[ Note: it is never my intention to provide spoilers but rather overviews lest players read these descriptions and spoil the fun].
This adventure reads and plays (based upon a partial playing) like a mystery novel, it combines all the elements of the Gumshoe nicely together and truly elevates an art. If you are still trying to reconcile Trail with Call, it is this adventure that has won the battle – The Rending Box represents some of the best Cthulhu writing out there. However, I would pity the poor sod that would try to convert it back to BRP, as this adventure seems show the full potential of the Gumshoe system. Not saying it cannot be done…but really draws upon its strengths and goes full throttle toward a resolution in which players not only lose their minds but have fun doing it. Action is displaced by thinking through the clues in the best traditions of Lovecraft’s own writing. This would be a drawback, if your players are set upon following a Pulp path or any of the other paths outlined in Bookhounds of London. Again, not saying it cannot be done; it just would require major reworking. But, if both Keeper and players are fine with those limitations (IMHO -> strengths) then it is bound to be a success.
The adventure is paced to move the players quickly from scene to scene and can be finished in a single sitting of 4-5 hours. In my group, it was marred by latecomers and early leavers as a result it could not be completed in said time. However, all other things being equal, it ought to be no more than that to complete the scenario. Many adventurers might feel railroaded by this scenario but especially if it is played in conjunction with others in the same serial (The Watchers in The Sky, Dying of St. Margaret’s or The Dance in the Blood) then this adventure merely serves a prologue something more sinister. Furthermore, the adventure contains something that good Keepers would want to retain for future stories and is something that you can build an entire campaign around (even if the original characters die) this handy little heuristic can be handed down up to the Modern day. Wet your appetite? Ok, here is the one spoiler of the review…it is the title of this scenario.
The NPCs are memorable, cleverly crafted and utterly believable. Players can survive but they will be worse for wear or they may indeed go down the Purist route but still feel comfortable that candle of hope is not entirely extinguished even the End Times has not changed, just as the Stars have not altered their path.
Jerome Huguenin’s art remains fabulous as ever. Here’s hoping that Pelgrane Press might want to release a book of art props (full page renderings of this great artist) commissioned by Jerome Huguenin which Keepers can use in other adventures. His technique keeps getting better and the sparse illustrations are paid back in spades with creating the perfect gothic horror that the whole Trail line has become synonymous with. Rounding the whole package out is the GM’s Handy Table of Reference which summaries all the Stability/Sanity losses throughout the adventure.
Again a drawback of the adventure is the lack of Character Portraits maybe it is just a quirk of the people that I game with but they are no so much interested in a bunch of statistics (which is what a character sheet essentially is) but the visual cues that might lead them to picking up that particular sheet. As I did not have time in the preparation of running this adventure, I left the character sheets, as is and found players were less responsive to them when I had provided sheets with Character Portraits. Maybe, Pelgrane Press does this build association with the statistics on a more personal level or it could be reflecting a certain Old School bias but for me I like to see pregens…more interesting is how players tend to change their appearance during the course of play creating some interesting doodles.
If you are new Trail of Cthulhu or just want to have a series of Purist adventures – start with this one. The Rending Box provides a wonderfully evocative adventure that sets the tone for Trail or Call of Cthulhu. Pelgrane Press has another winner for both seasoned veterans of Cthulhu and newbies alike. It sates the appetite for one solid night of fun gaming.
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