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Call of Cthulhu RPG
Spawn of Azathoth: Herald of the End of Time
Boxed Set
Back Cover Text: "Few attended the funeral of the old man. And even fewer saw the headless apparition which appeared in an investigators room. The keen-witted investigators find significance in the unfortunate death. Through their persistence they begin to unravel a secret implying doom for everyone. Monstrous peril confronts the intrepid investigators as evidence leads them across the United States and into the depths of Asia. SPAWN OF AZATHOTH is a new supplement for CALL OF CTHULHU, the roleplaying game which recreates the atmosphere and adventures of the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, world-famous horror-tale author. Within this box are three books the parts for seven distinct linked adventures, each of generous play time. The first book, From Beyond the Grave, contains keeper introduction and orientation material, and presents Providence, the first adventure. The second book, The Spawn Approaches, contains the other six adventures, Garrison, St. Augustine, Andaman Islands, Ulthar and Beyond, The Eternal Quest, and the climax of the campaign, The Spawn of Azathoth. Lovecraft created a special fantasy world, the Dreamlands, and two of the adventures take place there. Special rules included govern the behaviour of investigators in that other place, including transformation of physical objects and nightmare effects. The third book, The Azathoth Papers, contains more than 60 news clippings, tome and diary excerpts, letters, and other clues. Three special sections of optional clues quotations from Mythos tomes, gleanings from historical research, and news clippings allow keepers to expand upon the clues that their investigators find, to emphasize certain kinds of information or to introduce lines of reasoning not otherwise uncovered."
Back Cover Text: "Few attended the funeral of the old man. And even fewer saw the headless apparition which appeared in an investigators room. The keen-witted investigators find significance in the unfortunate death. Through their persistence they begin to unravel a secret implying doom for everyone. Monstrous peril confronts the intrepid investigators as evidence leads them across the United States and into the depths of Asia. SPAWN OF AZATHOTH is a new supplement for CALL OF CTHULHU, the roleplaying game which recreates the atmosphere and adventures of the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, world-famous horror-tale author. Within this box are three books the parts for seven distinct linked adventures, each of generous play time. The first book, From Beyond the Grave, contains keeper introduction and orientation material, and presents Providence, the first adventure. The second book, The Spawn Approaches, contains the other six adventures, Garrison, St. Augustine, Andaman Islands, Ulthar and Beyond, The Eternal Quest, and the climax of the campaign, The Spawn of Azathoth. Lovecraft created a special fantasy world, the Dreamlands, and two of the adventures take place there. Special rules included govern the behaviour of investigators in that other place, including transformation of physical objects and nightmare effects. The third book, The Azathoth Papers, contains more than 60 news clippings, tome and diary excerpts, letters, and other clues. Three special sections of optional clues quotations from Mythos tomes, gleanings from historical research, and news clippings allow keepers to expand upon the clues that their investigators find, to emphasize certain kinds of information or to introduce lines of reasoning not otherwise uncovered."
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 18, 2019
I read an older edition, because I had it, and because I'm not dropping collector prices for a newer edition. So, perhaps some things I might complain about have been fixed. Perhaps.
Like most pre-published Chaosium campaigns for Call of Cthulhu, this one lacks focus. There's really no reason to deal with Mi-Go, Tcho-Tcho, ancient spiders, Hastur worshipers, and Ghouls, not to mention a ghost and some Sasquatch...Sasquatch?! in one, fairly short campaign. What YouTube reviewer Kurt Wiegel often refers to as a 'monster hoedown.' It wouldn't take a ton of work to focus things a bit more. The theme of cannibalism runs through several parts, so you could change the Sasquatch to a band of strange people who practice a kind of ritual cannibalism, but are, generally harmless. If you wanted to crank up the weird, make them some sort of proto-human offshoot that have been surviving in the region for a long time. I definitely wouldn't bring ghouls into things, which might take the chapter "The Eternal Quest" out of the picture, but maybe not. The connection to Hastur could be dropped and nobody would be the wiser.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is set up somewhat for inexperienced characters, but then throws a lot of very difficult problems at them, including dealing with the Dreamlands (a whole can of worms), needing multiple and sometimes unusual language skills, and extremely deadly encounters. There are half a dozen places where a TPK (total party kill) seems not only possible, but likely.
Those concerns aside, I think that a confident and competent Keeper could adjust some things, re-write some things, and run a pretty good game with this. There are some very cool ideas, and I really like the semi-sandbox nature of the story. Other than the first and last chapter, you may or may not do the other chapters, and could do them in different order. And it's not that the Dreamlands part doesn't fit. It's just a bit loop, if there's not more build-up. It might be best if, between the first chapter and what comes later, a more detailed introduction to the concept happen. Maybe some preliminary experiment in dreaming? I might try to weave the Dreamlands more tightly into the other chapters, too.
Part of me would like to see Chaosium do for this campaign what they've recently done for Horror on the Orient Express and Masks of Nyarlathotep. I think it could make for an interesting, greatly expanded campaign. Perhaps a few more subplots and interesting locations. Maybe some more fleshed out ideas. I'd love to see practical advice for how to run sessions. Unfortunately, I don't think this has ever been one of the more popular classic campaigns, so perhaps I won't hold my breath.
I am curious to see what was done for the later edition; if it was simply a re-print, or if there were substantial alterations.
Like most pre-published Chaosium campaigns for Call of Cthulhu, this one lacks focus. There's really no reason to deal with Mi-Go, Tcho-Tcho, ancient spiders, Hastur worshipers, and Ghouls, not to mention a ghost and some Sasquatch...Sasquatch?! in one, fairly short campaign. What YouTube reviewer Kurt Wiegel often refers to as a 'monster hoedown.' It wouldn't take a ton of work to focus things a bit more. The theme of cannibalism runs through several parts, so you could change the Sasquatch to a band of strange people who practice a kind of ritual cannibalism, but are, generally harmless. If you wanted to crank up the weird, make them some sort of proto-human offshoot that have been surviving in the region for a long time. I definitely wouldn't bring ghouls into things, which might take the chapter "The Eternal Quest" out of the picture, but maybe not. The connection to Hastur could be dropped and nobody would be the wiser.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is set up somewhat for inexperienced characters, but then throws a lot of very difficult problems at them, including dealing with the Dreamlands (a whole can of worms), needing multiple and sometimes unusual language skills, and extremely deadly encounters. There are half a dozen places where a TPK (total party kill) seems not only possible, but likely.
Those concerns aside, I think that a confident and competent Keeper could adjust some things, re-write some things, and run a pretty good game with this. There are some very cool ideas, and I really like the semi-sandbox nature of the story. Other than the first and last chapter, you may or may not do the other chapters, and could do them in different order. And it's not that the Dreamlands part doesn't fit. It's just a bit loop, if there's not more build-up. It might be best if, between the first chapter and what comes later, a more detailed introduction to the concept happen. Maybe some preliminary experiment in dreaming? I might try to weave the Dreamlands more tightly into the other chapters, too.
Part of me would like to see Chaosium do for this campaign what they've recently done for Horror on the Orient Express and Masks of Nyarlathotep. I think it could make for an interesting, greatly expanded campaign. Perhaps a few more subplots and interesting locations. Maybe some more fleshed out ideas. I'd love to see practical advice for how to run sessions. Unfortunately, I don't think this has ever been one of the more popular classic campaigns, so perhaps I won't hold my breath.
I am curious to see what was done for the later edition; if it was simply a re-print, or if there were substantial alterations.
December 23, 2011
There is couple cool parts in scenarios but it's mainly suffering from bad overall plot, and about these dreamland/reality parts.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews