MAGIC & MANUSCRIPTS a prayer, intended to be chanted rather than canines in myths and legends. Topics include simply read aloud. wolves and dogs in Egyptian and Norse my- Poor translation of the original alien tongue thology, with especial attention on how they means that only a few chants have any true are associated with the underworld; the Wild power. Were a copy found in the language of Hunt of Northern Europe; temple dogs of the the foul semi-human inhabitants of forbidden Orient; ghostly black dogs in English folklore; Leng, it would contain more rituals. and supposed spectral hounds that inhabit other dimensions. GENIES IN ARABIAN FOLKLORE KITAB AL’IISHARAT Language: English; Author: Michael Gru- ber; Published: 1889; Complexity: 4; Hor- Language: Arabic; Author: Faisal ibn-Al- ror: 3; Mythos: 3; Contents: Summon Black gol; Published: 766; Complexity: 5; Horror: Winged One, Summon Child of the Fire Mist, 4; Mythos: 3; Contents: Arcane Ward, Elder Summon Flying Polyp, Summon Fungi from Sign, Formula: Powder of ibn-Ghazi, Sign of Yuggoth, Summon Night-gaunt Koth, Sign of Tindalos, Voorish Sign Gruber, a member of the Society of Anti- Writing a generation after the death of quarians and dedicated Arabophile, spent a Abdul Alhazred, author of the Necronomicon, decade travelling the Middle East searching for ibn-Algol communicated with the so-called stories concerning the jinn (sing. jinni), enti- Mad Arab several times before his death. Filled ties better known in English as genies. During with dread at the blasphemous entities of that time he conversed with imams and story- whose existence Alhazred wrote, ibn-Algol The tellers, and browsed scrolls written before the Book of Signs. Great Sphinx was carved from stone. Its pages are filled with various mystic signs The work is fragmentary, being comprised and wards by which the creatures of the Mythos of detailed notes, sketches, and photographs may be weakened, held at bay, or driven off. sent back to Great Britain by the author dur- Unfortunately for the reader, the scholar pro- ing his sojourn. Gruber’s last message, dated vides stark descriptions of the various horrors 1885, indicated he was planning to enter the against which the signs are effective. Arabian Desert in search of Iram of the Pillars. No copies of the book are known to ex- Having received no further correspondence, ist. Such was the furor that accompanied the Society of Antiquarians compiled his notes its publication that all available copies were and published the book in his memory. ordered immediately set to flame. It is said Certain sections have been amended with that a lone copy existed in the great library of commented by the editor. For instance, when Constantinople, but this was stolen by Crusad- Gruber declares that he saw a “winged, faceless ers in 1204. Ibn-Algol fared little better than genie with skin of midnight black” summoned his work. Thrown into jail, he was torn apart before his eyes, the editor explains with self- by his fellow inmates three years later. Vague imposed authority that the author was either hints suggest his death was far from natural, hallucinating as a result of heat stroke or sub- the scholar being rendered limb from limb by ject to a con artist’s trick. a genie than his cell mates. THE HOUND IN MYTH AND LEGEND * LIBRO SIGNIS Language: German; Author: Jonathan Language: Latin; Author: Unknown; Friebel; Published: 1808; Complexity: 2; Published: c.13th century; Complexity: 5; Horror: 1; Mythos: 1; Contents: Summon Horror: 3; Mythos: 2; Contents: Elder Sign, Black Dog (see Leagues of Gothic Horror), Formula: Powder of ibn-Ghazi, Sign of Koth, Summon Hound of Tindalos Voorish Sign This slim volume looks at the presence of Experts agree that the Latin translation of 13 MAGIC & MANUSCRIPTS Tsathoggua: Summon Black Spawn of The effect of the amulet lasts for one Tsathoggua month, after which time its power ends. Deep Yig: Form of the Beast (snake), Summon Ones know rituals to recharge the jewelry, but Animal (snake), Summon Child of Yig it requires first recovering the object. Yog-Sothoth: Gate, Seal Portal, Summon Enhancements: Increased Duration: One Dimensional Shambler month (+6 Enhancements), Induce Flaw: Lusty (+1 Enhancements)* PRIMA MATERIA * Only with regard Deep Ones. Artifact 5 SHINING TRAPEZOHEDRON Leagues: — Early and medieval alchemists believed in Unique Artifact 3 prima materia. They described it as primeval Leagues: — matter, a formless, fifth element that is the The Shining Trapezohedron is a roughly base of all things and that purifies the impure. spherical polyhedron around 4” across. It Some texts refer to it as the Body of God, from appears nearly black, but in the right light which the infant Earth was formed. The The- displays red striations. It is housed in an asym- atrum Chemicum states that it “begets itself, metrical metal box with a hinged lid. conceives itself, and gives birth to itself.” The Trapezohedron is not of this world. It Prima materia exists, but is not the be- is recorded in certain books of elder lore that nevolent substance alchemists thought. A ge- it was fashioned on Yuggoth in an age long latinous slime that contains all the colors and before the Fungi made it their home. None can minerals in the universe, it is the protoplasmic say who brought it to earth, but it was greatly ooze from which the Elder Things spawned treasured by the Elder Thing inhabitants of the Shoggoths and which they used to create Antarctica. Indeed, it was this ancient race who the first simple life on Earth. fashioned its protective casing. It is a deadly and powerful mutagenic in- Legends tell how the Serpent Men of long- imical to all terrestrial life. A single drop on lost Valusia discovered it among the ruins of exposed skin, scales, or whatever is enough that elder city, and how later it came to be to transform any living creature into a mature admired in sunken Lemuria. It found its way to Shoggoth in a matter of minutes, the gel flow- doomed Atlantis, and from there into the net ing across the victim’s body. As one might of a Minoan fisherman. Sold in the markets of expect, the process is agonizingly painful Egypt, it eventually came into the possession and guaranteed to break even the strongest of Pharaoh Nephren-Ka. Today, it sits forgotten resolve. Only the Elder Things know how to in the abandoned Church of Starry Wisdom in use it to create other life. Providence (see p. xxx). Enhancements: Special: Creates a single The Trapezohedron is a window on time Shoggoth (+10 Enhancements) and space, albeit one whose use by the uniniti- ated comes with terrible risk. The stone holds SEA GLASS AMULET a curious and alarming fascination to any who gaze upon its uncovered form. Images of alien Artifact 4 vistas, distant in both time and space, flash Leagues: — through the gazer’s mind, drawing him in ever It takes a certain type of person, or tainted deeper. Stare too long, though, and something bloodline, to willing mate with a Deep One. alien stares back! Made of gold and green gemstones mined from After five rounds continuous viewing, the the sea floor, and engraved with tiny images of Haunter of the Dark, an avatar of Nyarlathotep, cephalopods, these enchanted amulets, when stares back at the unlucky globetrotter. He worn by a human, induce an unearthly lust to must now make a Horror roll at Difficulty 8. copulate with Deep Ones. Averting one’s gaze requires intense con- 25 LEAGUES OF CTHULHU COmpANION member of the family (or, failing that, a family gray cottage that has withstood wind and rain lawyer) and convince them to sell any volumes since the town since its foundation and the of “historical interest.” sight of which causes mariners to cross them- selves and avert their eyes. KINGSPORT Often visible above the sea-fog that fre- quently sweeps through the town, the house Mythos Tale: The Festival a sinister reputation. Older residents recall Location: Massachusetts the night that a brilliant bolt of lightning shot Eerie Atmosphere: 0 (–1 old town) heavenward from that strange house and of Founded in 1631 and named in honor of the unusual shapes that flap out of the mists. King Charles II of England by hardy seafarers None visit the house, but Kingsport’s resi- from rugged Cornwall, Kingsport always been dents know it is occupied because of the yel- associated by the sea. From its roots as a small low light that shines forth from the windows at fishing village it grew into a prosperous town night. Stories claim that the same person has thanks to its deep harbor and shipbuilding dwelt there for centuries and that he or she industry. Larger ports further along the coast can be seen on the cliff ’s edge when the morn- have reduced much of town’s wealth, but the ing mists rise, staring vacantly into space. industry remains strong. The oldest parts of town, where the steeply- LAKE ONTARIO pitched buildings are nestled together along cobbled narrow streets and lanes, straddles the Location: Canada coast and around the base of Congregational Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Hill, the highest point. Until recently, the old In the Huron tongue, ontario means “Lake Congregational Church was torn down and of Shining Waters.” In the folklore of the indig- replaced with a hospital. enous peoples who still live along its shoreline, Talk of tunnels running through the hill and the water is home to Gaasyendietha, a dragon down deep into the earth are commonplace, but that fell to the earth leaving a trail of fire that none have ever been unearthed.