Miskatonic Monday #92: The Catcott Collection

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.

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Name: The Catcott Collection

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Peter Willington

Setting: Jazz Age Bristol, United Kingdom

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifteen page, 1.96 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Mirrors don’t lie. They only show a part of truth.”

Plot Hook: Getting lost in your studies may cost you more than your Sanity...

Plot Support: Detailed plot, staging advice for the Keeper, one floorplan, two handouts, and one NPC (sort of).

Production Values: Excellent.

Pros

# One-to-one format more engaging

# Good staging advice for the Keeper
# Short, one-session, one-to-one scenario

# Strong sense of personal horror

# Strong sense of isolation

# Nicely done feel of decay and dream-like uncertainty

# Would work as an introduction for any Academic Investigator

# Easy to adjust to Cthulhu by Gaslight or Cthulhu Now

Cons
# Requires a slight edit

# Tome at the heart of the scenario not written up

# One-to-one format more demanding than traditional scenario

# Pre-generated Investigator not given as an Investigator sheet

# The intimacy of the personal horror may not suit all players

Conclusion

# Demanding horror scenario for both player and Keeper

# Isolated, intimate horror one-shot of decay and dream-like uncertainty