Grimvember 2022 is here! Can you survive… “The Haunting”?

Another year, another semi-spooky event. You know the drill. For the rest of November I’ll review some of my favorite (and ideally slightly creepy) RPG scenarios and campaigns.

This year I want to start with an absolute classic – “The Haunting” is the quintessential Call of Cthulhu scenario. Written by the legendary Sandy Petersen, it pits the investigators against a certain, seemingly haunted house in Boston. The landlord wants to sell the estate but before he can do this, he needs to make sure that it’s completely “normal”. The so-called Corbitt house has a grim history, and all is not as it seems when it comes to this decrepit and seemingly abandoned building…

Obviously there are mild spoilers included in this review. You’ve been warned.

“The Haunting” is one of the best known CoC scenarios because A) it has everything a good Lovecraftian story should and B) it’s very welcoming to both new Keepers and players. The Investigators will need to piece together the dark and disturbing story of the Corbitt house, interview various NPC who knew people that lived within its mouldy walls and maybe even some of the residents themselves!

Like this handsome gent! Oh, and remember when I warned you about spoilers? Yeah… (artwork belongs to Chaosium Inc.)

When the PCs finally enter the dusty interior of the (apparently) haunted house, their mettle will be tested beyond their wildest dreams… or rather nightmares. Death and madness stalk the confines of the Corbitt house, and they’re not even the worst things that can be found within. Even though “The Haunting” is something of a intro into the Call of Cthulhu, it dosen’t hold any punches. The Investigators can (and probably will) die, go mad or at least end up heavily injured. I love it. I really do, because this is one of those introductory scenarios that shows you just how brutal and unforgiving a game setting can actually be. Those of you who played even a single CoC session, know exactly that this isn’t a title which holds players by their hands. Instead it rips their arms from their sockets and beats them to death with their former appendages! There’s a certain honesty in that, even if this style of narration and gameplay isn’t for everyone.

“The Haunting” is a rather short scenario, as it should be, being an intro to the game and all. We’ve finished it in less than 5 hours and it left us wanting more! Needless to say we’ve spent the next couple of months enjoying the madness-inducing fun of Call of Cthulhu and we’ll surely return to this fantastic system in the future. I can safely recommend this adventure to everyone who’d like to try out this venerable and engaging system, as well as people who are already neck-deep in the Mythos (although you probably know “The Haunting” already!). You can find it here, for free, together with basic rules for the 7th edition of the Call of Cthulhu RPG by Chaosium Inc. Give it a shot, you won’t be dissapointed. Just be careful and stay away from the walls…

Until next time!

Xathrodox86

Role-playing Rants: In defense of insanity

Look, I get that the times are changing but let’s not get carried away, and treat everyone the way they deserve, ok?

I’m not gonna mince words here – the “quest for perfect political corectness” (thank you, Andreas) can sometimes be a bit too much. While I applaud the fight to remove racism, bigotry, homophobia and other shite like that from modern culture, there are times when people are trying a tad too hard and don’t achieve the expected result. Or rather, yeah, they do but there is some collateral damage. Like in the case of the new insanity system in 4th edition WFRP.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was heavily inspired by the eldritch and madness-inducing nature of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Sure, there were funny and zany elements added by the original authors, but deep down it was a horror game. Maybe horror-lite, but horror nonetheless. The horrifying warping powers of chaos, the madness-inducing ratmen, the mind-twisting knowledge, which was not meant for any mortal mind to comprehend – these and more were always a staple of WFRP, and other Warhammer-based games, like Dark Heresy for example.

While the subject of mental health is a delicate one, something that I can safely confirm to as a clinically depressed person who went through a heavy psychiatric and psychological treatment a couple years back, I believe that if handled correctly, it can be a great addition to any game. 2nd edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay used a very solid insanity system. Delta Green’s bond mechanics, and how they can be used to deter madness at the cost of personal relations is one of the staples of this game.

Then we have the 4th edition WFRP in which insanity is explicitly related to chaos corruption. What the fuck?

That picture sums up all of my feelings towards this particular topic…

Seriously, who though that this was a good idea? Not only is it silly, it also means that in the world of Warhammer Fantasy everyone who’s mentally ill is basically a degenerate mutant scum, a chaos-infected monster and a kindling for a witchfinder’s fire. I don’t know what the authors intended for this mechanic but it backfired spectacularly. There are a few things which I dislike in the newest edition of WFRP, but most of them are related to mechanics. This however I abhor becuase it actually has the exact opposite effect to the one intended (at least I presume so). 4th edition is big on equality – both racial and sexual, and that’s a great thing. For them to drop a ball on such an important and delicate matter is simply bizzare. A few paragraphs for mental illnesses, few short descriptions and that’s that. Dissapointing. Damn dissapointing.

Talking about mental illness in a mature, respecting manner is hard, especially when it comes to entertainment. Doubly so when said entertainment is focused around games of make-believe, played by a bunch of nerds rolling strangely shaped dice. However it can be done right. Arc Dream Publishing and Chaosium proved that. I’m very sad to say that Cubicle 7 failed in this regard. While I can overlook minor mechanical issues which plague this game, I must say that the treatment of insanity-related issues is more than dissapointing for me. Sure, it’s a touchy, difficult topic but it can be done right. Shame that this is wasn’t the case with WFRP 4e. I don’t know if the authors didn’t want to insult people who are struggling with mental health, but if so then the final effects are seriosuly not what they should’ve been. Shame that all too often the political correctness only applies to races and sexes, but not to folks who sometimes can’t take a break from their own minds.

But hey, at least players can now solely blame the chaos gods for their PCs schizophrenia. It was Tzeentch all along! Who knew, eh?

Until next time!

Xathrodox86