By John Houlihan
Art by Boris Martsev
We recently ran a fantastic promotion with the splendid Bundle of Holding to offer two great Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 bundles to introduce people to the game. With 850+ bundles sold, that’s a whole horde of potential new fans and players, which is not only amazing but completely surpassed our expectations.
So, if you’re one of those brave souls are now holding one of two bundles brimming with rules and lore about the brave agents of Section M, Majestic and the Resistance, plus their dastardly foes, Black Sun, Nachtwölfe and the strange entities, gods and monsters of the Mythos, where do you go next?
Well, if you’re starting out and want to quickly sample the game, may we suggest our Free Quickstart Bundle and assorted downloads here. It’s got a smartly condensed Basic Rules set, which you can read in half an hour, so you don’t have to wade through pages getting to grips with the rules. There’s also a free pre-gens pack so your players can just pick up and play. Short missions like A Quick Trip to France, Operation Kindling and Operation Ultimatum are ideal for kicking off a short sampler session, so players and GMs can get acquainted with the game.
All Achtung! Cthulhu books, tomes and accessories can be found on our Modiphius.net and Modiphius.US store pages.
If you’re looking for something even more immediate, why not download our free Halloween Horrors IV and its accompanying mission A Cold Day in Hel which are on the same link? They’re part of our free annual Halloween celebration, and give you a ready-made one-shot which can be played in an hour or two. If you’re looking for tips or to see how things run, then we’ve even got an actual play debuting on Tuesday 3rd November which will show you the ropes on our Twitch and YouTube channels!
Beyond that, if you’re looking to run a complete starter campaign, then Shadows of Atlantis is a great way to go. It’s a pre-war campaign set during the mid-1930s which gives you a great flavour of the pulp-influenced “punch evil in the tentacles” nature of Achtung! Cthulhu. By the time characters have completed their journey, they’ll be perfectly set up for Secret War operations when the real war breaks out in 1939.
After you’ve run Shadows of Atlantis, then you have even more choice. If you like shorter standalones we’ve got a host of PDF missions which begin with Operation Vanguard and run throughout the war with many different flavours which range from cosmic horror to action adventure. Two mission compendiums Behind Enemy Lines and The Dark Beyond compile these into two essential tomes for GMs.
If you’re looking to go deeper with an early war campaign then The Serpent and the Sands takes the action to 1942 and the Desert War with an epic battle against a vast conspiracy to restore the ancient Ophidian empire. If the frozen north is more your flavour, then our newly announced The Norway Projekt in 1943 sees you race against time to prevent Europe being consumed by atomic fire.
Moving on to the later war and for more experienced agents, D-Day: The Darkest Day tells the untold story behind the war’s greatest invasion in a series of linked missions to foil dangerous Wunderwaffe. As Allied forces close in on Fortress Germany, Forest of Fear presents a truly epic campaign and the prospect of shoggoth-powered Tiger tanks.
Elsewhere, we’ve got intriguing supplements like Unexplored to help you add interest and flavour to your agents’ journeys in between missions. There’s also Vive la Resistance, a special issue for those who want to explore the liberation movements which resisted occupation so fiercely. Finally, for GMs who want to delve into the darker side of the Mythos, our recently released Horrors of the Secret War explores the creatures, entities, cults, gods and monsters who lurk on the edge of madness.
Of course, we’re not done yet! We may have completed this year’s assignments, but the Secret War doesn’t end and next year brings even more mission releases and two major books, a special supplement and a campaign/guide book… plus a top-secret special project which has long lurked in the vaults of Modiphius HQ.
Keep an eye on AchtungCthulhu.com for news and announcements and do drop into our friendly Discord Server where the writers and devs of Achtung! Cthulhu hang out with players and GMs. We’ve got a dedicated newsletter too, so sign up to keep up to speed on all the latest events and developments. There’s even a Facebook fan group where you can chat with fellow Secret War aficionados.
Welcome to the Secret War – we think you’re going to love it!