A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Dateline Lovecraft EXTRA! – Smoke Green (Un-Statted)

Dateline Lovecraft EXTRA! – Smoke Green (Un-Statted) by Noah Lloyd is a role playing game supplement published by Cthulhu Reborn. This is a generic supplement intended to be used with horror role playing games set in the 1920s based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, that is published without stats, due to IP restrictions, but is clearly intended for use with Call of Cthulhu. A statted version is available elsewhere.

The supplement is available as a 26 page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. The supplement is intended to be used with Dateline: Lovecraft #1: Arkham, 1928, which is a newspaper prop designed to look like an issue of the Arkham Advertiser together with instructions on how to use it. Smoke Green is based around several of the clippings from the prop.

The Introduction explains that this is a short Mythos scenario that uses the prop issue of the newspaper and revolves around a brand of cigarettes. Links to Dateline: Lovecraft and a sidebar explain which clips in the newspaper are directly or peripherally related to the scenario. Game Moderator’s Introduction explains that the tobacco company, noted for the distinctive green smoke of the cigarettes, recently set up in Arkham. The owner used what would later become marketing and a secret formula to make the cigarettes successful, and has recently been murdered. The dead man was also supporting one of the mayoral candidates, which means that the scenario really needs to be set in 1928, when the mayoral race is underway.

Three Mythos Motivations gives three different options for what the cigarettes are and their Mythos connection. Each motivation is different and has a different entity or group of entities behind it. The commonality is that the cigarettes are bad (even more so than normal ones). A sidebar gives an option; the cigarettes seem to make their smokers more successful, and rules for this and the unfortunate side effects are given in it.

Involving the Investigators explains that they will be contacted by the current mayor who wants anything bad to be used against his opponent, who the cigarette company was sponsoring, the dean of Miskatonic University. The investigators will then proceed to the tobacco company, Miskatonic University, the police and the home of one of the scientists involved in the company.

Option-Dependent Clues has different clues to find at the different locations depending on which of the three Mythos motives is being used. Three Mythos Options and Conclusions has conclusions to the scenario based on the different options.

Finally, Rewards and Penalties covers such and Statistics explains that full stats can be found elsewhere.

Dateline Lovecraft EXTRA! – Smoke Green (Un-Statted) in Review

The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of illustrations, most black and white but a couple of colour ones, most of which appear to be custom, as well as a map of the factory. Presentation is decent.

As mentioned previously, the prop newspaper concept is an interesting one, and this adventure continues with the proposed expansion of the elements of the newspaper into full scenarios. Extra information can be obtained from the referred articles. Yes, it’s possible to run this without the newspaper prop, but that loses a chunk of the experience, so it’s recommended to get it. The different options is also interesting, although a Keeper would be advised to read through the Option-Dependent Clues, and probably make a note of the relevant ones in the appropriate places before running the adventure, so they don’t get accidentally missed. Dateline Lovecraft EXTRA! – Smoke Green (Un-Statted) is another interesting expansion of the prop and it can be found by clicking here.