Book review of Fall of Cthulhu Volume 3: The Gray Man

The Gray Man, courtesy Boom Studios.

The Grey Man is the third volume in the epic story arc that is Boom Studios' Fall of Cthulhu comic series. I discovered Fall of Cthulhu when I was just launching my Delta Green campaign and was hungry for any fiction dealing with the Cthulhu mythos in a modern context. Fall of Cthulhu is all that and more.

The Gray Man continues the story of the odd knife that caused so much havoc in the earlier parts of the series. Our new protagonist is Raymond Dirk, Arkham's sheriff, who is accustomed to strange goings-on. His life is radically changed once he crosses paths with a Brazilian thief named Luci Jenifer Inacio Das Neves (Lucifer for short). A student of Professor Walter McKinley, Lucifer returns to Arkham only to discover he committed suicide.

McKinley had Lucifer steal a cursed knife from an antique collector in Fortaleza in an attempt to keep it away from Cthulhu cultists. It turns out the knife belonged to a very special person: The Gray Man, patron saint of sacrifice. Lucifer and The Gray Man are in a race to get to the knife first.

Dirk is a likable lead character, a man who keeps his cool no matter how strange things get. Lucifer, on the other hand, looms larger than life: she is a master thief and adept sorcerer, capable of concealing herself from the Gray Man and entering the Dreamlands at will.

Speaking of the Dreamlands, The Harlot is back in this series. Although her dialogue is wry as always, the Dreamlands artwork is not up to the same creepy standards of Andrew Ritchie, who oozes weirdness with every frame he draws.

Throughout the storyline, a little girl in a yellow dress makes random appearances. Her origins are somewhat explained in the final volume of Fall of Cthulhu, but the nature of separate installments means that readers new to the series will invariably be confused. My guess is she's an incarnation of Hastur (and his avatar, the King in Yellow).

Gnruk also makes an appearance, but he is not nearly as horribly realized as his debut earlier in the series. A conflict between The Gray Man and Gnruk looks a bit like the two are waltzing together.

At the conclusion, Mickey Rennier, a Cthulhu cultist with a green Mohawk, provides a bit of a deus ex machine to wrap it all up. Rennier feels oddly out of place in a comic that seems so grounded; punk villains went out of style in the eighties.

Lucifer is clearly a favorite character; her abilities as a thief aren't really demonstrated in this comic – her claim to fame is basically grabbing a knife and jumping out a window while failing to avoid The Gray Man AND Gnruk – but it's clear she's being set up for greater things, specifically the comic series Hexed.

The conclusion has a great twist and ends on a surprisingly poignant and bittersweet note. Unlike some of the other volumes in the Fall of Cthulhu, this story largely stands on its own. Overall, this is an excellent entry in the Lovecraft tradition that manages to bring the horror of the Mythos down to a personal level.

The Gray Man (CR 25, HD 25d8+225)
LE Medium Monstrous Humanoid
Init +26 Spd 30
Senses Blindsight (Ex): 60 ft.; | Listen +35, Spot +35

AC 40 (FF 22, Touch 40)
hp 337 (Disabled -9/Dying -29/Injury 29)
Saves: Fort +17, Ref +32, Will +21
Spell Resistance (Ex): 35, Damage Reduction (Su): 10/Epic

Atk +36/+31/+26/+21 base melee, +43/+38/+33/+28 base ranged; Grapple +36;
        +54/+49/+44/+39 Melee (+10 Dagger 1d4+21/crit 17-20/x2);
        +44/+39/+34/+29 Melee (Claw 1d4+21/crit 20/x2);
        +44/+39/+34/+29 Melee (Pinky 1+21/crit 20/x2);
SA: Spell-Like Abilities (Shadow Walk, CL 1, At Will; True Strike, CL 1, 3/day) , Fear Gaze (Su) , Sneak Attack +13d6
SQ: Quiescence (Su), Opportunist (Ex),

Abilities STR 32, DEX 46, CON 29, INT 26, WIS 25, CHA 30
Feats: Dodge, Improved Critical: Dagger, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Simple Weapon Proficiency, Sneak Attack of Opportunity, Spring Attack, Superior Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus: Dagger.
Skills: Bluff + 38, Climb + 39, Hide + 46, Intimidate + 40, Jump + 41, Listen + 35, Move Silently + 46, Spot + 35, Survival + 35, Tumble + 47.
Weapons: +10 Dagger: Keen, Dread.

n the hand of any other creature but the Gray Man, the dagger is a +5 keen dagger.

The Gray Man's natural weapons are treated as epic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Fear Gaze (Su): Viewing the Gray Man’s face inspires terror. Creatures that meet the Gray Man’s gaze must succeed at a Will save (DC 32) or suffer the effects of a fear spell as cast by a 20th-level caster. The DC is Charisma-based.

Opportunist (Ex): This ability functions like the rogue class feature of the same name.

Sneak Attack (Ex): The Gray Man is able to sneak attack as a 25th-level rogue, dealing 13d6 extra damage.

Quiescence (Su): The Gray Man s constantly silent, as per the silence spell, although the area does not extend beyond the creature itself. This quality gives it a +20 racial bonus on Move Silently checks (it is still possible for the Gray Man to create noise, such as by bumping into something that scrapes on the floor or by sounding a chime). The Gray Man can lower this effect at will.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—shadow walk; 3/day— true strike. Caster level 20th; save DC 20 + spell level. The DC is Charisma-based.

Magic Circle Against Evil Blindness (Su): The Gray Man cannot cross a magic circle against evil, nor can he perceive those within it.

For more info: See Boom Studios. Also, see the Open Game License declaration.