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Robin Laws has constructed an adventure around Robert W. Chambers (19th and early 20th century American writer) story of the same name which takes place in alternate 1920, as Chambers wrote this Science Fiction/Weird Tale in 1895. The milieu is that of a distorted America, naturally caused by the Great Old One’s disruption of the time line – thus the adventure has almost an Art Deco Steampunk feel to it, straddling the novelty of the age of Steam yet has many things that are Art Deco combined with some of the traditional prejudices of the 1890s offering them as solutions. Pelgrane has reproduced the story and occupies the first 15 pages of the adventure – [u]it is recommended[/u] that Keepers read the introduction then the story or the story and the introduction – not like me who read the story last.
For the story forms the narrative of the adventure as well as the backdrop. However, steampunkish, it may be there are neither airship pirates nor fantastical interventions associated with the steampunk annals just an odd nor queer filter or lens looking out over the world. Laws does tell the Keeper how to integrate this world in but does give some salient points that should be gleaned from the adventure. It is hard to know, if this is the default present for Trail of Cthulhu or just a one-off into exploring one aspect of Trail of Cthulhu through the prism of Chambers’ writings. Astute scholars of the Mythos will have figured out all the spoilers – however, one ought to be cautious about blurting out this discovery in the course of the adventure…for knowledge, especially; forbidden knowledge is dangerous in any Call of Cthulhu game but this game will punish you quite nastily and brutally.
The adventure, as it follows the story, begins rather slowly with the investigation centred on an apparent suicide but gradually picks up the pace as the players interact with more NPCs, it leads them to the horrific climax. The adventure is closer to Purist than Pulp or any other the types of adventure introduced in Bookhounds of London. In some ways, it ventures off the traditional Trail of Cthulhu by inflecting massive sanity losses throughout – I understand this is done in keeping with the original story (and thankfully stability remains the anchor). It is a difficult adventure to run despite Laws helpful advice at the beginning of the adventure, as it is a prisoner of the short story contained within. That, notwithstanding, it is one of the best Trail of Cthulhu adventures written to date.
As readers familiar with my previous reviews will not that I have bemoaned the lack of solid guidance that Trail of Cthulhu adventures seem to have by having everything left to the sandbox yet form a series of clues that solve the mystery. Not so here. We have a solid adventure with suggestions how to make it even more horrific. Those looking for the quick fix and slam-wham adventures will have discard their side arms for their thinking caps. This is an adventure that is a hard slough but the rewards are equally good for success. Laws has already suggested that this is going to be part of a trilogy – my only thought would be not to tie them so closely to Chambers work – that way players can be thrown for a loop should they cheat and read this review and the stories associated. Naturally, Keepers can do, what I always do – change the name of the published adventure and if they get a whiff of players wanting to introduce spoilers – what a pity the player did not pass that Spot Hidden for the Dimensional Shambler or it is really bad behaviour/form – shoggoth behind that corner.
The artwork is again marvellous as Jerome manages to capture the creep factor in all his illustrations. Pelgrane has updated the Character Sheet to include space for an illustration (thank you for listening, Pelgrane) as well given it a cleaner more professional look. The introduction of Drive Cards is also great innovation that accelerates play but also makes it more cooperative and hence enjoyable.
The adventure would be hard to transpose into a regular Call of Cthulhu game – as its setting with its distinctive art deco steampunk noir is a difficult fit unless your Classic Call of Cthulhu (1920s) is already there. My games tend to be historical that is probably another reason that I am having trouble with this adventure – its narrative is based on a fictional literary narrative. All in all, this adventure comes recommended for Keepers and Players who might want to experience something different. Pelgrane Press is once again blazing a new path for each to look at the world slightly differently.
Laws has done an admirable job at adapting the story and making a fine adventure. Hopefully, he will churn out some more tales from the same Chambers’ collection. As it seems that this one as a standalone would be rather lonely – it begins the story and milieu ought to go on.
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