Category Archives: Nogoloth

Nogoloth: The Singer From Beyond

Wherein your humble scribe presents a couple of NPCs and a demon for BoL. These were written with his Nogoloth Lovecraftian/dark fantasy setting in mind, but could easily be used with any BoL fantasy setting. The demon was assembled using the demon rules posted on the BoL boards way back in the day.

“Why have you summoned us?” the creature’s three mouths spoke-sang in unison, its voices harmonizing in a perfect minor triad.

“I call you forth in the name of Zog-Thaloth! The Red King! The Pipes of Wisdom! The Song that Dwells in the Copper Halls of Ullaq!” Sharuthua responded, her tones rising and falling in the prescribed melody of the ritual as Naqugol beat the ceremonial drum in time with the lesser priestesses’ orgiastic dancing.

“You sing well… for having only one voice,” the demon mused. “But the rite is not complete until you reach the highest note, fleshling.”

“Your presence here is at my will! Your power serves my own! Your service shall be rewarded in blood! So I sing in the name of Zog-Thaaaaaaal-oooooooth!” the priestess concluded the summoning song, ascending the scale of Ullaq fully, her lungs afire with the raw power of the final note, so high and piercing that the cavern came alive with a host of Kral bats, their slumber broken by a tone unfamiliar even to their keen ears.

“Well done, savage bonesack. Well done indeed,” chuckled the being from beyond this world. “Phu’ghaq’ug approves of your performance and will gladly serve your will in humility and good faith. Tell us now your wishes, and do please provide us with something to soothe our throats. Travel from our far home is so… drying.”

Sharuthua / Lifeblood 8 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 14
Attributes: Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 1 Appeal 2
Combat Abilities: Brawl 1 Melee 1 Ranged 0 Defense 2
Careers: Priestess 2, Sorcerer 2, Warrior 0, Farmer 0
Boons: Magic of the Sorcerer Kings, Power of the Void
Flaws: Delicate, Poor Recovery
Languages: Nogolothian, Low Speech, Star Tongue of the Elds
Equipment: Dagger (d3), Staff (d6-1)

Naqugol / Lifeblood 14 / Hero Points 5 / Arcane Power 10
Attributes: Strength 2 Agility 1 Mind 0 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Brawl 1 Melee 2 Ranged 0 Defense 1
Careers: Warrior 2, Priest 1, Hunter 1, Sorcerer 0
Boons: Quick Recovery, Hard to Kill
Flaws: Country Bumpkin
Languages: Nogolothian
Equipment: Spear (d6), Light Armor (d6-2)

Phu’ghaq’ug (Greater Demon) / Lifeblood 30
Attributes: Strength 3 Agility 1 Mind 4 Appeal 4
Combat Abilities: Brawl 4 Melee 2 Ranged 2 Defense 4
Demonic Powers: Speech, Sorcery (AP 20), Appeal, Telepathy
Attacks: +3 w/ strike (d6) or as weapon
Protection: 1d3 (iron-like hide)

Phu’ghaq’ug, called The Singer from Beyond, is a demon capable of living in – manipulating the arcane energies of – Nogoloth. Its normal appearance when summoned is of an attractive human man – typically in exceptionally fine clothing – with an effete affect. What marks Phu’ghaq’ug as otherworldly is the extra length of its otherwise human-like head, which accommodates the creature’s two additional mouths. Each mouth speaks with the same voice in a different register (bass, baritone, and tenor). The mouths typically speak in unison, though it is possible for them to communicate independently. Phu’ghaq’ug prefers not to do this, however, because it is deeply in love with the sound of its own voices

Phu’ghaq’ug is typically sought out by savage tribes and primitive sorcerers to serve as a weapon against the more civilized cultures. Whether its powers are employed in defense or aggression it cares not, so long as its taste for human blood is slaked.

Nogoloth: The Decanter Of Black Rain

Wherein your humble scribe presents an artifact that he whipped up for his sadly dormant Lovecraftian Fantasy setting, Nogoloth. Though written with Barbarians of Lemuria in mind, it shouldn’t be too hard to convert this blasphemous creation for use in your game system of choice. Let me know if you do. I’d love to see how you implement it.

Deep within the disused storage area of the Library of Forbidden Wisdom at Great University in Khaarm one might find a small chest – made of well-oiled, darkly-stained wood and appointed with silver and unknown, faintly luminescent gemstones – the lock of which has been sealed with the blood-red wax emblem of the High Academic himself, inscribed in which is a sigil of dire warning. Within this ominous casket one will find a simple copper decanter, unadorned save for the indecipherable mark of its original creator. If any in Khaarm know of this relic’s existence, they steadfastly deny all such knowledge if interviewed. I know, for I spoke to them all. Only the half-mad caretaker of the 3rd basement would even admit to the possibility of such an item’s presence within the archives. Yet I know it to be there, for I have seen it in my dreams.

In my dreams I have caressed the sturdy wood of this container, and I have thrilled at the impossible to describe feel of it. Somehow it is both soothingly warm and tantalizingly cool to the touch, as though it were recently unearthed from both desert and tundra simultaneously.

The first night I dreamt of the box I woke with a start just after my fingers traced its lines, aware of a powerful yet instantly forgotten phrase that had just fled my consciousness.

On subsequent nights my dream lasted longer, and growing ever bolder in the dream I reached a point where I sliced the seal and opened the container, revealing the decanter within. Last night, as I slept, my dreamform sipped directly from the copper vessel, which was full despite not having been filled by human hands. When I awoke this morning, I felt a thirst I have never felt before. I had a taste for a draught that does not exist in the world of men. So powerful is this longing, this desire, this lust, that tonight I will abandon my dreams and make my way to the Library to rescue that which is rightfully mine from the depths of its imprisonment by the fools who call themselves seekers of wisdom.

It shall be mine again.

The Decanter Of Black Rain

The Decanter Of Black Rain pours forth pure void essence, which when consumed by sentient creatures grants them 2 Arcane Power (as the Power of the Void boon) but also reduces their Lifeblood by 1 point. After the bonus AP are used, the drinker’s maximum AP is reduced permanently by 1 point. Only by drinking from the Decanter again can the user of the Decanter elevate his AP back to its original (+2) value. This process continues, with Lifeblood and Arcane Powers continuing to diminish as outlined above as the Decanter continues to be used. Once an individual’s LB or AP have been reduced to zero by use of the Decanter he will be drawn into the Decanter itself, where his consciousness will merge with the void.

Nogoloth: The Emerald Ships

Wherein your humble scribe presents an NPC and an artifact (in Barbarians of Lemuria format) that he whipped up for his nascent Lovecraftian Fantasy setting, Nogoloth. You might note that this makes three BoL-based Nogoloth entries in a row. That, my friends, is starting to look something like a trend.

On the western shore of Nogoloth sits the city called Cwnuihd, where strange emerald-sailed ships crewed by ebon-skinned men dock thrice annually. None within the city claim to know the origins of these vessels, nor their destinations. All that is known is that the sailors who debark from the caravels and carracks speak – and often sing – in a tongue unknown even to the greatest scholars of Nogoloth. The captains of these crafts superficially resemble the men they lead, but can carry on great discourse in the common speech of the island-continent they visit each time the trade winds shift and the two moons of Nogoloth join together to raise the tides high enough to allow passage across the great reef that elsewise bars the harbor.

These mariner kings seldom speak of what they have seen in the unchartered waters of the world, but when they do they wax poetic, even rhapsodic, telling tales of great, impossible leviathans whose eyes burn with hatred for all the men and beasts of the land. It is whispered that only these sea dogs may traverse the greatest oceans of the world, though whether due to their extreme bravery or, perhaps, to some dark pact they have made with the rulers of the court beneath the waves none may say.

It is tradition amongst the women of Cwnuihd to greet the arrival of the Emerald Ships by dyeing their hair jet black and serenading the crews from the docks with songs that their mothers’ mothers learned from the first such fleets to brave the dark waters of the bay and anchor at the docks that were already present when the city itself was founded in centuries passed. The men of Cwnuihd are made ill-at-ease by the melodies that comprise these alien chanties – though, in truth, it is the frequently wanton behavior the ladies engage in when in the company of those who sail with the Emerald Ships that truly troubles the fathers of unwed daughters in the city. Despite the rather orgiastic scenes that often play out in the dockside taverns, no child has ever been born in Cwnuihd who even faintly resembles the sailors.

I happened to be visiting Cwnuihd one spring when the Ships arrived, and I struck up a brief-but-companionable relationship with the captain of one of the vessels – a man by the name of Vaul – in whose company I passed two fascinating evenings filled with stories of the sort that one would be inclined to take for little more than the tall tales of a man who has spent too much time away from even the sight of land. Yet there was, in his manner and upon his face, an indescribable sincerity so powerful that I would warrant his narratives to even Ste. Sibille the Blind herself.

It was from Captain Vaul that I acquired the Lantern of U’um’nn, an artifact of a different age that may well serve to render my ultimate goal achievable. Vaul refused to accept payment of any sort for the Lantern, insisting that he had already been well compensated for delivering it to my hands.

I am told by the old men of Cwnuihd that they had never heard tell of anyone – let alone a cripple such as I – being offered passage aboard one of the Emerald Ships. Yet I was indeed invited to sail with Captain Vaul and his crew when the time came for them to leave the shores of Nogoloth. I regret that I was unable to accept this unique proposition, but my work here requires that I remain ashore, at least for now. If I should chance upon the good captain and his crew once my task is complete, I will readily board their craft if the opportunity is afforded me again.

Captain Ertegun Vaul

A tall, powerfully-built man in his mid 40s, with the ebon skin seen only amongst the crews of the Emerald Ships that visit Nogoloth occasionally, Captain Ertegun Vaul is a charming conversationalist who has seen things and traveled to locations undreamt of by the inhabitants of the island-continent. He is fearless – or nearly so – and dogged in his pursuit of profit upon the black waters of the world. He has dabbled in sorcery, is more than a little acquainted with the ways of the gods (both benevolent and malign), and is a stalwart companion when trouble arises. Captain Vaul is currently in possession of the legendary Moon Dagger of Rhug-Dh’krhala, a weapon mentioned in both the Lzaaq Cycle and the Book of Nyshanib. He is loathe to discuss how it came to him, pointing only to the tenatcle-like scar that runs down the length of his left arm and smiling a melancholy smile.

Essences
Lifeblood 11
Hero Points 5
Arcane Power 10

Attributes
Strength 1
Agility 0
Mind 1
Appeal 2

Combat
Brawl 1
Melee 2
Ranged 0
Defense 1

Careers
Mariner 2
Merchant 1
Sorcerer 0
Priest 1

Boons
Born Sailor
Carouser

Flaws
Greed

Languages
Nogolothian, Emerald Shipman’s Speech

Equipment
Scimitar, d6+1
Alchemical Dagger d3+1 (rare, grants boon & ignores armor)
Very Light Armor (d3-1)

Lantern of U’um’nn

This artifact, which appears to the common eye as little more than a well-maintained ship’s lantern, reveals the manner in which those upon whom its light is cast will die. When lit, a large swarm of colorful moths are drawn from beyond space and time, and as they dance about the light the interplay of their beating wings shows individual’s death as though seen upon a moving tapestry. The lantern is highly magnetic and will render any compass within 50 feet of it unreliable for navigation.

Nogoloth: The Bells Of Pnikigystros

Wherein your humble scribe presents a monster and an artifact (in Barbarians of Lemuria format) that he whipped up for his nascent Lovecraftian Fantasy setting, Nogoloth, as he continues to dither on which system to use for such things. You might note that this makes two BoL-based Nogoloth entries in a row. Make of that what you will.

In the port city of Pnikigystros, on the southernmost shore of Nogoloth, there stands an ruined church – once consecrated to St. Xavier of the Kettle, according to the few ancient residents who can recall the times before it was boarded-up and abandoned for reasons unspoken. Despite its dilapidation and lack of occupants, the bells of this cathedral still ring out at dusk and dawn on odd days – days that some claim are holy to the darker gods who hold sway over the affairs of man and beast. The mournful tolling of the bells can be heard from one end of Pnikigystros to the other, even in the fine mansions atop Owl Hill. The people of the city take extra care on these days, when bad luck and murder are in the air. Sailors refuse to weigh anchor on these days, and children who are born between the ringing of the bells are quite often sickly and haunted in appearance.

The residents of the neighborhood where the church stands – called Blacksend by those who dwell there – shun this structure, crossing to the other side of the street and spitting on the ground when they must pass by it as they hurry down Margrave Lane. In the early evening, when the blood red light from the setting sun streams through the building’s high stained glass windows and plays upon the cobblestones outside its doors, even the least superstitious folk choose a route that avoids that sullen street entirely, regardless of the distance that traversing Margrave might save.

In other places of the world one might expect that such a structure would attract the attention of curious children or, perhaps, the interest of a criminal element that might seek to take advantage of such a blighted place, to engage in their unlawful activities out of the watchful eye of the constabulary. But in Pnikigystros, one finds nothing of the sort. My own efforts to recruit urchins or footpads to investigate the church further on my behalf – a system which has proven useful in other areas of Nogoloth, as you’ll recall – have fallen upon willfully deaf ears. Once word reached the broader communities of these sources of inexpensive explorers I found that I was unable even to complete a friendly exchange with such citizens.

If not for the willingness of a certain sea captain and his crew of less-than-sterling repute I might never have found anyone to enter the edifice in question and secure for me the bronze vessel that proved to to be precisely where a particular venerable verger with a tongue loosened by various libations had indicated it would be found. That only the first mate of the Green Phoenix – a peculiar man named Crawford Fowler, whose bearing and features implied a connection to the Cwnuihd Fowlers – delivered the item to me, with a blank stare and far less interest in his payment than I was led to expect from one of his sort, is of no matter.

I must confess that even I – engrossed as I was in my examinations of the Kettle – was slightly unnerved upon hearing that the pirates’ ship – after sitting quietly vacant at the docks for weeks – was suddenly no longer moored there on the 22nd morning after the breeching of the church – a morning, one should note, that followed the tolling of the Bells of Pnikigystros.

Anthrognaath

Anthrognaath are large (2′ to 4′ long) centipedes with the faces of men. These creatures come from somewhere else, entering our world through various arcane devices that typically contain liquids, such as bowls, cauldrons and kettles. Anthrognaath are quite intelligent and often possess significant magical knowledge, but are unable to wield it in their natural forms. For this reason, they seek out sentient host beings into whose body they burrow once the neurotoxin from their bite takes effect. Once inside a host, the Anthrognaath is able to use its arcane abilities through the form it has hijacked. The process of Anthrognaath “possession” does hideous damage to the host being, who will typically survive no more than several weeks, during which time the Anthrognaath will actively seek out new potential hosts.

Attributes
Strength 4
Agility 1
Mind 2

Combat Abilities
Attack with Bite +2; d6-2 plus poison
Defense: 2
Protection: d6-2 (chitin)
Lifeblood: 20

Anthrognaath Poison
A person damaged by the bite of an Anthrognaath must make a Demanding Strength check or become paralyzed in d3 rounds. This paralysis lasts for d3 hours, during which time an Anthrognaath will invade the victim’s body, effectively killing the victim. One an Anthrognaath has so co-opted a body, the host creature will still outwardly resemble its former self, but will in fact be home to the Anthrognaath’s evil mind and powerful arcane abilities. Such unwilling sorcerers possess an Arcane Power of 15 and a Sorcerer career rank of 3.

The Bronze Kettle Of Mithathu

The Bronze Kettle Of Mithathu is a damnable relic of an ancient time. Some two feet in diameter and perpetually cold to the touch, the metal that comprises its form is stamped and carven with obscure runes which are a variant on the Star Tongue of the Elds – hard to decipher but clearly full of dire warnings and other such language designed to dissuade casual use of the item.

The possessor of the Bronze Kettle of Mithathu is highly resistant to all extremes of temperature (a Boon that grants an extra die when rolling to resist such effects). Further, all second and third magnitude spell cast by the possessor receive a bonus die when cast and their Arcane Power costs are reduced by 3 AP.

However, a darkness lingers over the artifact. Every time the Kettle is used as part of a summoning spell, there is a 1-in-3 chance that the summoned creature will immediately attack the magician who calls it forth, regardless of any precautions taken to prevent this. Further, all spells cast with the power of the Kettle permanently drain one Lifeblood from the caster. Lastly, at dusk and dawn on the holy days of the Dark Gods, there is a 1-in-6 chance that an Anthrognaath will emerge from the Kettle in search of a host creature.

Nogoloth: The Iron Line

Wherein your humble scribe presents a couple of monsters and an artifact (in Barbarians of Lemuria format) that he whipped up for his nascent Lovecraftian Fantasy setting, Nogoloth, as he continues to dither on which system to use for such things.

The pampered academics at the Great University in Khaarm espouse countless theories about the nature, history, and ultimate destination of the Iron Line. The earthier scholars of Canton-on-Imisk have different opinions; some have even followed the Line deep into the windswept mountains of the north in search of hard, scientific truth. But even the hardiest investigators have been forced to turn back well before reaching the Line’s terminus. It seems that each of the several expeditions sent to identify the source of the Line has been driven back – smaller than it was when it embarked, as is grimly expected by the professors and administrators – due to some singular concatenation of events and circumstances or another, all of which seem natural and plausible enough to the casual observer. But that nineteen souls have perished in the pursuit of something as simple as what lies at the other end of a 3′ wide ribbon of iron that is sunken so throughly within the bones of the earth – extending no less than 10 feet deep, even in the hardest of bedrock – has brought something of a sense of doom to the Iron Line and its mystery.

The course of the Iron Line, which has been mapped thoroughly within the areas settled by man, runs from the edge of the cliff that rises above the port of Pnikigystros in the south and winds its way across much of the civilized regions of Nogoloth – passing as it does within no less than 1/2 mile of each of the other major cities, and sometimes through them – before taking its turn into the northern mountains. At any given moment the Iron Line may feel incredibly warm or icy cold to the touch, often radiating significantly different levels of heat a mere handspan apart. Some dedicated observers of the Iron Line report that under certain conditions (time of year, weather, and other factors contribute) the Line seems to sing (very softly) a complex, undulating melody that stirs melancholy and dread within the audience. That some people appear utterly unable to hear this song even as those next to them are able to describe what they are hearing with exquisite detail only furthers the mystery of this Nogolothian oddity.

Q’agpthah

Resembling a hideous and eldritch amalgam of insect, ape and lizard, Q’agpthah live in the caves that dot the high passes of the northern mountains. These beasts possess a cunning, if rudimentary, intelligence and have displayed an aggressive nature that makes them a significant threat to any who seek to travel through the mountains – whether attempting to follow the Iron Line or pursuing other business. Those who have risked their lives to observe these beings’ society – such as it is – report that the Q’agpthah appear to worship regularly at a hieroglyphic-covered altar deep within their mountain caves that clearly could not have been produced by their limited culture. According to the hastily written notes in the field journal of a researcher who has since taken his own life, the Q’agpthah also possess several similarly-inscribed tablets from which they appear to read, though this is doubtless a case of the creatures imitating human behavior rather than observing a true liturgy.

Attributes
Strength 3
Agility 1
Mind 0

Combat Abilities
Attack with Two Claws +1 each; d6+2 damage each
Defense: 0
Protection: d3 (thick fur, chitin, and scales)
Lifeblood: 15

The Tablets of L’thuggothaaa

Within the dark and twisting caves of the Q’agpthah there lies a large chamber – clearly hewn from the rock by some intelligent hand – which serves as the creatures’ Cathedral. An iron altar – stamped and etched with hieroglyphs of a language unrecognizable even to scholars steeped in the deepest mysteries of Nogolothian lore. Atop this altar rest the Tablets of L’thuggothaaa, a pair of ancient stone tablets inscribed with blasphemies so mind-shattering that they have destroyed the minds of all who have read them – including the entire race of alien beings now called “Q’agpthah” by the men of Nogoloth. These tablets, unlike the altar upon which they rest, are written in a language similar to the Star Tongue of the Elds and may potentially be deciphered by any who have studied that damnable tongue.

Game Information: A person who acquires and deciphers the Tablets of L’thuggothaaa – neither of these is an easy task – will immediately be granted the Power of the Void and Magic of the Sorcerer Kings boons. The unfortunate soul who read these words will also be burdened with terrible knowledge that will manifest itself in the form of the Unsettling and Morgazzon’s Curse flaws. As is always the case with Morgazzon’s Curse, the exact nature of the flaw is left to the GM.

Ilthoth-eg

Small, grey-furred cat-like beasts that inhabit the caves deep within the northern mountains of Nogoloth, Ilthoth-eg are set apart from the “normal” wildcats of the region by their abundance of eyes. A typical Ilthoth-eg possesses somewhere between 7 and 11 eyes arrayed across their bodies. Though not truly intelligent, these animals chitter and whisper their previous victims’ words as they stalk their prey through the darkness of the caves.

Attributes
Strength 0
Agility 4
Mind −1

Combat Abilities
Attack with Bite +4; d6-1
Defense: 5
Protection: d3-1 (light fur)
Lifeblood: 8

BoL Character: Professor Milam Ryde

Wherein your humble scribe presents a Barbarians of Lemuria character he put together as an NPC in his slowly-developing Lovecraftian fantasy setting, Nogoloth.

A professor at Canton-on-Imisk University, Milam Ryde is a fearless explorer and talented cartographer. Professor Ryde has made the study of the lesser-known regions of Nogoloth (and the uninhabited islands nearby) his academic focus. He has led several expeditions into the unknown and has brought back numerous strange artifacts and bizarre biological samples many of which are on display in CU’s Dhawd Museum. That he frequently returns with fewer companions than he set out with is well-known. Some of the less scrupulous faculty occasionally encourage their more intellectually advanced students to join on with Ryde’s expeditions. That these academics then publish papers based on their vanished charges’ research is something of an open secret.

Essences
Lifeblood 11
Hero Points 3

Attributes
Strength 1
Agility 1
Mind 1
Appeal 1

Combat
Brawl 0
Melee 2
Ranged 0
Defense 2

Careers
Scholar 2
Alchemist 1
Sailor 1
Physician 0

Boons
Learned: Geography
Born Sailor
Attractive

Flaws
Feels the Cold

Languages
Nogolothian, Ancient Khaarmish, Low Speech, Star Tongue Of The Elds

Equipment
Axe, 1d6+1
Very Light Armor (d3-1)

BoL Character: Tor Carran

Wherein your humble scribe presents a Barbarians of Lemuria character he put together as an NPC in his slowly-developing Lovecraftian fantasy setting, Nogoloth.

There is more to the simple-seeming Tor Carran than meets the eye. Nominally employed as part of the janitorial and maintenance staff of the Great University in Khaarm, Tor Carran is constantly reading and researching the “forbidden stacks” to which he has managed to “acquire” a key. Carran makes his home in a disused study off the main research room on the 3rd floor of the library. He is often disheveled and poorly-groomed, but keeps quiet and does quality work, so he escapes the watchful eyes of the administration. Tor Carran appears to have no specific motives other than the accumulation of knowledge.

Essences
Lifeblood 12
Arcane Power 13
Hero Points 5

Attributes
Strength 2
Agility 0
Mind 2
Appeal 0

Combat
Brawl 1
Melee 1
Ranged 0
Defense 2

Careers
Scholar 1
Priest 1
Sorcerer 1
Worker 1

Boons
Learned: Legends
Power of the Void

Flaws
Combat Paralysis

Languages
Nogolothian, Sorceric, Ancient Khaarmish, Low Speech

Equipment
Staff, 1d6

Nogoloth: The Drakemorton Hole

Wherein your humble scribe presents a couple of Mini Six characters (and their attendant flavor) that he whipped up for his nascent Lovecraftian Fantasy setting, Nogoloth. Consider these a test to see just how well Mini Six produces characters appropriate to such a milieu.

On the outer fringes of the city of Oustminnish stands the decayed and crumbling Drakemorton estate. Once a grand and bustling manor built by Captain Dominic Drakemorton more than a century ago, the estate has fallen further and further into disrepair – and disrepute – as the old Captain’s heirs have grown decadent and squandered the fortune Dominic amassed throughout his storied career. Bereft of its army of servants and caretakers, the family’s holdings rest now in the distracted hands of the last surviving Drakemorton scions: the mad Benicia and her unsettling twin brother Felix.

Behind the manor house itself there are several outbuildings including a mausoleum and disused crematorium. Within the weathered marble burial chamber there is a strange, heavy slab – cemented in place for three generations – that has recently been chiseled free and cast aside as through by an inhumanly powerful hand. Exposed beneath where the slab once lay is a large hexagonal hole down which well-secured iron rungs descend at slightly more than comfortable intervals. The hole itself is smooth and regular, as though bored by some impossibly gigantic machine of a sort that has never been seen in Nogoloth.

The Drakemorton Hole cuts deep into the earth, an eerie and stygian blackness closing quickly about any who attempt to plumb its depths. Whether the shaft itself is truly as extensive as it seems or the way down only feels excruciatingly long due to the preternatural gloom and dampness that attend its descent is impossible to say without further detailed, scientific exploration. What the urchins of Oustminnish – who have endeavored to seek the bottom of the cavity at my own request – have reported is that a growing sense of doom began to wash over them after little more than ten minutes’ descent, resulting in a retreat to the relative comfort of the surface.

These same somewhat unreliable sources further claim that dropping a stone down the shaft produces no sound of impact even after several long minutes of waiting. It is most unfortunate that young Jabben Scarth, the boldest of the children, has failed to return from his third excursion to the Drakemorton Hole. As an orphan with none to mourn him, his disappearance has gone largely unreported. For my own part, I feel some small sense of guilt at seeming to have sent the child to an unfortunate fate. But there are none for me to recompense, so I content myself with having lit a candle to the boy at the altar of Ste. Rixende.

Of the Drakemorton clan, little more than rumor an innuendo is readily available to the casual inquirer. It is said, though, that Benicia is quite insane due to her never-ending quest for arcane knowledge and the blasphemies she has surely read in the accursed tomes that line her library walls. Felix, though he is more immediately accessible and outwardly sane, is known to have begun showing the first hints of the Oustminnish Look within the past few years and is no longer seen at the society functions he used to attend with regularity.

Neither Drakemorton heir has ever married and neither has produced issue – a small mercy for which the more sanguine people of Oustminnish thank Ulris, Ursanne and all their sainted sons and daughters.

Benicia Drakemorton
Might 1D+2 Agility 3D
Wit 4D Charm 3D+1
Skills: Crafts 4D, Occult 6D, Language:Star Tongue Of The Elds 5D
Perks: Aristocrat, Sorcerer
Complications: Quite Insane, Really
Gear: Grimoires & Artifacts
Static: Dodge 9, Block 5, Parry 5
Body Points: 26
Armor: none

Felix Drakemorton
Might 4D Agility 2D+1
Wit 2D Charm 3D+2
Skills: Sword 5D, Stamina 5D, Lift 5D, Dodge 3D+1, Stealth 3D+1, Business 4D+2, Society 4D+2
Perks: Aristocrat
Complications: The Outsminnish Look
Gear: Pearl-Handled Sword Cane (+1D)
Static: Dodge 10, Block 12, Parry 15
Body Points: 36
Armor: none

BoL Character: Derl Gethau

Wherein your humble scribe presents a Barbarians of Lemuria character he put together as an NPC in his slowly-developing Lovecraftian fantasy setting, Nogoloth.

Once considered a leading thinker at Canton-on-Imisk University, Derl Gethau fell out of favor for his “reenvisionings” and “interpretations” of some of the traditional myth cycles of Nogoloth and was drummed out of academia entirely. To this day he remains a suspect figure in certain circles and an outright pariah in others. This episode only served to remind Derl of his disdain for those who hide within the cities of Nogoloth and seldom if ever venture out into the world itself. Now firmly established as a fearless tracker and guide – one who knows enough to get you from here to there safely and even somewhat wiser for the trip – Derl seldom thinks of this old life and its decadent decay. He is still known to dabble in the arcane arts, happily digesting any new wisdom he might acquire in the wilds.

Essences
Lifeblood 11
Arcane Power 10
Hero Points 5

Attributes
Strength 1
Agility 1
Mind 2
Appeal 0

Combat
Brawl 0
Melee 1
Ranged 1
Defense 2

Careers
Scholar 2
Hunter 1
Poet 1
Sorcerer 0

Boons
Learned (Flora & Fauna)
Learned (Legends)

Flaws
Discredited Scholar (roll an extra d6 in dealings with scholars, scribes, academics, etc.)

Languages
Nogolothian, Ancient Khaarmish, Star Tongue Of The Elds, Sorceric, Low Speech

Equipment
Sword, d6+1
Dagger, d3+1
Light Armor & Shield (d6-1)
Bow, d6

LL/RoCC Antagonist: Othoghu, The Knife Of Shub-Niggurath

Wherein your humble scribe presents an antagonist for use with Labyrinth Lord and the brand new Realms of Crawling Chaos. Three appropriately Lovecraftian artifacts are included below. Each is the result of rolling on the Random Artifact Tables contained within RoCC, which I believe is OGC.

Once a devout priest called Simon Aldurn, the man now known as Othoghu, The Knife Of Shub-Niggurath, willingly fell from grace at the urgings of Stelaugha, an uncommonly alluring Young of Shub-Niggurath. Othoghu makes his home in Canton-on-Imisk, where he serves the Black Goat of the Woods as a spy.

Othoghu longs for the day when Shub-Niggurath chooses him as a mate and will stop at nothing to please the Old One. Any who pass through Canton-on-Imisk with ill intentions towards the Black Goat of the Woods or who are in possession of items her cult might desire are certain to be subject to Othoghu’s evil.

Othoghu is currently in possession of three eldritch artifacts that he will employ as needed in his efforts to please and serve Shub-Niggurath. These are detailed below.

Othoghu / Human Cleric/Assassin 4/5 Neutral Evil
STR 14 INT 12 WIS 18 DEX 13 CON 10 CHR 13
HP 36 AC 5 Gold 3,571
+2 Mace, Bracers of Armor (AC 6), Silver Holy Symbol, The Key Of Haathoa, Idol Of Mmnao, The Eye Of Eiculura
Cleric Spells:
1st Level (5) Command, Darkness, Detect Magic, Fear, Sanctuary
2nd Level (4) Hold Person, Silence 15′ Radius, Snake Charm, Spiritual Weapon

The Key Of Haathoa

Carved from a bizarre, ancient stone, in which fossils of creatures never seen by human eyes are occasionally exposed, this key is able to summon a Night Beast to serve the possessor. The Night Beast will faithfully obey every command for 3d12 turns before returning whence it came. The Key of Haathoa can only be used once per day. Additional attempts to use it will result in the appearance of 2d4 hostile, hungry Night Beasts that will seek out the holder of the key.

Idol Of Mmnao

Crafted from a strange green soapstone in the image of a sitting siamese cat, this statue marks its owner as a friend of cats. Any felines who interact with the owner of the Idol of Mmnao are subject to a −2 reaction modifier and will only willingly attack the Idol’s holder in self-defense or to protect their young.

The Eye Of Eiculura

This large gem, which has been heavily etched with tentacle-, or perhaps root-like patterns, can be used to animate 1d3 nearby trees, which will uproot themselves to serve the Eye Of Eiculura’s owner. Treat these animated trees as chaotic treants that do not possess the ability to animate additional trees. Trees found in and near graveyards become particularly fearsome when affected by the magic of this artifact due to their roots having fed on fetid corpses over the ages. Such trees receive a +2 bonus to their Hit Dice. The Eye Of Eiculura can only be used 10 times before it crumbles into dust.