"Fleshy and Spiritual Monsters that Seek to Destroy Nature" (quoted from the Everlasting, Book of the Spirits, page 193, © 1997-98 by Steven C. Brown)
These creatures from another dimension (a world called Otgon) are trying to corrupt the earth and all that is natural in the universe. They are not intended to be played as Protagonists, but rather as evil foes ("Antagonists"). These vile creatures come in a wide variety of forms and sizes, but all tend to be destructive or corruptive towards the Earth and Nature. Anyone who has read the likes of H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, or August Derleth is familiar with the types of grotesque alien creatures that make up the collective "Abomination" races.
The following quote is being re-printed from pages 194 & 195 of The Everlasting, Book of the Spirits, and describes what these foul creatures are striving for and where they come from:
Otgon is a planet roughly 115% the size of Earth, with slightly greater gravity, and an atmosphere similar enough to allow captives from Earth to survive on the alien world. The climate ranges from polar regions similar to those of Earth, to equatorial conditions that are more humid and warmer than common conditions on Earth. The humidity level is high all across the globe, with low clouds and fog being common everywhere. There is only one ocean, which is slightly larger than the Pacific. Otgon's flora and fauna are as diverse as those of Earth are but there seems to be a far greater percentage of predatory plants and animals.
There are no mammals or birds on Otgon, but there are more reptilian creatures, carapaced creatures, insectoid (and of far greater size), arachnids, mollusks, and gelatinous creatures. Animals range from flying, snake-like creatures; to living gas bags with tentacles; to twelve-legged two-foot tall humanoids; to thirty-foot tall, pyramidal, jelly-like, supra-intelligent, floating creatures. Plants range in color from blue, to purple, to red, to yellow, to black, to gray, but there are no green plants. Fungi make up 80% of the vegetation. Some of the plants are fully mobile, and the majority of them are omnivorous, herbivorous, or carnivorous.
There are cities all across the planet, with some that are even greater in size and population than the cities of Earth. The technology of the abomination races is both inferior and superior to human technology in many respects. The architecture across the globe is bizarre, frightening, and unwholesome in an alien way. The psychological shock of visiting Otgon could shut down the minds of many mortals. The cites vary greatly in design and purpose; there are: Gigeresque nightmares, chthonic breeding pits, cities of living machines, monolithic mound cities built in ant-hill fashion, hive-like complexes for monstrous spirits, and unholy, primordial places standing two miles high.
The most unthinkable horror concerning Otgon is that, like Earth's Gaia Hypothesis or Mother Nature, the planet is alive and fully conscious. Indeed, it may be said that Otgon is a sentient, corrupt, predatory entity.
It seems that there have always been small gateways and temporary portals between Otgon and the Earth, but it has been in the last twenty years that the Fifth Defiler War has been waged between the manitou (agents of Earth) and the abominations (agents of Otgon). The newest conflict is due to the opening of many inter-dimentional vortices and gateways, possibly because of the daevas' pre-emptive assault on the demons.
There have been four previous "Defiler Wars" between Otgon and Earth. These previous invasions and assimilation attempts lasted various lengths, ranging from as long as 1,800 years to as short as 17 years. This fifth war is showing no signs of diminishing, plus, this time, the demons and Zurgoth's doomlords are also on the loose, creating many other problems on Earth that reduce the manitou's efforts. Some say this Fifth Defiler War might last for the next 500 years.
This time, the invasion is not only taking place on the physical plane of Earth; it is also occurring within the inner realms (Astra and Dreamworlds) and the Underworld. The abominations have had the most success in the Underworld, under the leadership of the Shadow of Shadows- one of the three most powerful generals in the service of Otgon.
The reason for Otgon's interest in Earth remains a mystery, but it can be assumed that its goal is to kill Nature, replacing it with a clone of its own alien self, thus turning the Earth into a second Otgon. To this end, the legions of abominations have been moving onto the Earth, creating regions within the reverie called the Wounded Lands. These blighted areas are home to all manner of alien flora and fauna brought over from Otgon. There are permanent portals in these locations, allowing siltim, rugaloti, kruags, and other things to travel between worlds. The land within these areas is like sores on Mother Nature, and- like infections- they are spreading over time. These wounded lands bear Otgon's consciousness to limited degrees. Over time, the Otgon-controlled regions will increase in size and number unless the manitou are successful in their war.
Gaia's warriors and defenders, the manitou, have been instrumental in waging the war against Otgon's forces. There have been a rare few scouting missions to Otgon which have provided what little is known about the realm. However, these reconnaissance missions were not without heavy casualties, and the totems of manitou killed on Otgon do not return to the Earth, they are captured and tortured.
The abominations are ruled by a council of powerful, supra-intelligent entities known as the Parliament of Horrors. This council is made up of three leviathans, the Shadow of Shadows, and at least five other god-like abominations, possibly including some Old Ones.
Among the more well-known locations on Otgon are: the Cathedral of Zuethar, the Leprous Plain, the Toxic Sea of Krugui, the Lost Cities of the Duchum, the Mountains of Unbidden Horror, the Prison Realms of Vakas, the Scabrous Sea, and the City of Uttering Madness. The whole landscape of Otgon is horrifying. Odd features in various locations include: puss-lakes, blood-soaked swamplands, trees and plant-like things made of flesh, bone and blood- some of them dead and rotting, and ground not unlike flesh-covered muscles, knotted with chunks of bones for rocks. All artificial structures were fashioned through Otgonic bio-architecture, and they all seem to have odd angles that confuse and terrify the mind. There are strange statues, sickening idols, and freakish features covering the buildings, giving them a Gigeresque look.
The most disconcerting feature about Otgon is that it is visible in the night sky to the manitou, certain fantasts (primarily those that work with manitou), and to a rare few other eldritch. It is far enough away to appear as a second moon, though its color is a dingy greenish-brown with patterns on the surface that look like terrain features and faint outlines of cities.
There are many different types of abominations, several of which are described in more detail within The Everlasting, Book of the Spirits. There are other grotesque creatures from the depths of space as well as in other dimensions and universes that while not part of the forces of Otgon, appear to be of similar origin. These include the likes of the Outer Gods, the Elder Lords, and the Old Ones. Their extremely ancient and alien nature is beyond the comprehension of humans. Just the sight of some of these creatures is so horrifying that it can cause death from shear terror. There are also other lesser creatures (that are still incredibly powerful and strange) that while not from Otgon, work with the forces of Otgon toward the assimilation of Earth.
Several entities exist within the Secret World that serve as agents of Otgon including: Siltim, Glogks, Dhylocs, Ilithgor, Amoliators, Bloated Things, Red Shamblers, Murgoleths, Blobs, Faminers, Kruags, Yilthigs, Url'Goltzati, Zurgotic Larvae, and Rugaloti just to name a few of the more common ones that may be encountered by Eldritch. Common humans generally don't encounter such creatures, but when they do the result is typically death due to fright. Many a death has been wrongly blamed on such things as heart-attacks, brain hemorrhages, strokes, or other "natural causes"; when in reality it has been the appearance of an Abomination to a single human and the humans inability to cope with the horror. Luckily they generally are not seen within the human perceived world, and when within the Reverie, they tend to stay close to the Wounded Lands. They can sometimes also be encountered in the Astra, Dreamworlds, and the Agarthic Spheres. The following is a brief description of those Abominations listed above.
Amoliators are creatures that have no set description, as they can warp their bodies into many different strange forms, temporarily growing such things as organ stalks, tails, tentacles, skin wings, claws. Their skin color and texture can be changed to fit their needs, as can their overall size. They can take on vaguely human forms, however these forms never have any hair and are as inhumane looking as a human form can be. They tend to be grotesque in the extreme.
Bloated Things are the closest to looking like humans in their natural form of all the creatures of Otgon, however they are not that close. They are huge sickeningly obese creatures with pale rotting skin that can be seen crawling with maggots and oozing fluids that gel into blobs of fleshy substance. Their eyes are located on stalks that extend up from their shoulders, while the vaguely human face has two large mouths with rows of sharp pointed teeth in the location where the eyes would be expected. Some of them also have tentacle like growths protruding from their central regions, and their hands and feet are huge with the hands nearly dragging the ground. They are incredibly quick, despite their massive and bloated appearance. The only communication that they are capable of (as far as anyone has been able to tell anyway) is a pig-like squealing sound.
Blobs are not a single type of Abomination, but rather a broad type of creature, ranging from amoebae like parasites to monstrous oozing slime creatures, and everything in between. They are so varied that one can not make assumptions as to the group as a whole. Some are effected by one form of attack while others may be immune to the same form of attack. Likewise, they differ from one to another type as to the form of attacks that they use against their prey or target. for example, some will exude a caustic slime that can eat away flesh and other substances, while others can envelope and thus suffocate their targets. There is so much variation among these disgusting creatures that it is best left to the Storyteller to describe the the creature that is encountered and the effects or form of attack that it uses.
Dhylocs they are rather strange in appearance and for their description I will refer to the book. The following quote is being re-printed from page 200 of The Everlasting, Book of the Spirits:
Dhylocs are flying humanoid monsters with oily, dark red-brown chitinous bodies. Their carapace segments have bright yellow strips along their lower edges. Their heads are turtle-like in shape, with beak-like pointed mouths with hard hook-like tips. They have solid liquid black eyes. Under the black protective coating are multifaceted 360-degree vision eyes. They have four-clawed hands with opposable thumbs and long arms. Their legs are kangaroo-like and made for hopping, even though they too are covered in carapace. They have short orange to red tongues.
Dhylocs have large, telescoping wings with black chitinous frames and slick red-brown flight membranes that are bright red on the underside. They have verebrae-like prehensile tails that are upwards of four feet long, which they use for balance and holding things. Dhylocs stand around six feet tall, but they walk hunched over at about four feet in height.
Faminers are small and very strange creatures that are also incredibly dangerous due to their form. They are composed (or at least appear to be composed) of dust, red sparkling light, and electricity that is spinning in a mini-whirlwind. While only around 3 feet tall and about 6 inches wide, they can grow rather quickly to their maximum size of about double that. However upon reaching the larger size, they divide into two of the smaller ones again. Their form of attack is to simply touch their target, which drains most of the water from the targets body incredibly fast, leaving only a dry husk of the former creature. The Faminer then burns this nutrient filled water as fuel for its incredible energy needs. The moisture and nutrients from about three normal sized humans is needed to grow to the size necessary for division to occur. Due to the nature of the creature they can become nearly invisible as well as being able to move through solid objects.
Glogks are spheres of flesh that are about 3 feet or so in diameter that float in the air at a height of about 7 feet. They have a pinkish-purple color to their rough surface, which has numerous small orifices from which they can extend long tentacle like tubes that they can use to puncture the skin of their victims to such the blood and life force from them. Of course they first need to incapacitate their prey, which they do using electrical discharges that can zap their intended target from 15 feet away. Luckily they float at a speed of only about 10 miles per hour and they give off a very sickening smell, especially after feeding.
Ilithgor reside in fairly large numbers in the Astra. They form large communities there and generally avoid most Earthly eldritch. They secretly feed on spirits and humans while studying and learning more about them.
The following quote is being re-printed from page 200 of The Everlasting, Book of the Spirits:
They look like a cross between a grasshopper, a frog, and a human. They have very insect-like heads, long spindly arms and legs, exoskeletal plates, and rubbery lizard-like skin. They have glowing royal blue eyes and purple striping all all over their bodies. Each Ilithgor has a unique pattern of striping. They talk in a language of creaks and chirps. They have their own bizarre alien technology and they worship the greater unspeakable horrors through all sorts of vile rites.
Kruags are small impish humanoids. They have an intelligence above that of animals, but still below that of the average human. These small winged creatures are entirely covered with a black hair. Their wings are very similar to that of bats, while their heads look more like that of a wolf, but with a snake-like tongue. Their native form of communication uses a hissing sound, however this is not a language persey. They are unable to communicate beyond understanding very simple commands. They can also mimic a wide variety of other sounds that they hear. They have long arms that end in clawed hands, as well as distinctly humped backs. They also have black-bony spikes protruding from their elbows and knees.
Murgoleths are giant and horrid creatures with bodies that are about forty feet long, ten feet high and five feet wide. They have a three sectioned body much like insects, with the thorax portion having numerous bulbous sacks of a nearly opaque material where the creatures and spirits that they swallow are held and slowly digested over a period of several weeks. They have three sets of huge wing like structures that are composed of very thin skin like membranes that they can use to maneuver and fly around the Astra and even in the Reverie on Earth. The lower and largest of their three segments has a huge gaping maw lined with several rows of long sharp, almost dagger-like teeth. They also have two short tentacles that each end in a three appendage opposable formation. Their intelligence is somewhat limited and they are usually mentally controlled by other more powerful Abominations. While usually found alone, they have been seen in packs as large as 7 on rare occasions (probably while on some mission for their horrific masters).
Rugaloti, also known as "Organ Feasters" are vile creatures that look vaguely similar to eels, however the similarities are very limited. They are long and thin with a pitch-black color and a head that is shaped similar to a huge spear head. They can be found in large schools floating around more remote parts of the Astra, as well as on occasion in the Underworld and the Dreamworlds. The vicious little things will spear into the body of their victim and slither inside under the skin where they will consume the organs of the creature. It is possible for a group of 10 or so of them to finish off a typical human in under a minute. While they only possess a low intelligence, they are a deadly force to be reckoned with due to their tactics. Luckily the will ignore prey when they are not hungry, and will generally avoid any diseased creatures they encounter. The also prefer spirits rather than actual flesh, however on the rare occasions when they manifest on t he earth, they will consume whatever is available to satisfy their appetite.
Red Shamblers are vile creatures best described as being like giant carnivorous starfish that walk on land. They typically stand about five feet tall on their seven foot long tentacle like appendages (of which there are seven). They look like large leathery mounds of blood-red quivering flesh atop these appendages which end in hook like structures. Their underside is yellow and black and has a proportionally huge maw filled with sharp dagger like teeth. They can climb up and hang from walls or other objects using the hooks that are at the ends of their arms, as well as use them to rip open flesh and knock down their foes. They then move over and start to consume their prey whole within minutes. The skeletal remains and any other non-fleshy items are later spit back out.
Siltim are sort of the equivalent of Otgonish Manitou. They are creatures from Otgon that are able to possess earthly creatures and being such as humans similar to the way that Totems do to create Manitou. A portion of the strange and outlandish humans that can sometimes be encountered who act as if they are not of this world are often times the unwitting hosts of these Otgon atrocities. Since they are made up of a human host, it is not always obvious that they are something unnatural (although they do tend to look that way, and more so with each passing month of the "possession"). They have unnatural powers and abilities very similar to many of the Eldritch beings, and are (or soon will be) insane due to the corruptive psychology of the Abomination that has taken over their mind and spirit.
Url'Goltzati are one of the more intelligent creatures from Otgon that have taken up residence within the Astra, Dreamworld, and the Reverie. They do not appear to normal humans, except to take prisoners on occasion. They are alien looking in the extreme and will refer tot he description in the book to explain their appearance.
The following quote is being re-printed from page 200 of The Everlasting, Book of the Spirits:
Url'Goltzati have humanoid bodies from the waist up, with long slender arms. Each of their small hands have six long fingers, including two opposable thumbs. From the waist down they have three strong leg-like limbs and seven smaller tentacles along their waists. Their heads are oval-shaped with two liquid-black eyes located further apart and lower than human eyes. They have vertical slits between the eyes. In place of mouths they have tentacles that hang down over their chests. They feed through teeth-filled maws on the bottom-side of their tentacles. Their skin ranges from cream white to dark gray, giving rise to the belief that there may be sub-races of these creatures.
Url'Goltzati have their own language of sloshing, whooshing, hissing, and gurgling sounds. They have their own art, architecture, culture, history, religion, and mythology, yet these monsters remain very mysterious and alien. They live in communities of varying sizes and do not tolerate outsiders. They eat other creatures, particularly humans, as certain human organs are delicacies to them. They are very alien in thought, with incomprehensible goals.
Url'Goltzati possess psychic preternaturae, but they are physically weaker than many humans are. Many of these creatures have magickal talents and access to strange alien technology. Their life span and mating habits are unknown.
Yilthigs These very large bug-like creatures have a skin that is covered in wart like bulbs and runs from pinkish to white. They have long black legs with a slick appearance that end in a lone talon. Large and irregular spike like growths protrude down the middle of their backs, as two pairs of wings, one larger pair that extends from the shoulders and a smaller pair that is usually hidden beneath the larger pair. Their heads have large vertical eye slits with black pupils set in bright red eyes, and they have a long prehensile tongue similar to that of a frog which they can use to catch rodents or other small creatures for food. They are quite intelligent and can be found in the Astra realm of earth.
Zurgotic Larvae are one of the most vile, sickening, and powerful of the Abominations. They are massive, often standing two-hundred feet tall. Their pyramidal shape of the slimy and giggly flesh randomly set with hundreds of human like eyes (except for the fact that they are almost a foot in diameter and have a deep black iris). Their eyes are over the entire body, except for the bottom which wriggles on a coating of slime that it exudes for movement. Their quivering flesh varies in color from gray through green and into black. There are three tentacles on each side of the massively hideous creature that are used to grapple and handle anything that gets close to them. The sound of "white noise" can be (vaguely) heard around them in a very deep and barely discernable pitch. They communicate through telepathy, which due to their alien nature typically causes incredible pain and insanity to those who come into telepathic contact with them.
Abominations: 4-9 Generally work together (although not always in the same ways) to move towards the assimilation of Earth and the destruction of Nature.
Angels: 1-3 They are protectors of the worthless humans who are but a nuisance in the plans of Otgon.
Daevas: 2-5 Same as Angles above.
Dead Souls: Good source of energy, they can be slaughtered and consumed as needed by Abominations.
Demons: These cruel and evil creatures appear to be working towards a similar goal, however it is best to let them carry out their work, as it keeps the Eldritch of earth busy so we can carry out our goals.
Djinn: These creatures make a tasty treat due to their spiritual nature, however they can cause serious trouble, especially the tribe of Serim.
Dragons: 1-2 They are the creators of Nature and as such, must be destroyed at any cost.
Elves: Troublemakers
Faerie: While they are more like us in some ways, they also work to protect Nature and Gaia, so they must be destroyed.
Gargoyles: They are creatures of spirit and as such are usable as a source of food, however they are also able to feed off of our own kind in a like manner and have the potential to cause serious problems for us.
Ghuls: Rotting remains of the useless humans, we may be able to use them as pawns, but be wary of them.
Manitou: 1 Arch enemies, they are the only reason that the past four assimilation attempts faltered, they work closely with the Dragons and are the guardians of Nature and Gaia, and must be eliminated.
Osirians: Unusual humans who have the potential to create serious problems for us, destroy them at your leisure.
Possessed: These spirit beings are fighting their own battle amongst themselves, ignore them, unless they are needed as food.
Questers: Humans who have amazing powers and are a potential problem, if they ever realize that it is us and not the Dragons who are the bringers of destruction.
Reanimates: Useless beings created from the humans.
Revenants: They will try to stop us as we are trying to destroy their source of Sustenance.
Vampires: They will try to stop us as we are trying to destroy their source of Sustenance.
Wer: 2-4 These vile and diseased creatures may be useful as pawns, but are not worth anything more than that.