One possible reason why the Cthulhu Now setting for Call of Cthulhu game has been less popular than its 1920s counterpart might be the lack of available campaigns. We've had At Your Door and Utatti Asfet, but that’s about it (Unseen Masters is really three vaguely connected scenarios). So then, what is A Resection of Time? In the introduction it claims to be a short campaign, while the cover’s subtitle suggests that it is a scenario. I think A Resection of Time falls somewhere in between.
The adventure starts innocently enough in San Francisco as the investigators are hired to find the missing archaeologist Kyle Woodson, who is an expert on Mayan culture. Numerous clues lead investigators to Los Angeles and a nicely portrayed decaying Arkham and what is left of their University’s restricted book collection. But strange encounters dog the investigators; an autopsy report on what may or may not be Kyle Woodson comes into question, an assassin is found with a personal computer surgically inserted inside her brain, and a recovered Mayan artefact that behaves erratically if not kept in check.
The adventure is highly influenced by H.P. Lovecraft's excellent tale "The Whisperer in Darkness", and if you’ve read this story you’ll know which elder mythos race the investigators are up against. Elements from that story have been adapted well, to a strange encounter with Woodson, and an ancient cult who may or may not be aiding the investigators.
Finally the action relocates to Belize in Central America into the heart of Mayan culture, complete with obligatory pyramids and jungles. Belize is the first time I’ve seen a developing country depicted well in a modern Call of Cthulhu supplement, to the point were I believe the author, Sam Johnson, might have actually been there him self. From here the adventure gets really interesting, and of course dangerous.
A Resection of Time is a great scenario, and comes highly recommended. I have a few complains, one being that the United States locations are again never properly described for those of us who don’t know America as well as Hollywood would like us to. Another is that the conspiracy building early on in the scenario is great offering new heights of paranoia in a world where everything is "not quite right", but this conspiracy tends to fall flat once the investigators reach the jungle. Lastly, which is probably not fair on the author, but A Resection of Time would have made an excellent Delta Green scenario, and it is a shame that at least conversion notes weren’t included in an appendix as they were in Unseen Masters.
Originally written as a tournament module and this shows, for investigator background requires that at least some investigators spent time on a dig in Belize several years before. As a campaign I think it would have been better to expand this assumed background into an adventure, and perhaps add further locations and events later on to really draw players into a nasty conspiracy against two competing foes.
The cover art by Scott Baxa is nice, but didn't really draw me to the scenario when I first saw it on the shelves. Something with jungles and something hiding in the undergrowth would have been more eye-catching. Interior work by Paul Carrick is great and moody, and I think this is the first time a picture of a woman’s exposed breasts has been passed by Chaosium’s censoring department. Maps are wholly computer generated and uninspiring.
My recommendation is, if you don’t have this scenario and are a fan of the Delta Green conspiracies, then get your self a copy and spend a little time adapting it. You’ll have a lot of fun if you do. Sam Johnson has done some great work, and on this reputation I look forward to his upcoming H.P. Lovecraft’s Miskatonic University.
This review originally appeared on http://www.yog-sothoth.com.
Review Summary