Miskatonic Monday #365: The Haunter

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 Haunter

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Joshua S. Vallejo

Setting: Jazz Age Baltimore

Product: Outline
What You Get: Twenty-seven page, 2.94 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What if the Investigators failed both ‘The Haunting’ and ‘Of Wrath and Blood’?

Plot Hook: Walter J. Corbitt lives!

Plot Support: Staging advice, six NPCs, sixteen handouts, one map, six Mythos artefacts, thirteen Mythos & occult tomes, & four Mythos entities

Production Values: Plain

Pros

# Sequel to a sequel, Of Wrath and Blood, sequel to the classic, ‘The Haunting’

# Turns the ‘The Haunting’ into a trilogy

# One half-investigation, one half-bloody battle

# Atychiphobia

# Cloacaphobia

# Coimetrophobia

Cons

# Sequel to a sequel, Of Wrath and Blood, sequel to the classic, ‘The Haunting’

# Turns the ‘The Haunting’ into a trilogy
# Really, really encourages the Investigators to arm up for ghouls

Conclusion

# Absolutely only necessary of the Investigators failed both ‘The Haunting’ and ‘Of Wrath and Blood’

# Assault on the Chapel of Contemplation

Miskatonic Monday #316: The Echoing Whispers

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 Echoing Whispers
Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Ekin Ergün

Setting: Boston, New England, 1920
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirteen page, 3.76 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: It’s a sequel to ‘The Haunting’
Plot Hook: The Chapel of Contemplation is congregating again
Plot Support: Staging advice, five pre-generated Investigators, one NPC, two Mythos spells, and six Mythos monsters
Production Values: Reasonable

Pros
# Sequel to ‘The Haunting’
# Part of ‘The Next Adventure’ series

# Part of the Call of Cthulhu – Ongoing Horror BUNDLE

# Can be played using the Call of Cthulhu Quick-Start
# ‘Hauntophobia’
# Oneirophobia
# Blennophobia

Cons
# Needs an edit
# Not all of the information is where it is needed
# Too many unnecessary skill checks
# Needs to tell the Keeper the plot, not have her discover it
# Minimalist background

Conclusion
# Overwritten and underdeveloped, the Keeper will need to prepare this hard
# A sequel worthy of ‘The Haunting’ is yet to come

Miskatonic Monday #124: Dream House

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.

—oOo—

Name: Dream House

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Evan Perlman

Setting: Jazz Age Boston

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-one page, 4.30 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A spiritual successor to The Haunting

Plot Hook: Helping an old friend reveals horrible secrets
Plot Support: Staging advice, two floor plans, three handouts, six pre-generated Investigators, eight NPCs, one Mythos monster, and one Mythos tome. 

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# One night one-shot

# Enclosed space, focused scenario

# Creepy sense of déjà vu

# Fun for the Keeper to run

# Literally a spiritual sequel to The Haunting

# Potential sequel down another trouser leg of time

# Potential to play around with multiple protagonists

# Can be run with player-created or pre-generated Investigators

# Good with two Investigators as it is with five
# Failure is not the end...

Cons

# Another sequel to The Haunting?

# Failure is not the end...

# The déjà vu requires careful handling

Conclusion

# Literally a spiritual sequel to The Haunting with a creepy and claustrophobic sense of déjà vu that is cleverly designed and thought out.

Miskatonic Monday #123: Cat’s Cradle

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.

—oOo—

Name: Cat’s Cradle

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Aaron Sinner, Todd Walden, and Christopher Olson

Setting: Jazz Age Boston

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-four page, 31.62 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Suffer the little children’s wrath

Plot Hook: Nightmares linger in the wake of your descent into the Corbitt house. 
Plot Support: Staging advice and two Keeper aids, twenty-four handouts, four new spells or spell variants, three NPCs, and one Mythos creature.

Production Values: Decent.

Pros

# Sequel to The Haunting

# Deep investigative dive into the backstory to The Haunting
# Advice on making the horror personal

# Advice for the Keeper to run Cat’s Cradle with other sequels to The Haunting.

# Focused investigative sequel

# Creepy, creepy children

Cons

# Needs an edit

# Scenario does involve children

# Better aids for the Keeper than handouts for the players?

# Photographic anachronisms?
# Good clue links to locations, but not from locations

# Better sequel than standalone scenario

Conclusion

# Solid sequel to a classic scenario, The Haunting, which both explores the backstory to the scenario and personalises the consequences of the Investigators’ actions in the Corbitt house.

# Creepy, creepy children should leave the Investigators with paedophobia