Modiphius Entertainment are now on Kickstarter as they expand their Achtung! Cthulhu Universe back in time from the Second World War to the Second Century BCE with the Cohors Cthulhu Roleplaying Game.

Cohors Cthulhu // Modiphius Entertainment

Cohors Cthulhu is a setting for Lovecraftian horror placed against a backdrop of epic heroism, intrigue, and strife during the height of the early Roman Empire. You are fighting a hidden war on the fringes of the Roman Empire. Far up on the northern border, Romans and Germanic tribes clash in the dark and forbidden forests that cover these lands. Soon, however, you’ll have to band together to stem the invading forces of an insidious cult and its swarm of abhorrent creatures from the deep cosmos.

Quickstart Guide // Cohors Cthulhu

The Kickstarter campaign is for the Gamemaster's and Player's Guide along with a book of adventures around Germania, a fiction anthology, a Gamemaster’s Toolkit, custom dice and 28mm miniatures, both physical and STL, to represent pre-generated characters of both Roman and Barbarian backgrounds.  Players can build characters who are part of an ancient Atlantean bloodline or have closer ties to the Cthulhu mythos and as in Achtung! Cthulhu they are based around archetypes such as mystics, soldiers, or sages, with room for more to be added and indeed some stretch goals are for just that.

From both the quick start guide and what has been talked about on podcasts and at Modcon the game is very much a heroic RPG adventure with people buckling their swash as they fight out a hidden war on the fringes of both the Empire and humanity. The game uses Modiphius' 2d20 system which is a success-based system that you can push your luck on to aim for higher degrees of success but with more risks.

The primary plot of the Cohors games involves the myths of Atlantis and Hyperborea, following a priestess who has roamed the universe for millions of years influencing the development of various human civilizations in her quest to destroy the Outer Gods. That arc will link Cohors Cthulhu to Achtung! Cthulhu, which established a precedent for heroes jumping through time with the Shadows of Atlantis campaign. This means that GMs can cross-pollinate the two time periods and potentially have both NPCs and players from the other period moving back and forth for one reason or another.

The initial adventure is set in Germania to evoke the feel of a classic fantasy story the characters are based in a small town in the middle of nowhere and must go out and explore. But the plan is to expand the game to other sections of the Roman Empire, including Egypt, Britannia, and the Eternal City of Rome itself. Every area will also see the influence of the Outer Gods, and heroes will need to fight them with powerful magic, ancient lost technology, and eldritch powers. Chris has even talked about a wargame that would connect to the RPG.

Like Achtung! Cthulhu it's a very different take on Cthulhu RPGs, focusing more on heroic characters and fighting against cosmic horror and aliens means it lies closer to something like Dungeons and Dragons than Call of Cthulhu. If you're a fan of Achtung! then the ability to play in the storied past of the glorious Roman Empire is a great opportunity to take a completely different direction with your games, and if you've not yet delved into the Cthulhu mythos but your group plays something like D&D already then this could be the perfect segway into the maddening world of Eldar Gods and alien races.

How do you say Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn in Latin?