Miskatonic Monday #164: Keeley’s Gold

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: Keeley’s Gold

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jack Smith

Setting: Jazz Age Lovecraft Country
Product: Scenario

What You Get: Twelve page, 2.36 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Because milk means more”

Plot Hook: Whose life would be improved by moving to Dunwich?
Plot Support: Two NPCs, three pre-generated Investigators, one handout, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Plain.

Pros

# One-on-one Player-Keeper scenario

# Lovecraft Country scenario

# Decent one-shot investigation

# Nice sense of Dunwich’s decay 

# Strange milk instead of strange booze (for a change)

# Galaphobia

# Bovinophobia

Cons

# Investigator oddly aware of the cult at scenario start

# What if the Investigator sucks from the udder?

# What if the Investigator drinks Keeley’s Gold?

# Where are the cows?

# Needs a slight edit

# Sanity losses high

# No maps

Conclusion

# Decent one-on-one investigative scenario set in Lovecraft Country

# Underdeveloped in places, but the Keeper can address some issues herself