Miskatonic Monday #144: The Time Shadow Over Darnesville

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: The Time Shadow Over Darnesville

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author Scott Cox

Setting: Jazz Age USA

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Ten page, 2.35 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Invasion of the Mind Snatchers

Plot Hook: “Look, you fools, you’re in danger! Can’t you see?! They’re after you! They’re after all of us! Our wives, our children, everyone! THEY’RE HERE, ALREADY! YOU’RE NEXT!”
Plot Support: Four NPCs, one Mythos tome, and no Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Short two-three hour scenario

# Suitable for one Investigator and one Keeper

# Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Shadow Out of Time’

# Easy to adapt to other time periods and settings

# Xenophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# Superfluous Spot Hidden rolls

# Primary antagonist could be in two places at once

# Underdeveloped in places

# Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Shadow Out of Time’

# Darnesville undeveloped as a setting

# No maps

# No Psychology rolls?

# Underwritten NPCs

# Insufficient alienness

Conclusion

# Potentially decent one Investigator/one Keeper scenario undone by by underdevelopment in terms of location and the portrayal of the NPCs.

# For a scenario dealing with alien invasion, The Time Shadow Over Darnesville simply lacks a sense of paranoia or the alien.