Regnum Congo (Patreon)

The historical book Regnum Congo appears in in Lovecraft's "The Picture in the House." Elements of that brief story informed a key figure in the Karotechia, a cult by Adam Scott Glancy in Delta Green. I developed it as a tome for Delta Green: The Conspiracy.

In German. Study time: weeks. Unnatural +1%, SAN loss 1D6.

“It is a remarkable fact in the history of this people, that any who are tired of life, or wish to prove themselves brave and courageous, esteem it great honour to expose themselves to death by an act which shall show their contempt for life. Thus they offer themselves for slaughter, and as the faithful vassals of princes, wishing to do them service, not only give themselves to be eaten, but their slaves also, when fattened, are killed and eaten.”

A Report of the Kingdom of Congo, and of the Surrounding Countries; Drawn Out of the Writings and Discourses of the Portuguese, Duarte Lopez, by Filippo Pigafetta, in Rome, 1591. On the orders of the pope, mathematician and explorer Filippo Pigafetta transcribed this account of a Portuguese trader’s twelve years in the Congo. It was translated into Dutch, English, French, German, and most famously into Latin as Regnum Congo. It became famous not only for its detailed, if not wholly reliable, descriptions of the region but also for beautiful if fanciful engravings by Theodor de Bry. Working solely from written reports, de Bry tended to draw peoples of every distant place just like the Europeans he knew. Regnum Congo is readily available in historical libraries or by interlibrary loan. It grants no Unnatural skill and costs no SAN.

This unique edition is owned by Reinhard Galt. Under the handwritten subtitle Sapientia Congesis, it features extensive notes on the “Anziques” tribe from his own years with them. It is unclear whether he ever encountered the genuine Anziques, known today as the Teke people. Many historians discredit Pigafetta’s descriptions of the Anziques as notorious cannibals. But the people with whom Reinhard lived certainly were. His notes give gruesomely specific details for the ritualized and life-giving devouring of human flesh, and ways to use a corpse to steal the memories of the dead and craft a ward against harm.

RECOMMENDED RITUALS: Ageless Banquet, Mephitic Memories, Warrior’s Ring.