Alvig's Pantheon of Great Old Ones

Names

The names we use to speak of the Great Old Ones are approximations from the interpetations of the mad ramblings of those few who have made contact with them and lived. In truth, their names are unpronouncable by humanoid mouths, and unable to be written in our characters.

Alignments

The true feelings and motivations of the Great Old Ones are unknowable to a mortal mind. Thus, the alignments presented above are mere approximations based on their observable actions on the material plane.

Titles

These nicknames are often given by cults who worship the Great Old Ones, or scholars who study them. Others, such as Ilithur, commune directly with terrestrial creatures and demand they be referred to by a title.

Symbols

These symbols are actually the written language of the Great Old Ones. Few words are translated, and even then they are found only in dusty old tomes in the dark corners of the greatest libraries, or scrawled on the walls of a cult's fortress. All these symbols are composed of a large outer circle with something drawn on the inside. There is no simple way to read them, and each must be memorized individually to be read, much like some eastern languages. No humanoid has ever actually read more than a short sentence of this written language, as most words remain untranslated.

Gender

Some Great Old Ones are reffered to with a gender. Others aren't, and are reffered to as "it" or "they". It is is difficult to say whether this is the result of a Great Old One's request, or simply the result of an assumption from early cultists.

Amather

The Warped One, The Crystal Weaver

Amather is particularly mysterious, even for a Great Old One. It has no known cults, because the warpstone* it creates and is made of quickly mutates or kills any who might make contact. Thus, little is known of it. It works alone, for the most part, seeding the world with warpstone for some unknown, nefarious purpose. Some scholars theorize that the twisted appearance of the rest of the beings associated with the Far Realm is because of Amather's mutative energy, but this is merely a theory.

*Warpstone is a light-absorbing crystal from the Far Realm that has mutative properties that affect any organic being that spends too much time near it. Overexposure is more often than not fatal, but creatures who can weather the energy and survive end up mutating into many-limbed horrors.

Endar

The Serpent of Eyes, The Ender of Days

Endar is the most evil of the Great Old Ones, by our system of moraility. Her cults and servants regularly carry out plots to bring down nations and sow chaos throughout the world. Why she does this is anyone's guess. Perhaps she finds our form abhorrent, as we find her's. Perhaps she derives some sick, twisted pleasure from our suffering. Curiously, her title "Ender of Days" is used only by her cultists, and has never been explained to the civilized world. Perhaps she is to be a bringer of the end times?

Etholhu

Seeker of Secrets

One of the more benign and seemingly friendly Great Old Ones, Etholhu is known for his instatiable thirst for knowledge. The Great Old Ones are not omnicient, and often rely on mortal agents to relay information. Etholhu is a favorite of warlocks, as his requests are often simple and non-violent, though prying eyes can become a problem.

Gur'Gotar

The Combiner

Called "the combiner", Gur'Gotar is belived by his cultists to be the creator of minotaurs, griffons, and other such hybrid beasts. His cults are more of a nuisance than a threat, regularly stealing and scrificing animals in his name. They belive that Gur'Gotar may reward them for their sacrifice by allowing them to become something stronger than a human.

Hadar

The Dark Hunger

In contrast to the supreme intelligence of most Great Old Ones is Hadar, the Dark Hunger. As far as anyone can tell, it is a mindless mass of writhing tentacles that will attempt to kill anything. Warlocks use its rage as a tool, summoning small portals to the Far Realm so that his tentacles might attack their foes. There are no recorded conversations with Hadar, and it is believed that a servant of Etholhu first documented his existance.

Ilithur

Mother of Ilithids, Mother Brain

Ilithur, as her title suggests, created the Ilithid race, more comonnly known as the Mind Flayers. They continue to serve her, kindapping Underdark adventurers and dwarven miners and extracting their brains. Her motivations aren't known to surface civiliazation, but most theroize that she is a darker version of Etholhu, seeking to swallow up all the knowledge of mortals, quite literally.

Mor'guth'tha

Beholder of All

Mor'guth'tha, unlike most Great Old Ones, may actually be omnicient. At the very least, it has a great many informants. Only a small few cultists have ever made contact with it, and on each of these occasions they were "expected". Seekers of old or forbidden knowledge often forge pacts with Mor'guth'tha, but it always demands a heavy (usually violent) price. Why it revels in watching mortals struggle or fight is unknown. Perhaps, like the many beholders it has created, it views us as vermin.

Noothus

The Formless, The Oozemother

Gelatinous Cubes, Black Puddings, and White Maws all owe their lives the Great Old One called Noothus. Despite being a formless mass her mad cults do call her "she". Her motivations are unknown, but her goal is clear: turn all living matter into oozes. Her cults are often short lived, as those who open their minds to her eventually melt into an ooze themselves, born to a new mother.

Thel'Bao

Aboleth Prime

Known to be the largest and oldest Aboleth in existance, many believe Thel'Bao to be a Great Old One. He is the only one to exist physically outside the Far Realm, as he can currently be found on the elemental plane of water. Like all the aboleths he created, he is immortal, and has perfect memory. His knowledge of more recent events is minimal, but those seeking the elder secrets of the first days the multiverse may seek him out, if they can keep from going mad around him.

Uthula

Sympathetic One, The Meddler

Uthula is the only great Old One to be considered of a good alignment. It is chaotic, and unpredictable, but it has come to the aid of seemingly random mortals numerous times. It most often does so by teleporting one of its warlocks to a group of people under attack by servants of another Great Old One. Thus, it has become known as The Meddler to servants of the evil-aligned Great Old Ones. Most scholars agree that like other Great Old Ones, it probably isn't actually good or evil; this is just how it derives entertainment.