Miskatonic Monday #117: Pilgrim’s Hope

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.

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Name: Pilgrim’s Hope

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jazmin Ospa

Setting: Illinois, 1885

Product: Scenario for Down Darker Trails: Terrors of the Mythos
What You Get: Eighteen page, 844.50 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Snakes at a show!

Plot Hook: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West tour of the USA gets a short, sharp snake shock!
Plot Support: Staging advice, one map, five NPCs, one creature, two Mythos monsters, and six pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Plain.

Pros

# Scenario for Down Darker Trails: Terrors of the Mythos
# Short , gun-toting one-session one-shot
# Emphasis on combat and a chase

# Easy to prepare

# Ophidiophobia

# The chance to roleplay members of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West tour of the USA

Cons

# Ophidiophobia

# Little investigation

# Why does the villain unleash the snakes at the show?

Conclusion

# A chance for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West tour of the USA to ride against the Mythos!

# Straightforward action-packed scenario sets up an exciting chase, but leaves the villain’s motivation unexplained