Miskatonic Monday #106: Passenger Olympus

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 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: Passenger Olympus

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Mitchel Bonnema

Setting: Gulf of Mexico, 1921.

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-One page, 11.53 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Fear on a Freighter!

Plot Hook: When a ship goes adrift, could it have been cursed by the mermaid it pulled aboard?
Plot Support: Straightforward plot, six NPCs, five pre-generated Investigators, one deck plan, ten handouts, and two Mythos creatures.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Sea-bound one-shot

# Scares amidst a stormed-tossed sea

# Escalating song of sanity!

# Strong sense of isolation

# Detailed steamer description

# Decent handouts

Cons

# Needs another edit

# Dense

# Uneven Sanity loses

# No portholes!

# A lot for the Investigators to explore

Conclusion

# Maritime madness as the Investigators confront a mermaid 

# Isolated horror aboard a vessel adrift at sea, not in space—and you can hear the siren's song!