The great work of the Esoteric Order of the Abyss, to be performed on the night of February 28th, 1927, when the planets align in a line pointing down toward R'lyeh.
The Rite is a distributed ritual — the Olympic itself becomes a temple. Sigils carved throughout the ship channel the life force of dying passengers to the Idol in The Void Beneath. The cultists' chant sustains the connection. When the planetary parade aligns with R'lyeh, the accumulated power triggers the rising.
Duration: 6 hours (the planetary parade)
Casualties Required: Everyone onboard. The Rite demands 2,400+ souls.
The cultists speak in Aklo and R'lyehian, their voices rising in waves through the elevator shaft. The chant builds in intensity as the night progresses.
The chant begins as a low murmur:
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." (In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.)
Repeated monotonously by 30-50 cultists in a circle around the Idol.
As the sigils drink more blood, the chant grows louder, faster. New phrases are introduced:
"Cthulhu fhtagn! Cthulhu fhtagn!" (Cthulhu dreams! Cthulhu dreams!)
"R'lyeh ngah'ng — R'lyeh throd!" (R'lyeh shall rise — R'lyeh ascends!)
"Y'ai'ng'ngah, Yog-Sothoth h'upadgh ng, Cthulhu nglui mglw'nafh!"
The voices begin to harmonize unnaturally — not quite human.
As the planetary alignment approaches its apex, the chant becomes ecstatic:
"Wgah'nagl fhtagn! Wgah'nagl fhtagn!" (Waits dreaming! Waits dreaming!)
"Mglw'nafh fhthad-ngah, Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
"SYA'H'B! SYA'H'B! N'GAH THROD!" (RISE! RISE! AND ASCEND!)
By this point, non-cultists throughout the ship hear the words in their minds — a subterrene voice shouting "Cthulhu" and "R'lyeh" in their dreams and waking hours.
At the peak of the planetary parade:
"R'LYEH! R'LYEH! CTHULHU FHTAGN! N'GAH! N'GAH! THROD!" (R'lyeh! R'lyeh! Cthulhu dreams! NOW! NOW! ASCEND!)
The chant becomes a roar. The Idol blazes with green light. The ocean boils.
Sigils carved into bulkheads throughout the ship
The Idol positioned in The Void Beneath
Cultists take their positions
Sabotage of Boiler Room 5 ensures the ship cannot move
Cultists begin systematic slaughter of passengers and crew
Each death feeds power through the sigils to the Idol
The Idol glows brighter as more souls are drained
WP/MP is channeled into the stone
The ocean becomes unnaturally still — "greasy glass"
The ship is surrounded by absolute silence
The sky darkens as if under an invisible cloud
Electrostatic charge makes hair stand on end
Passengers experience shared nightmares of Cyclopean architecture
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter form a line pointing toward R'lyeh
The Idol reaches critical charge
If successful: R'lyeh begins to rise, Cthulhu stirs
If interrupted: Backlash kills cultists, ship damaged, but world spared
EffectOnsetDescriptionAuditory HallucinationsHour 1Passengers hear "Cthulhu" and "R'lyeh" whisperedShared NightmaresHour 2Dreams of dark stone, Cyclopean vistasChanting EchoHour 2Heard rising from elevator shafts, ventsLights FlickerHour 3Electrical systems destabilizeSky DarkensHour 4As if an invisible cloud blocks the starsBecalmed SeaHour 5Ocean becomes mirror-stillElectrostatic ChargeHour 5Hair stands on end, metal sparksGreen GlowHour 6Idol visible through hull plates, faint green light
If the Idol is shattered, the accumulated power dissipates. However:
The Idol is incredibly durable (non-terrestrial stone)
Destroying it may cause a magical backlash (1d6/1d10 SAN loss)
The cultists will defend it to the death
If the chanting stops for more than a few minutes, the power bleeds off:
Interrupt the cultists (violence, distraction, gas)
Seal the elevator shaft to cut off the resonance
The Idol will retain some charge but cannot complete the Rite
If the Olympic leaves Point Nemo, the cosmic alignment fails:
Requires repairing Boiler Room 5 or using auxiliary power
Takes hours the investigators may not have
The Deep Ones in the water may try to stop them
An Elder Sign or other protective ward may suppress the Idol:
Requires knowledge of such rituals
Only a temporary measure — the Idol must still be destroyed
OutcomeResultComplete SuccessR'lyeh rises, Cthulhu awakens, the world ends as we know itPartial SuccessSomething rises — localized apocalypse, ship destroyed, but not full awakeningChant BrokenPower dissipates, Idol cracks, cultists killed by backlash, survivors traumatizedIdol DestroyedPower released explosively, ship damaged, ritual ended permanently
The Rite should feel inevitable but preventable
Give investigators multiple paths to interfere
The cultists are fanatics — they will not stop
The environmental effects create urgency and atmosphere
The chanting echoing through the ship is a horror element — passengers hear it and don't understand
The final hour should be desperate and chaotic
The Rite of the Sunken God is the culmination of centuries of preparation. The Order believes they are saving humanity by ending it. Only the investigators stand between the world and the rising of R'lyeh.