r/Cthulhu

Based upon a Jeffrey Thomas short story. If you don’t know his work, check it out.

No AI. Made by real humans.

So, Cthulhu "sleeps" under the water. Contrary to what Derleth and many people believe, it seems he is not some kind of "water god", quite the contrary, water is somehow blocking him.

And as we know, salt water is blocking radio waves.

Also, his activity is connected somehow to the position of stars.

And Cthulhu, even sleeping, is influencing living beings minds.

So, let's say - real Cthulhu is still on Xoth. Dragon-octopus being in the R'lyeh is just his avatar/drone controlled by radio waves.

Culmination of two negative factors - R'lyeh succumbed under the salt water and position of Earth and Xoth is temporary inappropriate (maybe there is some nebula between them or something for now) made avatar unable to receive signals Xoth, that's why it became dormant. However, even without commands it is still performs the default task - sending signals to real Cthulhu. They are too weak to actually reach Xoth, but still strong enough to non-intentionally influencing brains of Earth beings, like Deep Ones or humans, giving them visions which makes them think that Cthulhu is deity demanding worship... or just headaches and bad dreams.

My audiobook narrator for Tales of Shub-Niggurath asked how to pronounce the name. He was was very nervous and making several odd jokes.

I was confused. I didn't get it. I've been playing Call of Cthulhu since I was twelve. The characters names have always been as normal as any other fantasy monster.

Finally, he just asked me straight up, "How do you want me to pronounce this?"

I went, "The folks at HPLHS pronounce it Shub nee-GOO-roth which I quite like."

Then he said, "Oh good. I don't have to say it like a slur."

Only then did I get it. To which I went, "Perhaps I should make a pronunciation guide."

He became annoyed I didn't want it pronounced Chew-Thoo-Lou. 🎯

https://preview.redd.it/rr178th1hgih1.png?width=795&format=png&auto=webp&s=f712abca3b88625303ed06982163c4cb7ccd51cd

Picked up the metal coin at Gencon, but did not want to use a standard display stand. This is the result. Pyramid needs a coat of pain to knock down the "plastic" feel and bring out the brick texture, but otherwise turned out pretty good. The coin is double-sided and is held in place by pressure, so I can flip it around when I get bored of the classic Elder Sign.