Check out D&D's version of Cthulhu, via WizKids' new miniature for Ravenloft: The Horrors Within

WizKids has provided retailers with a first look at the Dungeons & Dragons version of Cthulhu as it appears in the upcoming book Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. WizKids will be releasing a new Cthulhu figure that ties into the upcoming Ravenloft book, with the book due for release in June. The new figure sits on a 100 mm base and comes with a special iridescent paint scheme that makes it look perennially wet. The painted version of the figure will cost $79.99, while an unpainted version costs $69.99. Both versions of Cthulhu are due for release in October 2026.

This version of Cthulhu looks significantly different than classic depictions of the elder god, with Cthulhu sporting multiple wings and tentacles in place of traditional limbs. Notably, Cthulhu's head is also semi-translucent, with its brain visible underneath a rounded flap of skin. It appears that this version of Cthulhu drew heavy inspiration from an octopus. You can take a look at Cthulhu down below:

Wizards confirmed that Cthulhu, the classic elder being created by HP Lovecraft, will be featured in Ravenloft: The Horror Within as a Darklord. Innsmouth, a New England town featured in multiple Lovecraft stories, will also appear as a new Domain of Dread. Of course, Cthulhu has a long history with D&D, having appeared in early versions of the game before being pulled due to a license issue tied to rival game Call of Cthulhu. Now that Cthulhu and Lovecraft's other works are in the public domain, Wizards has decided to bring the eldritch being back into D&D canon.

 

[ProfessorDetective]

Perhaps a banana for scale?

No, 12oz soda cans. Always use 12oz soda cans.

 

[Voadam]

I usually picture Cthulhu similar to Orcus, sloppily corpulent and not hard core buff.

The asymmetry of the mini design here is growing on me. At first the spikes on one tentacle and them ending differently on the different limbs was visually annoying, but Cthulhu's body should be shifting and warping and not quite right.

 

[dave2008]

Definitely a criticism.

What is the criticism then?

 

[dave2008]

Though I am not sold on this design, it is probably the most interesting design for Cthulhu I have seen. It definitely helps visualize what HPL meant by "flabby claws!"

 

[Clint_L]

??

Is this a criticism or an observation?

Who cares if Paizo "beat" WotC to the punch with a Cthulhu miniature?

Especially because it is Wizkids making both. But if you want a truly epic Cthulhu, go with the one from C’Mon (now Asmodee).

Also, I agree that this Cthulhu looks too shredded. I also think it has a bit of a Xenomorph vibe. Not a fan. My Cthulhu has a dad bod.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

At first the spikes on one tentacle and them ending differently on the different limbs was visually annoying, but Cthulhu's body should be shifting and warping and not quite right.

The ability to craft a mini that can shift and warp is a secret known only to the Great Old Ones. For the rest of us, minis are frozen in time. But one trick an artist can use to suggest motion is deliberate asymmetries.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

??

Is this a criticism or an observation?

Who cares if Paizo "beat" WotC to the punch with a Cthulhu figure?
.
Could WotC had delivered Cthulhu a decade ago? Probably. They didn't. So what?

I'm excited to see what they do with the Mythos in the new book, the mini looks cool . . . . doesn't bother me that it's happening in 2026 rather than 2016 or what-have-you.

I'm pretty sure companies were producing Cthulhu minis before Paizo existed. Back in the TSR days there were no "officially licenced" minis for D&D or CoC (Warhammer/Games Workshop probably had a lot to do with the idea that minis should be "official"). Back in the 70s/80s the were a bunch of small businesses producing unlicensed minis.

 

[Tonguez]

He looks too skinny to be vast and incomprehensible and I'm not enamored of the glass helmet - makes me think Space Alien rather than Eldritch Lord of Unknown Cosmic Vastnesses

 

[MonsterEnvy]

??

Is this a criticism or an observation?

Who cares if Paizo "beat" WotC to the punch with a Cthulhu figure?
.
Could WotC had delivered Cthulhu a decade ago? Probably. They didn't. So what?

I'm excited to see what they do with the Mythos in the new book, the mini looks cool . . . . doesn't bother me that it's happening in 2026 rather than 2016 or what-have-you.

Technically Paizo doesn't have a Cthulhu figure, they have a Star Spawn of Cthulhu mini, which is kind of a smaller version of him.

 

[Koloth]

I bought the Reaper Bones version of Cthulhu during one of the many KS for Bones minis. https://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/cthulhu/latest/77194
Box claims it is 9" tall and 9" long. Sadly, mine is still in the box. Definitely taller then a 12oz soda can. But the Wizkids version looks good as well. Everyone needs at least one big mini to put on the map even if it is representing something else.