The Elder Gods, also referred to as the Elder Deities, are an enigmatic pantheon of extradimensional primordial beings which waged a thousand-year heavenly war against the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods. Despite originating from another dimension, they have also been known to dwell in the vicinity of the star Betelgeuse, a.k.a. Glyu-Vho. They can physically manifest themselves as humanoids or as great towers of light.
Having emerged victorious after a cosmic war of unimaginable proportions, the Elder Gods imprisoned the Great Old Ones and some of their servant races (including the Cthonians, the Dwellers in the Depths and the Spawn of Cthulhu) in several locations on Earth and other planets, using mysterious star-shaped stones carved from the land of Mnar to prevent these cosmic entities from escaping. Said star-stones, also known as the Elder Sign, can also be used as protection against any species aligned with the Great Old Ones, such as the Deep Ones and Shoggoths.
The Elder Gods are worshiped by myriads of species on several distant worlds. Much like their enemies have other races that serve and follow them, there are also species that are loyal to the Elder Gods, such as the Night-Gaunts who serve Nodens, and the Orion Star-Warriors.
List of Elder Gods[]
- Bast
- Hypnos
- Kthanid
- Nodens
- Oryx
- Oztalun
- Paighon
- Shavalyoth
- Ulthar
- Vorvadoss
- Yad-Thaddag
- Yaggdytha
Appearances[]
- "The Strange High House in the Mist", by H. P. Lovecraft (1931)
- "The Lair of the Star-Spawn", by August Derleth and Mark Schorer (1932)
- "The Eater of Souls", by Henry Kuttner (1937)
- "The Invaders", by Henry Kuttner (1939)
- "The Return of Hastur", by August Derleth (1939)
- "The Evil Ones", by August Derleth and Mark Schorer (1940)
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, by H. P. Lovecraft (1943)
- "The Horror from the Bridge", by Ramsey Campbell (1964) (Mentioned only)
- The Burrowers Beneath, by Brian Lumley (1974) (Mentioned only)
- The Transition of Titus Crow, by Brian Lumley (1975)
- "The Horror in the Gallery", by Lin Carter (1976) (Mentioned only)
Notes[]
- The concept of the Elder Gods as a species, faction or pantheon was created by August Derleth. Gods that are known to protect mankind, such as H. P. Lovecraft's Nodens and Henry Kuttner's Vorvadoss, were confirmed to be Elder Gods in the Call of Cthulhu RPG and other media.
- In the Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley, the Elder Gods are not a species, but a faction that includes members of many different races, the same being true for the Great Old Ones. Ironically, Cthulhu's own brother, Kthanid (who looks exactly like him), is one of the Elder Gods.
- The Elder Gods might be the same species as the Space-devils mentioned in Lovecraft's The Mound, as both have been held responsible for imprisoning Cthulhu. Unlike the Elder Gods, however, the Space-devils are portrayed as hostile to humans (barring those who are allied with them). On the other hand, it's notable that everything about the "Space-devils" is learned from the K'n-yanians, who are allied with Cthulhu and thus probably biased against the Elder Gods.