Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, and Their Ilk The universe is ruled by entities known variously as ripple and flow The entity itself violates previously- the Great Old Ones, Old Ones, Ancient Ones, Outer solid states of matter and mind The whole world Gods, Elder Gods, Other Gods, and similar terms All goes mad, at least locally In essence, the Great Old the races and beings of the Mythos are aware of these Ones (or Other Gods, or Elder Gods, etc.) act as an entities—some view them as equals, some treat them environmental effect Typically, adventurers can hope as enemies, and some even worship them Many have only to escape the effect somehow, and rarely they cults among humanity or other races, which serve these achieve a victory greater than survival beings in hopes of terrible returns The different titles by which these eldritch beings Ones and their kind not act as if they are monsters are known usually represent different types or orders They don’t have hit points or armor classes or attacks in of power For example, the Outer Gods or Other Gods the normal sense, though their powers may mimic some are of cosmic interdimensional import Many of them of these characteristics For example, in many cases, are blind and idiotic, though this does not diminish inflicting damage will not harm a Great Old One but their power The Outer Gods are linked together in can help dispel a Great Old One’s local presence some way unknowable to mortals, and their chief is the Daemon Sultan Azathoth When certain events transpire in our universe, the Outer Gods are disturbed, and they send Nyarlathotep or another envoy to inspect the disturbance Reading an Elder Influence Stat Block Each of the powerful entities presented in the following pages are summarized in the same way—with an The entities known as Great Old Ones appear to “Elder Influence stat block.” These stats not present be enormous and influential alien beings, rather than the entities as monsters per se (although in many cases, cosmic principles Each Great Old One is autonomous: certain aspects of an Elder Influence utilize monsters they are not connected like the Outer Gods, and they as effects), but are more akin to hostile environments sometimes view each other with hostility All Great An Elder Influence can manifest in the world in any Old Ones violate the natural laws of the universe, and number of ways—perhaps as the result of a powerful have achieved their supreme power in different ways ritual performed by a group of insane cultists, or maybe The famed being known as Cthulhu is itself a Great simply because the adventurers couldn’t resist opening Old One a forbidden locked door beyond which the Elder There exist numerous and complex tiers of entities of 204 The important thing to remember is that Great Old Influence was housed various sorts, as noted below in the various descriptions Note that the advent of Elder Influences should of these beings What unites them all is the great be significant events in your campaign, preferably danger they pose not only to adventurers, kingdoms, the climax of a long series of events or adventures and the world, but to all the multiverse The methods by which an Elder Influence can be When an unfortunate party of adventurers runs into established in your world are left deliberately nebulous, one of these terrible beings, the result is nothing like a so that individual GMs can allow them to manifest in typical battle or conventional encounter Natural laws whatever way makes sense for their campaigns Perhaps