Shupnikkurat

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young (Art by Dominique Signoret)

**Shupnikkurat**, more commonly known as **Shub-Nibburath**, is a perverse fertility deity belonging to the immensely powerful Outer Gods. Her symbol consists of three goat heads attached at the neck with horns pointed outward to form a circular shape.

## Overview

Shupnikkurat mostly takes form in the middle of dark and decadent forests, a trait which earned her the epithet of "Black Goat of the Woods." Another reason she is called the Black Goat is because many of the forms she assumes all involve her having the physical characteristics of a goat, which according to some is supposedly the bastardization of the demon Baphomet who was also known for his highly perverse rituals.

Out of all of the Old Ones, she is one of the most extensively worshiped by the most depraved heathens. They believe that should they appease her, she will provide them with her "nutrients" that will purportedly give them immortality; unaware that the sustenance she offers will in fact turn them into hideous monstrosities.

## Appearance

Like the vast majority of her race, Shupnikkurat's form is completely unbearable to witness by mortal eyes. She appears as an extraterrestrial, sanity-shaking immense cloudy mass and tissue with tentacles, hooves, eyes, fanged mouths and other deformities protruding from every surface. Her young are continuously spat forth from her mouths, which are either consumed into the miasmatic form or escape to some monstrous life elsewhere.

## Powers and Abilities

Shupnikkurat is one of the most powerful entities in Lovecraftian myths, being above Nyarlathotep himself, the son of the Chaos God, Azathoth. She exists in the Outerverse, a space of pure nothingness and chaos that transcends all conceptions of being, size and limits, which exists between the "darkness behind and among the stars". She is the Mother-of-all, having spawned countless abominations with her 'husband', the Not-to-Be-Named One. Her powers are so great that it is said that a mere glimpse of her true form can cause insanity and fear in the most powerful Archangel, with Satan himself being wary of her. Its manifestation in the physical world can be so overwhelming that it can distort the very structure of the multiverse and the root of time. She was able to fight the likes of Arca and Ananke in the Primeval Wars their battle sending shockwaves through the Void.

* **Lovecraftian Physiology**: As a direct descendant of the Pre-Existential Old One Azathoth, She is an impersonal force of nature, uncaring and supremely indifferent. She hold everything in existence as derivative facets of themselves, inhabiting the true nature of reality as a changeless, impartial totality that exists beyond all divisions and perspective. Her powers over time and space rivals the likes of Calur, Chronos and Yog-Sothoth being able to see the beginning and end of the Megaverse.
* **Mother Goddess Physiology**: As an archetype, Shupnikkurat is a goddess entity and so is the progenitor of several Lovecraftian monsters. Her powers as a mother goddess rivals Dʰéǵʰōm being able produce Dark Divinities on par with the Titans.
* **Madness Aspect Manifestation**: The madness aspects are different views on how people are driven insane. The cause varies from person to person and some may be more heavily affected by one aspect than another. Shupnikkurat is able to do this through her true form or through her aura, although the Arcuthas and Primordials are completely immune to it.
* **Life Embodiment**: Despite being an Old One, Shupnikkurat is life itself. She possess unlimited power over the living and all aspects of life as well as knowledge of life and be everywhere the living are. Shupnikkurat can manipulate endless resources of life-force of all beings, heal and immortalize anyone to absolute degrees and manipulate the concept of life. Because of the nature of this power, she is the fourth most powerful after Yog-Sothoth, Ycnágnnisssz and Azathoth.
* **Biological Manipulation**: Shupnikkurat can manipulate life on a cellular level, including but not limited to, genetic alterations and physical distortion and/or augmentations of biological functions. She can cause cells to augment to induce advanced or declined biological healing, induce and cure diseases like cancer, induce appearance alteration, manipulate pheromones, and even increase physiological maturity.
* **Samsara Manipulation**: Shupnikkurat can control/manipulate the samsara: the wheel/cycle of life: cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth and the effects time has on living beings. Making the old young and young old, healing others, killing others and even changing their own life. She rivals Ananke in this ability.
* **Evolution Manipulation**: Shupnikkurat can manipulate the evolution of species and individuals, including themselves. Advancing or decreasing evolutionary steps shifting their adaptations/abilities to create new species, etc. She are able to grant superpowers, especially those related to expanding the normal abilities of the species, remove the existing powers or granting the species a potential to gain powers.
* **Goat Deity Physiology**: Shupnikkurat with this ability either is or can transform into a goat deity, a god/goddess who represents or is associated with goats. Goats deities weren't common in mythology but were very important among the civilizations that embraced them.
* **Caprine Physiology**: Shupnikkurat with this ability either is or can mimic/transform into caprines (Goat-antelopes) including domestic and wild goats and sheep, musk ox, ibex, etc.

## History

Like her kind, she was born from Magnum Tenebrosum and it is said that from the moment she manifested, she provided the Outer Gods with thousands of her young to aid in combating God and Khaos' forces.

Over the course of the war she fought against Arca and Ananke, sending shockwaves across the primordial void.

Due to her creating armies with her spawn, she was a crucial target by the Arcuthas to defeat if they had any hope of succeeding. Eventually, Shupnikkurat was incapacitated and her young were destroyed before she was imprisoned alongside her race.

Despite being imprisoned, Shupnikkurat is able to assume an astral form of sorts that is capable of affecting the material plane of our reality, but only for so long. However, while her time in the physical world is limited, this allows her more than enough time to spread her young across the world. In fact, Shupnikkurat, being a fertility deity, saw to it that in order for her race to properly survive and see through the conquering of God's universe she must mate with the Great Old Ones, some of whom are her own offspring, and produce other powerful monstrous deities.

## Myths and Legends

Shupnikkurat, originally referred to as Shub-Niggurath, is a fictional character created by H.P. Lovecraft originating from the story *The Last Test*.

## Trivia

* Shupnikkurat is considered Dʰéǵʰōm's opposite as while Dʰéǵʰōm produced some of the most beautiful gods aka the Titans she produced monstrous deities aka the Great Old Ones.
* Shupnikkurat was often called "Shub-Nibburath" by H.P. Lovecraft, it's a name she specifically doesn't go by that Howard because of his willingness to use racial slurs in day to day speech.