The Miskatonic University Tunguska Expedition

Todd Thyberg brings us a preview of "The Miskatonic Papers", his multi-media project recapping the ill-fated Miskatonic University Tunguska expedition.  The Kickstarter goes live today at noon.

Up, Up, and Away

After just one day the "Back to the Mountains of Madness" Kickstarter from the Cthulhu Project has already blown through its funding goal. Now would be a good time to point out it also includes two different re-issues of their earlier Cthulhu sculpts featuring custom paint jobs. They're available as pledge options along with the Elder Thing and deliciously grotesque albino penguin.

Back to the Mountains of Madness

As a screaming fanboy of H. P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" you can imagine my reaction to the brand new Kickstarter from Alberto Cano of the Cthulhu Project. As part of the Make/100 program he's offering up two beautiful sculptures inspired by the story- an Elder Thing, and one of the disturbing albino penguins that feature prominently in the story. The gifted Marta Lopez sculpted the masters for both figures, and hand paints each one in the limited edition.

As always, I feel it necessary to point out that Mr. Cano has a proven track record on Kickstarter. Over the years he's managed multiple projects successfully, handily avoiding the curse that afflicts far too many Mythos efforts. Most importantly, he keeps patrons updated on the progress of his projects.

If you have the slightest hesitation about signing on to this effort I would suggest looking through the comments to his previous Kickstarters.  Browsing through his other projects will show steady body of repeat participants in each project, the surest sign of a happy backer.

And just look at that penguin!  How can you resist a trip Back to the Mountains of Madness?

Fun and Games

Alberto Cano of the Cthulhu Project has a new Kickstarter featuring some Mythos inspired playing cards and a fun little Cthulhu dice game.  Admittedly, it's not the kind of thing I'm normally into, but he's my go-to example of someone who does Kickstarters right.  Realistic goals, good production timelines, and, most importantly, a willingness to communicate when the inevitable glitches do pop up.

I'm Dreaming of a Dark Christmas

It's that time of the year again.  Studio WonderCabinet is back with their annual Lovecraftian Christmas cards.  This time around they're also offering up some custom printed gift wrap.

Previous editions featured Lovecraft himself and the King in Yellow.  This years set is dedicated to the Dreamlands, highlighting the strange creatures and denizens of the realm beyond the wall of sleep.  Once again they've managed to create a whimsical take on the Old Gent's work while showing an appreciation for the source material.  That sets them apart from the plethora of goofy Cute-thulhu geegaws that have sprung up as the Mythos went mainstream.

Beyond that, you really can't go wrong with this project.  Less than 24 hours after it went live the Kickstarter is already funded and Studio WonderCabinet has a flawless record for delivering on their promises.  You can pledge to the Kickstarter through November 2nd, and I highly recommend doing so.

Cthulhu, Cultists, and Cards

Alberto Cano of the Cthulhu Project has a new Kickstarter that features some nifty swag. The core of the effort is a set of Mythos tarot cards from artist Sara Bardi. The basic set includes the 22 cards of the major arcana. Two limited editions featuring card bags dedicated to Cthulhu and the King in Yellow are also available.

The highlight of the project is a beautiful Cthulhu figure accompanied by four cultists. I really like that the statuette can serve as both a stand alone idol and the centerpiece of a miniature display.

The biggest reason I'm supporting this funding drive is that Mr. Cano has a proven track record on Kickstarter. Over the years he's managed multiple projects successfully, handily avoiding the curse that afflicts far too many Mythos efforts.  Most importantly, he keeps patrons updated on the progress of his projects.  Given that this one is already funded, and features a huge number of repeat supporters, I think it's worthy of your support as well.

The Nictonomicon

Cristóbal Graciá Salgado sent over a link to the Nictonomicon Kickstarter from Tomas Sanchez Hernandez, an effort to create a faux Lovecraftian grimoire using reproductions of period wood block prints. In addition to the tome itself the bestiary-style illustrations are available individually. I quite like the Mi-Go and Cthulhu pages.

The project looks really cool, but I'll offer up the usual cautions about Kickstarters.  Despite the best intentions of organizers any project can go awry, and if it does there isn't much you can do about it.

Cthulhu Crusades

"Cthulhu Crusades" is a new card-based building game currently up on Kickstarter.  There's a lot to like about the project.  That includes the historical mythos art of Robert Altbauer, who's no stranger to these pages.  His illustrations based on the Bayeux Tapestry are at the heart of the game, filling the tarot deck/game cards.


The extras are equally high quality, featuring an Altar to Dagon/deck box and Cthulhu idol sculpted by the gifted Daniel Ritthanondh.

The icing on the cake is the involvement of Alberto Cano of the Cthulhu Project.  He has a long history of successfully shepherding projects through Kickstarter and making sure everyone gets what they were promised.   That's no small thing given the unfortunate history of failed Kickstarters run by less experienced organizers.  Given all that I think it's a project worthy of your support.

Have a Very Hastur Holiday

Last year I was quite surprised to find myself falling in love with a set of Lovecraft-themed Christmas cards from Studio WonderCabinet. My disdain for anything cute-thulhu is no secret, but their whimsy and craftsmanship won me over.

Now they're back with a set of holiday cards dedicated to the King in Yellow.  The artwork is even better than last year and demonstrates they really get this particular part of the Mythos.  That includes the subtle use of the Pleiades in the illustrations.   The Kickstarter campaign is already successful with close to a month still to go.  Given the quality of their work and demonstrated ability to successfully execute a project I hope you'll support it.

Prop Spellbook Kickstarter

Steven E. Metze has an interesting Kickstarter up for a prop tome and accompanying LARP rules. The books are quite impressive, with fully illustrated interiors and hand-bound leather covers. Take a look at the campaign video for a peek at what's available. You can see the spellbook has a nice heft, the binding is solidly constructed, and there's a nice look at the interior text and illustrations.


One thing I want to draw particular attention to is just how successful the Kickstarter already is. It's blown well past the original goal of $3000 and is currently at $22,000 at the time I'm writing this. Anyone familiar with Mythos-based Kickstarters, and their abysmal track record, would recognize this as a danger sign. Far too many projects, most notably the notorious Masks of Nyarlathotep Prop Set, collapsed because they were too successful.  The original rather modest goals were well within the capability of the creators to fulfill, but as the sheer number of patrons soared it became increasingly difficult to meet the pledge promises.

With those concerns in mind, and my natural leeriness of Kickstarters, I asked Mr. Metze how he planned to handle the success of his project. Under it's original target he was looking at producing roughly 30 hand-bound books by the end of January, but at this point the project requires blocking, binding, packing, and shipping at least 140 books within the same time frame. I found his answers very reassuring.

Right now I have 18 people (15 with prior bookbinding experience, 3 'interns' as it were) plus me lined up to work on book binding. I also noted that shipping costs may have been part of the reason for other Kickstarter issues. Shipping costs have been factored separately now (I don't know if that is a change to kickstarter or not) and I'm aiming mostly at flat rate box shipping, so I think that minimizes that risk as well.

The fact that Mr. Metze has already anticipated these issues bodes well for the project overall. That,combined with his real-world management and logistics experience, alleviates the concerns I had about the possible implosion of the Kickstarter.

Please don't think I'm being overly negative about the project. Quite the opposite. The spellbook is a beautiful piece of work that accomplishes the holy grail of tomecraft- a period-appropriate binding with a fully illustrated, artistically unified interior. That is a major achievement that Mr. Metze should be congratulated for. More importantly, he's demonstrated an awareness of issues that have dogged similar prop projects and planned ahead to avoid them.

The Light of R'Lyeh

Cthulhu Project has a new Kickstarter that I think is pretty neat.  The "Light of R'Lyeh" is a Cthulhu candle featuring a great sculpt.  To be honest, I'm not crazy about the wax candle.  The design is too nice to actually burn and the wick just detracts from the presentation. What I am excited about is the "Eternal Cthulhu" version featuring a translucent or glow in the dark resin casting with internal LED illumination.  Now that's awesome.

One reason I'm supporting this effort is that Cthulhu Project has a strong record of performance.  Their previous Kickstarters have delivered what they promised, something all too rare in Mythos-related ventures.

Masks of Nyarlathotep Meltdown

$74,000.  That's how much money was pledged during last year's incredibly successful Kickstarter for the "Masks of Nyarlathotep" prop set.  Ben Patey was the artist behind the project, which featured upgraded props for Chaosium's classic pen and paper RPG adventure.

After months of silence from Mr. Patey it's become obvious that the project has imploded in truly epic fashion.  If you read some of the extensive comments on the Kickstarter page you'll see hundreds of very upset supporters, some of them out hundreds of dollars.

I have no idea what happened, but I'd like to apologize for my small part in this fiasco.  Mr. Patey advertised the Kickstarter here and I was an enthusiastic supporter of what appeared to be a dream project.  A collection of dozens of high end props in support of a Call of Cthulhu classic?  Page after page of documents, maps, and photographs?  Incredibly well done physical props?  This is exactly the kind of thing Propnomicon has always been about.  Sadly, it turned into a massive cluster****.

I'm at a loss for how this happened.  In all my communication with Mr. Patey he was extremely professional and enthusiastic.  Every prop had already been designed and prototyped, all the documents were ready for printing, and independent artists were already lined up to produce the physical items.

The only possible explanation I can think of is that the Kickstarter was too successful and Mr. Patey was overwhelmed.  I can imagine it was pretty daunting when the fund drive ended and he found himself responsible for over 500 premium packets for sponsors around the world.  That said, his failure to follow through is unforgivable.

I think there's a lesson here.  Time and time again we've seen overly ambitious Mythos-related projects melt down.  Whenever you see one with dozens of custom items, seemingly endless pledge options, and too good to be true shipping charges, be wary.  

Commemorative Cthulhu Idol

The Cthulhu Project returns to our pages with their latest Kickstarter effort.  In addition to their already successful Lovecraftian card game "The Writer" they're offering up a very nice premium- copies of a Cthulhu idol sculpted by Marty of Monster Box.

The card game is a series completion variant where up to eight players vie to be the first to put together their own collection of Mythos stories.  

One of the biggest issues that repeatedly comes up with Mythos Kickstarters is shipping.  It can be an absolute killer, particularly when you're not really sure just how much it's going to add to your pledge.  Thankfully, the Cthulhu Project has avoided that by offering flat rates to both the EU and US.

Their are ten days left in the campaign and it's already hit it's funding target.  New stretch goals are likely to make it an even more attractive project.

The Sedefkar Simulacrum

I was happy to see there's a new Kickstarter underway for the "Sedefkar Simulacrum" from Chaosium's "Horror on the Orient Express".    It's one of the defining original artifacts created for the tabletop "Call of Cthulhu" game, and the quality of the work from sculptor delphes desvoivres speaks for itself.  I have a feeling that years from now fans who don't get on board will be kicking themselves for not getting a copy. 




I also wanted to mention that although the Simulacrum project is licensed from Chaosium, they have no involvement beyond that.  It breaks my heart having to point that out, but the meltdown of the company's "Horror on the Orient Express" Kickstarter has cast a pall over everything associated with it.

That's a damn shame, but they brought it upon themselves.  There's absolutely no excuse for not giving people what they expected, in the time frame they expected it, in return for their pledge.  I say that as someone with direct experience running a Kickstarter.  I was frantic because my promised shipping date had to be pushed back two weeks.  Seeing people who supported Chaosium having to wait years still infuriates me.

End of Days

Two of our sponsors are currently in the final stretch of their funding drives on Kickstarter.  The first is the Masks of Nyarlathotep Prop Set, which has added some very nice physical props to the lineup of stretch goals.   That includes the bluestone Cthulhu figure from the London segment, the Eye of Light and Darkness from Cairo, and the Mask of Hyama from New York.  That's in addition to the already extensive paper props and documents being offered up. 

The second is the Cthulhu Art Figure from Cthulhu Project.  It's tantalizingly close to hitting it's funding goal, and a final push should put it over the top.

Cthulhu Art Figure

The Cthulhu Project returns to our sponsorship roll with his latest Kickstarter project- a Cthulhu Art figure.  They've been involved in a number of previous Mythos-related efforts, including the well received Cthulhu Ouija Board from earlier this year.  More importantly, he's carried them off successfully.  That's reassuring given the increasing attention to failed or long-delayed Kickstarters.

The fund drive runs through December 17th and includes both pre-finished and blank, customizable castings.

Masks of Nyarlathotep Prop Set

It's a real pleasure to welcome our latest sponsor- The Masks of Nyarlathotep Prop Set.

Ben Patey has put together a complete re-imagining of the original prop handouts and documents from the classic "Masks of Nyarlathotep" campaign from Chaosium.  It's easily one of, if not the, greatest tabletop RPG adventure every produced.  At the time of it's initial publication the extensive use of props was revolutionary, but the presentation quality of those items isn't up to modern standards.  Mr. Patey's Kickstarter aims to change that.



High quality props will make "Masks" more immersive, taking an already great experience and turning the dial up to 11. And there's just so much stuff.  Maps.  Matchbooks.  Telegrams.  Newspaper clippings.  Handwritten notes.  Not to mention the very cool stretch and bonus material, like postcards, passports, and physical specimens.

This is the bread and butter of Propnomicon, and it's worthy of your support.