Unseen Masters is a set of three lengthy Cthulhu Now scenarios or ‘mini-campaigns’ set in and around New York and similar to ‘Masks of Nyarlathotep’ of old, is designed for experienced players. The title is a clue to the fact that each scenario has at its heart some powerful mythos being(s) who act through human agencies rather than through direct contact.
The first scenario entitled ‘The Wild Hunt’ leads investigators into a search for a serial killer in New York city and as may be expected for Call of Cthulhu, the killer is more than he seems, unexpectedly the investigators are actually on the right side of the law for a change, with the entire city’s resources to hand, still they may need them. With this scenario, like the rest, the players need to be on the ball and keep in mind what their characters would know not necessarily what they know. It’s a race against time to prevent a large scale massacre.
The second scenario ‘The Truth Shall Set you Free’ rewards good roleplaying even more with it’s psychological themes and both keepers and players will begin to recognise just how close to the edge investigators really are when they battle the forces of darkness. Bruce Ballon’s Psychiatric background makes him better qualified than most to deal with such a challenging subject
The third scenario ‘Coming of Age’ brings back at least one old enemy many will have faced before in many different guises…dealing with the prophecies of Armageddon and the fate of a small boy.
I have deliberately kept information relating directly to the plots to a minimum, however there is much to be said about how the book is written and how it is presented. First off, this set of scenarios are the best thing since sliced bread (and for sliced bread read ‘Masks of Nyarlathotep’). They are extremely well written and the plots, with their twists and turns are so cleverly constructed I caught myself more than once saying expletives out loud in admiration, and that is something I’ve never done in 20 years of playing. The author is to be congratulated for producing a masterpiece of roleplaying literature. I confess that my favourite CoC era is the classic 1920’s but this publication has moved me to finally recognise the power and possibilities of the modern era Call of Cthulhu setting, even more so than Pagan Publishing’s ‘Delta Green’ which is saying something.
Dr. Ballon is a long time player and fan of Call of Cthulhu and this shines through in the attention to detail, the subtle in game references, and the ways in which other scenarios form a history to the current campaign or act as a potential lead onto other adventures. All these are carefully and flexibly woven together to produce a roleplaying experience of massive potential. The acknowledgements and references at the back of the book are a testament to the depth and breadth of knowledge used to create Unseen Masters. For lovers of Delta Green there is also an appendix detailing how the scenarios may be adapted to work within DG’s own world.
In regard to the physical make-up of the book it runs to 216 pages with an evocative yet thankfully not too informative cover by Matt Harpold. The interior art is by Chaosium favourite Paul Carrick and features some of the best character sketches I’ve seen since ‘Alone in the Dark’ more than 15 years ago. Carrick’s full page illustrations also serve to add appropriate atmosphere to the situations they depict. The plans and maps by Drashi Khendup are finally I think a fitting replacement to the old and much loved hand-drawn style that used to feature so prominently in Chaosium productions. A god send to keepers is the inclusion of an extensive Table of Contents and Index. The handouts are also well done and I particularly like the new style of using ‘textured paper’. I only wish colour ones were available for download off the Chaosium web site.
This has admittedly been a glowing review of ‘Unseen Masters’ and I firmly believe it deserves it, my quibbles are very minor ones. With regard to page layout the graphic side bars are visually pleasing but I wonder if they could have been better put to use as a quick gloss for the keeper – a few key notes or summaries of that particular page. Secondly for a work like this I think it would have been worth the extra effort to actually hand write the supposedly handwritten pages and clues rather than use a now well known computer font to simulate it. I know it makes editing harder, but decent props have always been a big selling point with Call of Cthulhu.
In summary: buy it. Unseen Masters is a tour de force of writing for Call of Cthulhu, or for any other game for that matter. Chaosium is to be congratulated for producing and publishing an outstanding piece of work. This book has ‘award winner’ written all over it. If it doesn’t garnish a bucket load of accolades I’ll eat my pet Mi-Go.
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