Trail of Tsathogghua

Adventure for Call of Cthulu

Reviewed by William A Barton

Designed by Keith Herber
Chaosium, Inc. PO Box 64303, Albany, CA 94706
Release Date- November; 1984
Catalog No: 2308:
Price: $10.00
Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: Low
Rating: ****1/2

Trail of Tsathogghua is Chaosiums latest scenario booklet for Call of Cthulhu. It features two connected adventures--the title scenario, and a followup, called "The Curse of Tsathogghua"plus a third, unconnected scenario, "The Haunted House."

Trail involves a Miskatonic University expedition to Greenland to study the mysterious hieroglyphics and gigantic bas-relief found on a huge slab of stone protruding from a glacier. Investigators able to bear the rigors of the arctic environment and help in the translation of the writings on the ancient wall may learn hidden secrets of the prehistoric inhabitants of Greenland-both human and otherwise.

In "Curse," the news of a strange, almost-human foot found in a hunters trap and a trail left by one of the "non-player characters" (NPC) met in the first adventure will lead investigators to British Columbia and the secret of the Sasquatch.

"The Haunted House" beckons player-characters to a bit of "ghostbusting" in an attempt to exorcise whom--or whatever--is haunting die old Van Laaden mansion in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Trail is attractively "packaged" in Chaosiums standard 8.5 x 11-in. book format with a cover illustration bv Steve Purcell that vividly portrays one example of the evil that may await in the Temple of Tsathogghua, should investigators discover that lost ruin in the Greenland ice. in addition to its 64 pages of text, Trail features a 16-page center pullout-section of player handouts-excerpts from diaries, newspaper articles, letters, etc. that may aid the player characters in their investigations in the three scenarios.

Each scenario itself includes detailed background information on all the important NPCs, plus some of the people who inhabit the areas, especially in the Greenland and British Columbia locations. These include Eskimos, local Indian tribes, the Sasquatch, and earlier inhabitants, such as the Hyperboreans and the prehuman Voomis.

Several new spells are sprinkled throughout the book, including non-Cthulhuian types, such as Summon Spirit of the Dead and Summon Ghost, plus a wide range of spectral manifestations with which investigators may have to cope in "House."

Trail of Tsathogghua offers two connected scenarios that should prove demanding both physically and mentally, and a third that will require even more thought and insight than usual to puzzle out.

Experienced plavers will have plenty to keep them busy and challenged in Trail. In the hands of a skilled Keeper (referee), even beginning players should be able to have a good time with these scenarios. Although there isn't a lot of replay value in Trail's three scenarios as scenarios (except in the case of the same Keeper running more than one play group through them), there's enough background information and new material that any number of spin-off scenarios could be woven from the data contained in this book. The new spells in "House" should prove especially welcome to those seeking magical knowledge beyond the usual sanity blasting summoning spells of the Mythos.

Aiding the Keepers job in running a series of exciting, enjoyable scenarios is the generally wellorganized nature of Trail. information for both Keeper and players is easy to find and clear as to where it fits into the course of play. Only in the sections on the Van Laaden family history in "House" was any information difficult to follow. Here the background of the family jumped from one ancestor to another across the years and back, with differing-and sometimes contradictory bits of information scattered among several sections.

Other than this, the only other minor organizational fault I could find was in the nonconsecutive order of the numbered handouts though this was undoubtably necessary due to their varying sizes.

Trail rates high in its balancing of skill and luck in play of the scenarios. In most places, a player's own skills in investigative play can compensate for bad dice rolls in attempting to discover clues in library research or in translations of archaic materials, etc.

However, if a characters scores in certain vital skills necessary to the scenario are low and his dice rolling unlucky, it's possible that some clues will slip by.

Generally, however, unless all the players are extremely unlucky in skill rolls even a few missed clues shouldn't stop them from solving the mysteries presented. Because of the physical requirements of the Greenland and Canadian scenarios, and the specialized knowledge needed, players will find they have to cooperate among themselves--even to the point of rolling up a few new, less experienced investigators to sufficiently cover the various areas of expertise that might prove of use in each scenario.

I rate Trail high in suspense, especially in "Haunted House." If played correctly by the Keeper for the proper atmosphere, "House" can keep players on the edges of their seats as their investigators plumb the secrets of the Van Laaclen mansion, never quite knowing exactly what ghostly manifestation awaits them in the next room.

Also, its more "down to earth" settings and causes can be a nice change of pace from the more cosmic aspects of the Cthulhu Mythos, however enjoyable these are in the course of a normal campaign.

Another area in which Trail of Tsathogghua gets an A+ is in the authenticity of its settings. Herber has carefully researched his backgrounds for each scenario. I was especially pleased to find among the clues in "Curse" a summary of a newspaper report on the capture of a young Sasquatch in British Columbia in the 1880s. It reminded me of a book I had read on abominable snowmen more than 20 years ago. Such are the touches that make adventures come alive for players and GMs alike.

Overall, I found Trail of Tsathogghua an excellent set of adventures for Call of Cthulhu. 'House' alone makes the book a good buy for GMs of other supernatural fantasy role-playing games, such as Chill or Staffing the Night Fantastic, though some adjustment for the deities in the first two scenarios might prove necessary.

For that matter, even aficionados of action-oriented games that allow occasional occult intrusions, such as Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes, Daredevils, or justice, Inc., should find plenty of excitement in clashing with Sasquatch or chasing spooks as offered in these scenarios. As long as Chaosium can keep putting out scenario books such is this, Call of Cthulhu should remain one of the most popular role-playing games around.

(William A Barton is a contilbuting editor to both Space Gamer and Stardate magazines, wbere inany of bis game reviews and articles have appeared. He is currently working as editorfor a new company, Winterhawk Games, based in Indiana.)

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