All posts by Oscar Rios

Although it is rare Deep Ones can, and do, mate with a variety of sea creatures. While dolphins and sharks are the most common partners, a number of other examples exist. One such variety is the Deep One / Eel Hybrid. These are most commonly found in the darkest depths of the ocean, lurking on the outskirts of a Deep One colony, or near a shore side community of Deep One hybrids. While there is a great deal of variation between individuals, depending on the species of eel they are born from or sired by, a few common traits exist. Deep One / Eel Hybrids have a humanoid the upper body similar to common Deep Ones but with much larger and wider mouths and the lower serpentine bodies eels. While they can breathe air they are seldom found on land, as they move slow and clumsily when out of the water.

These strange flying creatures are found in the dark void of space, deep in the earth, and in the nightmare realms of the Dreamlands. They are often found guarding sorceress lairs, blasphemous temples to ancient gods, or roosting in long forgotten ruins. Abyssal Bats can lie dormant for years on end, rousing from their lairs to feed when disturbed. Roosts can contain anywhere between a handful to well over a thousand individuals. Some sorcerers have developed spells to control large flocks to do general tasks (such as guard a location from intruders) or individual Abyssal Bats to do specific behaviors (such as retrieving items or delivering messages).

These tiny creatures are not of this, or any world. Rather, they dwell in spaces in-between worlds and are attracted to weak points where two dimensions overlap, especially gates created by mythos magic. Here they nibble at the edges of trans-dimensional passages, weakening them, making them less reliable, having them fail or transport the traveler to a random location on a critically failed luck roll. If left unchecked trans-dimensional can destroy a gate by having it collapse in upon itself, a process that takes about a decade of unchecked infestation.  

Trans-dimensional mites appear as an large Common Woodlouse, about the size of a tarantula, with a pair of long thin pincers at the front of their bodies, similar to those of a Deathstalker scorpion. Beneath their bodies are a pair of long, spring jointed legs allowing the creatures to jump up to 12 feet with a good degree of accuracy (50%). A small gate can support an infestation of perhaps a dozen individuals, while larger ones could support up to a hundred. 

These unfortunate creatures were once men, who through betrayal or misfortunate ended up wandering the labyrinth of the Great Old One Eihort. They either never encountered Eihort or refused its bargain to become a host for its brood in exchange for being released from the Labyrinth. They then either escaped the Great Old One’s wrath or were spared to wander endlessly in the endless passages of the labyrinth. Lost, desperate, and likely dying of thirst or hunger these people then drank from one of the maze’s pools fed by dripping water or ate some of the strange glowing fungus found growing throughout the labyrinth. Once this alien material entered their bodies they were doomed, spiraling into a vortex of madness and mutation.  

These pigs are extremely rare, the result of selective breeding by blasphemous cultists, sorcerers, and covens with skills in animal husbandry. Despite a keepers’ best efforts, the special traits of this pig do not often breed true. It is estimated that few as 1 in 250 piglets sired or born of an Echo Swine inherit the special genes which makes them unique. 

At a glance an Echo Swine appears identical to regular domestic pigs. Those making a hard Natural History roll, or whom are familiar with raising pigs, may notice these creatures have a three dewclaws on each trotter, whereas normal pigs only have two. In behavior they are also similar to normal pigs, but seem to always be hungry no matter how much they eat. They maintain good muscle mass no matter how much they ingest or how little physical activity they have. They also do not like to be around other pigs, unless they are in season for breeding.  Otherwise they are usually kept in solitary pens to prevent them from killing and eating their passel mates.

These strange, grotesque creatures were once human women, priestesses of The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. Each was a matriarch of a cult or temple whose children and grandchildren also served the Outer Goddess. In their twilight years such priestesses are granted special favor to live on and serve their goddess as a Sacred Ewe of the Black Goat. It is considered the highest honor, granted to only the most devout and deserving servants. Such creatures are effectively immortal, although not invulnerable as they can be slain through violence or misadventure. 

These creatures start out as human. They are chosen before their birth for the honor of becoming a guardian of a site sacred to the Outer Goddess Shub-Niggurath. Their mothers are ritually sacrificed to the Shub-Niggurath at the time of their birth. The babies are then raised by the cult they will one day serve. These chosen children receive mental, physical and spiritual training, as well as being fed special diets, in preparation for their future role. Once they reach adulthood they are given a ritual drink, triggering extremely painful physical alterations, forever changing them at the cellular level. This agonizing process takes a full day and night after which they are granted special powers and protections by the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. They are now a Shepherd or Shepherdess of The Black Goat. 

Much like the greater variety of this creature, Lesser Shepherds / Shepherdess’ of The Black Goat begin life as a normal human. They too had mother’s die during childbirth, but never as part of a formal ritual to Shub-Nigguruath. During their childhoods they receive none of the special diet or training of Greater Shepherd or Shepherdess’. None of these creatures had any connection to a cult of the Black Goat with a Thousand Young. They are created when an unlucky individual whose mother died in childbirth eats or drinks something made from the black milk of a Sacred Ewe of Shub-Nigguruath. This is close enough to the criteria for creating a Greater Shepherd or Shepherdess that it triggers a similar transformation, albeit one resulting in a less powerful version of the intended creation.

No one goes anywhere near the old wrecked oil tanker, Neptune Venture, in the mud flats. Not during the day or especially at night, whether your deep blooded or shallow, like me. The only people who ever go there are members of the Bishop family, and they only do that once a week. They only stay long enough to drop off a box of food and supplies. Even then they have a dog with them, and someone keeping watch with a shotgun. Kids used to dare one another to go touch the Neptune Venture after dark, that is until two of them went missing trying to do it, and the kids who put them up to it were disciplined by the Esoteric Order of Dagon. There are rumors of a hulking creature that comes out of the wreck at night, to fish, dig clams, and sometime burn a trash pile.  I’m not going to be the one to find out for sure. So, good luck with that…

Our guide led us into the old smugglers tunnels under Innsmouth, holding a lantern ahead of us, leading our company into darkness. We were desperate to rescue our companions, who’d been captured when we fled two days earlier. She said her name was Mary-Catherine, and explained that she lived as an exile in the marshes outside of town, because she had never fully made “the change”.  We weren’t sure what she meant, but she had that “Innsmouth Look” worse than anyone we’d seen yet, appearing to be some sort of unholy combination of a human woman, a frog, and a snapping turtle.
Ugly or not, we had limited options, and had put our faith in her, after hearing of the cruelty she’d suffered at the hands of the Esoteric Order of Dagon, whom had banished her and forbad her from entering the town.  Her steps were fast and sure, our team had trouble keeping up with her. Once we were strung out a bit in the twisting labyrinth of tunnels her lantern went out and we were all plunged into darkness. I grabbed for my electric flashing, but it was gone! We heard out guide giggling manically just before the mayhem began.
Of the four of us who followed that creature called Mary-Catherine into dark, I was the only one to survive.