Scares in Scotland

Station ‘S’: An Anomaly in Scotland Heralds Doom for All Mankind is a scenario for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Published by Stygian Fox, it is set in Scotland during World War Two, and can therefore be run as part of a World War Cthulhu campaign—soon to be updated to Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition by Chaosium, Inc.—or with some effort adapted to play using the latest version of Achtung! Cthulhu from Modiphius Entertainment or with Delta Green: A Roleplaying Game of Lovecraftian Horror and Conspiracy. The scenario is short and can be run as a one-shot or a convention scenario and comes with its own set of four pre-generated Investigators. It is clear in its inspiration, Stanislaw Lem’s novel, Solaris, and consequently, the resulting scenario shares with it an unnerving uncertainty and a sense of secrecy which means that the horror is more personal and thus more subtle. Consequently, Station ‘S’ is a vastly superior to the previous scenario from the publisher set during World War Two, the execrable The Foulness Island Vanishings: A Corrupting Infiltration in a Time of War. With clues and elements tied into the scenario’s four pre-generated Investigators, the scenario will be more challenging to use in an ongoing campaign, but it can be done.

Station ‘S’: An Anomaly in Scotland Heralds Doom for All Mankind opens with a briefing. Contact has been lost with a secret research station on the banks of a saltwater loch in Scotland. There a team had been set up to study a strange anomaly in the loch—the appearance of a German U-boat, missing its crew, but almost nothing has been heard from the team in the last week and even then, the messages have been odd. The Investigator team consists of an Army officer, an Army non-commissioned officer, a historian, and a scientist (curiously no-one from the Royal Navy is sent considering a submarine is involved) and they are to make contact with the staff at Station ‘S’, determine their status, and then bring both them and any technology from the U-boat back. Although the Investigators have a few files to read, information is scant and considered top secret, so the real investigation begins as the team vehicle crests the top of the rise overlooking the isolated research station and the loch.

The Investigators find the base in disarray, with just a handful of staff still present, but desperate and deranged. As the Investigators explore the ramshackle base, they begin to find anomalies and things that that should not be there, things that only they know. These secrets are intentionally seeded throughout the research station and the U-boat, with notes for the Keeper to add more and enhance the sense of mistrust and uncertainty that pervades what is a mini-sandbox. Exploring the meagre facilities is a challenge in itself, especially the U-boat, and by the time the Investigators have been everywhere, the strange anomalies and secrets are likely to have scoured away some of their Sanity.

The scenario is by design opaque, especially the threat at the heart of it. In some ways it is a locked room situation, the Investigators trapped in the valley unless they can find the solution to getting out. One primary means is provided, which is in keeping with the nature of the Mythos threat, itself equally as opaque, although the players and their Investigators are free to come up with their own and several are suggested to that end. This pushes the scenario away from the type of story where the monster is unstoppable and will kill all of the Investigators unless they determine and devise the monster’s one weakness. This is not to say that death is impossible, but it is not the main thrust of the scenario.

The scenario is also primarily player and Investigator led, the Keeper provided with a range of prompts and keys scenes in what is a relatively short affair. In fact, in comparison to the earlier overblown and decidedly underwhelming The Foulness Island Vanishings, the design and writing of Station ‘S’ is distinctly succinct. The succinct design combined with the nature of the Mythos threat does mean that the scenario requires a careful read through by the Keeper and it does mean that it needs a degree of development in places. The Investigators will need some background sheets prepared and the Significant People, Meaningful Locations, and Treasured Possessions are not marked on all of the Investigator sheets. The deckplans of a U-boat will be useful, there being only the one, rather plain map included with the scenario. One missed opportunity in the scenario is the Nordic or Viking thread, which is not as developed as it could be. Having a Viking longship sail of the mist on the loch or a Viking warrior loom out of the mist ashore would add to the weirdness happening at Station ‘S’.

Physically, Station ‘S’ is neat and tidy. It needs a slight edit in places, but is in general, well presented and accessible. A huge improvement on previous releases.

Station ‘S’: An Anomaly in Scotland Heralds Doom for All Mankind is succinct and scary, an atmospheric one-shot perfect for a night’s unsettling horror. This is the best original scenario which Stygian Fox has put out in quite a while.