A horror boardgame of teamwork, and betrayal set in H.P. Lovecraft's Miskatonic University. Now fully funded and with Stretch Goals!
We made it to $40,000 which means every copy of the game will come with two player mode! Up next: one player mode at $45,000 and all of us collaborating on a new scenario at $50,000!
Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to the Cthulhu LARP wherein I am an absinthe-sipping French gangster (with real absinthe!)
I've posted more images on BoardGameGeek. If you haven't yet, give a thumbs up or comment on them, there's never been a better moment! If you have already, go check out the new ones for bonus points. Let's get that single player mode! And to $40,000 for two player mode!
Now that we've passed the goal, however any of this ends up, we're going to make this game a real thing that you'll be able to play. I am just incredibly proud of what Cultists of Cthulhu has grown into, and I really can't wait to get it to you and hear the stories you come up with with it. I'm incredibly grateful to you for helping me to make this real. I couldn't do this without each and every one of you. I feel like a wise old wizard handing you a box I've packed, full of adventures: I've set things up, now it's up to you to grab it and make it real. Thank you for taking up the quest.
Okay, here's the plan. By now you know about BoardGameGeek, either because it's the most useful, most popular boardgame related website out there, or because of the update I sent out two days ago. Part of the front page is called the "Hotness", and it shows whatever games people are paying the most attention to right now. Our goal is to get Cultists of Cthulhu on the Hotness. If we succeed, then every game will come with Single Player Mode for free! We're all going to need to work together to get this up there, but I know we can do it! You're the best backers ever, and I know you're just as dedicated to this as I am, so let's do it!
Here's how we're going to do this.
I'll be posting an update on Monday talking about Single Player Mode and asking y'all to do some stuff on BoardGameGeek that will help raise our profile there, so keep an eye out for that!
In the meantime, if you don't have a BGG account, you should definitely go check it out and make one, and then go rate your favorite games! BGG is a great resource for the gaming community, and is always one of my first stops to learn about a new game. I'll be uploading some more photos and other goodies to the Cultists of Cthulhu BGG page, and on Monday I'll be asking you to go through and thumbs-up them and do some other things. It'll be better if everybody does it at the same time, so while I'm sure you're chomping at the bit to help out, hold off until Monday!
As always, thank you for your support and help in making this game a reality. I love it, and I know you will too. I can't wait to get it made and send it out to you! And in the meantime, don't forget to keep telling people about it! Let's get to that $40,000 stretch goal and get two player mode unlocked! You can do it, you're the best backers ever!
Here's the Tabletop Torch interview. It was recorded a little over a week ago, so it's a snapshot in time of what I was thinking then.
In the full game there are 12 characters, but so far only four have finalized art, since we wanted to get this to reviewers as quickly as possible, and because 5 of those characters could be you! If you back at the $500 level then one of the characters will be drawn to look like you, can be named after you if you so choose, and we'll work together to make the character's stats and abilities line up with what you want while still being balanced and thematically appropriate. Two of those five spots are gone, so consider grabbing one now if that interests you!
Now let's meet our colorful cast of characters:
First, let us meet Virginia Anson, the tormented artist. Even as a young child, Virginia was afflicted by terrible dreams. Strange, alien creatures, dead cities beneath the ice or seas, entities of profound power. Soon realizing the disturbing nature of her visions would result in being institutionalized, Virginia found an unexpected outlet in painting. For a time her anxiety decreased, the intensity of her visions subsided and the unusual nature and skill of her work paved the way for her acceptance into Miskatonic University. Since her arrival, her visions have become far more intense, culminating with her waking in the studio one morning, surrounded by canvases filled with monstrous, frightful images. Staring into the baleful, alien images around her, Virginia knew her visions were soon to become very, very real...
Next we meet Kenneth Hawthorne, the Anthropology Professor. Favouring a set of robes of eastern design, Professor Hawthorne is an unmistakable figure on the University campus. Fresh from a much lauded expedition to New Guinea, his groundbreaking work on indigenous mythology rapidly became the talk of scientific circles around the globe. However insightful the work was, it omitted the most revealing part of his studies. The myths he observed were not the stuff of savage superstition. The rituals in the deep jungle revealed something beyond the power of human reason, beings powerful, alien, and utterly opposed to human civilization. Even armed with his formidable logic, Professor Hawthorne finds little hope against such foes. Where his mind leads next may well be a most disturbing path...
Next up is Nelson Blake, the ambitious athlete. If there was one thing Nelson learnt from his father, it was that winning matters more than anything. Victory was rewarded with praise, while an honest defeat was met with the swing of the cane. With this brutal motivation, Nelson strove hard to both hone his considerable sporting skills and use any means necessary to win. But the euphoria of victory is shortlived; the hero of one week could easily be forgotten the next. For all his bravado, he knows the shadow of defeat is never far away. Nelson has become aware that something very strange is going on at the university, something beyond his understanding, something his physical prowess may matter little against. Nelson knows he must be on the winning team, no matter what...
And then there's Anna Petrova, the driven chemist. As the daughter of Russian nobility, Anna was expected to wed well and raise a family. Instead she fell in love with the sciences and a dashing young physician named Alexei. The couple were exiled from their homeland, spared the terror of the war and revolution that would consume the world they had known. They moved to America and found a place at Miskatonic University. Her indomitable will and tireless work ethic ground down even the most vocal opponents. With grudging respect earned, Anna felt some kind of peace. Now Alexei lies dying of an unknown ailment. Working late into the night, she has begun work on her most unorthodox research to date. For Alexei, she will do anything...
And here's a full character sheet:
