Miskatonic Monday #422: The Children of Blackwood

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 Children of Blackwood

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean Liddle

Setting: World War II Plymouth

Product: Outline
What You Get: Sixteen page, 1.04 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Three Go Mad in Devon (Again)(Again)(Again)(Again)(Again)

Plot Hook: This Christmas, the rebirth is not one you are going to celebrate

Plot Support: Staging advice, three handouts, and three Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Sequel to HUM, The Borrowed, The Hollow Beneath Clapper Tor, and A Thread Through Stone

# Detailed outline

# Potential for child-like curiosity and terror

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot

# Potential for sequels

# Botanophobia

# Entomophobia

# Oneirophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators
# No advice on creating teenage Investigators

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot
# A lot of exposition

# No explanation for the Keeper for what is going on

# Needs an edit

Conclusion

# Detailed outline still leaves the Keeper none the wiser
# Ultimately feels like the plot of children’s novel that the players are roleplaying out 

Miskatonic Monday #376: A Thread Through Stone

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.

—oOo—

Name: A Thread Through Stone

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean Liddle

Setting: World War II Plymouth

Product: Outline
What You Get: Eighteen page, 1.47 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Three Go Mad in Devon (Again)(Again)(Again)(Again)

Plot Hook: Devon lies dreaming and the adults are away

Plot Support: Staging advice, one Mythos monster, and some folk songs

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Sequel to HUM, The Borrowed, and The Hollow Beneath Clapper Tor

# Detailed outline

# Potential for child-like curiosity and terror

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot

# Potential for sequels

# Speluncaphobia

# Chronohodophobia

# Oneirophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators
# No advice on creating teenage Investigators

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot
# A fair bit of exposition

# No explanation for the Keeper for what is going on

Conclusion

# Detailed outline still leaves the Keeper with lots of work to do in what is an ‘in-between’ scenario

# Ultimately feels like the plot of children’s novel that the players are roleplaying out

Miskatonic Monday #373: The Hollow Beneath Clapper Tor

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.

—oOo—

Name: The Hollow Beneath Clapper Tor

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean Liddle

Setting: World War II Plymouth

Product: Outline
What You Get: Nine page, 268.07 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Three Go Mad in Devon (Again)

Plot Hook: Tremor at’ Moor

Plot Support: Staging advice

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Sequel to HUM and The Borrowed

# Pleasing sense of dreams from the past

# Detailed outline

# Potential for child-like curiosity and terror

# Alastair, not Algernon Blackwood!

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot

# Potential for sequels

# Speluncaphobia

# Claustrophobia

# Oneirophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators
# No advice on creating teenage Investigators

# Definitely part of a series rather than a one-shot
# Outline rather than scenario

Conclusion

# Detailed outline still leaves the Keeper with lots of work to do in what is an ‘in-between’ scenario

# Engaging low key scenario that draws the Investigators into the secrets of the past like a British children’s television series from the seventies

Miskatonic Monday #364: The Borrowed

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.

—oOo—

Name: The Borrowed

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean Liddle

Setting: World War II Plymouth

Product: Outline
What You Get: Eleven page, 948.91 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Three Go Mad in Devon (Again)

Plot Hook: How did Daisy the cow leave her field without a trace?

Plot Support: Staging advice

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Sequel to HUM

# Pleasing sense of a rural idyll

# Detailed outline

# Potential for child-like curiosity and terror

# Potential for sequels

# Petraphonia

# Claustrophobia

# Entomophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators
# Outline rather than scenario

Conclusion

# Engaging low key scenario across a landscape of secrets

# Detailed outline still leaves the Keeper with lots of work to do, exactly like HUM

Miskatonic Monday #361: HUM

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.

—oOo—

Name: HUM

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean Liddle

Setting: World War II Plymouth

Product: Outline
What You Get: Six page, 173.34 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Three Go Mad in Devon

Plot Hook: What is the source of the constant HUM in the forest?

Plot Support: Staging advice

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Pleasing sense of a rural idyll

# Detailed outline

# Potential for child-like curiosity and terror

# Potential for sequels

# Misophonia

# Entomophobia

# Hylophobia

Cons

# No pre-generated Investigators
# Outline rather than scenario

Conclusion

# Engaging low key scenario with intriguing sense of an idyll spoiled

# Detailed outline still leaves the Keeper with work to do