‘Cohors Cthulhu’ Lets You Join The Hidden War!

Welcome to the table,

Something that can be incredibly enjoyable is when two genera of gaming get blended together to make something new. Pirate ships in space, ninjas in a far-flung future, kobolds that eat babies… though that last one is not so much a stretch. Nevertheless, the blending of themes and tones can result in some cool stuff. Cthulhu in ancient Rome was already on my radar from the game Cthulhu Invictus, but Modiphius now has my attention with their new adventure wargame offering, Cohors Cthulhu.

This project is a collaboration between Modiphius co-founder Chris Birch and Clash of Spears creators Alvaro and Francisco. Chris approached the brothers to utilize the Clash of Spears mechanics to create a solo and co-op adventure wargame set in the Roman empire but where the legionaries and tribes must contend with cosmic forces, eldritch horrors, and former allies twisted to serve the outer gods.

All of that actually sounds really compelling. There is something about slowly building dread in a landscape of sword and spear as the looming fall of a world empire slowly lurches towards its inevitable fate.

This is a completely new core rule book. The Clash of Spears rules have been stripped back to the bare essentials and meshed with an innovative new AI and narrative engine to power your stories on the battlefield. Designed for solo and co-op play, the rules have been written to get you playing from the moment you open the book. Players create their heroes and see them evolve as they follow a planned storyline and procedural campaign led by player choices unfolding as they play.

Starting with a lone soldier fleeing a terrifying ambush, you will lead a growing force of Roman legionaries, local warriors, and heroes from across the empire in a series of hidden wars against the armies of the scheming evil Outer gods. They have influenced and corrupted ancient Atlanteans and foul cults to fight against you and summon terrifying mythos creatures to fight by their side.

The game represents skirmishes and battles the Roman Empire initially fought in the Germania region, but will later expand to other regions and forces. The launch release will include 28mm scale resin miniatures and STL files with print-on-demand options compatible with other well-known historical ranges.

The miniatures will cover heroes from across the Empire, The Cult of Mormo, the cosmic horrors they have summoned, and the powerful Herjan’s Horde. Popular mythos races like the Deep Ones and MiGo will feature alongside giant creatures such as the Sheehad from the Cohors Cthulhu and Achtung! Cthulhu settings.

The capricious Elder gods sometimes intervene in your battles, represented by the familiar pantheon of gods. Maeren, an ancient descendant of a powerful galaxy-spanning race, the Hyperboreans, seeks to shore up the Roman empire and may bestow heroes with powerful magic-like artifacts or provide help when it’s most needed, Atlantean survivors with powerful technologies that may help you hunt the enemies of their people. Still, the might of the Roman Legions and the bravery of the tribes and civilizations on the edges of the empire may be all that stands between this world and its destruction.

Cohors Cthulhu has launched as a tabletop RPG on Kickstarter that is funded well past expectation and still has about a week to go at the time of me writing this. You can find the link to the campaign at this link. It includes a host of physical and STL miniatures to support the roleplaying game, which will also feature in the miniatures game.

Until next time, Spartan VS. Star Spawn is a Deadliest Warrior I wish they had made.