Miskatonic Monday #231: The Legacy of Lombard House

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.

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Name: The Legacy of Lombard House

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author Lee Wade

Setting: Jazz Age Yorkshire

Product: Scenario
What You Get: One-hundred-and-four page, 176.31 MB PDF

Elevator Pitch: An unexpected inheritance reveals a dangerous legacy

Plot Hook: A will from an old acquaintance

Plot Support: Staging advice, eight pre-generated Investigators, sixty-nine handouts, eleven maps, nine NPCs, and eight Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Good.

Pros

# Classic Call of Cthulhu set-up

# Highly detailed big puzzle (murder) mystery

# Very stagey and overdone, but in keeping with the style

# Feels like it should be run with Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

# Easy to adapt to Cthulhu by Gaslight or modern day

# Includes a bonus scenario

# Mwufaphobia

# Teraphobia

# Winstophobia

Cons

# Classic Call of Cthulhu set-up

# Needs an edit

# Very stagey and overdone, but in keeping with the style

# Bonus scenario needs a hook and reason to play

Conclusion

# Everything is big in this scenario, including the amount of information for both player and Keeper

# A classic Call of Cthulhu set-up combines with a classic country house (murder) mystery for a ripe, meaty investigation in East Yorkshire