What's the most powerful cosmic entity in the Cthulhu mythos?

[California DMV Gaming]

HI, I'm not that well-versed in the Cthulhu mythos, but I know there are seperate titles for the differernt groups in the Cthulhu Mythos, such as the Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, Deep Ones, etc. I realize that Cthulhu isn't the most powerful, but he's the most iconic. What do the Cthulhu experts think?

[Zarester]

I'm no expert in the whole mythos either, but I think either Azathoth (the insane god of nuclear reactions at the center of the universe) or Yog-Sothoth (the embodiment of the space-time continuum that dwells outside our reality).

[tomasrawlings]

Originally posted by Banana Barbarian:

HI, I'm not that well-versed in the Cthulhu mythos, but I know there are seperate titles for the differernt groups in the Cthulhu Mythos, such as the Great Old Ones, Outer Gods, Deep Ones, etc. I realize that Cthulhu isn't the most powerful, but he's the most iconic. What do the Cthulhu experts think?

It's a good question. In many respects I think they were written to feel, well alien. The Color out of Space is Lovecraft's favourite story and the being there in very, very alien - though not so powerful as other creatures. As aliens beings they exist in plains of reality that don't really accord to ours, so the concept of measuring power is hard - like trying to trap gravity or bottle time. That said I've always felt Azathoth is a major power - partly on account of it's sheer craziness...

[Liquid Mantis]

Originally posted by Zarester:

I'm no expert in the whole mythos either, but I think either Azathoth (the insane god of nuclear reactions at the center of the universe) or Yog-Sothoth (the embodiment of the space-time continuum that dwells outside our reality).

I'd say that Space and Time Trumps Insanity, because Yog-Sothoth doesn't obey the laws of physics as we know them, actually thinking about it none of the gods do but if there is one that bends it more, i'd say it would defintely be Yog-Sothoth because he acts outside of reality which in itself is absolutely crazy!

Its Difficult to Measure the power of the Old Ones because we ourselves know little about them, i guess its down to opinion.

[HighPlains Drifter]

Originally posted by =T$I= Mituna:D:

Originally posted by Zarester:

I'm no expert in the whole mythos either, but I think either Azathoth (the insane god of nuclear reactions at the center of the universe) or Yog-Sothoth (the embodiment of the space-time continuum that dwells outside our reality).

I'd say that Space and Time Trumps Insanity, because Yog-Sothoth doesn't obey the laws of physics as we know them, actually thinking about it none of the gods do but if there is one that bends it more, i'd say it would defintely be Yog-Sothoth because he acts outside of reality which in itself is absolutely crazy!

Its Difficult to Measure the power of the Old Ones because we ourselves know little about them, i guess its down to opinion.

Except, technicly... Yog-Sothoth is the gate & the key... He's Azathoth's messenger...

I would say sheer power, Azathoth, he is the center of all things. But he's "the blind insane God at the center of the Universe" and doesn't give a ♥♥♥♥ about humans and what happens here, he's above that. On the other hand, he doesn't really interact with the other entities in the pantheon. And they, very much on purpose do not interact with him... Which says alot.

If you want sheer power, and demonstrability on earth... I'd say the toss up is between Dagon & Cthulhu....

[Psyduck]

http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Azathoth

http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Yog-Sothoth

http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php/Nyarlathotep

[Goteki45]

I'd be torn between Azathoth and Nyarlathotep. I'm also surpised that Nyarlathotep was only brought up by one person so far.

Azathoth could potentially have the power to just destroy everything in existence in the blink of an eye without caring (or even knowing), but he's often preoccupied or just incoherent to what's around him and outside of time and space.

Nyarlathotep is awake, alive, and active on Earth, and as the crawling chaos it has many, many different potential forms and powers. Usually when I've read a Lovecraft story that mentions Nyarlathotep, other beings seem to be very afraid of meeting up with it.

[Twelvefield]

My vote is that good ol' HP Lovecraft was (or is, depending on your outlook and belief in paranormal) the most powerful entity in the Lovecraft universe. I mean, think about it. It's like Jessica from "Murder, She Wrote" being the killer because she is the single common factor in all those murders. Without Lovecraft, well... without Lovecraft, we could still read books at night.

[Casus Belli]

Nyarlathotep, despite being partially bound to the fate of his idiot (literally) brother Azazoth. It is said that Nyarlathotep will one day tire of piping for his brother and undo all creation thrown up by the act that rendered his brother mad simply by snapping the flute he keeps Azazoth appeased with. The old ones are really just immensely powerful aliens of a far more developed civilization, to be honest. They are gods -to us-, sure.

Also, it's implied in "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" that Nyarlathotep keeps the mild gods of earth (read: all of our gods that ever were or will be) as pets.

[Icedfate]

i'm not familiar with cthulhu mythos all that much, but i have arkham horror board game and the boss monster card for azathoth says "if azathoth awakens all investigators lose, the game is over" and "azathoth promises nothing but destruction so only the insane worship him"

so i'm inclined to believe that azathoth is the most powereful since that one is the only one that doesn't give the players the opportunity to fight him after he awakens, he just destroyed the universe and then "you and your friends are dead, game over"
"you are dead
your friends are dead
your family is dead
your effing pets are being skinned alive
you suck at life
your going to hell
live with it
game over"

[Mirrormaze]

It's a bit of a useless question. August Derleth kinda took a lot of the charm of the setting by introducing the good vs evil dichotomy. It's kinda hard to quantify power since it's more about on what level they operate rather than what they can actually do.

Azatoth is the most powerful in the sense that it can destroy the universe if it wakes up...but at the same time it's completely devoid of sense...so again hard to quantifiy power. Nyarlathotep seems the most "aware" and powerful cosmic entity.

[castel1x1]

That's not pokemon, it's pointless to compare them in such terms.

[Metal Izanagi]

If you were to go by pure stats, the official Call of Cthulhu RPG by Chaosium very clearly makes Azathoth the most powerful entity. If you manage to awaken him, or purposely summon him for some stupid reason, he will, unless you find a way to put him away, expand in size at a rate based on his size/time that he's been present,(I forget which.) to eat the entire Earth/whatever other planet or dimension you're in, and then /keep going/, to the point of devouring everything in existence, with his nuclear, destroy-everything, eternally-expanding insanity. That said, most entities are pretty damn powerful, and can easily crush the Investigator player-characters with their pinky toe, without even noticing, and Azathoth only really stands out because he doesn't have any goals, but just /is/.

[tomasrawlings]

One of the things I loved about the Mythos is that this is Sci-Fi - these are not magical entities in the sense of Tolkien etc, but are alien beings - so alien that thier technology seems like magic/supernatural powers... Which is why the Shadow out of Time is such a great story - the horror of the temporal dislocation is very shocking. Lovecraft's work is all about power - and how little we humans have!

[Kain]

Azathoth, Nyarlathotep is only Azathoth's servant, that being said if left alone he's harmless, just listening to the gods playing flute to him. Nyarlathotep although not the most powerful of the 'Gods' is the most immediate threat to mankind.

That of course ignoring all tht August Derleth non-sense.

[BOYCOTT S-T-E-A-M!]

Originally posted by rogeriofmartins87:

Nyarlathotep although not the most powerful of the 'Gods' is the most immediate threat to mankind.

I would also have to say the most threatening one is bound to be Nyarlothotep.

I mean sure... all of the beings in the mythos are "said" to be capable of warping the minds of humans and rendering us into completely insane gibbering and useless husks...

But of all these beings only Nyarlothotep has actually demonstrated the ability to "literally" cause this effect on humanity in the REAL world... by coming to us in the form of Japanese Anime...

Opening of "Haiyore nyaruko-san" / "Nyaruko: Another Crawling Chaos"

Truly a terrifying and mind breaking experience...