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"Before the Fall" is a collection of four adventures set in Lovecraft's degenerate seaport of Innsmouth, Massachussets. All four take place before the Federal raid of 1928, which destroyed much of the town and which forms the last scenario in Chaosium's "Escape from Innsmouth." Keepers who have run the raid scenario will probably find little of use here, and, although this book claims to be stand-alone, it is probably best used with "Escape."

The adventures themselves are quite straightforward, being attractively puzzling and unplotted. "Mary" concerns a Deep One hybrid (oh, yes, if you didn't know, Innsmouth is crawling with Deep Ones. If you don't like fish men (and women) this is not the book for you) trying to make contact with her long-lost child. The several subplots of this scenario could involve the Investigators in a number of different capacities. "Old Acquaintance" is about the consequences of unsafe driving, and could be quite unnerving if played with subtlety. "The Innsmouth Connection" is a simple case, with the investigators sent to assess the value of an old house which has been taken over by a gang of bootleggers. This scenario also features a stupidly powerful monster, which will need to be reduced in strength considerably (unless your investigators normally go for a Sunday drive laden with dynamite - which, come to think of it, mine probably do). "The Occulted Light" is another interesting case, but it seems to me to be a little too much of a "puzzle" - the Investigators visit an island, which is guarded by a creature which is bound not to let anyone leave. On the island is an abandoned lighthouse which contains, among other things, a spell which destroys such creatures, tanks of kerosene, and signal flares. How convenient.

All four of these scenarios are designed for fairly new investigators. In fact, these scenarios could be run as a lead-in to the "Escape" and "Raid" scenarios in "Escape from Innsmouth." As I read this book, visions of an all-aquatic campaign danced in my head. Four nice low-key scenarios, a tense escape, and then a big set-piece with monsters and guns and explosions. If you've had "Escape" sitting on your shelf for years now, like I have, this might be the time to dust it off.

The writing throughout is clear, fast-paced, and expressive - White Wolf take note. The art, provided by M. Wayne Miller, is nice, particularly the scene illustrations - the character illos are pleasant but a bit ordinary. Most of the characters also appear as illos by John T. Snyder in "Escape" - if you want something to show your players, use those instead. The maps are plain but functional, except for a rather pointless faux-3d map of the island in the last scenario. I hate those things. Why even bother putting a little grid on the map when it hasn't got a scale? Whither Yurek Chodak? Excuse me. For my money, a more 1920s-looking map would keep up the atmosphere.

The player handouts, as always, look very nice. Chaosium have got this down, mixing legibility with atmosphere. As always, a solid, interesting, worthwhile production from Chaosium.

Minor grievances: the Lovecraft Country books (at least the first editions of them) are provided with numbered sections so that characters and locations may be cross-referenced. Why, then, couldn't "Before the Fall" and "Dead Reckonings" make use of this system? It would save a few minutes of page-flipping at least, and isn't that a worthwhile endeavour?

Minor good things: the back cover has a little box telling you how long these scenarios are designed to take (a night apiece); all the writers get cover credits; the adventure headings include those neat little "whereins" which seem to have disappeared of late.

If you like Deep Ones, and particularly if your Lovecraft Country campaign is just getting started, you should buy this. If not, it could still provide some useful ideas on designing quick, interesting scenarios.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Before the Fall
Author: Ralph Dula, Michael Lay, Gary O'Connell, Gary Sumpter, Lucya Szachnowski Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Line: Call of Cthulhu Cost: $11.95 (?) Page count: 64 pp ISBN: 1-56882-135-2 Capsule Review by James Holloway on 06/17/99. Genre tags: Historical Horror	"Before the Fall" is a collection of four adventures set in Lovecraft's degenerate seaport of Innsmouth, Massachussets. All four take place before the Federal raid of 1928, which destroyed much of the town and which forms the last scenario in Chaosium's "Escape from Innsmouth." Keepers who have run the raid scenario will probably find little of use here, and, although this book claims to be stand-alone, it is probably best used with "Escape." The adventures themselves are quite straightforward, being attractively puzzling and unplotted. "Mary" concerns a Deep One hybrid (oh, yes, if you didn't know, Innsmouth is crawling with Deep Ones. If you don't like fish men (and women) this is not the book for you) trying to make contact with her long-lost child. The several subplots of this scenario could involve the Investigators in a number of different capacities. "Old Acquaintance" is about the consequences of unsafe driving, and could be quite unnerving if played with subtlety. "The Innsmouth Connection" is a simple case, with the investigators sent to assess the value of an old house which has been taken over by a gang of bootleggers. This scenario also features a stupidly powerful monster, which will need to be reduced in strength considerably (unless your investigators normally go for a Sunday drive laden with dynamite - which, come to think of it, mine probably do). "The Occulted Light" is another interesting case, but it seems to me to be a little too much of a "puzzle" - the Investigators visit an island, which is guarded by a creature which is bound not to let anyone leave. On the island is an abandoned lighthouse which contains, among other things, a spell which destroys such creatures, tanks of kerosene, and signal flares. How convenient. All four of these scenarios are designed for fairly new investigators. In fact, these scenarios could be run as a lead-in to the "Escape" and "Raid" scenarios in "Escape from Innsmouth." As I read this book, visions of an all-aquatic campaign danced in my head. Four nice low-key scenarios, a tense escape, and then a big set-piece with monsters and guns and explosions. If you've had "Escape" sitting on your shelf for years now, like I have, this might be the time to dust it off. The writing throughout is clear, fast-paced, and expressive - White Wolf take note. The art, provided by M. Wayne Miller, is nice, particularly the scene illustrations - the character illos are pleasant but a bit ordinary. Most of the characters also appear as illos by John T. Snyder in "Escape" - if you want something to show your players, use those instead. The maps are plain but functional, except for a rather pointless faux-3d map of the island in the last scenario. I hate those things. Why even bother putting a little grid on the map when it hasn't got a scale? Whither Yurek Chodak? Excuse me. For my money, a more 1920s-looking map would keep up the atmosphere. The player handouts, as always, look very nice. Chaosium have got this down, mixing legibility with atmosphere. As always, a solid, interesting, worthwhile production from Chaosium. Minor grievances: the Lovecraft Country books (at least the first editions of them) are provided with numbered sections so that characters and locations may be cross-referenced. Why, then, couldn't "Before the Fall" and "Dead Reckonings" make use of this system? It would save a few minutes of page-flipping at least, and isn't that a worthwhile endeavour? Minor good things: the back cover has a little box telling you how long these scenarios are designed to take (a night apiece); all the writers get cover credits; the adventure headings include those neat little "whereins" which seem to have disappeared of late. If you like Deep Ones, and particularly if your Lovecraft Country campaign is just getting started, you should buy this. If not, it could still provide some useful ideas on designing quick, interesting scenarios. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)