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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fireinthedust" data-source="post: 6256489" data-attributes="member: 51930">Nah, I'm good, it's cool.  Actually, I was hoping some folks had some anecdotes about using the statblocks in the book. (but thanks for the consideration)  More than Demonomicon, there's Deities and Demigods.  One could fight Thor or Odin.  So it is certainly a D&D thing to fight Cthulhu.As well, considering the presence of the Mythos in other stories than Lovecraft, let's not forget Robert E. Howard's Conan stories.  The entire supernatural in the Hyborean Age is effectively Mythos, being things the "man was not meant to know".  Some come from outer space, others dwell deep in the earth.  Mages both "good" and vile both have truck with these alien creatures from beyond our reality who intrude on us and take material form.  Off-hand I can think of: the tower of the elephant, Xuthal of the Dusk, The Servants of Bit-Yakin, and the Hour of the Dragon...  Even what we would consider "typical fantasy" was treated by Howard as part of the Mythos:  Vampires living in the black pyramid beneath Stygia, what we would call a Naga in Rogues in the House... loads of others.  Wizards were as bad as it could get, including liches.  The "dark gods" like Set were basically just Mythos creatures of immense power.Heck, in Xuthal, and again in "The valley of lost women", Conan goes one-on-one against a horror that is worshipped as a god by wizards or by weird alien women.  Are they any less within the mould simply because those stories have received less acclaim?Robert E. Howard was a pen pal of HP Lovecraft, who gave the eulogy at Howard's funeral.  Conan was officially Lovecraftian, and they had an ongoing debate about what was more evil: civilization or savagery.Appendix N is an amazing reading list that I feel I'm way behind on completeing.  D&D has this habit of "classifying" what things are, and players act like it's law.  The greats didn't do that sort of thing.  The point of the Mythos is that we can't classify it: our pathetic human minds can't comprehend them.So, in light of that, I'd say that I think high level D&D characters loaded with powerful magical items could go toe-to-toe with Cthulhu.  Conan didn't even have those resources (just a sword and some hit points), and he did it numerous times. [MENTION=11944]oth[/MENTION]ers:  I do see what you mean in terms of scale.  My early years in D&D needed Cthulhu to be unbeatable, or other plot devices like that.  For some games, it can be fine.  Really you and Hobo are both right:  really it would be more like "we fight back this manifestation of Cthulhu until the eclipse is done, and it goes back to the slumber of eons".</blockquote>

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