Shadow of Nyarlathotep

• Cost: 3 magic points; 1D3+1 Sanity points (+5 POW)

• Casting time: 1 hour

Note that 5 POW is consumed when first successfully learning this spell. To cast
the spell, the caster requires a pint of fresh and warm human blood and three live
animals (such as chickens or rabbits). After sacrificing the animals and intoning
dread words to Nyarlathotep, a large, shadowy form appears, a shadow of one of
Nyarlathotep’s thousand forms (dependent on the form known to the caster—for
example, if cast in Africa, the form might be that of the Bloody Tongue). The
caster then directs the shadow to a target, whereupon it will stalk the target,
provoking a sense of curling dread and strange coldness around the target. The
shadow may affect the target in many ways. The target or other who see the shadow
at a distance should make a Sanity roll (1D2/1D6 loss), whereas seeing the shadow
up close calls for a Sanity roll with stronger consequences (1D6/1D20 loss) as far
for detail of the shadow’s form can be discerned (clawed appendages, tentacle where
a face should be, and so on). The shadow follows the commands of the caster for one
hour before fading away. It can frighten, horrify, and unnerve those who see it,
but it cannot affect the target or viewers physically, nor move things, or make
attacks. Common physical symptoms of such a scare include nightmares, excessive
sweating, and incontinence at night.
The shadow is dispelled by strong light, such as the nearby presence of large fire
or the headlights of automobiles, but ordinary electrical lights have no effect.

Deeper magic: with the greater cost of 10 magic points and 1D6 Sanity points, the
shadow takes on more physicality, able to move objects, knock things over, and
vocalize, although it cannot directly attack the target. Sanity loses for such
uncanny events are at the Keeper’s discretion.