Emerald Lama

Basic Information

The Emerald Lama is a relatively obscure creature from the Cthulhu Mythos. An avatar of Hastur it incarnates the concept of false enlightenment and deceitful "hidden wisdom", specialising both in corrupting Buddhist theology and misleading credulous outsiders with "the Wisdom of the East". Like most avatars of Hastur its main aim appears to be the torment and corruption of humanity - whatever the actual content of its teachings (and there is no reason to assume that they would be consistent), they are likely to appear superficially attractive but lead sooner or later to spiritual, moral and/or physical depravity.

Sources

Bibliography

1. It appears to be sourced from the Call of Cthulhu splatbook Secrets of Japan.

Game and Story Use

• A good source of mystery cults in the modern era. Especially those based around the sort of pseudo-Buddhism popular in the West. Lucky Buddha statues anyone? Meditiative techniques that are meant to force the universe to give you what you want?
  • Needn't be Buddhist either - that "Prosperity Gospel" Minister … serving some form of the Emerald Lama designed to corrupt a different religion.
• Also good if you need a temple of evil Buddhist monks, either to oppose your PCs own kung-fu temple or as a terrain hazard in Central Asia.
  • Great for anyone using the D&D monster the Bhut (especially in that creepy monastry at the end of X4: Master of the Desert Nomads - rather than being overrun by the master's minions they were corrupted by the teachings of the Emerald Lama and their souls slipped into a fantasy equivalent of Naraka - or Preta, given their dietary habits.)
• Anyone seen The Golden Child?
• Can be used against any theurgic PC, by allowing them to find teachings that appear to broaden their "spell list" with techniques explicity forbidden to them in normal practice but which appear to be written from inside their own faith. Sooner or later following these teachings will cut them off from their old deities and leave them reliant on the evil and deceptive power which created them … after which …
  • Pseudo-Christian examples might cite "St Elymas" and "St Simon the Wise" (assuming that your PCs don't see right through this).