Miskatonic Monday #153: The Change

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.

—oOo—

Name: The Change

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Bobby Nelson

Setting: Jazz Age Lovecraft country
Product: Scenario

What You Get: Fourteen page, 51.06 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Nature never knew colors like this.”

Plot Hook: ‘The Color Out of Space’ Redux
Plot Support: Four NPCs, one map, two floor plans/handouts, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Plain.

Pros

# Tranquility turns into countdown horror

# Eerie environmental horror

# Lovecraft Country scenario

# Easy to adapt to other periods and places

# Chromophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators

# Region map would have been useful

# Needs an edit

# ‘The Color Out of Space’ Redux

Conclusion

# The Change has an eerie sense of bucolic horror and environmental decay in what is a reactive, countdown horror. 

# Ultimately, ‘The Color Out of Space’ redux too far