From “The Seven Geases,” a short story by Clark Ashton Smith, comes the Great Old One named Atlach-Nacha. Since like most other Great Old Ones Atlach-Nacha has campaign ending power, the keeper can now foil the best laid plans of investigators with a new, equally horrific, and slightly less powerful mythos creature that serves this Spider-God.
The Wrath of Atlach-Nacha
Among the deep-ones and their human relatives, there is an apocryphal belief that the Spider God, Atlach-Nacha, serves Dagon and Cthulhu as an avenger. It seeks out those humans with deep one blood who turn away from, or neglect the worship of Dagon and Cthulhu. Unfortunately for humans descended from unholy unions with deep ones, this little known story rings with deadly truth. Atlach-Nacha’s anger falls seemingly at random. Some traitors will escape the avenger’s watch, while others are hunted down by a monstrosity known as the Wrath of Atlach-Nacha.
The Transformation: Creating a Wrath, the Spider-God selects a normal human (one with no deep-one blood), and touches him in his dreams. Over the next 24 hours, the unfortunate human undergoes a horrid transformation. The victim’s skin becomes hard and dry, turning a shade darker and sparsely covered in harsh, black hair. Their arms and legs elongate, with an extra set of joints, ending in vicious black claws. Two extra pairs of vestigial arms of barely any use sprout from their sides. The victim’s head loses its ears, and six tiny black eyes sprout open across the forehead and cheeks. The jaw distends, all the teeth fall out, placed by thousands of tiny fangs that drip with venom. The newly created Wrath is no longer capable of walking upright, hunting it’s prey on all fours.
The Wrath lives for nothing but to kill and feed from those that have turned their back on their heritage and dark worship. They will hunt and attack their prey until the hunted is dead, or the Wrath is destroyed. After killing their prey, the Wrath finds a cool, dark place to hide, and dries into a lifeless, husk from which thousands of spiders native to the, region burst, forth.
Wraths have been known to hunt down people with only miniscule amount of deep one blood in them, and having no knowledge of their heritage.
The Wrath of Atlach-Nacha (Lesser Servitor Race)
| STR: | 4d6 | 14 |
| CON: | 4d6+3 | 17 |
| SIZ: | 2d6+6 | 13 |
| INT: | 2d6 | 7 |
| POW: | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| DEX: | 3d6+6 | 16-17 |
| Mov: | 8 | |
| HP: | 20 |
| Damage Bonus: | +1d4 |
| Weapons: | |
| Claws: | 50% 1d6+db |
| Bite: | 50% dmg 1d4 + db + poison (POT equals CON. Poison paralyzes victim) Anyone paralyzed by the Wrath will be fed upon by the monster, draining 1d4 HP per turn till death. |
| Armor: | 4 points of tough skin |
| Spells: | None |
| Skills: | Hide: 50%, Track: 80%, Sneak: 70%, Climb: 90% |
| Sanity Loss: | 1/1d10 |
Sleep-Walker
Sleep-Walkers are unfortunate humans selected by Atlach-Nacha to find prey for it as the Spider-God spins it’s endless web. Atlach-Nacha comes to a sleeping human in his dreams, taking control of the sleeping body. Unknowing observers will believe the possessed is simply walking in its sleep. (A successful spot-hidden role may notice a spider crawl out of the ear, mouth, or nose of the Sleep-Walker). When the Sleep-Walker has found suitable prey (just about any living creature), the Sleep-Walker projectile vomits a stream of tiny, deadly spiders at the victim. The spiders bite the victim, causing paralysis and draining his/her bodily fluids. After draining the victim to death, the spiders crawl back into the mouth of the Sleep-Walker, the victim’s fluids filling the obscene stomach of Atlach-Nacha. The Sleep-Walker will attack one or two victims a night. The next morning the possessed will awake with no memories of their nocturnal activities.
Certain spells may sever the dream-possession between Atlach-Nacha and the Sleep-Walker.
Sleep-Walkers (Greater Servitor Race)
| STR: | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| CON: | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| SIZ: | 2d6+6 | 10 |
| INT: | 2d6+6 | 10-11 |
| POW: | 3d6 | 10-11 |
| DEX: | 3d6 | 10 |
| Mov: | 6 | |
| HP: | 10 |
| Damage Bonus: | +1d4 |
| No Weapons | |
| Attacks: | Spider-Vomit: 50% dmg poison+special (Poison Info: Power of Toxin: 15. Damage paralysis). If the venom paralyzes the victim, the spiders will drain 1d3 hp until the victim dies. The spiders can be cleared off. |
| Spell: | none |
| Armor: none | |
| Sanity: | No loss to see a Sleep-Walker. 1/1d10 to witness a Sleep-Walker attack. 1d10/1d20 to realize you are a Sleep-Walker. |
Bruce is a sociology student and co-host of The Crypt Keepers podcast
