Lovecraftian Superpower Ideas

So I'm working on a story where all the superpowered characters, both heros and villains, have Lovecraftian Superpowers which manifest in their usual way. Problem is that I can't think of more than two, which I've already given to two of the main characters.

The first protagonist has control over the muscles (and bones to a lesser extent) of himself and others and can turn into a fleshles human covered in bone plating.

The second protagonist possess a split lower jaw that extends to his chest and is lined with pointed teeth, and has multiple tentacle like tongues.

I need other ideas for powers, suggestions appreciated.

edited 14th Jun '13 9:54:39 AM by DarkbloodCarnagefang

Combat Tentacles? The trope page for Lovecraftian Superpower suggests them. You could also have a character spit some kind of vile fluid.

Combat Tentacles is obvious, so I'm saving if for another character when I can think of one.

A vile fluid? What do you mean?

Some suggestions:

Moving through eldritch geometries, which allows a form of "teleportation" or "vanishing" by taking directions not available to others.

Spawning small, horrid, malformed creatures under the control of the spawner; perhaps having them drop from the character's mouth.

Inflicting temporary insanity on others; perhaps the user is insane themselves, and only ever experiences sanity when inflicting insanity on others.

I like those ideas

Moving through spaces people normal can't is actually something that appears in the Cthulhu Mythos, as an ability for the Hounds of Tindalos

Second idea is also cool, though I'd have to put some thought about what comes out. Like, little tentacled slime creatures or masses of tentacles of something like that.

Third idea is awesome, though I prefer the insanity control aspect over gaining sanity for inflicting insanity aspect.

Telekinetic control of, as well as the ability to remotely accelerate growth of, hair. So you can just make body hair start flowing out of other people's pores at inches a second and then strangle them with it, all without touching them.

Interesting. Killing people with hair is certainly horrifying, but not having to touch them seems a little overpowered.

How about some sort of starfish regeneration ability? Like, if they lose a limb it will regrow eventually but the cut off limb still retains life and attempts to regrow a body as well. To make it more creepy, perhaps the limbs don't always regrow correctly resulting in slightly mutated limbs on the original owner or, in the case of a disembodied limb, a stunted, grotesque body. The 'spawn' of the original could be under its psychic control or something.

Really you could get lots of ideas just by studying insects or marine creatures.

That sounds perfect

I should probably look into doing that research.

I actualy like idea about gaining sanity for inflicting insanity. Pushing your burdens un someone else sounds like a realy vile and selfish power. And it gives opportunities for character development, some twists and non straightforward confrontations.

Call Cthulhu.

Game over.

I guess you have a point about that, an interesting way to work with the characters and such

Not exactly a superpower...

Expanding on the vile liquid one, you could have the liquid be some kind of mutagen that transforms creatures it touches into eldritch horrors. And you can combine AT's idea of spawning horrid creatures with the Chest Bursters from the Alien series.

EDIT: Oh wait, there's already a trope for that.

edited 16th Jun '13 7:59:51 AM by Elfhunter

Mutagenic fluid? Doesn't sound very eldritch to be honest, but I could work it in I guess.

What if a person seems to use fire as elemental power but actually it's burning body fat ejaculated from the person's hand?

the ability to inflict a feeling of nameless dread on others, being a Humanoid Abomination who can disguise himself as a normal human, being able to draw acute angles that act obtuse and cause madness while casting magic... there's an awful lot you can get from Lovecraft himself.

Eating gangrenous flesh and then gaining the ability to produce a bezoar - or simply vomiting on them works just as well - that can inflict an accelerated form of gangrene onto someone which of course can't be cured by mundane medicine. Said ability could also extend to other diseases. You can torture the poor idiot who has this power by giving him a lust for diseased flesh and a discomfort for physical contact since he can either see people as potential food or sense whatever lingering illnesses they have lurking under their flesh. The diseases don't necessarily have to be ones that commonly afflict humans either. Giving a man a disease that only afflicts reptiles would be a good way to creep out a room full of doctors.

EDIT: The bezoars could also be sentient and malicious. They could become more and more like animals/demons as time goes on, growing larger and larger. The character could also store them in jars full of brine in the same manner a cabinet of curiosities would store pickled punks (Google it if you're not faint of heart, use Wikipedia otherwise) and the like. They could even be terrors from beyond or what not.

edited 17th Jun '13 8:27:33 AM by LonelyLion

The ability to be a color that normal humans should not be able to see—but do anyway, with reactions ranging from vague uneasiness to abject terror. Worse, if the user stands still for a while, the effect spreads like a puddle around them despite no actual fluid being involved.

I've got one that sounds goofy but can be very horrifying.

When the character appears, his theme music starts playing. Even if this isn't audio fiction (like literature), a horrifying music is still described to fill the air.

Said theme music causes both physical body damage and mind rape to anyone who hears it (Or to make it even worse, it mutates those who hear it into Lovecraftian Horrors).

Worst of all, the poor guy doesn't know why the world around him is turning into a madhouse.

(This power is used by one of my fictional villains, but it's free-source)

edited 23rd Jun '13 7:55:53 PM by ironcommando

Lovecraft has an awful lot of maddening supernatural angles throughout his work, so drawing similar angles would be considered a lovecraftian superpower.

^In the most literal sense of the trope, yes, but that probably has nothing to do with the character's body.

Unless the character's body itself contains Alien Geometries...

Armor made from blood and flesh? OTHER people's blood and flesh in addition to his own?

Edit: saw that my idea is already up there

edited 21st Mar '14 5:58:34 AM by Ninjaxenomorph

Actually be a shoggoth in disguise.

How about projecting the appearance of Alien Geometries onto peoples' surroundings, so a typical room becomes a mind-bending, endless maze of shifting dimensions?

A diseased cyst beneath a visible mark on the skin, which can be used for tracking and identification.

The memory of their appearance in the minds of others is a part of them, and they can act through these remembrances of themself to alter memories or simply to communicate.