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Call of Cthulhu: Shadows over Scotland

Shadows over Scotland

This work provides an introduction to Scotland as a setting for adventure, and presents no less than six full adventures ready to be played. The Introduction begins with essential background to 1920s Scotland for the Keeper, including a map with major rail routes and a sweeping overview of Scotland - a rich and varied landscapes with mountains, bogs, woodland and more. It's mysterious, beautiful and wild; people have fought over it for centuries, and in the darkness the Mythos stirs. Notes on Scottish life in the 1920s point out that it matters what your social standing is, and that few families remain untouched by the Great War. Standards of living are lower than in the rest of the UK, and social unrest is not far behind. The arts are flourishing, however, with painters, architects and the stage popular and innovative.

Some Scottish dialect and a good summary history of Scotland follows, taking us from the Stone Age through Romans, the nation that flourished between 1000 and 1500, up to the Industrial revolution of the 1750s and to the present day (or at least the 1920s). Scattered comments inject Mythos elements to what otherwise is a competent summary of Scottish history; and there is a timeline of Mythos activity. The chapter rounds off with notable figures of 1920s Scotland, the party may not meet them but they will have heard of them and might read of them in the papers.

We then embark on a more detailed exploration of Scotland in three chapters which cover the Lowlands, the Highlands and the Islands. Each contains a wealth of material starting with the geography then moving on to culture and people, flora and fauna, the climate and - of course - the Mythos in that region. Much of this last is presented in a way that makes it easy to develop each topic touched on into an adventure for your party. Each 'Mythos Threat' is introduced, then there are sections on investigation and possible encounters as well as all the game mechanics and NPCs you might need to run them.

The Lowlands chapter also contains details of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews with maps and notes on famous locales. Edinburgh University apparently boasts a professor who studies the Mythos (oddly, he wasn't there twenty years later when my mother studied there!). The Highlands section naturally has space devoted to Loch Ness and possible monstrous inhabitants even though Nessie really only caught the public imagination in the 1930s, as well as notes on Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness. In the Islands chapter, Kirkwall on Orkney, Portree on Skye and Stornoway on Lewis are detailed, and there are notes on the steamers the party will need to travel around the isles.

Armed with this alone, you'd have plenty to run games in Scotland even without the six adventures which follow. The first is Death and Horror Incorporated, set in the underbelly of Glasgow where the party stumbles upon a dark nexus of evil that spreads around the gaol, the cathedral and Glasgow Royal Infirmary. This is a nicely free-form investigation where the party can wander at will gathering clues, but probably would work best with experienced players. It begins with an appeal from the Lord Provost (city mayor) for aid in dealing with a spate of murders... and ends in a desperate battle in the bowels of the earth.

Next, The Hand of Abyzou takes place in Edinburgh and begins when the party learns that an old acquaintance has been committed to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum for the Insane... apparently he'd been babbling about a cult of sorcerers and unearthly terrors in the vaults below the city. This is followed by Uisge Beatha (the Gaelic for Waters of Life, generally used to describe whisky). In rural Aberdeenshire, the heir to some lands arrives from America and visits a distillery that is part of his property for the first time and found rather more than he'd bargained for. Deciding that the locals were probably involved in what appears to be pagan activities (and him a staunch Baptist), he instructs his lawyers to find suitable investigators... and there is plenty for them to find!

The fourth adventure is Heed the Kraken's Call, which takes the party to Loch Ness. A famous naval explorer who announced his intention to survey the loch and plumb its depths has been murdered and his ship set alight. The police are baffled by certain aspects of the crime, and need specialist help. Again, this is a freeform investigation with plenty for the party to discover before they find out what's really going on and try to deal with it. Ample notes are provided to accommodate the party's investigations wherever they choose to go and whoever they speak with. Will they find Nessie?

Then comes The Forbidden Isle which takes the party to the Isle of Rum, where some fellow called Sir George Bullough plans to turn the island into a luxurious playground for Britain's rich and famous... but faces stiff Mythos opposition. Can the party help? Finally, Star Seed leads farther north, to Orkney where a strange artefact has been unearthed by an archaeologist. This adventure is aimed at novice investigators, but has enough meat to keep more experienced ones entertained.

All these adventures are well-resourced with background material, excellently-detailed NPCs to interact with, many intriguing encounters and plot twists and a useful 'Plot Map' that helps you ensure that all critical points are covered. They all have wonderful flavour that help them come alive as you read, never mind around your table-top. With the additional material covering Scotland as well, this is a magnificent addition to your collection as a resource as well as for the adventures.

Return to Shadows over Scotland page.

Reviewed: 26 December 2017