Miskatonic Monday #126: A Fishy Business

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: A Fishy Business

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Joerg Sterner

Setting: Jazz Age Maine

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifteen page, 15.25 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Between the Mob and the Mythos in Maine.

Plot Hook: More to a delivery and a pickup than meets the eye on a road trip in New England
Plot Support: Staging advice, three handouts, six NPCs, three Mythos monsters to be, and one Mythos artefact. 

Production Values: Reasonable.

Pros

# One night one-shot

# Potential criminal campaign starter

# Low key, weird road trip

# Potential Lovecraft Country addition

# Underplayed introduction to the Mythos

# Lots of questions to be answered at scenario’s end

# Broad scope for non-traditional Investigators

Cons

# Needs a good edit

# Lots of questions to be answered at scenario’s end

# Light on Lovecraftian investigative horror

# Underplayed introduction to the Mythos for a one-shot?

Conclusion

# Short, but potentially interesting and entertaining introduction to the Mythos for a criminally-based campaign set in New England, which leaves a lot questions to be answered.

# Short, underplayed investigation and encounter with the Mythos for a one-shot, which leaves too many questions to be answered as a one-shot.