Watch us play Cthulhu Dreamt + Check out our artists!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 04, 2023 at 03:42:58 PM

Hey, gang! Happy Labor Day!

Jaron here, coming at you in the FINAL WEEK of the Kickstarter campaign! This has been an incredible success, and I could not possibly be more excited than I am right now. Unless we fund even more before the end of this week. Then it is possible that I could push the boundaries of human excitement past their limit. If I evaporate into a higher state of being, well... that’s on y’all.

Play Cthulhu Dreamt: R’lyehian March with the Creators!

I am super stoked about this one. On Friday, at 7 PM ET, we’ll be running a LIVE playtest of Cthulhu Dreamt over on our Discord server! What’s more, we’ll be running R’lyehian March for the FIRST TIME EVER! This is the prequel adventure we’ve talked about on the Kickstarter, where players will have the chance to play EDGe Troopers on the day Cthulhu awakens (and trust me, that’s the last day you’d want to be an EDGe Trooper).

Join Snails as Facilitator, along with Reed, and some key members of our Discord community! We’ll be running it in a Stage channel on Discord, so you’ll be able to listen in as we play, and participate in text chat with us and the other viewers! Just head over to our Discord, then check out the Events list at the top of the channel panel.

This is the perfect way for us to bring our Kickstarter campaign to a close (remember: The Kickstarter campaign ends Friday at midnight!). We’ll ring in the end times both in the adventure and out here in the real* world! And we’ll cheer on the end of it all the way humanity does best: together (and probably by our own hands, let’s be real).

Concept Artist Celebration

I also wanted to use this update as an opportunity to spotlight a couple of the kick-ass concept artists that helped bring our work to life! Here’s a list of them, some of their work, and where you can find them out there in the ether (see: on the internet).

== Bleached Rainbows ==

Cher is WICKED talented. She created the concept for the parasite creature that we now know as The Brainchild (which you’ve seen on our limited edition slipcase designed by our art director Bianca Papalardo, and in action in Springfield Nocturne!). Cher has done a great job bringing some TRULY horrifying concepts to life for us, and we’re lucky to have her!

== Wouter ==

We’ve been working with Wouter (Voyager’s Workshop) on a ton of Action Fiction projects. He’s a wicked, multi-talented artist who has done everything from maps to concept art to layout on a handful of projects! He’s also responsible for the baffle birds - what we’ve been internally referring to as “gross chocobos.”

We’ve got a whole SLEW of super skilled illustrators on deck, and Bianca has been able to bring in even more along the way - keep a look out in future updates for some more showcases!

Signing Off

We’re getting set up for a HUGE final week, and all I can really say is: thank you for joining us on this journey. You’ve each been amazing, you’ve left us some really great feedback both here on Kickstarter and also on our Discord. You’ve shared your thoughts and helped us make Cthulhu Dreamt EVEN BETTER, and we owe you a ton for that. Very excited to come together and get this book into your hands as soon as we can.

Keep an eye out also for some upcoming open invitation playtests as we continue writing more and more content for you! Cheers!

Jaron R. M. Johnson & the Cthulhu Dreamt design team

Less than a week, now with more Add-Ons!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Sep 02, 2023 at 09:09:00 AM

Hey Dreamers, Reed here with a quick update for everyone.

We’ve got about six days left of the Kickstarter, and it’s done so well thanks to all of YOU!!

The whole team is so excited about how far its come, and all the progress made toward unlocking these sweet stretch goals.

Stretch Goals & New Add-ons

We're adding a poster set, a map of R'lyeh, and a Facilitator Screen! Read ahead for details!

POSTER SET. At the $40k goal, we unlocked the 3 poster set of art from the game, and backers at the All-In level will have these included in their rewards. The posters will be 12” x 18” and will look amazing! The Kickstarter will be the only time they’ll be bundled like this, so get em while you can.

MAP OF R'LYEH. At the $65k goal, we unlocked a ‘detailed Map of R’lyeh’, which we may be more excited about than is logical (especially me, who has a degree in Geography simply because MAPS ARE RAD!). The map will be part of the main campaign book, and ALSO, we’re printing posters of the map (18” x 24” - the add-on says "12 x 18" and we can't change it now because y'all jumped on it SO FAST 🤣) so that you can use them for additional study if you choose. Because these posters will be double sided, we’ve also added an add-on option to buy a bundle of 2 at a discounted price, in case you’re like me and are definitely going to frame one ;) A map will be included at the All-In tier!

FACILITATOR SCREEN. From the beginning of the campaign, we’ve gotten questions about whether we’ll have a facilitator screen separate and apart from the gatefold jacket of the Vinyl... Well, the answer today is YES!

We’ve added a 12” x 28” Facilitator Screen to the list of add-ons available for purchase. The inside will include handy charts and tables for quick reference, and the back will have a really epic piece of art of our favorite eldritch being, Cthulhu, which is in progress as I type. The Screen will be included at the All-In tier!

Stretch Goal GOALS

Because it’s one of the goals I'm most looking forward to and want to do so badly, the team and Kelli The Opera Geek have discussed, and we’ve decided to shift around some upcoming stretch goals to make the metal/opera song collaboration the $90k goal. We think we can get there, and we REALLY want it to happen.

And while I’ve got you, I just want to give a huge thank you for helping to get us this far! We’ve got about six days until this campaign winds down, and it’s been amazing. So, let’s make it something truly unforgettable and spread the Good Word of Cthulhu.

Until next time,

Reed Reimer and the Cthulhu Dreamt Team

Playing Cthulhu Dreamt with the Creators!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 05:41:29 PM

Hey, Howdy Hey! 

It's Snails, here to let you know that R’lyehian March, our never-before-seen, hot-off-the-press adventure path is going to be playtested LIVE with the creators and some community members over on our Discord Server to celebrate the end of our Kickstarter campaign! Our community will be able to chat with the players live as we’re playing, get questions answered, and hang out with the Cthulhu crew!

This will be a great chance for you all to see how the game is played, then ask us questions after the fact in a short Q&A! We will have an exact time for you in another update next week, but till then, stay safe!

Signing off,
Snails

68k - A HUUUUUUGE UPDATE!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 07:57:12 PM

Greetings, Dreamers. We’ve done it.

Hey gang, Jaron here - thanks to your untold otherworldly support, the team and I will now have the privilege of charting the loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars; The R’lyeh Map Stretch Goal has been unlocked! This is one I was super stoked to hit, because we’ll get to make a very cool sci-fi style map of the risen island of R’lyeh, including topography and ecology. We’re gonna go BIG for this map, so be ready. We’re hoping it will give you context and maybe even inspire you to head off the beaten path and into the weird wilderness.

Honestly we’ve been rocketing through a few stretch goals; another one we hit was the Writer Raise, which is AWESOME for our guest writers! We’ll be raising their word rates, and now they’ll be paid more for the Encounters they write for us (like R’lyehian March and Springfield Nocturne).

Speaking of Springfield Nocturne...

Community Support

Our Discord community has been abuzz with fun things to share! One of my favorites is this video posted after a group finished Session Two of our free preview adventure, Springfield Nocturne. Watch as this cat-and-dad team rock out to Grevious Malintent, the finale track in the Encounter!

Additionally, some of our Discord Dreamers managed to snap some screenshots of big milestones for the Kickstarter:

Metal AF! We’ve also had our NEXT WINNER OF THE ARG! Our Discord community member Kimber was the second person to solve the ARG, and will get a free Deluxe Kickstarter-exclusive edition of the book, plus all kinds of Salien-Welf goodies! CONGRATULATIONS, KIMBER!

Cthulhu In The Wild

Check out this interview I did with World of Game Design!

Troy and Jon were an absolute delight, and I can’t wait to talk to them again. We might even wind up running a game on their stream - who knows!

Our Next Preview Encounter

R’lyehian March, our next preview encounter, is nearly complete! We’ll be releasing an early alpha version of it once we do an internal dry-run playtest. This adventure was designed by Brad Roberts, and I got to put a lot of words into it as well. It will let players take control of EDGe Troopers on the day that Cthulhu awoke, when the island of R’lyeh was first evacuated! It serves as a great prequel session for the main Cthulhu Dreamt campaign, and gives you the chance to play the “bad guys” of our world for a change. The character dynamics are stacking up to be very cool, and the story is going to have some WOEFULLY beautiful tragedy baked in. So prepare yourself.

Project We Love: Mecha vs. Kaiju

How can I not love Mecha vs. Kaiju?! I was a HUGE, MASSSSSSSIVE fan of Pacific Rim (I even watched the Netflix Anime, which was pretty neat - and I almost got to write a story for the Pacific Rim TTRPG that I was VERY excited about. Maybe someday!). This anime-inspired RPG uses 5th edition rules, so if you’ve ever played DnD 5e, you’ll feel right at home battling the giant monsters of this world.

In their words: Imagine a world where every giant monster movie is real! Mecha vs. Kaiju is the 5th Edition anime RPG that puts YOU in the pilot seat of a giant robot fighting giant monsters! Use 17 anime archetypes and narrative traits like Personality, Style, and Values to create characters, and build your own powers, talents, and tools to customize your mecha. MvK adds storyteller tools to 5th Edition by replacing static bonuses with dice, giving you more freedom to narrate your actions. Impact replaces damage, allowing you to do stress, create conditions on enemies, or boons on yourself all in the same action! And we replace prescriptive ability lists with a modular system of perks and drawbacks, allowing you to create any power you can imagine. Mecha vs. Kaiju has an extensive GM section with a starter campaign, mods, and options, famous mecha and kaiju in history, and a complete setting.

Until Next Time

You’ll be hearing from us again REALLY soon, as we’re already creeping up on the next stretch goal! Thanks again SO much for all of your support. Please consider coming over to our Discord and saying hello - we’d love to chat more with y’all and answer any questions you might have about the game! Once R’lyehian March is completed, you might even see us running some public playtests there, where YOU could play Cthulhu Dreamt WITH US!

See you again soon in the Waking World, Dreamers.

Jaron R. M. Johnson and the Cthulhu Dreamt design team

Livestream tomorrow! Cthulhu Invades Neverland (48 hours left!)
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 07:23:43 PM

WHAT’S UP GANG

It’s ya boi Jaron! Sorry for double-posting today, but I had a few last-minute things I wanted to share with you: 

• One is a live-play of a Cthulhu Dreamt scenario that’s happening on Thursday at 7:30 PM EDT, 
• The other is a very cool Cthulhu-themed Kickstarter project that’s ending in FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. 

Let’s jump in together.

Rook & Rasp play Cthulhu Dreamt

Our friends over at Rook & Rasp will be taking on the Cthulhu Dreamt encounter “Springfield Nocturne” TOMORROW NIGHT at 7:30 PM EDT.

Be sure to head over to their Twitch Channel so you can catch the livestream! (Also, while you’re there, you should follow them. Y’know, to be polite—and also because they’re AWESOME.)

Cthulhu Invades Neverland (ENDS IN 48 HOURS)

Alright look I’m gonna be real with y’all. When I saw this premise, I did a triple take before I put together, “yeah, this is exactly what I think it is.” This is a MASSIVE graphic novel (see: comic book, but longer/cooler/better) from a ton of different artists which depicts Cthulhu crashing into Peter Pan’s world. You wanna see Hastur ham it up with Tinkerbell? The Lost Boys going to heaven? This is where you do it. Plus, they’ve got other books on offer, including Cthulhu Invades Wonderland, where Cthulhu hangs out with Alice and the Cheshire Cat. This premise is super fitting for us, because we know Cthulhu is a multidimensional being, so it makes perfect sense that we’d see Cthulhu dimension-hopping to his gargantuan heart’s content. Oh, did I mention Cthulhu Invades Oz? You can guess where that one goes.
~If I onlyyyy ate your braiiiiin...~

In their words: Over 70 incredible comic creators got together to bring the blending of two different universes- the world of Peter Pan called Neverland and the horrifying world that is the work of Lovecraft's Cthulhu. When the Great Cthulhu invades Neverland, we will learn what happens when a world is full of fairies, mermaids, pirates, and of course, Peter and the Lost Boys. How will they deal with a real war? With the stakes being higher than ever before, learn what will change the landscape of Neverland forever!!

See y’all real soon <3

That’s it for today’s (second - oops!) update! Thanks for taking the time to check everything out. We’ll be posting some of our upcoming interviews, podcasts, and even more actual plays right here, so try not to lose your mind until then. Cheers!

Jaron R. M. Johnson,

And the Cthulhu Dreamt design team