Miskatonic Monday #44: Akhenaten Unveiled

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 Repository.

—oOo—

Name: Akhenaten Unveiled

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: James Austin
Setting: Ancient Egypt (Cthulhu Invictus)
Product: Scenario
What You Get: 38.56 MB, thirty-five-page full colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: ‘Death on the Nile’

Plot Hook: King Amenhotep IV rejected the Egyptian gods. You have been assigned to assassinate him.
Plot Development: A perilous trip down the Nile leads to party town, strange magic, and ‘The King is dead! Long live the King!’
Plot Support: Glossary, twelve NPCs and monsters, its own Appendix N, two handouts, one spell, and six pregenerated investigators.

 Pros
# Intriguing plot
# Cthulhu Invictus one-s+hot
# Set in Ancient Egypt
# Physical puzzles
# Cthulhu Invictus meets Stargate

Cons
# Cthulhu Invictus meets Stargate
# Pregenerated Investigators lack motivation
# Assassination set-ups needs development 
# Non-Mythos scenario

Conclusion
# Feels underdeveloped in places
# Physical puzzles
# Original, but non-Mythos plot