Miskatonic Monday #413: The Phantom of Gloaming Thicket

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 Phantom of Gloaming Thicket

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Andy Miller

Setting: Dark Ages Britain

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Forty-four-page, 41.17 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise

If you go down in the woods today, you better go in disguise”

—Henry Hall, Teddy Bear’s Picnic

Plot Hook: No matter if you are going north or south, there is horror to be found on the other side of the Watford Gap.

Plot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, seven NPCs, eight handouts, two maps, some Mythos and other monsters, and two artefacts.

Production Values: Decent

Pros

# Inspired by B10 Night’s Dark Terror

# Side-trek for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Includes advice to adapt to other eras and settings

# Easy to slip into a campaign

# Easy to prepare

# Catoptrophobia

# Hylophobia

# Scoleciphobia

Cons

# From its size, the Keeper may be expecting more

Conclusion

# Extended ‘things in the woods’ encounter

# Very serviceable addition to any Cthulhu Dark Ages campaign (and other campaigns with some effort)

Miskatonic Monday #196: The Terror in the Tapestry

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 Terror in the Tapestry

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Ryan Sheehan

Setting: Dark Ages England

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-two page, 22.80 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What would drive someone to commit tapestry theft?

Plot Hook: Part of a holy tapestry has been stolen. Can the thief be found?
Plot Support: Four pre-generated Investigators, two handouts, eight NPCs, one map, one Mythos spell, one Mythos tome, one Mythos artefact, and two Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Serviceable.

Pros

# Scenario for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Can be run using Cthulhu Through the Ages. Better with Cthulhu Dark Ages.

# Set near Totburh, setting for Cthulhu Dark Ages.

# Nicely detailed ritual

# Good mix of action and investigation

# Ophidiophobia

# Homichlophobia

# Textophobia

# Pentiliarphobia

Cons

# Needs a slight edit.

# Plain map.

# Some terminology could be called ‘problematic’

# Odd means given of obtaining the ritual

Conclusion

# Solid scenario for Cthulhu Dark Ages themed around an interesting artefact

# Suitable addition to a campaign set in and around Totburh

Miskatonic Monday #165: The Ghost of Bonnington Nunnery

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 Ghost of Bonnington Nunnery

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Any Miller

Setting: Dark Ages England

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-two page, 22.80 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Nuns!

Plot Hook: ‘A Cthulhu Dark Ages Yuletide Scenario’
Plot Support: Staging advice, two pre-generated Investigators, one handout, four NPCs, five NPC portraits, three maps, and no Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Single session scenario for Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Locked room (Nunnery) situation

# Classic haunting tools and devices with which to prod, pull, and poke the Investigators

# Suitable for one or two or more Investigators

# Classic Christmas ghost story

# Extensive background

# Extensive playtest notes

# Notes included on adapting the scenario to other time periods

# Phasmophobia

# Scenisciphobia

Cons

# Only two pre-generated Investigators

# Extensive background

Conclusion

# All the means to run a (pre-Christmas) classic Christmas-themed ghost story for Cthulhu Dark Ages.

# Snowbound in a nunnery with ghost nuns—what more could you want?

Miskatonic Monday #128: Branches of Bone

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: Branches of Bone - A Viking Age Cthulhu Dark Ages Scenario

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Michael Reid

Setting: Dark Ages England

Product: One-shot
What You Get: Forty page, 8.18 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Locked Room Horror Hell in a House of Worship

Plot Hook: Survival horror in the Dark Ages as a Viking raid unleashes an abhorrent arboresque aberration
Plot Support: Staging advice, eight handouts, one Keeper handout, six pre-generated Investigators, a spell, some NPCs, and five Mythos monsters. 

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Single-session, countdown horror

# Locked room (monastery) situation forces co-operation

# Pictorial handouts

# Entertainingly wooden twist upon the zombie

# Clue rich

# Includes Viking mini-supplement

# Dendrophobia

# Goat-chicken thing

Cons

# NPCs need more detail

# No Viking names

# Investigation-Monk communication requires careful handling

# Tight timeline

Conclusion

# Tightly plotted and timed, locked room (monastery) mystery which forces the Player Characters to co-operate with those they are raiding if they are to survive.

# Survival horror in the Dark Ages in which the Player Characters need to overcome the language barrier for the scenario to really work.