The page organisation is getting a bit silly, so it makes sense for me to start putting my reviews as general blog posts. Maybe I should have thought of that a few years ago? Ah well, hindsight is a wonderful thing. And quite of a few of the characters in this scenario for Call of Cthulhu would say the say thing... if they were still alive...
Dead Light is written by Alan Bligh for Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and was published in 2013. I'm reviewing the original release, though it has been revised and reissued as part of 'Dead Light & Other Dark Turns'. From reading comments about the reissue, it seems some of the criticisms I have of the original release have already been addressed. This is one of the 1st Cthulhu scenarios I ran, I dabbled with the game as a player for 4 or 5 years before I tried my hand as Keeper, and I've not looked back since then!
This version of the scenario came as an attractive 32 page booklet, adorned with a suitably spooky piece of cover art. But when opened it is disappointing that so much of the page count feels like fluff. Only pages 3 to 18 are specific story material, the rest consists of large full page spread for each of the NPCs, and copious notes on converting between editions of the Call of Cthulhu game, along with 3 pages of adverts. Yes, it's padding, and that's largely because the adventure is rather short.
Dead Light centres on a stormy night in the woods outside Arkham - though it could easily be substituted for a forested location in any part of the world, as there is nothing that really ties it to Arkham. The investigators are trying to make their way home by car, their progress being hampered by the conditions outside, such is the ferocity of the storm. Suddenly a young girl runs into the road, and a sordid tale begins to unfold.
The plot of Dead Light isn't particularly original, apart from the unsavoury twist at the end, but it does work - especially as an introductory scenario for relatively inexperienced Keepers and Players. The NPC characters that are involved are varied and interesting, and kept to a suitable number making it easy for the Keeper to keep track of. The scenario is also nicely confined to a small area - yes the storm is a well-used trope - but it does a good job of ensuring the action stays focussed.
Where Dead Light really shines is the ease with which it can be adapted, or dropped into a game at almost any time. That's also why it works well as a campaign introduction. The only background you need is a reason for the investigators to be travelling between 2 places - that's it! As the main foe is not tied into the mythos, no knowledge of Lovecraft's work is needed either. It also gets the survival horror tone just right. The variety of NPCs, some pleasant, some gross, provides the Keeper with an ideal number of 'redshirts' with which to demonstrate the power of the Dead Light, and thus the desperate nature of their situation. They might not shed a tear when drunken lout Jake gets consumed, but if the loveable elderly Teddy and Winifred get reduced to mush then that's altogether more disturbing.
Dead Light might be a short scenario - I've run it a few times and typically found it to last 5 to 6 hours - but it's an entertaining and exciting one. It's also more than a little frustrating, suffering from a problem that blights far too many Call of Cthulhu scenarios - one where florid writing seems to be considered more important than general functionality. The layout of the adventure is horribly disjointed, there's no summary, no expected event timeline, no index and no handouts - highly frustrating when so much space is wasted on adverts, conversion notes, and oversized NPC profiles. I know some of these have been corrected with the more recent release - this needed to happen.
And the reason why the edited reissue needed to happen? As far as entertaining one shot adventures, campaign starters, or introductions for new players go, Dead Light is one of the best adventures I've come across. The balance of NPCs and the way the tension builds as the scenario progresses are absolutely spot on. Its story is straightforward and shocking. Perfect for a stormy night spent gaming.
RATING 8/10
A great, albeit short scenario for the best RPG in the world. Yeah, the version I have was in desperate need of proper editing and reorganisation, but it looks like Chaosium have done that - buy the reissue :)
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