JCC [Image heavy]A thread for art: See note on page 776

Polar Night by marijeberting


Tracks Of Never-Ending Light - Skyrim by WatchTheSkiies

 

Sam DelaTorre: Catwoman:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4aRal

 

from https://www.deviantart.com/valhahazred/gallery/66929398/strange-aeons
"Strange Aeons
Scenes and Concepts from my own little corner of the Cthulhu Mythos.

I've always been fascinated by the Tsan-Chan Empire despite it's single sentence origin in the Shadow Out of Time. I thought it would be fun to build my own version! "

Subjects of the Tsan-Chan Empire by ValhaHazred

"The Tsan-Chan empire has come to be inhabited by an eclectic population of native, extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional peoples.

Tsan-Chani - The human inhabitants of the Empire, descended from slaves taken from neo-tribal populations in Southeast Asia by the Kuen-Yuin sorcerers.

Ghouls - Eaters of the beloved dead, the Ghouls are a vital part of Tsan-Chan funerary rituals.

Serpent Folk - The Serpents joined the Empire for protection from their jealous creator Yig.

Deathless Sorcerers - Ancient magic users, the leaders of whom date all the way back to ancient Mu. After the sinking of their homeland they moved to the hyperspatial Plateau of Leng, establishing monasteries to study the Ancient Powers. They were forced to leave Leng when R'lyeh rose and Cthulhu turned the Plateau into an alter for its gods. They founded the Empire and many are bitter that it has since left their hands.

Groats - Also known as the Gof'nn hupadgh, Groats are the least of Shub-Niggurath's children. The worship of Shub-Niggurath is encouraged by the Empress and many seek to be reborn by the Black Goat.

Firstborn - The Firstborn are the result of the Kuen-Yuin's first attempts to create a race of loyal Powers by breeding their human slaves with Outer beings.

Gillies - After the Deep One civil war many of the losing side took refuge with the Empire rather than accompany The Hydra on her exile to Europa or rededicate themselves to Dagon.

Byakhee - Although not officially worshiped by the Empire, the King in Yellow is a respected (if not trusted) ally and his envoys are welcomed. Thousands of Byakhee roost within the Carcosa embassy and freely offer their services as steeds and bodyguards to the Tsan-Chan.

Dimensional Shamblers - Originating from a parallel Earth, the Shamblers are representative of an entire ecology of Dimension shifting life-forms.

Dross - The Dross originated from another parallel world, this one a toxic wasteland created by some ancient calamity. They are long-time allies of the Shamblers, who helped them leave their ruined homeworld.

New Ones - The semi-autonomous robots of the Empire's central Synthetic Intelligence.

Dark Young - No rooftop park is complete without a Dark Young!

I've started working on a Tsan-Chan setting for a videogame. Not a real videogame, just a for-fun project as I have absolutely no knowledge of actual game design. Maybe when I'm done I'll convert it all into an RPG sourcebook or something. Also, not going to lie, my Dark Young, Shambler and Dross designs are totally Quake references.

Edit: I've had art block on the New Ones almost from the start of this project and finally just decided on a total redesign. I'm much happier with the new New One.
I also took a friends advice and ditched the Kuen-Yuin name because she got them confused with the K'n-Yan and I totally get it. "


Strange Aeons - Tcho-Tcho by ValhaHazred

"Another group of enemies from my entirely imaginary game.

The Tcho-Tcho are short humanoids, commonly but somewhat inaccurately characterized as cannibals. Legend has it the entity known as Chaugnar Faugn created them in the early eras of the Earth by uplifting primitive amphibians. Between their limited ability to take physical traits from animal life that they eat and their proficiency with flesh warping magic they have remade themselves many times over the aeons.

They are willing servants of the Ancient Powers known as Ithaqqua, Nug-Yeb, Lloigor and Zhar. Even more concerning, they believe they are playing in a Cosmic game with the Outer God Nyarlathotep. They emulate his feats of cruel trickery in order to impress him and earn their continued existence.

The Tcho-Tcho would serve as early game fodder in the most part, with only their larger alien allies and vehicles serving as a challenge to the player. I've always liked the idea of chaff enemies that exist solely to give the player a feeling of empowerment before giving them a real threat.

-Units-

Soldiers wield dartguns or automatic rifles that deal only minimal damage to the player. They are only a threat in huge numbers.

The Priests are no tougher than the soldiers but they are capable of supporting other Tcho-Tcho troops with magical buffs and defenses. They also control the much more powerful Swimmers in Darkness and if they are killed, the Swimmers they control will go berserk. They are ideal first targets but like to hide at the back of formations.

Swimmers in Darkness are native to Earth, singular examples of a long-lost evolutionary lineage. They have been preserved by the Tcho-Tcho to serve as guard animals and shock troops. They are capable of projecting short ranged electric blasts from their jellyfish-like tendrils. A variant known as the Toxic Swimmer can also spew acidic bile and emit clouds of the stuff.

Okkator are the product of selective breeding, a carefully selected diet and biomancy. They are supernaturally fast and agile, so while they are not much tougher than your average Tcho-Tcho they are much harder to actually hit. They are primarily melee enemies, clawing and stabbing with wild abandon.

Dorakk-Shi are essentially just scaled up soldiers, packing heavier arms and armor. They're tough enough to take a few hits and their grenade launchers pack a punch.

Infiltrators are Tcho-Tcho that have gorged on human meat for so long they are virtually indistinguishable from one. They would be encountered during Law Enforcement quests.

Miri-Nigri are the truest form of the Tcho-Tcho, unaltered by foreign flesh. They are considered sacred and live pampered lives within their temples, gorging on the blood of willing Tcho-Tcho sacrifices.

The M'bwa is a carnivorous and parasitic tree. Anything that drinks the wine-like sap of the tree will become its puppet as plant fibres hijack them from within. The M'bwa uses these puppets to protect itself, hunt for more meat or puppets and eventually carry its seeds. The M'bwa is very tough but cannot attack on its own so its threat is entirely dependent on what puppets it has available.

Shuggoran are worshiped as faces of Nyarlathotep and seen as overseers of their game. They would serve as the main threat to the player in Tcho-Tcho engagements, being tough enough to take multiple full melee combos and having decent spells and melee attacks.

Chaugnar Spawn would be the mini-bosses of the Tcho-Tcho. They would rarely appear outside of Tcho-Tcho encampments and attack the player with a wide variety of cc and attack spells, many of which would have a vampiric effect."


Strange Aeons - Tcho-Tcho Patrol by ValhaHazred

"A group of scout vehicles race across the Badlands in search of tribals or Tsan-Chan activity. An avatar of Yig takes note but doesn't feel like leaving its warm perch.

Slaver - A heavy trike used primarily for capture and transport of primitive tribals for slaves, torture or food. In a pinch it can also be used to carry Tcho-Tcho troops. It is equipped with a pair of heavy rifle turrets.
Slaver Technical - Instead of a transport bed these Slavers have a mounted autocanon.
Pursuer - A missile equipped motorcycle usually used by Okkator and Dorakk-shi. It's a bit large for an ordinary Tcho-Tcho.
Crippler - The sadistic Tcho-Tcho love using the bladed front grill of this light tank. It is considered unlucky to see combat without getting them wet.
Hunter - This gunship's highly articulated wing and engine mounts give it fantastic maneuverability. In addition to its heavy rifles it carries anti-vehicle rockets in an internal bay.
Pulpit - Ritually anointed in human blood, the Pulpit magnifies the power of a Tcho-Tcho priest. This includes further domination of the Swimmers, as they would not willingly spend any time in an open desert like this.

More concept art for my hypothetical game."


Strange Aeons Bestiary - Dimensional Beasts by ValhaHazred

"A group of closely related beings from another Earth, all possessing the natural ability to briefly step beyond the veil of reality.

Scampers are aggressive monkey like creatures that live in large family groups. If something annoys them they bombard it with explosive dimensional vortexes.

The Drifters are normally quite passive but can be dangerous when riled up. They are mildly agoraphobic, preferring enclosed spaces and heavy woodlands as habitat. They can summon plasma from some sub-layer of reality and they have a strange habit of holding a ball of it overhead like a torch at night. It is unknown why they do this, as they do not perceive visual light.

Racers flicker in and out of sight with every flap of their wings, the warp of space time around them propelling them through the air faster than muscle could ever provide.

Stalkers are solitary hunters, keeping one step out of our reality while tracking prey. When they are ready to strike they re-enter the world right behind their target with an explosive pulse. They are also very fastidious and can commonly be found washing themselves in rivers.

Renders are apex the predators of their home dimensions. They can "cut" holes in the fabric of reality, creating a sucking void that disables their native prey's own dimensional abilities. The Render itself rarely teleports, preferring to leap about.

Shamblers are the only sophonts to come from the Dimensional Beast's evolutionary tree. Although many have joined the Tsan-Chan Empire not all of them have and they can be found all over the world in independent enclaves. The have improved their control of inter-dimensional forces with millennia of experimentation and practice, creating their own brand of dimensional magic.

Despite their fearsome appearance, Chargers are the most docile of all Dimensional Beasts present on Earth. They will attack only in self-defense, charging and goring with their massive horns. Their particular brand of teleportation boosts their speed dramatically and they will often us it mid charge, making it nearly impossible to predict their path.

Notes:
A set of enemies from my hypothetical videogame. The first four serve as a variety of low to mid-range canon fodder, while Renders and Shamblers are legitimate threats. Chargers would mostly exist to liven up outdoor zones, although they could certainly prove a nasty surprise to a low level player that tried to fight them. Most bestiary pages I post will be themed by where they are encountered in-game but Dimensional Beasts could appear anywhere.

The Drifter is based on some of the "High-strangeness" sightings of Bigfoot, particularly the Lantern Ape. Also the Render continues my obsession with adapting Quake monsters to my own purposes. Well my Fiend can summon power-dampening black holes and teleport! Your move id."


The Daughters of the Black Goat by ValhaHazred

"Shub-Niggurath is one of the few Ancient Powers the Tsan-Chan are unequivocally allied with. Her worship is common among the populace and a particularly powerful Goat-Daughter is even housed within a pyramid right next to the Palace.

Moit - These simple creatures spawn from the pools of protoplasm that collect in Shub-Niggurath's alters. They are the primary source of meat for the Tsan-Chan.

Misbegotten - When a petitioner of the Black Goat is consumed and is not found worthy, they are usually dissolved in the Dark Young's guts. The Misbegotten are not nearly so lucky. They have been rendered mindless and hideously transformed into malformed amalgamations of human and goatish alien.

Diana - The Diana are powerful psionic aliens that follow the 1000 Young wherever they go. While they worship the Black Goat, they are not all allies of the Empire. They can be encountered outside the city as enemies, usually accompanied by psychically compelled cultists. Their primary attack is electrokinetic waves which they can amplify through floating embryos they produce from their torso sacs.

Groat - When a petitioner is accepted by the Dark Young this is what becomes of them. They gain an immortal body and a limited command of Shub-Niggurath's magic.

Aylith - Like many immortal beings, the Groat continue to grow as they age. The Aylith have a leadership role among the 1000 Young. They provide the Shub-Niggurath faction quests and can also refill your healing items.

Dark Young - The Dark Young are more idols of worship than independent creatures. They spend most of their time rooted in the ground, as passive as a tree until a petitioner performs the ritual of rebirth. If sufficiently threatened, Dark Young defend themselves physically whipping and impaling foes with their massive tentacles.

Notes
More concept art for a hypothetical game. Like the Ghouls they are primarily friendly NPCs that would wander the home city, mostly in parks. "


Strange Aeons - Ghouls by ValhaHazred

"The ghouls are valued members of Tsan-Chan society. They perform funerary rites, maintain the Ossuary, create Ghoul Roads and prune the corpse of the Emperor.

Theoretically any human can become a ghoul. However, the ghouls tend to be very picky about who they take in.

Ghoul Tot - Ghouls at this stage are not yet fully inducted into ghoul society. They've spent years as a ghoul friend, taken part in excarnation and have begun their change but have not yet gone on their Pnathic pilgrimage to participate in the sacred Ghoul Feast. If they fail to progress the results can be unpredictable but it is rarely good.

Ghoul - A mature ghoul is a stooped canine headed humanoid with hooved feet and powerful digging claws. They have an innate connection to the Dreamlands and can instinctively find their way there and back.

Elder Ghoul - Ghouls don't age in the traditional sense, they simply grow larger. Not every ghoul gets to this stage as many fall to accident and violence in the thousands of years it takes.

Nitokrys - The leader of the Tsan-Chan ghouls, she can usually be found lounging on a throne of bones in the Emperor's Sepulcher. She's so old she no longer remembers her past, or if she is indeed THE Nitokrys. She's fairly certain she spent time in Egypt but she can't be sure when exactly that was...

Tomb Guardian - A ghoul can be willingly sacrificed and transformed into a curse on those who would transgress against them.

False Ghoul - These animalistic human offshoots exist in great numbers across the globe. They live similar lifestyles to the true ghouls; digging borrows, living in large groups and scavenging for rotten meat. The precise origin of the False Ghoul is unknown but Nitokrys theorizes they came from humans trying to become ghouls without proper guidance.

Mordiggianite Ghouls - Not all Ghouls are benign. The necromancer-priests of the Charnel God Mordiggian despise the Tsan-Chan, believing the Empire stands in the way of their promised future.

Notes
More concept art for a hypothetical game. The Ghouls would mostly be bystanders wandering around the home city. Nitokrys would have a few questlines, including one to help her rediscover her past. False Ghouls are wildlife and Mordiggianites are low-mid level enemies.

Nitocris is mentioned in Under the Pyramids and The Outsider. I've decided to go with a dramatically different design than the one I usually see, a cross between an Egyptian queen and the Norse Hel.
The Tomb Guardian is intended to be the creature from The Hound. The False Ghoul is an example of the standard Lovecraftian degenerate and the Martense family in particular.
Mordiggianites are from Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique cycle.

Edits: Changed the text in a few places to fix some world building, added some of the Tomb Guardians "bats" flying away and changed the Tot's pants to Tsan-Chan approved colors."

 

Artemis by Huang Guangjian

 

Strange Aeons - Entities of the Outskirts by ValhaHazred

"The Outskirts is the first area you can visit after leaving the city. It's a temperate rain-forest zone, dominated by moss, gnarled old deciduous trees and ferns. Few structures from the previous civilization remain on the surface but the land is honey-combed with long abandoned bunkers and transportation tunnels.


Tribals - There are non Tsan-Chani humans. They live simple lives of hunting, gathering, flexing their mighty thews, seeking the riddle of steel and being eaten by monsters. Around a dozen tribes live within the area around Tsan-Chan, relying on the Great Ward and the city wall's guns to protect them from wandering Ancient Powers.

Ghoul Hounds - These large canines are not related to ghouls, it's just a common name inspired by their similarity in appearance. They are domesticated as attack animals by Tribals, Tcho-Tcho and Mordiggians, although they don't threaten the player much.

Tunneler - The "Tunnelers Below" are subterranean worms attracted to the energy of magic. They attack by bursting out of the ground, flying after their target and pelting them with their larvae. Since their larvae can fly at supersonic speeds this hurts quite a bit.

Pine Devils - These malevolent beings haunt the pine barrens to the west. They fight by dropping on their target from the sky, biting and attempting to charge over them. The Tribals say that if one sees you it will be able to find you in your dreams.

Haunts - These shambling creatures are mutated humans, fallout of an occult war from before the rising of R'lyeh. Although they appear frail and uncoordinated they are surprisingly strong and they often learn magic during their long lives.

Children of Yig - The Children of Yig are regional mini-bosses. Killing enough of them in a set period of time will summon an Avatar of Yig. Each area has its own variant.

Other enemies - Tcho-Tcho patrols sometimes risk the Outskirts, Mordiggian ghouls control the abandoned bunkers, Dimensional Scampers, Chargers and Racers wander the place and Dagonites can sometimes be found beneath the sea cliffs to the southeast.

Notes: More fanart under the conceit of concept work for a game I'll never have the means to make
Trying to be a little more elaborate with these sheets by adding some area concepts behind them. I think it looks nice and it's a lot easier and more fun than drawing full landscapes!"


Strange Aeons - Wind-Walker Valley by ValhaHazred

"The Wind-Walker Valley is a long valley on the coast of the western ocean. At the northern end of the valley is the Citadel of Ithaqua, the Ancient Power of Boreas. Surrounding the citadel is an eternal storm of frozen sleet and the valley itself is prone to sudden blizzards.

Hungry Ones - These creatures where once mortal humans. They have been implanted with a kernel of Ithaqua's power; freezing their hearts, bursting their organs and remaking them into nightmarish ogres that hunt for anything warm and living.

Gnoph-Keh - Brought to Earth from Borea by Ithaqua, the Gnoph-Keh are his primary worshipers. They have the ability to psionically cloak themselves from sight unless they are being directly observed. In addition they know spells to cause localized snowstorms and call down lightning.

Rhan-Tegoth - Another import to Earth, the Rhan-Tegoth are popular pets among the Gnoph-Keh and are commonly found in their dens. When encountered in the wild Rhan-Tegoth are ambush predators, dropping from cliffs or tree-tops to crush victims with their bellies.

Fire Vampires - Appearing as sprites of crimson lightning, the Fire Vampires are extensions of Fthaggua. They float through the forests of the valley in spiraling search patterns desperately looking for prey that made it past the Hungry Ones. They attack what they find with vampiric bolts of burning energy. Fthaggua itself is trapped in a flooded crater near the coastal end of the valley, unable to gather enough energy to launch Ktynga back into space.

Shan - The Shan exist on Earth as parasites, phasing into and controlling the bodies of native life to avoid the poisonous rays of the sun. Unfortunately for them, most of the valley's inhabitants are unsuitable for their needs and those that are are also potential prey for the rest. However, they must stay to protect the Temple of Azathoth buried in the valley. Perhaps they're desperate enough to make some concessions to the Tsan-Chan?

Children of Yig - The Children who live in the valley are aquatic beings, slithering through the deep brackish waters of the central lake.

Other inhabitants - Rime Devils live in caves under Ithaqua's citadel. They are nearly identical to the Pine Devils around Tsan-Chan, with the additional ability to breath icy brine. Dimensional Drifters wander the forests and they are sometimes followed by Dimensional Renders. Rumor has it that a particularly large Render has taken to hunting the valley exclusively, having developed a taste for Hungry Ones."


The Pallid Masks of the Yellow King by ValhaHazred

"You walk through a city of clay brick and sand as masked dancers revel in the streets. "It's the royal ball!" they cheer, "The Phantom of Truth will shine His light on us all!" The music thuds tunelessly along and the dancers slouch and stumble through their steps as you pass. There is a palace with four turrets, yellow light shining from within...

You walk through the alley. It's bitterly cold, steam from the sewers forming thick clouds that obscure the street. A pile of refuse shifts and unfolds into a towering man in filthy rags. He holds out his hands. They are blue from the cold. He dangles a tarnished brass key from emaciated fingers, swinging it in a gentle arc as though attempting to hypnotize you. "May I offer you this? It can open the way to things you've never imagined. Please, all I ask in return is your..."

"Dreams." The Queen said gesturing around at the palace, all yellow-white ivory and shining gold. "It's all built on dreams. Without the dreams of others all..."

I AM THE MASK THAT ALL OTHER MASKS DESCEND

The secretary hums under her breath as she paints her nails yellow. Her nameplate reads "Cassilda." You look out the window of the waiting room and over the city. Black glass towers rise out of neon stained smog like broken bones poking out of bruised flesh. Mr. Castaigne finally leaves his office, a gleaming smile plastered on his prosthetic face. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" he claps you on the shoulder...

There is no city. A skinless man drags you behind him, cavorting between towers of corpses and waves a cape of weeping faces. He giggles and chants nonsense words while you splash through pools of blood...

He. She? They. They catch your eye over their laptop and you realize you've been caught staring at them from across the cafe. They snap their laptop shut and suddenly stand. Heading towards the door they brush past and conspicuously bump your shoulder. A ticket for the nearby indy theater falls in your lap, a sharpie scrawl of a 3-pronged question mark standing out on yellow paper. "See you there" they whisper. They are out the door. You have a headache. Where are you? Who are you? What's going on..."


Deepest Lords by ValhaHazred

"The Deepest Lords are the rulers of the Dagonite forces. They claim direct relation to Cthulhu and indeed several pretend to be his children in service of claiming divine agency.

Raandaii-B'nk, the so called "father-of-all-sharks" is considered an Avatar of Cthulhu by the Dagonite religion. He leads the Raandeese; Deep Ones hybridized from sharks, particularly Hammerheads.

Corpse Swimmer is the youngest of the Deepest Lords. He is a powerful necromancer and forced his way in on the back of an undead army. He can be found lurking under a vast sargassum mat filled with corpses.

Dagon is merely the latest in a line of Dagons, a title going to the oldest Deep One from a family line that draws it's origin to Cthulhu. Traditionally the Dagon would rule alongside a Hydra in a diarchy but the traditional system has been broken with Hydra's crisis of faith and retreat to Europa.

Zoth-Ommog is 70 million years old and the Deep Ones believe he is the youngest son of Cthulhu. In reality he is what happens when a Yuggya stings a T-rex. Zoth-Ommog leaves the ruling of the Deep Ones to Dagon, as he enjoys the tribute they give him but doesn't actually care what they do outside of pleasing him.

Ythogtha truly is the oldest living Deep One, having survived a whopping 250 million years. He technically leads the Deepest Lords but spends most of his time sleeping in the ruins of Mu, only awakening to offer advice or decrees on vanishingly rare occasions. He is also an enemy of Lloigor and they would happily destroy him on sight.

Ghatanathoa is also considered to be a child of Cthulhu but he is not included here as it has no ability to govern the Deep Ones and would turn them all to calcified mummies if they tried to contact it.


Notes: I would have waited until after I'd posted the regular Deep Ones but I'm currently in design hell with them. I wanted to post something today and I've had this ready for a while so here they are!
Raandaii-B'nk is from the story "From the Deep and Beyond" a story I've never actually read. I only really know him from Achtung Cthulhu: Terrors of the Secret War. I like the idea that more than just humans are hybridized with Deep Ones
Corpse Swimmer (aka He-Who-Swims-With-Corpses) is a fairly boring Greater Deep one from a couple Delta Green adventures. I've given him necromantic powers to go with his evocative name.
Zoth-Ommog is my favorite Great Old One from the wider Mythos but he's intrinsically tied to the Water Elemental BS Derleth started so here he is, "demoted" to being a very old Deep One pretending to be a god.
Ythogtha is another of the Cthulhu kids created by Lin Carter. He actually has a vaguely frog like body behind that tentacled cyclops face but I chose not to draw it due to the scale difference. He's just peeking into frame here."


Deep One Development by ValhaHazred

"You too can become an immortal fish-frog if you just follow these 5 easy steps!"


Strange Aeons - The Fungi from Yuggoth by ValhaHazred

"The fungi are extradimensional aliens with rough similarities to Earthly fungi and crustaceans. The Fungi have some incredibly eclectic technology, scavenged from across the universe, given by their allies or simply stolen from captured minds. They've come to Earth to mine the rare Tulu-metal created by the psychic emanations of the Star-Spawn and are preparing to go to war with any competitors on the planet, including the Tsan-Chan. Outside of Earth they mostly stick to the Kuiper Belt out beyond Neptune where they can mine Lagh without transhuman interference.

Although they are commonly called the Fungi from Yuggoth, they do not originate from that dark planet. Their origin lies far outside our solar system.

Mek - Simple biological drones created for basic physical tasks.

Lam - The Lam are advanced biodrones. They can act individually but are more commonly part of a spore's mental network or used to house an allied mind. Lam are telekinetic, allowing them to float and create short ranged blasts. Some Lam can also partially enter subspace, allowing them to pass through physical matter. They are commonly equipped with plasma weapons and energy screens.

Yeti - The fungal colony can take many forms. The Yeti is extremely durable and can partially ignore gravity. They sometimes wield Mi-go weapons but generally use their own claws.

Spores - They primary motile form of the Fungi. They are capable of interplanetary flight, regeneration and selective invisibility. Young Spore are around 2 meters long and grow to about 6.

Sleestak - Long time allies of the Fungi, the Sleestak have mastery over light matrix crystals.

Encounter Drones - Cybernetic drones used in heavy combat situations. They are deployed by Gateships, and carry a variety of internal weaponry. The smaller, tentacled variant is commonly used to house the brains of sorcerers, giving the drones a variety of spells.

Fruiting Body - Spores slowly outgrow their carapaces and eventually become enormous mushroom-like creatures that slowly crawl across the landscape until they are ready to take root.


Other Fungi units
Gateships - Disk shaped craft operated by biodrones. They each carry a gate, giving the Fungi a highly mobile transportation network.

Striders - Enormous four legged crab fungoids that wander the fungal mat. They serve as mobile bases for the Fungi, with gun emplacements and flights of spores ready to deploy.


Fungi weaponry
Fungi have access to a wide array of weapons, from cryoblasters and plasma cannons to gravity wave generators and biomechanical lightning pistols with vampiric properties.


Notes
I love the Mi-go and I love Alien mythology! Amazingly they come pre-mixed thanks to Delta Green, although I feel like I would have done that anyway given the chance.

The Mek and the Lam are of course the traditional Grey aliens and the Encounter Drones are from two of the stranger close encounters and personal favourites of mine, the Pascagoula Encounter and the La Rubia Sighting.

Sleestak are here playing the part of the Reptiloids. Why Sleestak specifically? Because Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, that's why! Oddly enough, there are reptilian Mi-go in the extended Mythos as Lin Carter describes the Mi-go of Leng as reptilian for some reason. "

 

Strange Aeons - Landscapes by ValhaHazred

"Nine places from the year 6000 AD.

A starspawn keeps watch over a boreal valley.

Ithaqua's mountaintop lair.

Ktynga crater, where Fthaggua sits impotent and trapped.

The Tsan-Chan highlands.

Nobody knows what died on the moon, but its corpse remains in an ocean of blood.

The Tsan-Chan lowlands.

Striders walk over the fungal plains.

A mature Mi-go holds dozens of brain canisters in cocoons of fungal tissue, allowing them access to the neural network.

A busy day in Fungi central."


Strange Aeons Bestiary - Outsiders by ValhaHazred

"The Outsiders are a sort of Tsan-Chan cryptid, rarely sighted entities that appear to be some kind of mutated human in ragged finery. There are a few unconfirmed reports of them clandestinely speaking to Byakhee in out of the way areas.

In game:
The players might notice Strangers watching from a distance; on top of buildings, from behind trees, etc. As the game progresses they'd appear in greater and greater numbers but always disappearing if a player gets close.

Eventually they'll start spotting Intruders as well. Obviously these brutes have a difficult time hiding and will act aggressively if approached. If irritated enough, they'll attack. They're super strong melee fighters although they can also fling rocks.

If you kill an Intruder the Stalker will start showing up, gesturing at players to come closer. If they do it will tell the tale of a fallen kingdom that it needs their help. If the players agree to help it will lead to a questline where they uncover strange extra-temporal ruins. As they plumb the secrets of the ruins they discover that it's not some fallen civilization that preceded Tsan-Chan but an alternate version of their own. The Stalker is a version of the player from a timeline where the King in Yellow rules the planet! They can either fight the Stalker as a mirror boss or merge with them and activate the black star core at the centre of the ruins, bringing Hastur to Earth and getting a bad end.

Note: These guys are actually recycled from old Mighty Children designs. Originally I had decided that the King in Yellow and the Empress of Tsan-Chan had mated, with the Mighty Children as the result of their union and Tsan-Chan as the equivalent of Carcosa on Earth. I realized that wasn't the direction I wanted to go in but I figured it would make a cool quest."


Strange Aeons Bestiary - Dagonites by ValhaHazred

"The Deep Ones scramble in the wake of the Starspawn, claiming divine favour and cultural superiority over the other peoples of the Earth. Hydra's betrayal has scarred their society and they grow ever more desperate to impress their indifferent gods.

Laniqua - Deep Ones are an extremely varied people, united by a psionic connection and a shared origin in the genetic slurry of the Yuggya. The three most important strains of Deep One are the human hybrids, the Chyrlid; dolphin hybrids, Lua'huan; and shark hybrids, the Raandeese.

Yuggya - The Yuggya are ancient repositories of DNA from the depths and breadth of the ocean, the cauldron by which new Deep One strains are made.

Deep Dwellers - Aliens from the world of Glyu'uho brought to the Earth during the Hyperborean era for reasons long lost to time. They are allied to the Deep Ones out of convenience for their shared environment and similar religious beliefs, although they are far less picky over which of the Ancient Powers they follow.

Abyssal - These enormous snail-like gastropods were found living in the waters surrounding the Starspawn structures before the founding of Y'ha-nthlei. They constantly seep a thick corrosive slime and can focus sonic waves through the orifice in their shell. More relevant to the Deep Ones, they are highly receptive to psionics and are easily commanded.

In addition the Deep Ones have a small number of bound Shoggoths and biosculpted coral constructs.

Notes:
There really are Deep One dolphins in the story "The Deep Ones" by James Wade.
The names for the Deep One breed are not my creation either. I got "Chyrlid" from the Innsmouth Legacy series which I highly recommend. It's an excellent deconstruction of the Mythos and The Shadow Over Innsmouth in particular.
The Yuggya are a pretty major reconstruction of a concept by Lin Carter. I turned them from loose allies to a direct part of the Deep One lifecycle and the means of their cross-species breeding ability. I'll probably go into that in more detail at some point later on.
The Deep Dwellers are creations of Ramsey Campbell and come from the story "The Horror from the Bridge". I really like their design. One of Campbell's more interesting monsters.

This is the last of the Deep One stuff for a while. I'm Deep One'd out! Next up I'm going to widen the scope and have a look at the human cultures that grew out of those that left Earth before R'lyeh rose."


Strange Aeons - Fragments of Humanity by ValhaHazred

"In the late 23rd century R'lyeh rose from the depths of the ocean and Cthulhu and his Starspawn walked the Earth. Millions died instantly or went irrevocably mad from the omnipresent force of their alien thoughts. On Earth human life merely hangs on, fighting to survive in the shadow of Ancient Powers but out in the wider solar system they thrive.


Arkhammers - The Miskatonic University was a leader in the field of Occult Science before the fall of Earth. When Earthgov turned inwards in desperation and violently cracked down on evacuation, 9 Miskatonic professors opened an illegal Gate to bypass the blockade and brought their families and brightest students through. For ages they were without any home but the ships they bought or salvaged, wandering from station to station trading scraps of knowledge and expertise for resources. They grew insular as fear and suspicion followed them but they continued to pioneer new occult techniques, including the domestication of Hyperspatial lifeforms. Their expertise payed off with the end of the Boojum war and their aid in coming to an agreement with the Leviathans. Now their Dean holds an honored place in the Solar Council and their Archive Ships are celebrated places of Occult learning.

Meat Witches - The Meat Witches are an offshoot of the Arkham Collegiate, throwing themselves deeper in their study of Hyperspatial life-forms and self modification.

Spacers - It is perhaps unfair to lump most of the human population together simply because they all live in space but without that single unifying element there would be very little in common. Habitats litter the system, everything from O'Niell cylinders that house tens of thousands to simple mircograv cans with small family groups. With the distances involved it is nearly impossible to stay united and culture can vary wildly from hab to hab. This individual is a member of the Sol Defense Fleet, the military arm of the Solar Council.

Martians - Mars was the first planetary colony to declare independence from the old Earth government, all the way back in 2282 or -19.7decasol depending on your choice of calendar. Mars itself has been terraformed for thousands of years and is now a world of cold rocky deserts and a vast northern ocean. The martians are a fiercely independent and individualistic people, valuing solitude and self sufficiency over comfort and community.

Venusian - Unlike Mars, Venus was not terraformed by good old fashioned comet drops and algal blooms. Ancient technology mistakenly activated by surveyors remade Venus into a world of steaming jungles and saltwater marshes practically overnight. Venus is seen as a world of rebellion, having torn the Hypercapitalist oligarchs that once ruled their planet from their ivory towers and fed them to the swamp lizards.

Brainguys - These posthumans designed themselves to be the perfect vessels for psionic energy. They have a few habitats in the Asteroid Belt but they rarely spend time active in realspace, preferring to spend their time meditating and experimentation on building their own Dreamlands.

Starmothers - The Starmothers are a mystery. These Posthuman entities wander the inner solar system, floating through space under their own power. Occasionally they will set down on a planet for a period ranging from a few hours to months at a time. They aren't hostile but no attempt to communicate has been reciprocated. Some attempted conversationalists have reported that they felt an unnerving sense of attention from the enormous fetuses floating within their bellies.

Silver Lodge Hunters - The Hunters are descendants of a fraternal secret society of sport hunters that discovered the occult in the late 20th century. Even before the rising of R'lyeh in the 22nd century their familiarity with outer forces was beginning to change them. Now they are something like a ghoul, built for apex predation rather than scavenging. They are not well liked as they are happy to hunt other transhumans if the mood takes them but they are also happy to throw themselves into monstrous or alien threats with the right encouragement. Even the Mi-go make use of them from time to time, when they have need of a convenient thug.

Digital Ghosts - Full mind-machine uploads are relatively unpopular among humanity as continuity of consciousness is easier to maintain with Occult Science and Psionic transfers than it is with physical science. However it is not without its own benefits and they have built up a fairly robust population of distinct personalities over the last few thousand years. Most of their population is housed in server-bunkers buried in Triton's ice and if they have to interact with the rest of pan-humanity they generally do it via telepresence.

Encephalon - The Encephalon are descendants of transhumans who where disgusted by what they felt where petty politics of useless meat. They hold to the ideal that the only thing that matters is the brain, so they removed almost everything else. They despise being compared to the now jarred humans that joined with the Mi-go colony, despite the inherent similarities in life-style. For one thing their somatons are cubes not cylinders!

Church of the Perseverant Machine - Despite their fearsome appearance, it is difficult to find gentler souls than those of the Perseverant. In the years following the fall of Earth, religious practices where suppressed but the Church never disbanded or apologized for their beliefs and met mistrust and oppression with kindness.


This is hardly a fully inclusive list of the extant sub-species of humanity but it is a decent cross-section of the biggest players and some of the weirder outliers.
Some colonists have even gone out beyond Neptune and into the Void beyond but they have no contact with the Sol system."


Strange Aeons - Meat Witch by ValhaHazred

Nobody has made a deeper study into the nature of Hyperspatial life than the Meat Witches. They no longer have any use for machines, preferring to use custom lifeforms even wrapping themselves in layers of nugenic symbiotes. "


Strange Aeons - Southern Desert by ValhaHazred

"Covering much of the continent, the Southern Desert is a vast arid landscape. Since the emergence of R’lyeh the Star-Spawn have taken to roosting here, far away from psi deadening water. Beneath it’s sands lies the vast underground kingdom of K’n-yan and entryways to that semi-dreamland dot the surface. The arrival of their ancient gods and the renewal of the sacred Tulu metal has begun to draw them out of their seclusion.

Sand Dwellers - These primitive nocturnal humanoids live in nomadic groups and small villages across the southeast. They are lead by Shamans backed by Yig or Tsathoggua and the two Powers continue their ancient rivalry through them.

Toad Beasts of Tsathoggua - Tsathoggua resides in the deep caverns of N'kai beneath K'n-yan and Yoth in a state of divine slothfulness. He sends his Toad Beasts out into the world to act in his stead and hunt for novel sacrifices it would be worth waking for.

Tunnelers Beneath - Although the Tunnelers range far outside the Southern Desert, most of them return to the desert to mature. The Tunneler worms may develop into two forms; the large subterranean Guardian worms that nest in large communities alongside previous metamorphic stages while the flying Scouts seek to spread their larvae across as wide and area as possible. This is not sexual dimorphism, as the Tunnelers are hermaphrodites.

Glass Geist - The tortured spirits of the Tower of Glass. It is theorized the structure was once meant to defend against Sothic forces but now the rampant ancient technology traps the information shadows of the very people it was supposed to protect. Sometimes pieces of Spiritglass fragment off the tower and wander away, possessed by the ghosts within.

Children of Yig - The desert is Yig's favoured home and the children he makes here are particularly powerful. They are capable of hypnotic control and can inject an explosive venom. They are fond of using these in tandem to create kamikaze minions."

 

Strange Aeons - The Kingdom of K'n-Yan by ValhaHazred

"The people of K'n-yan live in golden cities within a vast cavern of blue mist beneath the sands of the Southern Desert. They are an ancient people made sadistic and decadent by the ennui of immortality. They possess both powerful psionic abilities and advanced technology. The K'n-yanians are worshipers of many Ancient Powers; Yig, Shub-Niggurath, Nug and Yeb but chief among their deities is Cthulhu. The dreams of R'lyeh convinced them that not only were they favoured by Cthulhu but that they were brought to Earth from the distant star of Xoth. With the return of the Starspawn the People of K'n-yan are returning to the surface, secure in the idea that their gods will protect them from the ones who sent them hiding beneath the Earth in the first place.

Beneath K'n-yan is the cavern of Yoth, lit by red energy and inhabited by cursed and degenerated serpent people. Although it's considered part of the Kingdom, Yoth is only inhabited by sparse guard outposts and research stations. Even deeper is black N'kai, the domain of Tsathoggua and his Formless Spawn.

Y'm-bhi - The K'n-yan are masters of reanimation and use the undead as their primary workforce. The Y'm-bhi are usually created by artfully torturing a human to death, replacing their organs with a micro-fusion generator and reanimating the corpse. Sometimes the creator might also summon and bind the subject's ghost as a passive observer for that extra touch of sadism.

Gyaa-Yothn - These creatures where genetically engineered by the K'n-yanians as heavy laborers, mounts and foodstock. Sometimes they are also used as heavy shock troops, heavily armored and equipped with a back mounted atomic cannon. Their DNA is derived from human sources and the forsaken serpents of Yoth.

K'n-yanian - The people of K'n-yan are immortal and capable of dematerialization, telepathy and various other psionic talents. They also pack fusion blasters.

Unmen - Those K'n-yanians that betray their own are made an example to the rest. They are stripped of their names and possessions, tortured, forcibly dematerialized and locked within their ghostly forms to distort and mutate.

Klaa - Although they had long dismissed vehicular technology out of simple boredom and a preference for slave labour, the K'n-Yanians have begun to reactivate their ancient war machines in anticipation of conflict with the people of the surface."


Strange Aeons - Landscapes 2 by ValhaHazred
"More places from the sixty second century.

A series of crude huts constructed by Chyrlid Dagonites.

Y'ha-nthei is just one of a dozen ancient Deep One cities. This is a seafloor view of G'l-hoo, across the sea to the northwest.

Coral constructs grow in arcane patterns around specially prepared pillars.

The Tower of Glass.

The Southern Desert is a hotbed of Starspawn activity.

A small caravan from K'n-yan heads out across the desert.

K'n-yan is a geologically improbable cavern lit by luminous blue mist. It actually exists thanks to a weakpoint in the veil between the material world and the Aetheric Dreamlands.

Yoth extends deeper beneath the Earth and deeper into the Dreamlands. A prominent Ghoul Road connects it to the Vaults of Zin.

The cramped tunnels of N'kai are the domain of the Formless Spawn of Tsathoggua."


Tsan-Chani by ValhaHazred

"Just some Tsan-Chan doodles, mostly to work on their fashion. A young woman takes part of her daily food allotment to a food cart to have it cooked, an off duty security agent catches up on the news while a New One Peeper reads over their shoulder and a sorcerer notices the crack in the fourth wall and makes the Elder Sign in warding."


Strange Aeons - Street Food by ValhaHazred

"A nice lunch at a park-side food stand.

Xauni has never had savory-tea quite like this before and is trying to figure out what protein went into brewing it. She's certain it's not Moit or Worm-paste at least.

Guhkka is feeling like a third wheel right now since their friend Ran caught the eye of that outlander cyborg. The excellent fish paste bun is a consolation.

Ran is really hitting it off with Espiritu. It all started when she asked his advice on what to eat and lead to a discussion on what it was like growing up in Tsan-Chan and the Durna tribe. He'd never even seen an immigrant before and he'd definitely like to learn more about her!

Espiritu is new to the Tsan-Chan. A Pine Devil took her arm and if it hadn't been for one of the Tsan-Chan's sorcerous "machines" it would have taken her life. After the healers where finished with her she immediately applied for immigration. Her people might traditionally look down on the softness of civilization but at least she doesn't have to ever worry about the Pine Devils again.

Zoshii knows he is being a glutton but if he wants an egg bun and a Moit offal bun in the same meal then he'll do it. Y'know, self care!"


Turn to the Left! by ValhaHazred

"The people of Tsan-Chan, serving up some looks."


The Frabjous Borogove by ValhaHazred

"Two Meat Witches flagrantly disregard the Earth Psionic Exclusion Zone and the Sol DF blockade to explore an ancient wreckage field. They are rewarded with an encounter with the fabulously rare Frabjous Borogove as it flits amongst the Toves.

Notes: Read/Listen to the Boojumverse stories by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette immediately. I consider them required reading for the post-Lovecraft mythos fan. They are "Mongoose", "Boojum" and "The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward" and all of them can be found online."

 

Alexander Moore's artwork based on H. P. Lovecraft's story The Whisperer in Darkness.

 

Sam DelaTorre: Supergirl:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nZayo

 

Sam DelaTorre: Batgirl:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/312RE

 

Sam DelaTorre: Spider-Gwen:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/n4rP1

 

Doctor JarJar by Mara999

 

Kandra Gloomblade: Mermaid Queen Salacia:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xzwxrm

 

Candra Gloomblade: Harley Quinn:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/N4n1q

 

Atlach-Nacha, Weavers of the Infinite Web by ValhaHazred

"These arachnoid denizens of The Beyond travel through subspace, weaving a web that connects many worlds. Legend has it that if enough bridge threads are woven they can pull entire planets down into the space beneath space. What they do with them is completely unknown."
[...]
* "Xhodocto385 Featured By Owner Edited Jul 10, 2019
is that Atlach-Nacha forming an humanoid avatar when dealing with humans and others?, also what are arachnoids made of?, they seem to be more than just chitin, and what are their webs made of?."
* * "ValhaHazred Featured By Owner Jul 10, 2019 Hobbyist Digital Artist
It's not so much forming an avatar as they've carved down their faceplate, mouthparts and antenna to resemble human parts. They are aware that humans fear them so they're doing their best. Please stop screaming.

Whatever they're made of it's pretty tough. It also continues growing with them. Atlach-Nacha don't need to molt and that human sculpt will eventually grow out.

The webs are basically pure magic sucked out of subspace and woven together."

 

Candra Gloomblade: Magic Shop:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/LmOPR

 

Dragon Riders, by Rich35211:

 

Michael Dashow: Contemporary witches: witch on broomstick:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/w88XA9