Kassogtha

Kassogtha is a Great Old One created by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., in the hard-boiled Mythos novel Nightmare's Disciple (Chaosium, 1999). She is depicted as Cthulhu's sister and mate, and the mother of Nctosa and Nctolhu. She is described as a writhing mass of tentacles.
==Overview==
According to some sources, Kassogtha shares some relationship with Great Cthulhu, with more than one tome speaking of these deities creating or unifying to form or breed the known entities Nctosa and Nctolhu. One reference suggests Kassogtha and Cthulhu are "sister" and "brother" (if such terms are applicable). However, the former has no known association with Xoth, said to be the originating planet of Cthulhu and its kin.
This Old One seems to be more like some cosmic parasite, able to merge or join with other significant entities for periods of time, and thereby cause the creation or birth of an "offspring." Thus, at times, Kassogtha disappears (presumably while inhabiting or merging with another being), giving rise to the general opinion that this Old One is rarely heard of or encountered in Mythos lore. For some, this parasitical behavior posits the notion that this deity is characteristically like a disease, and possibly one unwelcomed by the entities it "preys" on. Indeed, Jedediah Pullington, in his "Visions of Crystal and Blasphemy" (New York, 1889), recounts a drug-induced vision where he witnessed the merging of Cthulhu with Kassogtha, which he describes as "tortuous" and "near lethal" and how it took all of Cthulhu's strength to throw off or cast out the other. If something can give such a report credence, it does support the idea of an invading entity, perhaps drawing off some form of sustenance to enable it to create new or altered life.
When not bound with another entity, Kassogtha appears to dwell in a great body of water (or some other liquid matter), poisoned by its presence. A strong association with disease seems evident, amplified by reports of the illnesses suffered by those in the areas where this Old One has manifested. For many scholars, Kassogtha is like a "cosmic sickness" that seeps into life, corrupting and mutating it in foul ways.
==Cult==
Kassoghta has little organized earthly following, seemingly only worshipped by solitary practitioners of magic and those crazed enough to embrace disease as a force for transformation. The (still at large) serial killer known as the "Carrion Murderer" may be an adherent of this Old One. In addition, the New York subway incident of 1921, where somebody released (allegedly) mustard gas, may have originated from the hand of a Kassoghta worshipper. While little is known of the sick rites practiced by this deity's adherents, most guess that ritual murder and torture are vital components.
==Possible Blessings==
*Hands of Sickness: Grants an individual immunity to disease while also making them carriers for all manner of earthly and alien sickness, able to infect others and incite epidemics.
*Language of Pain: The deity forms a psychic link with a follower, forcing them to hear the Old One's messages, conveyed in a horrendous mixture of booming and shrill languages (some non-human) that cause physical and mental pain. Such contact drains the sanity of the connected person, producing a deranged outlook that may incite the affected person to murder.
==Encounters==
Earthly encounters with this Old One are exceedingly rare, with any potential contact most likely arising from cultists or lone adherents, as their horrific actions are pretty likely to draw attention despite often being short-lived.
==Aura==
A pervading disquiet and sense of sickness hang over areas, items, and people touched by Kassogtha. Planet life rots, and creatures and humans present illness (often strange skin growths), while locations carry an unwholesome and unwelcoming aura.
==Gallery==
Export202211252146382940.png|MrMeowser's drawing of Kassogtha
Category:Great Old Ones
Category:Characters Originating From Expanded Mythos Works