Carter's Guide to the Cults of Los Angeles
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Azathoth
The blind, mad, idiot god who holds court at the center of the universe, attended by flute-playing creatures whose music soothes the madness of the terrible god. Ruler and possible creator of the Outer Gods. Not widely worshiped.
The Mad Dervish
Originally a supernaturally talented individual who appeared in Chicago days before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The original Dervish later appeared in 1906 and attempted to warn the city of San Francisco of the impending quake. Several individuals have used the name in the 20th century. They have all been musicians, usually players of wind instruments, and musical performance is an integral part of their magic.
Hastur
The Unspeakable One, He Who Shall Not Be Named. Said to dwell near the star Aldebaran, his worshipers are usually malevolent and quite dangerous. Hastur cults operate in utmost secrecy and are known to assassinate other rival magicians.
King in Yellow
Avatar of Hastur who is commonly thought to be a god himself. The King and his notorious sigil are particularly associated with visual artists. Cults devoted to the Yellow King were common in the early 20th century.
Cult of the Faceless One
Cult started in New Mexico prior to the 20th century. Thought to have included Xavier Hellstromme among its associates. Members were arrested near Taos in 1901 after the murder-sacrifice of several Pueblo women. Fourteen people were convicted of the murders, seven of whom were executed by hanging.
Byakhee
Winged creature often thought to be demonic in origin but that actually hails from another plane of existence. Every sorcerer dedicated to the Nameless One has anywhere from 2-7 summonable byakhee under their command. Byakhee also accompany the summoning of the Yellow King.
Nyarlathotep
Outer God who acts as messenger to the other gods. He is said to have a thousand different forms, many of which appear throughout folklore and occult history.
El Negro
Also known as The Dark Man. Avatar of Nyarlathotep active throughout North America. He is the keeper of the Book of Azatoth and may teach the sorcerer the secrets of the universe. The Cult of El Negro is the most prominent of his cults and still exists in larger cities.
Cult of the Faceless God
Magical organization founded in 1919 and disbanded in 1932. They were responsible for a number of murders in the late 1920s. The group attempted to summon their god in 1929 and most of the order was devoured by Hunting Horrors.
Hunting Horrors
Hunting horrors resemble enormous black serpents or worms with large bat-like wings, though their form twitches and writhes constantly, making them difficult to see. They are sensitive to bright light and are dispelled by daylight.
Moon-Beasts
Great grayish-white slippery creatures which can expand and contract at will. Their principle shape is that of an eyeless toad with a vibrating mass of short pink tentacles on the end of its snout. They principally reside in the Dreamlands, though they are summonable to the Material Plane.
Mi-Go
Tibetan name for a race of extraterrestrials. They are large, pinkish, fungoid, crustacean-like entities the size of a man. They have an ellipsoid skull composed of pyramided, fleshy rings and covered in antennae. According to two reports, their bodies consist of a form of matter that does not occur naturally on Earth and for this reason they do not register on ordinary photographic film. The race is ancient and has interfered with humans throughout history, though their intent is unknown and their interactions both helpful and malevolent. They are suspected of performing advanced surgery on some individuals, the results of which are enhanced intellect and physical abilities, including psionic powers.
Quachil Uttaus
Great Old One associated with time, death, and decay. His worshipers are necromancers and others with interest in the dead. Much is unknown about this god, as he is mentioned only in the exceedingly rare Testament of Carnamagos.
Xavier Hellestromme
Sorcerer active in Los Angeles during the 1920s and 1930s.
Guild of the Necromancers
Organization founded in 1923 to further the studies of the necromatic arts and provide a unifying organization for practicing necromancers, who are often ostracized even among fellow sorcerers.
Ghouls
A lesser independent race of loathsome humanoids with rubbery skin, hoof-like fet, canine features, and sharp claws. They speak in gibberings and meepings but appear to have a developed language. These horrible creatures dwell in subterranean tunnels beneath cities. They have ties to witches as well as those necromancers who worship Quachil Uttaus.
Rat-Things
They resemble large rats with human-like faces. They are created by sorcerous means and do not die naturally but can be killed by mundane or magical weapons.
Shub-Niggurath
"The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young." Outer God thought to be a perverse fertility deity. Described asa boiling and festering cloudy mass, the entity prefers to bud Dark Young rather than coalesce for combat.
Dark Young
Enormous writhing masses of ropy black tentacles, the surface of which are covered with large puckered mouths that drip green mucous. They stand between 12 and 20 feet tall and act as proxies for Shub-Nuggurath, Worshipped extensively, either directly or via a variety of avatars and forms.
The Goat-Herders
Once-prominent cult of mystics, poets, drunkards, and a few sorcerers who ultimately proved to be dedicated to Shub-Niggurath. They were thought to have disbanded in the 1930s, but returned in the 1950s. In 1959 they successfully summoned their god using the dagger of Yama and several other Tibetan artifacts. The entity nearly managed to completely manifest before being banished.
Pan
Greek fertility deity thought by some to be an avatar of Shub-Niggurath.
Temple of Choronzon
Also known as the Brotherhood of Choronzon, or simply the Brotherhood. Founded in 1923 as a private club for magicians interested in sex magic. One of the only magical orders in Los Angeles to survive the upheavals during the 1930s, the Brotherhood and its membership are now dedicated to the utmost secrecy.
Yig
Father of serpents. Appears as a giant serpent or large man with serpent's head.
Quetzalcoatl
Ancient avatar of Yig revered by Mesoamerican sorcerers-kings.
Cult of the Plumed Serpent
Modern day remnant of Aztec religion.
La Couleuvre Noire
Organization whose teachings are a syncretizing of Vodun, Thelema, and Aztec teachings.
Yog-Sothoth
Outer God coterminus with space and time but trapped between and without the planes. May be allied to the ultimate animating essence of existence. According to cultists, “Yog-Sothoth knows the gate, Yog-Sothoth is the gate, and Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate.”
Ramsey Parsons
Follower of Yog-Sothoth and thought to be a founding member of the Brotherhood of Choronzon.