Allen Noyes

To discover that my guide Noyes was the human celebrant in that monstrous bygone Sabbat-ritual on the phonograph record was a particular shock, though I had previously sensed a dim, repellent familiarity in his voice.
―H.P. Lovecraft, “The Whisperer In Darkness”

Allen Noyes

Statistics
Age: 72(?), Nationality: American, Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, 1953(?)
Ghroth Points: 0. Mi-Go Conditioning: 80%.

Combat

Skills
Accounting 50%, Anthropology 35%, Appraise 65%, Archeology 1%, Art/Craft (Piano) 20%, Charm 1%, Climb 20%, Computer Use 50%, Credit Rating 40%, Cthulhu Mythos 50%, Drive Auto 50%, Electrical Repair 25% Electronics 5%, First Aid 35%, History 40%, Intimidate 25%, Jump 20%, Knowledge (Lounge Music) 40%, Law 75%, Library Use 75%, Listen 35%, Locksmith 55%, Mechanical Repair 15%, Medicine 10%, Mixology 60%, Natural World 15%, Navigate 10%, Occult 40%, Paranormal Studies 75%, Operate Heavy Machinery 20%, Persuade 65%, Psychology 40%, Psychoanalysis 5%, Science (Astronomy) 35%, Sleight of Hand 65%, Spot Hidden 55%, Stealth 30%, Streetwise 65%, Survival 10%, Swim 20%, Throw 20%, Track 25%.

Languages: English native; Spanish 45%, Latin 25%, Mi-Go 5%.

Education
B.S. in something unspecified from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, 1975
LL.B. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 1978

Description

Allen Noyes is a slender man with cruel, elfin features and golden eyes. Although he’s in his seventies, his body seems strangely ageless; the gaunt, decrepit features of a lifelong smoker anywhere between 45 and 80. His overall appearance evokes some bygone age of insomniac private detectives and down-at-luck gamblers one pony away from blowing out their brains behind the racetrack. He favors off-the-rack suits and ties that fall between rumpled and threadbare, and wears a fedora with a safety match tucked inside the hatband. His thinning hair is slicked back with some long-expired brand of mid-century hair oil, and faded Navy tattoos peek above his shirt-cuffs. On formal occasions, Noyes wears golden pocket watch he inherited from his great-grandfather.

History
Allen Noyes comes from a long line of seedy New England lawyers. Although he was born in Boston, he was raised by his father in Brattleboro, Vermont—Noyes’ mother was never in the picture, her whereabouts and fate changing with his father’s moods: she was an Irish scullion who died during childbirth, she was a Romanian prostitute who was murdered by communists, she was a first cousin who ran away ashamed and died overseas. And there are even darker stories…

Inducted into the affairs of the Outer Ones at an early age, Noyes had little choice about his destiny: like his father and his father before that, Allen Noyes would serve the Mi-Go. Unfortunately, after the disaster of 1928 the family fell on hard times. Noyes earned a B.S. in some unspecified subject at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, then earned his law degree at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. After brief periods in Cuba and Las Vegas trying to outrun his fate, Noyes was tapped to manage the Mi-Go’s terrestrial affairs in Miami, then Atlantic City, and finally Nebraska. Needless to say, it’s been Noyes’ least favorite location, and he’s resented every minute of the twenty-plus years he’s been stuck in this rural wasteland.

Nevertheless, Allen Noyes serves. He hates Thedford, he hates hillbillies and country music, he hates farms, ranches, and prairies, and he especially hates Black Goats and Astané Freqers—but he serves, and he serves faithfully. He also knows this is his final assignment. A few days before Christmas, Allen Noyes was diagnosed with lung cancer, and the prognosis isn’t pretty. His clients have assured him that soon, if he manages to stay alive long enough to see this crisis through‚ he may leave his cancer-riddled body behind. His clients will transfer Noyes’ brain to a shiny tok’l cylinder, and he’ll be granted immortality among the stars, finally joining his father and his father before that.

Notable Possessions
Allen Noyes’ home and office are described in “Asynchronous Encounter 7—Mi-Go Negotiation,” Encounter 3. He drives a silver 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz coupe, and possesses two heirlooms from his great-grandfather: a golden pocket watch that also tells time on Pluto, and a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 Pistol.

The Role of Allen Noyes

Allen Noyes is the principal human liaison between the Mi-Go at Devil’s Tower Amusement Park and the local community. He takes care their financial affairs, he keeps them abreast of local news, and he arranges various legal matters between their human representatives, including the Black Goat Motorcycle Club. He lives in a modest home in Thedford, but also maintains a remote office at Devil’s Tower. (See “Asynchronous Encounter 9—Devil’s Tower Amusement Park,” Encounter 21-B.) For the most part, Noyes acts invisibly behind the scenes, and only connects the player characters if the Mi-Go decide to negotiate. (See “Asynchronous Encounter 7—Mi-Go Negotiation.”) He may also be at Devil’s Tower Amusement Park should the player characters pay a visit. Although Noyes will defend himself if threatened, he’s essentially nonviolent. He also comes across as sane—or at least, he may be utterly mad, but he’s not deranged, and he’s one of the few locals who seems immune to the Song of Ghroth. Noyes is, however, supremely self-interested. He knows that without his clients’ intervention, he’ll be dead in six months, so he’s not going to let any meddling outsiders interfere with his multi-generational business!

Notes and Inspirations

Allen Noyes is a direct descendent of “Noyes,” the urbane, Bostonian cultist featured in H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer In Darkness.” I based his character on a cross between William S. Burroughs and certain long-deceased members of my own family, who always seemed to project a delightfully squalid, mid-century aura of cigarettes, cheap whiskey, and ponies. The image of Noyes was created using Gemini 2.5, and is one of those rare cases where I was immediately thrilled by the outcome—I believe I cried, “That’s it!” If Bible Black were a movie, Noyes could be played by any number of ageless, withered men with a lifetime of hardship engraved on their faces—William S. Burroughs of course, but also Peter Weller, John Hurt, or maybe even Robert Duvall.

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Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 6 September 2026
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]