Miskatonic Monday #210: The Art of Hygge

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 Art of Hygge

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Poul Holmelund

Setting: Pre-millennium Denmark

Product: One-shot
What You Get: Twenty-seven page, 3.12 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Let’s get hygge before the horror

Plot Hook: Cultural fascination becomes fear... becomes frightening...
Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated (non) Investigators, eight handouts, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Reasonable.

Pros

# Short non-survival horror scenario

# Straightforward, tightly plotted 

# Excellent handouts

# Easy to adjust to other time periods

# Extreme hygge/horror divide

# Cherophobia

# Pyrophobia

# Xenophobia

Cons

# Needs a strong edit

# No relationships between pre-generated Investigators

# Reactive, not proactive scenario

# Limited scope for investigation

# Investigators have to die

# Extreme hygge/horror divide

Conclusion

# Short non-survival horror scenario with limited (non) Investigator actions 

# Extreme hygge/horror divide that contrasts the cosy and the cosmic