Whew, we’re slowly recovering from the insanity of convention rounds.  A warm welcome to all the new cultists that joined the fold!

As promised, this month brings another of our Arcane Relics, previously published in issues of Strange Aeons magazine.  This time out, we have our most chaotic concoction, The Resonator!  Switching on this scientific marvel will turn reality on its head, and have Threshold scrambling to shut it down.  Also, firing up the Resonator will finally give you a use for that stack of blank CDs we all seem to have hiding in the forgotten depths of a dark closet.

Miniature releases will, at long last, resume next month with the arrival of Threshold Agents IV.

Uncle Mike’s annual travelling road show is under way, offering our full line of rules & miniatures, as well as a chance to try your hand at our fiendish new Assault on Devil’s Reef demo scenario, complete with rowboats and Deep Ones.

We’re currently en route to Trumpeter Salute in Burnaby, BC., where the UMW booth will be available for the full run of the event, April 5-7.  Lower Mainland cultists take note!  You can visit us and our good friend Bob Murch of Pulp Figures in a single convenient trip.

We’ll also be appearing in our own backyard at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, April 26-28.  Look for us under Trilogy Games – who are generously sharing their space with us – in your floor guide.

The equinox is upon us, which means cult members have been shipped a fresh newsletter, filled with previews and amusements.  If you’re a member and did not receive yours (do check your spam folder, as it seems to get caught by some), please let us know and I’ll get that remedied ASAP.  As an added bonus for cult members, we’ve also sent out an updated edition of the Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten PDF, expanded to 107 pages and containing all sorts of material not present in the public playtest edition.  New members will also receive these documents (plus an archive of previous newsletters), so you can still get in on the fun.

This being the beginning of a new “cult” year, it’s also time to unveil a brand new cult-exclusive model.  This year, we have a Submerged Deep One, the rules for which appeared in the previous issue of Fhtagn!:

This model will be included with the first order placed by cult members through the UMW store this “cult” year, and also with all new memberships purchased.  As an added incentive to join the ranks of the Black Goat, we’ll still be including last year’s captive agent models with new memberships until the end of March.

So, what would that Deep One look like out of the water, you might wonder…..

Yow, that’s a monster!  Sculpted by Iain Colwell, this beast stands 3″ tall, and looks about ready to rip an unfortunate agent in two with those massive webbed hands.  We’ll be formally releasing this model with Shocking Tales #4 (should give you a hint as to the issue’s theme!), likely in 2014, but have cast up an early batch to make available exclusively to Black Goat members.  Setting this up in the online store was a little tricky: we had to bundle a cult membership (plus download of Fhtagn and VUK) with the model, the price of which is discounted for members when logged in to the store.  A little convoluted, but it also beats having you mail in a form to request your model – yikes, that sure takes us back….  It all seems to work so far, but do send an email off to webmaster@strange-aeons.ca if you have any trouble with the shop.

So, here’s what you get right now if you join the cult:

• Lifetime cult membership
• Black Goat logo t-shirt
• Cult membership card
• Bi-annual equinox PDF newsletter (including archive of previous newsletters)
• Revised and expanded Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten PDF
• Submerged Deep One model (plus captive agents if you join by March 31st)
• Access to order Deep One (if you want one right away, just buy a Deep One bundled with membership)

Hard to argue with all that for $60!

Or in this case, the Thing is in the Play. Today we’re pleased to release “The King in Yellow”, the first of our Arcane Relics supplements, as a free download (click the link here, or head over to the Resources page). Arcane Relics, which provide unique powers to Lurker forces, were previously featured in issues of Strange Aeons magazine. We’ll be releasing the full series as free supplements over the course of the year, so keep your eyes peeled in coming months. Well, assuming The King didn’t peel your eyes for you….

In other news, March has arrived, which means the equinox is nearly upon us.  That means the time of the Black Goat is nigh!  Less than three weeks from new, a fresh newsletter will be distributed to our loyal cultists, containing experimental rules and secrets man was generally not meant to know.  A new promotional figure for cult members will also be introduced March 21, and it’s more monstrous than you can possibly imagine – watch for a preview when the middle of the month arrives.

A new package of rules has crept it’s way into the online store. If you’d like to snag all three of our in-print rulebooks at a discount, be sure to check out “The Bundle of the Beast”. The Strange Aeons core rules, Morbid Adventures and Shocking Tales #3 together for the fiendishly low price of $66.66!

Nefarious doings are in progress at Uncle Mike’s lab, as we prepare some monstrous surprises for Cult of the Black Goat members.  The equinox rapidly approaches!

As the festive season descends upon us, we always feel it’s important to add a little holiday cheer to the gaming table.  With that in mind, we present to you Season’s Beatings!, random holiday happenings for your games of Strange Aeons.  Previously available in Issue 4 of Strange Aeons Magazine, we’re pleased to now make this amusing supplement available as a free download.  Grab your copy here, or from the Resource page:

Season’s Beatings! PDF

Also, if you didn’t snag it last December, don’t forget about Nightmare on 34th Street!, our rather twisted little Christmas scenario.

Shocking Tales of Madness and Mayhem, Issue No. 3 is now officially available!  All pre-orders placed through the UMW webstore have already been shipped, and copies are either en-route or already in the hands of many of our retail and distribution partners worldwide.  Thanks for your enthusiastic response, which resulted in our best sales month ever!

Check back tomorrow for the details of BrushOff!3, our annual Strange Aeons painting competition.

Shocking Tales #3 has made its way to the printer, and remains on track for Halloween release.  Pre-orders may even begin shipping a few days early!  Not long to wait now….

Also rapidly approaching is the end of our Cult of the Black Goat promotion.  Only two weeks remain to get your Cult Membership at the reduced price of $50, so grab those sacrificial daggers and sign up today!

Shocking Tales of Madness & Mayhem, Issue No. 3 is now available for pre-order in the online store.  This latest expansion contains 44 full-colour pages of insanity, including a terrifying trifecta of Black Dossier missions:

• Comb the jungle for clues as you do battle with the oversized flora and fauna of Test Island #3
• Attempt to escort Howard Philips Lovecraft to safety, as your agents are beset by the manifested horrors of his overactive imagination
• Return to Dunwich, and struggle to undermine the new horror rising in the wild hills
• Do battle using the unlocked power of your mind with Psychic Powers
• Read the thrilling conclusion of Uncle Mike’s serial adventure “The Council of Thirteen”

All copies of Shocking Tales #3 include a deck of sturdy plastic Zener Cards for use with the Psychic Powers rules.

Shocking Tales #3 will have one – and only one – print run. Reserve your copy today!

Also, don’t forget this is a great time to join the Cult of the Black Goat at a specially discounted price.  Not to mention a good opportunity to stock up on UMW miniatures, should a certain annual painting competition happen to be right around the corner… *cough*Brushoff!3*cough*

The latest issue of Fhtagn!, our Cult of the Black Goat newsletter featuring experimental rules, exclusive previews and other strange fragments of eldritch madness has just been delivered to our cult members worldwide by strange hooded messengers.  Well, to be honest, we sent it by email, but imagination is often better than reality.  Haven’t joined the ranks of the Black Goat yet?  Well, starting today and extending all the way through Halloween, we’re offering cult memberships for only $50.  And that’s for a lifetime – no pesky annual renewals to contend with – so Get Culty today!  You’ll have Fhtagn! at your fingertips in no time.