Cthulhoid Choices: Ripples

Call of Cthulhu is the preeminent roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and has been for over four decades now. The roleplaying game gives the chance for the players and their Investigators to explore a world in which the latter are exposed, initially often indirectly, but as the story or investigation progresses, increasingly directly, to alien forces beyond their comprehension. So, beyond that what they encounter is often interpreted as indescribable, yet supernatural monsters or gods wielding magic, but in reality is something more, a confrontation with the true nature of the universe and the realisation as to the terrible insignificance of mankind with it and an understanding that despite, there are those that would embrace and worship the powers that be for their own ends. Such a realisation and such an understanding often leave those so foolish as to investigate the unknown clutching at, or even, losing their sanity, and condemned to a life knowing truths to which they wish they were never exposed. This blueprint has set the way in which other games—roleplaying games, board games, card games, and more—have presented Lovecraftian investigative horror, but as many as there that do follow that blueprint, there are others have explored the Mythos in different ways.

Cthulhoid Choices is a strand of reviews that examine other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror and of Cosmic, but not necessarily Horror. Previous reviews which can be considered part of this strand include Cthulhu Hack, Realms of Crawling Chaos, and the Apocthulhu Roleplaying Game.

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Something terrible happened to the town of Shingleford in 1962. The enigmatic, if friendly, Peddler came to town and sold the people what they wanted. Trinkets. Trinkets which unknowingly twisted their resentments into Curses and as they became exhilarated by the eldritch power granted by their Trinkets, their owners cast Curses on others and spread the influence of the Peddler. Fortunately, due to the efforts of a troop of River Scouts led by Hilda Buckle, under the eye of the Watcher, these Curses and the influence of the Peddler were stopped in 1962. Unfortunately, it was not without loss, for it led to the deaths of several of the River Scouts. Sixty years later, the Peddler returns, spreading Curses once again, poisoning the river and the lands on either side of its banks. It is another group of teenagers, who discover the old River Scouts clubhouse, abandoned after the events of 1962, who turn it into a den and are then visited by the ghost of a young girl who told them of how she helped lift the Curse in 1962. Other ghosts asked them to read the River Scout Pledge and provide protection for the Clawfoot and Shingleford once again, presenting them with Sashes that will help them defeat the Curses.

This is the set-up for Cryptid Creeks, a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, that takes its inspiration from films such as The Goonies and Stand by Me, television series like Gravity Falls and Stranger Things, and graphic novels such as The Lumberjanes. Although a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, and thus adjacent to it, Cryptid Creeks is not a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and does not involve the Cthulhu Mythos. Published by Hatchlings Games following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it is described as ‘Cosy Horror’, meaning that it is suitable for a family audience, much like its earlier roleplaying game, Inspirales. Cryptid Creeks is also ‘Carved from Brindlewood’, which means that it is a Powered by the Apocalypse system roleplaying game, but one using the lighter, more investigative-focused variant of Brindlewood Bay. Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection is the first supplement for Cryptid Creeks.

Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection is primarily a collection of eight Curses, mysteries and situations, that the River Scouts can investigate, determine a cause, and ultimately resolve. Three of those are set in the present, but of the rest, Ripples takes the River Scouts—the characters and their players—somewhere interesting, and that is the past. These five Curses are the ‘Ripples’ of the title and they take place over the course of the summer of 1962. They explore what happened that fateful summer when the Peddler was stopped for the first time and the River Scouts were disbanded. They are triggered by certain situations and also tell the stories of the River Scouts who lost their lives in the effort to defeat the Peddler and whose sashes the Player Characters in the modern day were given and wear as River Scouts. They are essentially flashbacks in which the players roleplay not their usual characters, but the River Scouts of 1962.

Each Ripple is introduced by a Seed, of which three are given for each Ripple. The playthrough of a Ripple requires some changes to the play of Cryptid Creeks to take into account the fact that events of each Ripple have not yet taken place and thus not yet had an effect on present of the modern day. Thus, there is no River Phase or associated Riverbank Stops and Playbook Moves tied to the River Scouts’ Clubhouse Collection and the Sash of Ages are unavailable. Instead of the River Phase, the ‘Bond Move’ allows a one-to-one moment with another Scout to gain a Clue or Advantage on a subsequent roll. Similarly, the ‘Guidebook Move’ replaces the ‘Hilda Move’ to gain advice on the current situation. The most radical change is the inevitability of character death, since the players are roleplaying the original River Scouts who in the future will become the Clubhouse Ghosts. However, such deaths take place offscreen and River Scouts cannot recall exactly how they died, but once they do, the dead characters become Ghosts, not just for the rest of the Ripple, but all subsequent Ripples. This sets up a challenge in that Ghosts cannot communicate with the living, only themselves, and can only impart information gained from an investigation via a haunting.

Of the five Ripples, ‘The Cryptid Creek’ must be run first and ‘The Curse of ’62’ must be run last, but the others can be played in any order. ‘The Cryptid Creek’ handily takes the Navigator and her players through the process of going back into the past and into what is the very first encounter with the Watcher and the Curse he suffered at the hands of the Peddler. ‘The Curse of the Old Hackitt House’ explores a haunted house and how its owner became a figure of both fear and fun; ‘The Curse of the Lich Root’ examines how and why the flora around Shingleford changed and warped following the events of the town gardening competition in 1962; and in ‘The Curse of Heartwood Locket’, the River Scouts make a new friend as they find out why the forest became strange and seemed to strike back at the loggers working it in 1962. Lastly, ‘The Curse of ’62’ confronts the River Scout with the terrible events that led to the deaths of the remaining Clubhouse Ghosts and the temptation of Hilda Buckle aged twelve, which will set in motion of the events and involvement of the new River Scouts in the modern day.

The five Ripples are not the only Curses explored in the supplement. The other three are all set in the modern day. Children run wild in ‘The Wildren’s Curse’ and the River Scout must find out if faeries are involved or there is another cause; the people of Shingleford are beset by waking dreams in ‘The Curse of False Awakenings’ and the River Scouts must find a way to shift between the realities of ‘The Night’, ‘The Library’, and the ‘Waking World’ to locate the cause and deal with it; and lastly, ‘The Curse of the Rogue Playthings’ has the River Scouts chasing after an beloved, but beloved toy, now awakened, that is breaking into houses and toy shops to steal other toys. Of the three, ‘The Curse of False Awakenings’ is the most challenging to run and play, yet feels like a more traditional weird mystery. The other two provide inventive ways in which different aspects of childhood can be explored. Lastly, ‘Ripples’ closes with short, but entertaining piece of fiction.

Physically, Ripples is tidily organised. It is light on artwork, but what is there is good. What stands out is the layout, which is not only well done, but includes pages colour-coded to each Ripple or Curse. For example, ‘The Curse of the Old Hackitt House’ involves a haunted house, so its pages are dark grey, but ‘The Curse of the Lich Root’ involves plants and so has light green pages. It is a small detail that adds a difference between the various Curses and Ripples.

The Ripples are a fantastic idea, enabling the Navigator and her players to journey back into the past and explore the events that set up the here and now. They work better played before—as a prequel—the events of Cryptid Creeks or doing the campaign itself with the flashbacks worked into the main story. This is not to say that they cannot be played after a Cryptid Creeks campaign has been finished, but the ramifications of the original River Scouts’ actions and deaths will be not as great if run as a sequel. Any Navigator wanting to run Cryptid Creeks should definitely look at Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection as a possible addition to her campaign because it will add depth, back story, and just for one last summer, bring the Clubhouse Ghosts to life.