Mu: Shadows of Ghatanothoa

Let's head into the new year--and a new burst of productivity--with some new material for Mu using the Eldritch Tales rules involving the terrible god of Mount Yaddith-Gho, Ghatanothoa.

Slaves of Ghatanothoa:

AC: 3 [16]
HD: 3
Save: 16
Move: 6
Morale: 1
Level/XP:  4/120
Insanity: -1/1/1d3
Attacks: Claws+3, 1d6
Special: Ghatanothoa Curse, Immune to Sleep or Charm.

Sight of the god, or its image, as all the legends of the Yuggoth-spawn agreed, meant paralysis and petrifaction of a singularly shocking sort, in which the victim was turned to stone and leather on the outside, while the brain within remained perpetually alive—horribly fixed and prisoned through the ages, and maddeningly conscious of the passage of interminable epochs of helpless inaction till chance and time might complete the decay of the petrified shell and leave it exposed to die. 

--H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald, Out of the Aeons

The poor wretches unfortunate enough to gaze upon the fell form of Ghatanothoa, the God of Mount Yaddith-Gho, are doomed to to a grisly fate of living death. Their still-living brains trapped in a prison of desiccated and petrified flesh and bone. However the priests and sorcerers devoted to the Mountain God have found a use for these poor souls.

Created by the spell "Awaken Slaves of Ghatanothoa" (see below), these shambling creatures obey the commands of the caster without question or pause. Their leathery skin and sinew make them exceedingly tough, and the tips of their shriveled fingers are razor sharp. Worse, someone wounded by these talons must make a saving throw or they themselves will surfer Ghatanothoa's Cruse, becoming a petrified mummy within 1d3 rounds. Anyone seeing this horrific transformation must make a saving throw vs. insanity or gain 1 insanity. Only very powerful magical intervention can save the victim from this end.

Awaken Slaves of Ghatanothoa:

Spell Level: 5
Learn Spell: -2
Casting Time: 2 Rounds
Spell Check: Intelligence -2
Range: 20 ft.
Duration: Permanent until broken.
Failure: All Slaves within the spell range awaken and attack the operator until either the Slaves or the operator are slain.

This spell activates all dormant mummies petrified by Ghatanothoa's Curse within the range of the operator. The awakened Slaves will obey the operator until they are destroyed or willingly released by the Operator.

The Amulet of T'yog

So T’yog wrote his protective formula on a scroll of pthagon membrane (according to von Junzt, the inner skin of the extinct yakith-lizard) and enclosed it in a carven cylinder of lagh metal—the metal brought by the Elder Ones from Yuggoth, and found in no mine of earth. This charm, carried in his robe, would make him proof against the menace of Ghatanothoa—it would even restore the Dark God’s petrified victims if that monstrous entity should ever emerge and begin its devastations.

--H.P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald, Out of the Aeons

Created by T'yog of K'naa, the ancient Naacal sorcerer-priest of Shub Niggurath, this powerful amulet can protect the bearer from the petrifying effects of Ghatanothoa's Curse. Also, if touched to the Mountain God's mummified victims, the amulet will restore them to full life and vigor. However, depending on how long they've been cursed, their sanity might not be intact.

As far as we know, only one of these potent talismans were ever created. It was stolen by T'yog's rival, Immash-Mo, the High Priest of the Temple of Ghatanothoa, and is believed to have been lost with the destruction of Mu.  

Creatures of Mu: Spawn of Yuggoth

Spawn of Yuggoth:

Hit Dice: 2
Armor Class:  9 [10]
Attacks: 2 x Pincers (1d4)
Saving Throw:  16
Special: Fear, Flight, Greater Than Human Intelligence, Weapons Resistance (See Below)
Move: 4/10 (flying)
Challenge Level/XP: 6/240

These bizarre aliens resemble nothing less than pinkish, man-sized crustaceans with a convoluted, pulpy ovoid mass covered in short cilia and antenna answering for a head. Large membranous wings sprout from their back and they have several sets of insectile limbs protruding from its underbelly. Composed of matter beyond normal human understanding and possessing an anatomy that is more fungoid than animal, they are quite resilient to damage from physical attacks. Any non-magical weapon does the minimal amount (plus any Strength bonuses) possible. They are capable of communicating with humans through a buzzing parody of our speech.

Their main abode in our solar system is a distant, dark, dwarf planet called “Yuggoth” by some priests and arcane scholars, is only a small colony of a larger interstellar civilization. Eons earlier, the Spawn of Yuggoth came to Earth and built a great city around Mount Yaddith-Gho where they mined the volcano for rare elements. With them, they brought the Great Old One, Ghatanothoa , which they kept within their mountain colony for some unguessable purpose. After many millennia, the Spawn's colony became deserted; some believe they died out, others say it was abandoned.

While they can also be adept spellcasters, paying homage to Shub Niggurath and The Crawling Chaos when their uneartlhy designs require it, their scientific knowledge is vast. Artifacts from their reign are highly prized by scholars and sorcerers, particularly the magical lagh metal which only a few human artisans have learned to sculpt and smith into weapons or other devices.

Creatures of Mu: Crypt Dwellers (Ghouls)

Crypt Dwellers (i.e. Ghouls):

Hit Dice: 2

Armor Class: 7

Attacks: 2 Claws (1d4), 1 bite (1d4)

Saving Throw: 16

Special: Fear

Move: 9

Challenge Level/XP 3/60

These bestial, nocturnal. humanoids are marked by their canine features, hoofed feet, and fore claws. As carrion-eaters with a taste for putrescent human flesh, they haunt burial grounds and live in subterranean crypts and tunnel systems under major cities. They have no difficulty speaking Naacal and other human languages and communicate with each other in their gibbering, meeping tongue.

While they can be vicious opponents who will occasionally attack humans, Crypt Dwellers are not necessary inimical. Crypt Dwellers have been discovered in the service of powerful sorcerers, and some have even been employed to guard the tombs of powerful priests and nobles in exchange for being allowed to feast upon the bones of lesser personages. They have even been known to assist human adventurers with whom they find common cause. Human's who are welcomed to live in their warrens have a tendency to slowly mutate into Crypt Dwellers over time. However, for the most part, they just wish to be left alone.

(Note: The Nacaal would not use the word “Ghoul” since that name is derived from Arabic, a language that will not be uttered for thousands of years to come. Terms like “Crypt Dweller,” “Carrion Eaters,” “Grave Kin” and other similar phrases are the most common names given these creatures.)

Creatures of Mu: Deep Ones

Here we're going to start to translate some of the more popular Lovecraftian creatures into stats for the Swords & Wizardry version of my Mu Campaign. I'm using Chaosium's classic Call of Cthulhu as a guide for conversion as well as S&W's monster creation rules to help create the stats. First off, let's look at those ichthyic servants of Great Cthulhu, the Deep Ones:

Deep One:

Hit Dice: 2
Armor Class 6 [13]
Attacks: 2 claws (1d4) or weapon (1d8)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Breathes Water, Fear
Move: 6/12 (Swimming)
Challenge Level/XP: 4/120

These amphibious humanoids resemble nothing less than an obscene melding of fish, frog, and man. They tend to be gray-green with pale bellies and their long, webbed hands with razor sharp claws, scaly backs and palpitating gills slits on the sides of their necks. They are superb swimmers, but can walk on land by lopping and hoping about. Their glassy eyes never shut and their croaking, baying voices are capable of generating human speech.

Despite their obvious genetic differences, the Deep Ones are somehow capable of interbreeding with humans. At first, such hybrid offspring would initially appear human, but upon reaching adulthood will slowly begin to change into a Deep One, eventually forsaking the land joining their fellows beneath the seas. Unless killed through violence, Deep Ones are virtually immortal, dwelling for centuries in their undersea cities and praying monstrously to Cthulhu and his cohort's Da'gun and Hi'dra. They yearn for the day when they will rise up and overthrow the simian surface dwellers, paving the way for the return of their slumbering lord. They often target desperate coastal communities, offering plentiful fishing and gold in exchange for devotion to Great Cthulhu, human sacrifices, and breeding stock.