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Robert Chambers' collection The King in Yellow.
It's a fictional play that drives the reader insane: great collection.
Ambrose Bierce introduced a lot of stuff in his collection: can such things be
Chaosium's Delta Green pen and paper rpg is the best source for info on Hastur/The King in Yellow.
Hastur is a cosmic supernatural force of entropy and decay. Some Mythos scholar's believe that it's an Outer God like Azathoth.
The King in Yellow is it's avatar. It can either be called to a location by using the yellow sign, or if the location/city reachs a certain point of moral decadence and decay the King in Yellow will take it and make it a part of Carcosa.
The Call of Cthulhu campaign Tatters of the King is both an excellent campaign and chock full of The King in Yellow. I'm going to heavily cannibalise it for my next CoC campaign, if that every happens. Too bad it seems to be out of production, but you can get a pdf from Chaosium here.
there was a Dungeon adventure toward the end of the run with a very nice horror piece with the play The King in Yellow and transport to Carcosa. I can't remember the name.
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H̤̞̘̭͎͈̩͚̑ͩ̌͘å̴͚̰͍͒͂s̛͔̭͈̮̩̘͙̣͆̓̓̓͊̈̈́ͦ́tͭͧ͂͊҉̴̴̳͎͎̘̠u̡̧͕̓r̷͍̯̽ͮ͊̽̐ͭ,ͯ̀ͫ̏ͯ̑ ̩̟̔̏͡ ̧̧͔͐ͣ̄̽̂ͭ͠P̧͇̖̘̞̟̞̘̻̟̏ͭ̐u̍̓͏̢̛̳̱̤̫͈s̟̎͒͐͐͐͆ͬ̀͞s͉͎͉̣͉͚̩̓ͮ͑̿͘ͅy̝̥̹͉̪̓̔̾͌̽̚͜c̅ ̭͈̥͇̘̳͓ͯ͋̂ͮ̾̂́͢ͅa̻̞͚͐̓ͧͬ̊̐̍̇t̴̳ͭͧ!̻̜̮ͩ͒́ͬ̌ͭͧ ̻͔͈͎͔̰̟̭͊͒͞I̸̶̱͉͖͚͔͔̫͖ͣ͒̽ͪͬ̅͌̆͑́ȁ̽̓ͪ̑̒͏҉̙!̧̣̣͔̙̮̓͝͡ ̷̘̖̮̠̦̯͕̾̓ͅI̶̢̺͇͚̤̞̺̬͔̱̾͂́ͩ̍͠ä̛̱̬̝͖̻̰́̂̇̍ͯ̄͝!͇̦ͧ͑̇
Developer
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The interesting thing (frustrating to some) is that Hastur, like many if not most Mythos elements, has been touched and modified by so many different people over time that many people have their own take on him depending on what portions of the Mythos that they like and accept (while discarding the things they don't). That Hastur turned from a shepherd god to his current incarnation is a prime example of this migration through many people's interpretations. The most recent (and delightful) visitation of Hastur (and Carcosa and the themes of both) outside of games and books is the first season of the HBO show True Detective.
H̤̞̘̭͎͈̩͚̑ͩ̌͘å̴͚̰͍͒͂s̛͔̭͈̮̩̘͙̣͆̓̓̓͊̈̈́ͦ́tͭͧ͂͊҉̴̴̳͎͎̘̠u̡̧͕̓r̷͍̯̽ͮ͊̽̐ͭ,ͯ̀ͫ̏ͯ̑ ̩̟̔̏͡ ̧̧͔͐ͣ̄̽̂ͭ͠P̧͇̖̘̞̟̞̘̻̟̏ͭ̐u̍̓͏̢̛̳̱̤̫͈s̟̎͒͐͐͐͆ͬ̀͞s͉͎͉̣͉͚̩̓ͮ͑̿͘ͅy̝̥̹͉̪̓̔̾͌̽̚͜c̅ ̭͈̥͇̘̳͓ͯ͋̂ͮ̾̂́͢ͅa̻̞͚͐̓ͧͬ̊̐̍̇t̴̳ͭͧ!̻̜̮ͩ͒́ͬ̌ͭͧ ̻͔͈͎͔̰̟̭͊͒͞I̸̶̱͉͖͚͔͔̫͖ͣ͒̽ͪͬ̅͌̆͑́ȁ̽̓ͪ̑̒͏҉̙!̧̣̣͔̙̮̓͝͡ ̷̘̖̮̠̦̯͕̾̓ͅI̶̢̺͇͚̤̞̺̬͔̱̾͂́ͩ̍͠ä̛̱̬̝͖̻̰́̂̇̍ͯ̄͝!͇̦ͧ͑̇
Well, that just makes perfect sense.
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The interesting thing (frustrating to some) is that Hastur, like many if not most Mythos elements, has been touched and modified by so many different people over time that many people have their own take on him depending on what portions of the Mythos that they like and accept (while discarding the things they don't). That Hastur turned from a shepherd god to his current incarnation is a prime example of this migration through many people's interpretations. The most recent (and delightful) visitation of Hastur (and Carcosa and the themes of both) outside of games and books is the first season of the HBO show True Detective.
i just have to say that i love that a flumph is giving us this information.
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A yellow flumph at that. One wonders as to that flumph's true allegiance ... ;)
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Wonder no more!
Step right up, and peruse the shelves, I'm SURE we'll have something you like!
EASY FINANCING AVAILABLE!
Who are you going to trust, a space-going tentacled horror, or our fine, knowledgeable staff?
...
Please stay out of the stockroom. It's SUPPOSED to sound like that.
Hastur is one of my favorites. Depending on what part of the mythos is he is either an avatar of Nyarlathotep or the Nameless Mist (which is my preference). Nyarlathotep is able to change into Hastur, and as the messenger of the outer gods, he can do that. Hastur is a Nihilist Great Old One. His Nihilism though, comes from his worshippers. To call hastur one of his cults must successfully complete a ritual which transforms themself into an avatar of Hastur and they lose themselves completely. Hastur also grants wishes to those whom get his attention, but his wishes are the type that are destructive to the user. I wish I had more strength. He will make it so your body continously grows until the point, that you aren't able to move because he granted you the strength, but didn't grant you any dexterity, and enhanced the dexterity decreases as well. He is considered to be the shepherd, because his sheep are his cult. They don't know what hastur truly looks like, but they do know the yellow sign which is what they seek. Hastur is also a planeshifter, able to take locations from one place and move it to Carcosa, very similar to the mists in Ravenloft.
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I did a fair amount of research into Hastur and Carcosa in order to run a one-shot set in Sandpoint, where Cyrdak accidentally gets a copy of The King in Yellow, and goes a bit bonkers. As a result, my Runelords PCs learned that the Elder Mythos stories are canonical to some degree in Golarion, as they had to cross the planar boundaries to visit a (almost assuredly) toned down Carcosa and bring Cyrdak back before Carcosa stole Sandpoint from the face of the world.
Things I've learned:
1. Hastur is probably not even the entity's real name. Part of the reason it is called The Unspeakable is that its name is shrouded in mystery. Is it Hastur? Is it the King in Yellow? Is it something else entirely? Nobody's sure. Only that speaking one of its favored aliases often brings its attention - and that way lies madness.
2. Hastur doesn't live in Carcosa. Or it does. It's complicated. I don't think it's the same way as how Cthulhu lies dreaming in R'lyeh, but I think Carcosa is yet another manifestation of Hastur. This is the part of the entity that seeks out whole cities to steal. The Lake Hali, its winding curvilinear streets, its alien architecture - all dreams of the Unspeakable One while it slumbers.
3. Hastur's cult tends to be creative types. A lot of the original stories that feature Hastur as an influence also feature protagonists that are creative in some manner. Authors, poets, painters - dreamers. There's some connection between Hastur and the creative drive that attracts its malign attention. Someone who has seen the Yellow Sign often hears a muse that is unlike any they have experienced in their lives, and feel compelled to express the bottomless well of imagination that they have discovered. The more avant-garde, the better, as Hastur's devotees care not for your social constructs.
Key word of advice on those researching Hastur and his kin.
Avoid having ANY square or rectangular angles in your living space, that means get rid of that dresser, and those square shaped portraits.
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It's perfectly safe! The risks are overstated simply because a few unstable souls happen to have used some truly excellent dramatic literature as an excuse for their own foibles.
I'm sure you're perfectly capable of handling it! Here, have a special deal, The King in Yellow, now half-off!
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I'll take three. o vo I wanna know what ol' yellow robes is up to.
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It's perfectly safe! The risks are overstated simply because a few unstable souls happen to have used some truly excellent dramatic literature as an excuse for their own foibles.
I'm sure you're perfectly capable of handling it! Here, have a special deal, The King in Yellow, now half-off!
^^he seems like a completely trustworthy individual who only wants to help out those around him.