Miskatonic Monday #74: Pop Goes the Weasel

 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 a 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: Pop Goes the Weasel

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Chris Stewart

Setting: Miskatonic University in the Seventies

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-three page, 1.67 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: One day the computer will rule all our lives.

Plot Hook: The opportunity to be present at the dawn of a new computer age...

Plot Support: Detailed plot, seven good handouts, five NPCs, one Mythos tome, one Mythos entity, and six pre-generated Investigators. 

Production Values: Decent.

Pros
# Little explored period for Call of Cthulhu

# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario

# A plot that is almost, and thus suitably, programmed

# Inserts the Mythos into the digital dawn

# Graphic design fits the seventies  

# Helpful goal achievements listed at the end of each act

# Potential Delta Green links?

# Enjoyable period piece

Cons
# Requires a slight edit

# Layout incomplete

# Villain underwritten
# Link to the Mythos tome for the Investigators unclear

# Mythos tome left undetailed

# Technical aspects make it less adaptable to other periods

Conclusion

# Enjoyable technical period piece 

# Nicely different one-shot or convention 

# Villain and Mythos tome need some development