Miskatonic Monday #46: The Pipeline: A Call of Cthulhu Scenario for the 1980s

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: The Pipeline: A Call of Cthulhu Scenario for the 1980s

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Alex Guillotte

Setting: 1980s British Columbia, Canada

Product: Scenario
What You Get: seventy-two page, full colour softback book.
Elevator Pitch: The oil must flow, the pipeline must be kept open.
Plot Hook: Contact has been lost with Exxon Pumping Station #31 in British Columbia. Mechanical fault or radical environmentalists, you are assigned to find out.
Plot Support: Seven arctic hazards, eleven handouts, fifty-six NPCs (alive, deceased, and/or insignificant), eight pregenerated investigators, a new Mythos creature, the Arctic Guide Occupation, and new equipment and archaic weapons.
Production Values: Needs another edit, but clean layout, excellent artwork, and nice handouts..

Pros
# Grueling mechanically and narratively
# Grueling mentally and physically
# A wealth of detail
# Fantastic handouts
# Marginalia!
# Potential Delta Green flashback?
# Survival horror

Cons
# Grueling mechanically and narratively
# Grueling mentally and physically
# A wealth of detail
# New Mythos monster when the Yeti would have done?
# Linear plot—as in a ‘Pipeline’

Conclusion
# Potential Delta Green flashback?
# Grueling and linear
# Superbly presented