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Player > Setting > Deities > Nyarlathotep
Starfinder Core Rulebook p.488
CE Outer God of conspiracies, dangerous secrets, forbidden magic
Centers of Worship: Aucturn
Symbol: An inverted black ankh
Said to possess a thousand different forms, Nyarlathotep
is one of the Outer Gods (see page 493), incredibly
ancient entities said to predate the birth of the rest of the gods,
existing before time itself. Nyarlathotep is unusual among the
Outer Gods in that he enjoys personally toying with and sowing
discord among mortal races, rather than leaving this to his
cultists. Scholars of the Outer Gods and the Dark Tapestry—the
dark voids between galaxies or mysterious patches of emptiness
within a galaxy, where such beings are thought to hold the most
sway—believe that Nyarlathotep himself is the prime mover in
preparing countless worlds for the devastating return of the
devouring Great Old Ones, nudging events along in subtle ways
to encourage various apocalyptic ends. It is said that one can
see Nyarlathotep’s influence in every major disaster or calamity
if one looks hard enough and that he has had a hand in guiding
entire civilizations into ruin.
Each of Nyarlathotep’s forms is associated with its own
distinct cult, but the incarnation that most Pact Worlds species
are familiar with is the Empty Traveler. Ostensibly appearing
as a humanoid figure in a space suit that would not be out
of place in any spaceport, closer scrutiny reveals a vacant
helmet devoid of any head or face and a space suit filled
with a formless mass of writhing tentacles. Other well-known
manifestations include the Black Pharaoh (a humanoid being
with connections to the ancient pre-Gap Golarion civilization
of Osirion) and the Haunter of the Dark (a bat-like entity with
a burning tri-lobed eye). In any form, the Crawling Chaos
works to upend the status quo and cast down the mortal
races from the heights of their achievements. As the deity of
conspiracies and dangerous secrets, Nyarlathotep engineers
the deaths of kings, presidents, and reformers to inexorably
guide civilization toward anarchy.
Nyarlathotep’s faithful believe he is the Outer God who ties
together the worship of all the Great Old Ones, and follow
him as the one who will open the doors to the uncaring light
of the stars. Occult scholars, crazed cultists, and those who
seek suppressed knowledge or the proscribed mysteries of
forgotten magics may pay homage to the Crawling Chaos, as do
serial killers, violent revolutionaries, and anyone who desires
to dismantle societal systems without regard for the cost.
Secret temples to Nyarlathotep are spread throughout the Pact
Worlds, but the center of his worship is on Aucturn, home to
the infamous Pyramid of the Black Pharaoh. Some even whisper
that Carsai the King, the enigmatic sovereign of Aucturn (see
page 460), might be a herald or avatar of Nyarlathotep.
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