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After a seemingly eons long absence, Pagan Publishing makes a welcome return to the world of 'Call of Cthulhu' publication with the release of this scenario booklet. (Yes, I am aware of the recent hardcover re-release of the main Delta Green book, but this is the first new material we have seen from Pagan for quite some time). Fans of the 'Call of Cthulhu' rpg will be aware of Pagan’s reputation for producing material often distinguished by detailed research and a fresh, inventive yet respectful approach to that many tentacled beast: ‘the Cthulhu Mythos’. Does ‘Final Flight’ live up to that reputation?
Please note that what follows is a review based on my reading of the scenario. It is from the point of view of a prospective Keeper who might be intending to run it, as opposed to that of someone who has actually taken a group through it. I am aware that when it comes to scenarios, the proof of the pudding is often in the eating. However I also feel that a review can also be of use in enabling a Keeper to decide whether or not to bother attempting to make that pudding in the first place…………. Ok – enough of the baking analogies. On with the review.
A note of caution now. There will be SPOILERS in this review. If you think that it is likely that you might play this as an investigator as opposed to a Keeper then stop reading now.
So what is ‘Final Flight’ and what does it promise ?
Here’s the blurb used in advertising and on the back of the scenario booklet:
‘Welcome aboard Pan Caribbean Airways Flight 101.
An archaeological conference...
A routine flight...
Thirty seconds of terror!
Now the passengers of Flight 101 are on their own, trapped in the green hell of the jungles of South America. Was their crash just an unfortunate accident? Are they truly alone in the jungle? There are worse things that the forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. Like a titanic green beast, the merciless, unforgiving rainforest harbors parasites, diseases, poisons and thousands of terrifying animals looking to make a meal of the weak and the lost. The passengers will have to work quickly and decisively if they have any hope that this will not be their FINAL FLIGHT!’.
The booklet itself is softback, 32 pages long, with a glossy cover by Rick Sardina. The cover is nice enough, but I’d recommend that you keep it concealed from prospective players if you want the ‘trigger event’ of the scenario to be a surprise ! There is some black and white artwork, photographs and diagrams, all of which are perfectly acceptable and get the job done without being particularly standout. Stats are provided for the standard (BRP) Call of Cthulhu ruleset.
After a short Keeper’s introduction (wherein we learn the basics of the scenario and that it starts off in the Caribbean in 1938) the material is split into two parts. Part I concerns PCA Flight 101 - why the investigators might be on board; who else is on board and what the characters will experience right up until the plane crashes into the Amazonian jungle.
It’s at this point that I must mention what I feel is a shortcoming of the scenario, in that it doesn’t quite give you what it says it will. The blurb above mentions an ‘archaeological conference’ which might lead you to think that some detail will be provided on this to help set up the scenario. This is not the case – the possibility of a conference is mentioned in one sentence as the reason the author used in play-testing for having the investigators aboard. And that's it. This also touches upon another point – about whether the scenario is suitable for inserting into a campaign - which I intend to return to later.
I would also have liked further information at this point about the other passengers on the plane – as we will see in Part II, some of these individuals will prove vitally important when things get down to the nitty gritty and with the exception of one individual, the rest are only briefly described in a couple of sentences and little is done to describe what ‘first impressions’ they make on the investigators. Some character portraits would have been nice for instance, but there are none, and it is up to the Keeper to really flesh these persons out. We do get some information on the DC-2 plane they are travelling in though – useful for any 1930s game, and a map which shows the route the plane takes (wildly different from that which was intended!).
As mentioned above, the plane crashes in the jungle and events subsequent to the crash make up Part II, and the bulk of the scenario. Part I is therefore just a scene-setting prelude and there is little if anything that the players can do to affect events until they find themselves in the wreckage (possibly hurt but probably not incapacitated – there is a useful guide to the ‘sliding scale’ of injuries that might have been sustained) and faced with the immediate task of survival.
Of course ‘survival’ is a key word here because the scenario is clearly aimed at engendering a feeling of ‘survival horror’. The survivors are marooned hundreds of miles from civilisation in dangerous jungle and supplies are limited (and some of these are scattered on the forest floor). And of course, this being a Cthulhu scenario, something else is out there too ! To top it all, the one feasible means of escape may present the players with a moral quandary – because there’s not enough room for everybody to get away folks!
The immediate aftermath of the crash is described well and there’s potential here for a nice little ‘flash’ of horror where the characters might realise that not all of the passengers are as they appear to be. This is a nice touch – with different information presented to the characters depending on how successful they are with a Spot Hidden check. This being Cthulhu, the more perceptive you are the more alarmed you are going to be ! From here the characters should be trying to get organised – rounding up supplies and interacting with NPCs in order to establish useful skills and the like – and then exploring their surroundings.
Exploration will reveal both their only chance of survival – a repairable plane at a nearby makeshift airfield - and also expose them to a deadly threat; representatives of a mythos race who dwell nearby, and who had a hand in the crash. This stuff is all solid enough (though given that they were expecting the plane, I am left wondering why the ‘baddies’ don’t show up sooner actively hunting for the survivors) and the characters will have a tough and challenging time but with luck and/or bravery might hold off long enough to decide which of them get to escape (a nice use of the BRP SIZ stat regulates what is possible here).
However, given the blurb on the back cover you might be forgiven for thinking that you’ll get some information on jungle survival, diseases, poisons and things that go crash in the canopy. You don’t. While it is made clear that the jungle is an extremely hostile place (characters who simply try to trek out are in for a shock when they find out their chances of making it) there is little in the way of detail to flesh this out. The mythos race in question are also a little colourless in how they and their surroundings are described, and I would have liked to see some material that upped their horror potential and made them seem a little less just like ‘hostile natives’ – which is how they come across (an image that is fostered with a piece of artwork in the book).
I also think the scenario should have perhaps had the courage of its ‘leanings’ and went the ‘whole hog’ – presenting itself fully as a one-shot scenario complete with interesting pre-generated characters – characters with interesting backgrounds drawn from the geographical area and perhaps with conflicting personalities or pasts which would come to the fore as the situation becomes more desperate. As it is, players are invited to generate their own characters and it seems are encouraged to do so (by the artificial ‘reasons’ suggested for the flight) from the ‘typical’ Call of Cthulhu investigative pool of academics, journalists and the like. While half the fun might be in seeing such bookish characters struggle to survive, I’m wondering whether they might not also be completely out of their depth and with little opportunity to deploy the bulk of their skill-set. Conversely, creative 'gung-ho' players might also be tempted play fast and loose ('Archaeologists need mercenary bodyguards, right ?!!') to generate characters that are laden to the teeth with arms, and this in turn might endanger the 'limited resources' tone sought by the author..... On the other hand, I can see the benefits of the book’s approach in enabling the Keeper to spring a nasty and entertaining surprise on players who think they are in for something quite different – so this might be a matter of personal preference.
As for it being suitable for inclusion in a long term campaign, I think it would only work to kick-start one (indeed some ‘further investigations’ material is presented should any survivors wish to get to the very bottom of the mystery). The 1938 setting is somewhat later than most ‘Call of Cthulhu’ campaigns (though adherents of ‘Trail of Cthulhu’ might find it more to their liking) and I’d say the chance of many or all characters dying is high.
The one further thing that I would question is the inclusion of a Call of Cthulhu character sheet. In this age of dedicated rpg web-sites, there is no real reason to include this (it’s just a standard character sheet) and I think the space could have been put to better use with expanded information on either the NPCs, jungle survival, pre-gens or playtest notes (a personal favourite of mine which I love to see included in scenarios). The same could be said for an inside page which basically reproduces the cover in black and white.
Having read all this, I hope that you do not think that I regard this scenario is a poor one. I don’t, and I can easily envision that a very entertaining evening’s play could be had from it. There are some good ‘set-pieces’, a very interesting and complex NPC to deal with - and I can imagine that the denouement (assuming that the characters live that long !) could lead to some very interesting play and resolution. And at $9.95 (US) it’s very good value (especially if you are in the UK where it can retail for around a fiver !). However, I do feel that it falls a little short of the very high standard previously set by Pagan – which is a pity as I think only another couple of pages of supporting information for the Keeper, and perhaps an added flavour of horror (perhaps in the initial encounters with the mythos race ?) could have made the difference in making me feel that I had purchased a completely satisfactory and distinctive product.
In short, 'Final Flight' is a missed opportunity for real excellence, but still well worth checking out.
