"One of my favorites, and also.. The Crawling Chaos, Ahtu, The Black Man, The Black Pharaoh, The Black Wind, The Bloated Woman, the Crawling Mist, The Dark Demon, The Black Demon, The Dark One, The Dweller in Darkness, The Faceless God, The Floating Horror, The Haunter of the Dark, Face Eater, Father of All Bats, Dark Wing, Sand Bat, Fly-The-Light, the Howler in the Dark, the God of the Bloody Tongue, or the Bloody Tongue, L'rog'g (also Lrogg), Mr Tiddles, the Bat God of L'gy'hx, Messenger of the Old Ones (also Messenger of the Great Old Ones), Mr. Skin, Randall Flagg, Shugoran, Thing in the Yellow Mask, The White Man, The Skinless One, The Masked Messenger, The Moon Presence.

- Nyarlathotep differs from the other deities in the Mythos in a number of ways. Most of the Outer Gods are exiled to the stars, like Yog-Sothoth and Azathoth, and most of the Great Old Ones are sleeping and dreaming like Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep, however, is active and frequently walks the Earth in the guise of a human being, usually a tall, slim, joyous man. He has "a thousand" other forms and manifestations, most reputed to be quite horrific and sanity-blasting.

Most of the Outer Gods have their own cults serving them; Nyarlathotep seems to serve these cults and take care of their affairs in the other Outer Gods' absence. Most Outer Gods use strange alien languages, while Nyarlathotep uses human languages and can easily pass for a human being if he chooses to do so. Finally, most of them are all-powerful yet evidently without clear purpose or agenda, yet Nyarlathotep seems to be deliberately deceptive and manipulative, and even uses propaganda to achieve his goals. In this regard, he is probably the most human-like among the Outer Gods.

Nyarlathotep enacts the will of the Outer Gods, and is their "messenger, heart and soul"; he is also the servant of Azathoth, whose fitful, spastic wishes he immediately fulfills. Unlike the other Outer Gods, spreading madness is more important and enjoyable than death and destruction to Nyarlathotep. It is suggested by some that he will destroy the human race and possibly the earth as well.

"And through this revolting graveyard of the universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate gods — the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep."

— H. P. Lovecraft, Nyarlathotep"