Miskatonic Monday #85: The Secret of Silcestre

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: The Secret of Silcestre

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Andy Miller

Setting: Dark Ages Wessex

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-two page, 38.35 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: There be dwarves in them thar hills—and they be evil. Evil, I tell ye!

Plot Hook: What secrets and treasures lie in Silchestre’s Roman past?

Plot Support: Detailed plot, three good handouts, eight maps, seven NPCs, three Mythos entities, one Mythos tome, and four pre-generated Investigators. 

Production Values: Decent.

Pros
# Multiple set-ups for the scenario

# Solid support for Dark Ages: Cthulhu

# Decent quartet of pre-generated Investigators

# Multi-factional treasure hunt

# Roleplaying opportunities for negotiating with the factions

# Could be adapted to other periods and settings, but not easily

# Potential campaign set-up

Cons
# Requires a fair degree of set-up and exposition

# All male pre-generated Investigators

Conclusion

# A treasure hunt in Merry Olde Englande

# Take the treasure themselves, give it to a nickname and have juicy thoughts about making it yours, promise it to another faction. Ultimately, the outcome is down to the players.

# Good support for Dark Ages: Cthulhu

Miskatonic Monday #84: Broken Arrow: Chernobyl

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: Broken Arrow: Chernobyl

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Chad Briggs

Setting: 1990s Ukraine

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Seventeen page, 5.93 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: In the new wild west of post-Soviet era someone has mosied out of town with a nuclear warhead!

Plot Hook: One of their bombs is missing!

Plot Support: Detailed plot, six handouts, one NPC, one Mythos monster, and six pre-generated Investigators (separate).

Production Values: Plain.

Pros
# Interesting use of the historical background

# A chase into the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario

# Decent background information

# Easy to adapt to Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game

Cons
# Requires a good edit

# Linear plot
# Mythos threat underdeveloped

Conclusion

# Best suited as a Delta Green: The Roleplaying Game scenario

# Interesting background and setting

# Linear and underdeveloped

Miskatonic Monday #83: The Mad Priest

 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: The Mad Priest

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Marco Carrer

Setting: Dark Ages Iceland using Cthulhu Through The Ages and Mythic Iceland

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Ten page, 792.80 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A plague upon their crops, a plague upon their animals, what madness has come upon the village?

Plot Hook: The price of hospitality can lead to horror.

Plot Support: Plot outline, one handout, two NPCs, two Mythos monsters, and five pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Plain.

Pros
# Short, one-session one-shot or convention scenario

# Support for Cthulhu Through The Ages, Mythic Iceland, and Cthulhu Dark Ages

# Best to fit the scenario to Investigators’ village

Cons
# No Sanity losses for failure

# Underdeveloped plot 
# Needs an edit

# Needs development

Conclusion

# Compact scenario waiting for a Keeper’s input

# Support for Cthulhu Through The Ages, Mythic Iceland, and Cthulhu Dark Ages

Miskatonic Monday #82: A Shrieking Violet

 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: A Shrieking Violet

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jacob Parker

Setting: Jazz Age Chicago

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Nineteen page, 14.40.95 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A husband’s body on the cobbles, his wife, a curse, and Chicago gangland.

Plot Hook: The detectives’ first nosedive just ain’t right.

Plot Support: Plot, three handouts, some Mythos monsters, and four pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Uneven.

Pros
# Chicago detectives, not Chicago mob

# Short, one-shot investigative plot

# Easy to set in other time periods

# Decent pre-generated ‘actual’ Investigators

# Scope to expand the scenario with the mob and the cops on its payroll

Cons
# Requires an edit

# Plain handouts
# No illustration of the scenario’s MacGuffin

# Connection between plot and climax unclear

Conclusion

# Scope for expansion, but plotting unclear

# Needs some development by the Keeper before play

Miskatonic Monday #81: The Great Trap

 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: The Great Trap

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Heinrich D. Moore

Setting: Jazz Age Chicago

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Sixty-six page, 18.39 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What were the  Investigators doing thirty years ago and don’t know about?

Plot Hook: A letter from their past reveals an unknown future.

Plot Support: Highly detailed plot, seventeen good handouts, one map, three NPCs, four Mythos tomes, three Mythos entities, and six pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Fulsome.

Pros
# Time travel and quantum mechanics—fun for the whole party

# Fitting choice of Mythos elements

# Surprisingly experienced pre-generated Investigators 

# Death is not the end, merely a change

# Straightforward plot with a complex conclusion

# Even the chase tracking sheet is themed!

# Could be run using Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

# No, Gary Gygax has not been born yet, but neither is this Castles Forlorn—though it is close...  

Cons
# Pre-generated Investigators too powerful? (Keeper’s Discretion)

# Non-Public Domain artwork scrappy

# Straightforward plot with a complex conclusion

# Keeper needs a better grasp of multi-temporal causality than a concussed bee

Conclusion

# Complexity to the scenario’s potential outcomes means it needs care study and preparation

# Science Fiction Horror

# To infinity, and beyond!

Miskatonic Monday #80: Without Warning

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: Without Warning

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: William Adcock

Setting: 1950s Arctic Canada

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-seven page, 18.30 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Mini-King Kong on ice (with added Mythos)!

Plot Hook: An evacuation flight leaves an aeroplane and its stranded, but not alone...

Plot Support: Detailed plot, one good handout, a single floor plan, one Mythos monster, and six pre-generated Investigators.

Production Values: Excellent.

Pros
# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario

# Good use of the historical background

# Straightforward Mythos monster movie plot

# Could be run using Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

# Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, ‘Polaris’  

# Inspired by Howard Hawk’s The Thing From Another World 

# Could be adapted to a pulp Sci-Fi setting for ‘The Thing On Another World’ 

Cons
# A map or two would have helped

# No female pre-generated Investigators
# May require access to Malleus Monstrorum

# Primary inspiration makes the plot obvious

Conclusion

# Short of the flaming carrot, the scenario’s inspiration crashes you onto the ice, then the Mythos socks you on the jaw.

# ‘B’ movie horror one-shot

# Whither Blood Brothers III?

Miskatonic Monday #79: Michigan Mythos: Fall Colors

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: Michigan Mythos: Fall Colors

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Charles Dunwoody

Setting: 1930s Michigan for Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-six page, 3.38 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: When more than the leaves fall in the autumn...

Plot Hook: Who can say why a Civilian Conservation Corps team is off-colour?

Plot Support: Detailed plot, four good handouts, eight maps, four NPCs, one Mythos monster, and one gadget.

Production Values: Reasonable.

Pros
# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario

# Three incalcitrant NPCs

# Straightforward plot

# Easily adjusted back to Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition

# Pleasingly strong emphasis on the five senses

Cons
# Requires an edit

# Slightly odd layout
# Underwhelming investigation

Conclusion

# Colourful employment of all five senses

# Straightforward scenario