Friday 22 April 2016

Cthulhu Fhtagn!

The Children of the Night

I promised this a while ago, the work, and life, got in the way.

This is my second look at the content that has been released for the Mythos kickstarter.  I'm going to look here at some of the other models that they have announced with the project, as well as some things that are on the main Paranoid Miniature website.  For want of a better term, I'm seeing these as Campaign Factions.  By that, I mean they look like they are there for more of a story telling set of games rather than the straight faction on faction "standard games".  I don't know for certain if this is true, but looking at all the standard factions, the composition of the first box set they have shown doesn't seem to have the same layout (a mix of characters), and I therefore feel in standard games these campaign factions wouldn't quite fit right.

It's all guess work, I've not got any sort of insider information on Mythos, unfortunately.

Custos Crypta

I love the idea on these.  Basically go back to Ancient Egypt and the times of the Pharoahs.  Back then there were these somewhat ravaneous little insects that would eat their way through anything that was in their way.  The Egyptians would gather these critters together and use them, as far as I can tell, as a bit of a shock weapon.  The useful thing about them, other than the rather drastic and totalitarian way in which they could deal with a problem, was that they are able to reproduce without any sort of fancy breeding.  Every insect would lay a perfect clutch of eggs before dying, and a new generation would quickly hatch.

So, being relatively self sustaining, given a food source, these fellas were put in to the Pharoah's tomes as a defence mechanism (along with a few slaves to make sure dinner was on hand).  Once clear of the main course the new generations started snacking on each other, and while the intelligence of the species has devolved to a hunter prey level, they have adapted over time into something bigger than they were before.

Roll forward to the time of Mythos, and humanity has been its usual greedy self.  Open tomes has brought more food to the Custos Crypta, and also a way out into the wider world.

As you can see from the picture we have renders for these.  You get 5 Grubs and 1 Guardian model in the set.  I'd be interested to see if these play as a standard faction, or if they are designed for the storytelling campaign and roleplay games.

The Order of the Enlightened Path

A Cthulhu game would not be a proper game if there weren't a bunch of Cultists.  Thankfully Mythos has that in the Order of the Enlightened Path.

There is nothing on the main website for these guys other than the pictures, but we are going to get a Cultist model as part of backing the kickstarter, and you can see here that it really is a very nice model.  Certainly looks like the kind of gentleman you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night out, but I have a feeling they might well be plenty of these ones around.  I would have to say that I feel a cultist set could easily be used as a full faction, but they aren't listed as a faction on the Paranoid Miniatures website, so thats why I have included them here.  I think it is fair to say that these guys "want" the big ancient people devouring gods to rise from their dark slumber, they just have that style of sociopath about them.  Definitely interested to see what they are like.

The Sea Queen

Definitely a good reason to go look at the Paranoid Miniatures website.  The Sea Queen has a well written story over there, and we get to learn a lot about her.

The Sea Queen is one of the children of the main bad guy (that would be Cthulhu for those not quite awake yet).  The first chosen, by the mad god with too many tentacles, to awake and start harvesting the human race.  She has been given a humanoid form, something she understands but is none to happy about, so that she can blend in (a little) and start having her fill.

I'm not sure if this will be a box set of multiple models, or just her.  The back story suggests she won't exactly be a push over, and so I'm leaning towards her being a solo model.  She is deeply tied to the Hidden Ones faction, as they are her minions/children, so part of me thinks that for a campaign or roleplay encounter you could throw her in with the Hidden Ones and see what comes of it.

She already has a prototype model out, and there are pictures of that on the Kickstarter. So, again, it is well worth while looking on there to see some of the things they have produced.

Thoughts so far..

As things stand I've only been reviewing the planned models.  I've looked at artwork and background stories, and if they have been released I've also mentioned the test models and the stat cards.  My initial thoughts are that Mythos is going to be a very impressive looking game.  The test models are really good for a small company, and the art work really does fit in with the style of Cthulhu.  I'm really impressed with how the Wildborne look, and I really want them to come out so I can add them to my collection once the game is funded.  I also like the idea that Paranoid are going to support the Campaign and Roleplay style of games with some specific models that won't necessarily be seen in the straight off games.  Now for me, once the models grab my attention I will, and have, happily fund the project, because ultimately they are the things I will have in my hands and store on my display shelves.

Of course the thing to look at next, will be the rules.  I'll take a nose at them in the coming weeks (they are available, as they stand, on the kickstarter page).

For now though, if you like the models, go have a look at the kickstarter and start burning your wallet.

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