Miskatonic Monday #212: We Dream of Flying

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: We Dream of Flying

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jim Phillips

Setting: Overnight Flight to Tokyo

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty page, 2.47 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

And let me see what spring is like on

A-Jupiter and Mars”

– Count Basie and Frank Sinatra

Plot Hook: Flying really can be a nightmare.
Plot Support: Staging advice, six Pre-generated Investigators, three deckplans/handouts, one handout, one NPC, six Investigator/NPC hybrids, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Weird in-between state aerial nightmare

# Excellent use of rarely used Malleus Monstrorum entry

# Nice cover

# Good handouts

# Solid convention one-shot

# Could be developed to run with two groups?

# Oneirophobia

# Aerophobia

# Basophobia

Cons

# Investigator/NPC hybrids need development

# Underpowered Sanity rewards

# Waking world underdeveloped

Conclusion

# Memorable and inventive liminal nightmare over the Pacific that works as a one-shot or convention scenario

# Underdeveloped in places, but still very playable