Miskatonic Monday #296: Waves to Vistas Unknown

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: Flash Cthulhu – Waves to Vistas Unknown

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Michael Reid

Setting: British Columbia, 2024

Product: One-Location, One-Hour Scenario
What You Get: Eight page, 1.81 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Cocaine Bear as written by H.P. Lovecraft

Plot Hook: Group therapy and chance to reconnect

Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, one handout, one NPC, and two Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Short slide beyond the veil

# Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s From Beyond

# Weird and woozy encounter with the bear from beyond

# Easy to adjust to other eras and locations

# Hylophobia

# Trypophobia

# Arkoudaphobia

Cons

# Too short

# Needs a slight edit

Conclusion

# Short, punchy, slightly tongue-in-cheek genre mashup

# Easily expanded, especially to bring out the roleplaying tensions between the characters