Miskatonic Monday #24: Dark Offerings

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 Repository, 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: Dark Offerings

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Rob Leigh

Setting: Modern Day (Any)
Product: Scenario
What You Get: 5.82 MB, 24-page colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: The Wicker Man with added goat

Plot Hook: A missing daughter in a cult's clutches 
Plot Development: A missing cult, insular islands, even more insular islanders, and things that walk in the woods.
Plot Support: Decent maps, a new spell, twelve NPCs and monsters, seven handouts.
Production Values: Decent.

Pros
# Inspired by The Wicker Man and The Shadow over Innsmouth
# Lots of surly natives
# Hidden against the clock rescue mission
# Easily adapted to other periods
# Easy to add to a campaign
Cons
# No NPC illustrations
# Straightforward plot
# Tight time constraints for the expected travel
# No mutant goat stats

Conclusion
# Decent, detailed scenario
# Excellent inspiration, but not inspiring