(with thanks to Charlotte Askew for additional input)
Alternate names: Saviour Serum, Elder Bile, Micro-Shoggoths, Nano-Shoggoths
In appearance this small lifeform is an iridescent liquid with a reddy-brownish-purple tinge, often found in a quantity of certainly no more than a small spoon’s worth, or perhaps if someone were so minded, enough to fill a syringe. It is a miniature, in some examples even microscopic, example of the genetic engineering of the alien race known as the Elder Things and for those few sorry souls who bear the burden of knowing about such things, it would be classified as a tiny sibling to the abhorrent Shoggoth.
The original purpose of this tiny creature is unknown, but it is suspected that it was, like the far larger examples which were used to construct the basalt cities of their ancient masters, some form of forced labour albeit for far finer and even microscopic tasks. They are unequalled at this scale for their ability to manipulate matter with highly potent acids and may have been utilised not only in biological endeavours but possibly technological ones too.
It is also believed they have some capacity to be used as superconductors and may have fulfilled a vital function in Elder Thing computational devices which are not currently understood by modern science. The archaeological record is infuriatingly sparse with adequate details, but if a specimen could be acquired who knows what secrets and marvels could be unlocked for the good of all of humanity?
Shoggites in Games: Due to their very small size and how they are most likely to be encountered by Investigators, Shoggites do not have a traditional stat line and indeed may more commonly be interacted with as a type of equipment than a monster in their own right. However, the most relevant stats are provided here in case required:
TINDALOSIAN SHOGGOTH, fetid iridescences of time
char.
INT
POW
roll
2D6 × 5
3D6 × 5
average
35
50-55
Average Hit Points: 1
Average Damage Bonus: N/A
Average Build: N/A
Average Magic Points: 10
Move: 1 rolling
Combat
Attacks per round: 1
Burrow:
A Shoggite may attempt to burrow through any surface; with sufficient time they are able to make their way through steel and stone, although at a far slower pace than the horrifying speed they can move carve their way through organic matter.
A burrowing Shoggite on a surface will bypass any clothing/armour worn by its target, whether Kevlar or 16th century plate armour, it’s just not tough enough to resist the tiny serrated fangs dripping highly potent acids. It will then inflict 1 damage on its target as it burrows inside of them.
If it remains still, it will do 1D3 damage per day it is inside its target. If it wishes to perform any tasks inside the target (re-arranging human organs to be able to process alien foods, carving eldritch curses on its host’s bones, etc.), these will cost an additional 1D3 damage. If the Shoggite wishes to cause active damage, it will cause 1 point of damage per round whilst inside a target.
There is usually no easy way to remove a Shoggite which is already inside someone, although they can perhaps be lured into a limb which is then removed.
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6 to observe a Shoggite when aware of its nature, simply seeing it and mistaking it as a spot of dirt does not count; observing it under the microscope and having it stare back at you with hundreds of tiny eyes definitely would warrant a test, as would noticing that smudge inching its way up the front of your shirt….
Exposed Shoggites: Small, dark, and sticky, Shoggites can be mistaken for smudged stains or flecks of dirt. Because of this, any attack against them whilst they are revealed and exposed is deemed to kill them – it could be as simple as a stubbed-out cigarette or a grinding in a pestle and mortar.
However, not much of their time is spent in the open, and so they are often quite safe as they dig around in the comfort of a tree’s bark, porous rock, or the soft and warm interior of a screaming (or at least gargling) host’s tongue.
Scenario Hooks:
MAD SCIENCE (Biology): Such bold advancement as is represented by the Shoggites would only be possible with the right mindset; a properly inquisitive soul, unburdened with the constraints of bureaucracy or the ‘ethics’ so often preventing true progress, could no doubt achieve wonders. Properly harnessed, surgery could be re-invented with these tiny, intelligent scalpels that insert themselves into the patient and remove the cancer, or perhaps perform plastic surgery in the fraction of the time required by a normal surgeon. Just make sure the patient doesn’t have any idea what was just crawling across their face and inside their nose.
MAD SCIENCE (Technology): As mankind increasingly looks to a digital future, the place of a superconductor micro-organism could have huge implications for technology, especially in hostile environments where it could also potentially perform its own maintenance and upgrades.
ASSASSINATION: Being so small, it would be easy enough to slip some Shoggites in to someone’s food, or otherwise ‘spill’ some on their bare skin through contrived circumstance. If a cult were to try and make their enemies’ have ‘mysterious accidents’ then using a Shoggite would certainly send a message to the people who would pick up on the Mythos nature of the death.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL ACCIDENT: Sometimes, the ancient sarcophagus should just remain shut. In fact, why not try pouring some more lead over the entrance, y’know, just to be sure?
THE SOUND… OF SHOGGITES: Graphene is often used in high-end headphone drivers as its thinness and its conductivity make for the best quality sound. What if one Mythos-inclined musician, in search of the perfect aural experience, were to replace the graphene with superconductive Shoggites—and what if they went on to mass market this new “Universal Sound” they’d discovered?
