The Romanian Contract by Ülo Leppik 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 22 page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page is the front cover, one the front matter and one the Table of Contents.
The Romanian Contract explains that the scenario takes place in Romania in the 1920s. A hotel group has decided to build a hotel and the investigators are a British survey team staying with a Hungarian count. The area is plagued by strigoi of Hungarian folklore.
Background gives details, starting in 1677, when the events that led up to the present day first started, with the count’s ancestor. The recent events are then detailed.
The Investigators details the pre-generated characters, and the equipment they will be given. There are notes as to how to use the adventure as part of a campaign; the characters may be hired by the hotel company, if they have suitable skills, or they may be investigating a couple of disappearances in the area.
Dramatis Personae gives details of the two main NPCs, the count and his daughter.
Location has a map of the valley and a description of some important locations, both within and without the village. The castle where the investigators are staying isn’t precisely mapped, given its size. Instead, various important rooms are on a flow diagram and are described.
Running the Scenario explains how to do so. This is a pretty sandbox scenario; there are places the investigators can visit as part of their job and investigation, but they don’t have to be in a specific order. There are a number of ways the scenario can end, depending on the characters actions.
The remainder of the supplement is taken up by NPCs, monsters, pre-generated characters and handouts.
The Romanian Contract in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column format and some minor errors were noticed. There are a number of illustrations, mostly stock, with various maps. Presentation is decent.
Perhaps what makes this adventure stand out the most is that it has a twist. Players will no doubt have preconceptions as to what they are up against, given the location. It’s also very open; characters can visit different places and encounter different things, in the order they choose. How the scenario ends is also up to them; there are different possibilities. The Romanian Contract is a nice little adventure with decent options and it can be found by clicking here.
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