what sort of Lovecraftian monsters would be in The Eathereal plane?

[theWoozle]

I'm working up a short adventure where the Investigators are trapped in the Aethereal plane. The concept is that the real world is barely a ghostly shadow around them, while things of the Aether are very real and personal. I would appreciate suggests for Lovecraftian Horrors that might be in  the Aether, just outside of mortal perceptions. I'm drawing a blank, though Dimensional Shamblers might fit. Mi-go might also be more of the Aetherial plane than the physical world. If there aren't any Lovecraftian horrors that fit the bill, I'll just create my own, so it's not a crisis by any means. 

[mvincent]

- If "Aethereal Plane" refers to "The other side" then the "Fair Folk" of the "Deep Dendo" might be appropriate.

- If the term "Aether" is being used similarly to how it was in Lovecraft's time (i.e. outer space), then Mi-go, Byakhee and Elder Things would use it to fly between planets (like hyper-space).

[jeffjerwin]

The creatures from "From Beyond" seem to match perfectly.

[mvincent]

On 1/24/2018 at 5:49 PM, jeffjerwin said:

The creatures from "From Beyond" seem to match perfectly.

Precisely, but that short story doesn't give details (let alone provide stats), nor does the CoC rulebook. However, I was able to track down some material that does:

• Terrors from Beyond (Malleus Monstrorum, p.91)
• Denizens of the Spaces Between (In a Different Light, p.9)

 

[theWoozle]

ah, those are both sources I hadn't considered. THANKS! those do give some consistency to the adventure  

[jeffjerwin]

They also appear in The Golden Dawn sourcebook from PP, but it would be cruel to expect it to be handy.  

[Toadmaster]

Not all Lovecraft stories were really mythos related. Some were more SF horror, From Beyond being a good example of that. Many were basically just ghost stories, and a few could be described as possession, demonic or other (usually other).

 

For something like you are describing look at the non-mythos critters, ghosts, wraiths etc. There are some mythos critters who have an extra dimensional vibe, Migo, Hounds of Tindalos, Night Gaunts, the Great Race of Yith, and the Elder things come to mind. It is suggested in some of the stories that ghouls may travel in a way that could be extra dimensional. Yog Sothoth is a likely candidate to be behind it all if such a being is necessary. If you have Runequest mine it for some possible creatures as well.

 

If you need some literary inspiration From Beyond has already been mentioned, Dreams in the Witch House, Pickman's Model, the Music of Erich Zann, The Shunned House, The Shadow out of Time, The Whisperer in the Darkness, The Festival, and The Colour out of space would be worth picking over for ideas.

Frank Belknap Long's Hounds of Tindalos and The Space Eaters also feature extra terrestrial / dimensional horrors that might provide some ideas.   

Edited January 27, 2018 by Toadmaster

[EricW]

The Weapon Makers, a 1940s science fiction book, had an interesting take on this.

The main character in The Weapon Makers uses a machine which projects him into an ethereal plane very like your description, to save himself a few hours in the future, by creating a dazzling display of overwhelmingly superior technology to intimidate an organisation which has overstepped its own rules.

The characters could have entered this ethereal state because of a machine built by a scientist, as in The Weapon Makers. Their only hope of re-entering the real world is to find the portal, and fight their way through whoever is still in the lab which contains the portal. You have to think of a convincing reason why they don't know where the portal is - perhaps they were kidnapped and dumped in this bizarre place by people who thought they wouldn't survive long, a convenient way of making enemies disappear - no bodies. 

Of course being a Lovecraft adventure the etherial plane is inhabited, terrifying creatures which might also stumble across the portal, false paths to who knows where, temporal anomalies, the temptation to try to manipulate time for their own gain, along with awful risks of paradox or worse, and in the distance an eerie demonic piping sound...

Edited January 28, 2018 by EricW