Father Dagon Mother Hydra

In the desolate landscape of dreams where strange geometry and physics hold sway, you watch the change happen. Doors open to unexpected locations and paths turn back on themselves in a maddening loop. The whole city of Arkham becomes a never ending hallway that stretches so that you can never quite reach the exit door.

The people cry out in panic as they are snatched into shadows, go mad with visions you wisely turn away from, or close themselves up to pray for help. But to what god do they pray?

At the center of it, at the corners, all around and above and below and within it, is the Cult. Out of the corner of your eye and ever present just behind you, they stalk and wait. They wail in a strange language, chanting and singing unholy hymns. Before terrible waking catches hold of you, you see them. Strange idols glowing pale in the now ever-present moonlight. Three for the Father. Three for the Mother. These are the anchors and the beacons, drawing in not only the cult but their gods as well. They MUST be destroyed before the Father and Mother appear.

Based on the Firelights SRD

This work is based on Firelights, product of Fari RPGs (https://farirpgs.com/), developed and authored by René-Pier Deshaies-Gélinas, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Cover art by 80sChild

Disclaimer & Content Warnings

While Father Dagon Mother Hydra is heavily inspired by the work of H. P. Lovecraft, I want to make it abundantly clear that, while inspired by his nightmares, I do not admire this man and the things he stood for. Lovecraft was sexist and racist and both of those things are to be condemned. Thankfully, he cannot benefit in his moldering grave from the works inspired by his stories. There is some small hope that he does roll in it whenever a creative person of color, woman, and/or queer turns his work into something of their own, something better than his writings could touch upon.

This is a horror ttrpg meant to inspire fear, dread, and similar emotions. Warnings for death, discussion of mental health issues including themes of insanity, institutions, and medication, as well as mutation and disfigurement, and more. Player discretion is advised.

Olivia Hill Rule

NO FASCISTS

If you’re a fascist, you’re not welcome to play this game. It’s against the rules. If you’re reading this and thinking, “You just call everyone you disagree with a fascist,” then you’re probably a fascist, or incapable of drawing inferences from context and acknowledging a dangerous political climate that causes the oppressed to be hyperbolic. Don’t play this game. Heal yourself. Grow. Learn. Watch some Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood or something. 

The text for The Olivia Hill Rule is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 license. Credit to Machine Age Productions.

To play this game, you will need:

A couple of hours to play

A standard deck of cards without jokers

Two six-sided dice (d6)

A notebook, document or recording device to act as your Journal

Something to write with

Index cards or random slips of paper

A token of some sort (coin, poker chip, etc.)

This game includes a Character Sheet with the following information and stat trackers. You can print that off or keep track of your stats in your journal.