Following up on my post about finding an Elder sign to use for my Fate point tokens. I’m using the Matzke Elder sign for the player side of my Fate point tokens, so that leaves the Mythos/Keeper side to figure out.

While the Elder sign is a commonly used symbol to oppose the Mythos, there isn’t a comparable symbol of the Mythos itself. There are a few symbols related to specific Great Old Ones, but I don’t want to narrow the focus quite that much. There are some other symbols in Fantasy Flight Games’ assorted Mythos games – doom tokens and the like. Beyond the obvious copyright issues, those symbols generally just look like some sort of demonic rune. They’re appropriate for how they’re used, but that sort of theme is a bit overdone these days. Nevertheless, FFG’s various symbols and tokens are a good source of inspiration.

I also recently came across some third party tokens for FFG’s Arkham Horror produced by Team Covenant, with some cool designs. Their options for different tokens depending on the campaign being played got me thinking about different ways to customize components, but that’s an idea for down the road. Looking at those gave me some ideas, so I started playing about and finally came up with a rough design for the Mythos side of the token.

I started with a Penrose triangle. It’s a design I’m somewhat fond of, and being an “impossible object” it fits with the idea of cosmic horror. While I’m leery of over-using tentacles, they are often used in Mythos-related art. I added some tentacles with the appearance of emerging from the triangle, evoking a sense of the Mythos entering our mundane world through the triangle. Then I introduced some icons based on lunar phases, along with an assortment of lines interlinking them – going for a combination of passing time and “the start are right”.

Having designs for both sides of my token, I set to making some prototypes. I wanted them to have some weight, and I also wanted a tactile component. The result is a combination of chipboard, printed cardstock, and a penny. The Penrose triangle is debossed on one side, and the Matzke Elder sign is debossed on the other.