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This is a 'Cthulhu Now' collection - Chaosium's term to distinguish material that is intended to be set in the 'modern era' (as opposed to the much more common 1920s era or any other historical period). The first edition of The Stars are Right! was originally published in the early nineties and contained seven of these scenarios (which have now apparently been given minor updates to reflect changes in technology and other aspects since their original publication. Unfortunately, since I haven't read the first edition of this collection, I won't be able to comment on the effectiveness or otherwise of these changes).
Spoiler Alert
Please note that this review is aimed firmly at potential Keepers and that as such, it will contain some SPOILERS while I discuss the scenario contents. Potential players are advised to stop reading now - although if you are a player and are reading this in order to decide whether to purchase it for your Keeper to run, then I'd suggest you skip to the last paragraph for a brief 'rounding up' of what I thought of it.
For what its worth - Ive got a fairly extensive, though by no means exhaustive, Call of Cthulhu collection - and I've been playing and running the game since it first came out. Hopefully that should mean that I can be a reasonably good judge of Call of Cthulhu material and it might help me spot if something has already been done before (or indeed 'to death').
Since this is my first attempt at a review, I suppose it would be appropriate to give you a brief summary of the criteria I tend to apply when assessing a scenario. It's natural that my own preferences will be reflected in what I write now so I feel it's only fair to give you an idea of how Ive arrived at my conclusions. YMMV and all that. My first criterion is perhaps the hardest to describe, but basically I look for an immediate connection with a scenario something that makes me think "Yes, I want to run this with my group." This could be down to the scenario location, opening or closing 'encounter', overall theme or mood, nasty entity at the heart of all the mayhem or something else entirely but there should be something there that makes me look forward to playing it and which will motivate me to do the necessary preparation. Secondly, I like scenarios that can be inserted into an existing campaign with a minimum of adjustment and/or impact for my player characters. That's not to say that I don't expect that it will affect their sanity or even kill them (such is the nature of the game) but I much prefer it if investigators can easily become embroiled in a scenario without them having to belong to a specific organization, move to a new town, discover a long-lost brother, have a specific occupation, etc. (I think that scenario 'introductions' are a problematic area for Call of Cthulhu generally so it's likely that Ill be discussing these further when I look at them all individually) . Of course - many people prefer to play Call of Cthulhu purely for 'one-shots' and will be much less concerned with these aspects than me. Other criteria? In no particular order now, but other features I tend to look for are handouts (the more the merrier as far as Im concerned especially if well done), good layout (is the information I need easy to locate?) and good artwork is always nice.
I must also confess that my main motivation for purchasing this collection was to scope out the scenarios for potential use in my ongoing Delta Green campaign. Like many people I suspect, I consider the Delta Green supplements to be pretty much the benchmark of excellence for 'modern' Call of Cthulhu gaming a benchmark which the Cthulhu Now line, in my opinion, has rarely been able to match. I'm sure that many people will be interested in how this publication stands up in comparison, and in whether the scenarios can be adapted to fit the 'world' of Delta Green so I'll be considering the scenarios from that point of view as well.
Finally, just to clarify. I haven't run any of these scenarios yet and my opinion is based solely on how they read.
So physically, what do you get for your money? The volume is in the traditional soft cover style used by Chaosium and is 176 pages long. The cover, by John T Snyder, is a, rather striking image, featuring a huge blazing ball in a night sky which has seemingly ignited the city below it. To my mind, this works very well indeed for this product, with two immediate impressions created one of 'modernity (the high rises and skyscrapers of a city of 'now') coupled with the immediate evidence that All is Not Well. It's interesting to note that this is the same cover used in the first (early nineties) edition, so the image of a burning skyscraper (reproduced again on the back cover) now seems chillingly prophetic and is very effective as an image of 'modern fear' in this post 9/11 world. The book is liberally illustrated in black and white throughout, with most, of the pieces being of good quality. Some sidebars are printed white on a black background and, in my copy at least, are slightly blurry looking but not enough to prevent you from reading. A commendable feature of The Stars are Rightis the fact that just about every significant NPC has been given a thumbnail illustration which immediately brings that character to life in the imagination. These are uniformly excellent (far superior to similar attempts in other Chaosium products that I can think of) and I would imagine that most Keepers would like to photocopy these and use as handouts for their players. I know I will. Blair Reynolds, Steven Gilberts, Chris Hill and Jason Whitley are credited with the interior illustrations so these are the guys to whom the plaudits must be directed. Maps are also provided for key locations and to give a sense of geography where appropriate and are of the traditional line style favoured by Chaosium in their other Cthulhu stuff they seem to be suitable for the purpose, if not particularly stand-out.
I'll turn now to the scenarios themselves, dealing with them in the order that they appear in the book. Note please, that all of them take place somewhere in the United States though in most cases it should be possible to tailor them to other locations.
Oh and remember what I said about SPOILERS? Yes? Just checking.
First up is 'Love's Lonely Children', by Richard Watts. I must confess right away that I really liked this one. For a starter, the locale of the scenario is undetermined, with the author stating that any big city with a park area will be suitable - so it can easily be integrated into just about any campaign. The opening is a little weak however; as it seems to assume that the investigators will automatically want to investigate the brutal murder of a young prostitute. Unfortunately, such events are all too commonplace in today's world and I would personally have preferred something a little more 'unusual' to motivate characters to investigate this (law enforcement types will need little reason of course). To be fair, the author does suggest that the investigators might be the ones who discover the corpse but I still think that Keepers might want to adjust this opening somehow to give their own groups some added incentive. This is a minor point though and the rest of the scenario takes a firm grip of the imagination as the investigators are drawn into the worlds of punk music and pornography. Given this latter aspect in particular, this scenario has a very gritty and grimy feel to it and consequently I think it is darkly proficient at striking a tone of 'modern' horror. As you may guess, it's pretty 'adult' in tone so, in my opinion, it's probably not suitable to run with young players who may otherwise enjoy the 'monster hunt' aspects of Call of Cthulhu. Unlike many published scenarios, there is no 'save the world' aspect to this one probably another one of the reasons I like it. Investigators may be able to stop a murder and perhaps defeat a festering menace but not one which is hell bent on global destruction. Instead, this horror is generally content in enjoying its own 'private' little pleasures. Regardless, they'll certainly have a tough job on their hands. The culprit responsible (and its minions) - particularly if handled badly - will present a stern challenge to all but the most capable of player characters. 'Significant' SAN loss and character deaths are a real possibility. But hey thats all in a days work for your players, right?
Next up in the collection is 'Nemo Solus Sapit'(None Shall Walk Alone) by John Tynes. This scenario is nominally set in and around 'Samson' the fictional West Coast city first described in Chaosiums modern campaign 'At Your Door' though it should be fairly easy to re-locate it just about anywhere. There are some interesting ideas in this one, but I have some real difficulties in presenting it the way the author intended. His preferred method of running the scenario requires a fair bit of prior play to 'set the stage' for what is to follow. It needs an insane investigator (whose player is then willing to accept his character's sudden death) and at least one other scenario to be played (wherein the 'dead' investigator returns and perhaps subverts the goals of the group before suffering a 'mental relapse'). It also requires the other player characters to take a interest in the mental rehabilitation of fellow investigators in a way that they might not have previously (i.e. going to meet the facility doctors, interviewing their insane friend etc - rather than just writing the character off and concentrating the 'surviving' group's efforts on whatever new case is at hand). All this seems a bit too much of an ask for me especially since I didnt see any compensatory pay-off in the rest of the scenario which though interesting, doesn't quite really do enough with all this preparation to justify the trouble. The 'dead' player character (who till now has been a pawn of the Keeper) gets to return for one 'scene' in this, the 'main event' leaving me to wonder what the poor sod will be doing the rest of the time. An alternative is suggested in a sidebar wherein the investigators will simply become suspicious that something isn't right with a certain facility - and to my mind the main events of scenario, concerning a sorcerous shrink and the revenge driven patient responsible for introducing him to the dark arts, can progress pretty much as written from there without any real loss. Still, I suppose that some credit is due to the author for trying something a little unusual even if to my mind, it doesn't quite come off. I do have another issue with this scenario in that there is real potential for a fairly apocalyptic finale which can manifest itself rapidly and without warning. Though the author has seen fit to reduce the SAN loss caused by the 'BIG BAD' concerned from the 'mind-shattering' down merely to the 'mind-numbing' (!) your group may easily all be killed or mentally incapacitated regardless. A SAN reward is suggested for characters that foil this plan but short of them being mind readers, there is no real way for them to discover the culprit's intentions. Considering that the 'preferred set-up' implies a campaign structure to begin with, these momentous events may very well bring that campaign to an abrupt end. Keepers should consider themselves warned. Over elaborate for me this one, but some may find it up their street.
'This Fire Shall Kill' by Andre Bishop follows the familiar (some would say all too familiar) Call of Cthulhu scenario structure wherein investigators are alerted to the presence of a cult and after some nosing around, must then race to prevent them performing a ritual which will summon forth 'Something that Should Not Be' with predictably dire consequences for failure (clue: remember the cover?). Despite that fact this is still an entertaining scenario, with the modern setting (San Francisco is suggested though it can be re-located to any city with at least one tall banking building) and the fairly unique cult concerned, providing a fresh enough twist. It's suggested that players are drawn into this by the burning down of one of their own homes, but to my mind the strange artifacts left behind in the ashes provide enough reason for characters on the look out for that certain 'paranormal bouquet' to get involved in this - even if the arson happens to a complete stranger's property. As discussed already the finale can be potentially apocalyptic, is likely to be combat heavy, and is suitably lethal as a result.
'The Professionals' by Fred Behrendt is a very interesting scenario that provides a refreshing change of environment in comparison to other more 'standard' fare. Here the characters get drawn into the murky world of politics when they are tasked with ensuring the downfall of a morally bankrupt Senator. I would have a slight issue in using this with character groups who are already wise to the machinations of the Mythos and see themselves as crusaders against dark forces, as the scenario assumes that hard cold cash will be sufficient motivation for them to go after a man, who while certainly no paragon of virtue bears no sign of being a dabbler in the occult or the other types of paranormal activity that arouse the suspicions of 'normal' Call of Cthulhu investigators. However, it would make a very refreshing one-shot or work very well as a campaign opener for more seasoned players. In addition to a labyrinthine political plot which climaxes at an election rally, a modern 'feel' is ensured by the presence of ex-porn stars, AIDS sufferers, snoopy FBI agents and top-secret government programmes utilizing cutting edge technology. If there's one quibble it's that the final 'scene' more or less reduces the characters to the role of bystanders but since the overall impression that players will take away from this is that they have been unwitting pawns in a greater scheme, maybe that's perfectly in keeping with the rest of the scenario.
'Fractal Gods' by Steve Hatherley is a scenario that I feel probably least qualified to judge. This one focuses pretty heavily on computer technology and the strange graphical/mathematical constructs that are fractals. I'm afraid that my 'geek credentials' neither extend to computing or maths (I'll play games on my PC, but other than that I'm not really interested and I'm hopeless at maths). However, I was intrigued by the concept of this one even if I have absolutely no idea whether fractals are still considered to be an important or are have now lost their glamour since the scenario was first written. I do have some issues with the editing as some mistakes are made with regards to certain locations which were initially a little confusing (the opening paragraphs say the action takes place in Boston and Houston and mislead you into thinking a major NPC is in Boston when in fact he is actually located in New York). Some text also seems to be missing from a handout. However, these points and ignorance of fractals aside, I liked this. Commendably, the author suggests several methods by which the characters can get involved (in investigating a suicide) and the scenario pits them up against some very interesting foes whose malevolence seems to be more incidental than intentional. Lazy or over cautious investigators may be 'punished' by the appearance of one of the Mythos 'big hitters' but this is probably unlikely. One I'd like to run but not with any computer experts in the group to trip me up!
Next up is 'The Gates of Delirium' by Gary Sumpter. I was initially frustrated in reading through this as there was no 'up front' explanation outlining just what exactly was going on and I had to get through several pages before I got a grip of what the scenario was actually about. Note to the editors it's the players' role to be in the dark not the Keeper's! Theres also some text which has made its way on to a handout that shouldn't be there. Having got over these quibbles this one turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag for me. Essentially, it's a tale of what happens when some dangerous information falls into the wrong hands. Investigating the attempted suicide of an old friend (the author acknowledges that some additional motivation may be necessary to get the players interested), the characters should eventually discover that someone has been recklessly experimenting with a powerful and dangerous drug one that can harm not only the sanity of the user but also open a bridge to dangerous dimensions. This idea is partially explored in the early stages of the scenario where the players get to experience just how dangerous this drug has been in affecting a certain locale. Some interesting ideas are presented at this stage but to my mind could have been expanded on even further (similar ground is covered to much greater effect in my opinion, in 'Night Floors' in 'Delta Green: Countdown' published several years later). The second half of the scenario chooses not to expand upon this interesting theme, but instead opts for the by now familiar 'stop the ritual before all Hell breaks loose' finale where a Great Old One can potentially make an appearance. Not bad this by any means, but not a standout either.
'Music of the Spheres' by Kevin A. Ross is one of the best scenarios in the collection. It centres on an astronomical centre which has registered something strange out in the vastness of space something which is proving to have an insidious and growing influence on the staff, the surrounding area, and perhaps even the whole of the planet. Complicating things even further one of the 'independent races' from the Mythos have been drawn to the location and are determined to settle affairs in their own way. This has just about everything I would look for in a modern scenario an interesting opening (why has an old friend who wouldn't hurt a fly just murdered his girlfriend?), technology both man made and alien, interesting NPCs whom the investigators must interact with, and an unsettling and escalating chain of events which can be used at the Keeper sees fit to unnerve and alarm his players as their investigation progresses. There are a few small things I'd question (if the center is the 'conduit' for all this trouble, why are other parts of the globe even more badly affected first?) but there's nothing anywhere near major enough to detract from its overall quality. Like many of the other scenarios in the collection the latter stages can develop into a major 'incident' of Mythos inspired mayhem - although a dues ex machina is written in which can soften the blow if your investigators mess it all up. More nasty minded Keepers might want to ignore this and inflict the full penalties for failure though this would probably be at the expense of any campaign they've got going. Overall, excellent stuff and I really look forward to running this one.
'Darkest Calling' by David Conyers is one of the two new scenarios added to the collection from the first edition and a very worthy addition it is too. The action here takes place mainly in the deserts of Arizona, though commendably, it is designed so that the investigators can be drawn into it from just about anywhere in the U.S. A missing persons case will soon place the investigators at the heart of a mystery with its roots in the history of the Native American tribes of the South-West. There are strange symbols to fathom, gruesome discoveries to be made, interfering NPCs to deal with and important moral considerations to challenge the players with. Things are not as simple as they may first appear in this one and no choice is straightforward. A ritual possibly features here as well but theres an interesting and orginal slant on this so no problems there. he one thing that I would possibly question is the introduction of yet another new variety of Mythos beastie (drawn from a piece of fiction also written by the author) as it's my own view that there are already a sufficient enough variety of creatures in the main Cthulhu rulebook some of which are quite underused and which would merit further 'fleshing out' or exploration. On the other hand, I can see the argument for throwing something new at experienced and jaded players who may think they know it all so I'm not going to get too hung up on this point. This is a good scenario, set in an interesting locale - and it has a morally ambiguous tone which I feel sits well with 'modern' play.
The final scenario in the volume is 'The Source and the End' by William Jones and is the other new addition. This is a change of pace compared to the rest with all of the action taking place in the course of one dark and stormy evening. The author is clearly hoping to create the atmosphere of a certain type of horror movie here and I think he succeeds very well in doing so (he even goes so far as to provide rules suggestions for 'cinematic' melee combat). The players are summoned to a remote town by a garbled plea for help from an old friend a retired FBI agent who has been on the trail of a master criminal and who has perhaps bitten off more than he can chew. Once at the small town he lives in, they soon discover that things have went drastically wrong. Strange shapes move in the stormy night and just exactly where is everyone? Finding out and just exactly what they can do about it, will be their secondary concern. Staying alive will be their primary goal although they find some allies who can assist. This one should prove to be scary fun for players and Keeper alike if the right atmosphere can be created. I'm normally not in favour of random encounter tables in Cthulhu but I'll forgive the inclusion of one here given the unique circumstances presented.
The last pages of the book are taken up with a short essay with charts by Steven C.Rasmussen and D.H. Frew concerning the significance of astrology in determining just exactly when "the stars are right". Written as if it was a true piece of mythos scholarship, this has the potential to make an interesting handout though knowing next to nothing about astrology I can't judge how true it will ring to more knowledgeable souls.
'Delta Green'
Those of you, like me, who are looking to use this volume to possibly convert it to use in a Delta Green setting will not be disappointed. The most obvious candidate to my mind is Music of the Spheres which contains elements which feature strongly in the backstory of 'The New Age' so much so that it has set my mind racing with the possibility of grafting it on to that mini-campaign. The Professionals would be a great Delta Green campaign opener or, with a little more work, could be used as a basis for a 'Manchurian Candidate' style tale (with perhaps MJ-12 pulling the strings?). Love's Lonely Children, This Fire Shall Kill, Fractal Gods, Darkest Calling and The Source and the End all have the potential to be straight Delta Green 'ops' with minimal work (though some of them could easily prove to be the downfall of an entire cell!). Of course, it goes almost without saying that an inventive Keeper should find something to work with in all of the material here.
Summary
Overall, I'm very favourably impressed with this collection. If there's one fault, it's that if a group played them in a relatively short space of time they would perhaps become jaded with encountering so many Great Old Ones - six of the nine scenarios feature possible brushes with these terrible entities, whose impact may be spoiled by such familiarity. But judged on their own merits, there is some great stuff in here. With 'Secrets of Japan' on the horizon, here's hoping that this is a sign of revival for modern Call of Cthulhu gaming.
Graham Kinniburgh
N.B. This review first appeared on yog-sothoth.com.
