Desperate Measures by Keith Craig is a role playing game supplement published by Chaosium Inc. via 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. This is a modern-day scenario.
The supplement is available as a 15 page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page is the front cover, one the front matter and one the Contents.
Scenario Introduction explains the adventure is set in Lincoln, Nebraska, in September 2023 but could be moved to another city with a nearby prison, but as DNA testing starts the adventure, the relevant technology is needed. It also lists useful skills.
Keeper Information gives details on a hospital in Nebraska that ran into financial problems which were solved in a unique way, and then went worse. The body of a woman killed in a hit and run has just been determined to match that of a baby born in the hospital whose mother killed it claiming the baby wasn’t hers and wasn’t even human. The sister of the recently deceased woman hired an investigator, who has gone missing, and she now contacts the characters.
Clues explains that each scene has possible clues, notes as to whether they are obvious or obscure and what they lead to or whether they are background information.
Ghoul Warrens briefly details these and where they could lead, as distances are not the same.
NPC Profiles gives details on the various NPCs.
Sept 5th,2023 is the start of the adventure.
Detective Appleton is the detective involved in the hit and run.
Wendy Peri is another woman who gave birth at the hospital.
Sean Ferguson is the missing investigator and covers his office.
Other Mothers are other women who gave birth at the hospital.
Saint Mary’s Hospital briefly details this.
The Gift Shop covers the hospital’s gift shop.
Hospital Chapel covers this.
Tyler Pickman covers the hospital administrator.
The Cemetery covers the cemetery used by the hospital.
Events are things that can happen not tied to specific locations.
Conclusion wraps things up.
NPC Statistics has stats for some of them.
The final page of content has two handouts.
Desperate Measures in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and has enough sections that these would have been useful. The Contents covers the various section. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a two-column format and some minor errors were noticed. Bar the cover, there are no illustrations. Presentation is adequate.
This is a fairly non-linear investigatory adventure; what happens depends on which clues the investigators follow up on. There is the possibility of violence, which in a Call of Cthulhu adventure is always dangerous, but the characters may be able to avoid most of this. It is also probably a lot easier to move to other locations and other years – DNA testing has been around a while, after all – than the Scenario Introduction suggests. Desperate Measures can be found by clicking here.
Leave a Reply