Miskatonic Monday #190: The Things We Feed

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 Things We Feed

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Zander Ford

Setting: 1926 New Orleans
Product: Scenario

What You Get: Twenty-page, 15.28 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Hunted house horror as theft turns to terror.

Plot Hook: Can a book be recovered before state officials intervene?

Plot Support: Staging advice, six handouts, one NPC, one map, one Mythos tome, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Suitable for criminals, antiquarians, and art experts alike

# Weird haunted house horror in which the horror lurks between

# Easily adapted to other time periods

# Mnemophobia

# Toichophobia

# Ommetaphobia

# Paranoia

Cons

# Needs an edit

# No pre-generated Investigators

# Investigation could be better developed
# The horrors seen in the scenario could have been better developed

# Pre-generated Investigators could have meant more tailored horror

Conclusion

# Claustrophobic ‘haunted’ house horror with engaging sense of otherness.

# Rushed and slightly underdone in places, but otherwise solidly serviceable scenario