Miskatonic Monday #289: Signal to Noise

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: Signal to Noise – A 1980s Analog Horror Scenario

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author Colin Richards

Setting: Eighties Pennsylvania

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Eighty-page page, 45.46 MB PDF

Elevator Pitch: Who watches the watchers?

Plot Hook: A hijacked signal has consequences political, horrific, and televisual
Plot Support: Staging advice, seven pre-generated Investigators, thirteen handouts, four maps, thirteen NPCs, and five Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Engagingly analogue and televisual

Pros

# Television is reality. Reality is television.

# Highly thematic one-shot which plays on the fears of television

# Eighties sense of unreality

# Includes QR code for the video handouts

# Potential convention scenario

# Technophobia

# Mazeophobia

# Televisiophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# Aethir Institute plot strand underdeveloped

Conclusion

# Videodrome meets Ring in highly thematic eighties horror
# Possesses pleasingly developed televisual sense of unreality

# Reviews from R’lyeh Recommends