The Strange Bestiary
Elder things are mostly extinct, but a few remain trapped in the Antarctic ice or rule over crumbling cities in deep trenches at the bottom of the ocean.
Beholding an elder thing bends the mind to the point of breaking. An elder thing has a great barrel-like body standing some 8 feet (2 m) tall. Knobby protrusions in the crown and base each unfold five appendages that recall the arms of a starfish. When agitated, an elder thing unfolds a pair of wings that help it flutter a limited distance.
Meddling by elder things created multicellular life that spread across Earth billions of years ago and ultimately brought about mankind. As the younger races grew in numbers and influence, the elder things went into decline, a process hastened by wars against strange beings from other worlds and uprisings by the servitor race they created, the shoggoths.s
Motive: Reclaim absolute sovereignty
Environment (Magic, Weird Science, or Psionics): In arctic regions or deep underwater
Health: 30
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (6 points)
Movement: Immediate; long when flying
Modifications: All tasks related to knowledge of magic or science as level 10; Speed defense as level 6 due to form.
Combat: An elder thing can attack with five tentacles divided any way it chooses among up to three targets within immediate range. A target hit by a tentacle must also succeed on a Speed defense roll or become grabbed until it escapes. Each round, the elder thing automatically inflicts a moderate wound (6 points) on each grabbed target until the victim succeeds on a Might-based task to escape.
In addition, an elder thing can reach into the mind of a target within short distance. If the target fails an Intellect defense roll, the elder thing reads its thoughts while it remains within long distance. During this time, the elder thing knows everything the target knows; as a result, the difficulty of the target's attack and defense rolls against the elder thing is increased by one step. Furthermore, the elder thing can use an action to rend the target's thoughts, which inflicts 6 points of Intellect damage on a failed Intellect defense roll. An elder thing can passively read the thoughts of up to two creatures at one time.
An elder thing also might carry a few cyphers and an artifact it can use in combat.
Interaction: An elder thing communicates through whistles and pops created by moving air through tiny orifices arranged around its body. Elder things see humans as a lesser form of life and may demand worship, sacrifices, or something else from people it encounters.
Use: Fishermen return to a coastal village with a large block of ice in tow. In the ice is something dark and large—an elder thing frozen alive. If the thing thaws out, it will likely take over the community and enslave the people living there.
Loot: An elder thing usually has one artifact and two or three cyphers.
GM Intrusion: A character who sees an elder thing for the first time goes temporarily crazy on a failed Intellect defense roll. She might stand in place and gibber, run away, or laugh hysterically for a few rounds. If the character takes damage, she shakes off the temporary madness.