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Call of Cthulhu RPG
Last Rites: Four Present-Day Adventures for Call of Cthulhu
Four challenging horrors for today. A book of wretched poetry, an incautious summoning, a Satanic coven, and a house with a suspicious history are the basic ingredients. Useful as stand-alone adventures, or for a change of pace when inserted into an ongoing campaign. Though suitable for beginning player characters, these adventures are dangerous, and incautious beginners will come to regret rash decisions.
80 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1999
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March 13, 2024How? Found for a good price at a Half Price Books, decided to bump it up in the reading list.
What? Four short adventures in the 90s (from 1999) (no spoilers until later, just the hooks):
* Last Rites - after a funeral, more people turn up dead
* Lethal Legacy - PCs investigate a stolen mummy
* The House on McKinley Boulevard - PCs investigate a squatter's death in a scary house
* The Priestess - two coeds who recently edited a book of bad poetry disappear.
Yeah, so? First, I want to emphasize: short. Each adventure is about 10 pages, minus illustrations, maps, and handouts. All of these feel like one night, a fact which is called out once or twice in the adventures.
Second, ye gods is this 90s. There's mention of how much it costs per minute to download articles from the newspaper; the depiction of drug-using squatters feels very 90s, too.
Third, the adventures are... well, let's take them one by one, but also let's note the dire generality of those titles:
* Last Rites: a woman has consorted with dark powers, and is now taking revenge on the cult that killed her sister as a child; she is doing so by animating her absentee father's corpse. This fits into a category of CoC adventure where I sort of feel like I'm on the villain's side. The good ending here involves saving the cultists who killed a child in the past -- doesn't seem reasonable to me.
* Lethal Legacy: a man delved into dark powers, driving away his wife; now he summons a monster to kill the ex-wife and her new family, has second thoughts and steals the mummy to banish the monster, but gets into a car wreck. The PCs go from missing mummy --> who stole the mummy --> why did he steal it --> can they defeat the monster. Seems fine.
* McKinley House: a long time ago a sorcerer gave life to an idol, then thought better of it and smashed the idol, which survives as many smaller living statues; now the house is derelict, full of damaged people and runaways. Can the PCs find the hidden temple and destroy the idol before it drives more weak-willed people to destruction? Eh, fine.
* The Priestess: evil priestess from ancient history suborns a poet, who needs a sacrifice. And what do you know, he was just made fun of by two young women, so perfect. By the time the PCs get involved, the evil priestess from the past has already totally taken over the poet, so again it's: PCs follow clues until they meet the monster.
So, in aggregate, the adventures are fine, minus the first one, which feels underbaked morally, but they aren't stellar; and I am mostly drawn to the second and third since they involve saving people who aren't guilty of murder.
What? Four short adventures in the 90s (from 1999) (no spoilers until later, just the hooks):
* Last Rites - after a funeral, more people turn up dead
* Lethal Legacy - PCs investigate a stolen mummy
* The House on McKinley Boulevard - PCs investigate a squatter's death in a scary house
* The Priestess - two coeds who recently edited a book of bad poetry disappear.
Yeah, so? First, I want to emphasize: short. Each adventure is about 10 pages, minus illustrations, maps, and handouts. All of these feel like one night, a fact which is called out once or twice in the adventures.
Second, ye gods is this 90s. There's mention of how much it costs per minute to download articles from the newspaper; the depiction of drug-using squatters feels very 90s, too.
Third, the adventures are... well, let's take them one by one, but also let's note the dire generality of those titles:
* Last Rites: a woman has consorted with dark powers, and is now taking revenge on the cult that killed her sister as a child; she is doing so by animating her absentee father's corpse. This fits into a category of CoC adventure where I sort of feel like I'm on the villain's side. The good ending here involves saving the cultists who killed a child in the past -- doesn't seem reasonable to me.
* Lethal Legacy: a man delved into dark powers, driving away his wife; now he summons a monster to kill the ex-wife and her new family, has second thoughts and steals the mummy to banish the monster, but gets into a car wreck. The PCs go from missing mummy --> who stole the mummy --> why did he steal it --> can they defeat the monster. Seems fine.
* McKinley House: a long time ago a sorcerer gave life to an idol, then thought better of it and smashed the idol, which survives as many smaller living statues; now the house is derelict, full of damaged people and runaways. Can the PCs find the hidden temple and destroy the idol before it drives more weak-willed people to destruction? Eh, fine.
* The Priestess: evil priestess from ancient history suborns a poet, who needs a sacrifice. And what do you know, he was just made fun of by two young women, so perfect. By the time the PCs get involved, the evil priestess from the past has already totally taken over the poet, so again it's: PCs follow clues until they meet the monster.
So, in aggregate, the adventures are fine, minus the first one, which feels underbaked morally, but they aren't stellar; and I am mostly drawn to the second and third since they involve saving people who aren't guilty of murder.
April 25, 2025
Basic Premise: 4 different short scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu RPG.
These 4 adventures can be combined to create a series of scenarios that tie together, potentially inserted into another, larger campaign, or be used as one shots. As per usual with Chaosium products, there are plenty of handouts and backstory provided to help the keeper set the scene and the mood. I love the role-play aspect of all things CoC, and these short scenarios fill the bill well. Also, as with all things CoC, be aware that there is horror and gore, so mind your comfort levels.
These 4 adventures can be combined to create a series of scenarios that tie together, potentially inserted into another, larger campaign, or be used as one shots. As per usual with Chaosium products, there are plenty of handouts and backstory provided to help the keeper set the scene and the mood. I love the role-play aspect of all things CoC, and these short scenarios fill the bill well. Also, as with all things CoC, be aware that there is horror and gore, so mind your comfort levels.
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