Reviews from R'lyeh

Monday, 2 November 2026

Miskatonic Monday #471: An Ominous Herald

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. 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: An Ominous Herald

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Kat Clay

Setting: Third Century CE, Ancient Rome

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Forty-eight page, 18.20 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Recognition places the life of the Emperor and the future of the Empire in their hands

Plot Hook: A comet in the sky heralds great change as a murder mystery plays out at the Emperor’s party

Plot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, four NPCs, seven handouts, two maps, one Mythos spell, and three Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Excellent

Pros

# Murder mystery with the fate of the empire at stake

# Highly detailed scenario

# Potentially places the Investigators at the Emperor’s command

# Includes some nasty set pieces

# Investigators can win big, even the empire loses!

# Oneirophobia

# Ophidiophobia
# Toxiphobia

Cons

# Requires experienced Investigators

# A lot for the Keeper to prepare

# Some of the individual locations could have been benefited from maps

Conclusion

# Imperial party turns to peril as the omens look inauspicious

# The grandest of cosy ‘country house’ murder mysteries in Ancient Rome with an evil streak

# Reviews from R’lyeh Recommends

Miskatonic Monday #470: Penguin One is Down

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Name: Penguin One is Down

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Kevin Kreiner

Setting: Arctic Canada, 1955

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Forty-eight page, 28.45 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: At the ‘Mountain’ of Madness

Plot Hook: A race to rescue the survivors and secrets of downed aeroplane before the Russians do

Plot Support: Staging advice, eight pre-generated Investigators, four NPCs, two handouts, two maps, one deckplan, one Mythos spell, and two Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Good

Pros

# Cold War era rescue mission at the top of the world

# Straightforward to run

# Could be run in conjunction with Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game or The Fall of DELTA GREEN

# Mucophobia

# Chionophobia
# Cryptophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# No NPC stats

# Personnel dossiers a little too personal

Conclusion

# Desperate Cold War mission in the mode of Ice Station Zebra

# Needs slightly more preparation than it should

Miskatonic Monday #469: Tournament of Shadows – Book 1 – Campaign Guide

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Name: Tournament of Shadows – Book 1 – Campaign Guide

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: James Killick

Setting: London, India, & Syria 1893

Product: Campaign introduction for Cthulhu by Gaslight

What You Get: Twenty-two page, 1.84 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Keeper’s guide to the Tournament of Shadows campaign

Plot Hook: Her Majesty’s empire, if not the world, is endangered
Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, ten NPCs, one Mythos tome, and seven Mythos artefacts.

Production Values: Excellent

Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide is the introduction to, and reference for, Tournament of Shadows, a campaign set in 1893 and thus for Cthulhu by Gaslight, which will take the Investigators from London to Syria via the British Raj. In doing so, it explores a conspiracy that is not only a threat to the British Empire, but also the world and whose history lies in the politics of the Crusades and the ancient Harrapan Civilisation dating back millennia. The campaign consists of The Limehouse Piper, the optional introduction and prelude to the campaign (which could be run as a standalone scenario without the Keeper actually running the campaign), followed by Tournament of Shadows – Book II: England, Tournament of Shadows – Book III: India, and Tournament of Shadows – Book IV: Syria. Of the three core parts, the first and second parts visit locations that will be in parts familiar for Cthulhu by Gaslight, whilst the third explores a region rarely visited by Call of Cthulhu, let alone Cthulhu by Gaslight!

Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide gives a good overview for the campaign and its background, including its detailed historical background. There is a clear presentation of the aims and natures of the cults driving its plot, Al-Assadeen and Ek Hazaar Jawaan, and their Mi-Go allies, as well as what the Investigators need to do to defeat those aims. This is accompanied by timelines of their activities as well as a master timeline for the campaign that runs from the late twelfth century to the beginning of the campaign in late 1893. Plus there are also descriptions of the NPCs involved in the campaign, for good or ill, and all of the artefacts which play a role in the campaign. The artefacts can roughly be divided between those whose origins lie in the Harrapan Civilisation (which would be identified or known about until the nineteen twenties) and those used by the Mi-Go, the latter adding a technological horror element to the campaign.

Perhaps the most notable NPC included in the campaign is the Norwegian explorer, Sigerson, who in fact, is not the Norwegian explorer, Sigerson, but actually the famed consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, who is known to have travelled to Lhasa in Tibet during this period, following his defeat of Professor Moriarty and supposed death at the Reichenbach Falls as detailed in ‘The Adventure of the Final Problem’. How much of a role he plays in the campaign proper remains to be seen, but with the campaign already having skirted around the Jack the Ripper murders of a decade before, the inclusion of Sherlock Holmes pushes the tone of the campaign towards more Pulp sensibilities. It may be a case that he appears as Sigerson only, and thus a nice reference for players who are Sherlock Holmes fans, but it could be more.

The advice for the Keeper is solid. This covers reminding players of the clues that their Investigators have found, having the players each prepare two linked Investigators since the campaign is punishing, encouraging the players (and their Investigators) to keep notes and records, and so on. In terms of Investigator design, it suggests that a British or Indian Army officer will be useful, whilst explaining that an aristocrat might not be wholly suitable given his status and duties. It does not go any further than that in terms of Investigators types and roles that the players could create for the campaign and that perhaps is its biggest omission.

There are overviews too, the government and authority figures of the period—in Great Britain, India, and Syria—though whether or not the Investigators will meet some of them is another matter. The likelihood though, is that the players are going to be more interested in the sections on the weapons that their Investigators may be wielding and/or may encounter during the course of the campaign. It notes that the majority of readily available firearms are going to be black powder guns and not the modern Martini-Henry or Lee-Metford (Mark I) rifles that the players might otherwise want. Included too are the Bandukh Torador and Jezzail rifles of the subcontinent and various melee weapons of the Levant and India. It otherwise suggests that the Keeper and her players refer to Cthulhu by Gaslight: Investigators’ Guide – Mysteries & Frights in the Victorian Age and Investigator Weapons Volume 3: Gaslight Era for further details.

Rounding out Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide is a good bibliography, including both fiction and non-fiction. This covers all three regions where it is set, but also sources for India for Call of Cthulhu. It is undoubtedly useful, but does highlight the lack of exploration of the Levant in this period (and Call of Cthulhu in general).

Physically, Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide is cleanly and tidily laid out. Of note are the illustrations, which are very nicely done, imparting a lot of flavour and character, whether of the artefacts in the campaign or the NPCs.

The oddity with Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide is perhaps that both it and the actual chapters of the campaign are available separately, rather than as a single combined volume as per other campaigns for Call of Cthulhu (though of course, they are available as a bundle). The only omission is a discussion of what Investigator types and Occupations might be suitable beyond the military officer and the potential problems with including an aristocrat. Otherwise, the Tournament of Shadows – Book I: Campaign Guide does everything that you expect it to, providing the Keeper with the basics of everything she needs to know as part of her preparation for the campaign.

Sunday, 1 November 2026

Miskatonic Monday #468: Deopgeld

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Name: Deopgeld

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Ryan Sheehan

Setting: Totburgh, England

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Twenty-three page, 1.01 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Counterfeit chaos on the English-Welsh border

Plot Hook: Counterfeit coins threatens to undermine the authority in Totburgh

Plot Support: Staging advice, eight NPCs, two maps, one Mythos artefacts, and some Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Good

Pros

# Dense investigation for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Set in the default town for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Lots of social interaction and getting to know the town

# Keeper may want access to Expanded Occupations for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Aurophobia

# Ichthyophobia
# Liticaphophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# No pre-generated Investigators

Conclusion

# Solid, low key investigation that makes use of the default location for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Good mix of interaction and action

Miskatonic Monday #467: Horror in the Nunnery

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Name: Horror in the Nunnery

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Francis Acquarone

Setting: Montreal, Nouvelle-France, 1734

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Forty-nine page, 19.64 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Come, pensive nun, devout and pure, sober steadfast, and demure, all in a robe of darkest grain, flowing with majestic train.” – John Milton

Plot Hook: When a sister goes missing, it is time to head into the storm.

Plot Support: Staging advice, five pre-generated Nuns, six NPCs, eleven handouts, one map, three spells, one Mythos artefact, and four Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Excellent

Pros

# Part of the Canadian Chronicles Volume 1: Nouvelle France bundle

# Nun on nun action!

# Comes with its own suggested soundtrack

# Unexplored setting and history

# Highly detailed investigation

# Storm-shrouded horror that is almost a locked room mystery

# Tokophobia

# Paedophobia
# Chionophobia

Cons

# Deals with the ‘horror’ of birth

# Needs a slight edit

Conclusion

# Nasty nun horror on the edge of the world

# Highly detailed, focused scenario which will take the nuns back to the horror of their beginnings
# Reviews from R’lyeh Recommends

Miskatonic Monday #466: Ooze On The Moor

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Name: Ooze on the Moor

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Ben Frayle

Setting: England, late Victorian era

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Fifty-six page, 16.75 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What trouble oozes on the moor?

Plot Hook: Death of navvies hinders a vital transport link

Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, thirty-six NPCs, three handouts, four maps, one Mythos spell, and two Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Scenario for Cthulhu by Gaslight

# Highly detailed setting

# Easy to adjust to earlier in the Victorian era

# Could be adjusted to Regency Cthulhu: Dark Designs in Jane Austen’s England with some effort

# Mucophobia

# Skeletophobia
# Scelerophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

# Investigators possess the Cthulhu Mythos skill

# Not clear how the ooze can be destroyed

# Investigation feels underpowered

Conclusion

# The rumour table is the best way to nudge the Investigators

# Isolated moorland mystery with an unclear solution

Miskatonic Monday #465: Cosa Nostra Conflagration

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Name: Cosa Nostra Conflagration

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Authors: Nick Olivo

Setting: Boston, 1923

Product: Scenario

What You Get: Fifteen page, 861.33 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Extortion fuelled by the fires of madness

Plot Hook: A strange death and a strange burning in the North End

Plot Support: Staging advice, eight NPCs, two handouts, one map, four Mythos tomes, and one Mythos spell.

Production Values: Good

Pros

# Short, focused scenario for Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

# Likely to end in either becoming one of the family or a confrontational conflagration

# Easy to adjust to other eras and cities

# Easy to prepare and run
# Easy to add to a campaign

# Pyrophobia

# Rhabdophobia
# Scelerophobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit

Conclusion

# One session investigation into a strange arson with a fiery finale

# Quick and easy to prepare