The Krivbeknih

The Krivbeknih is an occult tome associated with Ug-QualtothObadiah Blackhall: ""(Obadiah Blackhall's dialogue) Whispers of Alhazared and G'yeth heard in-game at the ritual site where the Krivbeknih is found, identical to those heard at the Dunwich Building. The terms are also uttered by Jaime Palabras, who is found worshipping the altar of Ug-Qualtoth.Constance Blackhall is Richard Dunwich's sister. The Dunwich Building contains the only confirmed Ug-Qualtoth altar.During the events of the quest The Dark Heart of Blackhall, the player is advised by Marcella's last words to take the Krivbeknih to the Dunwich Building and press it against the surface of the only known altar of Ug-Qualtoth. .
==Background==
Widely purported to possess a dark power, Obadiah Blackhall attests that the Krivbeknih was once owned by his ancestor, Constance Blackhall, and rightfully belongs to his family. It is known that Constance was an unnaturally long-lived woman who led the swampfolk in rituals using the Krivbeknih, both before and after the Great War.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.87: "Obadiah BlackhallThe last descendant of the Blackhalls, a famous (some say infamous) family of wealth in the history of Point Lookout, Obadiah is stubborn and is still entranced by an old book his family once lost. The Blackhall family was deeply involved in the commercialization of Point Lookout in the early 21st century. Constance Blackhall, head of the estate after the New Plague made her an unexpected widow in 2058, cooperated with entrepreneurs from the Isla Negra Realty Company, who had been trying to acquire family real estate unsuccessfully for years. Despite overwhelming local cultural resistance, Isla Negra persistently attempted to bring tourism and modernization to Point Lookout and St. Mary's County."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) She was the sister of Richard Dunwich, and an occult figure in her own right.Fallout: The Roleplaying Game: "Richard Dunwich’s Washington, D.C.-based company made rock-tunneling drills. These mammoth engines of industry made possible the mining and resource extraction necessary for companies like Poseidon to thrive, for societies like pre-War America to be built, and for weapons like those used in the Great War to be produced. Although a favorite of its industrial clients, Dunwich had a more sinister reputation among its workforce. They had an abysmal record of safety, keeping employees on through a combination of high paychecks and “morale-building” events that sought to sweep their accident rate out of the public spotlight. This neglect frequently claimed lives of employees and family members.A persistent, but likely ridiculous rumor, holds these deaths were not as accidental as Dunwich claimed. Richard Dunwich, and his brother Constance Blackhall, were known for an obsession with the occult. A marble quarry where they tested their drills was known to cover the site of an ancient temple to dark gods, whose adherents routinely practiced human sacrifice. Some say the poor safety protocols at Dunwich facilities, and especially at the quarry, were a modern form of sacrifice intended to bring eldritch attention and supernatural powers to corporate leadership. None can say for certain, as Dunwich Borers, LLC and nearly all their records were destroyed in the Great War." According to local legend, the book was stolen from her, which led to her losing her influence over the swampfolk, and she died before she could recover it.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.662: "[1.02] Blackhall Manor Constance Blackhall was obsessed with the occult. She turned her newfound wealth into a means of acquiring archaic texts and artifacts. The most notorious of these was the Krvibeknih. Constance drew a small circle of devotees to herself, styling herself a priestess of an obscure sect based around the book. Constance lived an unnaturally long life, even in the radiation soaked marshes of Point Lookout. Local legend states that the Krvibeknih was stolen from her, and without it the woman succumbed to a death that should have found her generations before. Her legacy, having permeated the provincial culture of Point Lookout, persisted, but what little structure existed within that group deteriorated with no form of leadership. Theirs is not so much a faith as a collection of incoherent chants and rituals, their meanings long forgotten.The Blackhalls have stubbornly clung to existence, but Obadiah appears to the last of their line. He knows that the Krivbeknih has found its way back to Point Lookout, and intends to reclaim it, with the hopes of restoring power over the swampfolk to his family."(Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition Tour of the Capital Wasteland) 
At some point during or after the 2250s,The Lone Wanderer: "Why is that a sore subject?"Reginald Rothchild: "Much has happened in the 23 years since we left the west coast. Our mission has changed in that time. The changes have not all been pleasant, and have had significant repercussions."(Reginald Rothchild's dialogue) a ranger brought the Krivbeknih back from an expedition, believing it to be valuable. He then traveled to the Capital Wasteland with his son, Jaime Palabras, hoping to sell it to the scribes of the Brotherhood of Steel chapter who had recently settled there. Failing to sell the book to the Brotherhood, Jaime's father instead vowed to return it "to its source"Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition pp.77-78: "Jaime PalabrasJaime was born in the mid-Wastelands to a Ranger. His father returned to camp from an expedition with a thick book, bound in odd black leather and stamped with strange glyphs. Convinced the book would fetch a high price, his father traveled to the Capital Wastes to offer it to the Brotherhood of Steel Scribes. Despondent, Jaime's father vowed to return the book 'to its source.'"(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census) and set off, leaving his son in an old hospital without a flashlight.
In one of Jaime Palabras' holotapes in the Dunwich Building, he speaks about having found the book, and keeping it to remember his father by.
By 2277, the swampfolk have somehow come to possess the book, and use it in rituals without the influence of the Blackhall family. Marcella, a Christian from the Abbey of the Road, suspects they no longer understand the rituals they are performing.The Lone Wanderer: "What do you make of all the bones and dolls on sticks around here?"Marcella: "Swampfolk fetishes or totems. They probably mark territorial lines, or maybe are involved with rituals of some kind. I've read about a lot of primitive beliefs that use similar symbols. Vodou magic, Santería, Obeah. Fascinating, if somewhat disturbing. Though the underlying beliefs seem quite dark, I'm not sure they're anything more than an empty set of traditions to the swampfolk."(Marcella's dialogue) She believes the book to be a bane to mankind and seeks to acquire it so it can be destroyed."A missionary, Marcella deems the Krivbeknih a bane to mankind, and demands it so she can burn this damned text!" (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition, p. 637)
The Krivbeknih rests in the deepest chamber of their sacred cavern, at an ornate altar deep beneath the earth. The podium of this altar is strewn with the mutilated remains of a human. Many stimpaks surround the remains, indicating that this person was kept alive for as long as possible while they were tortured to death by ritual implements.
Obadiah can pay the Lone Wanderer to retrieve the tome, which he asserts they have stolen from his family. If the book is returned to him, Obadiah can be seen at an altar hidden beneath his ancestral home, praying to Ug-Qualtoth. He has beheaded a local in sacrifice.
==Characteristics==
The Krivbeknih is a large brown book concerning the dark arts,"Whether you tell her or not, she informs you that the Krivbeknih is a work of dark arts." (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition, p. 637) with a bloody gash across the front of it. The Christian Marcella wants the book destroyed, but the occultist Obadiah Blackhall demands the book be returned to him, as it once belonged to his family. When the Lone Wanderer takes the Krivbeknih from the ritual site, objects on the table behind it will begin to shake and fall over.
When pressed against the Dunwich Obelisk,"Or, you can quickly and directly head for the carved obelisk itself. The power emanating from it is making you tremble. Without delay, produce the Krivbeknih, and jam it into the obelisk, burning it beyond recognition, and setting the Ghouls ablaze. Quickly rid yourself of the final foes." "The Dunwich Obelisk shares its origins with the Krivbeknih, but only the Screaming Sound of Ug-Qualtoth can wield this power." (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition, p. 641) the book bursts into flames, as do any ghouls present in the ritual chamber. The destruction of the Krivbeknih yields a major positive Karma bonus of +500.
==Location==
The Krivbeknih is found in the deepest level of the ritual site, in a bowl full of blood on a stone altar.
==Related quest== 
*The Dark Heart of Blackhall
==Notes==
* The Krivbeknih is a quest item and cannot be dropped once picked up. However, by returning the book to Blackhall and subsequently killing him, the book can be looted from his corpse and dropped as a normal item. Blackhall must be killed, as the book does not appear in his inventory when one attempts to pickpocket him. 
** The Krivbeknih can still be destroyed (even after returning it to Blackhall, killing him, and recovering it) if the player has done this by following Marcella's instructions, which have been recorded and left as a file in Marcella's tent.
* Strictly speaking, the book which corrupted the Ranger and his son Jaime is not confirmed to be the Krivbeknih, and theoretically may have been a different occult tome.
==Behind the scenes==
* The Krivbeknih was created by Point Lookout lead designer Joel Burgess. The Krivbeknih itself is a nonsense word that Burgess intended to replace with another name later, but it made its way into the final version of the add-on.Fallout 4 Point Lookout Mod with Joel Burgess and Nate Purkeypile (1:02:06)Joel Burgess: "But the Lovecraft stuff, there's definitely like an inspiration, but it's not a reference. So like, you know, there's not directly stuff, but we're definitely thinking about like Innsmouth and all that stuff. Like The Krivbeknih is The Necronomicon, basically."Nathan Purkeypile: "I mean, that one's more of a direct reference than the Point Lookout stuff, 'cause that was the Dunwich Building after all. Whereas The Krivbeknih, that's like a totally made-up word."Joel Burgess: "Yeah, but The Krivbeknih didn't exist until Point Lookout, right?"Nathan Purkeypile: "Yeah, I just mean like the name of the Dunwich Building is a direct Lovecraft reference."Kenneth Vigue: "Is The Krivbeknih just a nonsense word, or is it a secret meaning...?"Nathan Purkeypile: "Yeah, Joel made that up, and I was like 'How do you say it?'"Joel Burgess: "Yeah, I said 'Don't worry, we'll come up with something better later.'"Kenneth Vigue: "It's a placeholder made permanent."Nathan Purkeypile: "Never do that on games. It will always ship."
** Burgess described the cosmic horror content in Point Lookout such as drawing inspiration from Lovecraft in general more than a direct reference, and he likened the Krivbeknih to the Necronomicon.
** Esoteric arcane tomes sought for sinister purpose are a recurring motif in the Cthulhu mythos, such as the Necronomicon, Book of Eibon, Pnakotic Manuscripts, etc.
* The Dunwich Building, where Marcella instructs the player character to destroy the book, is named for Lovecraft's short story The Dunwich Horror. An audio tape recovered in the building contains a mention of "Alhazred," a reference to Abdul Alhazred, the fictional author of the Necronomicon. 
** The name Alhazred can be heard whispered at the Dunwich Building, the Red Racer Factory, and the ritual site.
** A droning sound which resembles the name "Alhazred" can be heard in the virulent underchambers of the Dunwich Building.
==Gallery==
The Dark Heart of Blackhall.jpg|The book in the ritual site.
==References==
Non-game
Fallout: The Roleplaying Game
Category:Point Lookout miscellaneous items
Category:Point Lookout quest items
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