Miskatonic Monday #122: Pickman’s Action Figure

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: Pickman’s Action Figure

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Todd Miller

Setting: Modern Upstate New York

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-four page, 31.62 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Suffer the little children’s wrath

Plot Hook: Your brother disappeared years ago, so when you get a phone call from him in the night...
Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, three handouts, one set of  floorplans, two NPCs, and two Mythos creatures.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Really great backstory and set-up

# Decent pre-generated Investigators

# Focused investigative one-shot

# Interestingly Ghoulish twist upon the the Changeling myth

# Solid convention scenario

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# Confrontation needs careful handling

# Few options for the Investigators to prepare for the confrontation

Conclusion

# Great back story and set-up leads to a freaky family confrontation

# Interestingly Ghoulish twist upon the the Changeling myth makes a creepy one-shot.