Sandy petersens cthulhu mythos 179

Black Goat Cult
Shub-Niggurath resembles a perverted fertility goddess,

Depravity can be found everywhere, and the Goat is

and her cultists follow her example. They revel in lust

flexible and undiscriminating.

and gluttony and often react with anger and aggression,

Typically, the cult leaders of the Goat are not

and while they are not necessarily stupid, their raw

human: Shub-Niggurath prefers dark young, fungi

emotions rule rather than intellect. Their cult rituals

from Yuggoth, ghouls, and other monstrous forces to

seem like bloodthirsty orgies to outsiders. Their own

lead the lesser human mob. Monstrous minions are

lives no longer matter, as they are caught up in service

often more reliable, particularly compared to the bulk

to the goddess and her needs.

of human cultists whose minds are often warped by

Many of her cultists are lowly deviants, rejected from

the orgies and rituals of the Black Goat’s worship. Also,

society as perverts or lunatics. Higher class devotees

if and when the authorities descend upon such a cult,

often start out as dilettantes and hedonists, but soon

seeding the ranks with monstrous combatants helps

make the changeover to full, paranoid madness. Most

the cult survive. The mi-go make particularly effective

members eventually become depraved and licentious

masters of these cults, infusing the organization with

serial killers.

their alien technology and using the mad humans for

Though insane, cultists of the Black Goat generally

breeding purposes.

manage to keep their madness under wraps most of

Some cults of the Black Goat are able to take

the time, allowing them to appear more or less normal

over entire communities. In these cases, they often

around others. They live a secret life, in which they are

encourage or force most community members to cross-

devoted to the Goat, alongside a normal life, in which

breed with satyrs and other monsters and drink of

their neighbors and friends may have no idea about the

the mother’s milk, thus devolving into monstrosities

awful horrors beneath the surface.

themselves. In due course, entire villages of monsters

Like other Mythos sects, the cultists of the Black

can arise in which everyone is a Mythos satyr, ghoul,

Goat are not focused on any kind of coherent afterlife:

or other hybrid. Of course, the most deformed villagers

their reward is in the here and now. Indeed, the cult’s

stay in hiding except after dark, while those who look

massive orgies are their reward for worship. Finding

more normal wear clothing to attempt to conceal their

new members increases the pleasure and depth of

true natures. If the cult is careful, other folks may

these demented worship services, in which the awful

travel through or even visit the cursed land and never

offspring of the Black Goat take full part. Constantly

know the truth.

seeking new meat for their goddess’s pleasure, cultists
evangelize and lure unsuspecting recruits deeper into
the mysteries with promises of increasingly intense
carnality.
Sometimes cultists are able to build up a cult in a
city or developed area, while other times they restrict
their activities to the woodlands and wilderness.

Black Goat Cult Gifts

‘‘ Fertility: The cultists' fields, animals, and
even their persons are all subject to the
influence of Shub-Niggurath’s horrific fertility
powers. Their cattle might all birth triplets.
Of course, those triplets are likely to be twoheaded or otherwise deformed, but they are
still useful for milking and slaughter.

172