Elusive71 wrote:Just to make it more cuddly, have you noticed that our "Joined" dates and post counts are nearly the same?

Boss_Salvage wrote:New Faction Added!

THE TERRASAURS - Also with new gallery pics!

So that's 2 big reptiles, 1 medium and 1 small? Unless there are 4 levels of monster here, making it 1 huge, 1 big, 1 medium, 1 small ...

- Salvage

JohnHwangDD wrote:This is all cool, but I'm only interested in enough models to convert up a set of
- Ultraman / GUTS
- Evangelion / NERV
- Giant Robo
- Gamera

No interest playing ID4 or Cthulu.

The Planet Eaters came to Earth in a comet that split and crashed in six locations around the globe. One hit actually destroyed some of Chicago and altered the outline of Lake Michigan. Since then, these creatures have been “hoggin’ down” on the unlimited buffet that is Earth. (Comic fans: if you happen to be at San Diego Comic Con this year, Privateer will be handing out an exclusive copy of the Monsterpocalypse Issue Zero that chronicles this very event!)

The Planet Eaters have no problems with humanity or with the Earth itself; they just hunger. A lot. I had a boss that was the same way back in the day; as the clock approached the 12 o’clock hour, you stayed out of his way lest your hand be mistaken for a sandwich. For the Planet Eaters, Earth just happens to be the salad bar and humanity the crumbled bacon.

Occasionally these forces of destruction break from their consumption, dig into the Earth, and take a nap, sort of like after a big Thanksgiving dinner when you go in the living room and snooze for a while. Then, just like my uncle, they arise from that nap hungrier than ever and begin feeding again!
It would be easy to label the Planet Eaters as evil or demons, but they really are no more evil than a domesticated animal that turns on its trainer or a wild animal that attacks a hiker. It’s just their nature. I’m sure they would be fine with a live and let live policy, as long as you could live in their tummy.

Game-wise Gorghadra and Rogzor play very well together and apart. Gorghadra has a low defense, making him easy to hit, but he has more wounds than any other monster, which keeps him rampagin’ and stompin’. Rogzor is the king of the blast attack. He can smash enemy monsters into buildings with his Blast Attack and his built-in Hit and Run ability keeps him moving after every attack. This allows him to put units between himself and his target and remain at a distance. Both monsters are excellent at wreaking havoc and laying waste to their enemies – and the towns around them.

Their units include the Explodohawk. This flying brawler cannot combine attacks with other units but is more than capable of delivering damage to monsters on its own and is also a great unit for taking out your opponent’s secured buildings. Blast-based units like the Belcher really shine when teamed up with Rogzor as he grants them extra Boost Dice when they attack. The Destructomite is a quick little devil capable of running out and taking key points on the map, while retaining some brawl stat to fight back.

My play style is still developing but this week I won more than I lost - I am turning a corner people! Lately I have taken to securing some buildings and holding Power Zones, then moving my monster out to destroy my opponent’s buildings and his units holding Power Zones. By shutting down his Power Dice production, I keep the game in my favor. The Planet Eaters work well for getting a monster out to start destroying buildings and rampaging around the city. Gorghadra actually gets extra Power Dice from his Rampages, and Rogzor’s blast ability also has the Explosion rule, which is great for taking out groups of units that securing buildings.

There is something else great about the Planet Eaters. While still being terrifying monsters to behold, their appearance has something likeable in it. Visually they have a really low center of gravity and the most adorable potbellies. This goes back to the visuals of the classic kaiju movies. Of all of the monsters in Monsterpocalypse, I think that Gorghadra would be the most likely candidate to find his way into a battle with the kaiju greats. That little potbelly would be the perfect visual for the celebratory bounce the monsters take after throwing another monster through a building or over a mountain.

"Lo and behold, the shroud betwixt out world and the other shall be pierced, and that pierce shall become a tear. And through this rift shall flow a wave of darkness so that the cities of man will be flooded by the corruption of the abyss. And there will be none to stand against this vile tide, for the armies of every nation will be sundered beneath the might of giants who shall rule the Earth."
--From the Book of the Cthulax

Beyond the veil of our own universe exist myriad dimensions teeming with unknown threats. For eons, practitioners of the occult have dared to peel back that fragile layer that separates our world from a vast realm of darkness to glimpse the ancient powers that lurk within. From time to time, those horrors have slipped through the void.

No one knows if the cultists who summoned the Lords of Cthul to our world intentionally invited or accidentally unleashed them. The great Cthugrosh slew these foolish humans the moment he first slithered out of the abyss, perhaps his only merciful act. Followed by a legion of towering monsters and nightmare spawn, Cthugrosh wasted no time in spreading his primordial corruption across the globe. Where the Cthulians tread the earth blackens, vegetation withers, and humans bow in abject worship before the might of these eldritch demi-gods. Those who will not kneel find themselves transformed into hideous mockeries of their formal selves and forced to suffer their few remaining days as slaves to the will of these unappeasable beings.

Theologians of every faith name the Lords of Cthul as none other than the beasts that herald the end of days. Those that have witnessed these otherworldly abominations, however, know the Cthulians are something much older than the holy texts of man ever described, and that the end of days might be very far ahead of schedule.

Since Monsterpocalypse has gone public, the Lords of Cthul have received quite an enthusiastic response. While the other factions draw their background and inspiration from solidly within the kaiju genre, the Lords of Cthul arise from deep within the Cthulhu Mythos. These tales have a deep-seated foundation within the gaming community, and our tentacle-laden fiends received a good portion of the praise from those who demoed the game and saw sculpts at shows like GAMA and the New York Toy Fair. Cthulhu-based blogs have even taken notice.

In Monsterpocalypse’s story, the Lords of Cthul are drawn to the Earth to spread their corruption and evil. Fueled by the worship of their cultists, these fiends seek to draw life from the Earth as a starving man sucks the marrow from a bone. Theologians of every faith have declared the Lords of Cthul “Heralds of the End of Days”. Obviously they are evil and feed off of evil. If I learned anything from the Young Indian Jones Chronicles, it is “that which acts to sustain life is good and that which acts to destroy life is evil.” Based on that simple bit of Albert Switzer philosophy, these are evil dudes.

Jason sent me a picture of a volcano erupting lava and lightning. He said this is what the Lords of Cthul are made of. I tend to trust Jason on such matters. Regardless of what they are really made of, the real point is the Lords of Cthul are nothing man has known before. They come not from another place, but another dimension.

The Lords of Cthul play differently than the other factions. Most of the other factions allow you to run your monster forward and attack your opponent. Cthugrosh really wants you to approach the enemy monster surrounded by your minions. This allows him to EAT those units to replenish his health and requires some care when placing him. Yasheth is a little more forward in his approach. By focusing you units’ and Yasheth’s attacks on your opponent’s monster, Yasheth can theoretically replenish one to two points of health each turn using his Vampirism and Leach abilities. Neither of the Lords of Cthul monsters have the Double Damage capabilities of the other factions, but as long as the Lords can avoid big damage from colliding with buildings and hazards, their regeneration abilities can keep them in the game. They need their units, though, so you have to play carefully

The Lords reward your careful service, however, since your units – while not necessarily the most flat-out powerful – have some of the most interesting abilities in the game. The Spitter unit has the Extinguish ability, the only effect in the game (besides a Stomp power attack) that can remove a hazard from play. The Meat Slave provides some resilience through his Incubator ability, which lets you replace him with another unit when the Meat Slave is hit by an attack. Pretty nice when you want to keep units adjacent to Cthugrosh.

Then there is the Task Master (pictured in black and white). He is quite the piece of work. His Fling ability allows him to pick up adjacent units and hurl them at other units, monsters, or buildings. He can push an enemy unit into a fire with Telekinesis or push a friendly unit that critical extra square. He costs a little more to bring into play, but he easily earns that cost.

If the summation of heroism is to sacrifice one’s self to save another, then the ultimate in villainy would be to sacrifice another to save yourself, and this definition fits the Lords of Cthul rather well. They require careful study to master, and they handsomely reward truly crafty players. They are the stuff of nightmares, not only for those monsters they cross paths with, but also for those opponents you unleash hell upon!

Since the dawn of civilization, Man has sought in the heavens for omens of good or ill. Had we known what lurked among the stars, humanity might have kept our eyes on the ground.

Five years ago, astronomers discovered a new celestial body: a six-tailed, golden-hued comet streaking its way into Earth's solar system. The trajectory of the comet put it on course to pass within 67 million miles of Earth in 2007. This presented a unique opportunity for scientists to launch an intercept probe and study the most elusive of celestial wanderers. In late 2006, the Harbinger Comet Explorer launched and successfully intercepted the comet eight months later. The probe transmitted less than three seconds of video before contact was lost. Though awash in light and indistinct, more than a few observers claimed the images depicted a shape that resembled a giant eye.

Within hours of losing contact with the probe, the comet appeared to change course?intelligently! Its new trajectory would intercept Earth in less than five months. The defense forces of every major nation worked feverishly to move the comet off course with a barrage of nuclear warheads but to no avail. Four hundred thousand miles from Earth, the comet split into six separate fragments that crashed at equidistant corners of the globe. Earthquakes and tsunamis shook the planet, and a sizable portion of Chicago disappeared forever in a massive crater that has since altered the contour of Lake Michigan. The Planet Eaters were here.

From the devastation caused by the impacts emerged six gargantuan, ravenous creatures and a host of lesser minions. These space-born terrors of impenetrable flesh and glistening metal stormed the landscape and devoured all but the very ground they walked upon. With no apparent purpose other than to consume everything in their path, these alien horrors continue to raze cities and repel every military force that dares stand before them. Humanity's only peace comes when it seems these creatures have had their fill for a time and burrow deep beneath the Earth's surface for a brief hibernation. Such respite brings little solace, however, for the beasts always return hungrier than before.

Nurglitch wrote:http://lolthulhu.com/

The last couple of weeks we have been playtesting a few new maps that will release in a map pack shortly after the starters and boosters. I figured a little education regarding the map could be in order this week.

Games of Monsterpocalypse are played on battle map. The map allows for placement of buildings and provides a variety of features that drive the game in different ways, including spawn points, neutral spawn points, Negative Zones, and Power Zones. Placement of these features along with the placement of the buildings really shapes the way the game develops and gives certain monsters or play styles an advantage.
At the beginning of the game, players roll to see who places the first building and takes the first turn. This can be a valuable roll to win. However, the player that does not win this roll chooses the map for the game. If that player chooses the right map, he can mitigate the difference between going first and going second, which is small, but still an advantage.

Foundation placement can play a vital role in the game. Buildings separated by only a couple of spaces are easier to secure with fewer units. If you place three units between two buildings and end up adjacent to both, you secure them both. That means more Power Dice when you Power Up, which means more potent attacks and power attacks for your monster to perform. Having buildings adjacent to one another also creates potential damage-boosting hot spots. If you can drop a monster on two buildings at once, you can deal two to four damage in one attack, depending on whether or not those buildings create hazards. Remember to pay attention to where you leave your monster. Don’t get baited into moving to a place where you can get thrown into a pair of buildings.

Spawn points are locations on the map where your units come into play. At the beginning of the game you are designated as the Red player or the Blue player and use the spawn points and monster starting locations based on that designation. The number of spawn points on the map can drive the speed of the game. A map with four spawn points per player means fewer units can come into play each turn and thus you can secure fewer buildings and hold fewer objectives early on. Further, attacking your opponent’s units can have a greater impact, on a percentage basis, since the number of units that can come into play each turn has been reduced. Obviously a map with six spawn points per player means more units will come into play each turn. The downside to spawning six units is that you cannot do as much with those figures each turn, since you spent at least one Action Die to put each figure on the board. (Remember you only have 10 Action Dice in your Unit Pool, and moving and attacking each cost one die per unit). Units that cost you two or more Action Dice to spawn will more likely see play earlier in games on maps with fewer spawn points.

Neutral spawn points usually lie toward the center of the map. By dedicating a unit to hold the activator, you gain access to another spawn point. However, after you pass the threshold of five spawn points, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Having access to spawn points deeper into the map, however, can provide your units with further tactical options when playing aggressively against your opponent, such as spawning units away from areas of conflict or spawning, moving, and attacking with a unit in the same turn.

Negative Zones ding your opponent for Power Dice when you Power Up. If you destroy the buildings on your opponent’s side of the map, suppress his units, and prevent him from taking Power Zones, you can greatly reduce his ability to gain Power Dice. When he does gain a few Power Dice from destroying your units or taking down buildings, you can hamper him further by holding Negative Zones and then Powering Up. Your opponent will lose one Power Die for each Negative Zone your units hold, and this can keep the balance of Power Dice tipped in your favor.

Power Zones are the best locations on the table for gaining Power Dice. One non-flying unit sitting on a Power Zone gets you one Power Die every time you Power Up, a better ratio of figures to Power Dice than you get anywhere else on the table. We tend to place them in locations that drive conflict in the game. Two aggressive players can spark an all-out war in certain parts of the map as they engage one another to hold these valuable objectives.

Additionally some spaces feature terrain like water, trees, or rubble that affects the game in a different way. Placement of one rough terrain space (like rubble) or one impassible terrain space (like water) near an objective can really make you wish you had some hover or jumping units (which ignore features like that) so you can get to that Power Zone quicker. Some terrain spaces offer cover, which increase a unit’s defense against blast attacks. This can provide a place to plant your units to allow a little more protection or to counterattack anything trying to drive you off an objective.

The map you choose to play on can have as much effect on the game as your monster, units, and buildings. Choose your maps carefully and customize your force to the map you play on. It’s like baseball in that regard: You play half of your games on your home field, so make sure your team is equipped to win those home games!

kinghammer wrote:I guess if people have enough money to piss away, they can create crap like this.