Byakhee

The Byakhee are a race of monstrous, winged beings that populate the world of the Cthulhu Mythos. Capable of traveling through the cold vacuum of space and transporting a rider, the Byakhee are known to carry out the wishes of Hastur and his cult of followers. However, anyone who knows the proper spell may summon the byakhee to do their bidding.

Byakhee were first described in “The Festival” (1923) by H.P. Lovecraft. Similar beings appeared in Conan stories from Robert E. Howard, as well as Lovecraft friend and collaborator August Derleth (notably 1944‘s “The House on Curwen Street”).

This article will provide a description of the winged terrors, as well as teach you the proper way to pronounce “byakhee.” Their role in games such as Arkham Horror will be discussed, plus you’ll also get a peek at the lyrics to the song “Byakhee Byakhee,” one of many tunes from the Cthulhu musical titled A Shoggoth on the Roof.

Byakhee Pronunciation

Arkham Horror and every other game based on the Cthulhu Mythos is filled with bizarre creatures that boast names just this side of gibberish. The byakhee pronunciation can be especially difficult for readers, ranking it right up there with the likes of Cyaegha, Shudde M’ell, and the Gnoph-keh.

Luckily, we’ve got your answer. The next time your play Arkham Horror with someone who insists on properly pronouncing the names of all Lovecraftian monsters, give a humble smile and say “BUY-AH-KEE.”

Byakhee Description

The primary byakhee description is taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Festival,” a short story penned in 1923: “There flapped rhythmically a horde of tame, trained, hybrid winged things…not altogether crows, nor moles, nor buzzards, nor ants, nor decomposed human beings, but something I cannot and must not recall.” Lovecraft, however, never referred to the creatures by name. That honor would go to August Derleth, as he featured them in “The Black Island,” “The Gorge Beyond Salapunco,” and “The House on Curwen Street.”

Byakhee: Arkham Horror

In the Arkham Horror board game from Fantasy Flight, byakhee are flying creatures that call Yuggoth or Lost Carcosa their home dimension. They have a -2 awareness, a 1 toughness, horror rating of -1, and combat damage of 2. They appear in the basic Arkham Horror set, where they are considered flying creatures (meaning they usually swoop down on any investigator who moves into the street).

Byakhee Byakhee

Most monsters from the Cthulhu Mythos don’t get their own song, but the byakhee are an exception. These alien horrors are featured in “Byakhee Byakhee,” from A Shoggoth on the Roof, a musical parody of Fiddler on the Roof by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. The play is set in 1920s America and follows Henry Armitage, a librarian at Miskatonic University, as he tries to find husbands for his three daughters.

Early in the performance, two of Armitage’s daughters, Jill and Asenath, get their hands on the Book of Eibon and summon up a byakhee. The first lines of the song are delivered by Asenath and include the following:

“Byakhee, Byakhee, fly me through space
take me away, far from this place
Byakhee, Byakhee, what must I do
to go for a ride with you?”

Once the byakhee appears and let out a cry, Asenath and Jill begin to have second thoughts. Before they run away in terror, they sing the final lines of the song in unison:

“Byakhee, Byakhee, now that you're here
I've changed my mind; I'm filled with fear
People who go with you don't reappear
So leave me alone, I'll stay at home
I will forget we ever met
I must not and won't recall.”

The musical has only been performed in public a few times, and it made its English-language debut in 2007 at Ireland’s Leprecon gaming convention. If you’d like to hear a version of “Byakhee Byakhee,” you should be able to find one on YouTube.

Byakhee Character Generator

The Byakhee character generator allows Call of Cthulhu role-playing fans to quickly generate their own investigators for every possible version of the game. Byakhee 3.0 was located at GeoCities, but that site is no longer operational. The most up-to-date version of the CoC character generator can be located at the site of web designer John Fiala.

Besides generating characters, the latest version of Byakhee also prints out player handouts and character sheets. French, German and Spanish translations are available for a number of features. The primary elements include:

Byakhee Delta Green

The Delta Green setting takes the heroes and villains of the Cthulhu Mythos and places them in modern-day America. Players traditionally take on the roles of law-enforcement or military agents, and they battle an array of alien conspiracies and demonic infestations as members of an underground organization known as Delta Green. The game, released by Pagan Publishing, has won numerous awards and is hard to find outside of eBay (where it sells for outrageous prices). Still, it’s a perfect option for fans of The X-Files or anyone who ever wanted to take on a nest of Deep Ones with C4 and an M16. Delta Green uses the same rules as the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, so their byakhee function in much the same manner.

Byakhee in Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game

In the Call of Cthulhu Role-playing Game, the Byakhee are just one of the many foul races that heroic investigators will have to contend with. Described in the rulebook as “star-steeds,” byakhee may attack twice in a round with claws, or they may choose to bite their victim and drain their blood. Their claws do 1D6 damage (plus damage bonus), while a bite does 1D6 and subtracts another 1D6 points of strength per round until death.

Due to their fur and dense hide, the byakhee receive 2 points of armor, although they are vulnerable to mundane weapons. Those with a POW of 14 or above have 1D4 spells, and failure to make a sanity roll causes anyone who sees the creatures to lose 1D6 sanity.