Miskatonic Monday #160: The Funeral

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: The Funeral

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Michał Pietrzak

Setting: Jazz Age Lovecraft Country
Product: Scenario

What You Get: Sixteen page, 847.69 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Some imaginary friends are the stuff of nightmares.

Plot Hook: A family funeral unleashes forgotten fears.
Plot Support: Eleven NPCs, two handouts, three occult tomes, one Mythos tome, one Mythos spell, and three (Mythos) monsters.

Production Values: Simple.

Pros

# Lovecraft Country scenario

# Dreamlands adjacent?

# Adaptable to Cthulhu by Gaslight or the modern day

# Eerie sense of unreality

# Somniphobia

# Oneirophobia

Cons

# Needs a strong edit

# No manor floor plan

Conclusion

# Short, one session low-key investigation with an unsettling sense of Gothic unreality by night and grey normality by day

# Suitable for a small group of Investigators, who should all be related