Sandy petersens cthulhu mythos 184

VII Cults
the high-born, undermine important religious

in underground caverns or windowless structures. As

or social leaders, or blackmail the mighty.

the Haunter of the Dark, he creates cults which are

The Black Man
Nyarlathotep can choose to take the form of an
ordinary human with flesh, eyes, teeth, and nails of
blackest pitch. In this form, he presides at the meetings
of witches and wizards that worship him. The Black
Man has no true cult in the sense of an organization,
but his awakened followers occasionally work together
to learn spells and secrets from the god.

The Bloated Woman
In this form, Nyarlathotep eschews cult worship

(at least on the surface) respectable religions. They
may have structures built right in the middle of cities,
where all can see them, and present the semblance of
legitimate faith whilst hiding their true nature. Most
of the rituals and services do not invoke the Haunter
directly but instead focus upon its emblem: a Shining
Trapezohedron (page 169). Even the trapezohedron
need not be physically exposed to the congregation’s
eyes. It can be kept inside a container or a statue, and
thus even many of the actual cultists are deceived as to

the true nature of their faith.

in favor of a small group of devoted followers. They

The Haunter likes to prey physically upon his

are secretive and operate outside normal society, in a

own cultists, to keep them from straying or simply

somewhat similar fashion to the more cerebral followers

as a terrifying surprise for them. This partially sates

of the Shadow Pharaoh, but the Bloated Woman’s

Nyarlathotep’s need not only for devastation but also

followers are emotional, instinctive, and radical.

for human madness and terror.

‘‘ Berserker Frenzy: Cultists are unable to resist
the Bloated Woman’s every whim and madly

The Haunter offers a significant and ruthless
benefit for his cultists.

seek out her favor. They will do anything to be

‘‘ The Haunter Strikes: On moonless nights, the

once more permitted into her presence, and so

priests can send forth the Haunter to destroy

are the most loyal of fanatics. When prevented

those who oppose them. When used to find

from serving her, they fly into mad rages.

information about a victim of the Haunter,

‘‘ Contagious Madness: The Bloated

divination spells and even direct communion

Woman's contagious madness is similar to

with one’s god are limited by the Haunter’s power.

that brought about by the Shadow Pharaoh,

Anyone trying to find out what caused a person’s

except that the mob tends to be more focused

death can only learn that it was the Haunter of

on killing people en masse, rather than

the Dark, but not who sent forth the Haunter

vandalizing structures. The Bloated Woman

or for what reason it was done. Nyarlathotep’s

herself presides over the destruction.

power absorbs any other attempts to uncover

The Haunter of the Dark
In this form, Nyarlathotep can only exist in the
absence of light, so he typically makes his appearance

the nature of his cult. He can even block wishes
and other powerful means of discovery. Cultists
thus have a useful means of murder at a distance,
which cannot readily be traced back to them.

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