 Goto [ Index ] |
Presentation
I liked how the book was organized. Black highlight boxes, with various gamemaster notes, break up the layout for easy reading. Artwork varies by scenario, but, overall, the artwork is evocative and relevant to the adventures. I'd recommend photocopies of the art as handouts during play. Handouts, including pregenerated characters for each adventure, are in the back of the book, and easily photocopied.Downloads of handouts and character sheets are not available on the website. A PDF is available, and would be a good choice: the book is in black and white, you can print the handouts and character sheets from the PDF, you will want to print artwork in the book, and you can print out each scenario separately. The PDF is $20, vs. the softcover at $30.
As something of a nitpick, the backgrounds of the pregenerated characters are noticeably inconsistent. Some scenarios give rich detail, others only a few sentences.
Bad Company
"We feared that perhaps he had gotten himself into... ah... difficulties, and so we took steps to keep the matters out of the newspapers and minimize the possibility of police involvement." -- Mr. Clarence, servant of Baronet Godfrey SommersBad Company takes place in the British Victorian Gaslight era, when a family's social status and reputation were more important than one's life. The investigators are old friends of Arthur Sommers. His father, the Baronet Godfrey Sommers has received a threatening blackmail letter from S. The investigators have been approached for their loyalty and discretion more than their skills.
I highly recommend this advanced scenario. The investigators will interview and encounter darker and darker personalities as the story progresses. Although it eventually follows the typical "Investigators Find Information then Go After The Monster" format, the investigation itself provides plenty of interaction and personality. The scenario provides numerous hooks from one scene to another, avoiding the "critical clue" problem of many adventures, and allowing both open-ended investigations and resolution. The scenario even offers mini "adventure seeds" that allow the gamemaster to add more to the adventure. It's also clever that the investigators need to avoid attracting attention because of Victorian scandal, rather than the trite "Because No One Will Believe Them" excuse.
I consider this scenario advanced because of its open-ended investigating, and also because the adventure relies on darker NPC's. While they must be discrete, the investigators have quite a bit of leeway in handling the scenario. The climax, for example, can be resolved with anything from a conspired social event embarrassing the main villain, to an anonymous trunkload of explosives. The Keeper must be open to ideas the players have that may not be mentioned in the adventure. Likewise, the Keeper must be able to play well an interesting variety of fallen and evil NPC's. Unlike an unflinching newspaper article, investigators may implement all sorts of creative and unfriendly ways to utilize an NPC, particularly one who originally wanted to chop him into bits. Will they dutifully turn him over to the police? Use him as bait to lure out the main villain? Or merely pump him full of laudanum in said car with a trunkful of explosives? Experienced Keepers and investigators should have a most enjoyable session of roleplaying through this Victorian descent of fallen people and creatures.
Darkness, Descending
"As Cyagegha's grip on Watson grows, so his sanity is destroyed. Directed through the foul nightmares, Watson continues to uncannily uncover a further Vaeyen each day until all five have been uncovered." -- The Advance Archaeological Team: Professor Martin WatsonDarkness, Decending is a standard "GOO Trapped By Strange Statuettes Possesses NPC's To Remove Them" scenario done well. The players are a team of archaeologists, sent in after the advance team has done some initial digging. The Vaeyen guardian statuettes are slowly being found, and, once removed from their location, the Great Old One, Cyagegha, will be released. Although it officially takes place in 1930's Britain, its remote rural location makes its playable in other locations and time periods.
Beginning Keepers should have no problems running this scenario. The most important NPC's are two monsters, a possessed poacher, and an archaeology member slowly descending into madness. Advanced Keepers can have fun fleshing out the other personalities, from the domineering archaeology leader, to the local small town gossip.
I think my only nitpicks for this scenario are that the minions become unkillable reanimated undead after their first death, and the pregenerated characters have sparse backgrounds. Personally, I prefer minions to be not totally invulnerable and recommend adding some magical weapon that will defeat them (for a hefty price, of course). The pregenerated characters have almost no background, although they have opinions of the other archaeologists on the team.
Wrong Turn
"The Lordsdown facility was, unfortunately for all involved, a resounding success, but not in the way envisioned by its creators. Its entire on-site staff went missing without a trace on 5th June, 1974." -- Keeper's Information: The Lordsdown FacilityI'm a little leery of a "No Way Out" scenario. Wrong Turn requires a Keeper able to create disturbing horror, and buy-ins from the players to both characters and their dopplegangers later in the game. In other words, it should be an interesting change from the typical Call of Cthulhu adventure, if the Keeper and players can pull it off.
Set in modern day Britain (but, since the locale is remote, it could be placed in any modern country), a media crew has selected the derelict Lordsdown facility for an overnight shoot. But the facility was once used to secretly study "cosmic resonances" and, after the horrible incident in 1974, the site was abandoned. Some information of the facility remains public record, and the Red Rose Media Company has chosen this location for an upcoming pilot.
The story invokes the Mythos non-Euclidian angles, inhabited by vaguely human shapes. The microphone and video equipment capture scenes the crew do not see with their own eyes. Figures in haz-mat suits appear in the camera, and a sudden flash takes the crew back to the incident. Time and space become inconsistent, as rooms seem to change position, no stars appear in the skies, and things at a location the crew returns to move about for no reason. The atmosphere is more of a disturbing dream than classic Mythos. (The adventure, in fact, leaves the explanation for the events open-ended.)
Keepers need to be able to create an atmosphere of psychological horror, and, I think, the right player group is necessary for this. The adventure needs players who are more able to roleplay everyday media crew members in a bizarre situation, rather than gamers who have 80% shotgun. The scenario calls for killing off each character one-by-one, with each crew member replaced by a simulacrum, which the player plays with out the rest of the group knowing. Some players will find this a fantastic opportunity, and others might not.
As an aside, the Lordsdown location itself is quite suitable as a generic abandoned research center. The pregenerated crew members are well-detailed and have their own inter-party conflicts. Even if the reader isn't able to use the adventure as written, he should be able to come up with a good horror adventure.
King
"Worse still, they have also been 'improved' physically in a second operation that has removed most of their internal organs, replacing them with 'other' things. A painless, open wound or 'slit' now exists in each of the investigator's lower chest (the solar plexus). This wound does not heal." -- Text box: Foul ExperimentationThe title, King, refers to the "Kingdom of the Blind". The investigators have checked into the Bethesda Hospital for various eye surgeries, only to have a few unwelcome adjustments. They can now see invisible monsters, definitely an ability with mixed benefits, and their internal organs have been replaced. The adventure is linear, and can be easily run by new Keepers. The scenario takes place in modern-day Britain, but can be adjusted for any hospital (or asylum) in both Lovecraftian and modern era.
The adventure is rather unsubtle. It does not have the conventional clue-gathering or NPC interview phase and goes right to the monsters. An early scene has the players realize the horrible wriggly things the doctor has placed into their eyes. Another scene has a sympathetic nurse messily splattered in an adjoining corridor. The investigators will later sneak through a Tcho-Tcho colony (Tcho-Tcho's make good hospital porters) and escape from a Star Vampire (but not the things they worship).
Understandably, the book recommends this as a standalone scenario, or as a beginning for further adventures. Still, if you've had entire parties face their demise, you can give them a second chance with this scenario. Certainly, if they escape, they'll have more motivation to fight the forces of Cthulhu than the usual "You Receive A Phone Call From An Old Friend".
My Little Sister Will Make You Suffer!
"You are a male, skinny and your hair is thinning. Your fingers are long and you have a habit of twitching them -- you wish you could stop doing this. You feel as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, leaving you light and happy. All is good in the world." -- Handout of Player 3's memory recollection at the start of the scenarioThe last scenario takes place in the near future in outer space. Or, rather, a morally decayed future, on a low-budget reality show with actual violence and death. Each investigator was a prisoner on death row, who signed up to be on a reality game show for an obvious prize. Except, of course, no one told them their memories would be temporarily erased when they woke up on the set. Among other things, they have to land a space shuttle (simulated), repair a defective power plant (simulated) and communicate with a deranged computer (simulated). Oh, and the ship's infested with mutants (simulated). No idea where Britain fits into this.
A horrible dystopian future? A low-budget reality show? With the former being a cliche of the last ten years, and the latter the only thing on cable for the next ten, I found the setting for this adventure setting rather unwelcome. I also had trouble suspending belief for a low-budget reality show (even a SyFy one) that could afford mindwipes and plastic surgery (to create the simulated mutants).
The scenario certainly has clever ideas. Not only is there no Cthulhu monster, but, as the scenario continues, the player characters slowly recover their memories -- and some find that they're not exactly friends. After several sweeps-week scenes, the scenario climaxes with a "Four Escape Pods For Six People" dilemma. Additionally, the adventure has suggestions for the gamemaster to make the players suspect that the high-tech spaceship is really a low-budget film set.
Myself, I'd massage the premise a bit. Who says humans are the only species that make bad reality shows?
Conclusion
Phrases in quotes aside, Cthulhu Britannica is less of a collection of British adventures than several scenarios that twist a Call of Cthlhu RPG session up a bit. Advanced Keepers with the right player groups should find Cthulhu Britannica a definite change from the usual fare.Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
