Best-selling scenarios on the Miskatonic Repository

[Nick Brooke]

There are two Platinum and a dozen Gold best-selling English-language scenarios on the Misktatonic Repository, Chaosium's community content programme for Call of Cthulhu on DriveThruRPG. (NB: Gold best-sellers have sold more than five hundred copies, Platinum more than a thousand.). Almost all of these are available in print-on-demand editions.

Platinum Best-Sellers:

• The Idol of Thoth - This classic 1920s scenario by Joe Trier, set in Boston and Arkham, was one of the first Miskatonic Repository releases back in December 2017. It's from Stygian Fox Publishing and is beautifully produced, with 29 five-star customer ratings.
   
• Viral - This modern scenario was a runaway viral sensation, boosted by a Seth Skorkowsky review. The authors, Bud Baird and Alex Guillotte, are working on a sequel (Quarantine) and other projects (inc. Inversion, their next release). Video trailer; print-on-demand edition.

Gold Best-Sellers:

• Full Fathom Five - This whaling saga is by Paul Fricker, co-author of 7th edition Call of Cthulhu, and includes weevils, sea-shanties, and gorgeous artwork by John Sumrow. Paul's other scenarios on the Repository are Dockside Dogs and My Little Sister; they are all available in print-on-demand.
   

• Carnival of Madness - Alex Guillotte and Ian Christiansen have produced a bunch of 1970s scenarios: this one has stunning cover art, is available in print, has a video trailer, and you can get handy fliers printed as handouts. If you're interested in Alex's merch, follow this link.
   
• Of Sorrow and Clay - A classic 1920s Appalachian scenario by Graham Patrick, this was boosted by an Ain't Slayed Nobody actual-play podcast featuring special guest players. There is a print edition. (Almost all of these have print editions)
   
• The Highway of Blood - Another 1970s production from Alex & Ian, this is a gritty grindhouse sandbox experience with rules for cinematic car-chases. Video trailer; print edition.
   
• The Pipeline - A rare 1980s outing for Alex & Ian, this one is a survival horror story set in the Arctic with extensive cinematic survival rules. Video trailer; print edition.
   
• The Grindhouse Ultimate Collection, Volumes 1-3 - Technically, only The Grindhouse: Volume One is a Gold best-seller, but this collected edition includes those two scenarios plus five more, so you'd be crazy not to get the lot. If you are crazy -- always a risk on this forum -- just pick up the first volume. There are now eight Grindhouse scenarios by Alex & Ian: three volumes each include two scenarios, the collected edition has a bonus scenario, and there's a festive Holiday Special. They're inspired by low-budget splatter movies of the seventies, and are gorgeously presented in small paperback format. Video trailer; print editions available (x5 books).
   
• The Dragon of Wantley - This is Stuart Sellens' first outing, a classic 1920s scenario set in Yorkshire. He has since created Host and Hostility, a book of Regency Cthulhu scenarios, and contributed to community projects including Hometown Horrors and In Strange Seas. Print editions of The Dragon of Wantley and Host and Hostility are available. And now, a folk-song (the horror! the horror!).
   
• Shepherd of Moths - The best-selling title from Marek Golonka's Zgrozy series, originally released in Polish (three other Polish-language Zgrozy releases are Gold best-sellers: Future Echoes, Vernissage, and Cthulhu się dzieje!) An English-language print edition of Zgrozy's greatest hits is in the works. The Miskatonic Repository Convention hosted a Zgrozy panel: video.
   
• Branches of Bone - A Cthulhu Dark Ages scenario by Michael Reid (MJRRG), in which Viking raiders attacking an isolated monastery bite off more than they can chew. Video trailer; there is a print-on-demand edition.
   
• The Mummy of Pemberley Grange - The best-selling entry in Allan Carey's Seeds of Terror series, twelve one-shot scenarios designed to be easy-to-run and perfect for new players. One of the Seeds, Hand of Glory, won a Silver ENnie award in 2021.
   
• Sorrow in Tsavo - Bridgett Jeffries' scenario adds mythos elements to the true story of two man-eating lions in Kenya, filmed as The Ghost and The Darkness (1996). Her second scenario, Carousel of Fear, is also available in print on demand (as is this!).
   
• Cursed - Al '"Diesel" Smith is a prolific author, with works including Field of Screams (Pulp Cthulhu), Cursed (a modern scenario), Victor Frankenstein: Reanimator (for Regency Cthulhu), and most recently Forbidden Seas and Perilous Coasts (for the Regency Cthulhu community project In Strange Seas). Print editions of Field of Screams and Cursed are available.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Nick Brooke