Miskatonic Monday #18: The Titan Incident

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Depository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Depository.

—oOo—

Name: The Titan Incident

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: William Adcock

Setting: Near Future
Product: Scenario
What You Get: 5.35 MB, 24-page full colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Outland meets Aliens meets the Mythos.

Plot Hook: Production cuts and a suspicious death send an investigative team to a mining colony 1,275,000,000 miles from Earth.
Plot Development: Overly helpful staff, surly workers, corporate malfeasance, and an eschatological mystery to the song of my people.
Plot Support: Solid, workmanlike plot, six pre-generated investigators, several NPC descriptions, a new Mythos space species, a new Mythos entity, and two handouts.
Production Values: Decent beyond a slight edit.


Pros
# Familiar feeling setting
# Good sense of a mystery
# Easy to run with little preparation
# Solid one-shot
# Well written
# Environment versus the Mythos
# Showcases need for a Call of Cthulhu Science Fiction setting

Cons
# No final Sanity losses
# Maps could have been better
# No pre-prepared investigator sheets and briefings
# Showcases need for a Call of Cthulhu Science Fiction setting

Conclusion
# Solid one-shot adventure
# Blue collar Science Fiction