Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
All across the world, dark rumours swirled. In many languages, one horrible realisation was common: The Stars would soon be Right: the end times were coming. From the nether corners of great cities and far-flung empires telegraph wires chatted with coded messages and sinister whispers were uttered the forces of good and evil measured their enemies and assembled forces.
Here, at last, in the Serene Republic, they gathered. Who among their old rivals would be revelling in the death and destruction to come? Which of their erstwhile foes would temporarily align to forestall the insanity? Only once the battle was joined would the enigma be resolved.
Eight companies - the small hard core inner sanctum forces remaining from past battles - scuttled and stood in the crooked alleys. In the shade of crumbling palazzos, under time-worn arches and by slopping green-watered canals, they made plans and readied their weapons. In this miasmic quarter of the venerable Republic, tourists did not gather. The buildings and bridges overlooked an ancient island of the dead, a forgotten cemetery where once the rich and pauper mingled as they decayed to dust 'neath tottering mausolea and headstones.
The battle was joined - some forces knew which side their masters wished them to fight, others struck out blindly.
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Epic finale to a three-game In Her Majesty's Name Dark Rumours - campaign at the Perth Miniatures Gamers Group last night. Seven 150 point mini-adventuring companies took on the Spawn of Cthulhu played by campaign creator Dave. Each company was aligned to good or evil, but in an atmosphere of paranoia, their loyalties were secret, or worse, unknown.
It soon became clear that Lord Curr and his men were fighting Cthulhu, wading in with steam powered machine gun and arc rifle. The Okhrana, led by the sinister mad monk Rasputin, had insanely declared for the Old Ones, joining another company of agents in stabbing Curr in the back.
A steady fire was kept up upon the cultists surrounding Cthulhu by the US Marshals, who in turn were being hampered by a European hunter and his pygmy bearers, clearly awaiting the rise of evil. In another corner, the Brick Lane Commune, engaged in a futile firefight with another anti-Cthulhu company - the Illuminati - renaissance fighters led by the animated brain of Leonardo da Vinci carried along in a sealed jar with mechanical legs. Neither force knew they were both fighting for the same goal - the banishment of this malign God and his depraved followers.
Enraged at this awakening, Cthulhu stomped and crushed, destroying buildings and flattening bridges. As the masonry crumbled the Great Old One took hits, sacrificing cultists to remain manifest. Eventually the battle ground down, Curr's valiant frontal attack was erased, and the Brick Lane Commune down to a few fanatical survivors, their Industrial Walker disabled, its driver dead.
As the stars aligned and a gloom settled on the flagstones, the forces of evil triumphed - the time of Cthulhu had arrived.
The setting: a quiet corner of Venice:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48988477623_abb61549e7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hCWKEx)
A cultist blinded by visions of power, gets to work summoning Cthulhu:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48988477653_48b2d3f4c6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hCWKF4)
Dread Cthulhu has awoken! Lord Curr and his men step forward into the fray:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48989234027_167395be4e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hD1CvZ)
As the Great Old One manifests on the Isle of the dead, Rasputin and the Okhrana look on. In the distance the Illuminati do battle with the Brick Lane Commune:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48989233977_3970967b90_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hD1Cv8)
US Marshals step up the fight:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48989233937_b607081f50_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hD1Cur)
The last known picture of Lord Curr, taking on Cthulhu single-handed with only an Arc Rifle and an immaculately tailored waistcoat for armour:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48989233872_a7b4bb06b3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hD1Ctj)
Cthulhu triumphant! The Mad Monk Rasputin seals his pact with unspeakable evil by guiding the dæmon lord to the last surviving resistors...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48988477438_f262767bd3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2hCWKBm)
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Tremendous fun. We used small companies and the playing card deck activation sequence from Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead. Each player gets one card from the deck for each surviving figure plus one for the highest surviving leadership value of their company. Counting down from Kings to deuces, with aces wild, each card, assigned by the player, grants activation to one figure to move, shoot and fight. We also adopted the Hero Points system from the Thud and Blunder rules, permitting each company one Hero with three hero points.
A thoroughly entertaining evening, a good excuse to finish off some TT Combat Streets of Venice terrain and other projects.
Enjoy!