Much of the first part of the module is designed to get the right mood for the adventure which precedes it and Gaunlett has certainly managed to capture the smells, lighting (ie sights), feelings, mood and utter squalor of life on a U Boat (think Das Boat rather than The Hunt for Red October) perfectly. This alone should make the adventure worth its weight in gold. For anyone who does survive this adventure (the adventure lends itself for going either way – in which, most can survive or it could result in a Total Party Kill) it could provide an excellent springboard for further adventures. The adventure and Keeper is encouraged to spend time in this buildup as it heightens the tension level for the encounters that follow – both mundane & banal and those of a supernatural & terrifying nature thus laying the groundwork for what someone who described warfare as: “hours and hours of mind numbing boredom punctuated by seconds of absolute terror”.
The players man an unarmed submarine whose mission by the German Navy is to cut its way through the nets that protect England’s harbors and lay mines as close as possible so as to disrupt transport. For there is the likelihood of the discovery and being sunk by the Royal Navy, in addition the placing of the mines can easily sink the submarine, as well. As a safeguard, there was a suspension timer before a left mine rises to the surface, but every so often the delaying mechanism falls short and the mine rises under the submarine to detonates. This is where the title of the adventure comes from, for such mine-laying vessels were known as “Sisters of Sorrow” for it was a thankless task but one that had to be done. Even though the U-Boat does have a machine gun, it is by no means an attack boat, and thus the firepower of the boat cannot save player’s skins against the supernatural threats which simultaneously with the stipulations of the Prize Code mean that the crews’ actions will be inadequate against the horrors that they will encounter. The adventure itself is fairly straightforward in precise military timetable and players ushered along through gentle prods, not quite railroading but isolating the party from help…although, even if they manage to escape the peril, they will quickly find out, they have brought the trouble back with them. In the best of Trail of Cthulhu adventures, there are wheels within wheels, in which different NPC personalities are explored and provide interesting, real, memorable encounters as well as a share of red herrings. In a crew of fourteen damned souls, players will not know who to trust and what is the source of their woe thus heightening the level of paranoia further as they march toward the climax.
The adventure is meant as a standalone and best played as a one-shot or convention game spreading the game out would cause players to lose some the essential anxiety and tightness that the adventure requires. Further work by the Keeper, such as the securing of sound files would complete the adventure and make the experience all the more terrifying, as I did in the trial run of this adventure. As a consequence, this adventure like many Trail of Cthulhu adventures cannot be run simply out of the box but does require a careful reading and re-reading to get all the right elements together.
Nicely, accompanying the package is a group of pregens (replete with character portraits – thanks Pelgrane) and some playtest notes, along with suggestions should the Big Bad, at the end be either too powerful or that players anticipate the monster. Kudos can go to Gauntlett for the inclusion of these alternate endings…thus with some minor modifications this adventure could be ported into an Ashen Stars or Esoterrorist game, for Gauntlett has created the perfect murky and troubled paranoiac claustrophobic adventure that can be played across genres.
The art returns to Pelgrane’s high standard of near photographic realism punctuated with a feeling of disaster threatening just beyond the pane. PCs are nicely balanced between greenhorns and seasoned seamen thus providing a balance of role playing experiences that can cater to player preferences.
Notwithstanding, players are not restricted to the pregens, players can attempt to take on some of the roles of the NPCs – including the submarine’s captain. The grouping of the imagery of life aboard the U-Boat, is counteract the quixotic, almost valiant accepted wisdom that many of us have about submarine warfare thus producing an excellent adventure that incorporates the horror war with the supernatural horrors of Lovecraft. All things considered a decidedly pleasurable and admirable mood piece for a simple one-off adventure sure to bring pleasure to players and Keepers alike.
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