“That is not dead which can eternal lie…” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

It’s hard not to remember the first time you meet up with the author, H.P. Lovecraft.

There is a reason it’s hard not to remember – because whether you read one of his own works, or read a “Mythos” tale penned by some other author, you probably got a serious case of the “creeps” at the very least.  Or you more likely had an honest-to-goodness freaky nightmare – or maybe two!

My own “Close Encounter of the Tentacled Kind” was brought on by going out and buying the D&D 1st Edition Deities & Demigods book – yes, the one with the Cthulhu Mythos in it!  I was a senior in high school at the time, and I had never read anything by H.P. Lovecraft.  But yet, I was instantly intrigued by these horrific creatures in the old DDG, eerily illustrated by Erol Otus.  I can’t say I was a huge fan of Mr. Otus’ drawing style in every instance, but he sure had a knack with illustrating Lovecraftian horrors!

I was so inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos chapter that I went to the school library and scoured it for every H.P Lovecraft short story I could find, which amounted to a huge heap of anthologies, offering one or two Mythos stories at most.  But I persevered and read every one I could find, including some apocryphal writings by authors such as August Derleth, Frank Belknap Long, and Brian Lumley.

And I had nightmares for three nights straight.  But I was also hooked as a fan for life.

Needless to say, when I found out that a supplement featuring the Cthulhu Mythos had been published for D&D 4e, I was enthralled at the idea, and just had to check it out.

Critter Cache: Lovecraftian Bestiary

Product Summary

• Author: Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel
• Illustrator: Hunter McFalls
• Publisher: Blackdirge Publishing & Goodman Games
• Year: 2009
• Media: PDF (42 pages)
• Cost: $3.99

The forty-two page supplement covers over thirty Monsters from the collective works of H.P. Lovecraft.  In addition, there are seven unique Magic Items found in this work, most of which are scaled over a range from Level 2 to Level 30, so in essence creating over twenty-five items in all.  You can also find over twenty original sketches in this supplement, illustrating the blasphemous entities and bizarre items contained therein, to use as game aides and to just further enhance the overall creepiness of the work.

Starting right from the Introduction, I knew that the author was as much a fan of Lovecraftian horror as I was.  From reminiscing about his first experiences with the Mythos to lamenting the lack of good Lovecraftian material in the game, I was pretty sure the Author would not disappoint me when I got to the really good, tentacle-flailing, icky stuff.

I am very pleased to report that the Author did not let me down.

After just reading one of the creature entries in this book, it is becomes quite evident that “Blackdirge” has a clear and concise understanding of the Cthulhu Mythos material – as does McFalls, who illustrated the assortment of cosmic terrors lurking between the pages.  From the bizarre Powers these fearsome entities possess to the Flavor Descriptions and Lore, “Blackdirge” shows that he is well versed in the language and treatment of Lovecraftian Horror, and makes it very accessible for use in D&D 4e. 

Coincidentally, the Author writes his material to be just as accessible to a GM running a Modern 4e Campaign as it would to your typical Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Setting.  So it’s really like getting two supplements in one PDF.

The Monsters described in this supplement range in Level 2 to Level 35, and so cover the entire spectrum of the Heroic, Paragon and Epic Tiers.  “Blackdirge” used a variety of Lovecraft’s stories to populate this work, giving DMs access to monsters like Gugs, Ghouls (not the undead ones!), and Shantaks from the “Dreamlands” novella, to the more scifi-horror entities like Mi-Go, the Great Race of Yith, and the Color Out of Space.  I particularly enjoyed the Author’s concept that the “Dreamlands” was a place deep in the Feywild, where it and the Shadowfell overlapped to become the place where mortal minds sometimes journeyed in their sleep.

By making sure that the Encounter Groups are not entirely made up of Lovecraftian horrors, “Blackdirge” gives Dungeonmasters some excellent ideas on how to integrate the Cthulhu Mythos into their existing campaigns.  Whether it’s Aboleths using Shuggoths as shock-troops, or Mi-Go being assisted by deranged human cultists, the Mythos monsters can become very real threats in any existing D&D 4e Campaign.

The Powers that the Author has selected for the Mythos Monsters is truly evocative of their alien nature, and often causing Psychic damage, and sometimes loss of healing surges.  This neatly represents the mental strain that even the bravest Hero would experience when faced with such otherworldly entities.  It reminds me a lot of Sanity Loss that existed in the old Call of Cthulhu RPG.

Here’s a couple of Power examples from Cthulhu that demonstrate the mind-blowing effects of this Great Old One:

Whisperer in Darkness (whenever a sentient creature takes an extended rest within 1 mile of Cthulhu; at-will) Psychic
+40 vs. Will; 3d10 + 13 psychic damage, the target regains no healing surges and suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and saving throws until it can take an uninterrupted extended rest.

Ensnaring Madness (standard; recharge 5 6) Charm, Fear, Psychic
Close burst 10; +38 vs. Will; 4d10 + 13 psychic damage, and the target is pulled 5 squares and stunned (save ends).
If the target is pulled within 4 squares of Cthulhu, Cthulhu can make a melee basic attack against the target as a free action.
Aftereffect: The target is dominated (save ends).

You can check out the rest of Great Cthulhu’s array of Powers by downloading this preview available at Goodman Games.

As far as the magic items included in this supplement go, they mainly consist of the bizarre, high-tech constructs used by the Mi-Go, the Great Race of Yith, and Elder Things.  Deemed Eldritch Artifacts by “Blackdirge”, these devices are so unlike conventional magic items, and are so alien in origin, that they require an Arcana Check every time they are used.  If the Arcana DC is missed by 10 or more, the device backfires in what is called an Eldritch Anomaly, causing a harmful effect to the wielder rather than the enemy.  Let that be a lesson to would-be Heroes who go about playing with alien gizmos without an instruction manual!

So if, by now, it’s not readily apparent how I feel about this supplement, let me spell it out – Go Buy This Book.  The Critter Cache: Lovecraftian Bestiary Supplement represents a solid piece of work that can add a lot of dimension to any campaign.  It wasn’t hard to find myself writing a dozen or so adventure hooks by just reading through the various creature entries while preparing this review.  And given the otherworldly nature of some of the builds for Warlocks, Sorcerers, and Shamans, and even the Paragon Paths of a few other classes, utilizing these Lovecraftian monsters in the campaign can take high level adventures in a whole new, and very unexpected direction.

Although the Author definitely gives the Reader his money’s worth, I still wish that there had been more monsters!  What about the Hounds of Tindalos, or the dreaded Moonbeasts?  What was the Doom that came to Sarnath?!  And what of the Black Blood of Yibb’Tstll and the cthonians and Shudde M’ell and Chaugnar Faugn and… <twitch>

I think I’d better stop writing for now…

Tags: D&D 4e, horror, Lovecraft, monster, review, variant

This entry was posted by Editor-in-Chief on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 9:44 am and is filed under RPG News & Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.