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.

 

[Hygge Halfling]

I pre-ordered this one. It's the first miniature I've ever bought. I'm not sure what attracted me. Weather the slimy skin or transparent brain pan but something called to me (or it called to me from dead R'lyeh). It was smaller than I expected for the price - after seeing my friend's colossal red dragon - but I assume that's what plastic miniatures cost these days. And I guess you can't compare to the red dragon as that was 3E era and I think the base sizes went larger for colossal.

Well, if you ever want a Cthulhu “mini” quite literally the size of a toddler, CMON made one for Cthulhu: Death May Die. One can still find them floating around on eBay from time to time.

 

[Chaltab]

Notably Paizo didn't ever put Cthulhu on Golarion. He is on Earth, where he's supposed to be. Not yucking it up in a thematically opposed D&D setting.

I mean to be fair, Innsmouth used to be on Earth.

 

[humble minion]

It’s the belly on the Paizo one. Cthulhu is super sedentary; this new version is too jacked. Dude hasn’t gotten out of bed in aeons.

I don't mind the thinner appearance of the WotC one. Cthulhu for me has always been squidgy and semi-gelatinous, constantly bulging and slightly shifting in proportion, shape, and number of limbs. Rigid, structured skeletal systems and unshiftable abdominal fat are for lesser and more euclidian beings! This is just a rendition of him when he's perhaps a bit more stretched out, like pizza mozzarella when you pick up your slice but the cheese refuses to let go...

 

[dave2008]

Notably Paizo didn't ever put Cthulhu on Golarion. He is on Earth, where he's supposed to be. Not yucking it up in a thematically opposed D&D setting.

 

[dave2008]

Notably Paizo didn't ever put Cthulhu on Golarion. He is on Earth, where he's supposed to be. Not yucking it up in a thematically opposed D&D setting.

Well, I don't think Cthulhu thinks it is supposed to be on earth! It is a trapped as the rest of us

And as I mentioned, I don't like the big C being a darklord either. The general idea of the C-mthos in D&D is fine with me though. Heck, I consider earth as part of the D&D multiverse!

PS - this is one of the best Cthulhu designs I have seen (IMO). So, if that is what we get from having Cthulhu in a domain of dread then I'm Ok with it!

 

[Stormonu]

Well, I don't think Cthulhu thinks it is supposed to be on earth! It is a trapped as the rest of us

And as I mentioned, I don't like the big C being a darklord either. The general idea of the C-mthos in D&D is fine with me though. Heck, I consider earth as part of the D&D multiverse!

PS - this is one of the best Cthulhu designs I have seen (IMO). So, if that is what we get from having Cthulhu in a domain of dread then I'm Ok with it!

If anything, I'd believe him to be a Dark Power moreso than a Darklord. But then, there was Vecna being captured in Ravenloft, and that's a god.

(Though I never liked Vecna being sucked into Ravenloft in the first place)

 

[dave2008]

If anything, I'd believe him to be a Dark Power moreso than a Darklord. But then, there was Vecna being captured in Ravenloft, and that's a god.

(Though I never liked Vecna being sucked into Ravenloft in the first place)

Though I don't think Cthulhu would care enough to be a Dark Power. That doesn't fit its character IMO.

 

[Sossij]

Though I don't think Cthulhu would care enough to be a Dark Power. That doesn't fit its character IMO.

I always saw it as: Cthulhu doesn't destroy humans out of malice. He destroys them because they are small and meaningless, like we do to ants.

 

[Clint_L]

I don't mind the thinner appearance of the WotC one. Cthulhu for me has always been squidgy and semi-gelatinous, constantly bulging and slightly shifting in proportion, shape, and number of limbs. Rigid, structured skeletal systems and unshiftable abdominal fat are for lesser and more euclidian beings! This is just a rendition of him when he's perhaps a bit more stretched out, like pizza mozzarella when you pick up your slice but the cheese refuses to let go...

I mean, I never would have thought to compare Cthulhu to pizza mozzarella, but now that you've created the image, I kinda love it!

 

[MGibster]

And as I mentioned, I don't like the big C being a darklord either. The general idea of the C-mthos in D&D is fine with me though. Heck, I consider earth as part of the D&D multiverse!

Obed Marsh should have been the dark lord. The DL is supposed to be both the ruler and a tormented prisoner of the domain. They’re supposed to have something they want but simultaneously denied something they want even more.