Spawn of Azathoth: Herald of the End of Time

Call of Cthulhu RPG

by Keith Herber

Astronomers have theorized that our sun is not alone in its journey around the galaxy, but is accompanied by an unknown second star of dim radiance. This second star, while perhaps invisible from Earth even with the finest optics, would periodically pass close enough to our solar system to have far-reaching effects upon the evolution of this planet. This is a campaign-length adventure for 4-6 experienced investigators. The suspicious death of a former teacher draws the investigators into an adventure with cosmic import.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Gaming, Games, Horror

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Matthew J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Sami Koskinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is couple cool parts in scenarios but it's mainly suffering from bad overall plot, and about these dreamland/reality parts.