Miskatonic Monday #94: What Rough Beast

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: What Rough Beast?

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Andy Miller

Setting: Deep South Alabama

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Ninety-two page, 38.65 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Southern Salem’s Lot

Plot Hook: What sickness causes those in Sanguis to suffer?

Plot Support: Detailed plot, staging advice for the Keeper, eight maps, six elevations and floorplans, six handouts, thirty-two (including a dog and two turtles) NPCs and their associated photographs, and six pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Reasonable.

Pros

# Non-Mythos Folkloric horror scenario

# Teenage Southern Gothic

# Good staging advice for the Keeper
# Highly detailed scenario

# Horror comes close to home

# Strong sense of rural isolation

# Interesting cultural and religious challenges

# Epic several session one-shot

Cons

# Non-Mythos Folkloric horror scenario

# Obvious threat

# Requires a slight edit

# Floor plans difficult to use

# Challenging player versus Investigator knowledge 

# Pre-generated Investigators punchy and underskilled 

Conclusion

# Isolated, non-Mythos Folkloric horror one-shot

# Epic several session one-shot

# Different take and setting for a confrontation with a classic monster