Shan

Shan
Set
Kingsport Horror [2X]
Dimension	Movement
	Flying
−2	−2	+0
Horror	Damage	Toughness
0	1	2
Effect
If you fail a Horror check against Shan, you are devoured.

Shan
I watched in horror as the strange, fluttering insect sunk its many, grasping legs into my companion's head.
Set
Gates of Arkham
Trophy	Battle Task
1

Shan
Set
Mountains of Madness
−1			+0
Horror		Damage		Toughness
2		1		2
Keywords
Physical Resistance
Effect
If you lose Sanity from the test, advance Doom by 1 unless you spend 1 Clue.
Reckoning
Discard the nearest Clue.

Shan is a Monster that appears in the Arkham Horror Second Edition Kingsport Horror, Elder Sign Gates of Arkham, and Eldritch Horror Mountains of Madness.

Mythos

The Shan first appeared in the story The Insects from Shaggai (Ramsey Campbell, 1964).

The Shan, also called the insects from Shaggai, are a species of insects about the size of a bird. They differ from earthly insects in that they have ten legs, a set of feelers below their three mouths, and tentacles sprouting from their legs. The shan are entirely photosynthetic, deriving their nourishment from their sun's rays, and possess the ability to physically enter and inhabit organic matter.

Possessing three brains and the ability to make tools, the shan rapidly acquired civilization. They lived in grey, globular buildings, worshiped Azathoth in conical metal temples and conquered the surrounding worlds. When Shaggai was destroyed, the shan were not all killed. They had already colonized several nearby worlds, and the temples of Azathoth were able to teleport away from Shaggai. In this way, many insects escaped destruction. The insects have travelled extensively through space, hopping from Shaggai to Xiclotl, then to Thuggon, next to L'ghyx, and finally to Earth. On their final stop, in the woods near the Severn River Valley in 1643, the shan became trapped, as the atmosphere contains an element preventing their temples from teleporting.

It was then that these earth-bound shan became involved with humanity. They found it possible to physically merge with the brains of humans, thereby infiltrating a group of fugitive Protestants hiding from the authorities. By doing so, they built up a cult dedicated to Azathoth, using their mind control to induce feelings of elation upon their hosts, as well as producing visions which revealed the history and discoveries of the insects to the worshipers.

Even before they left Shaggai, the shan were extremely decadent. Their primary form of entertainment is the torture of their many slave races, making use of curious devices powered by psychic waves.