You awake slowly, reaching through the murk of a befogged mind, guided by the sound of a bell. A constant sound. You are cold, it is night, and you are barefoot, just like the men and women standing around you. All dressed the same. Nightgowns. Eyes staring wide. You do not know who you are, but you know you are in Oakwood Springs, a sanitorium for the wealthy in the retreat town of Lake Geneva, though you are not quite sure why. You recall being questioned. Was it about what ailment or condition that besets you, or was not something else? You are not sure. The orderlies snap at you to return to your rooms, but unlike your fellow patients, whose faces only show bewilderment at being roused from their bed at this time of night, the look in the orderlies is one of fear. Why are you in Oakwood Springs? Are you sick or simply need rest? And just what is that the orderlies are afraid of?
This is the set-up for the Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure. It is the second convention scenario to be published by Chaosium, Inc. for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the other being The Shadow Over Providence. Where that scenario is set during the roleplaying game’s classic period of the nineteen twenties, this scenario is set in December 1891—for a very good reason—and thus could be run using Cthulhu by Gaslight. However, Madness at Geneva Lake is just a little special. It was published for Gary Con XVII, the convention that celebrates the life of E. Gary Gygax, in conjunction with Gygax Ink, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Chaosium, Inc. It takes place in Lake Geneva, the Wisconsin town where E. Gary Gygax grew up, where TSR, Inc. was based, and where Gary Con is held each year. Lake Geneva stands on Geneva Lake and beginning at the end of the nineteenth century, was renowned as a resort town and retreat for the wealthy from Chicago to the east. Here the socialites would spend their summers and perhaps when they needed long term medical rest or treatment, months in the town’s expensive sanatoriums, receiving the most expensive medical care that money could buy.
However, times have changed in Lake Geneva. Winter has drawn in and as crisp snow lies on the ground, thick fog rolls in off the lake. Many of the visitors to the town, expecting to enjoy an excursion aboard one of the steamers, have returned to shore, touched and disturbed by a dread presence lurking in the icy depths of the lake. Is this why the Investigators are in Oakwood Springs?
The thrust of Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure is quite simple. Cultists are attempting to summon something nasty, in this case from Geneva Lake. For veteran players of Call of Cthulhu, the identity of the cultists should be a surprise this far from the coast, being a mixture of Deep Ones and Deep One Hybrids as well as ordinary cultists. Actually, there are two factions of cultists involved in the whole affair, but the fact that there are two factions is unlikely to become apparent to the Investigators.
The scenario is divided into two acts. In the first act, the Investigators need to find why they are in Oakwood Springs, find their belongings, examine their patient records, and then escape the sanitorium. The emphasis is upon stealth, trying to get past the orderlies and the nightwatchmen, and attempting to get into the sanitorium’s various locked rooms. One of the pre-generated Investigators does have the Locksmith skill, so he will be useful, but in the main the Investigators will need to find the keys. All this whilst sleepwalking patients try to stagger out of the front door into the fog where things lurk, and towards Geneva Lake. The atmosphere in the sanitorium is creepy and tense, and this will grow and grow as the Investigators determine who they are and what they know. Despite the atmosphere in the sanitorium and despite the feeling that they are trapped, the Investigators are not truly in danger in the sanitorium. Further, they even have help in their attempts to escape.
The second act of Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure begins with the Investigators having found out who they are and what they know, escaped from Oakwood Springs, and learned that the source of everyone’s anxiety and terror lies on Geneva Lake, and is tied to a well known paddle steamer, the Lucius Newberry. This is described as one of Lake Geneva’s more exquisite sidewheelers, “complete with a luxurious decor that included crystal, brass and polished fixtures, and even oil paintings.” The scenario should ideally culminate aboard the vessel, with the Investigators confronting a betentacled abomination and preventing a vile ritual. Amusingly, the best solution given is to set the ship alight and burn it down to the waterline. This is because the Lucius Newberry actually did catch fire in December 1891 and sink, and that in 1982, TSR, Inc. actually funded a salvage attempt on the recently discovered wreck of the vessel.
Over half of Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure is dedicated to six appendices. These include all of the scenario’s adversaries and monsters, a dark history of both Lake Geneva and Geneva Lake, handouts, seven pre-generated Investigators, new spells, and details of Lake Geneva’s sanitoriums. The pre-generated Investigators all come with male and female options, but they do include a ‘brain in a jar’ capable of casting spells; a Deep One Hybrid; an archaeologist; a member of the clergy; a journalist and photographer; a private investigator; and a scientist. The ‘brain in a jar’ will present a roleplaying challenge, but integrating it into the scenario is likely to be more challenging.
Physically, Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure is cleanly and tidily presented. The artwork is good, the cartography serviceable, and the handouts nicely done. However, the scenario does need another edit.
The scenario is short and serviceable, with a twist or two as well as an initial emphasis on stealth and investigation, which will satisfy veteran players of Call of Cthulhu. It is designed for convention play, so it misses an opportunity to really roleplay the recovery of the Investigators’ memories and their treatment at Oakwood Springs, and the shortness means that the true nature of the villains in the sanitorium never get a chance to come to the fore. Nevertheless, Madness at Geneva Lake: A Call of Cthulhu Adventure takes the classic set-up of amnesiac protagonists and being confined in a sanitorium and gives it a fast-paced spin through some roleplaying adjacent history!
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