The Old Ones
Azathoth
Azathoth. One of the Outer Gods and considered the center of all the universe. Azathoth is described by Lovecraft as "that last amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemies and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."
Azathoth is the ruler of all Outer Gods and is considered timeless, having existed since before the creation of all the universe. None have seen Azathoth and told the tale, the mindless fluting of Azathoth's servitors as they orbit the idiot god driving simple man to his death. It is whispered that Nyarlathotep stands at Azathoth's beck and call, though what missions a mass of chaos would desire is beyond comprehension.
Though never directly mentioned, it can be speculated that Azathoth is the center of creation from whence all things come, the ultimate chaos at the center of the universe which gives life and death at its fancy.
Cthulu
A massive creature that has a similar body to a man but the head of an Octopus. He is one of the Older Beings who came and usurped the citadels of the Elder Gods. He is one of the two lords of the ocean, thought to now reside in the sunken city of R'lyeh, trapped in the tomb created by his followers to protect him from the poisonous star light. Those who can hear his message are easily swayed and soon become his followers preparing his way. It is said that once you become a follower your family line is thus dedicated to His cause.
Also, Cthulu's minions, or child race are called Cthulhi, have a physical
Similarity with Cthulhu himself, but are of far smaller size. This race arrived with him, but relatively little is known about them. On Earth they built the city R'lyeh, which later sank in the ocean, and where they still dwell with Cthulhu. A few are rumored to have escaped this incident, and can be found in hidden places on Earth. They are treasure hunters and possess psychic abilities enabling them to manipulate people who are too foolish to see their tricks.
Dagon
Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god, reportedly of grain and agriculture. He was worshipped by the early Amorites and by the inhabitants of the cities of Ebla and Ugarit (which was an ancient city near the Mediterranean containing a large variety of ancient writings and pagan shrines). He was also a major member, or perhaps head, of the pantheon of the Biblical Philistines.
His name appears in Hebrew as, in Ugaritic as dgn (probably vocalized as Dagnu), and in Akkadian as Dagana, Daguna usually rendered in English translations as Dagan. In Ugaritic, the root dgn also means grain: in Hebrew dāgān, Samaritan dīgan, is an archaic word for grain, perhaps related to the Middle Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic word dgnʾ 'be cut open' or to Arabic dagn 'rain-(cloud)'. The Phoenician author Sanchuniathon also says Dagon means siton, that being the Greek word for grain. Sanchuniathon further
explains: "And Dagon, after he discovered grain and the plough, was called Zeus Arotrios." The word arotrios means "ploughman", "pertaining to agriculture".
The theory relating the name to Hebrew, fish, based solely upon a reading of 1 Samuel 5:2–7 is discussed in Fish-god tradition below. It is understood that Dagon was the lord of the ocean, rains and grain but was also the ruler of Atlantis until the revolt against him and his children resulted in the Cities destruction and sinking.
Incidentally Dagon is the King of Atlantis. It was his children who fought with the half-bred fish-men of the lower class, causing the great city to sink into the ocean.
In much later developments there was a cult following to him in Massachutsettes by a fishing community in a city called Innsmouth. The city now is comepletely corrupt and has a fishy feeling about it. There are dark goings on in that city, so naturally the people don’t like strangers.
Shub Niggurath
Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase “The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young”, is a deity. he creature is sometimes referred to as “The Black Ram of The Forest With A Thousand Ewe”, lending a male gender to the Great Old One that is often thought of as female. The diety is often worshiped through the image of, or phrase of the black goat. Depictions of the deity usually are of a pregnant goat with her sexual organs displayed and a green jewel, considered sacred to worshipers, in the nexus of her labia.
The Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath are horrifying, pitch-black monstrosities, seemingly made of ropy tentacles. They stand as tall as a tree (perhaps between twelve and twenty feet tall) on a pair of stumpy, hooved legs. A mass of tentacles protrudes from their trunks where a head would normally be, and puckered maws, dripping green goo, cover their flanks. The monsters roughly resemble trees in silhouette — the trunks being the short legs and the tops of the trees represented by the ropy, branching bodies. The whole mass of these things smells like an open grave. They usually dwell in woodlands wherever Shub Niggurath's cult is active.
The Dark Young are usually called upon to preside over cult ceremonies. One Means for summoning them is found in the Book of Eibon and requires a blood Offering. The ritual may only be performed in the deep of the woodlands at the darkest of the moon, and the victim must be sacrificed over a stone altar.
Dark young act as proxies for Shub-Niggurath in the accepting of sacrifices and the worship of cultists, in the devouring of non-cultists, and in the spreading of their mother's faith across the world.
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep differs from the other beings in a number of ways. Most of them are exiled to stars, like Yog-Sothoth and Hastur, or sleeping and dreaming like Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep, however, is active and frequently walks the Earth in the guise of a human being, usually a tall, slim, joyous man. Most of the Outer Gods have their own cults serving them; Nyarlathotep seems to serve these cults and take care of their affairs in their absence. Most of them use strange alien languages, while Nyarlathotep uses human languages and can be mistaken for a human being. Finally, most of them are all powerful yet purposeless, yet Nyarlathotep seems to be deliberately deceptive and manipulative, and even uses propaganda to achieve his goals. In this regard, he is probably the most human-like among them.
Nyarlathotep enacts the will of the Outer Gods, and is their messenger, heart and soul; he is also a servant of Azathoth, whose wishes he immediately fulfills. Unlike the other Outer Gods, causing madness is more important and enjoyable than death and destruction to Nyarlathotep.
Yig
Yig (the Father of Serpents)He is a deity that appears as a serpent man, serpent with bat like wings, or as a giant snake. Although Yig is easy to anger, he is easy to please as well. Yig often sends his serpent minions, the children of Yig, to destroy or transform his enemies.
To Native Americans, Yig is regarded as "bad medicine". He is also alluded to in western American folklore. He is identified with the Mesoamerican deity Quetzalcoatl, and may be a prototype for that god and other serpentine gods worldwide. Some authors identify him as the Stygian serpent god Set's father. Yig was once (and may still) be worshipped by the Ssethregorean Empire, a group dominated by various lizard and snake-like beings. Yig in this mythos is a female deity, but still strongly associated with serpents, suggesting the name is not a coincidence.
Yog Sothoth
Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way, The All-in-One and the One-in-All) Yog-Sothoth is an Outer God and is coterminous with all time and space yet is supposedly locked outside of the universe we inhabit. Its cosmic nature is hinted at in this passage from "Through the Gates of the Silver Key". Yog-Sothoth knows all and sees all. To "please" this deity could bring knowledge of many things. However, like most beings in the mythos, to see it or learn too much about it is to court disaster. Some authors state that the favour of the god requires a human sacrifice or eternal servitude.
Aforgomon is an obscure avatar of Yog-Sothoth invented by Clark Ashton Smith. He was revered by many cultures past, present, and future as the God of Time because of his preternatural ability to manipulate time and space. Little is known of this being's appearance because he only reveals himself to those who have angered him. However, it is known that he is accompanied by a blinding light. He is the mortal enemy of Xexanoth.
The Lurker at the Threshold
This is the name given to Yog-Sothoth in August Derleth and H. P. Lovecraft's novel The Lurker at the Threshold. In the story, Alijah Billington describes Yog-Sothoth's appearance as ...great globes of light massing toward the opening, and not alone these, but the breaking apart of the nearest globes, and the protoplasmic flesh that flowed blackly outward to join together and form that eldritch, hideous horror from outer space, that spawn of the blankness of primal time, that tentacle amorphous monster which was the lurker at the threshold, whose mask was as a congeries of iridescent globes, the noxious Yog-Sothoth, who froths as primal slime in nuclear chaos beyond the nethermost outposts of space and time!
Umr at-Tawil
'Umr at-Tawil (The Most Ancient and Prolonged of Life), also spelled Tawil
At-U'mr or Tawil-at'Umr, is described as an avatar of Yog-Sothoth in the story "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", by Lovecraft and E. Hoffman Price. In the story, he presides over the timeless halls beyond the Gate of the Silver Key and the strange, near-omnipotent Ancient Ones that dwell there. He is described as the silhouette of a man behind a strange, shimmering veil.
