Lovecraft's Dreamlands Campaign Setting

[MythAdvocate]

Has anyone tried running a game in Lovecraft's "Dream Cycle" stories? Seems to me that this would make an excellent fantasy PG setting.

Races
Humans
Non-Humans? - I would say no. Keep things humancentric and cultural. Dreamland cats are tempting though.

Clerics
The gods of the setting could be drawn directly from the Cthulhu Mythos, but I would also draw some of them from Dunsany's Gods of Pegana books. Of particular interest for specialty clerics might be the Small Gods like:
Kib, The Sender of Life. The creator of beasts and Men.
Mung, Lord of all Deaths
Slid, Whose Soul is the Sea. The lord of all waters.
Yoharneth-Lahai, the God of Little Dreams and Fancies. (god of King Kuranes)

[MythAdvocate]

Below is the map I will be using for the setting.

[baran_i_kanu]

Yes I have.

I would use non-humans in mine and not halflings, elves, dwarves, etc. that;s why created these race=classes:
http://theosrlibrary.blogspot.com/2014/ ... rinth.html

On my blog I also converted 'standard' Mythos creatures as well as Dreamland's creatures.
I also would use my ritual magic and anyone can cast ritual spells.
I've continued with Mythos conversions on my blog, even classes and madness rules for a classic Mythos campaign so it would be easy to drop investigator classs in with LL classes with little effort.
http://theosrlibrary.blogspot.com/p/myt ... ll-of.html

[seneschal]

I like baran's Dreamlands creature templates, but my inclination would be to keep them as NPC antagonists and, perhaps, unreliable allies. After all, each non-human group has agendas of its own which may conflict with the goals of human player-characters stumbling into unknown territory. Part of the point of Dreamlands adventures is that folks from the waking world are strangers in a truly strange land and don't really know what they are putting themselves in for despite whatever studies they may have made beforehand. If a PC is a local, that takes away a lot of the mystery. Plus I have trouble seeing a mixed party of serpent men, Deep Ones, humans, cats and ghouls getting along for long; eventually one or more of the companions would be inclined to eat the others.

[baran_i_kanu]

Party conflict baby! Lol

Here's a D&D-ized Dreamlands campaign from way back. The guys who did this had some interesting stuff. I reworked a lot of it into basic D&D years ago. It was my inspiration to do write-ups for basic D&D.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120908003 ... ground#The Ooth-Nargai Campaign: Background for Players-Nonhumans in the Dreamlands
The Gods of the Dreamlands link doesn't work. I'll posst the info below, I've had it saved for years on word doc's.

Another, Celephais for 3ed.
http://home.winfirst.com/miskra/rpg/dnd3/

[baran_i_kanu]

As you can see here: http://theosrlibrary.blogspot.com/p/myt ... ll-of.html a lot came out of that Ooth-Nargai inspiraton. Lol.

[baran_i_kanu]

The Ooth-Nargai Campaign: Gods of the Dreamlands

Note that druids and rangers revere nature rather than serving a god. However, some may pay homage to nature gods such as Lilith, Robigus, Nereus or Oukranos. Likewise, paladins may revere crusader-gods such as Ariel, Nath-Horthath or N'tse-Kaambl, but are not required to do so.
The Great Ones

The Great Ones are the pantheon of gods best known to humankind, and as a whole, are generally benevolent. They are believed to be nearly human in appearance, and very comely. Several popular Great Ones are listed below; many others exist, but are rarely mentioned or worshiped among mortals.
Becoming a member of a Great One's cult normally requires nothing beyond professing a reverence for the god and making regular prayers and offerings. Joining a cult's priesthood, however, is a much more demanding process. If the priests of the temple decide a petitioner is suitably pious and teachable, they will accept the student as a probationary acolyte. After a period of instruction, the acolyte must decide whether to remain a layman or to ask for initiation. Clerics may serve either a single god or the entire pantheon. (The latter is most common in places such as Ulthar, where many gods are honored, but few priests can be supported.)

God
Alignment
Domains
Worshiped By
Symbol
Prayer Time
Ariel, God of Truth
LN
Knowledge, Law, Sun
Messengers, judges
A human figure radiating white light
Dawn or noon
Hagarg Ryonis, Goddess of Divine Retribution
NE
Death, Evil, Strength, Trickery
Assassins
Image of the Lier-in-Wait
Dusk or midnight
Karakal, God of Fire
CN
Chaos, Fire, Knowledge, Magic
Wizards, seers, those dwelling near volcanoes
A man encircled with flames
Dawn or noon
Lilith, Goddess of Fertility
N
Animal, Earth, Healing, Magic
Wizards, witches, druids, lovers, courtesans
A woman's lips
Dusk or midnight
Lobon, God of Peace
NG
Good, Healing, Protection
Diplomats, pacifists
Spear
Dawn or noon
Nasht, God of Lore
N
Knowledge, Luck, Protection, Travel
Dreamers, commoners, scholars
Image of Nasht
Dusk or dawn
Nath-Horthath, God of Celephais
LG
Good, Law, Protection, Sun
City-dwellers (esp. Celephais)
Crowned man riding a lion
Dawn or noon
Nereus, God of the Sea
N
Animal, Luck, Water
Seafarers of all sorts
Trident
Dawn or dusk
Robigus, God of Fungi
N
Animal, Plant, Trickery
Farmers, forest-dwellers, bards
White mushroom
Dusk or midnight
Tamash, God of Illusions
CG
Chaos, Good, Knowledge, Magic, Trickery
Wizards, sorcerors
Blue wand or staff
Dawn or dusk
Zo-Kalar, God of Life and Death
N
Death, Healing, Knowledge
Healers, rogues, necromancers
A white face
Dusk or midnight
(The entire pantheon)
Any
Any two from above
Commoners, scholars, travelers
Star (or stars)
Any one

Ariel, The Truth Bearer: Represented by a man radiating a bright white light. His cult is not large, as few are willing to face the truth, much less embrace it fully. Many of his followers are employed as messengers, for their reputations for never lying. If a priest of Ariel lies, he will lose his clerical powers until he makes proper atonement.

Hagarg Ryonis, the Lier-in-Wait: Hagarg is probably as beautiful as her fellow Great Ones, but is never depicted in any form except the Lier-in-Wait, a clawed, reptilian horror with randomly-placed eyes. She is rarely worshipped herself, but is sent to punish those who have offended the Great Ones.

Karakal, Master of the Flames: Represented by a half-nude man encircled in flames. He is primarily worshipped by wizards and by people living near volcanoes. His priests keep an eternal flame burning in all his shrines, and often use fire as an oracle.

Lilith, Queen of the Night: Lilith is a primal force of procreation and fertility. She is an infamous seducer, and the mother of monsters.

Lobon: Represented as a bearded youth in white samite, wearing an ivy crown and carrying a spear. This spear is an emblem, not a weapon; Lobon is a pacifist. Like those of his brothers Tamash and Zo-Kalar, Lobon's cult has never recovered from the destruction of Sarnath, the cult's original center.

Nasht: Represented as a man in robes and an Egyptian-style headdress. He guards the Cavern of Endless Flame between the waking and dream worlds, and instructs new dreamers on proper etiquette in the Dreamlands. He is worshipped by some natives of that plane, but his clerics are always human. (Dreamers of other races are thought to use other portals to the Dreamlands.) His fellow priest-sentry, Kaman-Thah, is not worshipped, but is considered an avatar of Nasht.

Nath-Horthath, God of Celephais: Represented as a jet-black-skinned man with blond hair and silver eyes, and always riding a lion. He is the patron god of Celephais, but has small groups of worshippers elsewhere. He is easily angered by those who are not his worshippers, but is very patient and attentive to those who are.

Nereus, The Old Man of the Sea: Depicted as an old but powerfully built man (or merman) wielding a trident. he helps those who worship him, but like his watery domain, he can be rather unpredictable. He is a shapechanger and oracle, and father of the Nereids (sea nymphs).

Robigus, God of Rust: Robigus appears as a handsome man attended by a horse, a wolf and a woodpecker. He controls fungi of all kinds, so is therefore most often worshiped by farmers hoping to avoid blights, and by dwellers in enchanted forests. He is a patron of music, but easily irked by unskilled attempts.

Tamash, God of Illusions: Represented as a silver-skinned, black-bearded man wearing cloth-of-gold and a laurel wreath, and carrying a staff of lapis lazuli. Like those of his brothers Lobon and Zo-Kalar, Tamash's cult has never recovered from the destruction of Sarnath. However, as patron of wizards, he will always have followers.

Zo-Kalar, Ruler of Life and Death: Represented as a tall, thin man with bone-white skin and hair. His eyes and clothes are black. As god of birth and death, he oversees each person's life story. However, like those of his brothers Tamash and Lobon, Zo-Kalar's cult has never recovered from the destruction of Sarnath. He is also a god of darkness, and is attended by Shades.
Other Dreamlands Gods

The following is a partial list of other deities worshipped in the Dreamlands. They include Elder Gods, Great Old Ones, and minor deities, all of which fall outside the Great Ones' pantheon.

God
Alignment
Domains
Worshiped By
Symbol
Prayer Time
Bast, Goddess of Cats
N
Animal, Luck, Protection, War (FW: unarmed strike)
Ailurophiles, pleasure-seekers
A cat or a cat-headed woman
Dusk or midnight
Bokrug, God of Ib
CN
Animal, Chaos, Destruction, Water
Inhabitants of Mnar
A blue-green lizard
Midnight or dawn
N'tse-Kaambl, Goddess of War
LN
Destruction, Law, Magic, War (FW: any spear)
Monks, warriors, monster-slayers
Image of the goddess
Dawn or noon
Nodens, God of the Great Abyss
N
Air, Knowledge, Travel, Trickery
Explorers, sages, hermits
Seashell and dolphin
Dawn or dusk
Oukranos, God of the River Oukranos
NG
Good, Healing, Protection, Water
Dwellers in the Oukranos valley
A man standing in a river
Dawn or noon

Bast, Goddess of Cats: Represented as a cat or a cat-headed woman. She was once worshipped as a goddess of the home and of war, but her cult has dwindled. The cats of Earth's Dreamlands are her primary followers, though some humans (especially in Ulthar) still revere her, as do some nonhumans.

Bokrug, the Water Lizard: Bokrug appears as a gigantic blue-green lizard. He destroyed Sarnath after the humans there slaughtered his nonhuman worshippers. Ever since, the men of Mnar have pacified him with regular offerings.

N'tse-Kaambl, Shatterer of Worlds: Represented as a beautiful woman wearing a helmet and shield and carrying a spear. She is the creator of the Elder Sign, which is emblazoned on her shield. She has little to do with humans, devoting her time to wars against the other races of gods, particularly the evil, hidden Outer Gods.

Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss: Represented as an old, gray-beared man riding a seashell chariot pulled by fantastic beasts. Nodens is a god of hidden places and travel, and his most favored worshipers sometimes accompany him on his journeys. He is served by the nightgaunts, who guard certain sacred places from the prying eyes of mortals.

Oukranos: Oukranos is the god of the river of the same name, in the western Dreamlands. Those who have once visited his beautiful valley sometimes continue to honor him.
The Outer Gods

The Outer Gods (who include such feared names as Azathoth and Nyarlathotep) are powerful beings who dwell outside the Dreamlands--but not far enough outside for comfort. Their cults work in secret, attempting to allow their masters to enter this world. No sane mortal worships these entities, most of whom are chaotic evil.
Nonhumans' Gods

Unless otherwise noted above [Nasht], members of any race may become clerics (or NPC adepts) of a given god. However, the nonhuman races tend to prefer certain gods as noted below:

Dwarves rarely worship a single god, instead preferring the full Great One pantheon. Generalist clerics favor the Earth and Protection domains, as well as those matching their alignment.

Elves normally revere nature rather than worshipping gods, so produce more druids than clerics. Some honor the nature-related Great Ones (Karakal, Lilith, Nereus, Robigus), while a few seek out more exotic neutral gods (Bast, Nodens).

Gnomes have a variety of faiths, including nature-worship (druids), animal-related gods (Lilith, Robigus, Bast), and gods of magic (Tamash and sometimes Karakal).

Half-elves may adopt the religion of either parent, or seek out their own path.

Half-orcs may serve nearly any human god, but prefer domains such as Destruction, Strength and War to those of Healing, Knowledge and Sun. Of the gods described above, orc tribes are known to worship Hagarg Ryonis, Zo-Kalar and N'tse-Kaambl, while many orc pirates honor Nereus. Other tribes serve various Outer Gods, but PCs may not belong to those cults.

Halflings worship any or all of the Great Ones, except Nasht. They rarely follow gods from outside this pantheon.
Domain Summary

The following is a list of the domains and the gods granting each. Domains with asterisks (Air and War) may not be chosen by clerics serving the full Great One pantheon. (See the Player's Handbook, pp. 162-166, for details of these domains.)

Air*: Nodens.
Animal: Lilith, Nereus, Robigus, Bast, Bokrug.
Chaos: Karakal, Tamash, Bokrug.
Death: Hagarg Ryonis, Zo-Kalar.
Destruction: Robigus, Bokrug, N'tse-Kaambl.
Earth: Lilith.
Evil: Hagarg Ryonis.
Fire: Karakal.
Good: Lobon, Nath-Horthath, Tamash, Oukranos.
Healing: Lilith, Lobon, Zo-Kalar, Oukranos.
Knowledge: Ariel, Karakal, Nasht, Tamash, Zo-Kalar, Nodens.
Law: Ariel, Nath-Horthath, N'tse-Kaambl.
Luck: Nasht, Nereus, Bast.
Magic: Karakal, Lilith, Tamash, N'tse-Kaambl.
Plant: Robigus.
Protection: Lobon, Nasht, Nath-Horthath, Bast, Oukranos.
Strength: Hagarg Ryonis.
Sun: Ariel, Nath-Horthath.
Travel: Nasht, Nodens.
Trickery: Hagarg Ryonis, Lilith, Robigus, Tamash, Nodens.
War*: Bast (favored weapon: unarmed strike), N'tse-Kaambl (favored weapon: any spear).
Water: Nereus, Bokrug, Oukranos.

Favored weapons (for the purpose of the spell spiritual weapon) are as follows:
Great Ones:
Ariel: Mace
Hagard Ryonis: Toothy maw
Karakal: Fist
Lilith: Claws
Lobon: Spear
Nasht: Flail
Nath-Horthath: Warhammer
Nereus: Trident
Robigus: Morningstar
Tamash: Quarterstaff
Zo-Kalar: Dagger
(full pantheon: any of above)
Other Deities:
Bast: Claws
Bokrug: Toothy maw
N'tse-Kaambl: Spear
Nodens: Quarterstaff
Oukranos: Quarterstaff

I printed all his stuff off over a decade ago and it's covered in scribbled notes over two folders. I hope I can type it in organized someday.