The octopoid inhabitants of the Lake of Hali spend millennia in a larval stage that initially is not much larger than the human head. Shortly after hatching, many are transported across light years of space to colonize distant worlds; whether this is done to spread the progeny of Hastur throughout the universe, or as a defense against the cannibalistic attentions of their sires is unknown. Physically defenseless for all their formidable alien magic, the infant Spawn must pursue a parasitic relationship with other species to fulfill its bloodthirsty nature. The Spawn foment constant warfare among host races wherever they go, selecting the fittest as host bodies, and driving all other inhabitants to extinction. Countless worlds have been overrun and turned into nightmarish outposts of Carcosa by the Spawn of Hali in this manner. In addition to their Amazonian colony, the Spawn of Hali may have infested other remote regions of the earth such as Australia, where they may lie at the root of the myth of the giant- headed, weather-controlling Wandjina.
The Spawn of Hali must will its prospective host to offer itself; as an incentive, they usually initiate the relationship by giving the host a small transfusion of their ichor, which endows the subject with superhuman strength and stamina. It also drives them mad with bloodlust and eventually, the compulsion to merge with the Hali-Spawn to become Huhuotli. When the Hali- Spawn desires a new host body, a “marked” host is called to them to remove his own head and take on the Spawn of Hali as its new head. The occupied body can survive for only a handful of years, scores of hosts are selected over a lifetime. Once opened, a Gate to Carcosa flows seasonally, bringing fresh infusions of Hali-Spawn for the duration of Aldeberaan’s traversal of the horizon. When the Hali-Spawn have conquered a world, all indigenous life is wiped out, leaving the planet a desolate, crimson-stained wasteland. The Spawn of Hali return home when they have reached maturity and no longer require host bodies and are ready to lay eggs of their own. The extremely long (1000+ years) gestation period of Carcosan Spawn eggs is, perhaps, the only factor which prevents the race from overrunning every habitable planet in the universe.
If a Hali-Spawn’s host body is reduced to 0 hit points, the entity may make one last attempt to infect its assailant with its ichor; if this attack is successful, the victim may immediately become the Spawn’s new host body. If the attack fails, the Spawn may be separated from the host body and sealed in a canopic jar. It is believed this is because of separation from the
large volume of its ichor invested in the ruined host body. No known earthly means exist by which a Spawn of Hali, so the only means of disposing of them is to bury their urns someplace where no one will ever find them.
Adult Spawn of Hali
Dice Average
STR 4D6+18 30
CON 5D6+12 26-27
SIZ 3D6+12 21
INT 3D6+9 18
POW 3D6+6 15
DEX 2D6 6
HP 24
Dam. bonus +1D6
Weapons: Tentacle 45%, damage 3D6+1D6 blood drain
Red Gaze POW vs. POW, damage special (see Huhuotl, below)
Armor: minimum damage from all terrestrial weapons; regenerates 3 hit pts. per round.
Spells: Call/Dismiss Hastur, Contact Cthulhu, Contact Hastur, Contact Mi-Go, Contact Tsathoggua, Create Gate, Dampen Light, Free Hastur, Shrivelling, Summon/Bind Byakhee, Summon/Bind Servitor of the Outer Gods.
Sanity Loss– 4/1D20 sanity points to see the face “terrible beyond words” of a Spawn of Hali.
