What Mythos creatures would you like to play as?

[Mi-Go Agent]

I've been having a lot of fun playing in P@YSDC games, and I thought it might be fun to try my hand at some Keepering. I have some experience with being a face-to-face Keeper, but none with play-by-post, so I thought it would be reasonable to start by trying a nice, easy, traditional game.

Then I thought some more and decided to plunge in with a wild idea and try to do something that has never been done before.

I'm slowly putting together a scenario in which players will take the roles of certain creatures from the Mythos, who join together to deal with a strange and obscure race of miserable and often revolting hominids. It will be short, crazy, and (hopefully) fun. I might call it a one-shot, except I'm not too clear what the difference is on these boards, since some one-shots have been going on for a while and some campaigns are on the short side.

I'd like to know if there would be interest in a scenario like this, and what characters players would be interested in. I plan to include at least one Ghoul (who may turn out to be an NPC), and hopefully at least one shoggoth. Obviously there will not be any GOOs, but ghouls, shoggoths, undead, Deep Ones, ghasts, gugs, Mi-Go, brains in Mi-Go canisters, zoogs, sole survivors of bizzare alien races lost in time and space, original monstrosities and blasphemous hybrids, and traditional horror figures (killer robots, demons, or anything not too human), could all be par for the course. While some of these have minds that are arguably impossible for human like us to understand, we can at least give it a try.

The scenario is in the modern era.

[Mr. Handy]

This does sound interesting, and there are so many choices. Mi-Go would be fun to play with all of their advanced technology, plus they can fly (even through the vacuum of space). Ghouls and Deep Ones would be a hoot too. So would the others, but some of them might be overpowered compared to these (I'm looking at you, shoggoth! And losing a boatload of Sanity in the process...).

As a Keeper, you do get to play the Mythos races too, and that experience could be useful as a player in this game in terms of wrapping one's mind around playing them.

[Tabs]

I've always hankered after being a Deep One - well, not really; but your idea sounds fun. How would they think, do Deep Ones think?

Mi-Go, I'd play a short scenario.

[Mr. Handy]

I'd be interested in playing a Deep One too. Yes, they do think. In fact, they're the most human-like of the Mythos races, and many of them started out as human. One nice thing about playing a Deep One is that you can play someone from any era of history thanks to their extended lifespans. I'm not sure how EDU and skills would work if you play a Deep One who's thousands of years old, as by that point you'd be extremely knowledgeable.

[royya]

As a professional DM:
You should think how a ghoul, mi-go, deep one and a gug can join hands and be together.
Sounds complicated to me ... but, you may restrict the rules to one race like - you are a group of deep-ones, sent from Innsmouth to gather humans from other places or fight against other entity’s creatures that plan to vanquish Dagon and Hydra.

[royya]

double post..

[Mr. Handy]

That's something that had occurred to me as well. All of the players would have to play either the same or compatible types of Mythos creatures. Deep Ones, hybrids, and shoggoths could all work together, and that would make sense, but it doesn't seem likely for all of those diverse types of creatures to be working together.

[Mi-Go Agent]

I have a plan that should allow me to put together any creatures there would be, but you are right that I need a limited number of races for it to be plausible. That is why I made this post; I wanted to know which races I would be working with. I actually think that shoggoths should be the easiest creatures to play (second to humanity), since both shoggoths and humans were created by the Elder Race and so should have some basic similarities.

It looks like we will have mostly a band of Deep Ones. I think it will be more intersting to have one or two other races in as well, but those can be NPCs if need be. Stats and skills will be custom done, according to a mix of my own esoteric interpretations of the Mythos and player input. Many of you should have characters that would be extremely powerful for humans, but of course the scenario is not designed for anthropoid investigators.

[Gaffer]

A few years ago I ran a con event in which a group of creatures, all indentured to the same sorceror were charged with recovering property stolen by some humans. The team included three ghouls, two deep ones, a ghast, a cultist (with a secret Shan controller) and the sorceror's spell-casting daughter (with her own secret).

In place of Sanity checks, the creatures (except the ghast and daughter) made periodic Empathy checks as they interacted with humanity and eventually became (slightly) less capable of inflicting horrors on humans.

It was a lot of fun.

[Tabs]

... a mix of my own esoteric interpretations of the Mythos ...

I like the sound of that .

[kabukiman]

You can count with me. Maybe it's better that you make a list of what creatures are acceptable?

[Mi-Go Agent]

Thanks to a night of insomnia, I am now much farther ahead than I
thought I would be.

I'm going to talk to the admin about getting a forum soon. I am also
going to post a little bit on the Deep Ones so that Tabs and Mr. Handy
can start thinking about character creation. Gaffer - that sounds
very interesting, and gives me a reason to be optimistic about this
scenario. Do you have a log or a copy of the scenario you could send
me? Roya - the scenario involves nothing so simple, but I appreciate
the interest. Did you want to run a character?

[Mi-Go Agent]

I did sort of mention a list, but here it is again in list form. Not everything on the list will be used (that would require at least 13 players, anyway, which is more than I can handle), but I can make any combination of a handful of these work:
Ghouls
Shoggoths
Undead (includes liches)
Deep Ones
Ghasts
Gugs
Mi-Go
Brains in Mi-Go canisters
Zoogs
Sole survivors of bizzare alien races lost in time and space
Original monstrosities
Blasphemous hybrids
Traditional horror figures (killer robots, demons, or anything not too human)

[kabukiman]

A Ice-Priest of Theem'hdra.

[Tabs]

Deep One or maybe brains in Mi-Go canister.

[Mi-Go Agent]

I am afraid that I am not familiar with the Ice-Priests of Theem'hdra. A search online lead me to believe they are from the works of Brian Lumley, which I havee not read with the exception of a couple of the Necroscope books.

[Mi-Go Agent]

The following information should be useful for Deep One characters. You can write up the description and backstory of your character and post it here so we can work out the stats together, or go by p.m. - it doesn't matter since this is not a game with dark secrets. Well, if someone really wants one, p.m. me, but I think that might get a bit silly. This information is mostly my opinions, fleshed out with a little imagination into the world in which the scenario is set, drawn mostly from At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow over Innsmouth. Keep in mind while reading this that what is beautiful in the eyes of a Deep One might also be hideous, threatening, blasphemous, horrifying, alien, inscrutable, revolting, or any of Lovecraft's other favorite adjectives, to a human being. This is just an overview - more in-depth descriptions of Deep One life (such as the physical description of Y'ha-Nthlei) will be posted throughout the game as they appear, although you will not spend all of your time there (maybe very little, depending).

Deep Ones in General:

Since Deep Ones can interbreed with humans, and are not powerful enough to mess with reality like GOOs do, they have to have some genetic link. Humans evolved from, “a shambling, primitive mammal, used sometimes for food and sometimes as an amusing buffoon by the land dwellers [decadent Elder Race], whose vaguely simian and human foreshadowings were unmistakable.” (AtMoM, VII) Deep Ones, being (naturally!) physically and mentally superior to humans, were created by the Elder Race before their decline. Escaping, they discovered R’yleh, contacted the slumbering starspawn, and have built their societies mentored by the dead but dreaming mind of Great Cthulhu.

“The Old Ones, but for their abnormal toughness and peculiar vital properties, were strictly material, and must have had their absolute origin within the known space-time continuum--whereas the first sources of the other beings can only be guessed at with bated breath.” (AtMoM, VII)

Deep Ones are beings of matter, not dissimilar from humans or shoggoths. They have somewhat greater magical abilities, but are for the most part organic, Earth-evolved, non-supernatural creatures. For the most part, since Great Cthulhu has been able to guide their evolution.

Deep One Society:

The oceans are full of Deep One communities of greater and lesser size. Organization corresponds to size – many Deep Ones choose to spend time in solitary wandering. The largest metropolis is in the Pacific Ocean, built adjoining R’lyeh, the Starspawn city of much larger proportions. The second largest, in the Atlantic, is home to Dagon, the racial deity of the Deep Ones, a being with more regional than cosmic power and far less power than Great Cthulhu. Dagon, however, is awake.

Y’Ha-Nthlei, the Deep One city near Innsmouth, is where the scenario will start (Deep One characters may be inhabitants or visitors). It is fairly typical of Deep One cities. While technically a theocracy, the High Priest of Cthulhu usually acts as the majority of Deep Ones prefer. The concept of private property does exist in a form, but Deep Ones usually own only objects of true value, such as rare treasures or exotic artifacts. Most Deep Ones value their creations more than their properties.

Food is distributed as a public service by the city of Y’ha-Nthlei, mostly in the form of schools of game fish that are released in the streets and can be grabbed from the water and devoured live. More prepared dishes, plants, and sessile marine life are also available. Sanitation is also dealt with by the city, although the sewers of Y’ha-Nthlei are feats of architecture and environmental engineering as befits an essential system. Clean water is never an issue.

Almost all Deep Ones spend some time training in the use of some weapon or unarmed combat, despite the existence of standing armies, which have gained considerable field experience by traveling to other worlds to serve as mercenaries.

Since Deep Ones are immortal, they usually choose to specialize in a limited number of fields and develop those fields into arts. They will sacrifice neither form nor function, but will easily spend a hundred years considering a modification to a piece; as a result, most Deep One-made goods are both eerily beautiful and extremely effective (although what the intended effect is may be interesting). Regardless of chosen fields, almost all Deep Ones are comfortable in the philosophy and literature of their race, none think twice about occasionally trying something new for variety (such as meddling in the affairs of humanity), and all devote their lives to the worship of the living Dagon and the dead Great Cthulhu, through whom the many Other Gods of existence may be worshipped.

Y’ha-nthlei is an undersea paradise of haunting, and often horrible, but ever-elegant aesthetics. It is small wonder that the Deep Ones wait patiently for the day when they shall bring chaos to the depths of the seas of air.


Technology and Magic

Having been around for at least as long as humanity, and being at least as intelligent, arguably much wiser, and guided by Great Cthulhu, who understands the laws not only of this universe but also realms beyond the current existence, Deep One technology is somewhat ahead of human technology. The image of them as undersea savages with stone weapons is a misconception (the reason that they purchased large quantities of trinkets used for trading with aborigines in SoI is because they then carried those trade goods undersea to trade them with the natives of the Pacific Islands).

The Deep Ones do pursue science and technology differently than humanity. They choose what technologies to use to best serve their goals. Y’ha-Nthlei is, for the most part, a low-tech city, with stone construction, paved streets, swimming as the chief form of transport, and the spoken word as the chief form of communication. However, it does contain laboratories and workshops that make use of computers, electronics, robotics, psychic machinery, fusion power, nanotechnology, and advances for which there are no words in English. Many things that would be considered supernatural to humans have been studied and used as natural phenomenon in the science of the Deep Ones.

True supernatural powers, as used by the Deep Ones, are very different from those of humanity. Spells, rituals, and the like are gifts of either Great Cthulhu or Dagon. While it is not possible to find a spell for any purpose, there are a great variety available to the Deep Ones. Both scholars of sorcery and priests can cast and instruct in a variety of powerful spells. All manner of arcane and esoteric lore, including spells, is available in the libraries of Y’ha-Nthlei, although there are certain secrets known only to the highest echelons of the priesthood. Some Deep Ones know a couple spells without being expert sorcerers or priests, just as some humans play musical instruments without being professional musicians. The priesthood can also help Deep Ones achieve non-spell supernatural abilities, although this is done only with the consent of a High Priest, and the process is made into a lengthy religious experience by the priesthood (comparable to a Bar-mitzvah or taking the Hajj; two experiences are also likely to be as completely different from each other as a Bar-mitzvah and the Hajj).

Weapons and Gear:

Many Deep Ones choose to carry traditional weaponry such as tridents, spears, and clubs. Advanced weapons carried out of Deep One cities have attached devices that will cause them to disintegrate when they are no longer within half a mile of a living Deep One.

In Y’ha-Nthlei, Deep One artists produce quality weapons of every level of sophistication. Most are likely to lend finished pieces for use in combat, since an assortment of parts has not truly become a weapon until it has actually injured or killed someone. They will ask that the borrowers return with the story of how the weapon was used.

Character Creation:

Deep One characters do not have to have regular jobs, simply some calling that occupies the potentially limitless years of their lives. Many esoteric or unusual acts have been elevated to the level of art by the Deep Ones, so the possibilities are pretty open. Even a Deep One poet will likely have some combat skill and physical abilities. Don't worry about over or underpowered - designing this scenario I realized that it might be run by a party of shoggoths and Dark Young or a party of shambling zombies.

The opening premise is that you have all volunteered, each for individual motives, to be involved in a little meddling, but you have yet to find out what it will entail, so don't worry about character-plot hooks either.

[Mr. Handy]

What era will this game be set in? And if it's the 1920s, when exactly (before or after the raid on Innsmouth)? That might influence my character's backstory. I have decided to play a Deep One.

Walter Gilman was born in Innsmouth, Massachusetts in the mid-1840s to a human father and a Deep One mother. From a young age, he has always had a love of the sea, and he apprenticed on fishing boats. He also longed to travel and see the world. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He fought in a number of engagements, including the amphibious assault on Fort Johnson and the invasion of Johns Island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina in 1864. In 1865 he helped occupy Charleston after it finally surrendered, and he remained there for a few years after the war as part of the U.S. occupying force during Reconstruction. While in Charleston, he fell in love with a Southern belle named Penelope Ewell. They got married and he brought her back to Innsmouth in 1868, where she was indoctrinated into the Esoteric Order of Dagon and they began to raise a family.

In the 1870s, Walter's appearance began to change and he took on the Innsmouth Look. This delighted him, as he knew he would be transforming into a magnificent creature of the sea, but he was also saddened that he would eventually lose his mortal father and wife. In 1882, his transformation was complete and he became a full Deep One. At that point he went to live in Y'ha-Nthlei, where he joined his mother beneath the waves. He still visited Innsmouth frequently to be with his family.

Walter is a skilled soldier, but he also knows a lot about human culture and society, and he has kept up on events on land. Meddling in the affairs of humans is something that appeals to him, so he has volunteered for this assignment.

[kabukiman]

What kind of game will it be? Pure horror, or comic horror?
If it is pure horror, my character will look like this:




If it is comic, like this:


Anyway, the story from Briam Lumley was IMO very bad, but the concepts of the Ice-Priest was excelent. Milions of years ago in earth, a race of pre-human made a civilization of great power, culture and technology. As the time passed they florished but they started to decay morally, bored by immortality. They worshiped the GOO, specially Ithaqua. The true rulers were the scientis who turn themselves in priests of the GOO to gain more knowledge from the universe. They commited blasfemous experiences and hateful rituals to please their masters with daily sacrifices. Until the population had enouth and revolted. The priests decide to explode the entire planet to teach a lesson to the rabble. Then Ithaqua appeared and tranposrted the most gifted priests to another world. The priests who stayed in their city, hadn't power enouth, and only managed to sunk the continent where they lived.
For the next milions of years, the ice-priest served Itaqua in the world of Borea, a frozen world. The priests had lost their previous powers, but they learned new ways. One of them, was bored of being stucked in that world, without much things to do, so after a long time of preparations, he made a ritual to return to earth.
The reca of the priests were taller and thinner than humans. They would look similar to humans but seem at the same time alien and evil .

[Tabs]

In 1592 Madinia Dee, daughter of Dr John Dee, sailed to the New World as supercargo in one of her father's ships; she was just 14 years old. The ship "Hermes" was on a voyage of discovery - the elusive North West Passage, however it was wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod and all hands perished. Or did they?
G'Yar (a Deep One) was chasing a fishy delicacy when the "Hermes" foundered, it saved a beautiful human who was clinging to flotsam: Madinia Dee.
Their courtship was peculiarly vile, and need not be discussed; 9 months later a son was born at an exclusive community on Rhode Island, his name is Elijah Dee. Fragments of his grandfather's knowledge has survived: mathematics, astronomy, astrology, occult, navigation, alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.

Spoiler:

!

Elijah Dee