Strange Aeons

I picked up a parcel today containing my Strange Aeons kickstarter stuff.  I vaguely remember that it had been dispatched, but it was still pretty much a surprise, and a pleasant one at that.

What unspeakable horrors lurk within?

I will admit to a certain amount of 'post backing dissonance' with this campaign; not that the idea didn't appeal, but more a case of 'will I ever get to use it?'

The game is a revamp of the original Strange Aeons; a 'skirmish' level game pitting mankind against the horrors of the Mythos.  I actually know very little yet about game play, I saw an early bird pledge level free and snapped it up, and now here it is.

I received the rulebook, two packs of cards, the starter set of resin miniatures, and a bonus bag of unlocked stretch goal minis.  The rule book looks nice; its spiral bound, so no awkward pages flipping over by themselves (or by some unseen and malign agency).  Print quality looks good, and the interior artwork is fine.  There is some colour, but a nice touch is that many of the creatures are shown as black and white photos of the relevant miniatures.

Heroes

and villains (Deep One back left, cultists, Formless Spawn front)

and a bonus bag

The miniatures are all resin cast, a material I am less familiar with than most.  Whilst I have seen more detailed minis, especially in metal, these are fine for the game, and many have great character, and yes, the librarian chap is HPL himself.  There is some flash, but it should be easily removed, and generally avoids areas of detail.  Sadly HPL does have some faults on his back (and a bubble  giving him a cleft chin), though a bit of liquid filler should sort that out.

The Formless Spawn has a separate tentacle, and I think it may well be making an appearance in the D&D campaign.

The cultists are a bit of the 'robes and hood' cliche, but I can see several additional uses for them, such as in Empire of the Dead, and they may well receive reinforcements from the new plastic cultists in Thaw of the Lichlord.  The psycho midget is especially characterful.  The Deep One is OK, but not quite what I think of for Deep Ones.  

I haven't read the rules yet, so have no idea what the pumpkins are for, but the exorcist and the madman look fun, and the tomb is that of Pickman for extra atmosphere.

I may rush a couple of these up the painting schedule just to see how they look when done.  Results, of course, when I have something to show.

If the game takes off I have a lot of extra minis that can see service, not to mention the Mythos expansion in Bones 3.

Oh, nearly forgot, there are also three crates and a chest, cast in brown resin.  compared tot he quality of the other pieces these look rough, but I have plenty of scatter pieces already (e.g. for Frostgrave), so that isn't a problem.  The chest may even become a spare Frostgrave treasure token.