The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Welcome to the third in my series of reviews of older Call of Cthulhu supplements. The third entry on the list is 1984's "Curse of the Chthonians." Not only does this review cover the supplement in its own right, but if you combine it with my review of "The Asylum" from two weeks ago, you get a review of the "Cthulhu Casebook," which contained all the scenarios from "Asylum" and two from "Curse," along with a few pages of new material and some color plates.

On to "Curse of the Chthonians," then. We get four scenarios of medium length, each probably requiring several sessions to complete. The art is by Lisa A. Free, and it's stylized in a nicely 20s-esque kind of way. In illustrations like her depiction of Chaugnar Faugn, I fancy I can see her influence on later artists like Reynolds, Detwiler, and of course Snyder. As usual, the layout is clear and easy to read. The book is comparatively durable - it's saddle-stitched, and my copy has lost one of its staples, but that's not bad for 16 years.

The first scenario is "Dark Carnivel," essentially a setting for an extended investigation. A Rhode Island amusement area packed with freaks and madmen serves as the entry point for the investigation, but there's also a monstrous zoo-dungeon full of zombies, ghouls, and chthonians. What is it with the ghouls in these scenarios (see also "The Asylum")? "Five to ten ghouls are always" in this little cave under the fairground. Doing what? Waiting for a bus? Some of the NPC descriptions are interesting enough, but the investigative part of the scenario is brief and obvious, and the monsters - again - suffer from the "Mythos hoedown" effect.

Next up is "The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn," a 30-page nightmare that's going to take a lot of work to integrate into your campaign. It's a great scenario, don't get me wrong; it's got intrigue, sorcery, an interesting fake-climax, applied metaphysics, and an underused but frightening monster. But the premise involves one of those "you've-known-this-character-all-your-life" intros that dog Call of Cthulhu scenarios. The old acquaintance isn't just a hook or monster fodder, either; she's a really important character, with a complex agenda. Don't imagine you can just pick this one up and run it. You may also have to think of a better way to introduce the investigators to an important NPC about two-thirds of the way through the scenario; as it stands, the investigators don't have a very good reason for pursuing him. All in all, though, a rewarding scenario if you can implement it. This was one of the scenarios reprinted in the "Cthulhu Casebook."

The other "Casebook" scenario is "Thoth's Dagger," a globetrotting adventure which begins with an auction, a MacGuffin, and a murder. This is a high-lethality scenario; the party's richest member is almost certain to be driven incurably insane, and the climax presents the distinct possibility for a stand-up fight with an Outer God. Without the benefit of firearms. It's a good one, though, with plenty of sinister encounters, intrigue, and good old-fashioned fear. I recommend it for experienced parties only. There are, however, ghouls.

"The City Without a Name" is the sequel to "Thoth's Dagger," and it's a mixed bag. The premise assumes that the investigators are still in contact with the good guys from "Thoth's Dagger." On an errand for these good guys, an investigator experiences a mysterious vision which has to be interpreted with the aid of The Occult Science of Gematria! There's an article, "The Occult Science of Gematria," to explain how the vision should be interpreted, but since I'm guessing none of your players are rabbis, this comes down to doing some math and listening to a boring occult history lesson. Dull, dull, dull - and I ran a Call of Cthulhu campaign where part of the first session involved playing out checking a cargo manifest for errors! The rest of the scenario picks up a bit, with the investigators haring off into the world's biggest uninhabited area (the "Empty Quarter" of Arabia) with camels and guides, to go find the Nameless City and - unless your players are those magical ninja commandos I've mentioned in other places - get their butts kicked. Plus there are chthonians! What is it with people in the early 80s and chthonians?! If it isn't chthonians, it's ghouls, and usually both! At least the chthonians make a lot of sense in this scenario - I don't think I could take it if they didn't.

I swear, whatver I review next, it's going to have Deep Ones in it. Or Dark Young. Anything but these ding-dang ghouls and chthonians.

So, if you've managed to keep the thread here, "Thoth's Dagger" and "The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn" are good - "The City Without a Name" and "Dark Carnival" are less so. This makes "Curse of the Chthonians" a pretty good purchase, but it makes "Cthulhu Casebook" an even better one, since it also contains a lot of good material from "The Asylum."

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

Curse of the Chthonians
Author: David A. Hargravve, Bill Barton, and William Hamblin. Illustrated by Lisa A. Free Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Line: Call of Cthulhu Page count: 88 SKU: 2306 Capsule Review by James Holloway on 04/24/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Historical Horror	Welcome to the third in my series of reviews of older Call of Cthulhu supplements. The third entry on the list is 1984's "Curse of the Chthonians." Not only does this review cover the supplement in its own right, but if you combine it with my review of "The Asylum" from two weeks ago, you get a review of the "Cthulhu Casebook," which contained all the scenarios from "Asylum" and two from "Curse," along with a few pages of new material and some color plates. On to "Curse of the Chthonians," then. We get four scenarios of medium length, each probably requiring several sessions to complete. The art is by Lisa A. Free, and it's stylized in a nicely 20s-esque kind of way. In illustrations like her depiction of Chaugnar Faugn, I fancy I can see her influence on later artists like Reynolds, Detwiler, and of course Snyder. As usual, the layout is clear and easy to read. The book is comparatively durable - it's saddle-stitched, and my copy has lost one of its staples, but that's not bad for 16 years. The first scenario is "Dark Carnivel," essentially a setting for an extended investigation. A Rhode Island amusement area packed with freaks and madmen serves as the entry point for the investigation, but there's also a monstrous zoo-dungeon full of zombies, ghouls, and chthonians. What is it with the ghouls in these scenarios (see also "The Asylum")? "Five to ten ghouls are always" in this little cave under the fairground. Doing what? Waiting for a bus? Some of the NPC descriptions are interesting enough, but the investigative part of the scenario is brief and obvious, and the monsters - again - suffer from the "Mythos hoedown" effect. Next up is "The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn," a 30-page nightmare that's going to take a lot of work to integrate into your campaign. It's a great scenario, don't get me wrong; it's got intrigue, sorcery, an interesting fake-climax, applied metaphysics, and an underused but frightening monster. But the premise involves one of those "you've-known-this-character-all-your-life" intros that dog Call of Cthulhu scenarios. The old acquaintance isn't just a hook or monster fodder, either; she's a really important character, with a complex agenda. Don't imagine you can just pick this one up and run it. You may also have to think of a better way to introduce the investigators to an important NPC about two-thirds of the way through the scenario; as it stands, the investigators don't have a very good reason for pursuing him. All in all, though, a rewarding scenario if you can implement it. This was one of the scenarios reprinted in the "Cthulhu Casebook." The other "Casebook" scenario is "Thoth's Dagger," a globetrotting adventure which begins with an auction, a MacGuffin, and a murder. This is a high-lethality scenario; the party's richest member is almost certain to be driven incurably insane, and the climax presents the distinct possibility for a stand-up fight with an Outer God. Without the benefit of firearms. It's a good one, though, with plenty of sinister encounters, intrigue, and good old-fashioned fear. I recommend it for experienced parties only. There are, however, ghouls. "The City Without a Name" is the sequel to "Thoth's Dagger," and it's a mixed bag. The premise assumes that the investigators are still in contact with the good guys from "Thoth's Dagger." On an errand for these good guys, an investigator experiences a mysterious vision which has to be interpreted with the aid of The Occult Science of Gematria! There's an article, "The Occult Science of Gematria," to explain how the vision should be interpreted, but since I'm guessing none of your players are rabbis, this comes down to doing some math and listening to a boring occult history lesson. Dull, dull, dull - and I ran a Call of Cthulhu campaign where part of the first session involved playing out checking a cargo manifest for errors! The rest of the scenario picks up a bit, with the investigators haring off into the world's biggest uninhabited area (the "Empty Quarter" of Arabia) with camels and guides, to go find the Nameless City and - unless your players are those magical ninja commandos I've mentioned in other places - get their butts kicked. Plus there are chthonians! What is it with people in the early 80s and chthonians?! If it isn't chthonians, it's ghouls, and usually both! At least the chthonians make a lot of sense in this scenario - I don't think I could take it if they didn't. I swear, whatver I review next, it's going to have Deep Ones in it. Or Dark Young. Anything but these ding-dang ghouls and chthonians. So, if you've managed to keep the thread here, "Thoth's Dagger" and "The Curse of Chaugnar Faugn" are good - "The City Without a Name" and "Dark Carnival" are less so. This makes "Curse of the Chthonians" a pretty good purchase, but it makes "Cthulhu Casebook" an even better one, since it also contains a lot of good material from "The Asylum." Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)