Sandy petersens cthulhu mythos (1) 195

Lesser Cults
Many of the Elder Beings not noted above have cults,

A cultist who calls upon Atlach-Nacha without a

though they are rarer and less powerful, but not

prepared meal usually becomes one.

necessarily less dangerous.

Abhoth
Abhoth is not known to have traditional mortal
worshippers such as humans, and the filth it spawns are
in no way devoted to their maker. However, the twin
blasphemies Nug and Yeb, of which little is known,
occasionally lead cults of monsters that worship
Abhoth. Normally subterranean, these monstrous cults
focus primarily on using and abusing the filth. They
abuse rather than worship Abhoth’s spawn, including
sacrifice and consumption, gruesome rituals, and
horrible experiments. Often these cults attempt to draw
portions of Abhoth into subterranean lairs in their own
regions where its body does not already abide.

Atlach-Nacha
A proper cult of Atlach-Nacha is a rare thing, as the
Great Old One knows only two drives: to eat and
to spin the Forever Web. Organizations that follow
Atlach-Nacha may support these desires—providing
convenient prey in the form of sacrifices and largely

getting out of the way of Atlach-Nacha’s spinning—
but their purpose is usually the acquisition of lore and
hidden knowledge.
Sages and magicians may study the web to learn
arcane dimensional secrets or spells hidden in the
pattern. In tracing its paths and connections, students
can use the web to travel more easily between locations
and to other dimensions. They may seek to speak
personally with Atlach-Nacha to learn deeper secrets,
in which case they are sure to bring along a live meal
for him. As Atlach-Nacha does not enjoy distractions,
the length of the conversation is exactly as long as it
takes the Great Old One to consume the offered meal.

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The cult is far from harmless, particularly if it
focuses specifically on helping its master complete
the Forever Web. Atlach-Nacha spins the web at
locations across the universe: once it is “complete” on
a particular region or planet, that location collapses
into a singularity, destroying it utterly. Various cult
sects attempt to divert or manipulate Atlach-Nacha’s
path such that he completes the web as an act of mass
destruction against an enemy or an entire world. The
sect will defend key vulnerable portions of the web
to prevent their own destruction—at least until they
have also destroyed their enemies. They may also
seek to use the remnant of a destroyed world for their
own purposes, possibly contrary to Atlach-Nacha’s

intentions.
Atlach-Nacha sometimes gifts his venom to his
servants (see page 145).

Bokrug
Since the extermination of the beings of Ib, Bokrug’s
worship has been much reduced. While some deep
ones and gnorri may worship him with fervor, other
races worship him only to prevent his wrath.
In areas where land-dwelling races have taken over
swamps, river deltas, or seashore regions from aquatic
races, the conquerors may unfortunately find that the
defeated foe worshipped Bokrug, and the cessation of
their placating worship serves to enrage the Great Old
One. In these cases, they must constantly atone for
their sins to avert destruction, persuading Bokrug that
their worship is a suitable replacement for that of their
predecessors.
Aquatic races who serve Bokrug wield his power
against their enemies to ruin roads and break cities.
Ultimately with Bokrug’s aid, they can completely