Miskatonic University: Dire Secrets & Campus Life
From: Chaosium Inc
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Miskatonic University: Dire Secrets & Campus Life is a new Role Playing Game Sourcebook from Chaosium Inc.
Miskatonic University (MU) has been covered in at least two previous publications published by Chaosium. Starting with Keith Herber’s Arkham Unveiled, which was later part of H.P. Lovecraft’s Arkham (a book I reviewed as well), Miskatonic was covered as part of a larger picture of Arkham. There was more focus done on it in the Miskatonic University Guidebook, a book I neither have nor am familiar with. This book surpasses them all with detail and a wealth of information, merging all the sources possible into one large tomb of knowledge about the primary institution of knowledge in Arkham.
From the back cover :
“Miskatonic University is a small, seemingly typical New England college nestled in the bosom of conservative Arkham, Massachusetts.”
(I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the words conservative and Massachusetts in the same sentence.)
First impression of this book was “WOW!” It is a considerably sized book, especially for the subject matter. This is much larger and more comprehensive than anything I have seen on MU. The book approaches things from the time period perspective of 1928, in the fall – the start of the fall semester of ’28.
The following is an overview of each chapter:
Introduction – The introduction gives the reader a general idea of how the book came about and how a Keeper would use it. The author seems very concerned with coinciding previous game material with HP Lovecraft’s (HPL’s) canon, more than other Call of Cthulhu (CoC) authors I have read. This illustrates the amount of research that has been put into the book and it impressed me. One particularly interesting section of this chapter that illustrates that is the “Required Reading” section, which is a short list of essential books and stories that are the basis of the author’s research. This of course includes books by HPL but also books by August Derleth, Lin Carter and Daniel Harms.
Also in the Introduction is solid advice on how to use MU in a campaign. There are three ways that they cover: as a base of operations, as a resource, and simply as a presence. All would seem common sense but the detail the author goes into really helps one flesh out the three different possibilities and probably covers a few aspects most Keepers would not think of.
Miskatonic University – This chapter is a nearly 60-page, detailed overview of the campus, its history, some of its more mundane or less notable denizens, and a more in-depth look into each of the individual buildings on campus. The timeline starts at the founding and goes all the way through to 1928, with all the mundane occurrences as well as some supernatural. Of course, the history of the once named Arkham College, is wrought with controversy, intrigue and secrets.
One very interesting nugget in this portion is the subsection on “Miskatonic Traditions, Legends and Miscellany.” This is a very imaginative section with stories of the weird and silly as well as traditions, festivities and rituals. This adds a little more life to the otherwise dark and dreary place one imagines MU to be.
The Campus Guide is a mixture of previously published work and the author’s own expansions and additions to the campus. Accompanying a fairly detailed half-page map of the campus are descriptions of each building with notable facts and people included in some. Interestingly, the author notes what text is from previously published material and what text is new. Notable locations are the St. Mary’s Teaching Hospital (with the diabolical nurse Ellen W. Smith) and the Abandoned House on West Church.
One particular location that the book goes into considerable detail is the Orne Library. Not only does it include a detailed map of all four floors with descriptions of certain special locations, stats for 7 NPC “denizens” of the library, and a chronology of the library, but it also goes into considerable detail into “Shadowed Stacks” – special tomes which are mostly found in the Restricted Collection. Contained within each tome description is the author, year of print, a description and the spells one can learn from each book. The author gives even more detail for certain tomes in the Restricted Collection including the Nameless Cults and the numerous editions of the Necronomicon.
Of course, the other location the author delved into was the Exhibit Museum. This of course includes a map, list of key staff, and descriptions of notable exhibits broken down by gallery. There is also a small section on legends of the museum.
People On Campus – Obviously, MU is more than just a bunch of stuffy old buildings. The people are what makes MU what it is – from the teachers to the students and everyone in between. One would think this is just a chapter of NPCs (although many were already presented in the guide in the previous chapter). However, before getting into the NPCs, it starts out with several sections on life on campus as a student, undergrad and graduate. It also explores the various expeditions from MU including the ill-fated Antarctica expedition. After that, then the NPCs come pouring in – faculty and staff, as well as a few others thrown in for good measure. Most are accompanied by a two or three paragraph long background.
A nice touch to this section is in the beginning – the sheet music to MU alma otter, Hail Miskatonic, Hail. I do not know how to read music, but I am sure it is a catchy tune.
From page # 131:
“Admission to Miskatonic University is, according to the University’s charter, open to ‘all those of superior intellectual capacity.”
Getting An Education – The author was obviously not satisfied with just simply supplying you with a few interesting facts about MU. This chapter takes the reader deep into the education process of MU, from course work, grade systems and academic crime to what it takes to get in, what courses one takes and degree plans. It introduces a comprehensive system for creating a student investigator character, including a concept called the Semester Check, which helps the student character define how much time he is supposed to spend studying and how much free time he has for investigating.
Reading into the system took me back to nightmares of enrollment, class registration and qualifying for a degree – memories I honestly wanted to leave behind. This attests to how realistic and detailed the system is. It includes a system to plan out the character degree, the benefits each class gives the character in terms of skill increases, extracurricular activities, and grading roll mechanic. There are some new skills including Academic Standing, MU Lore and chances to Own Language and Credit Rating.
From page # 151:
“Miskatonic’s Campus is full of interesting nooks and crannies.”
Miskatonic Secrets – This is where a GM would probably go straight to. In these pages are descriptions of the recently dug tunnels, the sewers and catacombs under the campus. Of course, underground tunnels bring to mind ghouls, and yes, they are involved. A small but reasonably detailed map of the tunnels is given as well as other details of the sewers and catacombs. The author also supplies a list of common hazards found under the surface of MU as well as a detailed description of key places along the tunnels. This is all very impressive and very inspiring.
But that is not all! That is only a small portion of the chapter. There are other secrets contained within MU, including the dark story and traditions behind the bronze statue of Rev. Ward Phillips and the history and legend of “old Squinty” – Miskatonic’s resident ancient mummy (mentioned in the Exhibit Museum text). Also, there are two sides to a shadowy fight going on in the darkest corners of the campus and around it – those that investigate and thwart the mythos and those that help it. This chapter contains background and stats for groups and individuals that are on both sides: cabals and cults, secret societies and brotherhoods of darkness, professors who have glanced with darkness and fanatics who worship it. These include the Knight Templar, a group called the Eye of Amara, the Arkham Witch Cult, and many more. The Chapter ends with mysteries and adventure seeds for GMs to create adventures and campaigns out of. I found myself saying “my gosh, when does it stop?” when reading through the chapter.
The last chapter – A Little Knowledge – is of course an adventure. It is a single evening, one time adventure influenced by the HPL story Herbert West- Reanimator. It is a fairly simple, linear mystery with plenty of opportunity for creepy moments and lots of latitude for the GM to scare his players.
The author impress me even further in the Appendices, because it contains more stuff than I would expect. It is chock-full of things that did not fit anywhere else. It includes notes on flawed magic, a series of new mythos spells, rules on using mythos times in game play, a list if useful items found on MU campus, an essay on pre-human languages and how to read them, and a list of published adventures that are adaptable to playing on and around MU. The book closes with several degree worksheets and a diploma all available for the GM to copy.
In conclusion, This is probably one of the best books to come out of Chaosium in a long time. Not just another reprint with a few more adventures in the back, it is a detailed volume of valuable information about MU. It has an amazing amount of information and one could base an entire campaign on this information and never leave campus. Really, this could have been a separate core rulebook on its own. This is an invaluable book to have for any CoC GM.
For more details on Chaosium Inc and their new Role Playing Game Sourcebook “Miskatonic University: Dire Secrets & Campus Life” check them out at their website http://www.chaosium.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Miskatonic University: Dire Secrets & Campus Life
From: Chaosium Inc
Type of Game: Role Playing Game Sourcebook
Written by: Sam Johnson
Contributing Authors: Sandy Antunes, Richard Watts, Keith Herber, Alan Matthews, Chris Tutt, Doyle Tavener, Lynn Willis, and dyvers hands.
Game Design by: Sandy Peterson
Cover Art by: Phillip R Rogers
Additional Art by: David Grilla, Alex Thomas, Paul Carrick, Tom Kalishack, David Conyers
Number of Pages: 256
Game Components Included: One soft back book
Game Components Not Included: Core Call of Cthulhu books
Retail Price: $ 29.95 (US)
ISBN: 1-56552-140-9
Website: www.chaosium.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung