Mythos and war in the Pacific - a Mephisto review

Operation Talisman leaves the theater of war in Europe behind and leads agents of Majestic into the war into the Pacific in 1942. In the Philippines, the Americans are retreating from the Japanese invasion. However, rumors of unnatural attacks and supernatural shockwaves make it necessary to infiltrate enemy territory with a small team during the ongoing retreat in order to gather information and — if possible — recover artifacts. The agents for this mission are available as ready-made player characters who are well integrated into the setting and have to get behind enemy lines and gather information on their own. In addition to the dangers posed by the jungle and enemy patrols, it soon becomes clear that sinister forces are indeed at work…

Operation Talisman shifts the setting of Achtung! Cthulhu to the Pacific and places Majestic agents in the foreground, so that the ready-made characters can be helpful here. The characters face a tough expedition that confronts them with the dangers and horrors of war until they uncover the cthulhoid conspiracy. The challenge for the players is to decide when it is better to just gather information and when they should intervene, as the enemy forces outnumber them.

Operation Talisman offers an action-packed adventure that also addresses critical issues such as war crimes against the civilian population, bringing real war atrocities to the gaming table. Players also have to decide when to observe and when to intervene, which can change the adventure considerably. Apart from that, Operation Talisman revolves around a classic, tough operation against the forces of the Mythos in World War 2.

(Björn Lippold)

Cooking Cthulhu - a Mephisto review

For Achtung! Cthulhu, another free little sourcebook, has been published, which, as the title suggests, turns out to be a cookbook. Eat for Victory! contains four recipes, which are basically normal cooking recipes, but some ingredients have been adapted to the Cthulhu setting. Harissa squid, for example, is described here as Harissa Cthulhu, although it is stated that Cthulhu tentacles can also be replaced by normal squid. There is also a Moroccan almond cake, a cocktail and, as a fourth recipe, locusts prepared in mirin.

Even if the idea of a cookbook is interesting (other role-playing games have already gone down a similar path), the recipes here present somewhat difficult choices, as the grasshoppers are unlikely to be a suitable recipe for most readers, and many will not even dare to try squid.

In itself, the idea of the cookbook is nice, but simply using existing recipes from the Internet and only adapting the name and the description of an ingredient to the Cthulhu setting offers little added value for the game, so this book is only suitable for collectors who really want to have read everything about Achtung! Cthulhu - on the other hand, it's for free...

(Björn Lippold)

Just a few issues on roughly 1/3 of the pages included: all damage and status tokens entirely lack words and numbers, some knight units entirely lack a rider, some lines of text are "double stamped" randomly throughout the rulebook

Wow, what a tome! I was super impressed by the extensive lore, the art, and the simplicity of the gameplay. Read a longer review here: https://stygian-muse.com/book-of-the-week-kult-divinity-lost-kickstarter-collectors-edition/

This is a fun pulp action adventure! Jungle Rot moves really fast and has a nice combination of roleplaying, exploration, and scenes where careful planning is needed to win the day. Also, nice use of historical details to make it feel authentic to the period. While the author warns that it takes two sessions to finish it, I was able to finish it in one session, making it a great one-shot candidate.

If you're going to GM this one and are interested in some tips and tricks, check out my full video review: https://youtu.be/LgfCWARhO6Q?si=tl5Om_GnvHkXCz9A

Beautiful artwork, in-depth examinations of tons of Federation ships, and covers ships from ENT to STO. The only vessels left out are Lower Decks and Picard. A very useful reference with added bonuses compared to the ships added in Command Division.

To be honest, I'm immensely pleased with Modiphius as a publisher, they take a deep dive into the source material and bring a faithful recreation with a reasonably simple system and ruleset. Very happy to add this series to my collection.

Winter of Atom has a good story, optional survival mechanics, the beginnings of a settlement/reputation system, and a few pages that make combat encounters clearer, but I bought this book primarily for the new Gen 3 Synth player character background, given their importance in the world of Fallout 4. There are a total of 3 new backgrounds in Winter of Atom -- Gen 3 Synth, Protectron, and Child of Atom.

When the new Settler's Guide Book was released a few days ago, I quickly purchased it for the same reason -- the new character backgrounds, weapons, and craftable items to add to the core game -- only to find that it, too, contained the Gen 3 Synth and Protectron backgrounds, settlements/reputation covered in greater depth, and even the Salvaged Assaultron Head weapon stats (one of the big selling points of the Rust Devils content).

If, like me, you are mainly interested in system additions (characters, weapons, perks, etc) then my recommendation would be to skip this title and get the new Settler's Guide Book instead. I wish Modiphius provided more detail on their roadmap so we could get an idea of overlap within the published and upcoming Fallout 2d20 books -- it's frustrating to pay for the same content twice. Changing the statement "Create characters with new origin options: Generation 3 Synths, Protectrons, and Children of Atom" in the product description to "Winter of Atom contains previews of the Gen 3 Synth and Protectron backgrounds from the upcoming The Settler's Guide Book" would have let me know that I could wait for the next book.

Cohors Cthulhu

Even though the 1920s is the typical time period for stories set against the backdrop of the Cthulhu mythos, the Great Old Ones and other horrors of the mythos are far older than humanity. Therefore, it is not surprising that Cthulhu role-playing games repeatedly open up into other eras, such as the present time, World War 2, or the Middle Ages. Cohors Cthulhu presents the battle with the Cthulhu mythos against the backdrop of the Roman Empire.

The Cohors Cthulhu RPG Quickstart Guide gives a first look at the new setting and the underlying rules.

In Cohors Cthulhu, player characters once again face the horrors of the Mythos – be they sinister cults, monstrous creatures, or corrupted survivors of Atlantis. The Roman Empire has conquered large parts of the known world, but other powers operate in the background. Nyarlahotep corrupts the cults of other gods with his many masks; Sarthorthus tempts the survivors of Atlantis; and powerful beings slumber beneath the sea. The Deep Ones exact tribute from coastal cities, and the Mi-Go experiment on humans and plunder earthly resources.

Even though these horrors are everywhere, they operate secretly in the background. The player characters in Cohors Cthulhu are humans who come into conflict with forces of the Mythos and confront them – regardless of what corner of the Roman Empire or beyond its borders they come from. Not all of them fight on their own, as the Temperari, for instance, are supported by a Hyperborean warrior named Maeren in their fight against the Mythos, while the Fingers of Dawn recruit descendants of Atlantis for their struggle. On the opposite side are various cults, of which the Cult of Mormo is particularly influential and corrupts the north of Germania, while the legacies of Atlantis promise longevity and powerful artifacts.

Rules-wise, Cohors Cthulhu unsurprisingly relies on the 2d20 system, using a rules base developed further by Achtung! Cthulhu. Of course, the game statistics as well as the skills have been adapted, and some rules have been modified. As before, you have to roll several d20s compared to a threshold that is the sum of the corresponding attribute and skill, while the difficulty determines the number of successes needed.

Again, there are the rules for Momentum, which is gained from particularly successful tests and can be used to improve other tests. In addition, players can give Threat to the game master to make current tests easier, but the game master can use it to increase the difficulty later. Using Fortune, players have another option to make life easier for themselves and to repeat rolls, avoid defeat, etc.

Also adopted is the concept of Truths, which, analogous to the aspects of Fate, are short descriptions that can modify samples.

The combat system is based on stress, which is initially caused by attacks but simply dissipates between fights. Only when characters are hit particularly hard or often do they suffer injuries that can incapacitate them and affect them more in the long term. The combat system, which is more melee-based fitting to the setting, features two new concepts with Guard and Reach. Reach is the weapon's range, while Guard represents a character's readiness for defense. For example, if a character is thrown to the ground, they lose the Guard state and become easier to hit. Furthermore, weapons with a longer range have advantages.

Magic rules are also presented in short form, as in Achtung! Cthulhu, distinguishing between battlefield magic and ritual magic. Casting spells causes mental damage to the user, and spells must be prepared in advance.

While the rules section briefly outlines the background of the game and then presents the main rules (though without character creation), the bulk of the Quickstart is made up of the Rude Awakening adventure.

This story gets off to a fast start: The pre-made player characters are traveling with a caravan that is under attack. The action starts in the middle of the action, and once the attack is repelled, the player characters are supposed to get help in the next village. There they then stumble into a sinister plot because, in the village, they find traces of a cult that must be stopped before its influence becomes too great.

Without revealing more about the plot, the adventure mixes the classic “player characters must stop a dangerous ritual” approach with interesting enemies, making it an excellent introduction to Cthulhu threats in the Roman Empire.

The first impression Cohors Cthulhu gives is a solid, adapted rule base, with which Achtung! Cthulhu worked well, mixed with a background that offers many exciting possibilities. The adventure is good for a first impression, and the Quickstart is clearly and compactly put together, with illustrations worth seeing. The background is only touched upon, but it shows much potential.

The only thing that bothered me were some historical errors in the adventure. Even though potatoes in the cellar or weapons that are not contemporary are only details that can easily be corrected by the game master, I hope that the rule books will be more consistent in this regard. Nevertheless, Cohors Cthulhu offers a (free) Quickstart that Cthulhu fans should not miss getting a first look into this variant of the fight against the Great Old Ones and their followers.

(Björn Lippold)

This is a very nice module that is well written. The scenario captures the Pacific atmosphere with its descriptions. I really like the text areas that are meant to be read to the players throughout the game. Also, the game is divided into Acts and scenes. So as a GM, one can plan when to take a pause or break in the game. I will be using this game to introduce my players to the Pacific Theater, which there is a lot of potential to play in. For a few bucks, this scenario is well worth it!

An intriguing concept that I don't think went far enough. I think that this needs more material to expand on Robot creation and background concepts., But, it uses 2D20 and it's very well done as far as it goes.

I am a big fan of the 2d20 system (Modiphius), but I find most incarnations to be epic (Conan, Achtung Cthulhu, Dune). Sometimes you want to run something that is more everyman, but it would be nice to use the familiar 2d20 system. That is where Ahris comes in, it is a grittier and more grounded version of 2d20 fantasy.

I am also pleased to say the author has taken the lesson of some other 2d20 products and organized this game book well.

A decent enough little scenario set in the early days of the war. I'd rate it higher but (and please be aware this may only be my copy) it takes forever to load which means it's tough if you need to refer back to something, if this problem can be sorted I'd give it an extra star.

Ran this at a local convention, the players loved it and it works well as a quick intro into the Achtung! Cthulhu game and system. There are a couple editing mistakes, but overall it is a fun mission. Wish there were seperate player character sheets that could be handed out besides what is in the back of the book. Some nice printer friendly character sheets would be good.

It's a nice supplement for Star Trek Adventures covering the animated series. You will find stats for the main characters of TOS plus a few new ones, NPCs, creatures, villains and a few ships. It is not an essential pdf and its main interest (to me at least) is that you will have a few interesting stats in one place. I like the graphics and clear presentation, the content doesn't talk to me as much as with the other books. For USD 12, it's a fine purchase.