Miskatonic Monday #334: The Bristol Train Robbery

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. 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 Bristol Train Robbery

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Chicho ‘Arkashka’ OCARIZ

Setting: London and Reading, 1843

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-four page, 8.12 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: The great mummy robbery

Plot Hook: One of our mummies is missing!

Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, eight handouts, one map, five NPCs, one Mythos tome, and one Mythos monster.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Scenario for Cthulhu by Gaslight

# Decent transport-based investigation

# Easy to adjust to other ‘Mummy mania’ eras for Call of Cthulhu

# Inspired by The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

# Pharaohphobia

# Siderodromophobia

# Kinemortophobia

Cons

# Needs an edit
# More an occult scenario than a Mythos one

# Inspired by The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton, but no train action!

Conclusion

# Investigation into a train robbery, but without any train action

# Decently detailed investigation that is more Mummy than Mythos

Miskatonic Monday #63: Full Fathom Five

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 a 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: Full Fathom Five
Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Paul Fricker

Setting: 1840s South Seas

Product: One-Shot Scenario
What You Get: Sixty page, 5.63 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Moby Dick meets the Mythos (with Sea Shanties).

Plot Hook:  The lure of the sea runs deep.

Plot Support: Twenty-three pre-generated Investigator sheets, portraits for all NPCs and Investigators, staging advice for the Keeper, deck plans, glossary and location guide, five handouts, three Mythos NPCs/monsters.

Production Values: Clean and tidy, decent deck plans, good handouts, and clearly done pre-generated Investigators.

Pros
# Nautical one-night, Blood Brothers-style one-shot scenario
# Potential convention scenario
# Different historical setting

# Twenty-three pre-generated Investigators and/or NPCs
# Nasty series of deaths

# Challenging switch between Investigators, victims, and/or NPCs
# Challenging roleplaying of Investigators, victims, and/or NPCs

# Strongly plotted

# Natty nautical X-card

# Sea Shanties

Cons
# Twenty-three pre-generated Investigators and/or NPCs
# Involves whaling (animal cruelty)

# Challenging switch between Investigators, victims, and/or NPCs

# Heavily plotted

# All male cast

# Sea Shanties

Conclusion
# Different historical setting
# Challenging roleplaying of Investigators, victims, and/or NPCs

# Nasty nautical one-shot

# Sea Shanties