Nopes. The last thing we want you to think is that Miskatonic University revolves around this clique-y group of students, while originals play the supporting cast. But Lovecraft's universe is so diverse, our canon list (much of which are lifted from his own stories) will hopefully also serve as concrete examples of what's possible for our members in terms of character creation.

Not a lot. If you're a Lovecraft buff and have read all of the lit, then that's great! But if you're more a fan of films like Dagon, From Beyond or Re-Animator, then that's fine too.

Miskatonic University, in a nutshell, is just like a messed-up school--except one that's populated by a strange student body and a handful of investigators to keep them in line. Just go through the required reading, and if there's still something you're not clear about, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sure. You can even opt not to go for a PB at all. Just please don't use illustrations or personal photos, please.

Done properly, those could fit into a Lovecraftian setting too. But just keep in mind that given the setting, Miskatonic probably won't see any 'romanticised' interpretations of these creatures.

Yes, hybrid descendants of otherworldly species like the Deep Ones or Serpent People do walk among the student populace of Miskatonic, and sometimes they can even pass for human. Almost. Most halfbreeds embrace their lineage, but the bloodlines go so far back, others don't even know they're only partly human. Some of these 'gently bred' families of Massachusetts include the Waites, Gilmans, Eliots and Marshes.

Decades ago, the fish-mongering townspeople of Innsmouth formed a cult, the Order of Dagon. Besides an oath of secrecy, members were also compelled to marry a Deep One. Later generations came to inherit the fishy Innsmouth Look: a narrow face, flat nose and bulgy, unblinking eyes that seem to stare a little too long. At some point some descendants of the Deep Ones eventually hear a 'call' to return to the sea, where they rejoin their kin and become essentially immortal.

There's a theory that runs among the more bookish--or superstitious--of Miskatonic's students: That through certain angles and lines, space and time can 'intersect' and form a gateway. Some Salem witches were said to escape persecution by bending these laws of physics. The very idea has intrigued investigators for years, but honestly, what are the chances of modern-day spellcasters traipsing along the university halls?

More like mind-swapping, actually. Oh, there's plenty of ways to go about it. The Yithians take over human minds all the time to carry on freakish experiments here on our dimension. Or if you're a Necromancer, immortality can be achieved with certain spells that help you swap bodies with someone else. The more time you spend in another's body, the more permanent the switch becomes. But like a Jedi Mind Trick, it only works on the weak-minded, and some people have a better resistance to possession than others.

Doubtful, since there was never any evidence to prove that its former occupant, the accused witch Keziah Mason, died at all. Remember all that talk of interdimensional short cuts? One such intersection is supposed to be found to be found at the attic room of the Witch House, where Mason and her rat-bodied, human-faced familiar Brown Jenkin lived and 'disappeared' centuries prior. So you do the math.

The Necronomicon, or Book of the Dead, is the gem of the Orne Library. Supposedly written in blood and bound in human skin, it contains spells and incantations that, if placed in the wrong hands, can do the unimaginable: wake the dead, possess a body (living or otherwise), and summon creatures from beyond. It's also written in a dead Sumerian language, so it takes time to translate. One of the last existing copies in the world, Henry Armitage is fiercely protective of it, and for good reason.

Pet project of the young students Crawford Tillinghast and Edward Pretorious, the Resonator is a machine that increases the size the pineal gland, allowing those within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. So once it stimulates your pineal gland, you can cross over to other dimensions--and let those from others enter ours.

Miskatonic takes pride in launching expeditions halfway around the globe, nevermind that they usually wind up in disaster and few survivors. Why? Because you don't go around poking your nose in other people's interdimensional territory uninvited, that's why. The upcoming Antartic Expedition is slated for 1931, with the purpose of discovering proof of the existence of the Great Race of Yith. Student volunteers are welcome.