History EldritchAbomination / TableTopGames

* In White Wolf's original ''{{World of Darkness}}'', Cosmic Horror is not the central part of the game, but the authors love to incorporate Eldritch Abominations from beyond time and space into the setting, whose presence corrupts souls, drives people insane or warps reality. Included in this list are the Wyrm and its servants from ''Werewolf: the Apocalypse'', the Nephandi and their patrons from ''Mage: the Ascension'', the Fomorians from ''Changeling: the Dreaming'', the Onceborn and Neverborn from ''Wraith: the Oblivion'' (and Grandmother from ''Orpheus''), and the Earthbound from ''Demon: the Fallen''. ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' had a lot less of this... except when the Tzimisce and Gangrel antediluvians were mentioned. One was pure Lovecraftian fleshy horror; the other had ''merged with the planet'', sinking to the core to be rocked back and forth in slumber as though it were a child in its cradle. And then there's the ''new'' World of Darkness, published as Lovecraft's works are getting more influential...
** In addition to the Wyrm, the Weaver and Wyld deserve mention. All three are incomprehensibly vast primal forces, arguably the prime movers of creation, and their conflicts with each other are all that stop any of them from bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. If each were given its way, the Wyrm would destroy everything, the Weaver would freeze everything in eternal stasis, and the Wyld would dissolve everything into perpetual chaos.
** TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse also had Nexus Crawlers, a subcategory of banes whose most powerful ability was the charm 'Warp Reality.'
** Abyssal entities from ''MageTheAwakening'' come from what could best be described as an "anti-universe," a world that lives by rules wholly antithetical to those of Earth. An Abyssal entity that's been known to sell a lot of prospective players on the setting is the Prince of 100,000 Leaves, a demon made of living anti-history whose first summoning [[RetGone rewrote history]] and spawned a cannibal cult that ''literally'' [[RetGone eats its victims out of history]] in an attempt to bring the world in line with the Prince's native timeline.
*** Truly, however, the most horrifying thing about Abyssal entities is that the idea that beings of the Abyss always take such predictable - horrifying and maddening, but predictable - forms as "monstrous, unclean abomination" is actually a comfortable lie that Mages tell themselves to hide from the fact that the Abyss is, in fact, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm in no way as banal and quantifiable as that]].
*** Oh yeah, and ''Imperial Mysteries'' has the reason why-each and every Abyssal being is [[FightingAShadow actually a resident and part]] of a Greater Abyssal Entity. You know what those are? ''[[OhCrap Semisentient stillborn universes]].'' The Prince is explicitly stated to be an example of one, with all his manifestations being him trying to replace all of reality. Now think: What kinds of beings gave birth to ''everything else'' in Intruders, since they aren't part of the Prince...?
** There's also the Nemesis Continuum. It's the [[MadScientist scientific]] CosmicHorror to the Prince's [[MadArtist perversion of the humanities]]. It's an altered set of the laws of physics. Bits of the material world it contaminates are [[RealityIsOutToLunch twisted]]; what if anything green was suddenly boiling hot, and the speed of light was slower than the speed of sound? [[ItGotWorse It gets worse.]] The Nemesis Continuum is summoned by intelligent scientists "accidentally" (the book says that most proofs are found through indirect interference by [[EldritchAbomination acamoth]]) finding a proof for it, which then becomes true. And they become obsessed with finding more proofs.
*** The best part? The Nemesis Continuum is apparently [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the physical laws of the Abyss itself]], so to fight it on its own level, ''you probably need to infect yourself with them''. By the way, [[TheVirus it's also easier for a scientist to explain and thus prove a proof once he understands it...]]
** The {{Sourcebook}} ''Summoners'' includes some other examples, such as the chthonians of the Underworld (known as the "neverborn" since they exist in the realm of the dead, but cannot be reliably said to have ever been alive) and certain Supernal beings.
*** Said Supernal beings include the [[GodInHumanForm Ochema]], avatars of the [[BigBad Exarchs]] in ''Seers Of The Throne''. [[HumanoidAbomination Sure, they look]] [[{{Pride}} (and act)]] [[HumanoidAbomination like people]], [[StarfishAliens but look at them with Mage Sight]]...Unlike many examples, this is actually because they're ''less'' corrupted than everything else: [[CrapsackWorld The Fallen World]] simply [[DivideByZero can't handle]] [[{{Heaven}} Supernal]] beings like them...Although they stay significantly longer than and don't cause unintentional damage like Abyssal creatures, since they're ''supposed'' to be a part of the natural order of reality.
** In addition to mentioning the above Chthonians, ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'' features Kerberoi -- wholly alien in mindset, bizarre in appearance, and nearly unstoppable, they exist solely to enforce the Old Laws of the Dead Domains. Geists can also border on this -- they're universally completely or near-completely alien in mindset, and varying degrees of bizarre in appearance.
*** Speaking of Kerberoi, the supplement ''Book of the Dead'' introduces the Leviathan, the Kerberos of the Ocean of Fragments, who pretty well embodies this trope. It's an [[GiantSwimmer impossibly vast sea creature]] of some sort -- it's assumed to be a [[EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopods cephalopod]], but that's just because it has tentacles; it's too big for anyone to ever see enough of it to make out its true form. Every human in the world has had nightmares of it lurking beneath them in an endless ocean, even if they've forgotten them. It cannot be killed or placated, any more than you could the tide or any other force of nature, and stats are provided solely for the purposes of escaping it or inconveniencing it enough to drive it off temporarily. Fortunately, it's rarely seen -- to the point that most people think the Dead Dominion's only other notable inhabitant, the Admiral, is actually its Kerberos.
** The [[FairFolk True Fae]] of ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'' deserve at least an honorary mention. Now, they're more recognizable than their stablemates above, capable of great {{pride}}, vanity and twisted creativity, but they are ultimately alien, incredibly powerful and terrifying beings with [[EvilCannotComprehendGood no concept of empathy, kindness or selflessness]], capable of rending souls and striking pacts with aspects of reality itself, and within their [[RealityIsOutToLunch home dimension]] they are capable of [[RealityWarper just about anything]], and can twist their kidnapped human subjects to meet their needs. That they happen to have inspired {{fairy tales}} perhaps only makes them ''more'' frightening. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel And do you wanna know how they're born?]]
*** [[spoiler: [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie No. No, you don't.]]]]
** The sourcebook ''Second Sight'' has a pretty good chapter on building your own abomination, a MisanthropeSupreme or FallenHero to serve as their high priest, and a cult to worship them. The creation example is a being of dissonant sound. (Although one suggested weakness for this being - music of unity - seemed uncannily reminiscent of ''{{Ghostbusters}} 2''.)
** BIG ''HunterTheVigil'' spoiler: [[spoiler:The Cheiron Group is run by ten of them, with [[HumanoidAbomination illusions of human beings]] to let them interact with people. It's the Storyteller's choice whether they're working to defend our world or are planning to exploit it for everything we've got.]]
** ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' has the Cold Ones, entities living at the end of time, who'd like to go back and experience things like heat and movement.
** In White Wolf's ''{{Exalted}}'', there are several vast armies of insane, unreal things positively ''itching'' to roll up reality like a carpet and devour the souls of the living. Since this is ''Exalted'', it's the player characters' job to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punch every last one of them in the face with the power of their undiluted, shiny awesomeness.]]
*** Not only are the above creatures the setting's [[TheFairFolk elves]], the Primordials ''made'' the universe, and all its gods to take care of it, so that they had time to [[MemeticMutation smoke crack.]]
*** And the Primordials that didn't get killed are now the Yozis, [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils demon-kings]] who have had their very beings turned inside out and who live in [[GeniusLoci the broken body of their leader]]. They wish to turn Creation into Hell as part of a rather demented plan to escape their prison by expanding it.
*** The Neverborn are ''dead'' Primordials that you have to meet face to architecture. Autochthon is a giant hollow machine-deity approximately the size of a planet (and he's a good guy. Sort of.) Some of the gods fall into this, including Nara-O ([[DarkIsNotEvil who's actually quite a nice guy]]).
*** The three kinds of Primordial Exalted - Alchemicals, Infernals and Abyssals - are gradually evolving into something closer to their progenitors. Alchemicals are able to turn into cities, but the others have only existed about three years and as such have had nowhere near enough time to turn into...whatever it is they end up turning into.
*** Return of the Scarlet Empress revealed Yozi Charms which define the ability of Primordials to exist in their [[GeniusLoci worldform jouten]]. Which a Green Sun Prince can learn. Which means that ''[[TranshumanAliens every Green Sun Prince is actually an infant Primordial]]''. Did we also mention that once the Exaltation shard becomes redundant, it is released to be implanted in another Infernal...?
*** Technically, ''all'' of a Primordial's jouten are defined by Charms (as are all of their capabilities and personality aspects). The most accurate way to describe a Primordial is as a sentient collection of Charms built around a central theme.
**** To up the fun, PDF supplement ''The Broken-Winged Crane'' gives the [=GSPs=] another path to transcendence, the Heresy charms. Instead of turning yourself into a world, you gain the ability to create worlds within yourself.
* The Greater Titans of ''{{Scion}}'' are beyond mortal ken. They're beyond ''divine'' ken. They are so divorced from reality [[LogicBomb (despite being incarations of its primal concepts)]] that they had to divide their power among Avatars just to have a clue what they were doing. Each one is its own internal world.
** Worst of the lot, though, is Hundun, the Titan of Chaos. It alone of the Titans couldn't be bound, for doing so requires definition - and Hundun ''cannot be defined''. An easy way to enter Hundan is to have a God become the Void, the living embodiment of all things chaotic... and then jump in.

*** While the Tyranids may seem more like a HordeOfAlienLocusts, the utterly alien nature of said HiveMind and the metaphysical effects of a Hive Fleet's presence (the Shadow in the Warp, which screws with communication, sensors and navigation and causes insanity in psychically sensitive beings) is rather telling.
**** And at one point it was hinted that they were running from [[AlwaysABiggerFish something even worse]].

*** The original {{Warhammer}} has the Gods of Law, which are arguably more inhuman and, should the unlikely case of their victory occur, will turn the world into a stillborn reality where no change of any sort occurs. This is particularly more true to [[LightIsNotGood Alluminas]], whose requirements for his worship are extremely bizarre, and who can cast a light that makes anything it touches unmoving and unchanging.

** WerewolfTheApocalypse also had Nexus Crawlers, a subcategory of banes whose most powerful ability was the charm 'Warp Reality.'

** The [[FairFolk True Fae]] of ''ChangelingTheLost'' deserve at least an honorary mention. Now, they're more recognizable than their stablemates above, capable of great {{pride}}, vanity and twisted creativity, but they are ultimately alien, incredibly powerful and terrifying beings with [[EvilCannotComprehendGood no concept of empathy, kindness or selflessness]], capable of rending souls and striking pacts with aspects of reality itself, and within their [[RealityIsOutToLunch home dimension]] they are capable of [[RealityWarper just about anything]], and can twist their kidnapped human subjects to meet their needs. That they happen to have inspired {{fairy tales}} perhaps only makes them ''more'' frightening. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel And do you wanna know how they're born?]]

* The {{Pathfinder}} system, being effectively D&D 3.75, has of course included those in its base setting, to the point of obvious AuthorAppeal. The Aboleths have an extensive undersea/underground empire [[spoiler:responsible for the rise and fall of that world's {{Atlantis}} stand-in]], and two of the basic pantheon's gods fit pretty well: Rovagug the Rough Beast, a ravenous, slavering monster whose reason for being is destroying the world, and who had to be stopped by all the other gods working together to [[SealedEvilInACan imprison him inside the Earth]] (many dying in the struggle), and who periodically disgorges horrid spawn to devastate the surface (like [[{{Kaiju}} the Tarrasque]]); and Zon-Kuthon the Midnight Lord, whose jealousy towards his half-sister drove him to a self-imposed exile in remote corners of the cosmos, from which he came back changed into a thing of darkness, pain and loss. Both tend to attract insane cultists (or to drive cultists insane, depending).

** Third: The Qlippoth are basically Obyrith with the serial numbers filed off (or rather [[OlderThanTheyThink the reverse]]; see the Obyrith entry above), and cosmology-wise, the Abyss is basically a cancerous sore that's wrapped itself around reality. And the qlippoth may just originate from whatever is beyond it...
** Fourth: Not only is there a Far Realms equivalent, called the Dark Tapestry, but it isn't very far, relatively speaking- it's actually ''outer space'', and to top it off, [[OhCrap it's the domain of literally Lovecraftian entities, Azathoth and Yog-Sothoth included]].

** Sixth, well, apart from Gugs, other Mythos creatures found their way to the setting, such as the [[BlobMonster Shoggoths]], [[ClockRoaches Hounds of Tindalos]] and [[HumanoidAbomination Denizens of Leng]]; in fact, [[EldritchLocation Leng]] is AnotherDimension that has infrequent bleedovers with Golarion, [[RealityIsOutToLunch with obvious results]].

** And, driving the trope home, increasing your Cthulhu Mythos skill ''directly'' [[DrivenToMadness reduces the extent to which]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation your lost Sanity]] can be regained.
** There's also a board game based on Call of Cthulhu called ''ArkhamHorror'' which has tokens for hit points, knowledge of other worlds, and (you guessed it) sanity. Every turn, there's a high chance of a gate opening to another universe, and as more gates open, more monsters come flooding through ... and as the game progresses, the Doom Count slowly rises. If it gets high enough, the Old One (Cthulhu or one of his cousins) appears and the players have to battle it. (Each EldritchAbomination has special powers -- Azathoth's power is "if summoned, the game is over. [[RocksFallEveryoneDies Azathoth destroys the world.]]")

** And of course, the [[CollectibleCardGame CCG]] based on Call of Cthulhu has loads as well, although it's actually possible to see a game played in which they don't appear. Just not likely. (Sanity is too valuable as an attack vector.)

** In addition to mentioning the above Cthonians, ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'' features Kerberoi -- wholly alien in mindset, bizarre in appearance, and nearly unstoppable, they exist solely to enforce the Old Laws of the Dead Domains. Geists can also border on this -- they're universally completely or near-completely alien in mindset, and varying degrees of bizarre in appearance.

** The [[FairFolk True Fae]] of ''ChangelingTheLost'' deserve at least an honorary mention. Now, they're more recognizable than their stablemates above, capable of great {{pride}}, vanity and twisted creativity, but they are ultimately alien, incredibly powerful and terrifying beings with [[EvilCannotComprehendGood no concept of empathy, kindness or selflessness]], capable of rending souls and striking pacts with aspects of reality itself, and within their [[RealityIsOutToLunch home dimension]] they are capable of [[RealityWarper just about anything]], and can twist their kidnapped human subjects to meet their needs. That they happen to have inspired fairy tales perhaps only makes them ''more'' frightening. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel And do you wanna know how they're born?]]

* In ''TheWhisperingVault'', the player characters are all minor Eldritch Abominations who act as a "police force" that apprehends and retrieves other abominations who have illicitly made their way to Earth.

**** And at one point it was hinted that they were running from something even worse.

** ''GURPS'' has a few more from diffetent settings and splatbooks: ''GURPS: Cabal'', with its cosmology based on the qabbalah's Sephirot has the creatures of Qlipoth and its Ur-Lords, ''Creatures of the Night'' has the godlike Betweeners, the force called "the darksome" which is responsible for the creation of the literal organ-farmer [[SplitPersonality Darklings]], and many of the non-undead creatures described, a few licenced settings (like ''Cthulhupunk'' and ''WarAgainstTheChtorr'') have their own native abominations, and ''Infinite Worlds'', the meta-setting that ties TheMultiverse together, not only makes ''all'' the previous settings inter-accessible, but also has at least one world (Taft-7) where humanity never evolved in the first place because of Great Old One (or similar) influence 50 million years back- and although they're long gone, they left enough "Fun Stuff" behind (and the risk of attracting their attention is great enough) for the agencies overseeing interdimensional travel to quarantine the world from any travel there whatever the reason.

** From the same setting, the ''Blood Sword'' campaign/series reveals there are others, such as a trio of truly hideous demon-things that were worshipped in the [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Middle-East equivalent]] before the spread of their [[CrystalDragonJesus Crystal Dragon Islam]], and [[EvilSorcerer the Archmagi of Krarth]], whose return from the void between the stars to their ruined fortress of Spyte heralds TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt; the battle againt just ''ONE'' is the hardest fight in the series.

* The {{Mad God}}s from ''{{Witchcraft}}''. When they intrude on our reality, they spread [[TheCorruption taint]], which causes mutations, madness and a weakening of the veil separating universes, potentially allowing more to come through. In the follow-up game ''Armageddon'', a ReligionOfEvil dedicated to one of them is currently trying to conquer the world in its name; [[ItGotWorse it's about halfway done]]. You know it's bad when most angels and demons get to the conclusion that [[EnemyMine they have to work together if they want any chance of stopping it.]]

* The ''Gumshoe System'' has openly embraced the concept for its first settings- there is of course ''TrailOfCthulhu'', their own take on the [[CthulhuMythos Mythos]], but there is also the basic campaign world for ''Esoterrorists'' and ''Fear Itself'', which they have given the [[SarcasmMode cutesy moniker]] of '''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast World of Unremitting Horror]]'''. The monsters, most of them described in the supplement ''The Book of Unremitting Horror'', are for the most part ghastly {{humanoid abomination}}s that seem straight out of one of CliveBarker's more horrifying stories, many also blurring the line with other monster types such as [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], [[TheUndead undead]] and [[TheFairFolk fairies]], the worst being {{Reality Warper}}s from "The Outer Black"; many others [[TheHeartless feed on and/or are created by the worst aspects of human nature]] (for example [[SnuffFilm the Snuff Golem]]. The entries, which include numerous fiction pieces and detailed descriptions of how to identify the things' depredations through forensic sciences all add up to some seriously HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

*** Oh, but we're not out of the woods yet, as there's an entire class of monsters based on theme, called the Unknowns .These creatures include such lovely things as [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/psychodrome.htm a creepy interdiemensional television "signal"]] [[TouchedByVorlons implied to have bounced off of]] [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/hobkin.htm a thing that's biology is]] [[BizarreAlienBiology so alien]] that nobody has the foggiest idea how the thing works, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/xenogog.htm a diver-masked thing]] that can make itself intangible at will; spawns from AlienGeometries; and can see something [[UltimateEvil so horrible in television static that it breaks the TV in fear]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/underfiend.htm a horrible thing that is pretty much the embodiment of]] NaughtyTentacles, and [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/avazoth.htm the]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/grenzo.htm Meteor]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/ziafel.htm Series]]; [[BizarreAlienBiology which aren't even technically alive]].
*** And don't forget the "honorary" Destroyer, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/necromon.htm the Necromon]]. Originally just TheSymbiote, a unique mutation caused it to grow in size and intellect until is became a PhysicalGod with control over its smaller brethren-all of which serve as AmplifierArtifacts which also were the basis for an ''entire genus'' of monsters. It's [[LawfulGood friendly]], but it says something that the ''attempted'' replication of it is a capital crime in Mortasheen, on the basis of [[GoneHorriblyWrong what happens]]. Keep in mind the these are same people who banned this ''created'' the Destroyers, so something that scares [[NightmareFetishist them]] must be ''really'' bad.

** The Epic Level handbook for 3rd edition brought us the Abominations; malformed offspring of deities which desired to destroy all reality. Among the most horrific of them are the Atropal, which are the undead remains of stillborn godlings, as well as the Dream Larvae, who transform into something so scary that it can kill you with fear instantly the first time you look at it.
*** Also in the Epic Level handbook are the pseudonatural creatures. Horrifying, tentacled, soul draining creatures from the aforementioned Far Realms the lesser of which can take on greater demons such as balors. Did I mention they're ridiculously resistant to spells? If you come across a paragon (paragon creatures are the perfect forms of a given creature) pseudonatural creature suicide is your best bet.

* ''UnknownArmies'' [[spoiler: deliberately subverts this trope, at least in a way. What's scary about the universe isn't that it's so alien and vast and inhospitable to humans. What's truly scary is that]] [[ArcWords You Did It.]]

* The ''StarWars'' RPG has the [=DarkStryder=], a self-aware supercomputer created by a {{Precursor}}-type race that has created several species of its own and looks like [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080922130707/starwars/images/6/6b/DarkStryder.jpg THIS]], and the Mnggal-Mnggal, a sentient fluid adept at [[GrandTheftMe possessing bodies]] so horrible that even the Celestials (a {{Precursor}} race even more mysterious than the [=DarkStryder=]'s creators, and believed to be nearly omnipotent) didn't want anything to do with it and sealed it away. WordOfGod from the creator of the latter abomination says it's supposed to be the same type of being as fellow ''StarWars'' abomination [[TheCrystalStar Waru]].

** In addition to mentioning the above Cthonians, ''GeistTheSinEaters'' features Kerberoi -- wholly alien in mindset, bizarre in appearance, and nearly unstoppable, they exist solely to enforce the Old Laws of the Dead Domains. Geists can also border on this -- they're universally completely or near-completely alien in mindset, and varying degrees of bizarre in appearance.

** Abyssal entities from ''[=~Mage: the Awakening~=]'' come from what could best be described as an "anti-universe," a world that lives by rules wholly antithetical to those of Earth. An Abyssal entity that's been known to sell a lot of prospective players on the setting is the Prince of 100,000 Leaves, a demon made of living anti-history whose first summoning [[RetGone rewrote history]] and spawned a cannibal cult that ''literally'' [[RetGone eats its victims out of history]] in an attempt to bring the world in line with the Prince's native timeline.

** The [[FairFolk True Fae]] of ''[=~Changeling: The Lost~=]'' deserve at least an honorary mention. Now, they're more recognizable than their stablemates above, capable of great {{pride}}, vanity and twisted creativity, but they are ultimately alien, incredibly powerful and terrifying beings with [[EvilCannotComprehendGood no concept of empathy, kindness or selflessness]], capable of rending souls and striking pacts with aspects of reality itself, and within their [[RealityIsOutToLunch home dimension]] they are capable of [[RealityWarper just about anything]], and can twist their kidnapped human subjects to meet their needs. That they happen to have inspired fairy tales perhaps only makes them ''more'' frightening. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel And do you wanna know how they're born?]]

** BIG ''[=~Hunter: The Vigil~=]'' spoiler: [[spoiler:The Cheiron Group is run by ten of them, with [[HumanoidAbomination illusions of human beings]] to let them interact with people. It's the Storyteller's choice whether they're working to defend our world or are planning to exploit it for everything we've got.]]

* ''[=~Magic: The Gathering~=]'' has the "Horror" and "Nightmare" creature types. Not all of them fall under this trope, but a fair number do. For example, the [[http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/alarareborn/oz5ev5t1ru_EN.jpg Nemesis of Reason]]. As well, there's [[http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/mtgcom/arcana1000/1119_maritlagetoken.jpg Marit Lage]], an ancient, betentacled SealedEvilInACan. The card [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=121155 Dark Depths]] allows you to ''unseal'' her.

* ''{{Nobilis}}'' has three main types. First, the True Gods- some of the earliest gods to come into being, to be found below the world in an enormous mass of tentacles and weirdness, [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence simultaneously fighting and mating with each other]]. Next, the Excrucians, beings of not-being from outside reality who aim to destroy the universe, and finally the Actuals, the precursors to the True Gods- the movement like life, before it learned to live. The Actuals are vital to the existence of reality- but if one is summoned into the world, it will consume ''everything'' in a futile attempt to attain self-awareness if it isn't stopped. The True Gods, on the other hand, could quite possibly be the guys who empower the [=PCs=].

* Spoofed in the ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' Cthulhu stand-alone ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' set and its expansion, The Great Cowthulu. It added a new dimension to the game in the form of the players being able to become cultists. And if everyone in the game became a cultist, the game was over as Cthulhu won. Also, one of the monsters featured is the very cute Chibithulu. Cthulhu also shows up as a monster in the original ''{{Game/Munchkin}}'' game (based on Dungeons and Dragons).

* Spoofed in the ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' Cthulhu stand-alone ''Game/{{Munchkin}}'' set and its expansion, The Great Cowthulu. It added a new dimension to the game in the form of the players being able to become cultists. And if everyone in the game became a cultist, the game was over as Cthulhu won. Also, one of the monsters featured is the very cute Chibithulu. Cthulhu also shows up as a monster in the original ''{{Game/Munchkin}}'' game (based on Dungeons and Dragons).

* Spoofed in the ''{{Game/Munchkin}}'' Cthulhu stand-alone ''Game/{{Munchkin}}'' set and its expansion, The Great Cowthulu. It added a new dimension to the game in the form of the players being able to become cultists. And if everyone in the game became a cultist, the game was over as Cthulhu won. Also, one of the monsters featured is the very cute Chibithulu. Cthulhu also shows up as a monster in the original ''{{Game/Munchkin}}'' game (based on Dungeons and Dragons).

*** And don't forget the "honorary" Destroyer, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/necromon.htm the Necromon]]. Originally just TheSymbiote, a unique mutation caused it to grow in size and intellect until is became a PhysicalGod with control over its smaller brethren-all of which serve as AmplifierArtifacts which also were the basis for an ''entire genus'' of monsters. It's [[LawfulGood friendly]], but it says something that the ''attempted'' replication of it is a capital crime in Mortasheen, on the basis of [[GoneHorriblyWrong what happens]]. Keep in mind the these are same people who banned this ''created'' the Destroyers, so something that scares [[NightmareFetishist them]] must be ''really'' bad.

* Well, though the RPG of {{Mortasheen}} isn't out yet, there are three creatures in the setting so powerful they might as well be some of these. Called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Destroyers]], these unfathomably powerful weapons are as follows.
** There is [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/hestermoan.htm Hestermoan]], a horrible Nuckleavee-esque monstrosity created [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel "as an instrument of genocide against an entire civilization, and so effective that their very name remains unrecoverable"]]. It is basically every variant of PlagueMaster rolled into one horrible monstrosity, including a HatePlague to boot.
** Then there is the [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/tormanshee.htm Tormanshee]], a creature that creates that can be best described as a neural network of MindRape. [[OhCrap And every mind it adds to the the network increases its horrible mind rape radius]]. Oddly enough, it is also a NonMaliciousMonster, which just serves to make it even more disturbing.
** And finally, there is [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/mothneaser.htm Mothneaser]], an enormous pillar of flesh with such perfect control over its blood that it can create massive [[ShapeshifterWeapon Shapeshifter Weapons]], enormous Blood {{Golem}}s, and even use victims as PeoplePuppets. And also, [[FromASingleCell even a single blood cell of it's can multiply inside other creatures]] [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel and consume them from the inside-out]].
*** Oh, but we're not out of the woods yet, as there's an entire class of monsters based on theme, called the Unknowns .These creatures include such lovely things as [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/psychodrome.htm a creepy interdiemensional television "signal"]] [[TouchedByVorlons implied to have bounced off of]] [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/hobkin.htm a thing that's biology is]] [[BizarreAlienBiology so alien]] that nobody has the foggiest idea how the thing works, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/xenogog.htm a diver-masked thing]] that can make itself intangible at will; spawns from AlienGeometries; and can see something [[UltimateEvil so horrible in television static that it breaks the TV in fear]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/underfiend.htm a horrible thing that is pretty much the embodiment of]] NaughtyTentacles, and [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/avazoth.htm the]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/grenzo.htm Meteor]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/ziafel.htm Series]]; [[BizarreAlienBiology which aren't even technically alive]].
*** And don't forget the "honorary" Destroyer, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/necromon.htm the Necromon]]. Originally just TheSymbiote, a unique mutation caused it to grow in size and intellect until is became a PhysicalGod with control over its smaller brethren-all of which serve as AmplifierArtifacts which also were the basis for an ''entire genus'' of monsters. It's [[LawfulGood friendly]], but it says something that the ''attempted'' replication of it is a capital crime in Mortasheen, on the basis of [[GoneHorriblyWrong what happens]]. Keep in mind the these are same people who banned this ''created'' the Destroyers, so something that scares [[NightmareFetishist them]] must be ''really'' bad.

* The ''StarWars'' RPG has the [=DarkStryder=], a self-aware supercomputer created by a {{Precursor}}-type race that has created several species of its own and looks like [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080922130707/starwars/images/6/6b/DarkStryder.jpg THIS]], and the Mnggal-Mnggal, a sentient fluid adept at [[GrandTheftMe possessing bodies]] so horrible that even the Celestials (a {{Precursor}} race even more mysterious than the [=DarkStryder=]'s creators, and believed to be nearly omnipotent) didn't want anything to do with it and sealed it away. WordOfGod from the creator of the latter abomination says it's supposed to be the same type of being as fellow ''StarWars'' abomination [[TheCrystalStar Waru]].

*** Oh, but we're not out of the woods yet, as there's an entire class of mosnters based on theme, called the Unknowns .These creatures include such lovely things as [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/psychodrome.htm a creepy interdiemensional television "signal"]] [[TouchedByVorlons implied to have bounced off of]] [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/hobkin.htm a thing that's biology is]] [[BizarreAlienBiology so alien]] that nobody has the foggiest idea how the thing works, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/xenogog.htm a diver-masked thing]] that can make itself intangible at will; spawns from AlienGeometries; and can see something [[UltimateEvil so horrible in television static that it breaks the TV in fear]], [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/underfiend.htm a horrible thing that is pretty much the embodiment of]] NaughtyTentacles, and [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/avazoth.htm the]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/grenzo.htm Meteor]] [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/ziafel.htm Series]]; [[BizarreAlienBiology which aren't even technically alive]].
*** And don't forget the "honorary" Destroyer, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/necromon.htm the Necromon]]. Originally just TheSymbiote, a unique mutation caused it to grow in size and intellect until is became a PhysicalGod with control over it's smaller brethren-all of which serve as AmplifierArtifacts which also were the basis for an ''entire genus'' of monsters. It's [[LawfulGood friendly]], but it says something that the ''attempted'' replication of it is a capital crime in Mortasheen, on the basis of [[GoneHorriblyWrong what happens]]. Keep in mind the these are same people who banned this ''created'' the Destroyers, so something that scares [[NightmareFetishist them]] must be ''really'' bad.

*** And don't forget the "honorary" Destroyer, [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/necromon.htm the Nercomon]]. Originally just TheSymbiote, a unique mutation caused it to grow in size and intellect until is became a PhysicalGod with control over it's smaller brethren-all of which serve as AmplifierArtifacts which also were the basis for an ''entire genus'' of monsters. It's [[LawfulGood friendly]], but it says something that the ''attempted'' replication of it is a capital crime in Mortasheen, on the basis of [[GoneHorriblyWrong what happens]]. Keep in mind the these are same people who banned this ''created'' the Destroyers, so something that scares [[NightmareFetishist them]] must be ''really'' bad.

** One of Pegasus' signature monsters, [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Relinquished Relinquished]] could also qualify. It's main gimmick is assimilating an enemy monster into its body, taking on its stats, and using it as a meatshield in the event that it might be destroyed.

* The ''Gumshoe System'' has openly embraced the concept for its first settings- there is of course ''TrailOfCthulhu'', their own take on the [[CthulhuMythos Mythos]], but there is also the basic campaign world for ''Esoterrorists'' and ''Fear Itself'', which they have given the [[SarcasmMode cutesy moniker]] of '''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast World of Unremitting Horror]]'''. The monsters, most of them described in the supplement ''The Book of Unremitting Horror'', are for the most part ghastly {{humanoid abomination}}s that seem straight out of one of CliveBarker's more horrifying stories, many also blurring the line with other monster types such as [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], [[TheUndead undead]] and [[TheFairFolk fairies]], the worst being {{Reality Warper}}s from "The Outer Black"; many others [[TheHeartless feed on and/or are created by the worst aspects of human nature]] (for example [[SnuffFilm the Snuff Golem]]. The entries, which include numerous fiction pieces and detailed descriptions of how to identify the things' depredations through forensic sciences all add up to some seriously HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

*** The best part? The Nemesis Continuum is apparently [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the physical laws of the Abyss itself]], so to fight it on its own level, ''[[ZeroSumGame you probably need to infect yourself with them]]''. By the way, [[TheVirus it's also easier for a scientist to explain and thus prove a proof once he understands it...]]

* EclipsePhase: Encountering ''any'' alien life triggers a stress check, and the only canon sapient species that transhumanity has contacted resemble [[StarfishAliens giant slime molds]]. And then there's the [[DeusEstMachina Seed AI]] that can potentially achieve god-like intelligence and the effects of some strains of the [[TheVirus Exsurgent virus]] are [[{{Understatement}} not]] [[BodyHorror pretty]].

** The sourcebook ''Second Sight'', whatever its [[ScienceIsBad other]] [[BrokenAesop issues]], does have a pretty good chapter on building your own abomination, a MisanthropeSupreme or FallenHero to serve as their high priest, and a cult to worship them. The creation example is a being of dissonant sound. (Although one suggested weakness for this being - music of unity - seemed uncannily reminiscent of ''{{Ghostbusters}} 2''.)

* [[{{Precursors}} The Ancients]] in ''{{Traveller}}''. [[spoiler:Especially Grandfather, who uplifted the rest, and exterminated them by himself after [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they outlived their usefulness]].

** ''[[GeniusTheTransgression Genius: The Transgression]]'' has the Cold Ones, entities living at the end of time, who'd like to go back and experience things like heat and movement.