Miskatonic Monday #178: The Night Terrors of Joseph Pidulski

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 Night Terrors of Joseph Pidulski

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Neal Glen Jesse

Setting: Jazz Age Toledo
Product: Scenario

What You Get: Twenty page, 22.96 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Some secrets of the past are passed down to haunt you. 

Plot Hook: The investigators are asked to investigate the protruding dreams of a young artist.

Plot Support: Two NPCs, two handouts, one map, one Mythos tome, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Plain.

Pros

# Solid treatment of the ‘haunted by an ancestor’ plot

# Short, straightforward investigation

# Takes the Investigators to Toledo

# Easy to adapt to other modern time periods and settings

# Easy to adapt to elsewhere

# Wiccaphobia

# Oneirophobia

# Dendrophobia

# Artphobia

Cons

# Needs a good edit

# No map of Toledo

# Plain handouts

# Sanity reward a little high?

# Mythos tome could have been better developed

# Underwritten clues and investigation

# Not pulling the Investigators into the dreams a missed opportunity?

# Not enough Toledo

Conclusion

# Short, straightforward investigation into a classic plot that does not involve the Investigators in the threat until the final confrontation.

# Underdeveloped and underwritten in places, but a solid enough plot and investigation.