Miskatonic Monday #257: Glimpses of Terror: The Works of I.G. Payne

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: Glimpses of Terror: The Works of I.G. Payne

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Nikk Effingham

Setting: Victorian era Birmingham

Product: One-Shot Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-six page, 3.29 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Madness in Moseley

Plot Hook: A philosopher goes mad in Moseley… and beyond

Plot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, six handouts, two NPCs, one map, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# One-shot for Cthulhu by Gaslight

# Room for expansion

# Playable by one to six players

# Potential convention scenario

# Nicely detailed investigation once the Investigators get to it

# Automatonophobia

# Pachydermophobia

# Agoraphobia

Cons

# Heavily directed opening scenes

# No map of the house

# Area map could have been clearer

# No NPC descriptions (by design)

# One solution is effectively a murder-suicide pact!

# Really does want the Investigators to become the monsters
# The weirdness of the scenario accessible only by becoming monsters

Conclusion

# Initially, heavily plotted scenario opens up into an interesting and potentially personal dilemma

# Really wants the Investigators to become the monsters and they may miss the true horror of the scenario if they decide not to