Elder God (Cthulhu mythos) - Revision history

Ywhateley: Categorization.

2022-07-10T07:42:21Z

Categorization.

Ywhateley: Formatting.

2018-10-28T17:34:24Z

Formatting.

Innsbruck at 23:51, 7 March 2016

2016-03-07T23:51:39Z

Innsbruck at 16:43, 7 March 2016

2016-03-07T16:43:59Z

DoubleYuggoth: fixed links

2009-05-07T08:51:13Z

fixed links

Evans: testing catergory

2008-12-21T11:55:50Z

testing catergory

Willpell at 10:56, 21 June 2008

2008-06-21T10:56:59Z

New page

The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity. Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent. At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.

The only Elder God described explicitly by [[Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]". This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.

[[August Derleth]]'s version of the Mythos, being inspired by Christianity and intended to reflect a belief that good can triumph over evil (sharply at odds with Lovecraft's view that the cosmos was too inherently perilous for humans to ever consider themselves safe), used the Elder Gods as his forces of good, manifest primarily through the [[Elder Sign]]s which can keep the Mythos's forces at bay. It is possible that he intended [[Cthugha]] to be an Elder God, as the protagonist of "[[The Dweller in Darkness]]" summons Cthugha to dispatch a manifestation of [[Nyarlathotep]]; however it is more likely that this was due to Derleth's other controversial view of the Great Old Ones, that they were [[elemental]] creatures and could be set against each other due to their polarity. Later writers have invariably described Cthugha as a Great Old One.

[[Brian Lumley]]'s Mythos writings resemble Derleth's in their use of benevolent Elder Gods; his flagship character [[Titus Crow]] makes contact with an Elder God called [[Kthanid]] and is tasked with opposing Cthulhu. Kthanid is Cthulhu's "brother" (whether in the conventional human definition or a more arcane sense) and appears exactly the same as Cthulhu save for having humanlike eyes and a benevolent persona.

Only a few other Elder Gods have been described, notably [[Henry Kuttner]]'s [[Vorvadoss]], a being who appears as a vague, nonhumanlike face behind a wall of fire, and displays a temper only barely less malevolent than that of many Great Old Ones.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:42, 10 July 2022
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	Only a few other Elder Gods have been described, notably [[Henry Kuttner]]'s [[Vorvadoss]], a being who appears as a vague, nonhumanlike face behind a wall of fire, and displays a temper only barely less malevolent than that of many Great Old Ones.		Only a few other Elder Gods have been described, notably [[Henry Kuttner]]'s [[Vorvadoss]], a being who appears as a vague, nonhumanlike face behind a wall of fire, and displays a temper only barely less malevolent than that of many Great Old Ones.
	[[Category:Mythos:Entities]]		[[Category:Mythos:Entities]]
		+	[[Category:DerlethMythos]]
		+	__NOTOC__

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 The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]".  This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.
-[[August Derleth]]'s version of the Mythos, being inspired by Christianity and intended to reflect a belief that good can triumph over evil (sharply at odds with Lovecraft's view that the cosmos was too inherently perilous for humans to ever consider themselves safe), used the Elder Gods as his forces of good, manifest primarily through the [[Elder Sign]]s which can keep the Mythos's forces at bay.  It is possible that he intended [[Cthugha]] to be an Elder God, as the protagonist of "[[The Dweller in Darkness]]" summons Cthugha to dispatch a manifestation of [[Nyarlathotep]]; however it is more likely that this was due to Derleth's other controversial view of the Great Old Ones, that they were [[elemental]] creatures and could be set against each other due to their polarity.  Later writers have invariably described Cthugha as a Great Old One.
+[[August Derleth]]'s version of the Mythos, being inspired by Christianity and intended to reflect a belief that good can triumph over evil (sharply at odds with Lovecraft's view that the cosmos was too inherently perilous for humans to ever consider themselves safe), used the Elder Gods as his forces of good, manifest primarily through the [[Elder Sign (symbol)|Elder Sign]]s which can keep the Mythos's forces at bay.  It is possible that he intended [[Cthugha]] to be an Elder God, as the protagonist of "[[The Dweller in Darkness]]" summons Cthugha to dispatch a manifestation of [[Nyarlathotep]]; however it is more likely that this was due to Derleth's other controversial view of the Great Old Ones, that they were [[elemental]] creatures and could be set against each other due to their polarity.  Later writers have invariably described Cthugha as a Great Old One.
 [[Brian Lumley]]'s Mythos writings resemble Derleth's in their use of benevolent Elder Gods; his flagship character [[Titus Crow]] makes contact with an Elder God called [[Kthanid]] and is tasked with opposing Cthulhu.  Kthanid is Cthulhu's "brother" (whether in the conventional human definition or a more arcane sense) and appears exactly the same as Cthulhu save for having humanlike eyes and a benevolent persona.

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:51, 7 March 2016
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−	The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones (~~Dieties~~)\|Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity. Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent. At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.	+	The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones (Deities)\|Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity. Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent. At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.

	The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft\|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]". This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)\|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.		The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft\|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]". This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)\|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:43, 7 March 2016
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity. Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent. At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.	+	The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos. They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones (Dieties)\|Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity. Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent. At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.

	The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft\|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]". This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)\|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.		The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft\|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]". This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)\|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:55, 21 December 2008
Line 8:		Line 8:

	Only a few other Elder Gods have been described, notably [[Henry Kuttner]]'s [[Vorvadoss]], a being who appears as a vague, nonhumanlike face behind a wall of fire, and displays a temper only barely less malevolent than that of many Great Old Ones.		Only a few other Elder Gods have been described, notably [[Henry Kuttner]]'s [[Vorvadoss]], a being who appears as a vague, nonhumanlike face behind a wall of fire, and displays a temper only barely less malevolent than that of many Great Old Ones.
		+	[[Category:Mythos:Entities]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The Elder Gods are immortal entities in the Cthulhu Mythos.  They are generally distinguished from the [[Outer Gods]] or [[Great Old Ones]] by being less unbearable to behold (some choose to appear as humanlike figures, though their majesty is still awe-inspiring and humbling to mere mortals), and by being less generally inimical to humanity.  Some Elder Gods are known to help human beings who have dabbled in the Mythos return to relative safety (though never to an untroubled psyche); it would however be a mistake to assume they are inevitably benevolent.  At best, they are still vastly superior to humans and have minds and motivations beyond human understanding; their seeming friendliness may well be coincidental, or due to reasons humans cannot fathom.
-The only Elder God described explicitly by [[Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]".  This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.
+The only Elder God described explicitly by [[H. P. Lovecraft|Lovecraft]] himself was [[Nodens]], "hoary and terrible lord of the primeval [[Abyss]]".  This title implies that Lovecraft didn't consider Nodens any friend of humanity; however, later writers including the authors of the [[Call of Cthulhu (RPG)|Call of Cthulhu]] roleplaying game have assumed him to be uninterested in attacking humans and portrayed him as occasionally aiding travelers stranded in alien dimensions to return to Earth or escape marauding monsters.
 [[August Derleth]]'s version of the Mythos, being inspired by Christianity and intended to reflect a belief that good can triumph over evil (sharply at odds with Lovecraft's view that the cosmos was too inherently perilous for humans to ever consider themselves safe), used the Elder Gods as his forces of good, manifest primarily through the [[Elder Sign]]s which can keep the Mythos's forces at bay.  It is possible that he intended [[Cthugha]] to be an Elder God, as the protagonist of "[[The Dweller in Darkness]]" summons Cthugha to dispatch a manifestation of [[Nyarlathotep]]; however it is more likely that this was due to Derleth's other controversial view of the Great Old Ones, that they were [[elemental]] creatures and could be set against each other due to their polarity.  Later writers have invariably described Cthugha as a Great Old One.