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Monday 23 January 2023

Miskatonic Monday #171: Blood on the Chocolate

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 InvictusThe PastoresPrimal StateRipples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in EgyptReturn of the RipperRise of the DeadRise 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—
Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jarrod Lipshy

Setting: 1930s Pennsylvania
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Forty page, 2.21 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A night in Whishly Chocolate Factory
Plot Hook: Sabotage—unions or something else?
Plot Support: Staging advice, eight NPCs, three handouts, two maps, 
and one non-Mythos monster.
Production Values: Decent.

Pros
# Highly detailed location-based investigation
# Solid mystery
# Claustrophobic setting
# Easily adapted to Cthulhu by Gaslight
# Easily adapted to other cities and countries
Masklophobia
# Mechanophobia
# Neraidaphobia
# Xocolataphobia

Cons
# Folkloric rather than Mythos
# Highly detailed location-based investigation
# A lot for the Keeper to grasp
# Requires non-standard Investigators, but no pre-generated Investigators provided

Conclusion
# Highly detailed, location-based investigation which turns into a game of cat and mouse and something else...
# Pre-generated Investigators would strengthen player and character engagement in a thematically mechanical scenario

1 comment:

  1. Thank you very much for the review and the appreciation of the work I put in! The request to include pre-gen NPCs is highly valid, and I will work on that for an updated edition of the scenario. Pre-gens offer an opportunity to tie the investigative lore to the characters history in the area (or the career field) in addition to removing creative heavy lifting on the part of everyone involved.

    I'm working on a new scenario as we speak, so expect more good things akin to Blood on the Chocolate in the near future!

    ReplyDelete