Strange Aeons: Three Unusual Times & Places

Call of Cthulhu RPG

by Lucya Szachnowski

STRANGE AEONS contains three adventures set in unusual times and in Renaissance Spain during the logical, dread, and austere Spanish Inquisition, in a twenty-first century lunar outpost, and in Elizabethan England, among certain talented playwrights. Six pre-generated characters are provided for each scenario.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Horror

80 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Matthew J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of three scenarios for Call of Cthulhu, I'd say this is a bit of a mixed bag. The first scenario has a fairly simple concept, but its setting and the fact that the characters are all meant to be sent by the Inquisition to ferret out heretics mean that some seriously complicated issues are being dealt with. It feels like a game that might be better for more experienced players, but the plot doesn't seem challenging enough. With some re-working, I think it could be a pretty cool story, especially if you were to use it as a 'flashback' story to supplement a more traditional 1920s game. The second story is set in the 'Future!' of 2015 where events take place on a Moon base. There are some cool ideas in this, but the scenario is frustrating because it doesn't feel like a stand-alone, yet is presented as one. This feels like part of a larger campaign, or series of loosely connected stories. There are lots of hints at more coming before and more to come, but none of it is realized. It seems like something that should be revisited as part of a larger, perhaps Moon focused, campaign book. The final scenario is by far the most involved, and takes up much of the second half of the book. It's set in late Elizabethan England, and features William Shakespeare, among others. There is a lot to like about this one, but I still think it would need some work. I like wrapping up The King in Yellow with the feverish creativity and deadly plagues of the time. If you were to do a King in Yellow/Hastur themed campaign, this might be a great 'prequel' or 'introduction' adventure, to set the tone and some of the themes.
I like the idea of this book. Take several non-traditional time periods and set Call of Cthulhu stories in them. Great. I think it probably needed two or three more adventures, though. And I really do think "Blood Moon" should be redone as part of a larger scenario/campaign.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice trio of unusual adventures for CoC. The one set in the spanish inquisition is a very fast adventure, had lots of interesting NPC's, and you can easily veil the plot to make it more intriguing. The one set on the moon has the potential to be Alien, but could easily become Apollo 18 if not properly adjusted. The jewel here is the Elizabethan london adventure. It will not cater to every party, but could wondrously become a true bridge between literature and RPG's.

The only drawback I've felt of the adventures is that are somewhat loosely constructed. The first has far too many NPC's than needed; in the second there is a plot involving a cult that could easily be wiped out to make a more interesting adventure; the third one needs some extensive preparation from the Keeper's part. However, these adventures shown the true potential of adapting the Cthulhu mythos to diverse times and places.

[Sami Koskinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

1/3 great.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useless as a campaign, but interesting as pieces of fiction