The Drooler in the Dark by Michael LaBossiere is a role playing game supplement published by Chaosium Inc. through their Miskatonic Repository Community Content Program. This is a supplement written for Call of Cthulhu, the horror role playing game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. This is not truly an adventure, but a recurring “villain” for a setting and is a rewrite and update of a 1992 supplement. It is intended for a modern setting.
This is a six page PDF which is available from RPGNow as a Pay What You Want supplement. One page is the front cover, one page the front matter, one page the Contents and one page is About the Author.
The Introduction and Keeper’s Background state that the adventure is based on actual events, and that it is supposed to add a bit of comic relief. In order to play it, one investigator must be romantically involved with an NPC. Said NPC then acquires a dog, except the dog is actually a singular supernatural entity known as the Drooler in the Dark.
When the investigator is around the Drooler, there are half a dozen random tables to roll on to determine its actions, with different tables being used for different situations. All of these results are intended to harass, harm and annoy the investigator in question.
Finally, there are details on the Drooler and its special abilities.
The Drooler in the Dark in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, with the major sections linked, and the Contents is to a similar level of detail and is also hyperlinked. With only two real pages of content, navigation is very good. The text maintains a two column format and appeared error-free. There are no illustrations. Presentation is okay.
As stated, this is not really an adventure. The targeted investigator is simply harassed during his or her downtime with their partner by a pet who seems to have it in for them, but one that the NPC, under the sway of the Drooler, will always defend. The Keeper is suggested to simply keep running the Drooler as an annoyance but stop before the fun wears off.
This may not be the easiest thing to add to a game. First, an investigator needs a romantic involvement with an NPC. Second, an investigator needs to survive, with body and mind intact, long enough to have a few interactions with the Drooler. The tables of actions for the Drooler are also quite short, and the results could easily be used up. The Drooler in the Dark is an interesting idea, although using it in game may be difficult, and it can be checked out for free by clicking here.
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