Miskatonic Monday #262: A Night at the Opera

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: A Night at the Opera

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Kevin Kreiner

Setting: Regency-era Bahamas

Product: Scenario for Regency Cthulhu: Dark Designs in Jane Austen’s England
What You Get: Forty-two page, 8.77 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: You are cordially invited to the Daemon Sultan’s Wedding

Plot Hook: A fashionable weekend for le Bon Ton leads to country house horror

Plot Support: Staging advice, eight pre-generated Investigators, ten NPCs, and four Mythos tomes.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Strongly plotted weekend of fashionable company and genteel entertainment

# Detailed scenario

# Detailed Investigators

# Aquaphobia

# Automatonophobia

# Scopophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# Investigators have overly high Cthulhu Mythos skill

Conclusion

# Excellent mix of scandal and scares

# Richly detailed Regency weekend away