The Great Old One Pact subclass for Warlocks specifically mentions Great Cthulhu as one of the unfathomable beings. That subclass is very in theme for Lovecraft's works. The Eberron setting has the Daelkyr that have that same feel. Most of the Aberration keyword stuff has that creepy not-quite-right feel.
Nvm. I just Googled it. Because Lovecraft has been dead for so long, most of his stuff is in the public domain. I thought after you died your estate kept the rights to your stories, but maybe I was wrong?
In CA(nada), the UK, and most of the EU, it's fair game. I don't know about other international entities excepting...
It's complicated in the USA. No renewal has yet been found on Call of Cthulhu. (Doesn't mean there wasn't one, but without it, it missed the deadline for the 2024 extension.) Cthulhu itself is not protected against derivative works, but its name might be trademarked - again, uncertainty surrounding it and no claims to enforce or challenge it have yet to be made. TSR (bought by Wizards of the Coast) decided to avoid all the mess and stopped using references to Cthulhu.
The viable usage of Cthulhu is shrouded in as much mystery as the Great Old One itself.
...and yet, the Warlock Otherworldly Patrons in the PHB mention Great Cthulhu specifically as an example of The Great Old One patron.
So... yes and no. Cthulhu is mentioned in 5e which means Lovecraft stuff exists in 5e but not further defined beyond a mention.
Derivations of the personages in the greater Cthulhu mythos (including works still in copyright) are allowed in the USA. So, the rest of the mythos in 5e will be up to you.
(Note that the Aboleth, Ilithids, and other 5e Aberrations, while quite Lovecraftian-esque in description, are not part of the Lovecraft mythos.)
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Nvm. I just Googled it. Because Lovecraft has been dead for so long, most of his stuff is in the public domain. I thought after you died your estate kept the rights to your stories, but maybe I was wrong?
I think it also has to do with the original distribution of Lovecrafts works, through pulp magazines and the copyright laws surrounding those. I'm not a copyright expert, but you can't find all of Lovecraft on Gutenberg, so I think it is in the public domain.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
In a stream I watch, the Warlock chose the otherworldly patron of Great Cthulhu (as suggested in the PHB). In roleplay (prompted a lot by the DM), Cthulhu is uncharacteristically a loving father figure to the Warlock - something that the actual worldly guardians she's had failed to be to her.
(In their campaigns, Cthulhu will sometimes make her a packed lunch [probably of cigarettes and hatred {ridiculously thick, extremely black coffee} - her preferred sustenance] when it has direct interventions in the game world.)
So... feel free to go nuts and do whatever.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
The closest we have is Curse of Strahd. I feel like it needs mentioning that Dagon is as of previous editions is an official demon lord and a quite powerful one.
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call me Anna or Kerns, (she/her), usually a DM, lgbtq+ friendly
Dagon predates Lovecraft, drawing from a perversion of the IRL interpretation of the Canaanite Dagon as a "fish god". The Dagon of D&D of old is also radically different from Lovecraft's Dagon with the only real link being both of them as aquatic (discounting the Avernus Dagon as something else entirely).
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
The AD&D Deities and Demigods originally had rules for the Cthulhu mythos (later removed due to copyright reasons). If you have a lot of money, you could buy it somewhere and use it for inspiration.
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All hail the great and mighty platypus.
Resisting is simply standing in front of the tide and pushing at it. Even if you endure at first, you will eventually break down. Adapting, by contrast, is turning into a fish.
-me
Rangers are not underpowered. They’re just exploration-oriented.
The AD&D Deities and Demigods originally had rules for the Cthulhu mythos (later removed due to copyright reasons). If you have a lot of money, you could buy it somewhere and use it for inspiration.
And by "a lot of money" we mean $10 for the PDF at DriveThruRPG.com
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The AD&D Deities and Demigods originally had rules for the Cthulhu mythos (later removed due to copyright reasons). If you have a lot of money, you could buy it somewhere and use it for inspiration.
And by "a lot of money" we mean $10 for the PDF at DriveThruRPG.com
Ah, of course. I forgot about online versions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All hail the great and mighty platypus.
Resisting is simply standing in front of the tide and pushing at it. Even if you endure at first, you will eventually break down. Adapting, by contrast, is turning into a fish.
-me
Rangers are not underpowered. They’re just exploration-oriented.
I have had fun 5E with a Drow Sorlock multi class drow sorceror /warlock patron: Cthulhu having all of lovecraft works in Arkham House Hardbacks made it easy. She is Fathomless NE
Chulhu is open to be used by anyone created 1928. DND Game use was effected by those owning games. Many of us never stop using nttire pantheon using Brian Lumley's books to model ours. So long as we didn't try to profit off our personal games, it was fine
Is there any material in 5e that is Cthulu-esque?
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
Nothing that directly mimics Cthulhu, though ninety percent of all aberrations are incredibly lovecraftian.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
The Great Old One Pact subclass for Warlocks specifically mentions Great Cthulhu as one of the unfathomable beings. That subclass is very in theme for Lovecraft's works. The Eberron setting has the Daelkyr that have that same feel. Most of the Aberration keyword stuff has that creepy not-quite-right feel.
It is not I who am Mad, it is I who am Krazy!
You'd really have to look to Greyhawk for Lovecraftian stuff, and that's mostly 1E AD&D stuff (unfortunately).
There's not any recent official Lovecraftian stuff, as that's copyrighted by Chaosium and Lovecraft's Estate.
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Sandy Peterson, the creator of the original Call of Cthulhu Rpg, made a 5e sourcebook. It isn't official, but looks really good, if a bit pricey.
https://www.amazon.com/Sandy-Petersens-Cthulhu-Mythos-5E/dp/396331236X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XSYYBQIA9M1E&dchild=1&keywords=sandy petersen cthulhu mythos for 5e&qid=1600187801&sprefix=sandy peters,aps,154&sr=8-1
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
Illithids and aboleths are both kind of Cthulhu-ish. But the actual character Cthulhu is copyrighted by another company.
Copyrighted? All of Lovecrafts work is in the public domain.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
Really? I thought everything written after like 1900 was copyrighted.
Nvm. I just Googled it. Because Lovecraft has been dead for so long, most of his stuff is in the public domain. I thought after you died your estate kept the rights to your stories, but maybe I was wrong?
In CA(nada), the UK, and most of the EU, it's fair game. I don't know about other international entities excepting...
It's complicated in the USA. No renewal has yet been found on Call of Cthulhu. (Doesn't mean there wasn't one, but without it, it missed the deadline for the 2024 extension.) Cthulhu itself is not protected against derivative works, but its name might be trademarked - again, uncertainty surrounding it and no claims to enforce or challenge it have yet to be made. TSR (bought by Wizards of the Coast) decided to avoid all the mess and stopped using references to Cthulhu.
The viable usage of Cthulhu is shrouded in as much mystery as the Great Old One itself.
...and yet, the Warlock Otherworldly Patrons in the PHB mention Great Cthulhu specifically as an example of The Great Old One patron.
So... yes and no. Cthulhu is mentioned in 5e which means Lovecraft stuff exists in 5e but not further defined beyond a mention.
Derivations of the personages in the greater Cthulhu mythos (including works still in copyright) are allowed in the USA. So, the rest of the mythos in 5e will be up to you.
(Note that the Aboleth, Ilithids, and other 5e Aberrations, while quite Lovecraftian-esque in description, are not part of the Lovecraft mythos.)
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I think it also has to do with the original distribution of Lovecrafts works, through pulp magazines and the copyright laws surrounding those. I'm not a copyright expert, but you can't find all of Lovecraft on Gutenberg, so I think it is in the public domain.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
In a stream I watch, the Warlock chose the otherworldly patron of Great Cthulhu (as suggested in the PHB). In roleplay (prompted a lot by the DM), Cthulhu is uncharacteristically a loving father figure to the Warlock - something that the actual worldly guardians she's had failed to be to her.
(In their campaigns, Cthulhu will sometimes make her a packed lunch [probably of cigarettes and hatred {ridiculously thick, extremely black coffee} - her preferred sustenance] when it has direct interventions in the game world.)
So... feel free to go nuts and do whatever.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Trademark and copyright are two different things. Trademark doesn't expire as long as its in use.
The closest we have is Curse of Strahd. I feel like it needs mentioning that Dagon is as of previous editions is an official demon lord and a quite powerful one.
call me Anna or Kerns, (she/her), usually a DM, lgbtq+ friendly
Dagon predates Lovecraft, drawing from a perversion of the IRL interpretation of the Canaanite Dagon as a "fish god". The Dagon of D&D of old is also radically different from Lovecraft's Dagon with the only real link being both of them as aquatic (discounting the Avernus Dagon as something else entirely).
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
The AD&D Deities and Demigods originally had rules for the Cthulhu mythos (later removed due to copyright reasons). If you have a lot of money, you could buy it somewhere and use it for inspiration.
All hail the great and mighty platypus.
Resisting is simply standing in front of the tide and pushing at it. Even if you endure at first, you will eventually break down. Adapting, by contrast, is turning into a fish.
-me
Rangers are not underpowered. They’re just exploration-oriented.
My homebrew setting: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/94809-wakai-a-setting-inspired-by-japanese-folklore-and
This account is kinda old and I haven’t used it in a while
And by "a lot of money" we mean $10 for the PDF at DriveThruRPG.com
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Ah, of course. I forgot about online versions.
All hail the great and mighty platypus.
Resisting is simply standing in front of the tide and pushing at it. Even if you endure at first, you will eventually break down. Adapting, by contrast, is turning into a fish.
-me
Rangers are not underpowered. They’re just exploration-oriented.
My homebrew setting: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/94809-wakai-a-setting-inspired-by-japanese-folklore-and
This account is kinda old and I haven’t used it in a while
I have had fun 5E with a Drow Sorlock multi class drow sorceror /warlock patron: Cthulhu having all of lovecraft works in Arkham House Hardbacks made it easy. She is Fathomless NE
Chulhu is open to be used by anyone created 1928. DND Game use was effected by those owning games. Many of us never stop using nttire pantheon using Brian Lumley's books to model ours. So long as we didn't try to profit off our personal games, it was fine