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Mikey wrote:

McAvoy wrote:Lakehurst right?

It's about 30 minutes from my parents house.

Yep. What town are they in?

Ewing or West Trenton.

McAvoy wrote:Ewing or West Trenton.

Oh, I'm on the other side by the water, Toms River... my folks live in Hamilton Twp. now, though.

Tyyr wrote:Son of a bitch... You do that ONE TIME!

I will forever picture you as James Garner from now on.

Yeah my folk live across the street from College of New Jersey. I have cousins that live practically down the street by Six Flags. When 4th of July comes around they always get a free fireworks display from there.

Except for being in Trenton proper, that whole section is pretty nice. I've got a few friends over there. A bit too far from the beach to live there, but that's just me.

Most people don't know how much preparation the Great Old Ones put into getting ready for an evening affair.

(BTW, nerd alert: Cthulhu - who the term "Tie-thulu" references - isn't an Elder God, "he" is a Great Old One.)

It's still hilarious.

Tsukiyumi wrote:It's still hilarious.

Yes it is - and useful, too. Now, I know what I'm going to wear for my bro- and sis-in-law's baby shower on Saturday.

Mikey wrote:(BTW, nerd alert: Cthulhu - who the term "Tie-thulu" references - isn't an Elder God, "he" is a Great Old One.)

As someone with only a passing knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos...what exactly is the difference?

Lighthawk wrote:

Mikey wrote:(BTW, nerd alert: Cthulhu - who the term "Tie-thulu" references - isn't an Elder God, "he" is a Great Old One.)

As someone with only a passing knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos...what exactly is the difference?

It's actually kind of tough, because Lovecraft himself didn't make the distinction as concrete as one might like... and because he himself often changed the terms he used. From the others he wrote with a/o was in contact with, and following authors, we have more definite terms for the different classes of entities he used:

Great Old Ones: various entities, more like powerful aliens from different stars a/o galaxies than deities but with supernatural aspects as well. Generally have come to Earth and been imprisoned in slumber in caverns, under the sea, etc.; and generally have Very Bad Things^TM in mind for mankind. Mostly have ancient cults predating humanity, and can sometimes make psychic contact with cultists or sensitive individuals at the proper times. Supposedly will be freed "when the stars are right" to pretty much kill everybody.

Outer Gods: more like actual deities, or embodiments of cosmic forces. Sometime linked in motive or action with the Great Old Ones, but the connection is hazy.

Elder Gods: entities opposed to the Great Old Ones; may have been their progenitors or used them in servitude until the Great Old Ones rebelled. Lovecraft himself used the Great Old Ones as amoral, rather than evil, and some dislike the idea of creating a "good" group of beings to oppose an "evil" group. However, "opposed" doesn't necessarily mean "morally opposite," and when the Elder Gods come to contest the Great Old Ones when the stars are right, the outcome for humanity might suck just as much if the Elder God win.

Great Ones or Gods of Earth: relatively weak deities of the Dreamlands, who are involved with humanity in the role of typical, pantheistic gods. May be the same as the Elder Gods.

This of course doesn't count any of the alien races which have come to Earth such as the mi-go (the fungi from Yuggoth (Pluto,)) the Great Race of Yith, the Elder Things, et. al.

From the average human scale point of view not much they'll both pretty much squish you quick.

That said old ones are more or less physical aliens beings however powerful. The Elder gods are as the name suggests, gods, forces of nature kinda things. You can never really defeat em. You may manage to destroy its body but it will just be dispelled and return at a later time to squish you. Or then again it might just totally ignore you as you're insignificant to them. Just seeing some of them is enough to drive the average person insane in the mythos world.


edit: doh beat me to it!

I see...at least as much as I think is possible given the less than clear cut nature of the topic. Thanks.

Mikey wrote:

Lighthawk wrote:

Mikey wrote:(BTW, nerd alert: Cthulhu - who the term "Tie-thulu" references - isn't an Elder God, "he" is a Great Old One.)

As someone with only a passing knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos...what exactly is the difference?

It's actually kind of tough, because Lovecraft himself didn't make the distinction as concrete as one might like... and because he himself often changed the terms he used. From the others he wrote with a/o was in contact with, and following authors, we have more definite terms for the different classes of entities he used:

Great Old Ones: various entities, more like powerful aliens from different stars a/o galaxies than deities but with supernatural aspects as well. Generally have come to Earth and been imprisoned in slumber in caverns, under the sea, etc.; and generally have Very Bad Things^TM in mind for mankind. Mostly have ancient cults predating humanity, and can sometimes make psychic contact with cultists or sensitive individuals at the proper times. Supposedly will be freed "when the stars are right" to pretty much kill everybody.

Outer Gods: more like actual deities, or embodiments of cosmic forces. Sometime linked in motive or action with the Great Old Ones, but the connection is hazy.

Elder Gods: entities opposed to the Great Old Ones; may have been their progenitors or used them in servitude until the Great Old Ones rebelled. Lovecraft himself used the Great Old Ones as amoral, rather than evil, and some dislike the idea of creating a "good" group of beings to oppose an "evil" group. However, "opposed" doesn't necessarily mean "morally opposite," and when the Elder Gods come to contest the Great Old Ones when the stars are right, the outcome for humanity might suck just as much if the Elder God win.

Great Ones or Gods of Earth: relatively weak deities of the Dreamlands, who are involved with humanity in the role of typical, pantheistic gods. May be the same as the Elder Gods.

This of course doesn't count any of the alien races which have come to Earth such as the mi-go (the fungi from Yuggoth (Pluto,)) the Great Race of Yith, the Elder Things, et. al.

That's a lot of info.
are those books good?

Most of HP Lovecraft's stories can be fairly short you're better buying an collection of his stories. Amazon should have em.

SomosFuga wrote:That's a lot of info.
are those books good?

In a nutshell: yes.

Lovecraft's style is fairly archaic to a modern reader, as he wrote mostly in the first three decades of the 20th century. If you can get by that, then I highly recommend him. As Colm said, your best bet to start is a collection of short stories... especially one that includes "The Call of Cthulhu," "At the Mountains of Madness," or "The Dunwich Horror."