Innsmouth added as new Ravenloft Domain of Dread, bringing Lovecraft to D&D

Paul Farquhar · 2026-04-15T20:28:32+0100

Thommy H-H said:
Maybe worth pointing out that Cthulhu was explicitly called out as a possible Great Old One Warlock patron all the way back at the start of 5e, so he's always technically been canonical in this edition, if you care about such things!

Cthulhu was in AD&D before Strahd was.

TravDoc42 · 2026-04-15T20:34:08+0100

Toriel said:
Actually, D&D already has Godzilla in the form of the Tarrasque.

Good point!

TravDoc42 · 2026-04-15T20:34:42+0100

Paul Farquhar said:
Cthulhu was in AD&D before Strahd was.

That is an excellent point! Perhaps my knickers are twisted for nothing...

ProfessorDetective · 2026-04-15T21:48:14+0100

Also to mention, this isn't the only WotC-backed Mythos thing we've had recently. Chaosium themselves did a 5E book, just last year.

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Voadam · 2026-04-15T22:31:20+0100

ProfessorDetective said:
Also to mention, this isn't the only WotC-backed Mythos thing we've had recently. Chaosium themselves did a 5E book, just last year.

Cthulhu by Torchlight - Shop D&D Beyond

The Cthulhu Mythos invades fifth edition DUNGEONS & DRAGONS! Ready your players with subclasses, feats, and spells powerful enough to stop even the hungriest shoggoth. Cthulhu by Torchlight is a D&D BEYOND exclusive and playable...

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Huh, I was not aware.

Whizbang Dustyboots · 2026-04-15T22:38:37+0100

occam said:
That's right. If only WotC were instead to introduce the town of River's End, with people slowly transforming into brinefolk centered on a cult of Grand Kith-hooloo, they would meet universal acclaim with cries of "At least they didn't directly rip off Lovecraft!"

</sarcasm mode>

If you're going to do something with the Mythos, just use the Mythos. Trying to disguise it as something else is, IMO, worse than pointless; it'll be spotted immediately, and it's not like Cthulhu himself hasn't already appeared in umpteen RPG products over the last 45+ years. Which is unlike Dracula or Frankenstein, who generally don't appear by name in gaming products, despite having been part of the public domain for much longer. Why? I don't know, call it an RPG tradition at this point.

For a guy calling himself "occam," this is a pretty weak argument.

D&D has had off-brand mythos stuff in it since the AD&D days, the kuo-toa and Blibdoolpoolp, the Elder Elemental Eye, Tharizdun, mind flayers, aboleth, the yuan-ti and more. And that stuff is beloved.

And yeah, Ravenloft has been better off historically when they made new stuff inspired by classic horror tropes, but designed to work well with the D&D system of the moment.

If WotC had worked to create a similar riff on the Great Old Ones and Innsmouth for Ravenloft, there's no reason to believe it wouldn't be a big success, especially given that there are multiple domains that already have a lot of that scary New England sea coast vibe (among other flavors thrown in).

Voadam · 2026-04-15T22:39:00+0100

TravDoc42 said:
I'm torn about this so far. As I said in the other thread, having actual Cthulhu in D&D feels a bit like having Godzilla in D&D: I like both, but it feels weird having them together.

But seeing the details I have so far, I am starting to warm up to his unholy squiggliness being in D&D. The art and stat block presented are very well done, and I already have ideas for one shots and/or short campaigns themed around Lovecraft. Cthulhu being in Deities and Demigods helps soften the blow a bit, too.

I'm reserving judgement for now, until I see more, but I'm surprised how much I like what I see!

FYI D&D crossover things get a little weird in S5 The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga, as she got around.

No TM though.

TravDoc42 · 2026-04-15T22:41:36+0100

Voadam said:
FYI D&D crossover things get a little weird in S5 The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga, as she got around.

View attachment 434610

No TM though.

No kidding! I had no idea!! Well, darn!

So impressed that you found this!

Voadam · 2026-04-15T22:52:55+0100

TravDoc42 said:
No kidding! I had no idea!! Well, darn!
So impressed that you found this!

I ran it. My group did not get to that part (they mostly got into the early slavic dark fairy tale stuff, you have to go really deep to get to the weird world stuff) but it stuck out to me when I read it.

As did the laser armed cyborg ghost guarding the necromantic sword in the stone.

Voadam · 2026-04-15T23:14:13+0100

Also Nuclear breath weapon free reptilian gargantua coming out of the sea to terrorize fantasy Japanese communities has been a D&D thing since 1e Oriental Adventures.

Since Kara Tur became part of the Forgotten Realms in later 1e they are part of the Realms. You can also see them in the 2e Kara Tur Monstrous compendium appendix.

I was a bit surprised not to see them in 3e's Oriental Adventures or the Epic Level Handbook.

If you want to see a nonTM King Kong in D&D you can look to 1e WG6 Isle of the Ape designed for high level play (generally six characters of levels 15+ though magic users as low as 14 and barbarians and druids as low as 12 are considered acceptable).