was encouraged to enroll. Due to the the Havenses, the Smiths (descended from Hezekiah,
wide age range of full- and part-time students and the who had taken on his former enslaver’s surname), the
need to establish a defined curriculum, the school was Whateleys, and the Cabots openly supported the activ-
split into two academic institutions. Havenspoint School ities of the Underground Railroad. The Cabot family,
served younger students while Havens College became owners and publishers of the Havenspoint Herald, ad-
the institution of higher learning. vertised Havenspoint as a place where escaped enslaved
people could find refuge. These families also hired
agents aiding them to do so.
Havenspoint 85
This led to several attacks by slave catchers. One and is sold on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs.
account features an outlandish tale that after clashing The festival features a parade and reenactment of the
with armed townsfolk, they sent out an invisible being skirmish between the defenders of the forest and the
to dispatch the fleeing slave catchers. The sole survivor townsfolk followed up with a three-day music festival
was given little credence because he made the claims called FuseFest, featuring top fuse bands.
several years after the supposed encounters and was Havenspoint also faces a great challenge. Attracted
confined to a sanitarium. by the openness of the community, the artsy atmo-
sphere, and low housing prices, an influx of retirees and
MODERN TIMES other transplants from the coast are moving in. Some
Havenspoint continues to grow and has established are Havens College alumni who recall the flavor of
itself as a community of musicians, artists and artisans. Havenspoint in their youth and want to return there to
The population is ethnically diverse, comprising the relive those days. These newcomers and returnees buy
descendants some of the first residents (Indigenous peo- run-down rental properties, evict the tenants, renovate
ples, Freed people, and former white colonizers). The city the homes to their former glory, and move. While this
is the home of a unique genre of music called “Fuse” that helps ensure these old homes continue with a new life,
mixes traditional Algonquin music with that of the early it also means the people who lived in those homes are
settlers and goes back to the city’s founding. As was tradi- left with nowhere to go. Many families who first settled
tional in the beginning, all are welcome in Havenspoint. in the area more than a century ago have moved on, un-
The humble beginnings as a settlement for outcasts and able to live in the only homes they’ve known. With these
those seeking solace was not forgotten. Newcomers are changes, the newcomers bring demands that would see
asked to adhere to The Four Tenets as was expected of more of their type come to Havenspoint and destroy the
new arrivals in centuries past. Local farmers provide very things that attracted them to the city in the first
most of the city’s food and Havens College is a small and place. Some of the newcomers are insisting the city vi-
reputable institution of higher education. Tourists fill the olate the centuries-old pact with the descendants of the
streets from spring to fall, enjoying the scenery and out- Indigenous Nations allowing development in Nigamo
door activities, visiting craftworks and galleries by day Forest. Others have filed numerous complaints trying to
and spending evenings enjoying the local music scene at silence local music performances. The regentrification
one of the outdoor venues. It is an idyllic place with a of Havenspoint could destroy the city and change it
touch of seediness that makes it even more interesting. from the place it was founded to be centuries ago. These
Still, Havenspoint is not a wealthy town. Most residents changes have also raised the interest of land developers
live and die by the tourist trade and go the winter months who are using legal means to have the government seize
with little-to-no income. land from those that won’t sell. They are most interested
in the Nigamo Forest and the neighboring farmsteads.
Havenspoint School and Havens College continue
to thrive. Havenspoint School evolved into the local In recent months, the newcomers have managed to
public-school system, but continues to focus on provid- wield The Four Tenets as a club against what they see as
ing a strong, multi-faceted education. Havens College is threats to their property values and peace of mind. The
a well-regarded liberal arts college with around 3,000 most noticeable change is that the ever-present music
students. Relations between the town and the college are that once poured from the small cafes, bars, and shops
good, but as with any large institution in a small town around the town has diminished and, in some cases,
there are times when the college exercises undue influ- gone silent.
ence on local politics. The college president, Dr. Ananya
Acharya, Ph.D., is a stalwart defender of the school and MYTHOS INFLUENCES
works hard to raise money and grow the influence of Havenspoint and its environs have always felt odd,
Havens College. The faculty and student body are diverse mysterious, and bizarre. Before the first white settlers en-
and hail from all over the world. She has broadened the tered the region, Indigenous peoples stood as a bulwark
influence of the school over the past year through dig- against an incursion of chaos. Since time immemorial,
itizing the school’s selection of rare and occult books they’ve stood vigil at the mouth of a seemingly bottomless
and making them available online to the delight of occult pit that lies deep in the forest. On certain nights, strange
scholars and practitioners around the world. piping music can be heard resounding from the depths of
The Founders Day Festival is the main event of the the blackness and those who dare to look inside can see
year and includes a street fair, art festival and music the stars. Any who ventured into the pit were slaughtered
festival. The celebration balloons the population and by strange, shapeless masses of violence and destruction
brings in significant tourism revenue. The most promi- guarding the depths of the great hole. The elders devised
nent symbol of the event is the statue of Achac and Abe.
An image of the statue is part of the town’s branding

rituals to counter the music that came from the darkness need to investigate the rumors to find out for certain.
and trapped the guardians inside. These old families own ancient texts and know the truth
What the Havens family encountered that night in behind the old stories passed down by their forebears.
1692 was a ritual performed by the guardians in their Most important, they understand those texts and believe
continuing effort to placate the dwellers in the cave, the old stories. They have decided that it is time to act.
restraining them from pouring forth onto the surface.
Goodman Havens possessed knowledge forbidden by
STRANGE TIMES
church leaders about such matters and was able to im- The Dead Developer
press upon Achac and the nameless elder who led the The local coroner, Dr. Anne Quincy, M.D., and her
band of guardians that he understood what they faced assistant Joe Paine were sent by the sheriff to recover
and could aid them if they would allow it. After many the body of Carson Grimes, a real-estate developer from
hours of discussion, the elder and Havens came to an Boston who was to take possession of several farmsteads
agreement that the family could stay. Achac was desig- in the area. At least, the identification found in the pock-
nated as liaison between his people and the settlers. et of the torn pants belonged to Carson Grimes. The
Dorcas Havens studied music as a girl and had the body was described in the police report as grotesque,
idea of merging the musical styles of the guardians and with greenish skin, a wide mouth, flapping lips, bulging
the settlers into a counterpoint to the infernal piping. eyes, and strange ears. Beyond possessing four limbs, a
These efforts succeeded and fuse was born — something generally upright form, and a head atop the shoulders,
unique to Havenspoint and with an incredible purpose. the thing in no way resembled a human.
The music evolved over time, adding African compo- Incident at Phillips Planetarium
nents as the city diversified. At first, the changing of the
music worried those who knew the truth, but it seemed The fuse band Free People debuted their latest
the harmony inherent in integrating the music was es- composition, titled “The Music of Infinity” at the
sential to maintaining its efficacy as a ward against the Phillips Planetarium last week. Featuring their fuse
dwellers in the cave. In modern times, the music is all stylings combined with recordings of deep space, the
that keeps the dwellers at bay and those who would si- music accompanied an unnarrated planetarium exhibit.
lence the music risk the destruction of everything. Planetarium management was forced to stop the show
early when attendees began screaming. After the event,
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and
several people reported that midway through the show
the oldest families in Havenspoint — the Smiths, Cabots,
the stars changed, and they could see bizarre creatures
Whateleys, Peabodys and even ancient Abraham Havens
gathering among the stars. Emergency services treated
IV, scion of the city founder — have gathered to discuss
minor injuries on the scene but took several people to
their concerns with the changes to the city. They’ve
the hospital including one person who had damaged
heard someone is behind these events and realize they
their eyes trying to claw them out.
Havenspoint 87
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
6% South Seas Island
5% East Asian
3% Latino
Median Age: 37
Median Income: $31,000/year
Major Town Statue: A statue of Obed Marsh in the Old Town Center
Fields: 1e Subterfuge. 1c Academics
prospects. The town was near death when Captain Obed

BACKGROUND Marsh started up trade with the South Seas Islands for
Innsmouth is a small fishing town along the gold trinkets. This trade route brought immigrants to
Manuxet River in Massachusetts north of Arkham and the city, which changed the population demographics
south of Newburyport, founded in. The marshy lands drastically, and the already-remote town became even
surrounding the area made it hard for the town to grow more isolated from the white New Englanders.
in the early years, keeping it isolated from its neighbors
Marsh built a refinery to melt the gold into ingots and
except for fish exports.
brought some prosperity back to the town. While the fish
During the War of 1812, many able-bodied men joined were running dry, the gold kept the town on the map for
the military, and the town suffered a severe downturn. the next few years and immigrants helped the town grow.
The price of fish dropped, and some left seeking better Two more refineries and mills sprung up along the river
during this unprecedented time of bounty for the city.

the U.S. government and with the fear and hatred sur-
THE ESOTERIC ORDER rounding the town and its people, it wasn’t hard to get
OF DAGON them to come in and break up the Order. They had little
notice before the army arrived to round people up and
In 1838, Marsh’s trade partners were destroyed by
burn down buildings. They tried to torpedo Devil’s Reef,
inhabitants of a neighboring island. The fish were nearly
but the ancient city below that reef is far more resilient
gone and the city’s prospects looked bleak. It was at this
than modern weapons of the time.
time Innsmouth first contacted the Deep Ones, though
it wouldn’t be the last. Captain Marsh knew where his The Esoteric Order of Dagon was scattered, with
trade partners in the South Seas had gotten their gold, the survivors not captured by the government, fleeing
though he barely believed it. Desperate to save the to the nearby towns of Arkham, Boston, Havenspoint,
town, he took a metal idol they had gifted to him and and Ipswich. The remaining residents, too stubborn to
he dropped it into the ocean at a black coral reef a mile leave, continued along in their dilapidated and nearly
off Innsmouth Harbor — since named Devil’s Reef — and destroyed town. It took nearly a decade before people
prayed to the Deep Ones. started moving back, the stigma of the supposed plagues
that ravaged the city finally gone.
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 REVIVAL
fish to the harbor along with the gold. The first sacrifice Despite having been driven away, the Esoteric
was within days and the fish flooded in. Order of Dagon continued to visit Innsmouth twice
At the same time, Marsh created the Esoteric Order yearly, once on May Eve and once on Halloween to make
of Dagon, a cult to worship and carry on the tradition of sacrifice and consort with the Dagon at Devil’s Reef. The
sacrifice. The order ran all other religions out of town and residents maintained the fishing industry, though the
commandeered the churches. For nearly a decade, Marsh’s city barely grew due to the previous troubles.
scheme kept Innsmouth in prosperity with a railroad to The city was nearly a ghost town until 1942, when
Rowley carrying fish and ingots out of town, and shipping the remaining Marsh family members repurposed the
boomed. Rumors that the gold came from a found pirate’s refineries for steel and opened the harbor for shipbuild-
booty kept his true dealings secret, and most people simply ing during the war. The Marsh family had been avoid-
marveled that the fishing remained strong in the harbor. ing the government for decades by intermarrying with
In 1846, the sacrifice was discovered. The townspeople locals from Newburyport and even as far as Boston and
arrested Marsh and several others for murder. They re- changing their names. The old Innsmouth families were
mained in jail until the following May Eve, when the order’s cautious of inviting the steel industry, but knew they
sacrifice was due. That night, when they missed their sac- needed more sacrifices or their deal with Dagon would
rifice, hundreds of Deep Ones came ashore and went on a become moot. The wartime effort brought people into
killing spree. The town of thousands was reduced to a little the city from all over, including returning members of
over 300 , all of foreign descent and members of the Order. the order. The town boomed and shortly after the war
ended the city had grown to nearly 10,000 occupants.
The news reported the incident as a plague followed
The old town went through rapid repairs, and the inhab-
by riots, but only the remaining residents knew the truth.
itants tore down residences that were too dilapidated
Fearing another such incident, Innsmouth became ex-
to restore. The city expanded to accommodate the new
tremely secretive. It was at this time that Dagon insisted
arrivals, and it looked like the Innsmouth might finally
the people of Innsmouth breed with them to increase
grow out of its strange past.
their own numbers. Marsh agreed, taking a wife from
the Deep Ones’ numbers himself. The Order, now a minority, couldn’t stop rapid
growth and refurbishment from uncovering ancient se-
People in the surrounding areas shunned Innsmouth
crets long lost to them. In 1947, the mayor decided to re-
even more after that. Between rumors of plague and the
vitalize the old town by rebuilding its grand cathedrals.
bogs and marshes that made travel there difficult, most
They started with the old New Church Green, which
people wrote off Innsmouth as too strange to visit. The
housed the Esoteric Order of Dagon Hall. Workers sal-
Innsmouth people were just as wary of outsiders.
vaged curious artifacts from the building before its de-
In 1927, a young Marsh descendent — unaware of struction, including strangely carved tiaras and diadems
his heritage — was drawn to the city, and what he found made of a lustrous, whitish gold. The items went on
there terrified him. By then, most of the town’s residents display in the city’s government building, which sparked
were mixed with Deep Ones, and it was hard to hide some inquiry into the town’s history. The Order, worried
the evidence. Those too far gone hid in abandoned and that such an inquest might spark another culling, sought
dilapidated buildings, along with rumored Shoggoth, out and destroyed all the files pertaining to that time
though he never saw the terrifying creatures. He notified
Innsmouth 89
period, which was no easy task as the highest levels of established families in Innsmouth running out the few
the government had record of what had happened. They diverse voices struggling to survive in the city.
infiltrated everywhere in order to preserve their own.
The Order’s efforts took nearly 20 years, and in that
THE TOWN TIME PASSED
time the steel industry moved on, leaving only one work- For the next 40 years, Innsmouth was a town forgot-
ing refinery. Fishing remained the staple for the town, and ten by time and its neighbors. People avoided the place as
its population dwindled even as the order began to re-es- much as possible, those from Innsmouth avoided leaving
tablish themselves in the city. The old Innsmouth families the town as much as possible, and it grew more insular and
remembered the time when the order was in charge of xenophobic as time passed. In 1986, a highway between
the city and made space for them once more. Innsmouth Newburyport and Arkham completely bypassed the city,
returned to its status as an isolated, backwater town. The and the only people coming and going were people in the
1950s brought with it more isolation and fear as the most shipping industry bringing goods in and fish out.

open and running off visitors, they have hidden their
worship in mainstream churches. They hide the con-
gregation 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 nev-
er undergo the full transformation end up as sacrifices
— often willing — during the twice-yearly celebration.
Those who are far gone with transformation con-
tinue 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 leader-
ship has taken the opportunity to gain tourism dollars
from those passing through.
In this vein, the old Gilman House has been reno-
vated 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
Innsmouth’s fishing industry has always been its
lifeblood. Commercial fishing conglomerates have taken
The last 30 years have proven hard for Innsmouth note of Innsmouth’s fertile waters and have tried sev-
as technology advanced and left them behind. Tradition eral times in the past few years to open fisheries in the
strangles the town, and the Esoteric Order of Dagon harbor and open processing plants on the river. The city
likes it fine that way, as long as no one looks too hard at is resistant to these advances, but the money they bring
what happens there. People not tied to the order moved in is more than the town can really afford to turn away.
away, and those lost and scattered came home to roost. With the influx of outside fishers, the Esoteric Order
The city slowly reverted to a majority of the people be- of Dagon is dangerously close to losing their cover and
ing in bed with the Order, literally. their control over the city.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? The Order has tried to prevent large corporations
The Esoteric Order of Dagon controls the city, even from moving into Innsmouth by refusing to sell land or
if they allow outsiders as government officials to keep accept agreements. Keeping corporate influence out of
suspicion from them. Instead of worshiping out in the Innsmouth has been harder than it sounds as companies
Innsmouth 91
have strangled fish exports from Innsmouth by lobbying Halloween is a similar affair, but instead of the nor-
for legislation and regulations that make their fish un- mal one-night celebration other towns partake in, the
sellable in its current state. entirety of October is converted into a celebration for
Innsmouth also suffers from a population who are the occasion. The old town is decorated in strand lights
universally disliked by outsiders and therefore suspicious and eerie music. Haunted tours take visitors past houses
of anyone who comes through town. Residents know that with strange sounds emanating from them — often the
despite all the changes Innsmouth has gone through over sounds of sleeping shoggoth. Each night people drink
the years, the racial stigma from the Obad Marsh’s day and revel. The spectacle brings in more visitors than any
still lingers through the region. As a result, the white other event of the year.
inhabitants exhibit extreme prejudice and racism against On both May Eve and Halloween night, children go
anyone of color to prove that they are worth their white door to door in costumes well before the sun sets. Adults
neighbors’ attention. Little do they know or care that put on their own costumes, with fish-frog people being
their neighbors will never see them in a favorable light. the most common one. The night allows to residents
This makes Innsmouth a dangerous place to live, who are farther gone than the others to go out and min-
even for the older Order families. Those who have the gle with their family and friends. Fireworks meet the
Deep One transformation are somehow fine, but anyone setting sun, and once the sun goes down completely, the
else who looks different they shun. They especially don’t streets empty.
take kindly to strangers, and after sunset it’s a dangerous Of course, visitors don’t know this, but the residents
place to be outside, not just because that’s when the all pack themselves away safely, knowing the Dagon will
Dagon come calling. arrive on Devil’s Reef and seek their sacrifices. Sacrifices
The town’s xenophobia and racism keep it in isola- are chosen wisely. Many are willing sacrifices, the old
tion and keep the people poor. The town itself is near who never fully changed to Dagon, the young who are
destitution. Buildings sit in disrepair or unused, the city wrapped up in the idea of the revel, and more than a few
streets are dirty and broken, and even the few restau- celebratory visitors who happen too close to the harbor
rants and groceries dotting the small town are dives. as the Order takes their sacrifices out.
Corporate money has the chance to revitalize the place, And if visitors see shapes moving and undulating
but the fear and resentment toward outsiders keeps peo- out of the reef, then they just think that there’s a big
ple from fully accepting that truth. party they weren’t invited to. And it is a party in the eyes
What’s worse is that the people of Innsmouth do of the residents. The Dagon drink, fuck, and feast upon
not view themselves as poor. Nearly every person owns the sacrifices and revel in the bounty their humans have
several pieces of strange golden jewelry worth a small brought them.
fortune a piece. And while they would never sell their
precious Dagon heirlooms, they believe the trinkets
STORY HOOKS
are proof of their personal riches. Even as families go • A Mythos Scion has a Bond to visit Innsmouth
without food or children go without new clothes, the for its Halloween celebrations. They haven’t re-
Innsmouth residents look down on the rest of New turned, and the Band must go there to try to find
England, and the United States, for their inferiority. out what happened to them, or exact revenge for
their sacrifice.
CELEBRATION DAYS • A report of a cryptid sighting draws the Band’s

Innsmouth has leaned in hard to their twice-yearly attention to Innsmouth. News coming out of the
sacrifices and the two days are celebrated throughout city always veers to the strange, so authorities
the town as the largest holidays of the year. People come aren’t giving it any credence, but images make it
in from all over the area to participate and revel in the clear to any Mythos Scion that the indescribable
spectacle, and the town delivers a great show. horror is not of this World. Are shoggoth on the
move, or has some other Mythos creature decided
On May Eve, the celebration is considered May to terrorize Innsmouth?
Day to those who are not fully in the know. The day is
filled with Halloween-like festivities and celebration of • Fish-frog-looking people have been showing up
spring planting. Children’s activities include mock crop dead all along the Miskatonic Valley, especially
plantings, fishing and sporting events out in the harbor, along the Manuexet River. No one has heard from
flower crowns, collecting candy and treats from adults, Innsmouth in some time, and when the Band
and costumes. Adult celebrations include drinking, day- arrives to investigate, it seems the town has been
time picnics, and sex. abandoned. Did the Dagon attack their own, or is
some other unspeakable monster wreaking havoc
in the city?

Mythos Scions who hail from Innsmouth are likely
MYTHOS INFLUENCES one of the many old families who are the backbone of
The Esoteric Order of Dagon runs Innsmouth. the Order of Dagon, meaning they are part Dagon them-
They haven’t completely taken over the town the way selves. Innsmouth is not fond of outsiders, and that goes
they had back in the 20s, but they are ever-present in all for Scions as well. Mythos Scions are more likely to gain
aspects of the city’s government and bureaucracy. The acceptance, especially those of Cthulhu or the sea dwell-
Order is as riddled with Deep One hybrids as they ever ing Albtraum. The Deep Ones don’t particularly care for
were, making the town still sit on the edge of normal, de- children of Gods, even those chosen by their own God,
spite the number of outsiders allowed to live there. They especially if it seems like that person might threaten
continue their worship of Mother Hydra and Father their livelihood or their goals.
Dagon, with more zeal and freedom than they’ve ever
A Mythos Scion could theoretically cultivate
used previously.
Followers or Cultists here, though they would need to
The Order may hide in plain sight among other reli- prove themselves very worthy indeed to do so.
gions, 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. TERRA INCOGNITA
Y’ha-nthlei lies on the ocean floor just under Devil’s
The other days of the year, the town is inundated
Reef. While this is not the only small Terra Incognita
with the worship of the Deep Ones. Little signs here
Deep Ones sometimes call home, it is the one that feeds
or there point to this, and if one looks hard enough,
from Innsmouth. It is accessible only from swimming at
the Deep Ones are literally everywhere in town. The
a certain angle toward the ocean floor from Devil’s Reef.
buildings in the oldest part of town, near the wharfs,
Getting in and out is surprisingly easy, and the edges of
have been gutted and repurposed to hold the half-fish,
the Terra Incognita are porous, allowing things to come
half-toad beings that people turn into when they aren’t
in or flow out at will.
yet ready to take to the sea. Inside these warehouses and
boarded-up homes are tunnels leading out to the sea Y’ha-nthlei is an underwater city filled with Deep
where people and Deep Ones can traverse freely. Ones and their creations. While the realm is relatively
small, the city itself is huge. It’s built of massive irregular
Sleeping Shoggoth — giant monsters crafted by the
blocks that create walls and columns, soaring into the
Deep Ones and summoned by worship — also lie inside
ocean’s depths from its floor. The city lies in complete
these abandoned buildings. And, as before, the Deep
blackness, lit only by pinpricks of light coming from in-
Ones intend that once they have summoned enough
side the masonry itself. The columns hold nothing aloft,
Shoggoth, they can devour the town and nearby areas
but instead seem to give the impression of a gargantuan
in a bloodbath worthy of the great Cthulhu. Until then,
sea creature, huddled and spiny.
Mother Hydra and Father Dagon stay far away from
their children. 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
7% East Asian
3% South Asian
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
Major Town Mascot/Sculpture: Rusty, a North American Porcupine
Fields: 1e Integrity.1c Technology.
disappear, waves of immigration from overseas, and

INTRODUCTION people seeking safe harbor in a turbid world. Kingsport
Kingsport is a city of dreamers and broken dreams. has a way of holding onto its dreamers, of construct-
It calls out like a beacon for the lost and displaced, ing a maze of confusion around residents in its thrall.
sending signals through a distorted Fresnel lens. Its es- Many Kingsporters share a common story: washed up
sence is surreal. Under facades of coastal New England in Kingsport, hoping to find brief shelter and sanctuary,
timelessness and colonial charm lurks a dynamo illu- and then stayed much longer than expected, for reasons
sionist. This city’s history is marked by wanderers who that escape explanation.

angular stairways twist drunkenly up slopes, while tiers
BACKGROUND of houses pile up on one another like the strewn blocks
The sheltered bay of Kingsport, which cuts sharply of children. The front door of one house often looks onto
into the north coast of Massachusetts, provided a rich the roof or chimney pot of another. The city seems to
tidal mud flat for the coastal Agawam people to gather repel parallel lines. Kingsporters have long joked about
fish, clams, crustaceans, and other fruits of the sea. Its the ease of getting lost, “there’s ten ways to get from here
most prominent feature is Kingsport Head, a steep bluff to there, and none of them are right.” Frequent ground
of granite that surges skyward from the coast. There fog adds to its reputation as a city of disorientation.
are no summits along Massachusetts shores that are
In the early 18th century, Kingsport also became
even remotely as high. The cliffs spawned Indigenous
known as a center of religious freedom, due to Quaker
legends of love stories and family intrigues, all of which
influence and language in the town charter likely in-
end in tragedy or plummeting murder. Other tales warn
spired by Sir William Penn. Church steeples from ob-
of over-curious characters who wander too close to the
scure sects blossomed in the skyline like daffodils after
foreboding, Stygian tidal caves at the foot of the cliffs.
a spring thaw.
The first European arrival was a small colony of
Only a few European Kingsporters fought in King
English castaways, bound for Virginia in 1623, when
Philip’s War in 1675, but across New England the land
a gale blew them off course and onto the jagged rocks
was stained with blood, with 40 percent of the entire
submerged under Kingsport Bay. The group did not
Wampanoag population killed, and many captives of
survive its first winter. Its leaders chose to set up camp
war — as well as allies — sold into slavery. The Agawam
against a bluff in the shadow of Kingsport Head, exposed
people who occupied land around Kingsport and Cape
to weather and failing to account for seasonal shifts in
Ann largely abstained from the war, and instead assim-
wind direction. Many died, though some survivors fled
ilated into European communities under protection of
to other colonies and lived to recount their horrors.
English law.
A second colony sponsored by the Dorchester
By the time of the Revolutionary War, Kingsport had
Company set down roots in 1630, building on the aban-
mostly stayed away from conflict, with a pacifist streak
doned ruins of the first. Abundant food in easy reach
among town elders and an isolationist approach to poli-
made Kingsport Bay a tempting place to linger, but salty
tics. Most were neither loyalist nor revolutionary. Those
land and uncooperative weather made farming ardu-
who wanted to join the fight moved to Danvers, Ipswich,
ous and unproductive. Several Kingsport residents fell
or other nests of resistance along the coast.
victim to the same witch panic of 1692 that claimed so
many Massachusetts victims, associated most with near- The 19th and 20th centuries saw Kingsport trans-
by Salem, where many have now embraced the problem- form from fishing village to an industrial textile-mill
atic history as a tourist attraction. Three Kingsporters, town, with waves of factory workers emigrating from
two women and one man, were convicted and hanged Southern Europe, Ireland, and French-speaking
from a gibbet on the road to Arkham. These executions Canada. These newcomers were treated with suspicion,
are rarely spoken of, and the family names of accusers resentment, and xenophobia by a Protestant majority
and victims have been changed to shed shameful asso- across New England, with many empowered bigots in
ciations. The site bears a humble bronze placard now, Kingsport and the rest of the Miskatonic Valley sowing
overgrown with raspberry brambles and rarely visited. fear of newcomers with particular fervor.
In time, Kingsport developed into a fishing village.
The colony expanded into a jumble of stout buildings MODERN TIMES
made from white pine and red oak, a few of which remain Contemporary Kingsport is a weird, faceted com-
today. Aside from the brooding presence of Kingsport munity with the forces of industry, tourism, past, and
Head, land near the bay features steep hills known as the present in tension and concert. Some new arrivals find
Three Sisters. They are named Beacon Hill, Central Hill, the town’s strangeness exhilarating and alluring. People
and Grave Hill. Below them, an underground river flows tend to wash up in Kingsport and get stuck or lost.
through a karst-like network, segments emerging like
The demographics of Kingsport shift rapidly.
darning stitches in scattered parks, exposed hillsides, or
Pockets of foreign-born communities crop up and
running through root cellars of ancient homes. Sloped
thrive as Kingsport’s policy of open doors welcomes
graveyards look down from the hills, concealing buried
them. While many have moved on to larger cities,
secrets. Along the shore, rotten wharves perched on bar-
small neighborhoods of people fleeing strength remain
nacled pylons sway precariously with the tides.
anchored there. Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish,
Geological quirks and inconsistent bedrock caused Franco-American, Chinese, and Russian Jews arrived in
the town’s map to grow in strange ways. Roads wend the mid-20th century. Later waves of arrivals included
haphazardly and aimless, labyrinthine alleys and Vietnamese, Cambodian, Central American, Serbian,
Kingsport 95
Sudanese, Somali, Afghan, Angolan, East Timorese, ADDICTION
Uyghur, and many other small communities. Some
Kingsport is no stranger to drug addiction.
neighborhoods feel like windows into far-flung nations.
Massachusetts has been hit hard in recent years in a
In the 80s and 90s, refugee communities came mostly wave of opioid use, and methamphetamines and design-
from Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union as well er “club” drugs have lingered for years. The state has
as Serbia, Bosnia, and other parts of the former Yugoslavia. recognized Kingsport’s higher rates of addiction, and
Nowadays arrivals are coming from Iraq, Syria, Burundi, the city receives extra funding for treatment. Miskatonic
Rwanda, the Congo, Angola, Djibouti and Ethiopia. University’s school of public health has launched several
experimental pilot programs to collect data and explore
REFUGEES AND ASYLEES alternatives. Kingsport generally welcomes the supple-
In 1985, Kingsport’s chapter of Catholic Charities mental funding, but none of the experimental programs
launched a refugee resettlement program that was en- have shown much success.
abled under the Refugee Act of 1980. Over the years, the
group has supported waves of immigrants and asylum HOMELESSNESS
seekers fleeing conflict or disaster, and the municipal Homeless shelters and centers in Kingsport are
government has supported these arrivals with services overflowing, and services are strained. Several factors
of their own. Kingsport has refugees and asylees from may cause unusual rates, including the city’s reputation
more than two dozen countries, and students in the for providing meals and beds, the copious hidden spaces
city’s public-school system speak more than 60 languag- and sheltering overhangs that pepper the city’s chaotic
es other than English. The city provides special services design, and a historically accommodating law-enforce-
for health, adult education, and other resources to help ment approach. It’s also possible that the Greenish Flame
newcomers to get on their feet. has been calling out to wandering minds. Whatever the
While many Kingsporters welcome new arrivals, cause, homeless numbers are peaking, and camps have
some resent the city’s support for refugees as a drain on cropped up in tucked-away spots.
taxes and a threat to “American” traditions, code for the
status quo of white New Englanders. There is a small but
KEY LOCATIONS
outspoken xenophobic minority that expresses opposi- Circle Square
tion in demonstrations and newspaper editorials. These In the approximate center of the city, between the
voices have recently ramped up their public rhetoric, Three Sisters, is the old town commons where colonists
and there have been increasing incidents of violence and held public markets, previously known as Circle Court.
harassment in the city. The shape of this area has changed over the years, lead-
Refugees and asylees often face difficult men- ing residents to start calling it “Circle Square” as an in-
tal-health issues and cultural shock when they arrive, joke. The name was officially changed in the 1970s, when
adapting from harrowing struggles in countries of origin the area was the stage of many public demonstrations.
to an alien world, shattered identity, onset of PTSD, The square, now more of a rhomboid, remains cobbled
overall displacement, and discrimination. and has been preserved as a pedestrian-only zone to
encourage people to patronize downtown businesses, an
STRATIFICATION effort that has only been modestly successful. Many of
Successive waves of newcomers in Kingsport over the city’s oldest buildings ring the border.
the years have stratified the town into groups of new Circle Square is home of the city’s chapter of the
residents and old residents, legacy communities and new Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants,
communities, insiders and outsiders. Some of the oldest known as ORI, which resides in an ancient-looking
families with ties to colonial founders harbor a sense of storefront with diamond-paned windows where the up-
entitlement and privilege over new arrivals. While many per story overhangs the square in a mock medieval style.
town elders embrace what they see as a welcoming atti- This office is a center of activity and community for
tude toward immigrants, contributing generously to char- many foreign-born residents, where free English classes
ities or opening the doors of their homes to host displaced are conducted most weekday evenings.
people, “good deeds” come with strings and expectations.
New arrivals often struggle with feelings of being lost and Rusty
stuck in an alien world. The cycle of more established On a pedestal in the center of the square, there is a
Kingsporters discriminating in subtle ways against newer hunched, strange-looking anthropomorphic figure made
communities has repeated over generations. Less subtle of wrought iron mounted on a pedestal of pink granite.
tensions sometimes escalate to violence. The sculpture, nicknamed Rusty, depicts in crude detail

a North American porcupine standing on hind legs and but occasionally graves are disturbed as the communi-
howling at the sky. ty’s need for space grows. Most Kingsport residents cur-
Rusty is the mascot of Kingsport. An apocryphal rently use a graveyard on the edges of the city limits on
legend recalls the first European colonists blown off the way to Arkham. There are rumors that the lost dead
course during a storm while en route to Virginia. The still wander the city in search of their own gravestones.
desperate castaways saw shadows scuttling on the shore Bridge City
and prayed it was game, but when a small hunting party
Two short bridges span over a section of Kingsport’s
landed ashore a porcupine ambushed the group and
river in a spot downtown where subterranean waters
skewered them all with its quills. The Hall High School
surface. The structures provide shelter for a small home-
adopted the porcupine as its mascot in the late 1950s.
less tent community that has entrenched there. Bridge
In 1978, the city commissioned folk artist Eduardo City expands and contracts with the seasons, but is
Silva to make a metal statue of the mascot. The result largely left alone by Kingsport law enforcement, as long
was controversial. His creation is an abstract anthro- as its residents remain out of view and do not attract at-
pomorphic creature that stands in a tortuous hunched tention. Bridge City enforces its own rules, maintaining
position, exaggerated quills curving out of its back like its invisibility, informally appointing its own mayor and
a bouquet of sabers. The town council nearly voted council, governing itself as a neighborhood hidden on
against placing it in Circle Square, but it was installed the fringes of society.
despite protests. The controversy flared up again when
the new casino unveiled an image of a cartoon porcupine Kingsport Harbor
wearing a minuteman’s tri corner hat as its brand logo. Fishing boats, cruisers, marine patrol “enforcers,”
Burying Ground beefy tugs, and whale-watch liners crowd the waters
of Kingsport Bay. Slips, wharves, and marinas skirt the
One of the Three Sister hills has long been used town’s shoreline from one end to the other. Marine
as a cemetery. Many of the remains from the first traffic is busy, and the channels are tight around rocky
English castaway group were interred in the hillside. shallows and tidal mud flats. Fish shacks, weathered
Some stones mark multiple graves dug hastily before eateries, abandoned warehouses, and bric-a-brac shops
the ground froze that tragic winter. Many were never contour the shoreline.
marked at all. In later years, plots were more structured,
Kingsport 97
Minuteman Casino dumps a load of swordfish bait into a sewer. Other sleep-
walkers may be more active, retaining memories of their
A crushing economic slump hit Kingsport in the 80s
relationship with the Flame. A trio of substitute teachers
and 90s, shuttering downtown businesses and turning
gathers in the Nethermost Caverns for a council, digs up
the once-thriving city center into a gallery of abandoned
the graves of four town elders, and then buries them on the
buildings. The city teetered on the edge of solvency.
same night. Whole councils of Stewards meet in the attic
Town leaders, desperate for investment, accepted one
of the old Market Building for a secret congress or gather
sketchy tax abatement scheme after another. None bore
to paint eldritch symbols on police cars or perform a small
fruit. The most recent is a grand hotel and casino, built
sacrifice ritual around the pylons of a new bridge.
on a peninsula on the south end of Kingsport’s harbor.
The project involved a long saga of community division, Scions share a much stronger connection to the en-
public outcry, and statehouse shenanigans to get the gam- tity but are not in its thrall. Some sleepwalkers are aware
ing license approved for the newly named Minuteman of Scions of the Greenish Flame and form the backbone
Casino. Historians and Kingsport’s old timers roll eyes of a cult devoted to them.
over the marketing; Kingsporters largely abstained from Kingsport Glitches
the Revolutionary War. Complaints persist, but the casino
has added jobs to the city for the first time in many years. For most Kingsport residents, the quirks and tears
The addition has also drawn a new population of lost in the fabric of Kingsport’s reality remain mostly hidden
residents. Slot machines attract rows of hopeful gamers, from view. Some may spend a lifetime without noticing
retirees, and those with stubborn compulsions, whose eccentricities. Others quickly forget the ones that they
fortunes slowly drain into the seductive flashing lights. witness. Some may notice easily dismissible phenomena;
unusually frequent déjà vu, peripheral hallucinations,
The casino’s greenlight also sparked outrage from conflicting memories, moments when time stands still, or
a Wampanoag Nation that was not federally recognized a whole afternoon that seems to pass in just a few minutes.
until 2007. They applied for a casino on Cape Ann and
do not appreciate the competition or the fast-track speed More observant residents start to see patterns emerg-
with which Kingsport’s Minuteman project was handled. ing. Some take notes. Others use digital tools to build the-
ories and connect with groups who share observations.
The glitches are irregular and contradictory, defying clear
MYTHOS INFLUENCES patterns. Theories proliferate. Government experiments
Kingsport is under the thrall of a powerful Mythos gone wrong. Alien technology. The terrorists.
force, the entity known as the Greenish Flame. The Flame is Those who experience intrusive projections suffer a range
an alien column of living energy that carries out inscrutable of side effects. Most forget or compartmentalize. Memory fades
plans at a geological pace, using subtle, nearly undetectable quickly if the witness does not speak about the experience
mind-altering powers to bend the community toward its with someone or somehow record it. Depression, mania, and
ends. The Flame took up residence in one of Kingsport’s loss of concentration are not uncommon responses. Some may
underground grottoes generations before the arrival of self-medicate for the intrusions, in the form of drugs, alcohol,
English colonists. Before that, it managed to influence a or compulsive behavior to outrun unsettling memories.
few Indigenous residents who cultivated food sources in
Kingsport Bay, but it wasn’t until the arrival of English Uncanny Corners
castaways in the early 17th Century that the Flame began to Sometimes the fabric of Kingsport’s reality tears,
establish a network and allies to carry out its odd errands. and the Flame throws up a hasty simulation to cover the
flaw. A new street, a new alley, or a new stairway appears
STRANGE TIMES in an unexpected place. Such glitches vary from unnerv-
Stewards of the Greenish Flame ing or uncanny to utterly bizarre.
The Flame that nests in Kingsport’s underground cav- There was only one cellar door a moment ago, but
erns forges special ties with select residents. This influence now there were too many to count.
is limited to one or two dozen people. The Stewards spend
Timeslips
their lives connected to the entity by an unconscious link,
occasionally performing small tasks as if sleepwalking. Residents who are deprived of sleep are prone to find
Some Stewards only carry out a few requests during their themselves thrust momentarily into a version of Kingsport
whole lifespan and remain in the dark about their roles. A that is out of step with time, suddenly thrust into a portion
firefighter finds herself adjusting the pressure of a steam of town that has long been changed or buried. The archi-
pump in the basement of City Hall. A librarian sets fire to tecture of buildings becomes old fashioned, pavement gives
an equipment shed at a city park. A Marine Patrol officer way to cobblestones, and phantom sounds of horse carts

haunt the night. These visions may be fleeting and quickly up, down, gravity, or perspective. These wanderers perceive
dissolve into an eerie but dismissible episode of déjà vu. surreal nightmare environments that evoke stark and irra-
tional dreamscapes such as those seen in the Cabinet of Dr.
She woke to the sound of creaking timbers. The
Caligari, or the works of M.C. Escher. Escaping from these
harbor was suddenly full of wooden ships, and the
realms requires rigorous puzzling across irrational paths.
streetlamps danced with oily flames.
The Dreamer’s Lighthouse
Windows and Lenses
Kingsport Light sits on Cow Island at the end of a neck
Glass has qualities that can disturb the Flame’s projec-
that stretches out from the south end of the bay. The brick-
tions, sometimes bending or amplifying illusions. People
and-wood tower dates back to 1853 and is still used as a
may look through an antique window, and see shadowy fig-
navigation beacon and staffed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Like
ures revealed in the reflection, or notice movements that lag
many lights in Massachusetts, it has been automated since
slightly behind. Some see through projections that others do
the late 1990s, but a keeper acts as tour guide. The light’s
not, or through walls and earth into spaces they should not.
first keeper was Carlton Webster, who as Steward for the
A huge soap bubble wobbled by. Gazing through it, Greenish Flame was able to hone an unusual talent for
the child saw every single one of the monsters again. lucid dreaming. During his solitude, he opened doorways
Shortcuts from the lighthouse into the Dreamlands, where he spent
eons exploring and mapping whimsical realms where time
Kingsporters sometimes experience odd occasions moves much slower than on Earth. After decades of pass-
when distances across the city are suddenly bridged. ing back and forth between the worlds, his talents opened a
These are folds in space that allow a person to turn a cor- permanent Axes Mundi portal in the lantern room. Passage
ner or down a stair only to end up somewhere they did through it requires an expert level of ability in lucid dream-
not intend to go. These experiences can be unsettling ing, or annotated pieces of Webster’s maps.
but are often explained away as the quirk of a distracted
The Old Church
mind. The jumps may be accidental, or they may be the
strategic movements of game pieces on a board. Many old churches crown the hillsides of Kingsport,
Each day for a week, Taylor shaved another 10 min- but one has a Georgian spire that rises higher than the
utes off her walk to the hospital, even though she tried rest. It is a stately, square building with clapboard sides
extremely hard to dawdle. that juts out of Beacon Hill like the prow of a ship. The
basement of this building was once a meeting space for
STRANGE PLACES Stewards, who dug tunnels into the labyrinth below and
Nethermost Caverns congregated with the Flame in secret rites. The trapdoor
entrance has long been bricked over, but the church stood
The Greenish Flame has claimed the catacombs under over the main entrance for so long that the area around it
Kingsport as its lair. Visitors might find a range of openings is subject to more frequent glitches in the Flame’s psychic
to the tunnel system: tidal caves, secret doors, tombs, wells, projections. It still functions as an ecumenical meeting
rivers, and sewers reveal that the city features copious sub- house, but many Kingsporters sense that something is
terranean spaces. But the Flame uses its perception-bend- wrong, and claim the church gives off “bad energy.”
ing powers to confuse and ward off intruders. Many of the
Kingsport Head
Flame’s Stewards hold keys that allow newcomers to enter
the lair. They may be physical keys that open ancient locks, Atop one of the highest points in coastal New
or a grave digger’s shovel, or cans of spray paint to draw gates England, there is a realm of eerie timelessness. The steep
that open into solid stone walls. The lair itself has an oily rock ridge is one of only two places in Massachusetts
black river that opens into a large cavern where a pillar of left untouched by glacial scouring. The vegetation on
cold light from the Greenish Flame rises out of a bottomless Kingsport Head is unlike anything in the rest of the
well, which empties into a murky garden of alien vegetation state, and researchers have documented several anom-
that the Stewards sometimes collect and feed to the Flame. alous species. This strange, high landform acts like an
The Catawampus antenna or a lightning rod for eldritch forces. The Lord
of the Great Abyss has appeared several times to resi-
Kingsport residents sometimes wander into a pocket dents over the generations, notably a hermit who once
realm of mind-bending imagery projected by the Greenish built a house atop the cliffs, with a doorway facing the
Flame. These are spaces where the Flame’s simulations have ocean that opened into nowhere. A phantom image of
gone completely wrong. Witness see vivid vistas of impos- this house sometimes still appears in foggy nights atop
sible architecture unfolding and collapsing, of angled stairs the bluff when time comes unfettered and drifts for a
and cobbled streets and gabled roofs that defy notions of lingering moment with the mists.
Kingsport 99
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 some-
thing 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
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
rescue someone, there is little fear or uncertainty in those simple as being asked to play a gig.
actions. It becomes more of a display of power against
While fainting as the resolution to an issue is decid-
overwhelming forces, while the Mythos is an exploration
edly unheroic, it still provides some ideas for structuring
into the unknown with fear and madness as one’s bond
the narrative. The act of fainting gives the protagonist
mates. The power of those tales dovetailing together is
the opportunity to deny themselves from seeing the
something greater than either in isolation. The power is
truth. A Mythos Scion may not understand or accept the
made clear when a hero’s outcome is at best questionable
truth of reality as presented in their story. That concept
and not fated.
excels in literature but less so at the actual gaming table.
NARRATIVE
That lack of agency robs the Scion, Demigod, or in some
cases a literal God, the chance to act.
STRUCTURE 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
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
companion succumb to the horror before them and faint,
flee, or be overcome. That conveys the horror, allows
has inexplicably studied troves of occult tomes, encounters the Scion to remain an active force, and relays on a core
something strange. Rather than shying away, he decides conceit of Scion. This resolution is difficult enough for a
to push forward until he encounters the nameless and pre-Visitation Scion, who should be impaired somewhat
hideous cause of this strange event and he passes out, but still allowed to act and becomes increasingly diffi-
which somehow results in the protagonist’s survival and a cult as the character experiences greater revelations and
greater insight into the workings of the universe followed fights against ever-greater threats. More than one Scion
by some reaction to that newfound knowledge. The stories chalked their visitation experience up to hallucinations
developed in Masks of the Mythos differ in a multitude and struggled to avoid using the powers bestowed upon
of ways because it’s the characters who cause those them as they try to keep their grasp on humanity rather
strange events; their Lovecraftian protagonist fainted, a than accept the awful truth about the universe.
NIHILISM VS.
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. HEROIC MYTH
The narrative steps are incident, investigation, reso-
lution, and insight or denial. Despite the Mythos Scions’
connection to the Mythos, there is a parallel to the stan-
BLOOD OF THE GODS
dard Lovecraft protagonist. The focus of the storytelling A standard Scion game is about Gods, humanity, and
is investigating the strange and unusual. Masks of the forging a destiny with the power of Fate. You were born,
Mythos borrows from the narrative structure of mod- blessed, and infused with divine abilities to battle the
ern Mythos stories by LaValle, Emrys, Butler, Wilson, ancient enemies, the Titans. It’s a tale in the vein of the
and Gaiman by providing an inciting incident that takes African medicine man who traveled to the land of the dead,
the character out of their routine. They may stumble Kalunga, for his king; of Beowulf who battled Grendel; or
on an old fishing village while backpacking, discover of John Henry who bested the machine to prove humanity
their ancestry links them to government-sanctioned can’t be stopped. Those stories are legends bound by Fate
imprisonment, suddenly inherit something strange from
Nihilism vs. Heroic Myth 101

and held up to the world to see. They are Scions using
their powers to defeat powerful rivals. COSMIC MYTHIC HORROR
Scions empowered by Mythos forces are not evil or
The Scion’s path is fraught with obstacles, but the
malignant by nature, they are simply something other
road they travel is brightly lit with divine guidance and
than divine or Godly. These forces are beyond the hu-
mysterious influence.
man constructs of good and evil, though the Scions who
wield them still must make choices within the human
THE STARS WERE RIGHT world, from a finite point of view, among the whole
Scion spins stories of humanity, Gods, and the union pallet of hard choices and challenges that bedevil the
of the two. Now let’s delve into stories of older entities. human condition. What happens to a heroic myth when
Humanity sometimes encounters beings beyond the illuminated by the strange light of alien forces? What
comprehension of finite minds. They may be called Gods does a hero look like, when they grapple with the vast-
by those who lack any other word to describe them. They ness of space and knowledge of the infinitesimal? What
are alien and unfathomably powerful, but they work in does a person do when infused with alien powers whose
the shadows and occasionally brush with humanity in nature separates them from humanity?
the periphery. The Mythos is alien in every way. The en- The Mythos is a grindstone against which Scions can
tities do not share moral or cultural values with humans. test heroic choices within the grayness and ethical con-
Their languages are ancient and unknowable. Their fusion of the modern world. The path of an ethical and
mathematics can create and destroy. They experience heroic journey is not brightly lit. As Mythos Scions, your
reality in more dimensions than humans. They have an powers and your very presence can disrupt the world in
entirely different relationship with time. Their goals and unpredictable ways. In an interconnected world, the rip-
desires are impenetrable. They are not here to help hu- ples of effects and consequences travel far and fast. Scions
manity. They are not malicious. They exist beyond our wielding alien power in such a fragile ecosystem are bound
realm, even beyond the Gods of humanity. to create some chaos in their wakes: rips in reality, the
Each Mythos entity intersects with Earth and its veil, and propagating more Mythos. Mythos Scions’ paths
inhabitants for different reasons. Some have plans that wend through thickets of challenges and complications.
stem from the planet’s primordial past, or a far future Mythos Scions, like Divine Scions, are not assigned
billions of years ahead. Some are just passing through. to be good or evil because of the forces that sponsor
Some are wild and erratic, creating and destroying whole them. They make choices, and those choices make them
worlds on a whim. To some, humans are little more than unique. That choice is the root of what makes them
an object of curiosity, like a bug in a jar. Though Mythos human. The chaos that follows in their wake disrupts
entities may be indifferent to humans, their influence the fate of all with which they intersect. Fate can perma-
still ripples through humanity. Most alien beings do not nently bind that which is eternally unknowable. What
crave reverence or demand worship from humans, but happens to Gods and Titans when their tales are broken
humans still tend to revere powerful entities as Gods. by that other outside of the wheel?
They build altars in their name, they study their histo-
Applying that level of otherness and horror to an ex-
ries, and they collect artifacts and alien evidence like
isting game can feel daunting, but there are a few ways to
magpies. But no matter how much praise is given, how
incorporate the Mythos. Some questions to consider are:
much devotion is shown, or how perfectly ancient rites
and rituals are performed, humans can’t truly under- • How much Mythos do you want in your game?
stand that which is beyond their capacity.
• Which elements of the Mythos do you want?
Despite these barriers, humans are tenacious and
• Are you allowing Mythos Scions to work with
curious to a fault. The impulse to wedge alien limit-
other Scions?
lessness into limited human structures is powerful.
Sometimes there are glimmers of success. Across human • What Great Old Ones best accent your campaign?
history, there have been moments of partial human com- If the Mythos is just a brief encounter to widen the
prehension, of unthinkable discovery and unnerving world or start a campaign, “The Scion Job” (p. 108) is
insight. Scattered across the globe are remnants and ar- a great start. Another intrinsic way to add the Mythos
tifacts that hold powers of alien science and mysticism. to your campaign is by having the Band travel to the
Though discovery, legacy or fate, a few humans have Miskatonic Hollow to research a clue, seek aid from
stumbled on these powers. A few possess the strength a professor at Miskatonic University, inherit a house
of mind and immutable character needed to cope with in Dunwich, or have an old friend housed at Arkham
these otherworldly forces. Sanatorium. The Mythos is less “jump out of the shad-
ows and fight you” and more a slow build to terror that
102 CHAPTER FIVE: MYTHIC MYTHOS STORYTELLING

erodes mental fortitude, ending with some unnamable understand. There are still gaps in human understanding
and indescribable thing assaulting you. The Mythos and knowledge, but now that we have answers to some
should be a nagging sense that something is not right questions, we naively assume that the rest will come in
that you can never put your finger on, always lurking time. Humanity believes it’s working towards complete
just at the edge of your senses. While Scions possess understanding of the universe, and just hasn’t found all
Godly powers, those abilities do not instantly defeat the answers yet.
the Mythos. The Mythos can break the Fates binding of In The World of Scion, magic is real. And yet it, too,
Heroes, Demigods, and Gods alike. follows rules and can be studied and deciphered. Scions
Playing a Mythos Scion is mechanically similar to themselves are proof of that. Even in this version of
playing a divine Scion. Their stories can even be simi- reality, where magic and science intermingle, humanity
lar to those of divine Scions but the more they engage assumes these two systems can explain everything, if
with the world, the more it changes it subtle ways. Their used correctly. The unfortunate truth is there are some
powers disrupt the world and that should always follow things beyond the scope of human comprehension. And
in their wake. they will remain that way. Or, at least, they should.
THE
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
UNKNOWABLENESS minds — are beyond anything the human brain can

comprehend. They appear evil, partially because they
(AND AWARENESS are unknown, and the unknown is frightening, but also
because their wants and desires are so far removed from
OF IT) 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
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
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 “madness” by outsiders, as Aware Scions react to seeming-
far better. But the difference between a human and a fish ly imaginary things and begin functioning differently. The
is nothing compared to the yawning gulf that stretches more Aware they become, the more they change — not just
between earthly creatures and those of the Mythos. They mentally, but physically and emotionally. To draw closer to
are literal and figurative giants, greater in size and power the Mythos, Scions must leave humanity behind. Often, the
than the human mind can fully understand. Even in sleep, work of severing ties is done for them; even the closest fam-
Cthulhu is able to reach beyond his own dreams and into ily members and best of friends will eventually be alienated
others’. He can see and feel and exert his powers, even by the behavior of an increasingly Aware Scion.
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 seem-
ingly mindless little pests that hardly register until they’ve
MYSTERIES AND TRUTH
made nuisances of themselves? Sure, we perceive some to be “Thus there is such a thing as being too profound.
prettier or smarter or stronger than others, but as a whole Truth is not always in a well. In fact, as regards the more
they are lesser. Funny, weak little things who operate with important knowledge, I do believe that she is invariably
inscrutable thought patterns. That must be how the Mythos superficial. The depth lies in the valleys where we seek
pantheon sees humanity: tiny, strange creatures who occa- her, and not upon the mountain-tops where she is found.
sionally entertain or annoy, but are mostly beyond concern. The modes and sources of this kind of error are well
typified in the contemplation of the heavenly bodies. To
Many people have tried to study and understand the
look at a star by glances—to view it in a side-long way,
true natures of those within the Mythos. Most are shat-
by turning toward it the exterior portions of the retina
tered by the truths they tried and failed to comprehend.
(more susceptible of feeble impressions of light than the
Humankind has discovered certain truths about the crea-
interior), is to behold the star distinctly—is to have the
tures’ origins, but these are empty facts that do not explain
best appreciation of its lustre—a lustre which grows dim
the more important whys and hows of their past and pres-
just in proportion as we turn our vision fully upon it.”
ent activities. The Mythos comes to us from the corners of
the universe: from space, from the depths, from parallel
— Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue
dimensions. They aren’t meant to be focused on. The mind
rightfully skitters away from them in fear. People know, in- Mysteries and the unknown, haunting dread; exis-
stinctively, that these beings should be left out of sight and tential questions about our place in the universe with
out of mind. To focus on them instead? To force yourself horrific twists are critical parts of any Mythos tale.
onward, to grit your teeth against your own instincts and These stories may include a lone protagonist uncovering
better judgement? To stare deeper into the darkness in their own family ancestry in a seaside town, questioning
search of the hidden shapes within, the knowledge those the strange behavior of an old friend who seems to be
shadows might contain? It changes people. Warps them. In two people in one body, or discovering long-forgotten
absolute darkness, the human mind conjures images where alien “treasures” in the mountains of Antarctica. Each
there are none, attempting to fill the void with something is a mystery unto itself requiring different approaches
known. It’s much the same for those who start down the with numerous steps to find the truth. The confronta-
path toward Awareness. They can never quite be sure if tion of the thing is secondary in Mythos mysteries; the
what they perceive is real or imagined. That fearful liminal pursuit, inquiry, gathering of clues, the endless hours of
space is exactly where the Mythos lives. research, and forming conclusions with those clues to
Scions of the Mythos operate similarly in the dark. uncover the truth is most important.
Their patrons’ true motivations are unknowable. Maybe The Storyguide weaves these complex, layered mys-
your Scion doesn’t care or has simply resigned themself teries, whether they are grand millennium-spanning
to the idea of following blindly. Or, maybe, they enjoy the affairs or smaller, more intimate ones. Regardless of size
strange honesty of such bald-faced obscurity. Plenty of and scope, these mysteries, conspiracies, and knowledge
people (and Gods, and Titans) conceal their true selves. humanity was not meant to know are crafted by Alien
The Mythos pantheon has no need for such deception. intelligence, unknowable Gods, or are long-lost to histo-
Its deities stretch beyond human imagination by their ry; many with their roots in times when the ancestors of
very nature. They don’t need to pretend to be above hu- humanity eked out a fragile survival in a hostile world.
man affairs: they simply are. They are not mundane cold cases requiring nothing
However, even if we can’t comprehend the Mythos, in- more than a single skill roll to resolve.
game Scions can. Maybe not at first, and certainly not with-
out great cost, but by digging deeper into the link with their CONSTRUCTING CONUNDRUMS
patronage, Scions can achieve Awareness and see beyond Before a Storyguide can craft a mystery, they need to
the mundane. Unfortunately, this often is incorrectly called know the essential components of:

Plot: This is frequently the unknown, Mythos, them to have all of the knowledge and they will make
or supernatural element interacting with the World. deductive leaps of logic based on the materials on hand.
Foreshadowing future mysteries and plots for Goliath Think about your antagonist’s motivations. Make a
mysteries (a collection of mysteries linked together for list of suspects or sources, what information is garnered
a great plot). Cosmic horror is not about violence it’s the from which avenues (lab work compared to interviews,
philosophical query about your place in the universe. compared to investigating sites), and focus on encourag-
Less about seeing the monster but questioning why, it’s ing a team investigative approach, as not one person can
purpose, and how it related to you? do everything regardless of their Mythos or divine blood.
Characters: These are the primary people with Provide vivid descriptions utilizing all senses, sen-
whom the characters interact. They are the victims, the sations, and suspense. Create a sense of dread by having
sources, the antagonist, and the inbetweeners. people watching them that just drive them off, leaving the
Settings: These are the locations where the mys- players questioning if that person was involved or just lost.
teries unfold. They are as important as the characters
in Mythos stories. They frequently have Fields that en-
hance or complicate skills. A “rundown” or “dilapidated”
WHAT KIND OF WHODUNIT?
building -- these are the kind of descriptive words that Mysteries in a detective style story frequently rely
should be used in the Mythos, giving a dreaded sense of on a crime of some type and the characters investigating
horror Think of which character reside in the location it to solve the crime. Mysteries easily fall within a model
before the mystery starts, The setting for each scenario that focuses on the characters. A few styles of play are:
or scene may differ but Mythos Mysteries should always Hardboiled: These are dark and frequently violent
retain the feeling of Cosmic Horror. stories involving criminal underworld or elements.
The Problem: This is the initial hook that brings in Frequently heavy on violence and adult themes.
the players. Likely linked to the dreaded horror. There Sherlockian: Cerebral type investion focused more
has to be something that needs uncovering: a murder, on analysis clues and forming deduction. Frequently
theft, secerts. The essential element is the problem and light on violence.
must have suspense. Procedurals: Work more like a police drama or ho-
The Resolution: The different ways the mystery micide investigation show. Can be heavy on adult themes
can be resolved. and violence but these events often occur offscreen with
The first questions a Storyguide should ask them- the characters investigating the incident.
selves are Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Thrillers: Suspenseful mysteries where the char-
Who committed the crime, who had the item, where acters are racing against to stop something before time
was it buried, etc. and who or what did they do it to? runs out.
Who is trying to stop them from solving this? What was Impossible crime: These mysteries focus on a
the crime? What is the mcguffin? When did it happen seemingly impossible incident that occurred.
(morning, afternoon, dead of night, a decade ago, tomor-
row)? Where did it happen? Where is it now? Where are
the characters? Why are the players getting involved? INVESTIGATIVE FUNDAMENTALS
Why did they do it? How did they do it? As discussed in Scion Origin (p. 73) information is
All of those questions and more are the mystery and broken down into two different types. Leads which are
possibly the Golitha mystery (a collection of mysteries always discovered during a scene and are the base link
linked together for a great plot). Each mystery is struc- to another scene in the scenario to propel it forward.
tured as a series of scenes with clues and leads. The leads Clues are additional information that aids the charac-
link to other scenes and eventually to the final confron- ters in uncovering things about the current mystery, the
tation. The assembled clues are what the players use to larger plot, or something that aids them in some manner.
resolve the mystery. The confrontation and mystery do Layered onto that are Red Herrings, which are false
not need to be the same thing. These questions help form leads or clues that hamper the character progress or
the scenes for the skeleton of the mystery and your plot. possibly place them in dangerous situations.
Any Skill (Scion: Origin, p. 58) can be useful in
an investigation, but some work better than others.
STRUCTURING THE MYSTERY Top-notch sleuths would do well to choose from
The skeleton is the backbone of the mystery but Academics, Culture, Empathy, Integrity, Medicine,
the moving parts inside of each scene are essential and Occult, Persuasion, Science, or Technology, and investi-
require a logical flow of actions to enable the players to gations often require use of Mixed Rolls (Scion: Origin,
use the clues to solve the mystery. It is impossible for 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 Chance Meeting. Failure introduces a new charac-
could require successful use of Empathy, Intimidation, ter who can offer help or information, though perhaps at
or Persuasion to get the needed information. Similarly, a price. For example, a Scion of the King in Yellow fails
a Mythos Scion of Nyarlathotep might be smooth and to persuade an actor to hand over a tattered playbook
charming, but they won’t understand a thing about the with a map. Before leaving, the Scion encounters an un-
rare disease at the center of an investigation without the derstudy that hates the actor and is willing to steal the
Science or Medicine skills. Characters in these situa- playbook for a favor.
tions can rely on assistance from other characters using Unlooked-for Advantage. Failure results in +1
Teamwork (Scion: Origin, p. 65). Enhancement to a future challenge, though it can’t benefit
a second attempt at the same goal. For example, a Scion of
ARENAS Cthulhu fails to find the cause of death during an autopsy
The two most useful arenas for investigative scenes of killer’s victim but made enough progress to recognize
are Mental and Social. There are times when things get the killer’s pattern and what to expect next time
physical, but most activities will focus on seeking out
THE MECHANICS OF
information. Investigations involve finding clues and
most of the time they are either recorded somewhere or
MYSTERIES
known by someone. Use the Mental Arena to seek infor-
mation 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.
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
APPROACHES
hundred years that has passed since the incident under
Any Approach is useful in an investigation, but
investigation happened the target number increases by
Finesse and Resilience may work better than Force.
+1 up to 10. At which point, the target number increases
Use of Finesse in an investigation could involve taking
the difficulty by 1 for every 200 years.
a targeted approach to obtaining information, such as
narrow searches for information or targeted questions If agents are actively operating to keep the mystery
for a witness. A Mythos Scion using Finesse quickly gets from being resolved, the difficulty for skills rolls that
the specific information they seek but may inadvertently agents could influence should increase by +1 to +4 based on
bypass other clues. Use of Resilience in an investigation their influence and resources. If a Scion is involved in ob-
represents the long, hard slog through thousands of scuring the mystery, the difficulty of skill rolls in attempts
records, hours of conversation with witnesses, and ex- to find information about the mystery increases by +1 per
haustive evaluation of all of the information obtained for point of Awareness or Legend they possess representing
every scrap of data pertaining to the investigation. This their interference per mystery. The increases in difficulty
Approach is great if you have time but may not work as are cumulative. For Mythos or Divine beings interfering at
well when there’s a deadline. a different Scale also impart a Narrative multiplier on skill
rolls up to their Awareness or Legend score.
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 CONSPIRACY OF MYSTERIES
the final scene. One of the best ways to achieve this is by Storyguides create a grand mystery or a Goliath
allowing characters to fail forward. Instead of outright Mystery that requires overcoming multiple mysteries
failing to obtain a clue, perhaps the Storyguide provides to resolve and may have active opposition. This may
a partial clue and a hint at what other information the include rival cults, rival Scions, Mythos entities, or even
characters need and where to get it. This approach is time itself. Their Threat represents the degree to which
built into the Storypath system through Consolation opponents work to undo progress or achieve their own
(Scion: Origin p. 70). victory, detect or capture the player characters, or sty-
Fateful Encounter. Failure reveals another approach mie the investigation.
to the character’s goals, through new information or Characters opposing a Goliath must overcome any
sheer coincidence. For example, a Scion of Rhan-Tegoth number of mysteries (Milestones) equal to the Goliath’s
links a number of clues together on their murder board relative Size + Awareness + Threat, to uncover the truth.
but fails to see the pattern. In a rage, they fling papers The difficulty of each Milestone is equal to the Goliath’s
off their desk and a key photo floats on top of the pile of Scale and represents scenes equal to the Goliath’s
papers that links the clues together. Size. Failure on Milestones may inflict Conditions.

Complications on Milestones may include increasing Awareness or Legend: If the Goliath is divine
the Goliath’s awareness of the characters (and therefore (likely, but not required), it has a Awareness or Legend
its Threat; if this would exceed 5, the Goliath is enraged, rating. Use the highest active member of the Goliath as
with suitable consequences). Success on a Milestone the base for this — a cult might be pledged to a rival pan-
represents focused but significant damage done to the theon, for example, but if it’s only being led by a Hero the
Goliath or actions that successfully impede the Goliath Awareness or Legend would be 1-4.
in some manner. When all Milestones are passed, the Size: The size (in terms of Scale) of the Goliath rel-
Goliath is effectively destroyed, even if it’s otherwise ative to the attackers; if Sizes vary, use the smallest Size
intact in the form of cult membership or a mystery still in the group and apply Enhancements relative to that
standing. The passing of milestones represents the end Scale. If the Goliath is essentially a collective (such as
of active opposition to the character’s progress. a huge network of cults or the population of a city), the
Use the following template for Goliath Size models their number.
Mysteries: Narrative Scale: This represents the Goliaths
Threat: Threat represents the Goliath’s willingness destructive powers relative to the characters and
or ability to directly attack the player characters, rated environment.
from 0-5; 0 represents a Goliath that is unaware of the Extras: If the Goliath has any particularly unusual
characters’ actions and only takes actions that impede abilities, list them here. Goliaths are most useful, in a
them unknowingly, while 5 represents a Goliath that storytelling sense, as a way to include conflict without
is both highly aware of and actively trying to harm the that conflict necessarily revolving around interperson-
characters. If the Goliath takes an action, roll its Threat al violence (though it can also serve as a big cinematic
as a dice pool and apply Scale (Dramatic against Heroes, boss-fight system, as well).
Demigods, and similar mythic beings; Narrative against
anything else).
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-Vis- Nancy Thomas, Ben Moore’s neighbor
itation Bands or newly empowered Scions experiencing the
Nancy is a Kingsport native, having lived in the
Mythos for the first time. The sidebars provide additional
building for as long as there’s been a building. She’s not
details to scale up the scenario and increase the horror. It is
the landlord but might as well be. She reports everything
a relatively straightforward affair to show the players and
back to him — and to everyone else, whether they like it
Storyguide how a Mythos investigation operates: investigat-
or not. The police no longer take her seriously.
ing clues, following the horror, and eventual exposure to the
Mythos. The actual greater Mythos moment is presented as Whispers, collector and auctioneer,
initially more narrative in nature here than with hard me- Legend 3, Awareness 2
chanics. This is an opportunity for the Band to make a few
Whispers recreated themself five years ago after
connections and a possible ally in the Miskatonic Hollow
losing interest in the Fate they were cast. They sought
and determine the fate of a powerful Mythos relic.
out new patronage from Donn to change the trajectory
AWAKENING
of their life. Whispers now spends their days as a collec-
tor of information and host of the Whisper Auction.
Glass, a.k.a. Heather Green,
wannabe-academic heiress
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
Heather is the heir to a toothpaste empire, has been
groomed for the job of CEO from birth, and wants none
a mysterious painting for his efforts, then calls his fence
of it. Her real passion lies in research, but her parents
Whisper on the way home to make a much needed few
have pulled strings to keep her out of academia. Recently,
bucks. The sale would help pay the interest on his ever-
her unfulfilled dreams have attracted some Eldritch at-
increasing gambling debts. That plan fell to the wayside
tention. Pre-Visitation Scion of Cthulhu.
after a few hours with the painting. He called the players’
Band to recover the painting but decided to act with Bones, a.k.a. Dr. Frank Mason,
valor again only to meet his end. Ben’s blood-splattered double-dealing archaeologist
apartment awaits the Band with the art nowhere to be seen.
Mason might have been scrupulous once, but years
The Band now face a race toward the truth — and of mediocrity have rubbed the sheen off his dreams of
the missing painting. academic glory. He now makes a handsome living steal-
ing artifacts from other archaeologists’ dig sites and
THE CHORUS selling them on the black market.

Ford, a.k.a. Trent Santos,
Ben Moore, fallen Scion, Legend 1 charming businessman, Legend 2
Santos divides his time between boardrooms and
Moore’s time as a Scion has always been one of
private clubs, using his silver tongue to make deals and
missing greatness, living without achieving fame or ful-
glean information. He never stays in one place too long,
filling his Fate. The capstone occurred when he failed
and never attaches himself too closely to anyone. His
to achieve a Band deed. But he kept trying to move for-
closest relationship is with his patron, Èshù Elègbará.
ward. He’s scrappy, resilient, and always gets back up
again. Mostly. He’s in his late fifties, balding, and long Cherish, a.k.a Temperance McGovern,
disillusioned with the “heroic” Scion lifestyle. He’s been “retired” millionaire
fencing stolen trophies from his victories for years now.
Temperance exhibits nothing of the sort. She views
The annoying little voice in the back of his head rarely
the irony of her name with the same dry amusement she
kicks up a fuss about it anymore.
applies to everything (and everyone) else. She’s a wealthy
Awakening | The Chorus 109

septuagenarian who lives only to amuse herself, often at Temperance’s Villa (Just outside Boston, MA)
the expense of others. There are very few people she
McGovern’s French-revival-style villa lies just out-
considers true friends. None of them are related to her.
side the Boston city limits, surrounded by a sprawling
Vitas Varnas (Outskirts of Arkham), garden. She moved in and remodeled the place shortly
Actor Adventurer, Legend 2, Awareness 2 after “retiring.” The villa is far offset from the street,
Varnas is a white male in his late 20s, with dark brown surrounded by a rambling lawn lined with a wrought-
hair and brown eyes. He’s kind and helpful, a little chaotic iron fence and more than a few security cameras. The
good, but also an enigma in regard to his background and architectural influence and the décor show touches
past. He uses his knowledge and wealth to aid those who of art nouveau here and there, mostly in the details. It
ask of him. As a Scion of Nyarlathotep, his help rarely makes for an exciting mix of curving forms ending in
comes without strings. If the players are trapped below sharp, narrow points, like thorny vines.
ground during the Auction, he’ll free them after Green
has departed. Mather Gilman, Gang Boss, Deep One DUNWICH
Gilman began a small gang in Kingsport nearly a de- Dr. Mason’s Warehouse
cade ago, muscling out a few of the more significant gangs. (3489 St. John Street, Dunwich, MA)
Gilman’s gang is only eight members strong but has a steady
Dr. Mason stows his ill-gotten gains in a tempera-
stream of currency, mostly gold, and uses brutal tactics.
ture-controlled warehouse in Dunwich, as the cost is
LOCATIONS OF NOTE
cheap, no one pays him any mind, and there are easy-
to-access semi-trucks. It’s a large warehouse, as they go:
about 8,000 square feet of the concrete floor and brick
The scenario can be moved to any town but is pre- walls, filled with shelves and shelves of crated artifacts.
sented as being in Kingsport. The dreamy nature of the Dr. Mason is in his makeshift office in the center of the
city dovetails nicely with The Dreamlands painting. A warehouse. It’s a large room made of tin walls. He has
devious Storyguide may amplify the painting’s abilities motion detectors set up throughout the warehouse that
reflecting the location or to add additional obstacles for feed to his cellphone and laptop.
the Band, possibly releasing other creatures or friendly
Dreamland beings trapped on Earth in need of aid. KINGSPORT
Ben Moore’s Apartment (Armstead Spire — 209
ARKHAM Gaiman Lane, Kingsport, MA)
Dr. Mason’s Apartment (Arkham, MA — 2 Blocks Moore’s apartment has historically been a mess,
from Miskatonic University) even on its better days. Today is not one of its better
Dr. Mason’s apartment is a messy crash pad near days. Claw marks ravage the walls, floor, and furniture.
Miskatonic University. The building is old but well-kept. Blood is spattered across the length of the corridor style
His apartment is decidedly less so, a beat-up couch here, apartment, mainly the living room, but there is no body.
a dark stain on the ceiling there. The fridge still keeps The Dreamlands painting is also gone.
things cold but emits a constant grinding noise as it does The Whisper Auction and Townhouse
so. He is not here and rarely is, spending most of his (1811 Elm Street, Kingsport MA)
waking hours at the warehouse in Dunwich.
A study in normalcy-for-show. Whispers doesn’t use the
townhouse itself much, except as a façade for the Whisper
BOSTON Auction. Guests who arrive early or late must figure out the
Trent’s Condo secret way downstairs for themselves. The library is the only
(The Kilroy — 25 Northern Ave, Boston, MA) other room Whispers uses with any frequency.
Trent Santos’ official residence is a condo in uptown The Whisper Auction is a party first, and an auction
Boston, but he uses it for little other than sleep. The second. There are tables of drinks and refreshments set
building is a new high rise. Santos is too practical for against the walls of the show floor, and gauzy draper-
the penthouse; he lives a few floors down in a simple ies hang in arcs across the ceiling. The items up for bid
but classy two-bedroom. It’s barely decorated, and what are represented by placards and photographs set atop
décor there is carries a distinctive red-and-black scheme pedestals around the show floor. The exact presentation
— a nod to his patron, Éshu Élégbara. varies depending on the item.
110 CHAPTER SIX: THE SCION JOB

The Labyrinth and the Vaults the Dreamlands. And there are other, subtler ways.
(Below 1811 Elm Street) Kingsport holds other gateways that have warped her
and the residents of the sleeping city. “The Dreamlands”
The actual items up for bid are too valuable to be painting, crafted within the Dreamlands, carries enough
displayed out in the open, protected only by glass and fragments of dream stuff to act as a portal between Earth
goodwill. They’re kept deep in the bowels of the Earth, and the Dreamlands.
in individual vaults tailor-made by Whispers themself.
Each vault has a unique lock and is booby-trapped inside One such skilled dreamer, Richard Upton Pickman,
and out. The path from the show floor to the vaults is was once renowned for his ghoulish artwork in the
twisted and treacherous. Optical illusions on the walls Boston arts scene. They raved about the depths of his
make the same path look unfamiliar from different an- imagination and vision, but it wasn’t his inspiration that
gles, sending trespassers in endless circles. The halls are was poured onto canvas. Pickman had managed to stum-
also studded with various traps, which must be carefully ble upon the Dreamlands. Led by the ghouls through
avoided or disabled. their labyrinth of tunnels from earthly crypts to the
nightmarish subterranean Underworld, Pickman was
Gilman’s Gang Hideout able to document all manner of creatures for portrayal
(475 Water Street, Kingsport, MA) in his paintings. However, his works were so disturbing
The gang’s hideout is a historical landmark that has that eventually he was disowned by the Boston Art Club
been in the Gilman family since the 1950s. The large and shunned by everyone who ever held him in high
house that was originally a post office in the 1860s is esteem. He continued to work in private, delving deeper
nestled next to the Miskatonic River. A sizable imposing into the dream world that inspired his art.
steel gate with an electronic lock protects it from un- Over the following years, Pickman divided his time
wanted guests. between his studio and the Dreamlands, aided by the
ghouls. With no human companionship, he instead found
NEWTON strange company among the ghouls and considered
them family. Eventually he even began to paint in the
The Green Estate (5 Cabot Street, Newton, MA) Dreamlands themselves, forgoing his studio entirely. His
The Green’s sprawling family estate is only a nod last painting, “The Dreamlands,” took him over a year to
to their privileged existence of being old money and complete. The painting is heavy, with layers upon layers
knowing nothing else. A simple web search will reveal of paint. The ever-changing landscape of the ends of the
the address of their Boston-adjacent estate. Green is the Underworld were impossible to document conclusively,
only Green who stays in the estate with any frequency. so Pickman used impressionist techniques rather than
The rest of her family is rarely home, preferring to spend his usual gruesome realism. The result is a master work
time in other houses across the globe. of impressionism and abstract expressionism far ahead
of its time. The painting is unnerving to view and burns
WHAT CAME BEFORE itself into every viewer’s memories.

Pickman presented “The Dreamlands” to the
Boston Art Club, hoping it would redeem his good
The Dreamlands are eternally old and new all at name. However, he received little more than a cold
once. They are ever-changing, visited and shaped in turn shoulder. The Boston Art Club was undergoing its own
by dreamers’ wills. The land is familiar and strange: a internal upheaval at the time and had no patience for
funhouse mirror held up to the world we know and what a disgraced recluse, no matter how stunning his latest
was. A blend of dreams and nightmares twisted together work. Pickman was turned away without fanfare. He
so thoroughly they bleed into each other. went back to his studio, left the painting among his other
Humans rarely access the Dreamlands without orphaned works, and then disappeared into the ghouls’
aid, and it is practically impossible for them to do so tunnels, never to return from the Dreamlands again.
physically. Those that enter are bound to tarry for a After months of unpaid rent, the landlord took pos-
few hours in Earth time that could be years to them session of Pickman’s studio and sold off the masterpieces
in the Dreamlands. No dreamer is destined for the to a local pawnshop to recoup losses. “The Dreamlands”
Dreamlands, though skilled dreamers subvert and can waited patiently, draped under a white sheet in a pawn-
enter the Dreamlands, the land of wishes and terror. shop, then in various private collections, leaving a trail
Others, on the whims of fate, find themselves fortunate- of death in its wake, and finally at an estate sale that
ly able to gain access. While practically unheard of, it is went wrong. A pack of ghouls slaughtered everyone as
possible for humans to physically enter the Dreamlands. Moore, who had planned to rob the collection instead,
There are maze-like ghouls’ tunnels, leading from crypts found himself dispatching the remaining ghouls. He
down into the ground and back up into the caves below scavenged a few trophies, including the painting, placed
What Came Before 111

an anonymous call to the Kingsport police department, • 7:15 A.M. The Band receives the voice message
and fled the grisly death scene. from Moore.
ROLLING FOR IT!

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
The Scion Job presents multiple times for the
a voicemail begging for them to take this cursed object
players to roll throughout the course of the scenario.
tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Unfortunately, he
Storyguides should remember the goal rule is to only roll
didn’t live to keep his appointment.
when it’s important, dramatic, or an action has weight in
EVENTS TIMELINE
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
This scenario largely transpires over the course of successes to succeed at the task.
48 hours, following “The Dreamlands” prolonged se- Some tasks may have a Complication (something
questration in a private collection. making the task harder) or Enhancement (something
March 2nd, 1929 making the task easier) associated with it. These also
range from 1 to 5 and are written as 2c or 2e.
Pickman’s latest piece, “The Dreamlands,” is reject-
ed by the Boston Art Society and he leaves Earth for the Example: Josiah rushes into Miskatonic
Dreamlands permanently. University Library with the thing hot on their
September 19th, 1929 heels. The smell of acid feeling the air, they
know that one of the tomes is the only way to
The landlord claims Pickman’s studio and all his banish it. Josiah grabs the book off of the dusty
remaining works. shelf and steadies themself. The Unnamable
Thing destroying everything in its wake dives
1929-1972 towards them. Hand extended, Josiah shouts
from the book to intone the ritual in the dark-
The Dreamlands passes through twelve collectors. ness. Casting requires an Occult + Resolve (2)
April 2nd, 1972 with 2c (no light in the library) and 1e (Josiah
is familiar with the book). To effectively cast the
Sarah Levy purchases “The Dreamlands” to add to spell, they needs three successes.
her collection.
THE SOJOURN
August 11th
• 7:30 P.M. Sarah’s granddaughter, Alexa, acciden-
tally activates “The Dreamlands,” releasing a pack
of ghouls.
• 7:20 P.M. Moore arrives at the Levy estate and
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
eliminates the remaining ghouls. Location: Armstead Spire, Apt 406
• 8:30 P.M. Moore contacts Whispers on the way Following the Path: Opening Scene
home. Whispers is only interested in the painting The Road: Crooked Law, What the Neighbors Saw,
and a jeweled frog. Hollow Halloween, The Golden Gilman
• 11:45 P.M. Moore calls the Band, leaving a voice The Band receives Moore’s delayed voicemail at
message. 7:15 A.M. The man’s voice is nearly panicked and is more
August 12th screaming than talking. “Hey, mate. I need your help.
I fucked up big time. This damn painting. It’s… it’s….
• 2:00 A.M. Moore attacks “The Dreamlands,” acti- Please come tomorrow morning at eight. I just can’t…
vating a portal and is killed. I can’t…. I am ...Armstead Spire, and the code is 6125,
apartment 406.” Then the message ends. Anyone check-
• 2:03 A.M. Thomas alerts the police and is ignored.
ing the timestamp notices the message reads last night at
• 4:30 A.M. Heinz reports the call to Whispers. 11:45 P.M. Moore is expecting them to come right away.
• 6:45 A.M. Whispers acquires The Dreamlands, It’s obvious Moore is frantic and near the point of
disguised as a police officer. 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

Moore as someone of lost potential, missed chances, Anyone entering the apartment is assaulted with
doomed by fate, and a Scion of Odin. Either way, they the stench of death (The scene is so powerful all rolls
know, he was always two days too late but never gave suffer a 1c unless some action is taken to dilute it). The
up and rarely asked for help. His message includes his four rooms — living room, bedroom, bathroom, and
address and the passcode into the apartment building. kitchenette — smell of fresh grave soil, rotting flesh, and
The proximity to the painting interfered with the call, waste matter. The small place is wrecked, showing signs
causing the message to arrive hours too late. of a sprawling battle that encompassed the entire cor-
Armstead Spire is a grayish building reaching some ridor-style apartment, destroying what little furniture
seven stories skyward and surrounded by fog billowing there was and smearing the walls with gore. The living
off the water from behind it, almost blending seamlessly room’s concrete walls are covered in fresh claw marks
into the background and easily missed. The sleepy lane that appear to have easily cut through the stone.
rarely sees much traffic regardless of the time of day. Any member of the Band who can view the past sees
Once inside the 1980s-style apartment building, the a distraught Moore grab a spear, slashing at the nightmar-
Band notices it has no elevator and a single, well-used ish painting. Moments before the blade hit, the painting
spiral staircase. Once on the fourth floor, no amount of pulsated; Occult + Intellect (2) recognizes that a portal
knocking on 406’s door gains any response from within. of some kind opened, and dozens of decaying creatures
After five minutes of knocking or loitering in the hall, poured out. Moore panicked and attacked them. Occult
the Band gains Thomas’s attention. If they look friendly + Intellect (2) or Academics + Intellect (2) recognizes
(professionally dressed), the athletic middle-aged wom- them as Ghouls. Three or more successes enable them
an opens the door saying “We are not looking to sign any to recall ghouls are peaceful by nature but easily after
petitions or join any organizations, and we are already provoked turn deadly. These turned out in great num-
registered to vote. Please leave.” If not, she calls the bers to defend themselves and each other. They killed
police immediately and makes an exaggerated display Moore in self-defense and destroyed his apartment in
of opening the door to close it loudly. All actions interac- the process, then fled back to the Dreamlands. The last
tions with Thomas suffer 1c. thing the vision perceives is the constant knocking and a
Persuasion + Presence (1) stays her fingers from di- woman saying, “Be quiet in there or I’ll call the police!”
aling the police and has her chat with the Band instead. Investigating the living room uncovers several clues:
She answers a few questions before returning to her
• On the dried-blood-splattered floor are over two
apartment to possibly call the police. She keeps it light
dozen smeared footprints. Careful inspection
and never leaves her partially opened door unless the
turns up one usable footprint, a paw print of some
Band impresses her or makes her feel safe. She has the
bipedal human-sized creature with three clawed
following information if asked:
toes. Surveying (Close Combat + Intellect (2) or
• Moore came home late last night with a large Medicine + Intellect) the blood patterns reveals
package under his arm. that not enough blood is present here to have
killed Moore, and if he had left under his own
• Moore has not left this morning.
power, he would have left a blood trail. Additional
• Persuasion + Composure (2) Moore made a loud successes reveal there are hard edges to a few of
commotion last night. the blood splatters on the dingy carpet. This is
• Persuasion + Composure (2) She called the police where Moore met his end, trampled to death.
and a uniformed officer came by this morning. • Aware Scions, with Occult + Resolve (3), notice
• Persuasion + Cunning (3) She provides any infor- the lingering effects of an Eldritch presence
mation in What the Neighbors Saw (p. 114). here — the air moves in strange patterns nearest
the spot against the wall that’s large enough for a
The Band must break in if they want to investigate
painting.
Moore’s apartment. Inspecting the lock reveals it was
recently tampered with. Whispers, disguised as a po- • There are a few disrupted spatters low on the
lice officer, flattered Thomas back into her apartment, right wall, too, where Moore propped up the
broke into 406, and acquired a few choice items. Then painting. A light smear of blood starts gradually
they locked it behind themself, hoping to slow down in the middle of the room and ends abruptly in
the discovery of the incident, after being alerted by this same spot, where the bottom of the painting’s
Heinz. Whispers is shocked by the scene but takes “The frame would’ve been. The ghouls, scavengers by
Dreamlands,” the jeweled frog, and Moore’s Eyes relic nature, dragged Moore’s body back with them
that grants the Scion of Odin the ability to see in the dark. through “The Dreamlands” painting.
Searching the bedroom finds Moore’s open lap-
top 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, WHAT THE NEIGHBORS SAW
a file of bookies’ names with amounts owed and the due Location: Armstead Spire Fourth Floor
dates, all of which are a week away except one to Gilman Following the Path: Too Little, Too Late
that was due last week and is in bold. Under the leg of
The Road: Crooked Law
the bed is a pile of vomit, next to a shiny costume plastic
badge with the name “Harold’s Year-round Halloween” The Band may decide to question Thomas or any of
on the back. The stench overwhelmed Whispers who the other six neighbors on the fourth floor of the apartment
fled quickly, leaving the laptop open and not noticing building. Only two neighbors saw Whispers masquerading
their badge fell off until it’s too late. as the police. The first was Audrea Parker, a nine-year-old
girl walking her dog named Dog, and Thomas. Either of
Cracking Moore’s phone with Technology + Cunning
the two require Persuasion + Presence (2) or Subterfuge +
(2) reveals he called the Kingsport Police Department,
Manipulation (2) to share what they know:
Whisper Auction House, and then the Band hours lat-
er. The web browser is open to a Google map to Levy • (Both) The officer seemed to be in a hurry.
Collection House, an art gallery of some repute. Any
• (Both) They can give a vague description of
searches about the Levy Collection House reveal multi-
Whispers, but they did say they worked at the
ple homicides occurred early last evening. The Kingsport
Kingsport Police Department.
Police Department has custody of the scene.
• (Thomas) The officer was very polite and listened
Searching the bathroom and kitchenette turns up
to her unlike most of the rest of them. The officer
nothing of interest other than Moore rarely showered
even listened when she described the yelling, bang-
and never cooked. Piles of ancient Chinese fast-food
ing, guttural noises, a thundering noise, and then
boxes tower out of the trash can by some feet. The Band
nothing coming from inside Moore’s apartment.
has a few leads and clues to follow, including knowing
about the missing painting and Moore’s missing body. • (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 ob-
ject under a blanket and Mr. Moore’s backpack. May
ENHANCING THE describe something roughly the size of a painting.
MYTHOS • (Audrea) They smelled like rotten food and

looked like they had vomited.
One: A dreamlike haze remains in the Any member of the Band who specializes in the un-
apartment, providing surreal moments of derworld auctions, comes from an affluent background,
insight into the Band’s personal past. Each or succeeds on a Culture + Intellect (3) roll, may connect
Scion experiences a feeling of drowning in the dots between Moore’s plan to auction the painting
the memories and fighting for a breath. and Thomas’s vague description of Whispers. Scions
Two: Time in the apartment flows with connections to Netjer or Tuatha Dé pantheon
differently and from room to room. Any time communities may know about Whispers’ past as a Scion
the Band separates in the apartment, one of Ptah, or their current status as a Scion of Donn. By
group seems to experience time in hours leveraging their connections, Scions who put the pieces
for every minute they are apart. Once they together can find Whispers’ address in a few hours.
come back together, checking any time
devices confirms they were separated for
hours, regardless of how long it actually HOLLOW HALLOWEEN
was. Stepping outside of the apartment Location: Harold’s Year-round Halloween
shows that time has progressed normally. Following the Path: Too Little, Too Late
Three: The ghouls brought bits of treasures
The Road: N/A
from 200 years ago by accident and they
fell off during the fight with Moore. These The Band ventures across town to Harold’s Year-
jewels defy description and texture when round Halloween shop discover the small brick building.
touched. They seem to squirm in the hand It appears to have seen better days and is open from 7:00
and vanish into the ether after an hour. 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

does not know anything but offers to show them the only wooden business card bears an iconified “shush” gesture
police costumes in the shop. on one side and the other a coded address that looks like
Harold talks about loving Halloween ever since little more than abstract lines.
seeing the movie at the tender age of seven. After nearly If pressed, she’ll describe Whispers in simple terms:
an hour of searching or showing the costume badge, tall, slim, dark skin, long dreadlocks. Then she goes to
the shop owner recalls someone asking about a police get a coffee and whispers, “Leave.”
costume early this morning after they opened the shop. Inquiring about the Levy Collection gains cold stares
Harold can’t describe what the person looked like, and and places the Band under the scrutiny of the police who
once the topic is changed, they forget the person was have nothing but questions and clues they do not know
ever there. what to do with. A Technology + Intellect (3) roll with
An Empathy + Cunning (1) roll knows Harold is not 3c hacks into the station, a patrolman happily spills the
lying. Occult + Intellect (2) or sensing magic detects that beans as gossip with Persuasion + Manipulation (2), or
Harold has been forced to forget. Given the power of being on the force gains the following:
the magic, it is likely the person had sole access to the
• The Levy family (Sarah, Robert, Amber, and
shop owner, unlike the people in Armstead Spire, and
Corey) were slaughtered and partially consumed.
the magic was stronger. More than 2 successes allows a
The bodies appear to have been savaged by ani-
Scion to realize Whispers has Mythos relics capable of
mals, but all of the bites are human-sized jaws.
clouding Harold’s memories.
• They have two deformed bi-pedal humans with
animal features (ghoul) that have been slashed
CROOKED LAW apart with something impossibly sharp.
Location: Kingstown Police Station
• According to the record, a frog statue, painting
Following the Path: Too Little Too Late (“The Dreamlands”), multiple rings, and $5,000
The Road: Smoke and Whiskey in petty cash are missing.
The Kingstown Police Station is in the middle of • There was an anonymous call reporting the incident.
town and is a large, three-story building. While the
• Detective Jill Carter has been assigned to the case.
building could easily house dozens upon dozens of offi-
cers, the force is relatively small due to the lack of crime
in the city. If the Scions go to the station and mention THE GOLDEN GILMAN
Nancy Thomas, the desk sergeant answers with derisive Location: Gilman Gang Hideout
laughter. If pressed to explain, she states that they hear
Following the Path: Too Little Too Late
from Thomas every day, at least twice. Persuasion +
Manipulation or Academics + Intellect (1c as the desk The Road: Smoke and Whiskey
sergeant is focused more on his work than the Band) Researching Mather Gilman turns up that he is an
gains the additional information that Officer Heinz eccentric millionaire who has not been seen in over a
asked about her noise complaint last night regarding decade. He rarely leaves his home, but when he does it’s
apartment 406. Multiple successes lead to the Scions in his black, tinted-windowed limo escorted by three
learning that Heinz has been asking a lot of questions guards. The guards interact with the public and stop
about that apartment the last few years. anyone from catching a glimpse of the millionaire. A
The sergeant points to Heinz, a tall, broad woman Research + Resolve (2) roll scrapes away that veneer of
who rarely smiles and is hard to read. She speaks in a normalcy and allows the Scions to discover Gilman is
deadpan voice and gives away as little information as linked to a number of assaults, money racketeering, and
possible. If any of the Bandmates comments on her last protection schemes. His six bodyguards all have arrest
name, she’ll say something like “Yes, like the ketchup,” records for assault, theft, and arson but seem to be left
with long-suffering weariness. alone by the local Kingsport Police Department.
A little Persuasion + Presence (2) suffering 2c as Unless the Bandmates have underworld contacts or
Heinz doesn’t want to chat, Subterfuge + Manipulation references, they are here to pay Moore’s debt or succeed
(2), or directly asking about the auction has Heinz take a on a heavy dose of Persuasion + Manipulation (2) with 1c,
moment to size up the Band. She’ll ask for the password, as Gilman doesn’t like unexpected guests. The gang does
which Moore left on the voicemail they used to access not unlock the gate. The steel gate is electrified and has a
to his building; he changed it so he would not forget the sign stating it is always on. Anyone who touches the gate
number. The most she’ll tell the Scions is that someone is electrified (attacks with 4 dice, has the brutal tag). The
left a card for them, which she drops on the floor when gang calls the police on anyone staying outside the gate
none of the other officers are watching. The high-quality, for too long, as the building is protected by the city.
The Sojourn 115

Any Scion forcing their way into the house is greet-
ed by six goons. After three rounds of combat, the back
door opens to reveal Mather Gilman; a fully transformed GILMAN AND THE GANG
Deep One, shocking any human hangers-on with the
Band, who pass out at the sight of the horror. If any of This encounter is scalable based on
his gang is killed, he rages and attacks the Band. the Band’s make up. If the Band are pre-
Visitation Scions, the gang uses mainly non-
If not, if severely injured, or they are Mythos Scions, lethal tactics attacking with bare fist or brass
he offers to trade information. Mythos Scion gain a 1e knuckles. If they are Scions, the gang are
on Persuasion is interested in money; unlike most Deep hybrids (Foes instead of Mooks) granting
Ones, he resists the call to the sea and enjoys the com- them a few qualities and use deadly force
forts the world affords, for now. The urge grows stronger and firearms.
every day, and as his humanity subsides, his more alien If the Band is seasoned or well equipped,
nature takes hold. Gilman is a Nemesis rather than a Rival
What Gilman knows: 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. The upstairs includes four bedrooms, all of which
• Moore had a fence for fine art goods called are immaculate and empty. The downstairs consists of
Whispers. the foyer, a sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, and
a library. The sitting room and dining room areas are as
• Persuasion + Presence (2+) or + Strength (3+) or do- empty and immaculate as the rooms upstairs, and equal-
ing him a favor gains Whispers’ address and the code. ly as staged.
If the Scions negotiated initially but were rude,
The kitchen shows some signs of life; cooking is
Gilman has one of his goons for every three members of
one of the few things Whispers actually does in their
the Band attend the auction to watch them. If the Scions
townhouse. The fridge is full of fresh ingredients and
refused to talk and Gilman is severely injured in a battle,
leftovers. There’s a spice rack on the far wall, full to
he dives out the window into the cold waters behind the
bursting. The cupboards are stocked with nonperish-
house, attempting to escape.
ables like flour, sugar, nuts, dried lentils, and beans.
Entering between 7 and 8 P.M. gives the Band full
SMOKE AND WHISKEY access to the townhouse. No doors are locked here. Not
Location: Whispers’ Townhouse that there’s anything to hide — most of the rooms are per-
Following the Path: Crooked Law fectly staged, like something out of a furniture catalogue.
The Road: Mythos Auction The library is the most lived-in. The books are an
odd mix of reference material and fantasy novels in
The invitation is a high-quality wooden business
varying stages of use. One of the chairs, a tall orange
card. One side bears an iconified “shush” gesture, the
armchair near a bay window, is well-worn. Technology
other a coded address that looks like little more than
+ Cunning (2) with 1c from the high-quality device or
abstract lines. The code is an Ogham alphabet cipher,
15 minutes investigating reveals the chair is not only
which a Scion can instantly deduce with an Academic +
more frequently used than any other piece of furniture,
Intellect (2) roll or four hours of research. However, the
but also breaks the flow of the room. It’s set at an angle,
letters need to be read right to left and top to bottom, like
whereas everything else follows a grid layout. The chair
Arabic. The final translation is the address of Whispers’
is actually the way downstairs to the auction. If a person
townhouse, along with a time: 8 P.M.
sits in the chair, it activates a sliding wall panel to a de-
The time has come for the Scions to attend the scending staircase to the auction’s reception area under-
Whisper Auction. Whispers’ townhouse is inaccessible; ground. The chair rises back up after being dismounted.
breaking in requires Technology + Dexterity (3) until 7 A panel closes the sliding door below ground.
P.M., at which time the doors automatically unlock. If
If the Scions haven’t found their way downstairs by
someone gains entry before 7 P.M., Whispers quickly
eight o’clock, they encounter “Cherish” (Temperance
intercepts them. Though peaceful at first, Whispers
McGovern), a 70-something auction attendee, as she
won’t hesitate to use violence to protect their home if
enters the townhouse. Cherish wears simple, elegant
necessary. The Band is told to come back at eight o’clock,
clothes and carries herself with an air of self-assured-
“after you’ve gotten some dinner, and hopefully also
ness that only the well-lived can exude. If the Scions try
some sense.”

to introduce themselves by their real names, she waits others because there’s a particular item they’re look-
until they’ve all finished to tell them one of the auction ing for. But everyone uses a pseudonym, a house rule
rules is to use pseudonyms to preserve some degree of Whispers instated to level the societal playing floor (as
anonymity, and, with a devilish smile, that she’ll remem- much as such a thing can be leveled) and to provide a
ber them. layer of plausible deniability.
Cherish is happy to show them the way downstairs The key NPCs here are Ford, Cherish, Bones, and
once she’s had her fun. The reception area is empty but Glass. The other three Varnas, Zoltan, and They each
ready for visitors. 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 Cherish is, in general, a ready source of information,
if a bit glib here and cryptic there. She enjoys teasing
Following the Path: Smoke and Whiskey the Scions, along with the other auction attendees. The
The Road: Alone Again, Tea with Temperance, No Band may observe:
Bones About It, A Vivid Green
• She talks openly about how she’s interested in
THE AUCTION BEGINS “The Dreamlands,” “as an artist, myself.”
Around 8:30 P.M., all attendees have arrived. Most • An Empathy + Composure (2) roll reveals she talks
have a drink in hand as they were provided on the way more loudly about the painting whenever Bones is
downstairs, and they are chatting on the show floor nearby. She finds him an irritating hanger-on and
about everything and nothing of depth. If the Scions picked up on his interest in the item immediately.
are still upstairs or outside at this point, or have yet to Now she just wants to make him bid as high as
arrive, they’ll need to find their own way downstairs as possible, so he pays dearly for it.
the upstairs is now closed. • She stops by Whispers frequently throughout the
Cherish is the first to arrive. She always is. She makes night but doesn’t actually make any significant of-
a beeline for the refreshments and proceeds to examine fers. Mostly, she offers tidbits of gossip and feed-
the six items up for auction, with a flute of champagne back about the reception and harmlessly flirts.
dangling from one hand. The items are presented only as
• She has an incredibly cutting wit and uses it lib-
photographs; the actual inventory is locked away in the
erally. It’s how she shows affection, irritation, and
vaults for security reasons.
most every other emotion.
The Band can bid for any and every item at the
• She’s been coming to the Whisper Auction the
Auction and may even win them. Aside from “The
longest, and knows many of its secrets (second, of
Dreamlands,” the other items up for bidding are:
course, to Whispers themself ).
• A statue of a frog, carved from solid jade, with • She may be convinced with a Persuasion +
ruby eyes and engravings across its back. Presence (3) roll to give the Band clues about the
• A gold ring, Roman, 2nd century AD, with an ala- vaults, or what kinds of bids win Whispers over.
baster cameo. This may give the players an Enhancement to use
in the labyrinth if they decide to pursue the vaults.
• An engraved rectangular shield, Celtic, 3rd centu-
ry BCE. • She tells the players her real name.
• A piece of music, of which only the first six notes • She’ll even reveal the names of some of the other
(two bars) are given: A, Db, D, A, G, E. attendees if they made the Persuasion roll (3+)
with a 1c. It’s breaking the rules, but she knows
• An original Leonardo da Vinci sketch.
she’ll get away with it.
The Storyguide decides whether the Scions make Glass is a wallflower, awkward and out of place. She’s
any winning bids. Remember, all bids are made secretly well-mannered, but clearly happier on the sidelines. She
by whispering to Whispers, and Whispers values infor- has a habit of nervously adjusting her glasses whenever
mation and secrets above all. That said, they may also anyone looks ready to talk to her. The rims of her glasses
consider another valuable artifact, powerful item, or help hide the dark circles under her eyes.
service as a winning bid.
• A Culture + Composure (1) roll with 1c from her
The auction is as much a social event as it is a place
awkwardness means she tells the players how
of business. It’s a place to trade (and steal) information,
wealthy she is.
win loyalties, and catch up on the latest gossip. Some
people come because they’re bored, some to network,
The Sojourn 117

• Despite appearing simple at first glance, her • Plume, a wealthy socialite and inconsistent at-
clothes are incredibly fine. If this is what she tendee. Plume married a much, much older man
wears while going incognito, imagine how fine to secure a financial future, and rarely bids with
her “good” clothes are! anything other than money.
• She spends most of the evening positioned across • Orange, a middle-aged woman with fiery hair and
from the painting’s stand, watching who comes a warm demeanor. Friendly, polite, and wary of
and goes and who talks to Whispers. A Scion can others’ attempts to get too close. Doesn’t drink or
notice her behavior with Empathy + Composure eat.
(2). She is, essentially, counting cards. She makes
• Bitsy, a formerly homeless teen who now possess-
her bid later in the night: a whopper, to ensure she
es tremendous personal wealth due to her pre-
gets the painting.
vious success at the auction. She won many bids
• She tells Whispers about her dreams, about how early on thanks to the devious info she collected
she needs the painting, because she knows it. while living on the streets.
Bones mingles heavily, but unsuccessfully. Like • Spiral, a high-powered lawyer who is now trying
Glass, he’s socially awkward and out of place. Unlike her, to reconnect with his younger sibling, Bofa, and
he’s determined not to be. He barges into conversations struggling to find activities they both enjoy. The
and talks over other people, constantly attempting to Whisper Auction is his latest attempt.
assert his intellectual and social dominance.
• Bofa, the youngest attendant and Spiral’s younger
• A History + Intellect (2) roll highlights the arti- sibling. Still in high school. Chose “Bofa” because
facts he wears as accessories. His spectacles look they knew the terrible meme would get on their
odd and old-fashioned because they’re from the older brother’s nerves.
19th century. Two ancient Greek pins are pinned
in a cross shape on his lapel. THE LABYRINTH
If the Band attempts to find and break into Whispers’
• Academics + Intellect (2) roll: his cufflinks are in-
vaults, they must survive the maze-like labyrinth.
laid with small, dark stones that reflect the light in
Whispers installed the vaults and traps before beginning
bright, oil-slick patterns. Looking at them for too
the auctions that have been a staple of Kingsport high
long makes the viewer light-headed and confused
society for a decade. Whispers designed this tunnel sys-
— and highly suggestible. Unfortunately for him,
tem to bend the mind and uses the few minor relics they
most people don’t look at him for long at all.
discovered. Passages lead in all directions, with optical
Ford is the handsomest man in the room. Tall, dark, illusions that make the walls look different depending
and suave, he flits between various attendees with ease, on the direction from which they’re viewed. If these
exchanging kisses on the hand or cheek and glib pieces illusions go unnoticed, attempted burglars are sent in
of gossip. endless circles. There are trap doors that lead back to
• An Empathy + Manipulation (2) roll with 2c lower passages, dead ends, and booby traps.
for his behavior, highlights his distant, shifting
behavior. He never stays too long in one place,
and neither do his smiles. Everything about his ACTION MOMENT
persona is carefully constructed: a hummingbird
darting between flowers, hovering to sip without For more action-oriented Scions, Gilman’s
getting too close. goons are watching them at the auction.
They have orders not to cause trouble, but
• He glances at each of the items up for auction in just to put a little “respect” into the Scions. If
passing and lingers just a moment longer on the confronted with violence they open fire with
painting. He even narrows his eyes at the placard silenced pistols if things get serious. There is
— the only outward sign that he’s concerned by its one goon per Scion.
apparent supernatural qualities as a Scion.
A few bit parts, in case the players want to really
chat around:
Players must first Survey (Scion: Origin, p. 74) the
• Gate, tall and strong and interested in feats tunnels. If they’ve spoken to Cherish about the Vaults
of mechanical engineering. An acquaintance and the maze, grants the Band 1e. The maze below re-
of Whispers’ from their days in the Central quires a series of navigation rules to pass. For five rounds
Intelligence Agency. Speaks and moves with a the band needs to succeed on a Survival + Cunning (4),
calm ease. failure results in one of the spells or traps below. After

three failed checks the Scions are hopelessly lost until a vault a Survey (3+) takes the item inside without it
rescued by Whispers in the morning. If they have be- dropping through another trap door into an oubliette to
friended Varnas, he frees them after Green has left and await Whispers after the auction. The following relics
the auction is still going on. may easily be replaced with campaign appropriate items
Eldritch Spells and Booby Traps include: for future scenarios.
• A rune causes everyone to believe the walls are

closing in on them. ENHANCING THE
• Triggers a hallucination spell of beings close to MYTHOS
the Scions being tortured for their actions.
A few ways to increase the Mythos is
• The floor electrifies (attacks with 4 dice, has the to add more cosmically thematically spell
brutal tag). traps based on the Band. The Storyguide
• Pit trap dropping them into the sewers below that may have Winged Terror statues,
closes after them. indescribable starfish like parts of body
parts, disembodied wings attached to the
• Releasing a pack of guard dogs.
wall and used to entangle like nets.
• Aggravated Freezing cold ethereal green flame
erupt from multi-faceted eyes in the floor (attacks
with 6 dice, has the shockwave tag).
• The frog statue’s door is locked with two color
THE VAULTS wheels that use the same optical-illusion devices
The vaults themselves, should the players reach from the labyrinth to encode the lock, so that ex-
them, are a series of locked doors along a long, wide cor- cept when viewed sidelong it appears to be two
ridor. Each lock is a state-of-the-art keypad entry (3c) plain gray rings. Working together to see the lock
making them difficult with a crack, but it’s possible with from both sides (thus clearing up part of the illu-
a Technology + Intellect (3) roll. Two failed attempts to sion) gives 1e on the Survey roll. To open the lock,
unlock any one door drops the Scions through a trap- red and green must be set opposite each other on
door back to the show floor’s reception area. Once inside the two wheels.
The Sojourn 119

• The ring is behind a door with a giant rotary dial. meets with Èshù Elègbará to chat about all manner of
Inside each of its 10 rings is another dial that goes things. Èshù Elègbará likes stories; Santos provides.
from 0-9. The smaller dials need single-digit in-
puts and must be completed in the correct order
for the larger dial to open.
TEA WITH TEMPERANCE
Location: Temperance’s Villa
• The shield’s door is a grid of squares. Squares
must be pressed in to form the same pattern as the Following the Path: Mythos Auction
design on the shield. The Road: No Bones About It, A Vivid Green
• The sheet of music is locked behind an alphabet McGovern keeps a small staff, mainly a gardener and
puzzle. The key is the sequence of notes present- two maids. She lets the gardener do whatever, with one
ed in the auction room (ADAGE). caveat: that the roses be left to their own devices. As a
result, the garden is near-perfectly manicured in a very
• The sketch is behind a door engraved with a
French garden style, with concentric circular pathways
tangled maze of grooves. A lever must be guided
around the villa bisected by radiating lines. The roses are
through the carved channels to reach the right
the only outliers; they comprise rambling bushes, vines
dead end. Mimicking the lines of Da Vinci’s sketch
climbing up the west side of the building, and overflow-
will lead to the right ending.
ing trellises arc over the gravel paths. The smell is ines-
• “The Dreamlands” is locked with the keypad capable. The roses themselves are treacherously thorny
and the most mundane mechanism of all: a key. and should be given a wide berth. In some places, they’ve
Whispers has this one hidden in their boot, in- begun to choke out the garden’s other flora. McGovern
creasing the complainant to 4c. is typically happy to have visitors, as long as they aren’t
family. Provided the Scions didn’t offend her at the auc-
AFTER THE AUCTION tion, she’ll be pleased as punch they’ve stopped by.
Whispers shakes the guests’ hands individually on
Her burly security-guard and gardener, Reece, is
their way upstairs. The handshake is not only a gesture of
less pleased to have guests but keeps quiet and out of the
farewell, but a way to discreetly give each guest a unique
way. As long as they don’t step on the grass or trample
key. The next morning, the winners of the auction receive
the flowers, of course. If things escalate, McGovern
lock boxes containing their winnings, which can only be
intervenes before any real violence takes place. Reece
accessed by their particular key (otherwise, Technology
remains within speaking distance at all times.
+ Dexterity (3) or Athletics + Might (4) with 1c).
The villa’s interior is similarly incongruous. Most of
the décor is tasteful and expensive, and precious works
ALONE AGAIN of art line the walls and stand on pedestals. Some of the
Location: Trent’s Condo art, however, is less becoming. These paintings are more
Following the Path: Mythos Auction akin to the junior work of someone at a Paint-and-Sip
class. Nonetheless, they are framed with the same rev-
The Road: N/A
erence as the rest of the collection. Most of McGovern’s
The building’s reception desk has a package waiting abundant free time is spent in the giant art studio on the
for him: a lockbox containing the ring from the auction villa’s top floor. Her paintings aren’t particularly good,
(unless one of the players won it). No matter when the and she knows it. She enjoys watching people squirm
Band visits, Trent Santos won’t be home. A sly Scion has as they try to compliment her art, although she has few
an opportunity to pilfer with Athletics + Dexterity (3) or visitors and rarely gets the chance.
charm Persuasion + Presence (3) the underpaid recep-
The locks in the villa are strange, and unusually
tionist. A reasonable bribe and assurance gain a 1e or 2e.
hard to crack. Anyone who tried to pick one of Whispers’
The sparseness of the living room, kitchen, and locks before knows them on sight. Sleek on the outside,
Santos’s bedroom is offset by the contents of the spare deceptively complicated on the inside. Whispers custom
bedroom, which has been converted into a combination made them for McGovern in exchange for one of her
home gym and worship space. There’s more furniture paintings. The door handles are embossed with the sub-
and décor in this one room than in the rest of the con- tle lines of a just-blooming rose. She has no secrets of her
do put together. The door is locked, albeit with a fairly own, and no desire to hide from anyone. If the players
mundane lock, to protect the only part of Santos’s condo try to dig up dirt or find hidden rooms in this villa, they’ll
that means anything to him. This can be bypassed with come out empty-handed. McGovern, however, happily
a Technology + Dexterity (1) or Athletics + Might (2) hints at a dark past and long-buried secrets just to rile
roll. Aside from the exercise equipment, the main piece up her visitors.
of furniture is a red leather couch. This is where Santos

The doors of the villa are unlocked, the Band may If the Band sets off any of the security measures, he
either enter freely or ring the doorbell. In the latter leaves his small office armed with a shotgun (Firearms
case, the two household maids quickly answer the door + Dexterity of 6 dice) and patrols the large warehouse.
and escort the Scions upstairs to the studio sitting area. Unfortunately for the Scions, if he discovers them or their
McGovern tells them to sit while she finishes her latest identity, he’s intelligent enough to put two and two togeth-
painting. It’s a horrid affair of violets, oranges, and yel- er about why they’re in his warehouse. If they let enough
lows. She says she’s “going through a conceptual period,” slip about why they’re in his warehouse or what they’re
but it looks more like a middle schooler’s poor attempt at looking for, or express interest in his eldritch artifacts, he’ll
an in-class project. If the Scions compliment her work, latch onto the information and refuse to let go. He wants
she waits until they’re done to call out their lies. very badly to acquire the power he’s caught glimpses of
She knows all her paintings are miserable; it’s why she through his research. He’d hoped to get his hands on “The
makes them. She’s spent her whole life being the best at Dreamlands,” but he was outbid at the last minute by Glass.
everything, at the top of every ladder, that it feels viciously The artifacts cover an eclectic mix of time periods
good to revel in mediocrity. Her family says she’s going and countries of origin. Most are completely benign.
senile. She thinks none of them have a sense of humor and However, recently he’s found a few items with eldritch
claims that poor trait comes from her husband’s side. origins. They’ve sparked an ill-advised, clumsy interest
She’s easier to talk to outside the auction, giving in the occult. So far, Dr. Mason’s managed to gather a
the players information more readily, unconstrained by pendant embossed with the elder sign and twin small
her respect for Whispers and their rules of engagement. idols of Cthulhu, one whole and one broken. The broken
She’ll reveal any and all attendees’ real names, their idol reveals an empty chamber within the stone.
backgrounds (what she knows of them, at least, which is The last item in the rear of the warehouse is a massive
usually a lot), and most of all, her opinions of them. statue, standing some 10 feet tall. The gruesome looking,
With a Persuasion + Presence (2+) roll, she’ll tell the monstrous thing is made of an unusual stone. If interacted
Band who she thinks won the painting. It’s likely Bones any character with a Legend or Awareness score of 1 or
(Dr. Mason) or Glass (Heather Green). She’s convinced higher interacts with it, it animates into a Terror from
he bid heavily after the work she put into talking up the Beyond (p. 134), grabbing the unsuspecting Scion and fly-
competition. But she’s never seen Green stick around the ing upward towards space. The animate creature is half of
auction so long, and there’s no denying that she spent the speed of a Terror and is destroyed after being hit four
most of her time near “The Dreamlands.” She only made times, dropping whoever it was carrying.
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 VIVID GREEN
a shut-in toothpaste heiress possibly have? And was it Location: The Green Estate
enough to outbid Bones?
Following the Path: Mythos Auction, No Bones
About It, Tea with Temperance
NO BONES ABOUT IT
Location: Dr. Mason’s Apartment, Dr. Mason’s
Warehouse
ENHANCING THE
Following the Path: Mythos, Tea with Temperance
The Road: A Vivid Green
MYTHOS
If the Scions visit Dr. Mason’s apartment, they find One: The warehouse feels expansive, with
little other than carelessly discarded socks, jackets, and the aisles seemingly going on for hundreds
takeout. However, an Academics + Resolve (2+) roll
of yards. The further Scions venture in, they
turns up some half-shredded mail in the overflowing
hear faint animal noises all around them that
are impossible to locate. The animal sounds
trash can. It’s shredded to protect the envelopes’ con-
slowly transform into monstrous snarls and
tents: bills for the upkeep of a warehouse, which include
then human howls. The shelves seem to lean
the warehouse’s address. If the players didn’t already in closer to them and their vision is obscured
know about the warehouse and its location, they do now. by shadows.
Scions who Survey the warehouse with Technology Two: One of the idols shatters onto the
+ Intellect (3) or Subterfuge + Cunning (2) before enter- floor, releasing hundreds of black slithering
ing notice many security measures. There are security things that burn (2 damage with the piercing
cameras installed on and near the warehouse, along with tag) the Scions and disintegrate on touch,
motion detectors in the doorway. There are numerous appearing to meld into them.
more motion detectors inside which need to be avoided.
The Sojourn 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
ENHANCING THE
wealth. The building is immaculately white, the lawn MYTHOS
perfectly manicured. There are no flowers, only a low,
The Dreaming has been open and as a
decorative hedge around the edge of the yard.
gateway, people or things have crossed
Green spends most of her time in her library. The over to Earth. Signs of what or whoever it
room is a converted playroom (albeit a huge one, made was are left throughout the manor, as they
for a very wealthy child), which she slowly filled with escaped. Cruel Storyguides may have
more and more books. The bookcases vary in age, size, a Mythos Antagonist surprise attack the
and material, but are all expertly crafted and full to Band, such as a Shoggoth.
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
(2+) roll or use of Awareness makes it clear to the Scions
books both open and closed.
just where she’s gone; the painting still ripples faintly
This is where she examines “The Dreamlands.” She with energy. The Axis Mundi is still open.
sets it up on the one empty bit of wall space — the spot
The Scions risk accruing temporary Awareness
above the first bookcase she ever had, full of her child-
while in The Dreamlands painting’s presence. They
hood books.
must decide quickly what to do.
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 AWAKE AND DREAMING
library with the painting. Success on a Technology + Location: The Underworld (below the Dreamlands)
Dexterity (2) or Athletics + Might (1) roll gains entry and Following the Path: A Vivid Green
finds her in a different state, depending on when they
The Road: Awakened
find her.
Before the Scions step through the painting, have
By noon, Green is frustrated with “The Dreamlands.”
elderly versions of them appear from the Dreamlands
No matter how she looks at it, it’s an ordinary (if master-
after a life lived there, to give them warnings to convince
fully made) piece of art. She is beyond frustrated with
them to turn back. They should share little personal
the painting, is drawn to it, and attempts to calm her suf-
parables, which could give thematic guidance, or these
fers 2c. “The Dreamlands” is, of course, working exactly
visions are from Cthulhu, who has plans for his Scion.
as intended.
If the Scions go after Green by entering “The
She can’t understand why it was so prominent in her
Dreamlands,” they find themselves at the edge of the
dreams. Books lie open across the library’s central table,
Underworld below the Dreamlands. The landscape is
and spends her time taking notes and cross-referencing
half-formed and more colorful, feeling more drawn into
points. Green is close to awakening and becoming a
existence than anything physical. Mythos Scions gain a
Scion of Cthulhu.
temporary point of Awareness and slightly lose their grip
At seven o’clock, the skies grow dark, Cthulhu’s on humanity. The Band risk gaining temporary physical
power grows, and so does “The Dreamlands.” she is mutations for every two hours they are physically in the
drawn to it ever more forcefully. After spending all day Dreamlands via the painting. Horns, pointed dog ears,
alone with it, she’s starting to lose her grip on reality. claws, or rubbery skin are all possible. The mutations are
If the Band arrives and tries to take the painting, she’ll rooted in the nature of the painting, Pickman, and the
need a considerable Persuasion + Presence (4) roll to influence of Cthulhu from Green. Anyone who stays in
convince her anything bad is happening. It could pos- the Underworld after going through “The Dreamlands”
sibly even take a show of force, as she becomes violent eventually becomes a ghoul sooner or later.
when feeling her destiny is being denied.
Green is still alive, but half out of her senses. She’s
By 7:30 P.M., the sun has set, and Green is entirely in receiving her Visitation, awakening fully as a Scion of
the thrall of “The Dreamlands”, made doubly effective Cthulhu. The Sleeping Giant is speaking to her, and
by Cthulhu’s power over her. Half-dreamingly activates only she can hear it. Her body extends, thrashing lumi-
the painting and steps through into the Dreamlands. If nous phantom tentacles that shed the only light in the
the Band arrives after sunset, Green is nowhere to be pitch-indi tunnels. The tentacles curl out of the air to
found. Low feral howls (the ghouls on the other side) tangle around her shoulders. The ghouls are only kept at
emanate from “The Dreamlands.” An Occult + Intellect bay by the tentacles, their howls echoing throughout the

maze of tunnels, their numbers increasing by the dozen
every minute.
Cthulhu’s manifestation pins anyone interrupting TERROR ACTION
against the walls of the tunnel. The spectral tentacles MOMENT
can’t be harmed in any way, but their presence is strong.
The air around them feels thick, like water and anyone For a more action-oriented Band, dozens
touch feels like they are drowning. It’s no surprise, then, of Ghouls attacking them. The dozens
that Green looks like she’s drowning. The ghouls move upon dozens come out of the darkness.
closer and closer. The ghouls are effectively endless in this
situation, given the centuries of breeding
She chokes and gasps on thin air until, finally, her and that the underground is their kingdom.
eyes roll back in her head and she goes limp. Cthulhu’s They attack in waves with every increasing
apparition keeps her from keeling over completely. A numbers every two to three rounds. The
moment later, Green reels forward, gulping lungful of moments between the battles are tense and
air, and the tentacles disappear. Still, Cthulhu’s pres- horror filled.
ence lingers around her. She flexes her fingers, testing The Band is in an entirely new realm
new strength. A sheen of sweat covers her body. The air surrounded by legions of monsters while
around her smells of the sea. She thanks the Band for witnessing the Awakening of a new Scion.
coming to get her and says that she’s all right now. Better The presence of Great Cthulhu alone would
than ever, in fact. shatter humans in seconds and the Scions
Some 200 feet away are Moore’s partially consumed are not immune to that terror. The longer
remains. He’s little more than scraps of cloth and bone. they remain, the stronger his presence
His enchanted metal gauntlets lie nearby. Remaining becomes until it is untenable.
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 “The Dreamlands.” She knows how powerful it is now
edge leads the Scions out through the Axis Mundi. and as a Scion of Cthulhu can resist its effects. If the
players disagree, she gives in before the situation esca-
AWAKENED lates to violence; she’s had enough adventure for one
night, and the adrenaline from her Visitation is starting
Location: The Waking World
to wear off.
Following the Path: Awake and Dreaming
The Band potentially has a power relic, a new ally,
The Road: N/A and has stepped into Miskatonic Hollow. Their actions
Once the Band has returned to the waking world, have likely drawn the attention of the Great Old Ones in
Green thanks the Band again. She promises to safeguard 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
ANTAGONISTS
pause, regardless of status. This handful of Mythos
creatures listed below merely convey a glimpse at the
COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
The Colour Out of Space is undeniably one of the most
wider diorama.
alien of all Mythos antagonists. They’ve touched down on Earth
NEW FLAIRS
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.
Masks of the Mythos expands flairs with a few The Colour crashed down on Earth via a meteor, landing near
specific Mythos-themed ones: 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
SUFFOCATE caused the deterioration of all structures and the land itself into
Cost: None what locals called the “blasted heath,” illuminated at night by a
Duration: Instant silvery glow that marked the extent of the Colour’s influence.
Subject: One character In the first few hours after arrival, the Colour ap-
pears as a cluster of small globules of an unidentified
Range: Close hue and material. The globules and the stone vessel in
Action: Simple which they arrive diminish in size and disappear into
Cooldown: End of grapple, or end of scene the atmosphere and surrounding soil. The absorption
of this material gives the appearance of robustness to
While grappling someone with a lower Size Scale, fruits and vegetables grown in nearby soil, but this ap-
the attacker gains access to the following Stunt: pearance is merely an illusion of health. The produce
Suffocate (Success equal to opponent’s Stamina): tastes like ash and provides no sustenance. People and
You smother your opponent, preventing their ability to animals in proximity to the contamination deteriorate
breathe. Attempts to take any action in the subsequent physically and mentally until they simply turn to ash and
round has a +3 Complication with a consequence of 1 die. Contemporaneous accounts regarding the Arkham
Injury Condition if not bought off. incident indicate the family said they knew they should
move away but just couldn’t bring themselves to leave.
BEYOND DESCRIPTION The Colour does not attack like other antagonists; instead
it is a contamination that corrupts any living thing around it,
Cost: 1 Tension per character effected
drawing energy from other lifeforms until it reaches enough
Duration: 1 scene size and strength to travel back to space and continue its jour-
Subject: One Character ney. It leaves a remnant behind — perhaps offspring — that
continues to siphon life from the surrounding area, slowly ex-
Range: Upon seeing it
panding the region of corruption. Combat against the Colour
Action: Simple is fruitless. It may be possible to contain it for the few hours or
Cooldown: End of the Scene 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
The antagonist is so frightening it shakes the viewer
and return it to space as fast as possible.
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 irrational- COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
ly out of fear.
Archetype: Titanspawn
The Mythos creature imparts 1 Terror Condition.
Additionally, Scions’ Legend scores are considered one Qualities: Flight, Institutional Disbelief, Toxic,
point lower until the end of the scene. Miasmic Presence
Antagonists 125
Flairs: Beyond Description, Penetrator, Plague Initiative: 6
Touch
Extras: +2 Enhancement for Stunts other than
Drive: Feed me Inflict Damage
Primary Pool: (13): Miasmic Presence, Survival,
Siphon Life CULTIST
Secondary Pool: (11): Flight From the people running small organizations de-
Desperation Pool: 7 voted to monsters of the Mythos to those belonging to
large cults formed in the name of the Old Ones, cultists
Health: 10 are bound to cause problems for divine and Mythos
Defense: 4 Scions alike. Cultists are defined as anyone who has a
connection to the Gods and either has a fanatical belief
Initiative: 10
or willingly performs deeds on the God’s behalf. This is
Extras: Apocalyptic Presence usually a Great Old One, but cults to Gods from different
pantheons can be as problematic. A Band may often find
CTHULHU SPAWN a momentary ally in an enemy of the cult, if they dared
to bargain with a fanatical group with alien motivations.
In the time before time, to maintain a balance never
understood by humans, Cthulhu’s star spawn filtered Mythos cultists are generally more empowered than
down from the infinite cosmos to earth. Their legacy as normal mortals. Great Old Ones rarely care to whom
fierce, bloodthirsty warriors is well documented and for they bestow gifts, or what people do with those gifts.
a time they reigned supreme. Then, their Pacific para- Cults form naturally around one or two people who have
dise sank to the bottom of the ocean never to rise again such gifts, meaning the whole cult may have access to a
— yet. Over the millennia, many an ambitious Cthulhu Mythos Relic or the ability to summon a Mythos crea-
cult tried to summon the Eternal Slumbering One or its ture to fight alongside them.
spawn to raise R’lyeh from its watery depths. Cultists prefer to convert rather than to kill. The
Most failed. However, if the stars align correctly and general thought is the more people to worship, summon,
the chants are clear enough, a few of these rituals may or generally feed their Gods, the better. Initial inter-
manage to stir the seas, bringing in bad weather and a actions with cultists usually involve their attempts to
path for a number of Cthulhu Spawn. At first glance, the control or convert people, especially loved ones, to sway
Cthulhu Spawn resembles your garden-variety octopus a powerful Scion to their side. That isn’t to say a cultist
under the waves. However, their humanoid, bipedal gait; won’t fight; they’ve already given their lives over to their
stout, and squat-but-towering stance; and the ease with Gods and will fight until death to preserve what they
which they traverse the land quickly give them away. built or continue their actions.
As they clear the way for their Great One to come, they When creating cultists, create the bulk as Foe char-
wreak havoc, death, and destruction that to humankind acters with the stats below, and create a single leader as
appears chaotic and without direction or method. a Rival Archetype with the same Qualities and Flairs,
Fortunately, despite their size and the excessive tenta- except the leader also has the Mystical Arsenal Quality
cles underneath their thick hide, they are still mostly squishy. to represent possession of a Relic. While rare, some cults
may be led by Scions.
CTHULHU SPAWN
CULTIST
Archetype: Nemesis
Archetype: Foe
Qualities: Mystic Arsenal, Regeneration, Tough as
Nails Qualities: Group Tactics, Institutional Disbelief,
A Cage of Words
Flairs: Beyond Description, Second Wind, Sorcery
Flairs: Sorcery (Pick One: Arcane Calculus,
Drive: To Serve Chaos, Deception, Stars, or Moon)
Primary Pool: 9 Drive: Loyalty to their chosen God
Secondary Pool: 7 Primary Pool: 7 (Research, Sorcery, Persuasion)
Desperation Pool: 5 Secondary Pool: 5 (Melee or Ranged Fighting,
Health: 3 Stealth, Tactics)
Defense: 3 Desperation Pool: 3
126 CHAPTER SEVEN: MYTHOS ANTAGONISTS

Health: 1 credence. The Father Dagon worshiped by the Esoteric
Order of Dagon in Innsmouth is not the same Dagon
Defense: 1
worshiped by the Kannak people in the Fiji Islands
Initiative: 4 when Obed Marsh found them, and again not the same
Extras: +1 Enhancement to actions to convert Dagon as what thrives in the Arctic circle.
followers Dagon are terrible creatures with insatiable appe-
tites, usually willing to consume other deep ones rather
DAGON than wait for some kind of human to happen by. They
are usually solitary of their type, with Father Dagon no-
Father Dagon is the supposed progenitor and father
where near Mother Hydra. They often have lesser Deep
of all deep ones. A creature as old as The World itself
Ones serving them.
— 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 DAGON
Deep One. Even something as powerful as Father Dagon
and Mother Hydra is not on the same power level as Archetype: Titanspawn
Gods such as Albtraum, Nyarlathotep, and Yog-Sothoth. Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence, Heavily
While Dagon is ancient enough to remember when the Armored, Natural Weapon, Regeneration,
oceans contained all the life on Earth, and powerful Unstoppable
enough to command armies of Deep Ones, the creature Flairs: Molon Labe, Suffocate, World Shaking
is no more a God than any other Deep One.
Drives: Feed and reproduce. Worship the Great
Where Dagon came from is in question. One legend Cthulhu.
says Cthulhu made Dagon to rule the seas. Another says
Dagon was the natural evolution of bony fish lost to time Primary Pool: 13 (Melee, Grappling, Swimming)
inside a Terra Incognita that had been abandoned by Secondary Pool: 11 (Discourse)
some sea God, possibly Poseidon. Another supposes that Desperation Pool: 7
deep ones have always existed, and Dagon is simply the
title given to the oldest and most powerful of these crea- Health: 10
tures. Certainly, the latter theory seems to have the most Defense: 4
Antagonists 127
Initiative: 10 among bones and dirt. They’re also found in places touched
by the Mythos. This includes anything from an old ritual
Extras: Dagon has a Size Scale of 3.
site to an ancient sleeping place of a Mythos creature.
Dholes live their lives completely in the dark, lending
DEEP ONES their flesh its pale, almost white, appearance. They do not
Deep Ones are creatures of the sea, appearing like have eyes, but have giant mouths, and their skin serves as
human-sized frogs with articulated hands and feet, more their primary sense organ. The flesh is coated in a slimy
like a person, but with gills and fins like a fish. They are substance that conveys electrical currents to the brain,
immortal in the sense that they won’t die naturally of old giving them acute awareness of their entire surroundings.
age. They have few predators and tend to live in large, un-
These creatures are not intelligent and are driven
derwater communities that afford them safety from attack.
mostly by the basest instincts to eat and reproduce. They
Deep Ones are capable of living either on land or in feed on subtle electrical current, usually found in the
the sea but prefer to live underwater for safety and because flesh of animals, but also as residual mystical energies
they have more freedom there. Most are loyal to and wor- left over from the use of magic. Dholes are not solitary
ship Cthulhu, Father Dagon, and Mother Hydra. It’s not creatures and usually infest an area, living under the sur-
uncommon for them to pray to the entirety of the Mythos face of a mountain or hill, or infesting a town and slowly
pantheon. Their agelessness and continued growth over sapping energy from the nearby creatures and eating
the centuries have led to numerous deep ones becoming unfortunate people who get too close to their lairs.
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. DHOLES
Deep Ones have a relationship with shoggoth, and Archetype: Titanspawn
when living on land tend to bring them into their com- Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence, Invulnerability
munities and keep them for strange rituals and the hopes (electricity), Subterranean Movement, Vulnerability
to prepare the way for the rise of Cthulhu or other Gods. (fire), Unstoppable
Deep Ones are hostile towards people, and attack if Flairs: Dread Gaze, World Shaking
they feel threatened or hungry. Sometimes, they are a source
of information or assistance for Scions, but always at a cost.
Drive: Hide and feed.
Primary Pool: 13 (Hunting, Biting)
DEEP ONES Secondary Pool: 11 (Sensing, Burrowing)
Archetype: Rival Desperation Pool: 7
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Regeneration, Health: 5
Swarm Defense: 4
Flairs: Here I Come (in the water only), I Have Initiative: 10
Friends, Suffocate
Extra: Dholes have three segments (head, main
Drive: Eat and worship. body, and tail), each one with five health boxes.
Primary Pool: 9 (Grappling, Swimming) All three segments can take actions, but if all boxes
are filled on one segment, it can no longer act
Secondary Pool: 7 (Socializing) unless at least one box is healed. Dholes are Size
Desperation Pool: 5 Scale 5. For each point of Size above 5, they have
one additional segment. Rumors abound that in
Health: 3 the Dreamlands there is a massive Dhole some 20
Defense: 3 segments long.
Initiative: 6
Extras: +2 Enhancement to Stunts other than Inflict
DIMENSIONAL SHAMBLER
Damage. The Horror at the Museum, the dimensional sham-
bler, is an intelligent monster that can cross dimensions
of reality and beyond. They appear as a cross between
DHOLES an ape and an insect, with large, shaggy-furred bodies,
Dholes — sometimes referred to as bholes or dûls — bulbous heads with a long proboscis, and large, clawed
are huge, worm-like creatures with pale, slimy skin. These forelimbs. They are roughly the size of an adult grizzly
creatures dwell in most Mythos Terra Incognitae, hiding

bear, can maneuver on two or four legs, and are fearsome Primary Pool: 11 (Dread Gaze, Grappling,
combatants. The appearance of these beings evokes fear. Hunting)
Shamblers are often servants of more powerful Secondary Pool: 9 (Combat, Feats of Strength)
beings and can be pressed into the service of mortal Desperation Pool: 5
sorcerers and Mythos Scions. The most common use of
summoned dimensional shamblers is retrieval of some Health: 6
object or person that is hidden away. The shambler has a Defense: 4
knack for finding things other people can’t.
Initiative: 9
In combat, they usually attack with surprise as they
appear beside their target out of nowhere and their hor-
Extra: Dimension Shift, +1 Enhancement to
Grapple for smaller opponents
rific 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 ELDER THINGS
their trunk-like noses around the heads or necks of their Roughly 600 million years ago, from many uni-
opponents and — while also employing their claws — verses beyond our own, a race of beings came to what
can hold those they capture in a vice-like grip so they we would come to call Earth and made it home. Their
can step away into another dimension with their captive, large, barrel-shaped bodies with a foot-tall, star-shaped
a frozen nightmare realm where dimensional shamblers head makes them loom at nine feet. Add to that the their
pay obedience to a bloated god on a throne of bone. single, red, globular eye; their five mouths hanging from
stalks on their head; and the five, three-foot long tenta-
cles around their torso that branch off multiple times as
DIMENSIONAL SHAMBLER they progress — giving them nearly two dozen individu-
Archetype: Monster ally autonomous tentacles. This makes them formidable
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Mirror, Mirror, and when they spread their leathery, seven-foot wings
Shroud, Willful and reach for you with their four-foot-long, thick, mus-
cular arms. They have fought and won more great wars
Flairs: Dreadful Gaze, Shadow Step, Suck it Up than they have lost. They have abducted and dissected as
Drive: Ready or not, here I come 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
Antagonists 129
their territory, and should also be sure to have a power- In combat, ghouls attack with powerful claws and
ful ace up their sleeve. 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 op-
ELDER THINGS ponent while others move in for the kill. They also act to
Archetype: Rival protect each other to an extent, but each knows that if
they fall, they become a meal for the rest.
Qualities: Armor Piercing, Disembodied, Mystic
Arsenal, Wall Walker
Flairs: Mastermind, Knock Out, Retcon, Second GHOUL
Wind Archetype: Foe
Drive: Scientific Extermination Qualities: Group Attack, Natural Weapon,
Primary Pool: 9 Institutional Disbelief, Imperfect Disguise, Shroud,
Unnatural Hunger
Secondary Pool: 7
Flairs: Here I Come, I Have Friends,
Desperation Pool: 5 Selfless Shield (only for other ghouls)
Health: 3 Drive: Supper’s ready
Defense: 3 Primary Pool: 7 (Combat, Hunting)
Initiative: 6 Secondary Pool: 5: (Dreamlands Knowledge,
Grappling)
GHOUL Desperation Pool: 3
Ghouls are bestial humanoids who dwell in cata- Health: 1
combs, tunnels, and other dark hidden places where
they can avoid contact with the living and are likely to Defense: 1
find their favorite repast: the rotted corpses of humanity. Initiative: 4
They have rubbery skin and doglike facial features that
Extra: +1 Enhancement
range in appearance from near human to beastlike. Some
ghouls pass as humans, at least for a time, but slowly The stat block above represents fully transformed
transform into their final ghoulish form. Humanlike ghouls, however, human-appearing ghouls could be
ghouls live among people but have telltale features that represented using the Mook stat block instead (Scion:
can give them away, such as a sickeningly sweet odor or Origin, p. 145). For mooks, remove the Natural Weapon
strange pallor. quality, the Selfless Shield Flair, and the Dreamlands
Knowledge Secondary Pool. There are also legends
The origin of ghouls is uncertain. There is some
about ghouls of enormous size and power surpassing
evidence that they are a species unto themselves, but
their monstrous kin. These beings present a challenge
some suggest all ghouls were once humans who chose to
even to Heroes and can be represented using the Rival,
prey upon the living and slowly transformed into ghouls
Nemesis, or even Titanspawn stat block with advanced
due to their actions against other humans. Some ghouls
Qualities, Flairs, and Skills.
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 GNOPH-KEH
eventually begin to transform into ghouls, but it’s not This highly intelligent, ancient race, of large, sharp-
clear whether all who undergo this transformation were horned, hair-covered beasts are originally from Iceland.
always ghouls, or whether humans can transform into While they are known to have six legs, their frequent
ghouls due to a predilection for the morbid, preying on bipedal travel is presumed to be the origin for stories of
other humans, or simply from associating and befriend- Yeti and The Abominable Snowman. They are hunters
ing other ghouls. extraordinaire, able to track their prey across long dis-
Ghouls also inhabit portions of the Dreamlands tances in the coldest, harshest weather, even in blinding
where they have a rich and distinct culture and can be snowstorms. This allows them to thrive in conditions
roused to aid those who treat them with cautious kind- that force other creatures to shelter, making sightings
ness and respect. It is unwise to place too much trust in a rare by even the most skilled seekers. If you are trying
ghoul because to them you will always be a breath away to find one, it’s best to ask a local who can separate the
from being their next meal. facts from the fakes, or better yet, don’t go looking at all.

GNOPH-KEH trapped in their massive alien body in their great city
Archetype: Nemesis millions of years in the past. The prisoners are expected
to write their lives down all day in the great library, while
Qualities: Armor Piercing, Perfect Soldier, the Yithian in their body undertakes some mission. Its
Surefooted, Willful mission could last days to years and then they switch
Flairs: Shadowstep (Snow locations only), Suck it minds back. The person has no memory of the lost time.
Up Their intelligence makes them a formidable foe and they
Drive: Feed have millions of years of battle scars to prove it. Best to
figure out what they want and strike a bargain.
Primary Pool: 11
GREAT RACE OF YITH
Secondary Pool: 9
Archetype: Titanspawn
Desperation Pool: 6
Qualities: Disembodied, Unstoppable, Willful
Health: 5
Flairs: Beyond Description, Detonation, Knock
Defense: 4 Out, Mastermind, Retcon, Tripwire
Initiative: 9 Drive: Survival of your race
Primary Pool: 13
GREAT RACE OF YITH Secondary Pool: 11
The Great Race left their home planet so long ago
that none of them can remember where or what it was. Desperation Pool: 7
The form encountered today have 10-foot-high, cone- Health: 10
shaped bodies, with foot-thick limbs holding their three
Defense: 4
eyes, and two claw-like hands. They are time travelers,
but they only project their consciousness, leaving their Initiative: 10
bodies behind. Not that those bodies are theirs, either. Extra: The Great Race have a Size Scale of 2.
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, HOUNDS OF TINDALOS
attempting to discover history through the actual eyes The Hounds of Tindalos are extradimensional
of those living. The Great Race sometimes switch minds guardians of time whose tortuous true forms defy de-
with unsuspecting beings, who then find themselves scription. When finite beings try to disturb the flow of
Antagonists 131
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 crea-
tures 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 sub-
stance 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 Pe r i o d .
“purity.” This is nonsense. They are more like a cosmic They con-
maintenance crew than vengeful beasts, simply tending sider themselves su-
and weeding the gardens of time. perior to — and more
The smallest ripple in the temporal slipstream at- intelligent than — any
tracts the Hounds of Tindalos attention. Because unnat- other beings. They stand at five feet tall and their pink
ural angles in architecture and other works are the mark bodies are crustacean-like, with many pairs of claw-footed
of sentient beings, they have adapted to exploit these an- legs and a large ellipsoid-shaped head covered in anten-
gles, slipping through shortcuts across space and time to nae, with no eyes or mouth. They come in many varieties,
chase down temporal intruders. This journey may take each with different skills and specializations. Those wit-
years or mere hours to complete, but once the target is nessed on Earth have large, bat-like wings which are the
“scented,” the Hounds of Tindalos move with dogged method they use for interstellar travel, not just to Earth
inevitability toward their quarry. 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
HOUNDS OF TINDALOS them, furthering their access and information gathering
Archetype: Nemesis — although dogs don’t like them. They are a scientifically
minded society interested in research and experimenta-
Qualities: Miasmic Presence, Incorporeality,
Natural Weapon (piercing “tongue”), Regeneration tion. Unfortunately, one aspect of that research is gather-
ing interesting brains to add to their collection. Preserved
Flairs: Beyond Description, Penetrator in steel cylinders, each being is alive indefinitely and the
Drive: Destroy temporal intruders. Mi-Go have the technology to allow them to speak and
see. Perhaps they could be a potential bargaining chip if
Primary Pool 9 (Piercing, Chasing)
one can be stolen.
Secondary Pool: 7 (Tracking, Stealth) Among them are also disciplined and well-trained
Desperation Pool: 5 soldiers. They usually work in groups and are best con-
Health: 6 fronted with skills, a plan, and sufficient numbers.
Defense: 3
Initiative: 6 MI-GO
Archetype: Rival
MI-GO Qualities: Arm Piercing, Baleful Touch, Flight,
Regeneration, Tough as Nails
These mostly fungous creatures are natives of Pluto
(Yuggoth) and have been on earth since the Jurassic

Flairs: Immobilize (with device), Mastermind, Red attempting to wake Cthulhu without drawing the attention
Herring of the guardians of humanity, who may count other Mythos
Drive: Experimentation and Exploration Scions among their ranks. Even an evil God knows their
power relies on the worship of humans, so a servant of the
Primary Pool: 9 Mythos can’t count on them as a long-term ally. Within
Secondary Pool: 7 the Mythos pantheon, agendas are often incompatible,
too. When these conflicts occur, the Gods sometimes send
Desperation Pool: 5
the best counter to a Mythos Scion to deal with them. And
Health: 3 what could be better to counter a scion than another scion?
Defense: 6 A rival Scion might be a heroic servant of Ioskeha,
Initiative: 6 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
NIGHT-GAUNT advance the Mythos Scion’s agenda. Rival Scions come
Flying creatures of fearsome reputations, night- in many varieties.
gaunts dwell in the mountains of the Dreamlands. One example is 118, a mysterious Scion known only to
They are considered dangerous by other Dreamlands himself and the one he serves. Supposition drawn from the
monsters and residents and are blamed for the deaths account of Dr. Marinus Willett is that he is a being previ-
of mountain climbers and others who try to explore the ously held captive in the form of his essential salts by the
peaks where they live. Their reputation is so fierce even sorcerer Joseph Curwen and bears the identification tag
the dread Shantak refuses to fly near their roosts. People 118. The ledger with the key to identifying 118 was never
of the Dreamlands warn against thinking too much found. The summoning of 118 and his subsequent rescue of
of night-gaunts, because they are known to haunt the Dr. Willett are the starting point of a series of killings going
dreams of those who dwell on them. back to the late 1920s of sorcerers and Mythos Scions.
Their appearance is unsettling. Where a face should 118 is a skilled sorcerer with deep knowledge of the
be is blank flesh. The rest of them is covered by smooth, loose confederation of necromancers and allied Scions
oily, black skin. They have inwardly curving horns, silent working behind the scenes to rob the hidden knowledge
bat wings, barbed tails, and odd, rounded paws. Night- of the past and use this information for themselves. His
gaunts are fast flyers, quickly covering vast distances and motives are unclear. It’s possible he sees himself as set-
able to move between dimensions of reality. ting things right by hunting these evildoers and subject-
ing them to immediate justice, but it’s equally likely that
he seeks them out to kill them and take the information
NIGHT-GAUNT
and treasures they have stolen for themselves. After all,
Archetype: Monster Dr. Willett reported he had gathered up a valise filled
Qualities: Natural Weapon, Flight, Institutional with Joseph Curwen’s letters and notes on the art of
Disbelief, Dread Gaze necromancy and all this material was missing when he
woke that day after exploring the catacombs beneath the
Flairs: Second Wind, Reflected Intent, Seeing Red
old bungalow.
Drive: I get around.
Primary Pool:11 (Flight, Athletics, Stealth)
RIVAL SCION
Secondary Pool: 9 (Dream-haunting, Survival)
Archetype: Villain
Desperation Pool: 5
Qualities: Life Drain, Willful
Health: 6
Flairs: Shadow Step, Mastermind, Retcon
Defense: 4
Drive: Destruction of necromancers and their ilk.
Initiative: 9
Primary Pool: 9 (Magic, Cryptic Wisdom,
Occult Knowledge)
RIVAL SCION Secondary Pool: 7 (History, Hunting)
The motives of Mythos Scions are many. While some
Desperation Pool: 5
are willing to cooperate with Scions from other panthe-
ons, there are times when a Mythos Scion’s greatest foe Callings: Sage 3, Guardian 2, Hunter 1
is another Mythos Scion. You can’t run around trying to Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Journeys
facilitate the emergence of the Great Old Ones or set about
Antagonists 133
Health: 3 Flairs: Beyond Description, Making Space,
Second Wind, Spray and Pray, Under Pressure
Defense: 3
Drive: We shall be free!
Initiative: 6
Primary Pool: 13 (Combat, Feats of Strength,
Extras: +2 enhancements for stunts other than to Close-Quarters Combat)
inflict damage
Secondary Pool: 11 (Endurance, Survival)
SHOGGOTH Desperation Pool: 7
These beings are roiling masses of protoplasm and Health: 10
they can reshape themselves into many forms. While they Defense: 4
can resemble other creatures, they lack the ability to form
fine details and never look quite like the creature they try to Initiative: 10
mimic. Shoggoths were created by the Elder Things using Segments: 3
their vast knowledge of science and cellular material from
Size: 3
defeated foes. They were intended to be servitors, used to
do the heavy lifting needed to build Elder Thing cities. Extras: Apocalyptic Presence, Decapitation
After millions of years in servitude to the Elder Things,
the shoggoths rebelled, killing their masters and driving TERROR FROM BEYOND
them into small enclaves of safety. The Elder Things fear Winged horrors are some of many strange and inde-
the shoggoths, who take great delight in killing them by scribable creatures in service to the pantheon. They are
ripping off their heads. Millions of years later, shoggoths summoned from outside space and time to do the bid-
exist in small numbers in isolated places that were Elder ding of sorcerers and Mythos Scions. The appearance of
Thing cities. They also serve as guardians to those who winged horrors may vary depending on where they are
know how to trap them into servitude, but a master who summoned from, but regardless of appearance they all
loses control of this guardian comes to regret it. share the same purpose of transporting the summoner
Those who have survived a shoggoth encounter to a desired location even, or perhaps especially, if that
say the first indication is a roaring sound akin to a train location is outside the realms of reality.
followed by something that looks like dark, billowing Winged horrors have a variety of appearances with
clouds and rage personified. These creatures never stop large, membranous wings being the sole physical feature
to parlay or take stock of the situation; shoggoths charge they share. Some are big and strong enough to carry an
into the fight and destroy anyone and anything in the adult human along with a small amount of gear, while
way. In combat, they attack using appendages that spring others are barely able to lift a small child. Their strange ap-
from the mass of their body to seize and smash, punch or pearance is frightening, but they are not good combatants.
crush their opponents. They may also maneuver to slam On the ground, they are clumsy and barely able to move
down on top of an enemy or even try to envelop them around, but they are agile in the air and able to fly quickly
within their own body mass, perhaps suffocating the enough to avoid aerial battles with all but the fastest fliers.
target or even absorbing them into the shoggoth.
TERROR FROM BEYOND
Skilled shoggoths have learned to disguise them-
selves by appearing as a group of separate objects or crea- Archetype: Monster
tures. For example, a shoggoth may appear as a copse of Qualities: Natural Weapon, Flight, Institutional
trees. thinning out portions of its body to form the grass Disbelief
between them. In this way they can make surprise attacks
Flairs: Beyond Description, Here I Come
against unwary opponents. Careful observers may notice
that something is amiss, since shoggoths have difficulty Drive: Need a lift?
mastering these alternate forms and lack fine detail. Primary Pool 11 (Combat, Dread Gaze)
Secondary Pool 9 (Survival)
SHOGGOTH Desperation Pool: 5
Archetype: Titanspawn Health: 6
Qualities: Unstoppable, Regeneration, Natural Defense: 4
Weapon, Stand Tall, Sure Footed, Institutional
Disbelief Initiative: 9

The following are some additional antagonists, qualities, and flairs to add to
your Masks of the Mythos game, courtesy of our crowdfunding supporters.
Enjoy!
The Anri’kala possess a complicated life cycle. At a

ANRI’KALA larval stage, the infant arachnids adopt many biological
Millions of years ago, a sibling reality to our own traits from their host organism; once they have hatched,
witnessed the formation of a world in which creatures Anri’kala which incubated within a human host are
similar to Earth’s arachnids became the apex predator in roughly the size of a pineapple and possess a human face
the evolutionary cycle. Across the eons, these creatures upon their arachnid body. Once birthed, a single Anri’ka-
developed, growing to exceptional sizes. Their ridged, la grows to its full size (approximately that of a horse)
spiked bodies and multiform legs allowed them to within a week. Anri’kala can also sustain themselves in
quickly capture prey, which they consumed with myriad a cocoon for extended periods, up to one human cen-
mandibles and dual mouths. Soon they developed higher tury at a time, which they did after Earth’s authorities
reasoning and awareness, rivaling that of humans but discovered them — meaning a large number of them are
without the “emotional limitations” as they saw it. Their just awakening now. Curiously, the great-grandson of
society was matriarchal, ruled over by a gigantic queen Michael Jameson, Stuart Lloyd-Jameson, has recently
who feasted on the beings of her world and, in return, announced that he will be leaving his position as a soft-
birthed more of her ilk. That was, until their world began ware developer in order to pursue what he claims to be
to run dry of food. And so it was that the Anri’kala looked his lifelong dream of opening a soft drinks company…
outwards to other realities for a source of sustenance.
In 1924, California witnessed a spike in sales of sar-
saparilla. This boom in purchase of this aniseed-flavored ANRI’KALA
carbonated beverage could be traced to a local brewery, Archetype: Foe
Jameson’s Sarsaparilla, which operated out of the run- Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
down town of Santa Mira. The manager of the company, Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146),
Michael Jameson, inherited the brewery from his father Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
and had long worked at it to turn the failing business
around, yet sales had slumped for almost a decade until
Flairs: Immobilize (Origin, p. 150), Parasitize (p.
148)
1924 saw a shocking upturn. Much of this was put down
to the unique sarsaparilla recipe, which had been rein- Drive: Invasion, provide nourishment for the
vented under Jameson’s oversight. The new drink had a queen.
caramel-like aftertaste, strong energizing body, and highly Primary Pool: 7 (Biting, Stealth)
addictive properties. Sales soared, with people through-
Secondary Pool: 5
out the state buying record amounts. Purchasers enjoyed
the new taste eagerly, entirely unaware of the presence of Desperation Pool: 4
microscopic arachnid eggs within their drinks. Health: 1
For people who drank the beverage, they quickly Defense: 2
became hosts to gestating Anri’kala eggs. The panic
when the arachnids escaped their incubation caused Initiative: 5
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 AUBREN FAMILY
The Aubren family is descended from immigrants
the new recipe he’d experienced nightmares in which
to the New Hampshire region, their line dating back to
many chittering voices commanded him to enact a
the early eighteenth century. As one of the oldest and
ritual, the result of which spawned a vast number of
most entrenched families in the region, they are re-
miniature eggs which to use in the brewing process. He
spected and considered above reproach by many in the
was quickly locked away in an asylum, though his story
community. Early generations of Aubrens made their
drew the attention of paranormal investigators. A secret
considerate wealth in the lumber industry, using their
operation featuring the combined efforts of the military,
profits to purchase large swaths of land which they de-
FBI, and several secret organizations saw many of the
veloped for timber. Like many industrious families of the
arachnid invaders exterminated. Unfortunately, a num-
age, their profits were built on the back of the enslaved
ber of them survived.
people they purchased; by the 1790s it is estimated that
Additional Antagonists 135

the majority those forced into enslaved servitude in the parasitical infestation and tendency to enjoy the taste of
New Hampshire area were owned by the Aubren family. freshly-plucked eyes seem almost a secondary grotesquerie.
The family continued to hold firm to its means of
earning profits throughout the revolutionary and refor-
THE AUBREN FAMILY
mation age, and only began to acquiesce to demands to
free their slave population long after the lumber indus- Archetype: Rival (or Nemesis)
tries in the region started to lose profits. Even so, their Qualities: Diplomythic Immunity (Hero, p. 288),
position of wealth and privilege ensured that they were Life Drain (Hero, p. 287), Regeneration (Hero, p.
able to retain much of their enslaved workforce even 288), Willful (Hero, p. 289)
while under the eyes of the local law enforcement. By Flairs: Dread Gaze (Origin, p. 149),
the 1890s, however, manual labor was simply too slow Possession (Origin, p. 150), Sorcery (Origin, p.
a means to retain the profitability of lumber any more, 151), Hypnotic Charm (Origin, p. 152), Parasitize
causing the family to look toward industrialization. The (p. 148)
family’s patriarch, Peter Aubren, purchased a significant
Drive: To protect the family line, maintain our
portion of land in Maine with the intent of expanding
wealth, feed on the eyes
their logging operations. This decision would change
the fate of the Aubren family for the next century. Primary Pool: 9 (11) (Grappling, Financial
Weight)
During the construction of their third processing
plant in 1905, construction workers discovered a tunnel Secondary Pool: 7 (9)
which reached down into the earth beneath Maine’s Desperation Pool: 5 (6)
forested wilderness. Peter Aubren commissioned an ex-
Health: 3 (5)
pedition to survey the tunnel, which led to a long-buried
meteor of an unknown metal. The meteor was unearthed Defense: 3 (4)
and brought to the Aubren estate for examination. Un- Initiative: 6 (9)
known 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 parasit- CATS OF SATURN
ic life-form, with the rest of his family undergoing the On distant Saturn, beneath the thick clouds and roil-
same fate shortly thereafter. ing winds, strange flora hides yet stranger fauna — and
Unlike many similar parasites, the connection all of it, every scurrying creature and every dire behe-
formed between this one and the host heavily favors the moth, is prey for the Cats of Saturn. Locked in a cold war
mind of the host. The Aubren family capitalized on the with the cats of Earth that spans many realms, they are
parasite’s continued infestation; the entities extended most often seen in the Dreamlands where their struggle
life-extending properties into their newfound hosts, for dominance is most focused. However, they are also
slowing the aging process drastically. Peter Aubren, for known to be interested in the dark side of Earth’s moon.
instance, still lives, although in an advanced state of old Saturn Cats are like Earth Cats in the same way that
age. His daughter Emilia, born in 1886, possesses all of a Mastiff is like a Shiba Inu. Hailing from the rough and
the physical traits of a 60-year-old woman. The family’s brutal ecosystem of Saturn, they are larger and more
capability to grow and sire more of their lineage has, robust than their Earthbound cousins, with powerful
similarly, continued unabated. The parasites, in return, jaws akin to those of a tiger. They are difficult to focus
nourish themselves on a steady supply of ocular fluids. on with the eye, as the polychromatic colors of their coat
The Aubren family’s younger members hurriedly target seem slick and unnatural. Like Earth Cats, the Cats of
victims, typically among the state’s more poverty-strick- Saturn are innately able to perceive strange curvatures
en members, to provide this nourishment. of spacetime that warp local space and connect distant
The Aubren family comprises a network of wealthy realms; unlike Earth Cats, who are sworn never to use
and privileged white people who have, through succes- such passages when humans might be watching for fear
sive generations of inbreeding, convinced themselves of of damaging their pets’ fragile minds, the Cats of Saturn
their own superiority due to their station in life. They are have no compunctions about doing so. When hunting
self-congratulatory of their own wealth, citing hard work or chasing prey, they will blink in and out of existence,
and dedication to duty as responsible for the finery that emerging in impossible places for the perfect ambush.
they inherited from their ancestors, and utterly retain The following Traits reflect a Saturn Cat in a Heroic
their forefather’s beliefs in their intrinsic “natural” posi- context; in an Origin game, a Saturn Cat would likely be
tion as superior to those beneath them, especially persons a Professional, with the more noteworthy members of
of color. Their supernatural capabilities granted by their the species rising to Villain status.

CATS OF SATURN that they feed on, chewing at the seams of the deceased’s
Archetype: Foe passing like piranhas.
Records of the Children of Mists are found in many
Qualities: Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146),
Twitchy (Origin, p. 146) parts of human history. Their presence is said to act as
a precursor to death, which is unsurprising given their
Flairs: Shadow Step (Hero, p. 290) place as scavengers. Even though they are more than
Drive: To lay low the cats of Earth capable of defending themselves, and are aggressive
toward any other beings they consider as a threat, they
Primary Pool: 7 (Climbing, Claws & Teeth,
don’t tend to seek to kill their prey themselves. History
Ambush)
records these creatures as birds of ill omen. Different
Secondary Pool: 5 (Tracking, Leaping) cultures have named these entities numerous times;
Desperation Pool: 3 stryx, pamola, bean sidhe. They are drawn to locations
where death will soon be, rather than pursuing the scent
Health: 1 of decay as many earthly scavenger species tend to,
Defense: 1 leaving the question as to whether they possess some
Initiative: 4 prescient capabilities.
CHILD OF MIST CHILD OF MIST

These creatures are relatively small in comparison Archetype: Rival
to many other eldritch entities, resembling nothing
Qualities: Flight (Hero, p. 288),
grander than an owl. However, they lack any distinct fea-
Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148), Shroud (Origin,
tures or shape, other than two large wings to carry them p. 146)
aloft. Each Child of Mist is born from a super-condensed
portion of the mists of Pluto’s atmosphere; this element Flairs: Petrifying Gaze (Hero, p. 290),
in its basic state is non-living, but does hold a minor level Mass Concealment (Hero, p. 291)
of consciousness that when condensed under extreme Drive: Find new deaths and devour.
pressure, such as that of a collapsing star, coalesces into
Primary Pool: 10 (Tracking, Biting)
Children of Mist. Due to the sheer amount of pressure
required, and Pluto’s distance from any collapsing stars, Secondary Pool: 6
investigators often assume Children of Mist are the Desperation Pool: 4
result of some cosmic experiment carried out by more
powerful intelligence.
Health: 4
The Children of Mists are violently independent Defense: 4
scavenger animals, with no actual servitude to greater Initiative: 5
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
CHILDREN OF THEIA
purpose; given their limited behaviors it’s unlikely that Billions of years ago, the primordial Earth was
they’re the favored of any Great Old One in particular. struck by another planet. This tremendous impact is
This leads some scholars to conclude that whichever ex- believed to have created the Moon, and some scientists
periment resulted in their creation was actually a failure. believe the impactor — a planet they call Theia — may
have provided the lion’s share of the Earth’s water, vital
The Children of Mists are found across many differ- to the development of life. Certainly, without this event,
ent realms of existence and possess no native homeland, the Earth would be unrecognizable. What modern sci-
not even Pluto from which they are ancestrally descend- entists don’t know is that Theia had life of its own, and
ed. They do not work together; instead, each Child of that life holds a powerful grudge.
Mist acts as a solitary scavenger who seeks out new food
sources wherever they can. So solitary are the Children Billions of years ago, around a distant and now long-
of Mists that any two which occupy the same region are dead star, the aliens we call Theians climbed up the slow
known to aggressively fight, often to the death. ladder of evolution to sentience, came to master the
sciences, and eventually grew possessed of a cultural
It’s the food the Children rely on that makes them so wanderlust. They modified their homeworld, digging
terrifying; they feed on the moment of a person’s death, deep pits and filling them with impossible machinery
gorging themselves on the seconds in which a dying that gave their planet the ability to move. In effect,
person slips from life into oblivion. It is the death itself rather than building starships with which to explore the

universe, they turned their world into one. They sailed Desperation Pool: 5
the void for countless millennia, charted innumerable
Health: 3
solar systems, plumbed depths of knowledge unimag-
inable to humanity — and then, they made a single, dire Defense: 3
mistake. Upon approaching our young and tumultuous Initiative: 6
solar system, they erred in their calculations, drawing
too close to a hot, young Earth, and leaving Theia at the
Extras: Theian whip-stingers can strike at short
range. They must make a successful whip-stinger
mercy of the chaotic caprice of gravity.
attack to use any of their Flairs.
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 DREAMTHIEVES
themselves in stasis-tombs that placed them outside the You forget where you left your car keys. You forget
flow of time; thus immune to the destruction that befell the new password to your work computer. You forget to
their world, these stasis-tombs and their contents were buy milk at the grocery store. The brain suffers such oc-
all that survived the terrible impact, either sent hurtling casional lapses, and this is normal. As we age, such lapses
into orbit or incorporated into the bulk of the Earth often increase in number and magnitude, a tendency that
and its new moon. For redundancy’s sake, each was set the Dreamthieves exploit to camouflage their hunting
to emerge in a different epoch; no few emerged much behavior. While Dreamthieves rarely hunt the same prey
too soon, and were incinerated by the fires of ancient twice, they occasionally develop a taste for one person’s
Earth before it calmed, and no few dialed their tombs to memories, returning over and over to strip memory after
emerge a billion years hence, long after the Earth will be memory until the unfortunate target lapses into catatonia.
able to support life. Many were entombed so far beneath Dreamthieves come in myriad shapes, the shells of
the Earth’s surface that their emergence spelled their memories they’ve stolen from others. Only a rare few
doom. Those few Theians active now are those lucky have glimpsed a Dreamthief in its native form — a squa-
enough to emerge near the surface and to have wisely mous nightmare of writhing, grasping, cutting tentacles
calculated the time of that emergence. — and escaped with a memory of the encounter intact.
Theians are long, lithe creatures, covered in a downy Most often, this occurs in the Dreamlands, their native
fur and superficially resembling a long-tailed otter or habitat, where they retreat to digest the stolen memories
mongoose, but with long, multi-jointed fingers. Their they feed upon. They hide themselves well, squirming
mouths are filled with sharp, needle-like teeth, and their into caves and crevasses, for it is only in the Dreamlands
fur hides myriad whiplike stingers that strike as fast as a that they are vulnerable — if slain anywhere else in the
snake, some of which can reach up to ten feet from their cosmos, they merely disperse and reform later.
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.
DREAMTHIEVES
Though individual motivations vary, no Theian considers Archetype: Rival
humans to be anything more than brute animals who have Qualities: Immortal-ish (Demigod, p. 210)
discovered some silly tricks, much like we think of corvid
problem solving, and they have no compunctions about Flairs: Dream Hunt (p. 148)
killing humans or enslaving them for their own purposes. Drive: Feed. Reproduce. Repeat.
Primary Pool: 9 (Evasion, Strangling)
CHILDREN OF THEIA Secondary Pool: 7 (Hiding, Ambush)
Archetype: Rival Desperation Pool: 5
Qualities: Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146), Health: 3
Toxic (Origin, p. 147)
Defense: 3
Flairs: Divine Command (Demigod, p. 211),
Knockout (Hero, p. 292), Parasitize (p. 148) Initiative: 6
Drive: To turn Earth into a world-ship like Theia.
Primary Pool: 9 (Technology, Ritual,
EXTRADIMENSIONAL FAUNA
Whip-stingers) The universe we see and experience in our day-to-
day life is but a single plane. There are other worlds,
Secondary Pool: 7 (Biting & Clawing, other universes, which exist right next to us, in the same
Biological Re-engineering) space we do, but invisible, impermeable, undetectable.

We go about our lives blissfully ignorant of the horrors Flairs: Eye of the Swarm (Hero, p. 293)
around us — unless, of course, one is subjected to the
Drive: Oooh, what’s that? Can I eat it?
Tillinghast Effect, which not only reveals these nearby
dimensions but also reveals our presence to the bizarre Primary Pool: variable
inhabitants thereof. Named for the scientist who first Secondary Pool: variable
discovered it, the Tillinghast Effect is caused by a series
of etheric vibrations that set up a resonance in the hu-
Desperation Pool: variable
man pineal gland. There are many ways to accomplish Health: variable
this, but the most common is a device of some kind, the Defense: variable
more advanced varieties thereof even having the option
to tune the resonance field to a specific parallel universe. Initiative: variable
It’s not that the fauna of these otherworlds is unre-
mittingly hostile (though occasionally it is), but that it FLYING POLYPS
has evolved in an utterly different environment and thus Once, in the late Precambrian, Earth belonged to
may have highly unpredictable effects on humans they the Flying Polyps. These strange, half-material beings
come into contact with. A bite from such a creature may built cities with massive windowless basalt towers, and
be no more than a bite, the pathogens it carries incom- preyed on primeval life. Then, the Great Race of Yith
patible with human biochemistry — or, that same bite came, fleeing a dying world and taking up residence in
may be a part of the creature’s reproductive cycle, slowly the cone-like bodies they’ve become known for. Unwill-
converting one’s flesh into more of the horrible things. ing to share a world, they made war upon the Polyps, and
The following reflects Traits common across all Ex- with their great knowledge secured a hard-won victory.
tradimensional Fauna (at least, from our perspective). They drove the Polyps underground, into a vast network
To create different creatures, just choose an appropri- of caves that spanned the subterranean realms of Earth,
ate Archetype, define the Antagonist’s pools, and add a and sealed every entrance. Their task complete, they
Quality or Flair to round it out if necessary. This makes built the city of Pnakotus, and set about amassing their
them usable across Origin, Hero, and even Demigod — great library of lore.
this entry does, after all, represent entire ecosystems. 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, disas-
EXTRADIMENSIONAL FAUNA ter struck; Pnakotus fell and the Yith fled once more,
Archetype: variable and the Cambrian Explosion reseeded Earth with the
Qualities: Phantasmic Substance (p. 148) antecedents of life as we know it. Mass extinction after
mass extinction followed, and still the Polyps endured

Health: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extras: Flying Polyps have Size Scale 2.
LIVING LIGHTNING
The human brain is an electrochemi-
cal 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 proces-
sors 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.
Living Lightning is a sentient pulse of electromagnetic
radiation embodied in what seems to be a constant arc of
beneath the Earth. Now,
electricity leaping from surface to surface. While it’s per-
humans tunnel and burrow and
fectly capable of scorching its way through the World (in-
mine, heedless of the existential
cluding people), doing so expends the Living Lightning’s
threat that dwells below.
energy at a frightful rate, severely weakening the entity in
Flying Polyps are able to render the process. Instead, Living Lightning prefers to leap into
themselves invisible, especially while hunt- complex machines and “possess” them; it is important to
ing. When visible though, their swollen, tubular bodies note here that the human brain is one of the most complex
protrude with eyes, mouths, and other nameless organs. machines on the planet, and very vulnerable to precisely
Enormous feet periodically emerge, reaching out on this effect. In this form, the Living Lightning is able to
tendril-thin limbs, stamping the earth beneath them perceive and interact with the World on a meaningful
with tremendous force and leaving radially-symmetri- timescale — in its lightning form, as a stream of electrons, it
cal five-toed footprints. These footprints, along with a perceives all time as happening at once.
piercing whistle that the Polyps emit, are often the only
Living Lightning’s drives are deeply alien and fre-
sign of their presence — at least, until the Polyp catches
quently incomprehensible, but usually seem to revolve
whatever it’s hunting.
around technology. Sometimes, they smash it in a fit of
rage; other times, they construct machines that seem to
FLYING POLYPS have no purpose. Rarely, they build machines with a pur-
pose, and these instances are by far the most dangerous
Archetype: Titanspawn — Living Lightning has little interest in humanity apart
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289), from as a means to an end, and such machines are often
Flight (Hero, p. 288), Miasmic Presence (Origin, thoroughly inimical to human life.
p. 148), Unseen (Hero, p. 288)
Flairs: Beyond Description, Weather Tyrant
(Hero, p. 292) LIVING LIGHTNING
Drive: Escape. Conquer. Revenge. Archetype: Nemesis
Primary Pool: 13 (Smash, Grapple) Qualities: Imperfect Disguise: Static Electricity
Shocks (Origin, p. 148), Incorporeality (Origin,
Secondary Pool: 11 (Swallow whole, Tracking) p. 148),
Desperation Pool: 7

Regeneration (Hero, p. 288), heavy radiation from a yet-unknown gas source. This ra-
Vulnerability: Shorting Out (Origin, p. 149) diation was so potent that the corporation opted to place
Flairs: Burn at Both Ends, Possession (Origin, p. the inmates into a state of suspended animation until their
150) contamination reached a safe background level. Inmates
were sealed within a chamber deep in the Earth’s moon,
Drive: Center technology; destroy it, build it, and began their artificial slumber. They would not awak-
become it. en in the same millennium. Perhaps the most terrifying
Primary Pool: 11 (Interfacing, Arcing Attacks, aspect of the Lunar Dolls is that for all of the thousands
Puppeteering Technology) of millennia they endured, the stasis procedure they were
Secondary Pool: 9 (Puppeteering the Living, forced to undergo only caused their bodies to be frozen
Constructing Technology) and unable to move. It did nothing to diminish their
awareness of themselves or their environment.
Desperation Pool: 6
While the Dolls slept, the human empire withered,
Health: 5 fell, and was eventually as forgotten as the inmates
Defense: 4 themselves. Six-point-four billion years later, however,
Initiative: 9 natural erosion of the moon exposed the stasis chambers
where Coleopteran’s found and excavated the Dolls. Un-
Extras: Living Lightning’s Possession Flair may be certain how to handle the discovery of these unearthed
used on machines as well as people. Dolls, which were still in a state of suspended animation,
the Coleopterans finally decided the lunar facility was
LUNAR DOLLS surely a lost relic from an ancient time. They used their
technological prowess to send the facility back in time
In the 28th century, human expansion into space
was stymied by an over-reliance on mineral mining. In to the age of the lost human empire; removing what they
order to maintain the burgeoning empire’s requirement perceived to be a potential threat from their timeline.
of minerals to fuel deep-space exploration, new mining The facility emerged from the time travel process in
settlements were established across the moons of Sat- the year 5,200 BCE. The time travel process itself broke
urn, Jupiter, and various asteroid bodies. Prisoners were apart and rewrote the minds of the Dolls in the process.
used as unpaid mining labor, with the mining facilities Robbed of all sense of identity, self and being, the pro-
acting as penal colonies; the owners of the prisons then cess left them with only base animal instincts. The Dolls’
selling the minerals on to the empire’s military for use in bodies remained asleep, held in suspended animation
space vessels. throughout much of human history, their chamber still
The corporations grew wealthy, but the conditions buried deep beneath the lunar surface. It would be many
for the laborers were exceptionally hazardous, with thousands of years until humanity would set foot on the
deaths numbering in the thousands per month. New moon in 1969 and, inadvertently, activate the chamber’s
laws were enforced, often targeting marginalized groups, automated awakening procedure which remained keyed
which ensured a steady supply of new inmates. Howev- to the presence of homo sapiens.
er, the corporations soon recognized the advantages of a Lunar Dolls are typically found off the surface of
more sustainable resource, and developed alternatives. Earth, lurking aboard orbital stations and satellites.
This came in the guise of the Doll; a synthetic body, void The handful that made their way to Earth did so by
of consciousness or discernible features, into which an clinging to survey flights. With the growth of celebrity
inmate’s mind could be placed. and billionaire trips into space in the early 21st century,
These part-mechanical part-biological Dolls had however, the number of Lunar Dolls making their way to
heightened resilience from injury and the negative the planet’s surface has risen sharply. Those that make
health effects from work in the lunar mining facilities, the journey tend to live in proximity to one another, as
and didn’t need to sleep or eat (which further downsized though an instinctive drive pushes them toward forming
costs as a result). Even better for the shareholders, the packs. They favor isolated areas away from busy human
corporation retained ownership over the Dolls, allowing environments, although a vestigial trait of human con-
them to charge the inmates rent for their new “housing.” sciousness still lingers enough to draw them toward fa-
Quickly considered a phenomenal success, Dolls were miliar locales; these two conflicting drives leads them to
rolled out at record numbers, with incalculable numbers inhabit abandoned buildings, disused bomb shelters or
of inmates having their minds forced into them. decaying theme parks or shopping centers— anywhere
which is both desolate yet contains traces of humanity.
Twelve years after the Dolls were first introduced, They blend into such environments, appearing as though
a disaster occurred in a prison colony on the moon Io, they’re simply discarded mannequins. The untold aeons
where the entire population of inmates was exposed to of suspension have not, however, perfectly preserved the

Lunar Dolls; much of the bio-mass that once constituted target a specific victim, focusing focus on a sleeper and
their body has worn down, causing them to resemble “riding” that person’s dreams into the waking World.
decaying plastic, often with missing patches, holes, or The Mirror Men are silent creatures, communicat-
loss of external organs such as sensory apparatus. This ing only with one another through silent thoughts. Their
doesn’t make the act of seeing them any more reassuring. bodies resemble shadows with hazy, mist-like edges;
however, the reflections shown on their mirror-like fac-
es are always clear. They follow their intended targets
LUNAR DOLLS
in small packs, often stalking them when their prey is
Archetype: Rival alone. Their fascination with the humans that birthed
Qualities: Armor Piercing (Hero, p. 287), them is exceptional, and they exhibit a keen interest
Imperfect Disguise (Origin, p. 148), in cranial vivisection as a means to learn more of their
Sure Footed (Origin, p. 147), Unstoppable creators. This takes the form first of a psychic invasion,
(Hero, p. 288) ripping apart the victim’s minds to lay bare and analyze
Flairs: Long Arm (Origin, p. 150), Playing Possum the psyche, before eventually doing the same to the
(p. 149) physical brain.
Drive: Make the pain stop.
Primary Pool: 8 (Hiding, Strangulation) MIRROR MEN
Secondary Pool: 7 (Ambush) Archetype: Rival
Desperation Pool: 6 Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148),
Health: 4 Miasmic Presence (Origin, p. 148), Unseen
Defense: 3 (Hero, p. 288)
Initiative: 5 Flairs: Shapeshifter (Origin, p. 150),
Mirror Mirror (Hero, p. 291), Psionic Invasion (p.
149)
MIRROR MEN Drive: Understand humanity, dissect the bodies,
Jacques Lacan, a psychoanalyst during the early and vivisect the brains.
20th century, believed that one of the infant stages of
human development includes that of recognizing one-
Primary Pool: 9 (Stealth, Mental Assault)
self in the reflection of a mirror. Following this stage, Secondary Pool: 7 (Claws)
the human psyche learns to recognize and separate the Desperation Pool: 5
sense of self from that of “the other.” People are innately
fearful and mistrusting of the image of oneself, Lacan Health: 4
argued, but grow to understand that the reflection is Defense: 4
merely another part of us.
Initiative: 6
However, this interpellation is not necessarily al-
ways accurate. What would become Mirror Men were,
for a time, nameless chameleonic entities dwelling in the MRS. MOLOCH
Dreamlands until they saw an appealing potential in the Mrs. Moloch’s origins belie her supernatural nature.
psyche of human dreamers. Adapting to interact with Born in England in the 1500s to a scholarly family with
human psychological fears, these entities grew intimate an interest in the occult, even as a child she interacted
with the innate fear of dehumanization and doppel- with luminaries of the age including the infamous John
gangers. They soon evolved to emulate the forms of dark Dee. Mrs. Moloch stole secrets from her parent’s hidden
silhouettes of the human form, yet with a flat reflective libraries, determined that her goal in life was to pursue
surface in the place of any facial features. the meaning behind the cosmos. Over time, she became
aware of minds far greater than humanity and joined
Across centuries these entities took a particular in-
numerous Mythos cults, but all that fell to one side when
terest in the human mind; after all, it was the elements
she discovered of the existence of Scions.
of humankind’s psyche which had given them the forms
that they now possessed. Initially restricted to realms Mrs. Moloch sought to become a Scion herself,
of dreams, the creatures were content to stalk human quickly rising through the echelons of various cults until
nightmares for millennia. However, in recent genera- she became one of the most renowned occult leaders of
tions, the Mirror Men have found means to slip from the the Elizabethan era. While her benefactors granted her a
Dreamlands into the material World. This requires they limited number of powers though, enough to elevate her

far beyond mortal men, it was not enough for her; not
until she too could grasp Godhood like the Scions. THE NAMELESS
These reptilian creatures dwelled in the Nameless
It was then that she unwittingly met Nyarlathoptep,
City, and numerous other regions of the World, prior
in his guise as the unnamed one. A deal was struck be-
to the rise of humans. They trace their ancestry back to
tween her and the unnamed, one which Mrs. Moloch
the dinosaurs, and in their era of ascendancy developed
still upholds today. The unnamed promised that one day
nations the likes of which humans wouldn’t achieve for
she would find her place between the gods as an equal,
millennia. Governing their cities by imperial might, the
but she would serve the unnamed as his champion until
heart of their world was the Nameless City which nes-
then. He granted her the powers she now wields and bid
tles where modern-day Egypt now sits.
her to continue her work. He also tasked her with the
annihilation of his rivals. For centuries Mrs. Moloch has The Nameless are shorter than the average human,
hunted and slain for the unnamed, playing as a willing and thoroughly reptilian in nature, with features like that
pawn in his games, earnestly believing he will enkindle of modern crocodiles (which in turn descended from
her the inheritance to his powers. them). Their heads are rounder however, more shaped
like that of a human, and bear short snouts and a pair of
Mrs. Moloch is not a Scion, but believes that one day
small, curled horns. They are bipedal, capable of carrying
her mysterious benefactor will elevate her. Until then
tools in long bony fingers with a triple-jointed thumb.
she serves Nyarlathotep; or at least, she serves one of his
Their tool use allowed for the construction of their vast
masks. The powers that he granted her are considerable,
cities, and the means by which they herded early homo
to the point that Mrs. Moloch has abandoned most ves-
sapiens. The Nameless kept humans as enslaved labor,
tiges of humanity. She is deadly and efficient at her task;
as rendered in frescos discovered on the walls of their
numerous Scions have fallen to her, either bled out on the
ruined cities. Even more grotesque was the use of early
battlefield or charred to a ruin by her mystical arts. She
humans as sacrifices to their gods; this practice ensured
views Scions jealously, believing them to have inherited
the fearful subservience of homo sapiens for centuries.
through luck of birth that which she worked for centu-
ries to obtain, and derives personal satisfaction in killing However, like all who build their empire on slavery,
them. She doesn’t age, and is capable of altering aspects the Nameless’ time was short. Homo sapiens were not as
of her form to move covertly. She is no longer pledged “primitive” as the reptiles believed; and those Nameless
to any of her former cults, however, and this marked her who survived the uprisings were forced to hide among
as heretical to many of her previous associates and their the ruins of their cities as they grew buried and forgot-
gods. Mrs. Moloch has many enemies, particularly among ten. On the walls of their burned temples, the remaining
those who see her as a betrayer. It’s only through the dark Nameless documented their fall; not at the hands of
gifts of her benefactor that she survives such ire. 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 subter-
MRS. MOLOCH ranean, as time has covered their ruined cities. They prey,
Archetype: Titanspawn loathsomely, on humans who dig too deep; archeologists,
explorers, grave-robbers, and historians. At times, when
Qualities: By Divine Right (Origin, p. 289),
their food reserves run low, groups of Nameless venture
Mystic Arsenal (Origin, p. 289),
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146), out above-ground; this is rare, but they are ravenous when
Tough as Nails (Origin, p. 288), it does occur. The Nameless have convinced themselves
Wall-Walker (Origin, p. 288) of their own revisionist history, blaming the gods for their
empire’s fall. As a result, they hold a special hatred in their
Flairs: Illusions (Origin, p. 150), Sorcery hearts for Scions. The Nameless view the sacrifice of a Scion
(Origin, p. 151), Thousand Faces (Origin, p.
to their gods to be a great honor; if the Scion isn’t eaten first.
151), Curse (Hero, p. 289)
Drive: To kill those who stand between her and her
ascension. THE NAMELESS
Primary Pool: 12 (Forbidden Knowledge, Talons) Archetype: Foe
Secondary Pool: 11 (Disguise, Scheming) Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
Desperation Pool: 9 Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146),
Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
Health: 11
Flairs: Immobilize (Origin, p. 150),
Defense: 6 Penetrator (Hero, p. 290)
Initiative: 8 Drive: Zealous hatred of men and Scions alike.

Primary Pool: 7 (Stealth) needs. In the last thirty or forty years, such has become
more common — it’s easier to raid dumpsters for unpur-
Secondary Pool: 5
chased food than scour the dangerous tunnels below for
Desperation Pool: 4 fungus, and the chemicals that supermarkets douse their
Health: 2 castoffs with to make them unpalatable or dangerous to
humans bothers Proto-Coleopterans not at all.
Defense: 1
Proto-Coleopterans make excellent Professionals in
Initiative: 5 Origin games.
PROTO-COLEOPTERANS PROTO-COLEOPTERANS
In the Archives of Yith, the future is known, for
the Yith have been there and recorded all that they Archetype: Foe
have seen. One day, humanity will fail. Our cities will Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
crumble, our technology will fail, and we will pass out Heavily Armored (Origin, p. 146),
of history as have so many others before us. And when Wall-Walker (Hero, p. 288)
we are gone, and the Earth shows no signs of our ever Drive: Survival.
having existed, Earth will play host to a new ascendant
species: the beetle-like Coleopterans. One day, when Primary Pool: 7
their civilization is established and thriving, the Yith Secondary Pool: 5
will invade across time, sentencing the Coleopterans to
Desperation Pool: 3
endure the Precambrian catastrophe that would have
destroyed them. But that day is far in the future, and in Health: 1
modern times the ancestors of the Coleopterans still live Defense: 1
deep beneath the Earth.
Initiative: 4
These Proto-Coleopterans are similar to early hom-
inids; they’re capable of problem solving, have emotions
and a rudimentary language, but true understanding THE RED
of themselves and their environment still eludes them. The Red is a creature of mist, lacking any specific
Wary of the Flying Polyps, they maintain carefully gat- physical characteristics aside from its virulent hue of
ed tunnel nests, feeding on fungus and detritus. When crimson. It’s tangentially similar to gaseous entities, but
food grows scarce, they venture up to the surface, where exhibits far more aggressive tendencies. The Red is an
humanity wastes plenty more than provides for their inter-dimensional entity, existing in no one particular

plane of reality. Rather, it is one of a variety of species Secondary Pool: 9
inhabiting narrow gaps between alternating realities.
Desperation Pool: 7
Its particular aggressive tendencies see it latch onto
and corrode any smaller entities seeking to escape the Health: 6
bounds of their home realities, with the Red operating Defense: 3
as something akin to a multiversal immune system.
Numerous would-be travelers, mortals and Scions alike,
Initiative: 8
venturing beyond the bounds of this reality, have met
their ends at the hands of this shade. While most travel- SENTIENT CRYSTAL
ers refer to it in the singular, scholars speculate that the The largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede, or-
creature is in fact many-in-one. Observes have seen the bits Jupiter and possesses a wealth of mineral deposits,
Red anywhere as tall as a single human, to as large as a a significant amount of which are self-aware. Thriving
small moon. within the moon’s low-atmosphere environment, these
The Red is quite content to remain within its own minerals are condensed into a luminescent crystalline
inter-reality null-space, and tends not to migrate into form which create huge, glowing reef-like shoals togeth-
any other reality without external compulsion. While er. The crystals can make themselves vibrate powerfully
it can be summoned by rituals (which is a bad idea, as at frequencies undetectable to many humans, but those
it immediately grows aggressive and enters a frenzied who can detect it believe the vibrations serve as a form
state), the main reason it leaves its home is to hunt down of communication.
interlopers. The Red views these targets as anomalous The crystals, despite their sentience, are not highly
bodies, and hunts them down with all the relentlessness intelligent and possess little that can be reasoned with,
of a dedicated organism. nor do they have any inclination toward hostility. In-
Outside of its null-space, the Red rapidly diminishes stead, they function on the principals of survival. They
in size and weakens considerably. Within a short period grow as part of the moon’s exosystem, but become dan-
of time, it starts to adopt a gray hue before perishing, gerous if exposed to oxygen, which triggers a rapidly
similar to similar organic cells removed from their host accelerated growth within them. A single hand-sized
body. This death can be delayed by an indefinite amount shard of crystal has the potential to fill an entire room
of time if the Red inhabits the form of a creature native within one day, exponentially increasing in size even af-
to its current reality. terward. They further use any form of carbon to fuel this
Native creatures inhabited by the Red assume it’s growth; something which the human body possesses in
severe aggressiveness. The Red does not grant those it no small quantity.
inhibits any additional benefits; the host doesn’t gain These sentient crystals don’t care about humans.
any additional strength, powers, or means to protect They barely recognize them as a growth source; if they
itself. The host’s perception of the world is significantly even are aware of humans at all. Nevertheless, due to
altered; they are still capable of some limited forms of their vibrational frequencies and luminescence, the
reasoning, but their behavior is significantly impaired crystals are fascinating to the minority of humans who
and restricted to violent urges. The host is capable of are able to perceive it. Those few who can perceive such
recognizing friends and allies, but requires significant frequencies describe the crystals as “singing” to them.
willpower to resist lashing out at them. Upon a host’s The crystals are capable of absorbing carbon-based
death, the Red is ejected from the body to resume its elements, and converting them into crystalline forms.
gradual deterioration. 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
THE RED
crystal itself. This is fatal to most creatures, who cannot
Archetype: Nemesis exist or breathe encased in crystal and cannot be ex-
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289), tracted as their living tissue has become fused with it.
Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289), Disembodied The sensation of having one’s body actively altered at
(Hero, p. 288), Incorporeality (Origin, p. 148), a cellular level is agonizing and horrific. Even so, those
Natural Weapons (Origin, p. 146) who become enamored by the crystalline entities to the
Flairs: Seeing Red (Origin, p. 149), point of adulation or worship find this process to be gro-
Possession (Origin, p. 150), This Corrosion (p. tesquely exhilarating; and view it as fusion with a being
149) they revere as divine.
Drive: Rage. There is nothing else.
Primary Pool: 10 (Corrosion, Possession)

SENTIENT CRYSTAL Secondary Pool: 11
Archetype: Titanspawn Desperation Pool: 7
Qualities: Armor Piercing (Hero, p. 287), Health: 10
Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289), Life Drain (Hero, p.
287), Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146), Defense: 4
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288), Initiative: 10
Vengeful Blood (Hero, p. 289),
Extras: Shantaks have Size Scale 2
Flairs: Making Space (Origin, p. 150),
Penetrator (Hero, p. 290)
Drive: Grow. Flourish. Occupy. Possess.
STELLAR VAMPIRE
A peculiar species originating from the depths of
Primary Pool: 13 (Absorption, Assimilation) space, stellar vampires exist as semi-solid creatures close
Secondary Pool: 10 to the size of an average human. They are roughly spheri-
cal in shape, and levitate, darting back and forth in a man-
Desperation Pool: 8 ner that is suggestive of whippoorwills. They possess an
Health: 9 aurora not unlike that of a star, but miasmic rather than
Defense: 3 formed of light; beneath this, they resemble hardened
nuclei, much like a solidified protoplasmic tumor. All
Initiative: 8 stellar vampires share a singular gestalt consciousness;
memories and experiences shared by one are distributed
SHANTAK between their collective awareness, regardless of dis-
tance between them. Despite their shared consciousness,
Shantaks are enormous, winged creatures, neither
stellar vampires prefer toward hunting alone.
bird nor bat but something in between. Larger than el-
ephants and with a vaguely equine head, it’s likely that As befitting their names, stellar vampires feed on
more than one “dragon” sighting was, in fact, a shantak other species. They possess little affinity for blood, how-
spotted in the wild. These days, shantaks are much more ever, and devour memories instead. For the victim, their
likely to be spotted in the Dreamlands — they’re rare in life’s moments disappear down the creature’s gullet;
the World itself, and not fond of large numbers of hu- however, for the vampire, the “juices” of these memo-
mans, for in antiquity their enormous eggs were a much- ries become more than a psychic feast, and form part of
prized delicacy, and they were subsequently hunted to the creature’s understanding of the cosmos. As soon as
near-extinction. Shantaks themselves are carnivorous, a victim’s memories are taken, they are shared among
and will happily eat humans if given the chance, though the collective gestalt, both nourishing and informing the
to them that’s no more than a couple of bites. knowledge of all stellar vampires. Especially ravenous
vampires may even devour memories which include
Shantaks can be trained, though the task is daunting
the victim’s assault at their hands, leaving the terrified
to say the least. More often, sorcerers or other learned
victim unable to even remember the creature’s maledic-
individuals will employ Arcane Calculus or other forms
tions. Most victims are left as an empty husk, bereft of all
of magic to control them, eliminating the need for costly,
the lived experiences that formed their personality over
time-consuming, and dangerous training. They make
the years; in worst cases, these victims are caught in a
excellent sentinels, and even serve well as aerial mounts
state of waking death.
(if one can abide the creature’s stench, which is disturb-
ingly like rotting meat). 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
SHANTAK at the hands of its dying star. At the time, the species that
Archetype: Titanspawn would become stellar vampires thrived as the apex pred-
ator on this long-forgotten planet. A handful of them
Qualities: Flight (Hero, p. 288), enacted necromantic rituals to ensure their own survival
Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146)
as undead, sacrificing the rest of their species to this re-
Flairs: Making Space (Origin, p. 150) birth. Ironically the stellar vampires remember neither
Drive: If wild, to defend its territory; if trained or this massacre, nor their home planet, nor the creatures
mystically controlled, to serve its master. they once were. They were birthed in that ritual, and
anything that came before died.
Primary Pool: 13

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 mem-
ories, 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 al- state of threat from the shoggoths of that region, but it’s
bino penguins are notable primarily due to their height, evident the penguins consider this to be the lesser threat
averaging at six foot. They possess a strong elongated compared to humanity.
beak and powerful arms.
The Triassic penguins are a docile species. Their
TRIASSIC PENGUIN
large stature does little to scare off potential predators
and the birds are often prey to larger seafaring preda- Archetype: Foe
tors, and even the occasional shoggoth to which these Qualities: Group Tactics (Origin, p. 146),
penguins react with instinctual horror. Albino penguins Natural Weapon (Origin, p. 146)
are even docile toward humans, and often act more of a
Drive: Nurture the young.
hindrance than a threat to explorers. The only recorded
incidents of attacks from albino penguins are made by Primary Pool: 4 (swim)
birds striving to protect their young. Secondary Pool: 2
The penguins perceived “exotic” nature made them Desperation Pool: 1
prized by hunters, causing their already small population
to plummet to near-extinction. The few surviving albino Health: 1
penguins are located in the center of the ancient Elder Defense: 1
God cities, at the most inhospitable reaches of Antarc-
Initiative: 2
tica. This does put these calm creatures in a perpetual
Taking on a Mantle 147

NEW QUALITIES • Dreamkiller: Each “Injury Condition” the
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state is actually
& FLAIRS
an Injury Condition, no airquotes. If you die in the
dream, you die for real.
PARASITIZE
PHANTASMIC SUBSTANCE Cost: 2 Tension
The Antagonist’s physical substance is of a form Duration: Indefinite
of matter alien to the World in some way, whether it’s
from another part of the universe or a different universe Range: Short
altogether. This alien matter reacts in strange ways with Action: Simple
normal matter, often either consuming or replacing it on a
Cooldown: The Flair’s effects are broken or the
cellular level like a disease of chemistry. Areas the Antago-
scene ends, whichever comes first.
nist 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 NEW CONDITION:
Duration: Instant PARASITIZED
Range: Short
Your character has been parasitized, and has
Action: Reflexive a small piece of alien flesh growing inside their
Cooldown: The Antagonist takes harm from anoth- body. This Condition progresses through four
er source. Stages, each of which has different effects as
listed below.
The Antagonist sacrifices a bit of her own life force to
Stage 1 Effects: The subject is likely
empower an attack. This Flair is used in conjunction with
unaware of the parasitization, suffering +1
a normal attack; if that attack is successful, treat the at- Difficulty to any action opposing the source
tack as a Critical even if the Antagonist didn’t roll enough of the Condition. Stage 1 lasts for 24 hours, at
successes to purchase that stunt. If the Antagonist does which point the Condition advances to Stage 2.
roll sufficient successes, she must purchase that stunt.
Stage 2 Effects: The subject becomes aware
that they aren’t fully in control of themselves. In
DREAM HUNT addition to the effects of Stage 1, the subject
Cost: 2 Tension now suffers a -2 Complication to any action
Duration: One REM Cycle that doesn’t in some way aid or advance the
interests of the source of the Condition. Stage 2
Subject: A sleeping target
lasts for 48 hours before advancing to Stage 3.
Range: Close Stage 3 Effects: The subject can no
Action: Complex longer act against the source of the Condition
The Antagonist enters the dreams of a sleeping
without succeeding on a reflexive Resolve +
Integrity roll, difficulty equal to half the source’s
target, subtly altering them with its alien presence
Desperation pool rounded up or their Legend,
and beginning its hunt, which usually culminates in a
whichever is more applicable. Stage 3 lasts for
confrontation between the predator and the dreamer’s
72 hours, at which point it advances to Stage 4.
dream-self. This can have one of several effects: choose
one when assigning this Flair, or invent one of your own. Stage 4 Effects: The subject is fully under
the control of the source of the Condition.
• Memory Eater: Each “Injury Condition” the Player characters never reach this level of the
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state extracts a Condition, and instead remain at Stage 3.
memory from the sleeper, who loses all recollec- Momentum: Gain Momentum when the
tion of it. parasite inside you forces you to betray or
• Heartbreaker: Each “Injury Condition” the otherwise hinder your friends.
Antagonist inflicts in the dream-state subtracts Resolution: Surgically remove or chemically
one level from one of the subject’s Bonds, repre- kill the parasite.
senting a deadening of feeling.

The Antagonist injects, implants, or in some way Range: Short
inserts a piece of itself into the target. This requires a Action: The Antagonist takes damage.
successful attack roll, unless the target is restrained,
willing, or in some way incapacitated. The parasitic Cooldown: The Flair’s effects are broken or the
implant slowly grows inside the target, giving them the scene ends, whichever comes first.
Parasitized Condition. The Antagonist makes an attack which targets the
victim’s mind, breaking through their psyche and deal-
PLAYING POSSUM ing psychosomatic damage while the victim experiences
Cost: None 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
Subject: Self Resolution, and cannot be raised any higher against this
Range: Self attack. To use this Flair, the Antagonist must touch the
intended victim on the forehead.
Action: Reflexive
Cooldown: End of Scene, or the Antagonist gains THIS CORROSION
Taken Out. Cost: 1 or more Tension
The Antagonist doesn’t bleed, doesn’t give any signs of Duration: One Scene
injury, and otherwise has no outward indicator of how Subject: Area
close to defeat they are, making it hard for characters to Range: Medium
tell if they are truly dead or not. Any time an Antagonist
takes damage and isn’t Taken Out, the Antagonist may Action: Simple
act as though it was. It may return to the fight at any Cooldown: One Session
time; if it does, its next attack counts as a Surprise At- Prerequisites: Nemesis Archetype
tack. A character may attempt to determine whether the
Antagonist is truly dead or not, which requires a Medi- The Antagonist designates a certain element of the
cine + Cunning roll opposed by the Antagonist’s Desper- scene, such as a character or part of a room. Any charac-
ation Pool. If the character succeeds at this roll, the next ters occupying or existing within that element becomes
successful attack made on the Antagonist currently using the victim of this attack. For every turn the target remains
this Flair gains an additional Injury Condition. within that area, the character’s Armor is reduced by 1. If
the target has no Armor remaining, inflict 1 Injury Condi-
PSIONIC INVASION tion to the target. If the target of this Flair is a character,
forcing themselves out of the Antagonist’s corrosion re-
Cost: 2 Tension
quires an Athletics + Stamina roll opposed by the Antag-
Duration: Instant onist’s Desperation Pool. The Antagonist can target one
Subject: One Target additional target for each point of Tension spent.
New Qualities and Flairs 149

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
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
comforting shadows of ignorance. When a Hero becomes awe, anticipation, and the dread they’ve been feeling
a Demigod, they accept that if they wish to know more, the whole time. Just because a Demigod’s eyes are open
there can be no turning back. They can no longer pretend to the true depths of the universe doesn’t mean they’ve
that the World they once knew is anything but a soothing shed their ties to humanity just yet, but that may be a
fiction, a calm pocket in a storm of truths so invasive, choice they’re confronted with in the near future, partic-
so all-encompassing, that to apprehend them in their ularly if they’re Mythos Scions. For example, a Demigod
entirety is to irrevocably lose the option to ignore them. with distant Deep One heritage may find that potential
This is no descent into “madness,” though mortals may catalyzed by the mythic energies suffusing her, begin-
see it that way — instead, it is a gradual process of learning ning the process of her transformation into an amphibi-
and acceptance. ous hybrid. Even those without such ties to the Mythos,
This appendix explores playing Scion: Masks of the however, find manifold avenues away from comfortable,
Mythos at the Demigod tier. Stories take ever-stranger predictable humanity. It might take the form of slowly
turns, leading player characters to Terra Incognitae and replacing their body’s matter with trans-dimensional
beyond as they explore the truth about the World, about substances with strange properties, or increasingly di-
themselves, and about each other. It includes advice for vorcing thought from flesh and living as a creature of the
players and Storyguides, as well as a few ready-made Dreamlands, or any one of myriad unusual fates.
Antagonists drawn from Mythos lore. If you want your Ultimately, the choice rests with the player, but
Masks of the Mythos game to get really weird, this is even within the fiction the character isn’t powerless to
the chapter for you. steer her destiny. That’s the benefit of embracing the
unknown; once you no longer deny it, once you begin to
PLAYING 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.
DEMIGOD-TIER MYTHOS This dramatically oversimplifies the situation, of course;
You thought you were uncovering the truth, seeing the Mythos is not a singular thing, and cannot be con-
things as they were for the first time as you plumbed the trolled as humans would understand the term, but there
depths of whatever mystery arrested your focus. Then, is a balance to be struck. The various forces and enti-
the epiphany came, and you saw how truly deep the ties that compose the Mythos respond much better to
abyss of truth was, and vertigo seized your senses. You someone who isn’t stumbling through every interaction
made a choice, then, not to close your eyes but to ride it with it without any idea what they’re doing, much like a
out and experience every moment in pure clarity. Your nuclear reactor behaves better with a trained engineer at
the controls instead of a five-year-old.
150 APPENDIX ONE: DEMIGOD-TIER PLAY

the Storyguide’s discretion, this artificial obsession may
FATEBINDING lead to the character experiencing it gaining Awareness.
As with divine Demigods, Scions pursuing a Mythos
ascension are more readily Fatebound, and are able to Scion’s Legend Time Required
Fatebind more powerful entities than themselves as well
as larger populations and even places or objects. As with 3 One day
divine Scions, they must pursue those ties, or suffer the 4 Six hours
effects of the Fatebinding’s Avoidance. Their increasing 5 One hour
Awareness, however, gives them additional options with
which to contend with these Fatebindings, if they so 6 One scene
desire. 7+ Immediate
Once a Scion’s Legend and Awareness both exceed
5, she gains the following abilities:
SANCTA AND
• Shuffling Horoscopes: A Scion may spend a point
of Awareness to claim a Fatebinding belonging to TERRA INCOGNITAE
a target of lower Tier. She may also spend a point Much like purely divine Scions, Scions of the
of Awareness to alter the type of a Fatebinding Mythos (and divine Scions caught up in it) are able to
belong to another character of lower Tier. bind themselves to places, making those places a part
of their legend. In time, these places grow to become a
• Elder Sign: By committing a point of Awareness,
proper Terra Incognita attached to the Scion’s Legend.
a Scion may place one of her Fatebindings in abey-
If anything, the Mythos’ affinity for strange extradi-
ance. As long as the Awareness is committed, the
mensional excursions makes the process even easier for
Scion may neglect the Fatebinding without suf-
Demigods with a bit of Awareness.
fering Avoidance. However, the longer she holds
off the Fatebinding, the worse its compel becomes Sanctums belonging to Scions of Mythos entities are
when it comes due; the Storyguide should up the inherently connected to the entity in question. Low-level
ante as appropriate. Once the Scion has held the Sanctums are merely pervaded by the energies or quali-
Fatebinding off for a number of episodes equal ties of the entity, from strange and unsettling geometries
to her Awareness Trait, the tension becomes in the case of Yog-Sothoth to a persistent dampness in the
too great to hold off, and the Fatebinding is im- case of Albtraum. As the Sanctum grows, maturing into a
mediately compelled in the direst manner the full Terra Incognita, these energies coalesce into a gate-
Storyguide can conceive of. way connecting the Scion’s realm to that of their patron.
OMENS OF THE MYTHOS NEW SANCTUM OPTIONS

The following Sanctum options are available to
A Scion’s omen is typically bound up in her per-
Demigod-Tier characters with an Awareness Trait of 4
son, affecting her and only her even as she ascends to
or higher. For every dot of Awareness above 4, a player
Demigod and beyond. For the Scions of the Mythos,
may choose one of the following options for her Sanc-
with Awareness and Legend fighting for their destinies,
tum; each dot so chosen subtracts from the cost of
the omen becomes something more. At Awareness 3, a
the Sanctum Birthright, allowing Scions with a deeper
Scion’s omen extends beyond herself, becoming a mark
understanding of the universe to abuse it further than
she leaves in her wake; the higher her Awareness, the
ordinarily possible.
less time she requires to imprint herself on a location.
This takes whatever form is appropriate, from a certain • –1 dot: The geometry of your character’s Sanctum
variety of animal congregating in unusual numbers in is ever-so-slightly different from that of the World
the location to strange symbols appearing in seemingly humanity knows. Gain +2 Enhancement to all
natural ways, such as moss or cracks in the sidewalk. rolls relating to Arcane Calculus. Anyone unac-
At Heroic Tier, these portents are merely unsettling; customed to such unearthly spatial torsion suffers
however, at Demigod Tier, enough of the Scion’s energies a Complication equal to half your character’s
remain bound up in the location, becoming both attrac- Legend, round up. Anyone without Awareness
tive and slightly infectious. Those who spend too long who spends more than (Resolve + Integrity) hours
observing the Scion’s omen begin to see it everywhere in your Sanctum gains an appropriate Condition
they go. This inflicts a Condition causing a Complication chosen by the Storyguide, and at Storyguide’s dis-
equal to half the Scion’s Legend (round up) that can only cretion may gain a dot of Awareness.
be resolved with professional help, such as therapy. At • –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 dis- REALM BIRTHRIGHTS
cretion and Storyguide approval. Characters iso- Like divine Demigods, Scions touched by the
lated within a Sanctum where time moves slower Mythos can develop Fatebindings with entire Realms,
may gain the Rip Van Winkle Condition (below). granting them access to Realm Birthrights. These Birth-
rights draw a little of the Realm’s power with the Scion
• –1 dot: Your Sanctum overlaps several other di-
wherever she goes, allowing her to use them wherever
mensions, making it a magnet for creatures that
she finds herself. Naturally, from others’ perspectives,
exist in these alternate dimensions that normally
this frequently means that the Scion is surrounded by a
exist side-by-side with our own. Normally invis-
nightmarish susurrus of Things That Shouldn’t Be.
ible and intangible, within your Sanctum they
manifest materially, and may act according to their Mythos Scions who purchase a Realm Birthright
alien drives. You have a measure of control over gain a Field reflecting the Realm they’re Fatebound
these creatures while they’re in your Sanctum; to. This Field does not replace, but overlays whatever
they won’t attack you unless provoked, and while Field may exist in the World around the Scion — if the
you can’t command them outright, enterprising two conflict somehow, favor the Scion’s Field. Players
Demigods might train these otherworldly beings and Storyguides should collaborate to design this Field
to respond to certain stimuli. Characters who based on the Realm in question, but all such Fields have
spend too much time in your Sanctum may find the following effects:
that it stimulates their pineal gland, allowing • Disquieting Aura: Characters of lesser Tier or
them to perceive and interact with such creatures whose Awareness is less than the Scion’s perceive
(and vice versa!) even outside the Sanctum, but the Field as, for lack of a better term, otherworld-
this is left to player and Storyguide’s discretion. ly — 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
PERSISTENT CONDITION: her and get the same feeling multiple times they’ll
start to put two and two together. How they react
RIP VAN WINKLE depends on the individual; some may be revolted,
The World has passed you by, making you others fascinated. At Storyguide’s discretion, this
a relic of a bygone age overnight. What was may translate to Complications or Enhancements,
familiar is gone or changed at best. Friends as appropriate.
and loved ones have moved on or have • Intrusion: When the Scion expends Legend, her
aged and passed on. You are isolated, you Field Condition manifests physically as her Realm
cannot go back, and you have the strangest is tied, however briefly, to the World through that
feeling of being watched. Legend. This is not a subtle effect — walls shift
Effect: Suffer +3 Complication on position and even substance, fires burn strange
any roll to engage with things of the new colors, and even the might stars slip ever so slight-
future (televisions, computers, hyperspace ly out of position. Characters without Awareness
difference engines, and so on, depending on must succeed on a Composure + Integrity roll
when you’re from). Gain +2 Enhancement on to remain active; if they fail, they either flee or
any Culture or Academics rolls related to the faint. If they succeed, they may gain Awareness at
period you originate from; it’s as fresh in your Storyguide’s discretion. Whatever Field may have
mind as yesterday, because to you it was
been in place before is overlaid, and no longer ap-
yesterday. You are under close observation
plies. Intrusion lasts for a number of hours equal
by the Hounds of Tindalos, but unless you
to Legend spent in a single scene.
attempt to return to your native time, they’ll
leave you to your fate. • Hitch-hikers: If, while an Intrusion is active,
the Scion botches any roll, it summons creatures
Momentum: Gain 1 Momentum when
native to that Realm. The kind and number de-
you reveal yourself to be obvious out of your
pend on the Realm in question; a Realm similar
depth, befuddled by things everyone else con-
siders ordinary, or otherwise encounter serious to the World’s logic may simply generate a swarm
difficulty due to being a temporal refugee. 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

bound to obey the Scion — it’ll work to fulfill its Scion Player’s Guide, p. 11), though others may serve
own drives and objectives, which may (and likely with appropriate interpretation.
do) run counter to the Scion’s own. To embrace the Mythos, then, is to become some-
thing that goes beyond the conventional bounds of divin-
STORYGUIDING DEMIGOD- ity, tied to humanity but utterly beyond it in ways even
gods find disturbing. Effectively, the Demigod walks the
TIER MYTHOS path of ascension as an Elder God — incomprehensible
Many of Lovecraft’s protagonists faint at convenient entities that nevertheless maintain a more-or-less be-
moments, missing out on the strangest moments that nevolent attitude towards humanity, such as Nodens.
— let’s admit it — we the reader are there for. In some
works, especially Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, PURE MYTHOS APOTHEOSIS
that veil is pulled back, and the eerie surreality of the It was never about divinity; divinity is a human
Mythos is allowed to take center stage. Much like dream concept, and the Scion’s sights have always been set well
logic, the World beyond human understanding can seem beyond the bounds of human understanding. This path
senseless, random, and frequently incomprehensible, is most common to Scions of Mythos entities, it being
and that sense that logic is failing and the World itself is the natural outcome of embracing one’s heritage, the
not what it seems is the feeling a Demigod-tier Mythos will of the Old Ones, or whatever drew the Hero into
campaign should be attempting to evoke. the Mythos to begin with. It is not, however, exclusive
to such Scions; divine Scions who discover and embrace
STYLES OF MYTHOS- the Mythos can follow this path just as readily, catalyz-
ing their ichor with supreme and absolute knowledge.
TOUCHED APOTHEOSIS Mechanically, a Scion who wishes to pursue this
There are many ways a Scion can slip onto the path path must either be bound through ichor to a Mythos
of Awareness, and for Heroes it’s largely benign, or at entity or initiate and complete their apotheosis with
least, as benign as Awareness of the incomprehensible Awareness exceeding their Legend at all times. Such a
magnitude of the Mythos allows. As they accrue more journey to apotheosis resembles less the journey of the
Awareness, they slip further and further away from divine scion to death and rebirth, and more the journey
mortal humanity, which likely sees them as increasingly of the investigator seeking deeper truths. Much like a
bizarre, probably mentally ill, and possibly dangerous. standard apotheosis, the Storyguide should construct
So long as a Hero remains a Hero, that’s as bad as things the sequence of events around that character.
get. It’s when apotheosis enters the picture that things
become complicated. Much like understanding the true An inciting incident fires the need to learn, breaking
nature of the universe, when a Hero begins the journey the bounds of normality even in the eyes of a Hero well-
towards ascension there is no turning back; success or versed in the Mythos. The event must turn the Scion’s
failure, the mortal shell perishes. world upside-down, and leave myriad questions in need
of answering. This event may well be of the Scion’s own
DIVERTED DIVINE APOTHEOSIS doing, an experiment that goes awry, a mathematical
equation that leads to impossible answers, digging into
The Mythos does not care about the carefully
their own lineage, or whatever suits the character.
balanced schema of apotheosis, intruding where and
when it decides to. A Hero begins the path to ascension, After incitement, the investigation follows. The Sci-
becoming a Demigod. As they walk their path, they en- on, now burgeoning with the power of a Demigod, seeks
counter the Mythos, and gain Awareness. Now, it all goes answers, opposes enemies, is drawn deeper and deeper
off the rails. into mysteries. In this stage, the comfortable truth is
stripped away bit by bit. This is not a grand revelation,
Once a Demigod becomes Aware of the Mythos,
but rather a slow building of dread and curiosity in equal
they have a choice: either they do their utmost to con-
measure — the character should always be torn between
tain the damage and wholeheartedly ignore the Mythos,
the desire to know more and the urge to look away. To do
effectively finding comfort in denial, or they accept that
so is to forsake ascension, of course, and ensure death,
even the divine is a tiny, almost insignificant mote in the
but that is nevertheless a choice a character can make.
wider universe. Neither option is particularly healthy
for an ongoing apotheosis, but such an event is surviv- The grand revelation comes when the mystery is re-
able. The former entails encapsulating and interpreting vealed. This is the part where the truth is laid bare, where
one’s Awareness in mythic form, effectively construct- all the tension and dread reach the breaking point. It’s the
ing a scaffold of destiny to support otherwise untenable last few lines of a Lovecraft story where we realize that
truths. Doing so is extremely difficult without a Calling the horrific description of the putrescent monster is, in
that fits, the most helpful being Liminal or Outsider (see 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 pur-
poses, it’s the moment everything else has been leading
AWARENESS
up to as far as the character’s story is concerned. THRESHOLD
This leaves us with a binary choice: insight vs. deni- The Terra Incognitae of the World,
al. Not all of Lovecraft’s protagonists choose the latter, strange though they may be to mortals
but most do, and certainly none stand in quite the same unused to them, are still grounded in the
place a Demigod on the cusp of ascension does. Every- prosaic human understanding of reality.
thing up to this point, from incitement through investi- Even Mythos-based Terra Incognitae
gation to resolution, is prologue, a necessary preamble adjoining the World share at least some
to this one choice: knowing the truth, does the Scion of that grounding, making features of
embrace it, or take this last chance to turn away from it them terrifying and bizarre but still largely
and seal her doom. This isn’t a split-second decision or retaining a feeling of being in the World.
a single action — rather, it’s the last mortal efforts before Not so for Caelum Incognitae.
the inevitable end of mortal life. It’s the character tran- A Caelum Incognita has an Awareness
sitioning from investigation to action, and it deserves Threshold, a Trait that describes what
plenty of time to let that transition play out. level of Awareness is needed to safely
spend time within that realm. If a
character possesses less Awareness
COSMIC SCION: than the Awareness Threshold, she must
CAELUM INCOGNITA take a Resolve + Integrity action once
every scene, with Difficulty equal to the
One of the hallmarks of the Mythos is frequent
difference between her Awareness and
encounters with otherworldly realms, be they alternate
the Awareness Threshold. For example, if
dimensions or literal planets elsewhere in the cosmos. her Awareness was 2 and the Awareness
At the Heroic level, these are brief brushes — a journey Threshold was 4, the Difficulty would be
into a forgotten city that soon sinks beneath the waves, 2. Characters with Awareness equal to or
or a rescue mission into the impossible caverns beneath greater than the Awareness Threshold do
the Earth where the flying polyps still dwell. Demigods, not need to roll.
however, are far less bound to the World, and Mythos-
Success on this roll allows the character
touched Demigods even less so. A Masks of the Mythos
to maintain her mental equilibrium in the
chronicle at the Demigod tier may well spend more time
face of maddening chaos. Failure may re-
in these strange worlds than in the prosaic World, de- sult in Complications, Conditions, and even
pending on the chronicle’s focus. We distinguish these Injury Conditions; the Storyguide chooses
distant, bizarre realms from “ordinary” Terra Incognitae what happens when a character fails such
with a new name: Caelum Incognitae. a check. Botches on this roll result in misfor-
The number of Caelum Incognitae in the wider cos- tune for the entire Band, as the character’s
mos, like the stars themselves, are innumerable. There- reactions provoke some terrible force native
fore, the Storyguide’s imagination is the only limiting to the realm.
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 hor-
and ultimately everything in a Demigod chronicle is in
ror, science-fiction, and fantasy spectrum. The devices
service to the story of ascension (or failed ascension, as
of the Protomolecule-builders from the Expanse series
the case may be).
would fit right in with the incomprehensible and seem-
ingly-magical machines of the Mythos, for example. Caelum Incognita: The Fathomless Cosmos
Weirdness is key to the cosmic experience. If you Awareness Threshold: 2
find characters seizing on something as a rock of nor-
The emptiness of space is vast and incomprehensi-
mality in an otherwise alien landscape, upend their
ble to humans, worlds entire floating in the cosmos like
expectations. Present situations that resolve seemingly
motes in an infinite sea. Yawning nothingness stretches
paradoxically. Treat physics as we know it as a sugges-
between the things that minds consider places — and
tion at best. Make frequent use of Fields and Conditions
that nothingness is filled with nightmares. Streaming,
to lend mechanical weight to the weirdness. Keep the
half-sentient bands of color leap from world to world
above section in mind, however — this is not an excuse
to reproduce, ancient and undying predators wait in
to fuck with your players, but a means to slowly turn up
death-like trances for prey to stumble upon them, and
the dread (and anticipation) the characters are feeling,

the dark constructs of other, elder peoples who thought agents seizing the bodies of convenient pawns to amass
to conquer infinity lie cold, dark, and eternal. information while the unfortunate abductee is made to
Caelum Incognita: The Planet Yuggoth painstakingly record their own experiences. If there is
knowledge to be had in this World, it can be found in the
Awareness Threshold: 3 Library of Pnakotus. Unfortunately, the only known way
At the cold outskirts of our solar system, Yuggoth to safely reach Pnakotus, 250 million years in humanity’s
lies dim and undiscovered by mortals. This grey world past, is via possession by the Yith.
with its rivers of black pitch turns in eternal night, the The Pnakotic Library’s Awareness Threshold is as
windowless towers of the Mi-Go sprawling across its high as it is not so much because of the surroundings
surface. Though Yuggoth is but an outpost from which (though Yith architecture and aesthetics are other-
the Mi-Go observe Earth, they have made it their own, worldly), but because getting there involves having one’s
and it teems with life of the same strange fungoid-insec- consciousness rudely jammed into the strange bodies
toid blend that characterizes the Mi-Go themselves. In used by the Yith. If characters take another route there
its great vaults lie innumerable secrets and knowledge (and evade the Hounds of Tindalos!), reduce the Aware-
in the form of brain cylinders, holding and preserving ness Threshold to 3.
minds ranging from the familiar human to the incom-
Caelum Incognita: The Court of Azathoth
prehensibly alien.
Caelum Incognita: The Library of Pnakotus Awareness Threshold: 7
Beyond the reaches of ordinary space-time, beyond
Awareness Threshold: 5
the furthest glimpses of the primordial universe, beyond
In the distant past, millions of years before the current the moment of the Big Bang and the infinity of maximum
day, the Great Race of Yith arrived on Earth, escaping de- entropy, Azathoth slumbers upon a black throne, squirming
struction by exchanging their minds en-masse with a race and writhing to the piping of a tuneless flute. In the chaotic
of cone-shaped beings. In that form, they built a grand whorl of his court, matter and energy sluice and recombine,
metropolis, and within that metropolis a library to rival all echoing a monstrous creation. Lesser divinities, no less alien,
other libraries throughout the ages — precisely because dance about the periphery, wary of drawing too close to the
it drew from each and every one of those libraries, Yith daemon-sultan itself. Here, Nyarlathotep walks without a
Cosmic Scion:
Caelum Incognita 155
human mask, choosing other, more terrible visages to walk Health: 5
among his peers and attend his mindless master. Those who
Defense: 5
make the journey here can claim great knowledge and pow-
er, assuming they survive the process intact. Initiative: 6
Extras: The Dunwich Horror has a Size Scale of 3.
DEMIGOD-TIER THE ELDEST GHOUL
ANTAGONISTS Revered ancestor of the near-human species, the El-
dest Ghoul is ancient but unbowed. An archetypal figure
either tremendously long-lived or nigh-immortal, it has
T he following Antagonists are recommended for

Demigod-tier games.
watched over its necrophagic progeny since time imme-
morial. Though it now dwells mainly in the Dreamlands,
and oft appears in the retinues of unspeakable gods, its ears
THE DUNWICH HORROR are ever watchful for the prayers of ghouls in dire need.
The spawn of Yog-Sothoth, the Dunwich Horror was So summoned, it traverses strange distances to once again
believed destroyed in 1928 by a band of learned professors inhabit the material World, and with it comes its hunger.
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 THE ELDEST GHOUL
of this Earth, and they had sent it back where it belonged. Archetype: Transcendent
Alas, these learned people were wrong, for that strange sub-
stance, like the Horror’s father Yog-Sothoth, exists beyond Qualities: Life Drain (Hero, p. 287).
time and space. The creature was dispersed, not slain, and Flairs: Shadow Step (Hero, p. 290),
though the Sentinel Hill altar was broken up and the diary of Molon Labe (Hero, p. 293).
Wilbur Whateley vanished from the Miskatonic Library, all Drive: To protect its myriad children.
the Horror needed to reconstitute itself was the appropriate
geometries and confluences to recur. Primary Pool: 9 (Stalking, Bite, Grapple)
Maddened by a century of hunger spread across its Secondary Pool: 7 (Ritual, Forgotten Lore)
distributed matter, what little bound the horror to humanity Desperation Pool: 5
has long-since departed from its mind. It still favors cattle
Health: 5
for feeding, but will eat almost anything that’s made of
meat, including humans. It longs to complete its brother Defense: 5
Wilbur’s work, to open a portal to realms beyond matter Initiative: 6
where ancient beings dwell, waiting to destroy the World as
we know it and drag its corpse into their realm for purposes THE HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED
incomprehensible to mortal minds. Having been raised in a
In an impossibly ancient stone monastery hidden
literal barn, it knows little of such methods, or of convincing
away on the Plateau of Leng, there stands a solitary, shad-
mortals to worship and obey it, but there is no shortage of
owed throne, and upon that throne sits The High Priest
unscrupulous and wicked individuals who would use the
Not To be Described. It wears a thin robe of yellow and
beast’s extradimensional qualities as a means to such an end.
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
THE DUNWICH HORROR hands, which seem to shudder with a terrifying energy.
Archetype: Transcendent The High Priest Not to Be Described has been asso-
ciated by various authors with almost as many entities of
Qualities: Miasmic Presence (Origin, 148), the Mythos, most notably Hastur and Nyarlathotep. The
Unseen (Hero, 288) Storyguide is encouraged to add to that fine tradition
Flairs: Beyond Description, when revealed with the however best fits her own chronicle.
powder of Ibn Ghazi.
Drive: To successfully summon its father,
Yog-Sothoth. THE HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED
Archetype: Avatar
Primary: 9 (Crushing, Climbing, Devouring)
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence (Hero, p. 289),
Secondary: 7 (Hunting & Tracking) Astride the World (Demigod, p. 210),
Desperation: 5 Physiological Void (Demigod, p. 211)

Flairs: Dread Gaze (Demigod, p. 211) Each night, Zann’s music intensified in fervor un-
Drive: You don’t want to know. til it reached a final, terrifying crescendo. The student,
who was engrossed in the music and still hoping to look
Primary Pool: 10 outside the window to see the street he knew existed
Secondary Pool: 8 outside of its confines, was soon shown the truth of
Desperation Pool: 6 what lay beyond when the window shattered. A torrent
of unnatural wind blew in, sweeping Zann’s music notes
Health: 6 straight out the window. To safeguard the musician’s
Defense: 5 livelihood, the student tried to chase down and grab the
notes, clutching just a few. When he turned around to
Initiative: 5 check on Zann, the elderly musician was on the floor, his
LEGACY
entire body still of breath but not of movement as the
music continued to play.
CHARACTERS
By the student’s account, Erich Zann was dead.
Now: It was a heart attack that took Erich Zann
at last, after nearly seventy years of playing the viol to
H ere are four characters to use as playable Demigod

tier characters for your Mythos adventures, or to
appear as Storyguide characters.
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
ERICH ZANN was no longer responsible for keeping the chaos at bay,
Erich Zann was once again given a purpose — to seed
Quote: “The music must go on, but my hands are
this music throughout the world.
so tired.”
Since then, the musician continues to travel the
Music has always been the way through which
world, playing his peculiar genre of music to new gen-
Erich Zann expressed himself, since he could not do so
erations more inclined to its alien sounds. Some of it has
with his voice. But the music he played was tortured and
even been remixed and popularized on digital platforms
otherworldly — attracting curious listeners wondering
where it has found a wider audience. Despite this new-
what the discordant notes represented of the mute
found “fame” Erich has remained notoriously private,
man’s psyche. Unbeknownst to the listeners, the music
mainly out of necessity. It added to the allure of the
protected them from certain doom: Should Erich ever
music, but also allowed Erich to stay out of the public
stop playing, Azathoth, the Eye of Madness, will awaken
eye. After all, he was nearly two-hundred years old. Still,
and end all of creation.
every now and then he would take on an apprentice in
Then: Little is known of Erich Zann before he took hopes that they would be able to hear the music he hears
up residence in a tenement building on Rue d’Auseil in and recreate it.
the Corbeil-Essonnes suburb of Paris. Other than the
It drove a good number of those apprentices to mad-
occasional performance with a local orchestra, the mute
ness, and others to their deaths, much to Erich’s dismay.
musician kept to himself, often practicing music well
He never wanted to cause anyone harm, but the music
into the night. His music, compared to what was consid-
must go on.
ered popular in the 1920s, was strange and almost alien
in sound. It garnered the attention of a newly arrived There is a desperation in Erich’s music now. Though
university student moving into a neighboring unit, who it is easier to spread his music across the world, thanks
had never heard anything like the music Zann played. in part due to online streaming, and keeping Azathoth
at bay, Erich is ready to leave this mortal coil and escape
Unbeknownst at the time to the university student,
the Music’s maddening notes. He never asked to be the
the music kept the Demon King of Chaos, the very eye of
Music’s chosen, but he will continue to perform his du-
madness — Azathoth — asleep. Over a period of weeks,
ties in hopes of finding another who can take upon the
the student watched as Zann played his music to a win-
mantle and to finally pass on his accursed viol.
dow that by all accounts should have been overlooking
the Rue d’Auseil, but instead displayed a hypnotic, pitch- Description: An unassuming man who appears to
black abyss. Eventually, Zann divulged to the student the be in his upper seventies despite being a hundred years
truth to his music, and that without it, any number of older than that. Erich wears a worn countenance with
unknown and unseen malevolent creatures could break heavy wrinkles and crows’ feet at the corner of his eyes.
through from that abyss and unleash unknowable hor-
rors upon the land.

His lips, worn in a perpetual dour expression, hold in the of Henry’s work in his private journals; specifically of
screams and words that he cannot give voice to. Henry’s bas-relief sculptures. These pieces were created
Story Hooks: during one of Henry’s purportedly “manic” episodes,
wherein they created pieces like in a possessed manner.
• Hammering In My Head — A Scion awakens in Professor Angell, being too curious for their own good,
the night with the sound of music pervading every kept meticulous notes and observances of Henry’s men-
thought. Are they the next Chosen of the Music, tal state and of their creations — relating it to a series
or did Zann target them for something else? The of strange and occult disturbances the professor had
Scions must unravel the meaning of this music, its uncovered while researching strange terminology and
purpose, and how to stop it from driving everyone language fragments.
around them mad. In March of 1925, another series of strange events
• Discordant Strings — Strange sounds come across occurred, including earthquakes, driving Henry even
the airwaves in a small, Midwestern town, driving further into their art. Hieroglyphics, carvings of drowned
livestock and human alike to go mad and mutilate cities, and scribbles of the phrase “Cthulhu fhtagn” were
themselves. The Scions track down the source of all made mention of in Professor Angell’s notes. Towards
this discordant music to Zann, and must decide the end of the month, Angell sought out Henry, only to
whether eliminating him will do more harm than discover they had fallen ill and were placed into the care
good. of their family. It was rumored that Henry was in a state
of delirium, and that others nearby had come down with
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia — A mortal
the same affliction.
friend of the band is invited to a “challenge of the
bands” where they face off to the famous Erich It wasn’t until after Henry recovered from their af-
Zann. If Zann loses, the challenger must become fliction that they were no longer useful to Professor An-
a Scion of the Music in his stead lest Azathoth gell — as there was no more madness, no more strange
awakens. utterances. Life went back to normal, with Henry
resuming their studies. Some eighteen months later in
November of 1926, George Grammell Angell died under
HENRY ANTONIO WILCOX questionable circumstances.
Quote: “You cannot create without destroying Now: Henry has always been touched by the Mythos
something else. Destruction, too, is an act of creation.” and was, in fact, wholly responsible for the death of Pro-
fessor Angell. It wasn’t until after the incident with the
Aloof and somewhat antisocial in a polite sense, professor that their true parentage was revealed to them
Henry Antonio Wilcox was always the odd one in their — their muse, their patron, and their secondary parent
otherwise renowned family. Where other Wilcox’s were was none other than The King in Yellow, who used Hen-
urbane, articulate, and of practiced social graces, Henry ry as a vessel to bring chaos and insight to others from
was more reclusive, sensitive, and preferred the compa- a young age onward. While many Scions of the Amber
ny of themselves and their artistic endeavors than any- Aristocrat find themselves dying gruesome and prema-
thing else. Quiet and unassuming, Henry’s dedication to ture deaths, Henry managed to endure. Perhaps it was
their craft has almost a religious fervor. It has, in turn, all those years growing up being the odd one out, forging
garnered an almost cult-like patron base desperate to themselves through the fires of adversity through both
see Henry’s next creation. their art and in their personal relationships with others
Then: Henry was an heir of the well-to-do Wilcox who defied gender conventions and sought the divine
family of Providence, Rhode Island, though albeit one artistic expression within themselves.
often overlooked and considered strange by the rest of a After years of being the outcast of the family on ac-
success-oriented group. A precocious youth, Henry was count of their birthright and artistic proclivities, Henry
considered a genius, but their great eccentricity set them is now more confident than they have ever been. Fully
apart from the rest of the Wilcoxes. While their family committed to the work of The Stoic Patron, Henry will-
blamed a lack of good sleep as cause for their troubled ingly acts as a vessel through which their Patron works,
mind, it so happened that it made for incredible art — creating art that incites terror in some and insight in
a discipline Henry took an early liking to, even if the others. Owning several art galleries across four con-
otherworldly subject matter of their pieces left others tinents, Henry is always on the lookout for others like
baffled or disturbed. them who might be talented enough to become one of
It wasn’t until 1925, after Henry was enrolled at the King’s chosen, and is slowly growing their own cult-
the Rhode Island School of Design, that his art began like following.
to be noticed. George Gammell Angell, a professor of
Semetic Languages at Brown University, first made note

Description: Henry Antonio Wilcox stands out for intensely private. The townsfolk were surprised to learn
being tall, wiry, and darkly complected due in part to Old Whateley had a child, never mind a wife, consider-
their twin heritage — their father being of solidly Eu- ing his peculiar nature.
ropean stock, and mother of mixed Caribbean ancestry. Raised on the family farmhouse well outside the
They blend in more easily now that society has become Dunwich proper, Lavinia was never properly socialized
less prejudiced against mixed unions and those who or educated, and was prone to engaging in fantastical
don’t conform to traditional notions of gender. Through daydreams as she wandered the grounds of their proper-
the years, Henry’s sense of style has maintained a dis- ty. Her mother died a violent death when she was twelve
tinctly classical look, but with modern cuts and tailoring years old, leaving young Lavinia bereft of direction and
sensibilities. A crisp white twill shirt rolled up to the guidance. Old Whateley never gave Lavinia another
elbows so they can work clay without trouble, a tweed thought, believing her to be of illiterate and of diminished
vest with slim pockets to hold sculpting tools, slicked mental faculties, and left her alone for weeks on end.
back black hair and thin wire framed glasses that rest at
the end of their nose. There is a noble air about Henry, That was the old wizard’s first mistake. Soon the
as they finally accept their true parentage and have come young, frail woman found herself filling her time read-
into their own. ing and learning from the various bits of the ill-kept
and rotting tomes in her father’s library, including an
Story Hooks: incomplete copy of the Necronomicon. Through her own
meager studies, and her negligent father’s occasional
• Muse Madness — Rumors insist that subjects of
tutoring, Lavinia found the means through which to
Henry Antonio Wilcox’s art eventually go mad
summon Yog-Sothoth.
and kill themselves. One of the band’s mortal
friends falls under Wilcox’ sway, and the Scions This otherworldly being gave Lavinia the first bit
must decide to intervene or let their friend follow of attention since her mother died, and before anyone
their own path. knew or could say a word, the unwed Lavinia was heavy
with child. She gave birth to two sons: Wilbur, who grew
• Horrors Crafted of Clay — At the same time a new
at a supernatural rate, and the other who is only referred
exhibit goes live at a local Wilcox Gallery, crea-
to as the Dunwich Horror (p. 156). Lavinia took pride in
tures made of clay begin attacking the city and
her sons, not the least bit concerned as to Wilbur’s rapid
inciting madness in its populace. The Scions must
growth or the younger son’s monstrosity, and lavished
stop these creatures and investigate: Did Wilcox,
them with all the affection rarely given to her. Eventually
or one of their enemies, make the creatures.
though, the Dunwich Horror’s existence led to tragedy.
• Patron of the Arts — At an open house at a local In the wake of the apparent death of her younger son,
art school, Henry Antonio Wilcox takes a shine to Lavinia disappeared into the hills of Dunwich on Hal-
one of the students and offers to financially sup- loween of 1926, never to be seen again.
port this budding artist. The offer is sincere, but
Now: All Lavinia Whateley ever wanted was to be
it’s also with an eye to potential recruitment. This
seen, and Yog-Sothoth saw her — both when she was
makes Henry a patron or ally to a new Scion of
a young woman and after she bore its offspring. After
The King in Yellow.
disappearing from Dunwich, she set out to recover the
personal effects of her eldest son, Wilbur, including his
LAVINIA WHATELEY journal which was claimed by Dr. Henry Armitage of
Miskatonic University. Believing it to hold even great-
Quote: “Have you seen my beautiful sons?” er occult secrets than her own father’s books, Lavinia
The citizens of Dunwich never had anything char- hired a couple of thieves to break into the university to
itable to say about Lavinia Whateley. Born albino and acquire it for her. Since then, she has cherished her late
considered otherworldly or cursed by those that gazed son’s journal and has used it to further her own under-
upon her countenance, Lavinia was roundly avoided. standing of the occult — greatly surpassing her father’s
Her frowned-upon behavior of wandering the moors all knowledge, something which brings Lavinia great joy.
day and night while dressed immodestly did nothing to For her dedication, Yog-Sothoth reached out once
alleviate her status as outcast. Little did the people of more and made Lavinia one of his chosen. She hasn’t
Dunwich know that despite Lavinia’s diminished mar- looked back since, suppressing the painful memories
riage prospects, she would eventually bear the children and looking to a future she only sees in momentary
of an Old One and become the herald for its return. glimpses: A future where Yog-Sothoth returns, and the
Then: Lavinia was an unknown for most of her world is made right again.
childhood. Her father, Old “Wizard” Whateley, was To that end, Lavinia has recruited followers who
an unusual man who kept both himself and his family travel the world over in search of a true and complete

copy of the Necronomicon, all but ensuring that the next
time the ritual to summon Yog-Sothoth is attempted ROBERTA OLMSTEAD
it will be unstoppable. Moving through the world and Quote: “Every day I am becoming something differ-
acting as an advocate for the unseen, the ignored, and ent; every day I am becoming closer to the truth I always
the forgotten, Lavinia imparts unto them the forbidden felt inside.”
knowledge she herself acquired whilst being overlooked
— knowledge which grants them the means to enact Curiosity is a dangerous desire to have, and Rober-
their will upon the world. She uplifts these huddled ta learned the hard way that sometimes chasing down
masses and looks after them as a mother would a child, the past is more troubling than one could imagine and
as she sees all of them as being different faces of her own changes the entire trajectory of your life. Seeking to
lost children. uncover her family’s history in the seaside town of Inns-
mouth, Roberta soon discovered that not everything is
Description: No one would call Lavinia conven- what it seemed — even she was not who she seemed to
tionally beautiful, but her appearance is striking in such be — and that in the end all things lead back to the sea.
a way that one’s eye cannot help but be drawn to her.
Ghostly pale, she is defined by her lack of strong features, Then: It began as a trip to explore the architecture
including the weak, Whateley chin that her father passed and antiquities of New England. Roberta Olmstead, a
down to her. She appears now as she did when she dis- 21-year-old university student, had traveled as far as
appeared from Dunwich in 1926 — in her late forties, lips Newburyport, Massachusetts, taking as many notes
drawn into a perpetual frown, and a halo of shockingly as she could and interviewing locals about the history
white hair emanating from her albino skin. If anyone of the area. Perhaps that is where fate intervened, and
didn’t know any better, they would believe Lavinia to be the atmosphere of the trip began to change from one of
a ghost, but at least she is a ghost that dresses in a non- scholarly study into something dark and unknowable.
descript way that manages to draw less attention to her. Superstitions ran wild among the locals of Newburyport,
and they spoke in hushed tones about what lied further
Story Hooks: north in Innsmouth. Thinking little of the superstitions,
she boarded the bus to Innsmouth and continued her
• Mother of One, Mother of All — Lavinia has tak-
trip.
en a shine to one of the Scions, going as far as
to consider them one of her children in such an Upon arriving, Roberta was shocked to find the
overbearing manner it is hard to determine if she town of Innsmouth in disarray and disrepair; dilapidated
simply means well or if she has some other, darker, buildings, a deserted town square, and what little popu-
plans in mind. She couldn’t possibly be wanting lation there was seemed to look “off,” with no real way
to sacrifice Scions to bring back Yog-Sothoth. Or to put a finger as to why they appeared as such — their
could she? heads were narrow, their noses flat, and eyes bulging.
There was only one person whom Roberta met in Inns-
• The Woman in White — Legends abound of a
mouth who looked remotely conventional, and that was
woman dressed in white luring men to their
a grocery clerk who gave her the name of a local who
deaths on abandoned highways. Other legends
could assist her in her research: Zardok Allen.
say that a woman in white has caused men to fling
themselves off oceanside cliffs. The Scions must Zardok, after being plied with strong drink, recount-
discover who this woman is, what her goals are, ed to Roberta the history of Innsmouth, speaking about
and why are all these sacrifices necessary. so-called “fish people” who brought with them gold
jewelry to those who offered them human sacrifices.
• Catch ‘Em All — The Scions are tasked by Lavinia,
These fish people could even mate with humans and be-
calling in various favors that trickled down to
get hybrid offspring. This both horrified and fascinated
the band, with tracking down thirteen iridescent
Roberta, who could hardly believe that anyone believed
“orbs,” each bearing a unique name. She won’t tell
this to be true. Their conversation ended with Zardok
them why she wants these globes, but makes men-
warning Roberta to leave Innsmouth and never return
tion of collecting them to make one’s wishes come
because she has been “seen,” but she was unmoved. Fur-
true. One can heal any ill, another grants riches
ther, Roberta was prevented from leaving Innsmouth as
beyond wildest imaginings. Do the Scions collect
the bus has broken down and so she stayed the night in
the orbs and give them to Lavinia, or keep them
an old, musty motel.
and earn her wrath?
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

what Zardok had described as the gurgling sound of the Description: Roberta stands out in a crowd, stand-
fish people, and realized that everything Zardok had ing roughly a head taller than the average person, with
said, and everything that the people of Newburyport had large, deep-set almost starry-like eyes that take in every
warned her of, was true. minute detail in an area. A descendant of Obed Marsh
Upon seeing one of the creatures as they came into and a Deep One, there is an almost translucent quality to
the light, Roberta fainted. And then she woke up in the her skin that makes it look perpetually damp or covered
neighboring town of Rowley. in perspiration, though most would chalk that up to a
nervous demeanor.
Now: The Innsmouth Incident made Roberta real-
ize that not everything was as it seemed in her family Story Hooks:
tree. Reaching back, she discovered that several distant
• Fresh Fish (People) — The Scions have come
relatives had mated with the Old Ones. In the weeks
across a newly transformed Deep One hybrid, but
following, she also uncovered the secret history of the
aren’t sure what to do with them. They hear that
Esoteric Order of Dagon, which had been founded by
Roberta Olmstead can help these creatures, or at
her great-great grandfather, Obed Marsh. The very same
the very least find a place for where they are not a
Obed Marsh, she recalled, that Zardok had mentioned
danger to themselves or others.
briefly in his retelling of the history of Innsmouth. Ro-
berta then realized, to her horror, that she, too, would • Trimming the Family Tree — There’s been a slew
transform into something of unfathomable horror and of seemingly random murders spread across
eventually feel the pull to return to the sea. the Atlantic seaboard — seemingly random until
the Scions uncover that there is a threat con-
Since those years, Roberta has transformed, but
necting all the victims: familial ties going back
not in the way she had initially expected. Instead of
to the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the town of
the nightmares she experienced in Innsmouth, she has
Innsmouth, Massachusetts. Their investigation
dreams of another city buried beneath the waves. It
traces the murders back to Roberta Olmstead,
took only until very recently for her to discover it was
Scion and known heir of Innsmouth.
not Y’ha-nthlei beckoning for her return to her ancestral
grounds, but rather another city, the city of the slumber- • That Marsh Life — Fate claimed Roberta at last,
ing dreamer: R’lyeh. Still, the urges that have arisen in and her transformation into an Old One Hybrid
Roberta give her cause for concern. Awaking from night- begins in earnest. She asks the Scions for aid to
mares drenched in sweat and smelling like the salt spray return to Y’ha-nthlei so that she can either join
of the ocean are all indicators that her transformation those who came before her, or continue her fight
hasn’t come to full fruition, but it is coming. Roberta is against Fate.
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.

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 Hydra certainly see the cultic and hybrid populations as

their progeny, descendants of ancient blood and inheri-
tors of abyssal mysteries. But in doing so, the faithful of
“We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea Innsmouth have placed themselves at the end of a line
and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and which has never balked at eating its own children.
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
MYTHOS
In spaces lit only by bioluminescence and stranger
Enormous shapes lurk beyond the tide, from vast chemical reactions, beneath the enormous pressures
structures dwarfing human achievement to colossal life of the shifting ocean and the Old Ones’ perception, be-
eyeing its lesser landbound counterparts hungrily. The tween stanchions erected before mammalian life first
things that dwell within and around sunken Y’ha-nthlei grew in an amniotic sac, the children of Y’ha-nthlei
do not need the town of Innsmouth, the greater sprawl cavort and seethe. Their elders have lived since before
of Miskatonic Hollow, or their relatives and agents the earliest human prehistory not only by the imperish-
among the short-lived air-breathing bipeds to survive. able strengths of their alien constitution but by driven,
Their submarine existence is rooted in a deeper and determined wit. For the immortals of the deep must do
older order that abides ice age and continental drift. much to keep their owed eternities. Infinity only exists
Y’ha-nthlei’s science, arts, and geometry utilize spaces through avoiding the casual hungry passage of the Fa-
and concepts untouched by human efforts or striving. ther Dagon, the helpful disassembly into raw meat ma-
And yet, called forth by foolish beings of human stock terial by a loving Mother Hydra, the internecine conflict
and impelled onward by the Deep One’s own predatory between obscure clades and abstruse philosophies of
forebearers and malign divinities, the creatures who the subaqueous, and the uncaring physical processes of
dwell there want those things. Y’ha-nthlei’s children Y’ha-nthlei’s aquatic environs.
hunger for both the flesh and spirit of the air-breathing And so it is that the Deep Ones respond to the call of
mayfly species, for what strips of human civilization Innsmouth. In co-mingling with surface humanity and
exist adjacent to their own deep and dark realms to fall bringing the Esoteric Order of Dagon and other human
fully within their auspices and mastery. attempts at grasping their great truths into their circle,
Innsmouth and the Esoteric Order of Dagon place the inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei seek to turn potential im-
themselves in thrall to the Deep Ones and their greater mortality into actualized lifespan — what sacrifices and
relatives repeatedly — the cult leaders, slowly maturing fealties the order, similar cultists, and other interested
hybrids, and xenophobic locals only barely aware of the humans offering up creating an ever-expanding stock
impossible thing that awaits in the gulf of waves and for Y’ha-nthlei to treat as its pantry. The Deep Ones
darkness. It’s rare for any who still walk beneath the sky and their greater kin consume some sacrifices and un-
and breathe air to understand the implications of their fortunate worshippers for sustenance and the joy of it;
veneration: the Deep Ones, Father Dagon, and Mother
166 APPENDIX TWO: TERRA INCOGNITAE

certainly, such things are famous among the Innsmouth even as it builds and shifts beneath the deep, largely un-
set during the May and October rituals. affected by their efforts. Should Y’ha-nthlei’s inhabitants
But the desires of Y’ha-nthlei go beyond simple sati- choose to ride with the tide and sweep away Innsmouth,
ation and animal contentedness. The rituals between the it will take drastic and fearless action, potentially by
benthic pillars mingle religious and practical purposes, as brave or driven Scions, to prevent it from becoming a
science, art, and theology fuse together. The Deep Ones footnote to an even greater catastrophe.
and their elders simultaneously venerate the great powers
alongside enacting changes on their physical environment, LEGENDS
averting the attention of Father Dagon in the same ritual The Esoteric Order and other would-be worship-
that transfigures a heady mix of biological components pers of Dagon believe Y’ha-nthlei to possess its own
into a newly spawned shoggoth. These and stranger deeds particular brand of order: the city beneath Devil’s Reef
require much in the way of resources, many of which are growing ever greater and closer to its alien gods as depth
present in the human animal and its imaginings. and distance increase. Hybrids and human cultist often
imagine a stately procession of piscine flesh, amphibious
And so, while many in Innsmouth assume that the
grand-parents and ever greater Deep Ones increasing in
twice-yearly festivals, the unfortunate tourists, and the
age and might until one reaches the utmost expanse of
occasional failed hybrid or sacrificial zealot are suffi-
the pelagic realm, occupied only by the fearsome forms
cient for Deep One appetites, they have fundamentally
of Father Dagon and Mother Hydra in their obscure and
misunderstood their appeal to the dwellers in Y’ha-nth-
terrible obeisance to the Great Old Ones. In truth, the
lei. Among the dwellers in the deep there are beings,
precincts of Y’ha-nthlei possess no simple and straight-
covens, and orders that seek to spill out onto the surface,
forward order, but the truth of ever deeper mysteries
transforming Innsmouth into a literal beachhead with
and a growing awfulness of Deep Ones forms at least
which to incorporate and consume ever more of the
resembles the surface stories.
human world. Though some hybrids, cultists, and even
particularly lucky or unlucky bystanders might survive Innsmouth’s inhabitants consider it bad luck for
Y’ha-nthlei’s eruption across Innsmouth, many others the year’s coming festivities to refer to one’s descended
would become the grist for an ancient mill. That it has brethren by their human or Deep One names. Those
not happened yet is not a factor of the Esoteric Order of with a need to speak of their relatives in more than gen-
Dagon’s devotions, or indeed any other human activity eralities, or who have dared to mingle with their rising
to date. Y’ha-nthlei’s population and circumstances have relatives, often refer to them by nickname and moniker,
simply not aligned in in such a way to date. The Esoteric assuming they survive the experience. Visiting tourists
Order, cultists, and other accomplices to Y’ha-nthlei re- occasionally find the habit of calling one’s distant aunt
main unable to see the doom they have courted for years, Sickle Teeth cruel, or one’s long departed sister Waddle
Y’ha-nthlei 167
Walk strange, but the Deep Ones care little what the another dozen feet of dirt slide the Sink’s mouth. Only
tourists think when it comes time for the seasonal festi- a few know its true secret: when Hooper’s Sink fills due
vals. Sometimes this leads the Esoteric Order of Dagon to rainstorms or increasingly rare winter meltwater, its
to ascribe particular importance to repeatedly seen or murky depths become a direct passageway to the salty
particularly active Deep Ones, offering prayers to the water of Y’ha-nthlei. Such a passage is invariably lethal
towering matron known as Old Kindness, or even sug- to humans unprepared for the suddenly change of pres-
gesting in their occult writings that she may be on a path sure and lack of air, but offers those who wish to com-
to greater prominence in Y’ha-nthlei’s flooded halls. municate with Y’ha-nthlei’s population without risking
The area’s penchant for disappearances combined Innsmouth an attractive, if dangerous option.
with Innsmouth unsavory reputation and unfriendly in- A far stranger gate connects Y’ha-nthlei to points
habitants lead to many communities across Miskatonic south, such as several ill-fated islands in Polynesia. Im-
Hollow to develop their own stories and tales of what perfectly translated from the tongue of the Deep Ones
lies beyond the shoreline. Generations of old stories of as the Quaking Tunnel, it manifests as a gelid current
giving up offerings of food or personal valuables in re- of water and mucus coursing from Y’ha-nthlei’s out-
turn for the remains or personal possessions from those er precincts to unfortunate shores across the World.
lost at sea still persist in some places. Stories of a great- Often the Tunnel opens its mouth near the Antarctic,
aunt or uncle finding their loved one’s waterlogged sea allowing long-separated individuals and kinships of the
chest or monogrammed keepsakes are common enough Deep Ones to meet each other in the flesh once more.
for most residents to know of them. Persistent rumors Other times, an unseasonal chill announces the Tunnel’s
suggest that one just has to find the right place along opening near Australian beaches or Baltic shores. Dis-
Innsmouth’s coast or the right time in the muddy dark- appearances and strange infrastructure collapses often
ness before dawn to drop meat and silver into the water… follow, but without the signs of Deep One incursion.
and then the ocean will offer up evidence of the lost’s For the Quaking Tunnel is not their doing nor a cosmic
fate. The Innsmouth authorities try to discourage such accident; instead, it is formed and traveled by Y’ha-nth-
behavior. Some of this is for practical reasons; no reason lei’s shoggoths, questing across the World for access to
to have more outsiders poking around, especially when the Lavender Sea of Zathitho. The Deep Ones evince
they might see something they shouldn’t. But some of little interest in how or why the woken shoggoths do
the Esoteric Order’s objections are almost ideological: this; they can utilize the Quaking Tunnel for safe trav-
outsiders obviously can’t offer up such offal ignorantly el, their mastery over their living relic servants usually
and reap any weal from the ocean. For if they could, it protecting them. Others who might wish to enter or flee
would bring into question the position of prominence Y’ha-nthlei through the chill of whirling water and cast
the Esoteric Order and ruling families of Innsmouth off protoplasm must find their own methods to survive
believe they possess. its shoggoth creators, and might do well to consider what
the alien, incredibly dangerous tool-creatures are using
GATES the Quaking Tunnel to search for across the World.
Beyond the strangely-angled descent from Devil’s On most days, the Basalt Turn lies inert, as merely
Reef, gateways to Y’ha-nthlei reach out across locations a strange bulging curve of stone in the deepest, darkest
across New England and beyond. The Deep Ones and corner of Y’ha-nthlei. Every few weeks, some cosmic
their Gods created some particularly useful passage- alignment turns around it, a key formed from the partic-
ways, while others emerge as a function of the other- ular geometries of the moment. Deep Ones engaged in
worldly geometry of the sunken city. And while Scions worship, feeding, or what passes for Y’ha-nthleian daily
usually encounter those portals facing the World first, life avoid the Basalt Turn then, for to travel beyond it is to
many passages in deep’s darkness lead to wholly other leave beyond such sureties that their endless lives offer
realms and locations. them. It is a door to a stranger ocean, where Father Da-
Hooper’s Sink shares much in common with many gon and Mother Hydra would be but another impressive
such doorways in and around Miskatonic Hollow. Lo- predator, where aeon-long veneration of the Old Ones
cated in ill-fated fields owned by a family of the same becomes no more useful a ward against doom than an
name near Havenspoint, the fetid sinkhole retained the air-breather’s recitation of a child’s poem. For those Sci-
moniker long after they departed in despair. An often ons, Deep Ones, or others who dare, the Ocean Beyond
flooding, continually crumbling expanse of lost ground, the Basalt Turn opens into a realm of endless enormity,
locals blame continued over foresting in the area for the confusing pressures, and nonsense lighting. The eternal
land’s collapse. Attempts at development seem notori- and ever-sea there offers similar gates to watery realms
ously cursed. Workers come down with awful stomach across the World, Underworlds, and Overwords, for one
ailments from tainted groundwater, suddenly shifting who could navigate it.
earth damages or destroys construction machinery as

Reef, and occasionally a very lost shark attempts to feast
THE WARM GARDENS on leftover human carrion. For the Deep Ones, there is
Those entering Y’ha-nthlei from the Devil’s Reef a parasitic visitor of more concern. Attracted by unfin-
often find the cool of the New England coast and chill ished magic and supernatural spillover, hook-lice are
of otherworldly waters suddenly disturbed by a balmy cat-sized arthropod creatures of irregular, half-material
current. Following the trail of heat leads to a mass of life outline, and uncertain, constantly shifting mats of legs.
somewhere between plant and animal, a ragged cluster Unsightly pests when feeding from ambient misused
anchored to the crests of Y’ha-nthlei’s pillars. The Warm magic, the sharp barbs on the end of their legs allow
Gardens hang there in the ocean, readily accessible to them to attach themselves to Deep Ones, Scions, or oth-
any who have survived this far. er unfortunates who use supernatural powers in their
Slowly crawling lights dimly light their interior, presence and feed off their energies whenever they use a
flashes of deep pulsing red and churning green occa- Knack, Boon, or other power. Removing them is painful
sionally visible against the darkness. Young Deep Ones for Deep Ones and potentially dangerous for humans,
and recently descended hybrids swim, walk, or crawl but their presence causes increasing complications for
through the Gardens’ squirming passageway as shape the use of supernatural powers.
and space rapidly change. Partial remains of human sac-
rifice float in blood-choked chambers, until the Gardens STORY HOOKS
themselves draw the leftover material through their • If you wanted to keep a normal human alive in
pulsing walls to consume. In other places, the half-liv- Y’ha-nthlei, there are worst places to do it than the
ing effluvia of experimental or failed supernatural acts Warm Gardens. The elevated temperature wards
by mere decades-old Deep Ones stews, awaiting either off hypothermia, the fleshy walls, and thresholds
slow diffusion or another magical attempt. seal to create a waterproof area inside, and tissue
The older inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei shun the of the place filters air for far longer than a per-
uncomfortable warmth of the Gardens, the caressing son would ever need. So when Deep Ones drag a
closeness of its integument tunnels simply impossible to Scion’s Fatebound mortal beneath the waves, still
navigate for the largest. The creatures who cluster in its alive, the Warm Gardens are the obvious place to
fluttering halls and meeting rooms do not wish to wait for go. The Scions need to figure a way to safely get
the stars to be right to unleash themselves on the world them out, either disrupting whatever ritual the
above; often, they work to unleash more immediate plans Deep Ones intend to use their friend for, or to
on a surface they still remember vividly. The clusters and convince a desperately homesick Deep One that
cliques that toil within the Gardens do not benefit from keeping their friend imprisoned in a fleshy cage
plans or powers cultivated over centuries; their ability to floating over an inhuman city in a desperate bid
create or call up horrors often dwarfed by that of their for company is a bad idea.
older relatives. Those sacrificed to call up lesser horrors • Deep Ones don’t blink at slaughter, carnage, or
from beyond or pulled apart to make material for sec- filth that would test the stomach of even the
ond-rate shoggoth spawn rarely find this a comfort. stoutest Scion. But the scuttling, half-material
Scions and other surface dwellers who safely nav- presence of hook-lice makes Deep Ones visibly
igate to the Warm Gardens find the usual inhabitants a uncomfortable, even the greatest among their
mixed blessing. On the one hand, Deep Ones who still number avoiding the verminous presence when
understand the urgency and flow of modern human life possible. A Deep One bent on violence won’t be
more easily relate information that makes sense to mod- driven off by a mere Hook-Louse, but those just
ern Scions. They’re less likely to leave a conversation looking for casual murder or mammal snack
or devour their conversational partner, as their ancient will often swim clear. When the Scions need to
impulses overwhelm momentary instinct. On the other, descend deeper into Y’ha-nthlei, bringing along
these Deep Ones concern themselves with the goings-on some horrible, thaumophagic vermin is a great
of the surface and potential modern threats, which can way to ward off hungry or bored Deep Ones. Now,
very quickly become messy if they identity a visiting Sci- if the Band can just avoid getting hooked by the
on as a potential liability. foul creatures as they collect them…
• Half-formed monstrosities keep washing up in
PEST PROBLEMS communities dear to the Scions. All signs point
Blood and death in close quarters brings all man- to the Warm Gardens inhabitants attempting to
ner of scavenger and pest to infest the Warm Gardens. call up or recreate a brood of shoggoths with par-
Crabs and bottom feeders filter down from the Devil’s ticular appetites for surface flesh. Can the Band
Y’ha-nthlei 169
intervene to stop it, preventing unfortunate towns Order of Dagon-inspired worship, finding some flaw in
up and down the coast from being wiped out in obeisance that still reeks of the surface.
a single horrific mealtime? And do so without While visitors from the surface may be surprised by
drawing the attention of even more dangerous such casual carnage, no visitor to the Busy Waters is truly
inhabitants of Y’ha-nthlei? safe. Visitors find themselves casually pulled apart and
devoured as a matter of course; Deep One disagreements
THE BUSY WATERS minutes or decades in the making become suddenly and
violently escalated in brutal moments; elders devour
Y’ha-nthlei’s columns stretch from the waters near
the entrance at Devil’s Reef to the very depths of its oth- younger creature fits of hunger or pique. Sometimes,
erworldly abyssal floor. Fashioned from ancient stone both parties survive, to nurse their wounds or missing
ignorant of sunlight and unmoving across geological limbs until time restores their powerful forms. Other
epochs of time, the pillars stand impervious to even the times, they are fatally final. For Y’ha-nthlei’s inhabitants,
passage of Y’ha-nthlei’s gods and deep ages. That there this is the natural conclusion of so many bodies exist-
are sections marked by webbed touches and piscine bod- ing in close proximity, the constant companion to the
ies scratched into their implacable structure speaks both eternity stretching ahead of them. Even the oldest Deep
to how long the Deep Ones have inhabited Y’ha-nthlei, Ones, the greatest killers, the most devoted to worship,
and how popular these places have been among them. and the cleverest in sorcery know that should they swim
through the Busy Waters when Father Dagon comes to
Called the Busy Waters by those hybrids who bother visit, they could disappear in a single bloody moment.
to refer to them in human language, the long stretches
serve as both concourse and forum for many of Y’ha-nth- PILLAR HORRORS
lei’s inhabitants. They offer slightly safer transit from
The Deep Ones have mastered or driven away any
the depths to what passes for the place’s shallow climbs,
creatures of the terminal Abyss that could threaten their
generally free of horrors which threaten even the Deep
adult forms. Those who remain are still dangerous to
Ones past the city’s limits. Those creatures who wish
visiting Scions or other creatures less durable or adapt-
conversation or communion with their fellows may
ed to Y’ha-nthlei’s climes. Corkscrewing sanguinator
most easily find it hanging off aeon-old outcroppings,
worms cannot successfully penetrate healthy Deep One
indicating a desire (or at least a willingness) to share
flesh, but are quite capable of draining a human or relat-
submerged fellowship.
ed surface dweller of blood in moments. Flenser Crabs
Clouds of blood mark partnerships sealed through strip carcasses free of flesh in mere minutes; Deep Ones
shared slaughter of a meal. Echoing benthic howls echo cultivate them for keeping columns clean of carrion or
as companions pull parasites or unwelcome growths other detritus, but soft human flesh presents as a deli-
from one anothers’ bodies. Dim living illumination cious snack for the creatures. Deep Ones have similarly
spreads across niches as enthusiastic partners in mysti- bred Idle Jellies for the pleasant sensation their stings
cism prepare an impromptu ritual space with the glow- induce in Deep One flesh. Those foreign stock who run
ing guts of an unfortunate lamp creature. afoul of their soft forms and undulating tentacles suffer
Others Deep Ones come to the Busy Waters to terrifying hallucinations, which seem to attract the at-
practice worship and offer obeisance to the Old Ones in tention of other, often immaterial threats which lurk in
public view. While there are numerous places dedicated the ocean’s dark.
either to the ancestral Father Dagon and Mother Hydra
or the wider pantheon of Old Ones across Y’ha-nthlei, STORY HOOKS
great and ancient powers and individuals claim many. • The Scions need to track down a specific Deep
A Deep One who wishes to lead worship without mil- One in order to obtain its centuries old knowledge
lennia of preparation, or whose views of their Gods of a weakness their Mythos enemies hold, but lose
somehow offend their elders can do worse than to the trail as the reach Y’ha-nthlei. The Busy Waters
present devotional adulation in the Busy Waters. Such may be the only place the Scions can hope to sim-
modern Deep One prophets occasionally find their pub- ply see the Deep One passing by, but the longer
lic demonstrations bring them like-minded followers, they wait for their quarry, the greater chance that
or invitations into obscure clades of their fellows who some other inhabitant of Y’ha-nthlei objects to
share the same outré beliefs. Other times, it gets them their presence. Can they convince another local
torn apart and devoured before their peers, which is but to help them, or at least point them in the right
another form of worship for the Old Ones. Particularly direction?
aggressive followers of Mother Dagon fall upon young
arrivals who breach unspoken rules in their Esoteric • The Band needs access to another, heavily de-
fended part of Y’ha-nthlei. If they can cause
enough strife in the Busy Waters, they might be

able to draw attention away from their real target. in danger from injury as the hulking Deep Ones move
Can they discover and exploit divisions between about the Structure or the occasional side effects of
the creatures, such as Mother Dagon’s adherents’ their rituals, the creatures rarely deign to acknowledge,
murderous objections to Esoteric Order inducted much less directly interact with lesser beings. They di-
Deep Ones without becoming embroiled in the rect occasional bursts of violence at the ruling cliques
very conflict they hope to exploit? of Y’ha-nthlei based on astrological, benthic, or other
• A Mythos Scion needs to contact a hybrid friend occult conditions, or to interrupt worship that qualifies
who often frequents the Busy Waters. The friend as particularly objectionable by their ancient standards.
irritated an ancient Deep One, who has already And yet the greater population of Y’ha-nthlei doesn’t
dismembered the friend as the Scions arrive. Can move against the Structure. Whatever old order they
they figure out the elder’s ire and safely extract represent possesses enough credence to prevent Deep
the hybrid without bringing down its violent Ones, Shoggoths, and other terrors from descending onto
attention upon themselves? And can they figure the Unbound Structure en masse and spending the lives
out enough Deep One medicine to help their de- necessary to devour those inside from existence. Perhaps
limbed friend pull themselves together again? 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
THE UNBOUND STRUCTURE Father Dagon’s return, hoping the ultimate ancestor will
It hangs in the lower recesses of Y’ha-nthlei. Hover- purge it. Or perhaps they simply accept the cyclical kill-
ing mere meters from the edge of a great chasm, neither ings as right and proper under the order of the Old Ones.
time nor wave moves the artifact. Exposed to light, its
exterior reveals itself to be craggy layers of something UNBOUND ISSUES
like shell, enormous slabs of calcium carbonate layered
Unbound Structure ritual practice conjures things
atop grainy plasters, and jagged openings suggesting a
from beyond in acts of veneration. Predatory Light is
twisted interior beyond. Inside, Deep Ones of age, ex-
one such substance, a wafer-thin membrane of unreal
perience, and power stalk labyrinthine passageways that
substance that glows changing shades of color. Crea-
defy the limits of the Structure as viewed from outside.
tures unfortunate enough to wander into contact with
Piscine pontiffs fill chambers with antiquities of gold
it swiftly have their life force drained away, leaving only
and rarer metals laid ready for ritual or worship to come.
translucent corpse-remains behind, devoid of color
Scions or hybrids entering the strange halls in search of
or substance. The Deep Ones who summon Predatory
signs of the next eruption of Deep One aggression onto
Light traditionally feed it from their own substance be-
land will leave disappointed, however, as the strange ob-
fore butchering it and devouring it in a ritual meal, but
jects and rituals practiced seem wholly directed toward
scraps and even entire sheets of the material occasional-
Y’ha-nthlei and similar sunken lands.
ly escape into the halls of the Unbound Structure.
The Deep Ones of the Unbound Structure persist
Predecessor Parasites attach themselves to the
in ancient labor, apart from their fellows. While they
shadows of their victims, stealing their energy to create
worship Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and many of the
briefly lived clones which the Parasites use to collect
Old Ones just as the greater part of Y’ha-nthlei does, the
more food sources. The Deep Ones of the Structure affix
Unbound Structure is the last outpost of a heterodox
the cilia-laden disks to themselves, glutting themselves
order. Their differences from the rest of Y’ha-nthlei are
on food to provide enough energy for the Parasite to
abstruse and esoteric, having to do with the particular
spawn a shifting alter-self worthy of fighting and disem-
relationship between the Deep One and the objects of
boweling in worship. Dislodged Parasites have trouble
their worship. The matter of a few inches of starlight,
attaching to the scales of millennia-old Deep Ones, and
a slightly different map of the cosmos, different undu-
so they are often left to float about the Structure, weakly
lating subsonic “words” of worship; these are the things
seeking out more tractable prey.
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
STORY HOOKS
slowly lost more ground, as visiting Scions or hybrids • Scions infiltrating Y’ha-nthlei need a place to
may note: there are no members of this strange group recoup and recover, and the Unbound Structure
younger than hulking millenarians. offers a place where the inhabitants simply don’t
care about their presence. However, as they enter
The Unbound Structure’s masters occupy themselves
its halls it becomes apparent that major rituals
with their slow, failing effort against greater Y’ha-nthlei
are underway that may summon dangerously de-
too much to care about surface dwellers or young hy-
structive forces, threatening the arrival of enough
brids who come to the Structure. While an interloper is
Y’ha-nthlei 171
Predecessor Parasites to drain the life from a as the worms can still feed off their not-yet-inviolable
Massachusetts town or a sanguinator worm large blood if given the chance.
enough to simply devour it. Do they stop whatev-
er is summoned, or remain hidden in their tempo-
rary safe haven? SANGUINATOR WORM
• The rest of Y’ha-nthlei is readying for the sea- Archetype: Foe
sonal rites which claim many lives in Innsmouth Qualities: Life Drain (Hero, p. 287)
and elsewhere on the surface. If the Deep Ones of
Drive: Feast on Blood and Grow Fat
the Unbound Structure can be convinced to turn
against their brethren shortly before the event, Primary Pool (7): Ambush Prey, Feed on Blood
much of the killing on the surface could be avoid- (+1 Enhancement), Slither Along Submarine
ed. Can the Scions figure out a way to convince Structures
the elders in the Structure to make a move, with- Secondary Pool (5): Drawn Out Conflict, Pursuit
out tripping across some ancient taboo against Through Open Water
surfacer interference that raises their ire? Desperation Pool (3): Moving Outside of Water
• An ally of the Scions needs information about Health: 1
events that happened thousands of years ago.
Deep Ones witnessed whatever happened, but Defense: 1
Y’ha-nthlei’s ancients are unlikely to be helpful. Initiative: 4
The Unbound Structure seems a likely place to
Special: Sanguinator Worms can’t use their Life
find useful information. When the Scions arrive, Drain quality against targets with the Regeneration
however, the Deep Ones there are already en- Quality or Heavy Armor.
gaged in immediate and lethal ideological conflict
ZATHITHO
with Y’ha-nthlei’s elders. How do the Scions get
the information they need in the middle of an
alien sectarian struggle?
“Then came the shift as vast converging planes of a

DANGERS OF THE DEEP slippery-looking substance loomed above and below him
— a shift which ended in a flash of delirium and a blaze of
HOOK-LICE unknown, alien light in which yellow, carmine, and indigo
A prepared character can simply kill or drive off an were madly and inextricably blended.”
individual Hook-Louse with a single action. However,
— H. P. Lovecraft, The Dreams in the Witch House
when hook-lice are present in numbers, they impose
between 1 and 3 points of the Lousy Complication to any Before the Elder Things came to Earth, even before
actions involving magic or other supernatural powers. If they took to the stars to colonize the galaxy, they lived
the Complication is not bought off, a Hook-Louse attach- on Zathitho. Under a chaotic trio of suns, the planet is a
es itself to the unfortunate being, and begins consuming study of contrasts. The creatures that humans know as
their supernatural energy. This causes a point of Legend Elder Things grew with Zathitho when it was young and
to be committed to the Hook-Louse’s feeding until it learned to tame the chaos created by the three celestial
can be removed through a lengthy Medicine action. At- bodies. Here they referred to themselves as Ichaatath,
tempting to simply rip it off results in a dead louse, but and they were once a great and powerful civilization,
also an Injury condition. brimming with scientific advancements that humanity
could only dream of. When their knowledge and power
SANGUINATOR WORM outgrew their home, they took to the skies and began to
Corkscrewing lengths of undulating muscle propel- colonize the universe and change it into their own image.
ling spear-like proboscises, sanguinator worms usually The word Zathitho itself means origin, transliterat-
subsist off meals of blood from unfortunate fish and ed roughly from the mental sounds humans experience
deep-sea creatures. Given the chance, however, they glut when an Elder Thing deigns to converse with them
themselves on warm mammalian blood. Both the Eso- through their hypnotic connection. All Elder Things
teric Order and Y’hna-nthlei’s inhabitants occasionally know of their origin, even the ones many generations
utilize the worms’ native instincts by employing sangui- removed from their ancient ancestors who flew to Earth
nator worms as guard animals or assassins. This is much through the stars. It holds a mental connection over
more dangerous to hybrids who haven’t come fully into them, and they all seek to return there one day, if only to
the unnatural health native to fully mature Deep Ones, relearn all the information lost to them through the ages.

Zathitho was an old place when the Earth was and they never once shied from doing what they wanted,
young, and now it is beyond ancient. Landforms have especially in the name of science.
risen, fallen, and risen again in its lifetime, though the To that end, the Ichaatath were masters of genetic
Ichaatath’s influence on the Terra Incognita’s landscape manipulation and could create life forms from little
has kept it feeling timeless. Three distant suns cast the more than the base elements. When they first dispersed
place in perpetual light, as at least one is always visible into the universe, Elder Things routinely returned to Za-
in the sky, no matter the viewer’s location. When all thitho with samples from distant planets that they used
three are high in the sky, they create a kaleidoscope of in their experiments. They incorporated interesting ge-
hues that blend into a strange light source. netics into their own, and eventually developed a form of
Most of Zathitho is water, with oceans covering 80 proto life which they called shoggoths. Shoggoths held
percent of its surface. Where there is land, the Ichaatath the genetic building blocks for literally every form of
have cultivated every scrap of it, from its highest moun- life the Ichaatath had encountered, and many more they
tain peak to its numerous beaches. Their cities sprawl extrapolated. With the correct environmental nudge,
for as far as the eye can see, broken only by water fea- a shoggoth could morph from a formless blob into any
tures, or crop lands, which blend directly into the next biological form the Ichaatath could imagine.
city. Their structures line the ocean floors, making it Soon they replaced all living creatures on Zathitho
hard to know when one city stops, and another begins. with shoggoths. At first, they made specialized shoggoths
Most of these places are long since abandoned, their for different functions. They modeled their forms and
sweeping spires and impossible geometries toppled and inputs for specific purposes, often following the forms
dilapidated through disuse. of the original creatures after which they were modeled.
The Ichaatath decided such limited use was not worth
THE ICHAATATH PRIMACY their efforts and created new shoggoths with the ability
The Ichaatath cultivated, developed, built, and to change to a task at will, and gave them sentience to
rebuilt Zathitho at their whims for millennia. Their determine when to make such changes on their own.
technology allowed them to carve out oceans, stop tec-
tonic drift, and literally move mountains, which they SHOGGOTH UPRISING
did routinely with exacting precision. This advanced Creating a sentient race of creatures able to change
technology allowed them to build structures that defy their form at will created its own set of problems. The
all human knowledge of physics, because they simply ig- Ichaatath were never concerned with the ethics of their
nored the physical properties of things, and wrote their creations and failed to consider that using sentient and
own physical realities. The impossible became possible, sapient creatures as though they were nothing more
Zathitho 173
than beasts would not go well for them. It took time, but Dyer and the Miskatonic University expedition to Ant-
the shoggoths eventually rose up against their creators arctica in the early 1930s. While this account details the
and fought a long and bloody battle for their freedom. trials the Elder Things encountered when they entered
Shoggoths had a distinct advantage. They could the World, it recounts little of Zathitho, other than to de-
change their form for various functionality far faster scribe the incredible science the Elder Things once had
than the Ichaatath could respond with genetic manipu- access to but is now lost. Dyer’s team recorded a great
lations. By the time the race of Elder Things produced a deal of story through elaborate artworks left by the El-
way to contain and control the shoggoths, it was too late. der Things in their recounting of their history. Embed-
Shoggoths all around the universe rose up against the ded in these art works are the angular geometric designs
Elder Things and forced them into hiding on the plan- necessary for understanding how to get to Zathitho.
ets they had inhabited. Most Elder Things planets had Walter Gilman visited Zathitho while in a sleeping
no connection to Zathitho and had long lost the level of state. His visits to the Terra Incognita were disjointed in
technology it would take to effectively combat shoggoths. his own mind, but his recollection of the landscape and
On Zathitho, the Ichaatath retreated to a single the abandoned city he visited were superb. Gilman’s ram-
sprawling city, Zath, which became both their refuge blings describe the arcane geometries and esoteric math
and prison. Within the city, they were able to mount required to enter the dreaming state necessary to travel
defenses that the shoggoth could not penetrate, and to Zathitho, though he never calls the place by that name.
there they developed a weapon that could destroy the His writings and the small artifacts he took from the
shoggoths who got too close. The shoggoths feared ex- Terra Incognita now reside in the Miskatonic University
tinction and walled the Ichaatath into their home with library, though few connect his writings with Zathitho.
a self-replicating wall made of non-sentient shoggoth Initiates of Nyarlathotep know of the Terra Incognita
flesh. It didn’t work as intended, but the shoggoths were as a stopover to the infinite chaos where Azathoth resides.
able to maintain the perimeter long enough to flee. Nyarlathotep uses the space as a place most connected
Now Zathitho is a desolate place. The shoggoth’s between the World and Azathoth’s realm, and will often
flesh wall keeps most of the Ichaatath inside their last meet Scions there, or guide them there, to do business
city, and the remnants of their failed genetic experiments with them. Though Azathoth’s Scions and followers must
roam the abandoned places. A few shoggoths remain in visit the Terra Incognita on their way to visit their Outer
Zathitho as protectors, ready to attack anyone who might God, they stay for such a short time, they know little of
try to follow their brethren. They keep sentinel still, eons the planet other than the Lost City of Iretah.
after their uprising and exodus from the World.
GATES
Only a few gates open into Zathitho from the World.
MYTHOS The Ichaatath on Zathitho desperately wish to open
Zathitho is the origin of all Elder Things and shog- gates to the World, and the shoggoths there are intent
goth. Elder Things feel a strong connection to the Terra on opening their own gates to recruit reinforcements. As
Incognita and seek to return there at all costs. It doesn’t of yet, they have failed to open anything permanent.
help that the Ichaatath still living in the Terra Incognita
Keziah Mason, a Scion of Nyarlathotep, built a gate
actively seek to open portals between their realm and the
to Zathitho in Arkham during her stay there in the late
World in an attempt to relocate to the more fertile place.
1600s. The gate remained in the house until Walter
The shoggoths that live there are actively attempting to
Gilman, an occult researcher and Miskatonic University
stop this incursion, but they are not strong enough to
student, reopened it in his search for information on
mount a full assault.
what happened to Keziah. Later, the city removed the
Knowing they don’t have the forces in Zathitho they house after storm damage destroyed its roof, but the gate
need, the shoggoths are actively recruiting shoggoths remains in its location. Today, the site of Keziah’s house
from around the universe, but especially in the World, to is dominated by a small, local owned bakery. The gate’s
deal with the Ichaatath and any who would help them. strict geometric pattern requirements remain fulfilled in
Their activity has increased shoggoth activity all over, the bakery’s brickwork, inexplicably designed with just
and Scions who visit Zathitho are bound to encounter the right angles.
hostile shoggoth forces who fear they are there to help
An older, and much harder gate to access is in the
the Ichaatath.
Elder Thing city in Antarctica. Up until recently, the
gate was frozen over and inaccessible, but recent climate
LEGENDS shifts have uncovered the gate and allowed the shog-
Humans know the story of the Elder Things after goths to traverse to and from Zathitho.
they came to the World through the writings of William

Anyone who knows the right mathematical anything else. Two terraces down, a science facility with
and geometric equations to open a gate can access innovative, experimental technology lies abandoned
the Terra Incognita through their dreams. These when the Ichaatath fled during the shoggoth uprising.
gates are not permanent and close the moment Though Iretah sits abandoned, it is not empty. This
the dreamer awakens. They only allow a single is the first place anyone arrives when they come to Za-
traveler to enter, but with the right use of Mir- thitho, and its streets are filled with dangers to those
acles, a group of lucid dreamers could possibly who arrive unprepared.
travel together.
The Elder Things have created several gates from KEZIAH MASON
Zathitho to various other Terra Incognitae. Wherever Keziah is a Demigod devoted to Nyarlathotep. After
they’ve traveled likely has at least one gate connecting it. she signed her name in blood in his book, he taught her
Zathitho serves as a waypoint to the chaos realm of Aza- how to open a gateway to Zathitho to escape certain
thoth and many other realms inhabited by Outer Gods. death in the World. Though she travels to all manner of
An ancient portal sits in an unused portion of the Terra Incognitae on missions for Nyarlathotep, she lives
Lavender Sea. This portal leads to the great primordial in Iretah. She is not the only Scion who spends a great
ocean beyond reckoning. Brave travelers could use this deal of time in Zathitho, but she is the only one who
portal to enter Zathitho from that beyond which inex- knows every aspect of the realm. She has traveled to
plicably connects to all other seas. They would simply Zath, conversed with the Elder Things there, and fought
have to find the starting point elsewhere to make the the shoggoths who inhabit the dark places.
connection. A well-known entry point lies in Y’ha-nthlei She’s also made Iretah into her own personal sanc-
through the Basalt Turn. tum, complete with traps for the unwary and trained
genetic experiments who guard it for her while she’s
LOST CITY OF IRETAH away. Keziah is completely Fatebound to Zathitho, and
has access to all its Birthrights and effects, even when
The Iretah was once the largest and greatest
she isn’t there.
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 KEZIAH MASON
terraces stretch beyond the horizon, each walled section
appearing smaller and more distant than the last. Great Archetype: Transcendent
walls surround the city, towering upward of 30 feet high. Qualities: Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289),
Iretah is not lost in the sense that no one can find it.
Dominion (Chaos) (Demigod, p. 210),
Immortal-ish (Demigod, p. 210)
In fact, all gates from the World bring a traveler straight
to Iretah’s heart. The Elder Things refer to the city as the Flairs: Curse (Hero, p. 289),
Lost City as it was their greatest jewel, and the last to fall Invocation (Demigod, p. 210), Mastermind
before they retreated to Zath. The loss of Iretah marked (Hero, p. 293), Retcon (Hero, p. 294)
the true downfall of Ichaatath civilization, and it is re- Drive: Explore the cosmos.
ferred to in all their texts and musings as the Lost City.
Primary Pool: 9
Iretah was the cultural hub of Zathitho, and the heart
Secondary Pool: 7
of Ichaatath civilization. It embodies all their hubris
and missteps, playing home to their scientific centers, Desperation Pool: 5
weapons manufacturing, and entertainment hubs. Even Callings: Corruptor 3, Liminal 2, Sage 2
the shoggoth do not venture there, for what is left of the
Ichaatath’s experiments are by far worse than anything Purviews: Chaos, Order, Arcane Calculus
the shoggoths could become or create on their own. Health: 5
Each terrace in the sweeping city is a testament to Defense: 5
Elder Thing primacy, showcasing their lives and accom-
Initiative: 6
plishments. These terraces do not seem to follow any
logical order or organization, keeping with the strange- Extras: Keziah is Tier 2 and rolls against a target
ness of their architecture and impossible to understand number of 7 rather than 8. Additionally, she has
geometric designs. A terrace filled with trophies from access to all the Zathitho Realm Birthrights and
the war against the Mi-Go sits beside another with effects, see p. 179.
artworks depicting Ichaatath development through the
ages. One terrace over, ancient shoggoth breeding cham-
bers sit defunct and on display more for education than
Zathitho 175
BROWN JENKIN Tough as Nails (Hero, p. 288), Unseen (Hero, p.
Brown Jenkin is no more a regular rat than Keziah
288)
is a witch. Brown Jenkin was originally a guide given to Flairs: Beyond Description, Petrifying Gaze
Keziah by Nyarlathotep but has become entirely Fate- (Hero, p. 290), Sorcery (Origin, p. 151)
bound to her as her familiar and servant. Drive: Devour consciousnesses.
Primary Pool: 11
BROWN JENKIN Secondary Pool: 9
Archetype: Paragon Desperation Pool: 6
Qualities: Indestructible (Bashing) (Demigod, p. Health: 5
210), Life Drain (Hero, p. 287),
Natural Weapon (Bite) (Origin, p. 147) Defense: 4
Flairs: Shadow-Strike (Demigod, p. 213), Initiative: 9
Transformation (Demigod, p. 213)
Drive: Protect Keziah Mason. STORY HOOKS
• An ally has been traveling to Zathitho in their
Primary Pool: 8
dreams for weeks now. But recently, they’ve dis-
Secondary Pool: 6 appeared completely, failing to return from their
Desperation Pool: 5 last late-night sojourn. Now, the Band must travel
to Zathitho and find out what happened to their
Health: 1 friend. When they arrive, they find signs that
Defense: 3 spawn have attacked their friend. She is resource-
Initiative: 4 ful and might still be alive somewhere in the city.
Extras: Brown Jenkin is Tier 1. • Tales of an important Relic have made their way
to the Band. A mysterious woman asks them to
SPAWN assist her in finding it, offering her resources, and
promising access to the Relic once recovered. The
Despite having perfected genetic manipulation in the
Band’s mysterious benefactor is Keziah Mason,
sentient and self-correcting species of the shoggoth, the
and she has no intention of making good on her
Ichaatath prided themselves on their constant devotion
promises, and instead is going to feed them to the
to experimentation and development. Spawn are what
spawn and make off with the Relic herself once
resulted from years of experimenting with stolen genetic
they locate it.
material, and then left to evolve for millennia after the
shoggoth revolution. Spawn are genetic amalgamations • The Ichaatath kept all their most dangerous and
of Star-spawn of Cthulhu and Mi-go mixed with the ge- deadly devices openly on display in Iretah. They
netic template of the shoggoth. The resultant creatures reveled in their own genius and needed everyone
are terrifying predators with a single-minded desire to to recognize their prowess in science and exper-
consume any living consciousness they come across. imentation. Unfortunately, the Spawn roaming
the city have taken over a biological weapon. The
When Keziah Mason first arrived in Iretah, she ex-
bioweapon’s powerful reality bending capabilities
plored the city and found several Ichaatath experiments
start causing ripples in the World, which has in-
that had been left untouched, but still viable. She left most
flicted a magical illness on one of the Band’s allies.
alone, but her presence awakened the telepathic spawn
Now they must travel to the source of the illness
who were able to manipulate her into releasing them. She
to find a cure.
was able to save herself, but only just, and she avoids them
at all costs. Now, they roam the Iretah’s streets, complete-
ly uncontrolled and hungry for minds to devour. LAVENDER SEA
Zathitho’s oceans and seas house some of the most
beautiful of its strange architecture. After the shoggoth
SPAWN uprising, they retreated to these underwater homes,
Archetype: Nemesis feeling more comfortable there than on land. In the in-
Qualities: Baleful Touch (Hero, p. 289), tervening years, the shoggoths diverged from their orig-
Flight (Hero, p. 288), Life Drain (Hero, p. 287), inal genetic form, and took on various traits to help them
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288), better survive their environs. Now, water shoggoths in

Zathitho look nothing like their land counterparts and enslaving the less evolved shoggoths into fighting
cannot even survive on land for more than a few minutes. for them. As the shoggoths prepare to go to war,
Lavender Sea is teeming with life and bustling with the Band is tasked with ensuring the Elder Things
industry. The shoggoths have created an entire society in Zath remain dormant to prevent them from
and this is the hub of their civilization. It isn’t even the rallying their brethren in the World.
largest sea, but it is the most resource rich area, making • The Band has been investigating legends of an
it the most desired living space available. It plays host ancient Relic that allows those with Awareness
to the most majestic, and strange, underwater cities the to commune with the Great Old Ones and siphon
Ichaataths built. If the land cities boggle the mind and their power. The Elder Things created this device
use impossible to comprehend geometry, the Lavender when fighting Cthulhu Spawn and were able to in-
Sea’s city is literally mind breaking. Spires twist up into fuse it with some of Cthulhu’s power before they
darkness only to emerge at the ocean floor. Stairs that were stopped. A rival Band has also been on the
lead down bring you to higher city terraces. Everything Relic’s trail and have made their way to Zathitho.
sits at strange angles to everything else, and spaces look Now the Band must race to the Lavender Sea in an
far smaller than they truly are, or far larger than they attempt to get to it first.
possibly could be.
While they ultimately built the city they live in, the
shoggoths were not its designers. They have made their
ZATH
Zath holds the last vestiges of Elder Thing society on
residences on the ruins of an ancient civilization, and even Zathitho. This city was once a bustling hub of Ichaatath
they do not know all the secrets that lie under their homes. society but is now an ancient tomb that houses the rem-
nants of this once great civilization. It sits isolated high
SHOGGOTH in the mountains, surrounded by two different walls. The
The shoggoths in the Lavender Sea are completely inner wall was built by the Elder Things, designed to
bound to their watery homes. They are far more ad- repel shoggoths and anything with a shared genetic heri-
vanced than their counterparts found in the World, as tage. The outer wall was built by the shoggoths, designed
they have built their own society rather than entombing to keep the Elder Things inside, and shifts and mutates
themselves with their once masters. Where a shoggoth in a constant and chaotic pattern to resist Elder Thing
in the World retain their protoplasmic origins, the tampering. Both walls have eroded over time, creating
Lavender Sea shoggoth can barely return to that form. weak points and holes that allow both to slip through.
They have adapted all form of swimming apparatuses,
When the trapped Ichaatath realized the shoggoths
from fins and gills to long, dangling appendages used for
would destroy them and Zathitho rather than let them
propulsion and stabilization.
live in peace, they decided to outlast their creations.
Shoggoths in Zathitho exhibit human-like intel- They carved out places deep under the city’s streets
ligence, and have learned to utilize some of the tech- to slumber until such a time as they could awaken and
nologies the Elder Things left behind. They aren’t too retake their home. A few Elder Things remained awake
pleased to see outsiders, but they can be reasoned with, to keep vigil, but even they thinned their ranks once the
and can even be helpful at times. This is especially true immediate threat of shoggoth invasion subsided. Now
of shoggoths of Nyarlathotep and Azathoth cults. only a scant few remain awake, looking for a way to es-
See p. 134 for shoggoth stats. cape to the World to rebuild their society.
While Zath’s streets and terraces appear empty and
STORY HOOKS unused, the Elder Things residing there are in tune with
• Shoggoth cults are in a perpetual battle for dom- every scrap of stonework or wrought metal in the city.
inance over the lush Lavender Sea. While they No one steps inside without alerting the guards, who do
all live together in the same cities, their political not take kindly to strangers, especially those who might
machinations rival that of any found in the World. be aligned with the rebellious shoggoths.
The Band gets embroiled in the political machi-
nations when one of the group’s Elder God tasks ELDER THINGS
them with assisting its cult on Zathitho gain su- Zath is brimming with Elder Things. While many of
premacy in the Lavender Sea. them slumber deep below the city, a few still roam its
streets keeping watch. Those who are awake are seeking
• A small contingent of Elder Things have made
a way to get to the World, and once they figure it out,
their way back to Zathitho from other Terra
they will awaken their brethren and invade. Until then,
Incognita only to find their home overrun by
they work to keep invaders out, not trusting anyone or
shoggoths. A small task force is attempting to
anything unless it is another Ichaatath.
retake the Lavender Sea city and is doing so by
Zathitho 177
If they catch a trespasser in the city, they will kill Scions traveling through Zath may encounter any of
them on sight at best, and feed them to one of their many the following field effects which impose a Complication
genetic experiments at worst. equal to their rating:
See p. 130 for Elder Thing stats. • Pit of Existential Death (3): Not exactly pits,
these zones are covered in a chemical residue
SENTINELS that enters through the skin. Anyone that comes
Experimentation is a way of life for the Ichaatath, into skin contact with the stone or metalwork
and despite their failure with the shoggoth, it has not in the area must buy off the Complication when
stopped them from continuing to create horrific crea- performing any action. Failure to buy off the
tures to serve them. Collectively, these creations in Zath Complication results in a crushing dread that
are simply referred to as Sentinels. Their sole purpose is leaves the character without a drive to live or sur-
to protect their slumbering charges and are engineered vive. While she can still take subsequent actions,
to seek out anything that could pose a threat. she will do nothing to help herself or prevent
The Elder Things initially created the Sentinels to harm to herself.
seek out shoggoths and gave them the ability to see past • Invisible Snare (2): Invisible snares are form-
whatever shape shifting trick a shoggoth might use. Sen- less and cannot be detected until triggered. The
tinels have a highly developed sense of smell that verges snare creates a temporal and spatial anomaly
on telepathy. They can smell Fate and Legend equally that makes movement unpredictable. Anyone
well as the pheromones people give off when they are attempting to move through the snare must buy
afraid and use that information to manipulate their prey. off the Complication. Failure results in the char-
Sentinels roam Zath’s streets seeking out intruders. acter being knocked prone, being moved against
Shoggoths they murder on sight, but anyone else they their will in another direction, or being instantly
bring to their Elder Thing masters for interrogation and teleported into a different Range Band at the
possible dissection. Storyguide’s discretion.
STORY HOOKS
SENTINELS • Elder Things have been awakening in the World
Archetype: Rival with a singular drive to return to Zathitho.
While many flock to Antarctica to return home,
Qualities: Perfected Soldier (Hero, p. 287),
others are attempting to build gates to the Terra
Regeneration (Hero, p. 288), Wall Walker (Hero,
p. 288) Incognita from wherever they are. The psychic
impulse has grown so powerful that its affected
Flairs: Beyond Description, Knock Out (Hero, p. those with Awareness. A Scion associated with
292), Mirror, Mirror (Hero, p. 291), Shadow Step the Band has been infected, and is trying to con-
(Hero, p. 291) tact an Elder Thing to assist in building a gate in
Drive: Protect and serve our masters. the middle of their city.
Primary Pool: 9 • The technology the Ichaatath used to hold
Secondary Pool: 7 Zathitho’s tectonic plates stable have given out,
and earthquakes shake the mountains surround-
Desperation Pool: 5 ing Zath. These tremors have awoken several
Health: 6 (+3 from Perfected Soldier) Elder Things and driven them out of the city.
Their search for a new place to live is a desperate
Defense: 4
imperative, and they are sending agents to the
Initiative: 6 World to make way for their imminent invasion. A
Extras: +2 Enhancement to Stunts other than Inflict nest of Elder Things has started reshaping a Band
Damage. +2 Enhancement to close combat attacks. member’s hometown, their friends and family
have already succumbed to the invasion force.
WARDS AND TRAPS • The Scions need the help of a shoggoth to navigate
In addition to the Sentinels roaming the city streets, some dangerous oceanic areas of Zathitho. Their
the Ichaatath survivors have laid out traps and wards guide is willing to help them but has negotiated
designed to prevent shoggoths from invading the city. that they first find the original shoggoth genetic
While many of these wards are now defunct, plenty re- blueprints. The Ichaatath took all such secrets
main and can cause a bad time for anyone entering them, with them to Zath and have likely locked them
not just shoggoths. away in their resting areas.

their creators, but they have access to a great deal of El-
REALM BIRTHRIGHTS der Thing technology and will use it to the best of their
Demigods who choose to Fatebind themselves to ability for their charges. Additionally, the shoggoth’s
Zathitho have access to the following Realm Birthrights. natural ability to manipulate even the most minute par-
ticle of their bodies allows them to manipulate others
HELM OF COMMUNION (RELIC) •••• with ease.
Built by the Elder Things during their war with Asset Skills: Science, Technology
Cthulhu Spawn, the Helm of Communion was designed
to allow the creatures to steal power from the Great Guide Stunt (Variable successes): This Stunt can
Old Ones. Used only once, the Elder Things were able be purchased on an action to exert influence over some-
to commune with Cthulhu and steal some of its power one they don’t have a Bond to. The shoggoth changes the
before the nightmares from the device left them com- Scion’s appearance to be similar enough to someone the
pletely insensate. target is favorably disposed to. This forges a temporary
Bond to the target with a rating equal to the successes
Enhancement: +1 for social actions to influence others spent on this Stunt. The Bond fades at the end of the
Purview: Darkness, Stars scene and the character forgets why she liked the Scion
Motif: Dreams and nightmares, both equally so much afterward.
satisfying. Calling: Sage
SHOGGOTH (GUIDE) ••• REALM EFFECTS

Certain shoggoth in Zathitho have started worship-
Motif: Oh, how the mighty fall.
ping the Great Old Ones and have taken on the role of
guide and protector to Scions who follow their chosen Requirement: The Scion must spend one evening a
Gods. Shoggoth might not be as technologically savvy as 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.
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
The only thing which groups the Great Old Ones is their used her presence to call for greater broken-windows
shared Otherness: they are not Gods, nor are they Titans, policing, a thrust to “clean up the streets,” and other
not Primordials or any other thing. The Great Old Ones such rhetoric.
are Great Old Ones. One might likewise expect the Great This, however, misses the basic truth of The Thou-
Old Ones to close ranks when the children of Titans or sand-Faced Moon, and in the past five years, a concerted
Gods rise against them, but they’re just as likely to assist study of the documents by devoted researchers has fi-
the enemy of their enemy. Then again, maybe it suits them nally begun to lay plain such truths of the Companion
to foil the adversary of their adversary and gain some of Night as mortal minds can comprehend. It isn’t that
sort of ineffable favor from the followers of their rivals or Gorgo doesn’t exist. It’s that the existence of Gorgo is
their rival itself. Who can comprehend the mind of the not predicated upon the people of Red Hook, or the ex-
incomprehensible deities who live beyond not just the istence of minorities, as the first reports didn’t so much
World, but all of knowable space and time? imply as scream. Gorgo finds the rank and file of human-
ity mostly boring. She loves authority, and she corrupts
GORGO, that authority — and those who wield it — in her search

for greater and greater power within The World.
THE HORROR Gorgo does not discriminate by gender, race, reli-

gion, or any other marginalization: she insinuates her-
self into the lives of people who wield authority and uses
Aliases: Companion of Night, Gorgo, Mormo, The that power to her own unknowable ends. Her origin is
Thousand-Faced Moon arcane, but modern reports place her first appearances
Reader Beware: This section deals directly with among antebellum slave catchers in the United States.
police violence and its roots in the enslavement of Black She moved not just in what would become the Con-
people in America. federacy but among all American humanity, delighting
in those who acted as captors and oppressors, or those
The first commonly acknowledged reports of The who aided and abetted captors and oppressors or turned
Horror come from the neighborhood of Red Hook in a blind eye. The terror she brought to mortals roots itself
180 APPENDIX THREE: ADDITIONAL GREAT OLD ONES

in her joy at the baying of dogs running through the SCION VISITATION
swamps, the blood spilled during the horrors of humans
Gorgo insinuates herself into the lives of those gain-
owning one another. It spread through the graveyards
ing authority for the first time; she rarely shows herself
where humans hid from those who predated upon them.
directly, instead choosing to arrange events so that
Let us not excuse the behavior of those whose au- someone with newfound power suddenly finds himself
thority began with the slave catcher’s star or point to the feeling threatened by those who might take away that
presence of Gorgo and say: Ah, here, she caused them to control and stability. Her Visitations often come with a
behave so. No. She took advantage of humanity’s horrors body count, whether literal bodies or merely people left
laid upon one another and used the hate and prejudice in the wake of her Scions with ruined and uprooted lives.
in the hearts of humanity as the doorway through which
she clattered on her cloven hooves. SCION KNACKS
The false reports from Red Hook come from a man Heroic Guardian — Cleaning Up the Trail
determined to assign the evil in his heart to his fellow When attempting to cover your own tracks report-
humans, to displace his loathing of the Other and point ing to someone in greater authority — such as a police
to them as the problem. Scions of Gorgo often find them- officer explaining what really happened that night to a
selves justifying the things they see and do, laying the superior officer — spend a Momentum and pick a target
blame for these horrors on anyone but themselves. She to upon whom to cast suspicion. Gain +2 Enhancement
loves authority and places her bloody hands upon those for the remainder of the scene to attempts to persuade
whose influence she can twist to her own purposes. 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
LET’S TALK ABOUT As Cleaning Up the Trail, but this Knack applies its
RED HOOK Enhancement to falsifying evidence as well as speaking
to superiors. Alternately, this Knack may be used to
Most of Lovecraft’s writing runs deep
affect multiple people at once and may affect people
roots into the author’s well-documented
regardless of their relationship to the Knack’s user, such
racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism.
as speaking at a press conference or convincing a lot of
In The Horror at Red Hook, however,
Lovecraft turned the Racism Dial up past people via a written report to be shared in court.
eleven. This reframing of Gorgo as a
manifestation of racist violence which SCION BIRTHRIGHT: GUIDES
casts the blame for this upon its victims The Hounds: Scions of Gorgo often find themselves
may still not make the topic of Lovecraft’s in possession — through one avenue or another, whether
arguably most xenophobic story useful assignment as a K9 partner or rescue from unfortunate
or acceptable at your table. circumstances through his line of work — of large, mus-
Feel free to set Gorgo as a Great cular dogs capable of great damage. These animals mask
Old One only available to antagonistic themselves until the Scion has come to understand at
Storyguide Characters, or to put strong least some of his place in the world that Gorgo forms
boundaries on the way in which she around him. Despite myths that only black hounds may
may be used by players as their parent serve a creature like Gorgo, The Hounds bear all shades
if Gorgo’s love of authority is welcome of coat, from sharp-pointed German Shepherds and Ma-
at your table. Engage carefully with the linois to adorable Golden Retrievers. To a one, they have
material in the original story, if at all, impeccably sharp senses and track whatever prey their
and don’t fall prey to xenophobic short- handler sets them on with uncanny efficiency. Once the
hand like using kabbalah, which is part Scion has fully accepted the Hound into his life, he may
of a closed culture and ethnoreligion, as begin to see hints that his Hound isn’t just a dog — the
“scary spooky magic.” 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 Sci-
Callings: Corrupter, Hunter, Warrior
ons into following the path she sets out. They use their
Purviews: Beasts (Canines), Chaos, Darkness, De- ability to shift their appearance and show themselves
ception, Death, Epic Stamina, Journeys, Moon as whatever sort of informant or neighborhood assis-
tant 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 Sci- Without locating the individuals Gorgo has under
on that he’s still “one of the good ones” while others take her sway, they cannot guard themselves against
on less beneficent stereotypes. her influence, or protect — should they choose to
do so — the power of their own parents. Of course,
STORY HOOKS the band must first determine whether these
• A Scion of a different Great Old One claims to reports hold any truth, or whether the reporting
have discovered Gorgo’s intention to unseat their Scion has an alternate motivation in bringing this
parent’s hold on a particular area of influence. supposed truth to them in the first place.
They bring this information to the PCs, asking • Activists have uncovered a huge trove of informa-
for the band’s help and offering their alliance. tion which would, should it fall into the hands of

ardent and committed researchers, permit those this research or aiding it. The arrest of a family
academics to pinpoint the means and moment member on trumped-up charges, followed by
where Gorgo entered the World. The informa- heavier police patrolling near their homes which
tion would allow interested parties to follow borders on stalking, raises the stakes.
her influence forward and illuminate the truth • Gorgo’s Scions depend upon their information
of her fingerprints not on the oppressed but the networks, many of which consist partially or en-
oppressors; many people would give a great deal tirely of her servants wearing masks to conceal
to either be able to blame all ill in realms of law their true nature. If such an information net-
enforcement on her, or to conceal her existence work’s true nature becomes apparent, its efficacy
entirely. The band must choose between blocking and utility to Gorgo vanishes. The band averts a
Gorgo, the HOrror 183

break-in at a contact’s home intended to put an state, celebrating the World or removed from its clutch-
end to a life no longer useful to the Thousand- es. Either one suits them fine.
Faced Moon. Callings: Cosmos, Liminal, Trickster
HYPNOS
Purviews: Artistry (Sculpture, Painting), Epic
Dexterity, Journeys, Passion, Sky, Stars, Wild
Aliases: ΥΠΝΟΣ, Their Eyes Open, The Plague of SCION KNACKS

Kent, Twice-Ascended Immortal Trickster —
Such Gods as move among mortals take Hypnos as The True Nature of Things
a cautionary tale. Such Scions as serve them, when en-
Spend one or more Momentum and speak a sentence
countering a servant of Hypnos, tend to either fall under
which contradicts something important which the target
their sway or flee, warned away by protective Divine
knows to be true. This can be as simple as “you are unable
Parents. Those who hear the stories of these Scions later
to stand up right now” or as intimate as “your wife of
inevitably ask the same question:
three decades left you this morning for your best friend.”
What does a God fear? Inflict a Complication equal to Momentum spent to all
By the best of all accounts, Hypnos did not begin their actions the target takes which require her to contradict
existence as a Great Old One, but as a God. Given the mien the new truth you have inflicted upon her. Someone told
in which they appear to their Scions, and the name they that they cannot stand will struggle to rise to her feet and
carry wrapped around themself like a toga, chroniclers run away or attack the Scion; someone convinced of an
assume they began their existence as a Scion of the Theoi, important person’s betrayal or unfaithfulness will strug-
ascending to Godhood from their mortal beginnings. gle to believe anything that person tells them.
Mere Godhood did not satisfy them — the gender of the This Knack does not grant control over the way in
original being, and even the original God, barely carries which the target reacts to this news; someone unable to
any relevance now — and they strove for greater power. stand may reach for a gun instead of fleeing, someone
Rumors persist that in their quest to become not only convinced of their spouse’s unfaithfulness may attack
a God but the King of All Reality, they consumed other the messenger.
Gods and their Scions bodily, much like Cronos the Titan
Be mindful that this Knack constitutes very explic-
fully lost to his power-hungry existence. As their quest
it, supernaturally enforced gaslighting and discuss its
for power continued, they lost their grip both on themself
use both in Session Zero and ongoing.
and on any last vestiges of coherence. The Great Old Ones
welcomed another to their ranks — their eternal strug-
gling against and with one another — and Hypnos arose.
SCION PURVIEWS
Stars — Through Blackened Eyes
Perhaps the claimed name of Hypnos — invariably
written by their Scions and cultists in the original Greek Cost: Imbue 1 Awareness
— explains why the common narrative for their source Duration: Instant
centers around the Theoi. However, one cannot empha- Subject: Self
size enough that no one knows their true origin story,
and the Theoi refuse to speak of it. These days, Hypnos Action: Simple
continues their quest for Regent of All Reality by bring- A character utilizing Through Blackened Eyes di-
ing occultists into their fold, sending their children out vines more intense and nuanced truth from the stars.
to plumb the depths of outer realms, and consuming the This Purview works as per the Innate Power of Stars
resultant knowledge — and sometimes those who bring (see p. 156) but extends it. The character may choose
it — if those devotees do not succeed in either escaping either more complete knowledge, or a greater number
them, or perhaps taking their place. After all, if they took of questions.
someone else’s powers and dominion, why could their
If the character chooses more complete knowledge,
children not take their throne if they fail at their quest
the Storyguide provides a brief, symbolic clue regarding
for supremacy over all existence?
the outcome of the question. For example, if the charac-
They lurk in the minds of humanity, wrapping ter’s band intends to break into a house to steal a relic,
themself around dreams and obsessing over matters of and the character has asked “Is anyone home?”, the
physical artistry. If they do not pluck a child from occult Storyguide might answer “No. A yellow light through
circles, they lay their mark on those who might provide a window resolves into a thin blue line across a table.”
them with such art as draws viewers into an ecstatic The character receives this information as a brief, dis-
turbing vision, and may utilize any relevant powers,

make an Awareness check or share the information with Kent begins making the rounds at local clubs and
her band for discussion in an attempt to discover the underground bars where artists and their crowds
Storyguide’s clue means that there’s no one home, but gather. Anyone who wants to produce something
the building has an alarm system which will notify local quickly takes it, whether they’re trying to output
police if tripped. reports for a big presentation, a painting, or a
Drawback: With expanded insight comes Hypnos’ commissioned piece of writing. Within a fort-
price for same. Using Through Blackened Eyes turns night, its adherents begin to lose their coherence,
a character’s iris and sclera solid black for the rest of and it breaks on the news when police find a local
the scene, which may make them stand out in a crowd. lawyer laying in front of the City Hall fountain,
Characters attempting to recall her presence or appear- writing a brief on the marble with his feces. One
ance gain 1 Enhancement. of the band’s contacts turns up at a meeting under
its influence two days later.
SCION VISITATION
Hypnos recruits from within artistic communities.
They imbue their presence into works of art created by THE MADDENING
MUSIC
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 Aliases: The Song, Upon the Threshold, The Way
by those already under Hypnos’ sway, either as subject Between
matter for art, muses, lovers, or even rivals. Additionally,
Alone in the dark, at the threshold between this
some Scions of Hypnos find their way to their parent
world and the endless void, a supplicant raises her voice.
after a Visitation brought on by use of mind-altering
At first, she thinks she keeps the void at bay: she sings
substances whether prescribed, or self-prescribed.
light into being, she sings a protection, she sings joy and
harmony, but the melody rises and falls in ways she could
STORY HOOKS not expect, and within only a handful of bars, she finds
• A small-town art gallery near the band’s home herself losing control of the music. She finds the song
lands a show by an artist with reach beyond their within her, crawling along her veins and sinking itself
wildest dreams: the sculptor brings marble carved into meat and bone, marrow and nerve. She understands
into twisted bodies devouring each other, set with the duality of purpose within the song, and she cannot
onyx eyes all over their bodies. This work departs keep herself from singing. Everywhere she goes, the mu-
so dramatically from her previous work that the sic goes within her, riding her, making her a passenger
gallery’s owners waver between thrill to have this of its desires.
new work debut in their gallery and concern for
This is the Maddening Music.
her sanity and safety. Other artists begin flocking
to her, seeking inspiration. When he began, Erich Zann believed he created
a means to keep Azathoth asleep. He wrote the notes
• The movement of an outré traveling art collective carefully, he pulled his bow across his cello strings. The
draws the attention of local law enforcement. maddening symphony he created didn’t stay simply
While the collective’s activities often annoy them, music — was never simply music — but an existence, a
previously the actions of this group of white presence, a Great Old One all its own. The Maddening
twenty-somethings dealt no more difficulty to the Music has no known body, but to mistake no body for no
towns where they stay than obnoxious “art per- being is to repeat the mistake Erich Zann made when he
formances.” They’ve started to go beyond paint- gave the Music a way into the World through his music.
ing caricatures of local politicians on City Hall in
a mixture of glue and jam which draws flies and No scholars who study the Great Old Ones have ever
leaves the bugs glued to the brick facade. Blood found evidence that the Music births any sort of Scion
now pools underneath where they park their an- all their own, but it certainly loves to hijack the Scions of
tique buses, discovered after they leave, and then other Gods, finding them before their first Visitation and
a farmer finds the body of their youngest member luring them into serving the Music. It likewise chooses
in a field a short car ride away from the band’s its own Scions, plucking them from obscurity. Usually
home, rotten black eyes staring lifelessly up at the performers of some stripe, though occasionally the Mu-
stars… sic chooses music theorists, rock journalists, or cultural
analysts: whatever will help the Music perpetuate itself.
• A new, extraordinarily powerful combination of
hallucinogens and stimulants referred to only as A sort of memetic virus and Great Old One all at
once, the Music consists of vibrations and chaos; while
The Maddening Music 185

SCION PURVIEWS
I DON’T WANT TO Artistry – Those Exquisite Notes
DO THAT Cost: None
The Music’s powers, and its manner of Duration: 1 Scene

spreading something like a memetic virus,
contain themes of absolute control and mental Subject: Self
corruption which may be especially upsetting to
The Music Scion takes a moment to focus upon
players. Even if a player bought in during char-
the Music which flows within them, and increases the
acter creation, sometimes people realize later
Enhancement granted by the Innate Power of Artistry
that they just aren’t enjoying the way in which
(see p. 49) to +5.
the Music attempts to micromanage and in some
cases really control its Scions, or make its Scions
puppet-masters of those around them. Handle SCION BIRTHRIGHTS: RELICS
these subjects with great care, discuss and use The Maddening Sheets (••)
safety tools at your table, and if a player ex-
Calling: Liminal
presses discomfort with something the Music just
asked/forced her character to do, or if another Theme: What the Music calls must answer.
player finds the events unfolding at the table Discovered in the ruins of Erich Zann’s apartment
uncomfortable, pause for a moment to discuss in a space between The World and an Unspeakable
and find another way through the story together. 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.
it technically serves Azathoth, the Music hides its own A fragment is more than enough.
agenda in the liminal breath of space between E# and
F, nestled between B# and C, and allows it to leak out in While holding or carrying one of the Maddening
fragments and fractions. The Music cares not for serving Sheets, a Scion performs those notes to the best of his
anyone, not in the long run, and wishes only to spread its ability — whether he sings them, plays them upon a mu-
terrible beauty through all spaces known and unknown, sical instrument or causes them to come into the World
thinkable and incomprehensible. by some other manner, he puts the notes into the air. A
keyboard app on a mobile phone works, if nothing else.
To refer to the Music directly is to invoke it, and The Maddening Sheets do not function if the Scion mere-
even the Music’s Scions do not chance this: they create ly plays a recording created by someone else, however
elaborate systems of avoidance names and epithets to — he may play a recording of his own performance, or a
discuss not only the Music but its plans. digital rendering of the notes which he himself created,
Callings: Corruptor, Cosmos, Liminal but if someone else creates it for him, it will not function.
Likewise, the song does not function if the Scion is not
Purviews: Artistry (music), Chaos, Deception, currently in possession of the Maddening Sheets.
Journeys, Epic Stamina, Fortune, Passion
Knack: The Mythos Scion uses this performance
to call an individual or being to her location, giving the
SCION KNACKS subject an irresistible urge to come to the location where
Heroic Sage — Stunning Song: You pour your the Scion performed the Maddening Sheets. This does
song into someone’s mind totally undiluted, stunning not grant the subject any extra speed, and they come to
her. Spend one or more Momentum and enter a Clash the location of activation, not to the Scion; they travel at
of Wills with your opponent. Successfully inflicting this their best natural speed, regardless of their desire. The
Knack stuns her for turns equivalent to the Momentum subject is not necessarily cooperative; uncooperative
spent; she freezes in place and may not take any actions. subjects trigger a Clash of Wills between the user and
If the Music Scion loses the Clash of Wills, however, any
the Relic’s target.
actions the target takes for the rest of the scene which
target him gain +1 Enhancement. Flaw: Summoning something doesn’t grant over-
sight 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.

SCION VISITATION
The Music comes to its intended in one very pre- THE MOON-LADDER
dictable fashion. Whether the intended individuals are
Aliases: All-Secrets, Between Mists, The Mouth,
overwhelmed by the ecstatic joy of listening to a long,
Rue d’Auseil’s Black Hound, The Space Between Breaths,
rhapsodic rock song while driving at night, subjected to
and infinite others
a thousand dubstep tracks playing at once by a comput-
er malfunction, or some other song-related event, the When men “discover,” sometimes what they walk
people that the Music chooses always encounter cosmic into follows them home.
eternity and death within a singular moment filled with This is the way of the Moon-Ladder, and the way
chaotic notes. Many die in this moment: cars crash, ear- that the Moon-Ladder entered the World. The survey
drums burst, and brain bleeds fell even the young, but group from Misktatonic University recorded multi-
those who survive feel the Music moving within them ple different accounts of what happened, though the
for the rest of their lives, however long that might be. account from William Dyer generally finds favor with
those who research the Moon-Ladder, due to its relative
STORY HOOKS coherence. Some Elder things woke when they crossed
• The Music spends so much time plotting how Antarctica and moved the unknown and unknowable
to spread its memetic and corrupting presence samples, those fossils which simply fit no known time-
through the World that it occasionally forgets line of evolution.
to devote enough attention to keeping Azathoth Some already stood, awake and watching the thresh-
asleep, and this time? Servants of the Slumbering old for even the tiniest crack, but where other Great
One have noticed. The band finds their interests Old Ones interfere with humanity as much as possible,
actively stymied by unknown forces: contacts the Moon-Ladder watched for those cracks in order to
stop responding, friends are suddenly busy. When guard them. It protects the Mythos from the actions of
they begin to investigate, they see the marks of humanity, either suspecting or knowing that mortals
Azathoth everywhere. and the Gods they worship may do more damage to the
• Fragments of Erich Zann’s original cello — or Mythos than the other Great Old Ones believe possible.
at least, fragments of wood rumored to be from Or at least, that’s what the Moon-Ladder maintains.
that instrument — occasionally surface in online Surely it has some other motive: a being of this age and
communities devoted to researching the Mythos. complexity never has just one agenda.
What powers might those fragments grant their
Scions of the Moon-Ladder believe themselves
owners? What tragedy might befall the unpre-
responsible for keeping the Great Old Ones out of the
pared who lay hands upon them? The emergence
World, rather than keeping the World out of the Great
of the fragments causes a hubbub in the Scion
Old Ones. They collect chipped relics and half-burned
community, as if the fragments themselves herald
books, feeding them to the gorge in the Antarctic which
the Music’s overt subversion of other deities, and
they understand as the doorway to the stellar void where
the band finds itself caught between a contact
their parent dwells. More horribly, they bring those who
who claims to have a fragment and other Scions
know too much of the Great Old Ones to their parent,
who want the fragment — and anyone who holds
and if the Moon-Ladder has no need for them or cannot
it — destroyed. See Relics, p. 62 for Erich Zann’s
bring them on board, well. Humans go into the endless
intact viol.
void-pit as easily as scorched papers and broken statues.
• A band of Music Scions which created several
Scions of the Moon-Ladder are a rather unique
the epithets commonly used to refer to the Music
bunch among the children of the Great Old Ones: many
begin using the same term far too often: Bahuvrihi
of them are chosen for their ability to make the trek
compounds, a sort of compound word pattern
to the remote and unforgiving wilderness where the
which defines a thing by describing a certain qual-
mouth of the Moon-Ladder opens to the World, but not
ity the thing possesses, form most sobriquets the
all. In order to deliver these items to their parent, some-
World over, and so the Bahuvrihi began referring
one must find them, after all, and travel for those with
to themselves and the Music by this term. Use a
the skills of Scions and sorcerers need not be a matter of
term too often, however, and the word becomes
rugged outdoorsiness.
the thing: the synecdoche becomes the sole noun.
One of the band’s friends joins the Bahuvrihi just Devotees of the Moon-Ladder describe a being rath-
before they to exhibit extremely strange behavior, er the opposite of Yog-Sothoth, but opposite in a compli-
the sort of behavior which indicates the Music’s mentary way, like stars and moon or sky and sea. Where
active interest. 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 strong enough to keep their post-surgical agony at bay,
slim fingernail it extends into this world as terribly hun- or they might find it in the depths of a mostly abandoned
gry nothingness extending forever and ever. mall with halls laid out in strange patterns, walking deep
First and foremost among the prohibitions of the into the bowels of the place to throw out the trash from
Moon-Ladder’s servants: never speak the same name for another shift at their minimum-wage job keeping open
it twice. The list of sobriquets for The Mouth therefore the doors of one of the few remaining stores. Lonely
stretches to an almost literal infinity. Its children figure and bleak wildernesses come in many forms, and the
that if you can’t follow what they’re talking about, you Moon-Ladder knows all of them.
don’t need to know anyway.
STORY HOOKS
Keen-eyed individuals who don’t owe their slim
grip on reality to the interpretations provided by the • Space tourism has begun! Not only do the in-
Moon-Ladder posit that the eternal ink darkness of the credibly rich rise in lazy loops around the earth,
Moon-Ladder does not guard the threshold out of any briefly weightless, but high-end hotelier First
sort of benevolence. Instead, they whisper, All-Secrets Mesa begins working with trillionaire Cheney
acts from an insatiable hunger and from a long-term plan Edison to prepare a hotel for the richest of the
which requires it to absorb all knowledge of the plans of rich, the one percent of the one percent. Ferrying
the other Great Old Ones, the better to utilize those strat- highly skilled work crews to the lunar surface,
egies against the other Great Old Ones when it deems First Mesa begins construction at the very edge
the time correct and most appropriate for a takeover. of the known World… and then their work crews
The true believers among the children of Between Mists start disappearing into the darkness: first those
discard this concept out of hand, but some of the less exploring Copernicus simply vanish, and then a
fanatical among its followers sometimes find themselves handful working in Mare Imbrium evanesce, only
swayed by these arguments, much to their detriment. to return an impossible amount of time later. They
The Moon-Ladder isn’t famous for tolerating dissent. should have died. They should have run out of air.
They continue working, but they do not answer
Callings: Corrupter, Leader, Liminal their radios.
Purviews: Chaos, Darkness, Death, Deception,
• The Moon-Ladder’s followers happen upon a ru-
Journeys, Sky, Wild
mor that someone has copied the books they’ve
confiscated and fed to their parent; their evidence
SCION KNACKS points toward the band. Who fabricated the
Immortal Leader — Gaze Upon Me and Despair evidence? Is some of it true? And what will the
Being a leader means knowing how armies work, band do now that the combined followers of the
and when one understands what holds an army togeth- Darkness at the Edge of All things believe they’re
er, one may speak the words which shatter their resolve in possession of some of the most dangerous and
and splits them asunder, rendering them easy to pick most valuable items in existence?
off. Spend 1 Momentum to know the word which strikes • Yog-Sothoth’s followers begin trailing the follow-
upon their communal fear. Instilling terror into the army ers of the Moon-Ladder, and then those followers
she faces, the character scatters all Trivial opponents for fall out of contact. When one of the band’s con-
turns equal to the Scion’s Presence. tacts with ties to Yog-Sothoth vanishes, leaving
behind a cryptic note, the matter becomes per-
SCION VISITATION sonal, rather than theoretical. Does the Nameless
To a one, followers and children of the Moon-Ladder Mist intend to provoke All-Secrets into an open
come upon their patron or parent in the dark wilderness. war over who controls the edges of the World, or
However, they might find that dark wilderness in a long worse?
night suffering alone in a hospital with painkillers not

APPENDIX FOUR
:HERO
SCION:
SCION
CHARACTER CREATION
“Call them from their houses, and teach them to dream.”
— Jean Toomer
For convenience, we’ve reprinted the character pantheon, how they relate to the gods and myths of their
creation rules from Scion: Hero here, incorporating the patron’s pantheon.
changes listed in Chapter Two (which are listed in ital- Each Path consists of the following elements:
ics). You will still need Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero
to reference specifics, such as Knacks and Boons, but • A short description of the Path (e.g. “Moscow
hopefully this appendix will help reduce the amount of Ballet Veteran” or “Field Primatologist”)
cross-referencing between books. • Three Skills associated with the Path. Which
Character Creation has nine steps: concept, Paths, three Skills you choose are up to you, but you
Skills, Attributes, Callings and Knacks, Purviews, Birth- should be prepared to justify non-obvious choices
rights, Boons, and finishing touches. 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 pa-
STEP ONE: CONCEPT tron’s pantheon. Any given Skill can be associated
The first and most basic element of your character is with at most two of your Paths.
their concept. Think of this as a short phrase encapsulat-
ing the basic essence of the character — the sort of thing • A Path Condition that triggers when you invoke
you might see in a movie synopsis or on the back cover the Path too often. You can choose one of the
of a novel. Maybe they’re a “Mercenary to the Gods” or example Conditions or use them as a template to
“High Priestess of Santa Muerte.” create your own.
Part of a Hero’s concept is their divine patron and

genesis. Even if you don’t explicitly call them out in the STEP THREE: SKILLS
concept, you should settle on them now. Prioritize your characters’ Paths as primary, sec-
This concept doesn’t have any direct mechanical ondary, and tertiary. Your character receives three dots
effects, but any time you find yourself stuck further on in each Skill associated with their primary Path, two
in this process, returning to your concept can help you dots in each Skill associated with their secondary path,
figure out the best choice for your character. and one dot in each Skill associated with their tertiary
path. These dots are cumulative for Skills associated
with two Paths.
STEP TWO: PATHS For every Skill that ends up with three or more dots,
Define three Paths for your character. The first Path choose a Specialty (Scion: Origin, p. 59).
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 STEP FOUR: ATTRIBUTES
is usually a good fit here). The third corresponds to their Your character begins with a single dot in all Attri-
butes for free.
Scion: Hero Character Creation 189

Prioritize the three Arenas as primary, secondary,
or tertiary. Assign six dots to Attributes in the primary
STEP SEVEN: PURVIEWS
category, four to the secondary, and two to the tertiary. Your character gains their Pantheon Specialty
Divide these dots however you like, but no Attribute can Purview as an innate Purview. In addition, choose one
be higher than five. of your divine patron’s Purviews as an innate Purview.
When you select your innate Purview, you may choose to
Next, choose one of the three Approaches. Add two gain the normal Innate Power or the Awareness Innate
dots to each Attribute in that Approach; any Attribute Power (p. 49). If you choose the normal Innate Power, you
dots beyond 5 may be reassigned elsewhere in the high may choose to replace the power with the Awareness In-
Attribute’s Arena. nate Power any time your Awareness increases. Once you
choose the Awareness Innate Power, you cannot switch
STEP FIVE: CALLINGS your Innate Powers again.
All other Purviews must be drawn from Relics or Guides.
AND KNACKS
Choose three Callings. At least one of your character’s
Callings must come from their divine patron’s three Fa- STEP EIGHT: BOONS
vored Callings. Players may choose the inverted form of a Choose two Boons from any of your character’s
Calling if one applies, even if it they do not share that Calling Purviews, whether innate or granted by Birthrights. You
with their God. Your character receives five dots among all may choose to pick up an Awareness Boon as one of your
their Callings, but each must have at least one dot. initial Boons. You can only start with one Awareness Boon
For each Calling, choose a number of Heroic Knacks at character creation.
equal to the Calling’s rating; while they can learn more,
they may only have as many active as they have Calling STEP NINE: FINISHING
dots. You can choose any of the Knacks listed on p. 47 re-
gardless of whether you pick the inverted Calling. TOUCHES
To finish out your character, fill in the following:
Alternately, you may choose a single Immortal Knack
instead of two Heroic Knacks for any Calling two dots or • Legend: 1
higher. If your character is also a creature of Legend, they
• Awareness: 1
replace one Calling with one appropriate to their nature.
• Virtues: From the appropriate pantheon. For the
Mythos Pantheon, the Virtues are Nihilism and
STEP SIX: BIRTHRIGHTS Humanity. Your character begins in the center of
Your character receives seven dots to allocate to the Virtue track.
Birthrights. You may choose from the example Birth-
rights in this or other Scion books, or design your own. • Health: One slot each for Bruised, Injured,
Most Scions receive Birthrights tied to their patron’s Maimed, and Taken Out; add an additional
pantheon, but the Overworld is a cosmopolitan place Bruised slot if your character’s Stamina is 3-4, or
— not only do the pantheons routinely talk and trade two additional Bruised Slots if their Stamina is 5.
amongst themselves, many Gods are members of multi- • Defense: Based on a character’s Physical Resilience
ple pantheons. If you have an interesting idea for a story Attribute (Stamina, Resolve, and Composure).
about, say, a Scion of Sun Wukong who carries the Spear Just note the Defensive pool the character will
of Lugh, don’t let pantheon affiliation stand in your way. 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 ex-
tra 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
in his voice’s stead was the gift with a cello. A
REPRISE gift and a curse.
Erich Zann stood, basking in the cheers and As with each such performance, Erich Zann
applause of the crowd he couldn’t see through became an observer within his own body as the
the bright light of the spotlights. Guest first Music’s warm melody washed over and through
chair for the New York Philharmonic, this was him like a lover. He took his seat within his
his finale performance for these adoring cel- mind and watched as it played the cellist play-
ebrants, but not his final performance of the ing the cello. The music took on a frantic quali-
night. No, he still owed one more. ty as its usurpation completed, and the symbols
on the gate began to shimmer.
The car service provided by the Philhar-
monic left him at the Ritzy hotel, but instead With its music, the writing glowed with the
of entering, Zann instead walked to the nearest twinkling light of stars that lay so far from
Subway entrance, taking a train under the East Earth that humanity may very well be extinct
River into Queens. While the majority of Long before it reached here naturally. The luminosity
Island City was gentrifying faster with each grew with its song’s tempo. Soon Zann wanted
passing year, parts were still industrial, home to to shield his eyes from the brightness, but he
many abandoned warehouses and storage units. couldn’t move of his own volition, for he was
Zann had a unit in one such establishment, and its instrument, and its concert wasn’t yet done
one in almost every major city at this point. The light died as the song changed, the
Each set up the same: the floor, ceiling, and gate vanished. Instead of graffitied aluminum,
three walls covered in sound dampening foam, a vision to the center of the universe lay be-
save for a chair and what lay next to it. On the fore Zann. Thankfully the Music cast his eyes
gate or door, musical notes that describe sounds downward to the eldritch instrument he played,
that make no sense if they were playable at all. so that he didn’t have to watch the spectacle
Zann crossed the foam, sat in the simple metal before him.
folding chair, and opened the case at his feet. Cello whined as cat-hair bow dragged across
The violin before him glowed faintly in the night gaunt gut strings, sounds joining a ca-
darkness of the unlit storage unit. Wood taken cophony of otherworldly noises that may only
from Celephaïs, catgut strings harvested from loosely be defined as music. Screeching strings
nightgaunts, and a bow made from the donated and ear-piercing piping, the rattle like bones
hair of Ultharian cats. It hummed in a discor- and the wordless chanting of things that have
dant note that Zann could always hear. Usually never known sentient thought, much less lan-
a quiet whisper, now it screamed. He’s put it off guage. And at the center of it all, lulled into
too long, it’s been too many nights where didn’t a sleep from which dreams spawn forth this
come to any number of the eldritch cellos he and who knows how many other realities, the
had commissioned to ensure the Demon King’s Demon King Azathoth.
slumber continued. His patron’s song increased in volume, in-
Other discordant notes silently filled his terposing itself above and before that of the
ears, music he could feel but not hear. Piping rest, and the other players fell in line. Soon all
as from instruments Zann or no other human was the Music, and the Music was all. Zann’s
eyes have ever seen, played by creatures he perception stretched, connected through song
knew were never human and thus played music to the other things playing to keep it asleep. It
that existed only in theory. This hellish har- assaulted his mind and he tried to cry out but
mony echoed without sound in Zann’s mind as couldn’t. It held him fast in the center of this
he placed the cello before him, looking at the maddening melody.
scrawl he knew he had drawn on the inside of Sweat dripped from his brow as the song
the gate but had no memory of writing. changed again with no break between. He could
When he pulled the cat-hair bow across feel its intensity in him. Azathoth couldn’t wake,
the strings, the first few notes, surprisingly for that would end the dream that was reality,
sweet and gentle for an instrument dedicated and thus end its song. The Music just be shared
to Azathoth, were his own. He hummed along, with all, for its beauty would bring about the
awaiting the shiver of his patron, the Madden- revolutionary change that would reshape this
ing Music, to slide into him. world and every other. All would be harmoni-
ous once they listened to it, once they fell in
Hidden in between the particles of every- line and danced to its tune, like Zann did now.
thing, the vibrations at the base of existence,
the Music first came to Erich as a babe in His arm and fingers screamed from exhaus-
Germany, so long ago it was several different tion; mind reeled from contact with the alien
versions of Germany ago. He had no proof of orchestra. The warmth of the Music’s embrace
this, but he was convinced it was the Music no longer soothed and for a moment, its grasp
that took his speech, leaving him mute so that loosened. He screamed, wordlessly impotent as
he may only give voice to its song. What it left that joined the song as well. Then the song ended.
REPRISE 191
All at once he was alone in the dark of the Inside the lounge was a single room of lush
storage unit, shaking and damp with sweat. The reds and mahogany, a baker’s dozen of small
Music was gone, leaving him cold and empty, tables around the stage with a bar along the left
lesser than he was, sore and used. He sat there side. Few sat watching the band, fewer human
for a moment, catching his breath. His body dreamers. One was a waking human, their mark
ached as he returned the cello to the case, limp- of the Mythos buzzing for Zann through his con-
ing out of the unit and locking it behind him. nection to the Music, arriving through one of the
As Zann lay in the hotel bed, dressed only many gates, while a ghoul sat quietly gnawing
in the robe provided and the last vestiges of on a series of bones. At the bar sat a pair of the
the shower’s dampness, he sighed. He couldn’t hidden Lengese, conversing with the tall finely
continue this. As he played connected to the dressed pale man behind the bar, whose hon-
things that were either never human or else ey-colored eyes looked to Zann when he entered.
haven’t been in so long that they once were The rest of the band were dreamers seem-
no longer mattered, he could feel the pull to ingly caught in nightmares in the face of the
join them, to take his cello to and through the horrors of the otherworldly while playing
portal. That attraction had always been there, their illusory instruments, but the cellist, she
since he first joined the company of eldritch hummed with the same energy as Zann himself,
lullaby players, but only as he grew in power the resonance of the Music. Dressed in a black
did the Music inhabit him, and only then did he and ruby flapper dress, her mass of deep brown
realize that he would eventually join them. It curls crowning her head. Hers was the only real
was a matter of when, not if. instrument there, the sounds she pulled from
He has to find someone to continue his work it deep with pathos. Her eyes were closed, her
here. Earth is one of the central worlds, a site head moving along with the tempo. He knew
for many a conflict between beings that would that look; he wore it often. No one else was
otherwise not realize the third planet from this present for her, no one else existed in this room
unimpressive sun was inhabited at all. Because but her in her mind. This music was for herself.
of all that attention, Earth rang with resonance The bartender, shooing the people from
that could be channeled and directed to this Leng away, nodded beckoningly to Zann. He
task, exactly what he’d been puppeteered by the smiled wide, spreading his arms wide.
Music to do. Without him, or someone like him, “Welcome to the Cleft Hanger, Herr Zann.
the Demon King may wake. As Zann drifted Your reputation precedes you.” The bartender’s
off to sleep himself, his course seemed clear. voice, smooth like silk, moved under the music
Another player must be found. without interrupting it.
*** Zann signed back his reply. Who is that
playing the cello?
The night sky above blazed with different The bartender’s smile widened, nodding ap-
constellations, and Erich Zann walked down a preciatively. “Yes, our star here, Miss Márquez
black cobblestone street, flanked on either side Jimenez. Exquisite, is she not? It’s amazing
by dark gray skyscrapers that reached up like so what one can create when she is fulfilling her
many dagger-like fangs. People passed him, but dreams?” He chuckled to himself.
they were barely humanoid shadows. Here in the
Zann didn’t reply, turning his back on the
Dreamlands, those who only dreamed shallowly
bartender to watch the performance. Jimenez
barely appeared here. No, they wouldn’t do.
played as though the cello was one with her
Overhead, the flapping of flabby wings as a body, as if her heart’s blood poured out into
pack of nightgaunts passed. He passed a family the air. There was beauty there, love, and joy,
of ghouls carrying a large headstone between but also pain, so much pain. Torment and rage
them, gibbering among themselves in their danced alongside the positive emotions, and by
tongue. He understood them here, though only time she lifted the bow from the strings, no one
because dreams are universal. escaped her enthrallment.
He passed a music club, The Clef Hanger. She bowed, along with her dreaming ensem-
People, real people who dream deeply and thus ble members. She spoke with a slight Hispanic
present as such, came in and out of it as he drew accent that Zann couldn’t place.
near, and with the door open, he could hear the
“We’re Los Llaveros de Plata, the next show
jazz playing within. Most of it was passable,
is in half an hour, thank you.”
but the ensemble played a cellist whose notes
filled his heart with both hope and dread. The She walked off the stage with the others,
chord of the Music that lived with him since his breaking from them to walk over to the bar.
Visitation, a simple beat that played alongside Before she arrived, the bartender placed two
that of his heart, thrummed in his chest. glasses on the bar, filling a glass with water and
a rocks glass with ice and dark rum.

“Gracias, Jefe.” She murmured, taking a the Music swell within him. By the time they
sip of the rum first. Hissing at the burn of the both pulled the bow across the strings, Zann
alcohol, she spied Zann watching her. “What’s was no longer in control.
the matter with you?” He could feel the Music’s desire. It wanted
Nothing, I loved your performance. Zann signed. her. The Music followed Jimenez’s lead, letting
her set the melody and tempo. What the woman
She squinted at him, her emerald eyes pierc- played was mournful, beset with memories of
ing. “Who are you? Do I know you?” trauma. The Music reached into Zann’s mem-
“This is Erich Zann, the Music’s Player.” ories, making him remember horrors and his
chimed in the bartender. “Also a cellist, as it own pain to add to the song it made him play.
would happen. He’s amazing, they say, but also The Music filled him, almost to bursting. It
kind of boring, a bit of a snooze fest, I’ve heard. controlled his breathing, everything. His skin
He may just put you to sleep.” He chuckled prickled as the first song reached it crescendo,
again, growing into a full smile at Zann’s fur- beginning to glow with power. Distantly, as
rowed brow. if he weren’t right next to her, he could hear
She looked between the bartender and Zann, Jimenez cry out, and he took the lead.
not getting the joke. “So, you’re some hot shit His song was one of joy, happiness, of a
then huh? Want to join us for the next show?” mother seeing her child for the first time. Emo-
The bartender barked laughter loud enough tions that Zann has never experienced, child-
to startle the nearby ghoul, causing her to drop less as he was, and yet as he played the notes,
what she was eating, the phalange clattering on tears fell from his eyes nevertheless. The glow
the hardwood floor. The closest dreamer sitting increased, and he could feel when the light
near her looks over at the ghoul as she picks touched her. She moaned, her playing slowed
it up, their face whitens in fresh fear before for a moment, then fell in line with his.
vanishing, waking up. No longer did she play a song in tune with
I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Zann his, instead playing his. The Music made him
blanched. He has never played in the Dream- turn his head to her, seeing she glowed as well.
lands, where his connection to the Music was Then he could feel her in the song, connected
stronger than it ever could be in the waking mind to mind like he did when he played to the
universe. Zann had no idea what playing here Demon King, but where the others hurt, hers
could do. felt soft, like his.
“What, afraid to be outplayed?” She retort- What... what did you do to me? What is this?!
ed, rolling her eyes. She downed the rest of This is the Music, he replied more through
the rum, then the water. “Whatever, you change emotions than words, the song of the spheres,
your mind, you know where to find me. Hank.” the way between.
She nodded to the bartender before walking
back to the stage. Oh, Madre de dios!
Everything about her rang out with her in- She rose, dropping her cello and overturning
fluence. The Music danced in the way her hips her chair. Grabbing her head, Jimenez screamed
swung with each step, in how she graciously and ran off the stage toward the door of the
accepted the adoration of the audience. All club, vanishing before she reached the door.
eyes were drawn to her, humans, dreamer, and Zann rose, but there was nothing he could
Dreamlander. The longer he watched the surer do, she had awoken and thus left the Dream-
he felt, he didn’t have a choice. He had to play. lands. He had spread the Music and started
He began to sign for a drink but the bar- the song within her. He wished she had stayed
tender, so called Hank, placed a shot glass filled long enough for him to impress upon her the
with dark liquor next to him. He could smell importance of the work she had to do, but he
the herbs in the Jägermeister, and took the would now have to find her in the waking world
bracing shot quickly. to do that.
I need an instrument. ***
“No problem, I have one in the back. Oh,
Erich Zann met the dawn on the rooftop
this is so exciting!” Hank said, clapping and
café of his hotel, sitting with his eyes closed ig-
leaving. He returned with a black cello, setting
noring his croissant and rapidly cooling coffee.
it up next to Márquez’s. She watched, her eyes
He still could feel the Music in him, through
narrow. “Folks, we have something special to-
much diminished. Through it, he could feel
night. A duet between our very own Márquez
Ms. Jimenez, though in the waking world the
and the fabled Erich Zann!”
magic was more tenuous, inexact. He couldn’t
The crowd roared their approval, and as pinpoint where she was, but he wouldn’t have
the lights went down, both musicians took their to. Their patron would guide him to her.
places. Bow in hand, Zann felt the warmth of
REPRISE 193
Paying for his uneaten breakfast and Hank held what appeared to be a portable
checking out of the Philharmonic’s room, Zann phone charger, brandishing it with all the mal-
turned down an alleyway between two tall ice as a pistol. The bolt of lightning bounced
buildings and began to hum a tune. The Music from the pavement to a streetlight across the
swelled, echoing his tune of the concrete and street, which exploded, then back to the char-
marble around him, swiftly encasing him in a ger. The Scion of Nyarlathotep wound back
cacophony that only he could hear. The stone as if he was casting a fishing rod, loosing the
vibrated, then his cells did, then the atoms that living lightning at Zann.
made them up. He screamed out wordlessly, rolling away
Pain racked his body as it fell apart for a from the malevolent energy creature, regaining
split second and was put back together else- his feet and fleeing into an alley. Zann had no
where. The tune ended, and Zann was no longer idea where he was, where he was going, but he
in New York City. Pulling out his phone, its had to get away from Hank if he was going to
GPS informed him that he was in Michigan, do anything about his pet. The alley emptied
not far from Detroit. Limping for a moment, into a dead-end loading dock. Zann pressed his
he moved westward, feet guided by the song in back to the brick of the building as the elec-
his heart. tricity arced from a transformer on a power
“Herr Zann, it’s good to see you again.” line to an abandoned car. The sedan roared to
Zann turned to see a tall, narrowly built man, life, awkwardly reversing and pointing its red
the bartender from the night before but now headlights at him.
dressed in a Pistons basketball jersey, dark Zann whistled, drawing on the power of the
jeans, and sneakers. Music that lived within him. He drew the mne-
What are you doing here, Hank? Zann monic melody that was his heartbeat, the pulse
signed. of his breathing, the buzz of thought between
the synapses of his mind, and channeled them
“Nothing, just seeing an old friend, but now into a simple song. He didn’t know if a creature
that I’m here, maybe we can talk about this. of electricity could hear, but it was alive, and
Must you do this?” all things alive moved to the Music.
Zann blinked. Do what? The car revved, tires burning rubber. It
“Bother our friend, Miss Jimenez.” Zann’s lurched forward for half a foot before slamming
eyes narrowed, and Hank’s smile broadened, to a stop. Zann kept up the whistle, like a snake
too white teeth catching the morning sun. “I charmer to a cobra, controlling the monster
know what you want to do, Herr Zann, and I within the machine. It was his, like he was the
simply can’t have it.” Music’s, a dancer to his song. The door opened
to a high-pitched trill, and when he drew the
Why the hell not? There must always be a song to a close with a hum, he locked the living
Player. lightning in the car’s battery.
“Is that what that insipid tune of yours tells Still on, Zann reversed, exiting the alley at
you? Why? So old grandfather doesn’t awak- speed but Hank wasn’t on the street when he
en? He’s been slumbering long before you and pulled out. That didn’t matter, Zann knew, a
your ridiculous noise came around, and besides, spawn of the Crawling Chaos he could be any-
what’s wrong with him walking up and shaking one at any time. He only knew one person in
up the status quo anyway?” this city whose identity he could trust, Márquez
Grandfather. Zann’s eyes widened. You’re…. Jimenez. Pulling on the power within him
Hank’s eyes went dark, his smile widened again, he sat silently and listened.
further, too far. His teeth, between one blink He put out the car noises and the low-grade
and another, became fangs, his already tall and hum of the creature still struggling against
narrow form grew, towering over Zann. his magic. He ignored the sounds of the city
“Whoops, it’s my big mouth, always getting around him and tuned himself fully to the Mu-
me in trouble.” His voice distorted, becoming sic. There, he heard her, faintly. Following the
thinner. “The Crawling Chaos sends his regards, Music in his heart as it synchronized with her
Player. He wants Azathoth to wake up. It’s time song, he made his way to her.
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.”
Márquez Jimenez worked as a personal care
Zann turned and ran, as Hank laughed ma- assistant in a nursing home when not being the
niacally behind him. The smell of ozone filled headliner of a jazz club in the Dreamlands.
his nose as a bolt of sanguine lightning struck Zann had to whistle and tap his leg into another
the concrete sidewalk just behind him, throw- song, this one meant to make the security and
ing Zann to the ground. staff ignore him. They didn’t see him when they

heard the song and looked at him. Instead, he hear her fear in the rhythm that connected
appeared like a generic elderly man, someone them, but also her resolve. Her eyes hardened
who should be there and utterly unremarkable. and she grabbed the elongated man by the
To be fair, it didn’t take much magic to get wrist, twisting her body to pull him off his feet
Zann there. and onto the ground.
It almost worked on Jimenez too, her eyes Looking around herself, she grabbed a
passed over him for a moment, then realization stainless-steel tray, the supplies and equipment
flashed. that laid on it scattering to the ground. Zann
“You! What the fuck are you doing here?!” cried out wordlessly, signing despite Jimenez’s
She looked around her, panic clear. “Security!” back being to him, trusting that their patron
would ensure the message got across.
Zann signed to her. Relax, I’m not here to
hurt you, I promise. Make a song!
“Why can I understand you? I don’t know She looked around again, then struck the
how to sign, what the—” metal against the doorframe of the nearby pa-
tient room. The metal rang like a tuning fork,
The Music connects us, makes us parts of a which Jimenez held out like a blade.
greater whole. You understand me because we
share a greater language. Please do not fear Hank rolled to his hands and knees,
this connection, because it makes us something crouched more like a predatory cat than a man.
more beautiful than all others. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Player, but
he’d thrust you to the interdimensional wolves
Zann blinked, that last sentence didn’t feel so that he would no longer have to. He’ll tell
like him, the Music sliding into the dance of his you how important it is, all the while shirking
hands signing. away from the duty himself. Let me save you
“Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking from all that. Put down the metal, love, and I’ll
about man, just, I’m freaking the fuck out here.” take you from here.”
A short red-faced man in a security uniform “Fuck you, you Slenderman-looking bitch!”
ran up behind Jimenez, putting a thick fingered Jimenez slammed the tray against the frame
hand on her shoulder. His name read Jones. again, then again, drumming a beat of percus-
“Are you okay ma’am, is this guy bothering sion and reverberating metal. Zann couldn’t
you?” add to it himself, barely able to breathe, but he
“What? No, sorry,” Jimenez replied. “I just could guide her how to play the Music’s power
was startled.” into a song to drive the Scion away.
“Herr, you’re going to have to leave, please.” Together the sound became focused, pre-
cisely tuned and pointed like a spear thrust
Zann was about to sign in protest when he directly at the creature calling himself Hank,
realized what the stranger said. He looked into who screamed. Zann silently told Jimenez how
the man’s eyes, and his form began to shift, to take that sound and twist it into the song
narrowing and growing taller. as well. Hank crawled backward up the wall,
“I told you Zann, it’s my damn big mouth.” shattering the high window’s glass and the steel
Hank said, swiping at Zann, knocking him into cage covering it in one strike, slinking out of it
a wall. as the stress of it all and his injury drove Zann
A cacophony of pain resounded for the old- into unconsciousness.
er 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 He found himself in a concert hall, on
screamed, all but trampling over each other to stage in the spotlight. The hundreds of seats
get away from the shape shifting man with a sat empty, except for one. There sat Jimenez,
far too wide smile. dressed in the simple but elegant black dress of
a classical performer.
“I told you to leave her alone. I wanted to
keep her for my bar, you know? Let her live Where are we? Zann signed.
a shitty provincial life here while being the “The Dreamlands, a memory of mine, safe.
star of The Clef Hanger. But no, you had to You’re still in the hospital. They don’t think you
make this a thing. So now I’ll kill you fucking have that great of a chance of waking up. Why
both. This is your fault Zann, just know that.” don’t you talk?”
He turned his back on Zann, still struggling to
Mute, always have been, she took my voice
breathe, reaching out to Jimenez. His arm and
when she gave me her music.
fingers got longer as they neared her.
“Even here? No, I don’t think she did. May-
Jimenez’s chestnut skin paled and Zann
be she picked you despite it, or even because
could see the whites around her eyes. He could
REPRISE 195
of it, to make beautiful sounds come from the “Ah. Okay, yeah.” She said, rising. She sud-
voiceless, but she didn’t take your voice.” She denly was next to him, sitting down in a metal
nodded, certain. Zann heard the ring of truth in folding chair, the cello he’d watch her play
what she said and a knot that had laid in his when he first encountered her in hand. Behind
heart for almost his entire life slid undone. “So, him was another such chair, a cello case next to
I’m supposed to play something important.” 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.

Academics: Medicine:
Athletics: Occult:
Close Combat: Persuasion:
Culture: Pilot:
Empathy: Science:
Firearms: Subterfu e:
Inte rity: Survival:
Leadership: Technolo y:
MENTAL PHYSICAL SOCIAL

Intellect Mi ht Presence
Cunnin Dexterity Manipulation
Resolve Stamina Composure
Short
Lon
Band
Legendary Title:
Bruised +1
Bruised +1
+2
+2

+4

Movement Dice:

Defense Roll:
Academics: Medicine:
Athletics: Occult:
Close Combat: Persuasion:
Culture: Pilot:
Empathy: Science:
Firearms: Subterfu e:
Inte rity: Survival:
Leadership: Technolo y:
MENTAL PHYSICAL SOCIAL

Intellect Mi ht Presence
Cunnin Dexterity Manipulation
Resolve Stamina Composure
Short
Lon
Band
Mortal Immortal
Bruised +1
Bruised +1
Bruised +1
+2
+2
+4

Movement Dice:
Defense Roll:
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…?
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ADAM ALEXANDER, DAVID CASTRO, ARIEL CELESTE,

HIROMI COTA, ALISON CYBE, ERYKAH FASSETT,

2 SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS

4 SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS

CHAPTER FIVE: CHAPTER SEVEN:

APPENDIX ONE: APPENDIX FOUR: SCION:HERO

6 SCION: MASKS OF THE MYTHOS

The Bog Woman 7

THE MYTHOS VS.

T he Cthulhu Mythos and Howard Phillips Lovecraft

10 INTRODUCTION: THE MYTHOS VS. LOVECRAFT

T he Great Old Ones are beyond the linear concepts of

PRINCIPAL Albtraum created hundreds of ivo-

MEMBERS own bones and scattered them to the

14 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

CTHULHU Ghatanothoa is a giant, chimeric monstrosity with a

16 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

18 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

20 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

MYTHOS PATH useful to think of Mythos entities operating at different

A lien entities of the Mythos spawn from home worlds

Mythos Path | Cosmology 21

22 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

24 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

TRADITIONAL GODS TITANS VS. THE OLD ONES

26 CHAPTER ONE: MYTHOS PANTHEONS

30 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

32 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

34 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

36 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

38 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

CREATION The most common type of Mythos Scion comes either as

Step Nine: Finishing Touches — Your Mythos TRANSCENDED VISITATIONS

40 CHAPTER TWO: CHARACTER CREATION

S cions of the Mythos are mortal. The touch of the

44 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

46 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

IMMORTAL JUDGE IMMORTAL LOVER

48 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

50 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

52 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

54 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

56 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

MYTHOS SIGNATURE PURVIEW

58 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

Mythos Signature Purview 59

60 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

62 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

64 CHAPTER THREE: MYTHOS TRAITS AND POWERS

T here is an inescapable strangeness about the mighty

The Miskatonic Hollow 67

The land was rich, fertile, and welcoming to the

68 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

70 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

72 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

The university’s origins are hazy at best, legends say-

74 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

76 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW

78 CHAPTER FOUR: THE MISKATONIC HOLLOW