Attention! The Stars are Right to Start Playing Achtung! Cthulhu with a FREE Misssion

September 28, 2022

Despite discovering the works of H.P. Lovecraft as an adolescent in the 1980s during the same period I became an RPG enthusiast it’s been that long since actually playing a game inspired by those stories. I don’t remember too much about Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu RPG other than evocative investigators like Antiquarians. Today I came across a reminder it’s been far too long since playing a Lovecraftian RPG when I saw how Modiphius Entertainment released a free mission for their Achtung! Cthulhu game.

Cosmic horror, meet human horror

Hashing out the history of Lovecraftian RPGs feels like it threatens the sanity in the same way mythos experiences do for investigators. Different publishers and license holders, editions and systems can get pretty confusing but I’m looking specifically at Modiphius’ 2d20 system version of A!C, which pits investigators against Lovecraftian horrors set during World War II.

“Welcome to the Secret War in this fast-paced pulp-influenced rollercoaster of an RPG which nimbly mixes the sanity-challenging terror of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, with the chaos and heroism of World War II. Enter a world of audacious Allied agents, malicious Nazi villains and the unfathomable gods and monsters of the Mythos themselves, each striving for supremacy in mankind’s darkest yet finest hour!”

I’m always down for some period play and mythos RPGs generally take place during the early middle 20th century anyway. Here we get even specific with the time in history, which also brings a tremendous wealth of drama and tension to the experience. It’s worth noting while the mission is free the actual game is not. However there’s an Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Bundle over at DriveThruRPG worth checking out. I was happy to find one of the items included in the bundle is a quickstart also available individually. You can find all of this stuff right here.

I’m a big fan of Modiphius and I’ve had some really terrific RPG experiences with their 2d20 system playing Star Trek and Dune: Adventures in the Imperium as well as their Year Zero games like Tales from the Loop and Vaesen. When I learned about the free mission and got a copy to check out I felt like the time had come to revisit Lovecraftian RPGs. Looking through the quickstart I see it also includes a mission among its robust 48-pages. Very cool.

Quickstart in hand along with the free Operation Ultimatum mission Modiphius shared in celebration of their first anniversary with A!C I’m excited to solve some horrifying mythos mysteries amid the backdrop of WWII. Since I’m already familiar with and enjoy the 2d20 system, even better. It has been a while though but I am pleased to note the mission was specially designed for fun, accessibility and most importantly introduce players to the 2d20 system itself.

“It is May 1940, and as the British Expeditionary Force is pushed inexorably back towards Dunkirk by the German Army’s Blitzkrieg, Professor Guilbert Paschal goes missing. Paschal is carrying rare and valuable occult artefacts and research materials, and his loss would be a disaster, so Section M, Britain’s occult special force, dispatches a crack team of agents to retrieve the missing academic. Will your agents survive this perilous encounter and live to fight another day? Find out in Operation Ultimatum!” — from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Operation Ultimatum product page

Operation Ultimatum Features

A single mission designed to be played in an hour
Ideal for demos, conventions, and as a showcase for the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 system
Uses the FREE QuickStart’s rules, with a step-by-step guide to mechanics
Comes with four pre-generated characters so you can just pick up and play
Includes a map, playing aids, and illustrations!

Are you a fan of Lovecraftian horror? Have you played mythos RPGs before and if so, which one is your favorite? You can find the free Operation Ultimatum mission and stand firm against the twisted might of the Nazi occult right here.

*Featured image — The Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart contains a complete starter rule set for the game with plenty of hints and tips for new GMs, an exciting adventure and five pre-generated characters so you can pick up and play the game straight away.