A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Keeley’s Gold

Keeley’s Gold by Jack Smith is a role playing game supplement published by Chaosium Inc. through the Miskatonic Repository Community Content Programme for use with Call of Cthulhu, the horror role playing game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

The supplement is available as a 12 page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page is the front cover.

The opening paragraph explains that the adventure is intended for one player and one Keeper and it takes place just outside Dunwich in 1921.

Background explains that some thirty years ago a small cult was annihilated leaving only one survivor. That survivor now sells milk he calls “Keeley’s Gold.”

Adventure Hook explains that the character has been hired to find a woman’s missing husband.

Introduction is basically some fluff about heading to Dunwich.

Welcome to Dunwich presents two options for going to the Keeley Farm either by day or by night, which are covered in different sections. The investigator may learn more about the cult by speaking to Dunwich’s inhabitants and the local police officer. If the character chooses to spend the night in Dunwich, there’s one place to stay and they may find an article that’s available as a handout.

The final two sections are Keeley Farm by Night and Keeley Farm by Daylight. Each has descriptions on the farm and a grove of trees by it; what’s happening may change but overall, they are similar. The character can confront Keeley, the cult and the creature the milk comes from.

The next page has a copy of the handout.

The final six pages of the supplement are three pre-generated characters.

Keeley’s Gold in Review

The PDF lacks bookmarks and, though it’s short enough not to really need them, there are enough sections that they would have been appreciated. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are no illustrations. Presentation is adequate.

It should be noted that the material on Dunwich in this supplement doesn’t match up with that in the official Dunwich supplements, namely the original Return to Dunwich and the updated H.P. Lovecraft’s Dunwich (nor, for that matter, does it really match Lovecraft’s own description). The differences are large enough that it would be easier to just change the name of the place than to change the elements that don’t match. There’s not a lot to the adventure; go to the place, then to the cult and deal with the cult, namely Keeley and the creature. Keeley’s Gold is a comparatively simple and straightforward little adventure and it can be found by clicking here.