Miskatonic Monday #73: Horror at the Westmore Motel

 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: Horror at the Westmore Motel

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Leopoldo Rueda

Setting: Early Eighties New England

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-eight page, 8.29 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Missing Mother Mystery

Plot Hook: Alice’s mother is missing

Plot Support: Detailed plot, three handouts, three NPCs, one Mythos tome, one spell, and three pre-generated Investigators. 

Production Values: Reasonable.

Pros
# Little explored period for Call of Cthulhu

# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario

# Strong emotional impact for one pre-generated Investigator

# Interesting roleplaying challenge in negotiating with the Mythos

# Appendix details options for using it as part of an existing campaign

Cons
# Requires a strong edit

# Needs a spell check

# Plotting is quite direct
# Sanity losses underwhelming given their potential emotional impact

# Uninspiring maps

# Lacks maps where it counts

# Emotional impact all on one pre-generated Investigator

# Emotionally influenced Sanity losses underwhelming

Conclusion

# Requires a strong edit

# Might work better as a one-on-one scenario?

# Directed  plot which focuses too much on one pre-generated Investigator