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To date, The Dreaming Stone by Kevin Ross is the only supplement to be produced for the Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands setting, and is arguably one of the best scenarios (in this case a short campaign) written for this dark fantasy setting.
The story starts innocently enough, but with that same old problem dogging many Cthulhu adventures, with a "friend" of the investigators asking for help. When the investigators visit this "friend" at his home, they are drawn into the powers of a strange magical artefact, the Dreaming Stone, and are catapulted into the Dreamlands.
From there investigators begin a perilous journey through a magical world. Not only are there foes to be encountered, but exotic cultures and colourful personalities to experience, reminiscent of an age not so much of the past, but a world that could have been dreamt in the past. Action and adventure everywhere, the investigators soon find themselves on a ship controlled by Moonbeasts taking them none other than to the moon, where they are drawn to a dark castle and its owner, a rather nasty servant of Nyarlathotep. From there the investigators need to escape, and with any luck return to the waking world before their bodies as well as their souls are destroyed. The conclusion, where investigators meet the Crawling Chaos himself, is one of the best depictions I’ve seen of this Outer God in any scenario or campaign.
Interior artwork by John Snyder and Jason Eckhardt are excellent, and the cover by Snyder would have been nice except that it is too dark and black to really capture the feel of the Dreamlands. Maps are okay, and a bit too technical, especially for a Dreamlands supplement.
The Dreaming Stone is a great adventure, one that would be lots of fun to play and a good introduction to the Dreamlands for players new to this setting.
This review originally appeared on http://www.yog-sothoth.com.
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