Fatal Experiments (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying, 1920s, Chaosium# 2328) by Richard Watts

Call of Cthulhu RPG

by Richard Watts

Chaosium Stock #2328Three Macabre Mythos Experiments, Unusual Weapons, Weapons Diagram Foldouts.For the Good of Mankind. Whether in the pursuit of knowledge or of vengeance, man has ever striven to seek greater knowledge of the world around him. Sometimes the seeker learns of things dark and forbidden, things never meant to be discovered. The seeker of knowledge finds that the world is infinitely vaster and more sinister than imagined, and is driven to ultimate despair and insanity. Already of warped mind, the seeker of vengeance inevitably turns his discoveries to corrupt ends.Fatal Experiments is a collection of three independent 1920s adventures for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Two of the three scenarios are suitable for both beginning and experienced players, making this book a perfect companion for first-time buyers of the Call of Cthulhu game system. The remaining adventure is unusually dangerous – to be played only by experienced, foolhardy investigators. The article New & Old Weapons for Call of Cthulhu discusses black-powder weaponry, and details many unusual and custom guns that have been created by enterprising gunsmiths, or that might be commissioned by investigators. Two 2-page fold-outs illustrating many of these antique or unusual firearms are provided.Three TatterdemallionThe Song of FantariThe Lurker in the Crypt

Genres: Role Playing Games, Gaming

Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

Reviews

[Benjamin]

How? Cthulhu collection.

What? Another adventure anthology, plus one article (this time on unusual weapons -- which seems random).

The adventures are
- "Tatterdemallion" (mad playwright, Yellow King, snooze),
- "The Songs of Fantari" (deep one sirens luring fishers, yawn), and
- "The Lurker in the Crypt" (drunk ghouls, undead elephant esophagus, evil (well, eviler) James Woods-looking guy!)

Yeah, so? I read this book a while ago and I guess I just forgot to review it. So let's see what I remember after a quick flip through:

- "Tatterdemallion" does have a sort of louche Vincent Price-movie aesthetic, where the wronged playwright seeks revenge, though I forgot that it actually ends up with the PCs transported to Carcosa. Which... meh, I love the Yellow King, but it's gotta be more than just "here's a fucked up artist."
- The Italian setting for "The Songs of Fantari" has some variation from the typical New England Deep Ones, but the adventure is mostly "here's all the fucked up experiments the Deep Ones are doing on humans" and it's not all that interesting.
- "The Lurker in the Crypt" is, first of all, so long: the other adventures are 26 and 18 pages -- this one is 52 pages long. And it's got a lot going on: an evil witch has been trying to breed half-ghoul children as a new servitor race for a god, but many of them are unstable and return to black goo. So you start trying to find out who is doing some murders, eventually rumble on to that plot, go into the graveyards and sewers, rescuing some people and running into various encounters: ghouls, zombie body parts (including the elephant esophagus), maybe some Deep Ones, some gangsters, and eventually the evil witch. Which makes this a bit too dungeon-y, in a way.

I know some people like at least Tatterdemallion, but I think this book is going on the out pile.