Watch Well Games #84
Read-Through Review: Shocking Sabotage, a Call of Cthulhu scenario by Derek Zimmer.
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Today:
Read-Through Review: Shocking Sabotage, a Call of Cthulhu scenario by Derek Zimmer. No spoilers.
Coming soon in future newsletters:
The latest play-through reports for both of my current campaigns - Outgunned RPG and Vaesen Mythic Carpathia. Play-through reports for indie games. Video reviews for various TTRPGs.
✨Read-Through Review: Shocking Sabotage by Derek Zimmer
Derek Zimmer of Dread and Chaos Studios has already produced three best-selling Call of Cthulhu scenarios on the Miskatonic Repository. Escape From Mammoth Cave was even nominated for an ENnie in 2025. Today’s spotlight focuses on his latest offering. Let’s dive in.
Full disclosure: It’s fair to readers for me to inform you when I’ve not yet ran a particular adventure. While this is one of them, I have ran many others from the Miskatonic Repository (Chaosium's official community content program for Call of Cthulhu products on DTRPG), so I feel a dedicated read-through of Shocking Sabotage allows me to provide you with a thoughtful read-through review you can find quite useful. Either way, please do not let this discourage you from considering this solid product that has a lot to offer.
Title: Shocking Sabotage
The pitch: The investigators have all been assigned to the night shift of the Electricity Building for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Opening day is just one week away and the Electricity Building is expected to be a key attraction for the thousands of visitors coming to the city. Exhibitors have been feverishly assembling their magnificent displays ahead of opening day. Recently, however, some strange occurrences and malfunctions have taken place in the building related to the electricity...
Format: PDF via DriveThruRPG (also available for Roll20; get the bundle with PDF and Roll20 module here)
System: Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu (7th edition) with the Cthulhu by Gaslight variant rules (optionally also played with Pulp Cthulhu).
Mechanics: Basic Roleplaying (BRP), the Universal Games System by Chaosium. D100 (d10 and the percentage dice or two different colored d10s where players assign the dice to the ones place and tens place). Rolling under the skill stat yields success, whereas rolling over it means failure. There's also opposed rolls, Luck, and Sanity, just to cover the basics here.
Playtime: One session (3-4 hours) - solid enough for a convention setting where new players can learn how to play Call of Cthulhu.
Player count: 3-5 players (plus one Keeper). Pre-gens are provided for both Cthulhu by Gaslight and Pulp Cthulhu.
Character creation: None required, as pre-generated characters are provided.
Complexity: Beginner-Intermediate. While presented as a scenario fit for conventions, this is not as easy as say, The Lightless Beacon. There’s an entire fairground investigators can explore, as well as the individual motivations each player are given at the onset of the session (which reminds me of Hope’s Last Day for ALIEN).
Prep time: This will vary depending on whether you’re running the game in person or online. First, know that you’ll need to read about 20 pages of pertinent information. Everything else in 60-page PDF is visuals, handouts, or basic elements (like the front cover or table of contents). So it’s easy to complete your initial read-through in a little under an hour.
Give yourself enough time to print the handouts if playing in person, especially if you need to plan a trip to your local print shop before running this. If you’re running the game online, the creator has the PDF bundled together with the Roll20 module, which will spare you from having to create and/or upload everything from scratch yourself.
The most important part of prep is to make sure you know the finer details, such as what rolls to call for at the various locations of the fairground, which clues are located where, and what the investigators’ motivations are (these are pages 3-4 of the scenario), along with the tasks that investigators should complete (these are listed in Appendix B on page 25). Then, allot enough time to be familiar with the stats for the mythos creature (page 24), as its special abilities change as the scenes progress. It also might also be a good idea to mark out the exhibits and specific devices listed on pages 16-19 with a Keeper versions of the maps (these are included when you buy the product).
Setting and tone: The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Gaslight/Victorian era in the Lovecraftian realm of Cthulhu by Gaslight, but as stated above, it can be set in Pulp Cthulhu as well. This will make the tone of the game a bit different, as investigators will be a bit more hardy against any possible Sanity-blasting mythos they may encounter.
There’s no intense body gore or extreme violence, assuming the Keeper doesn’t narrate or lead the game in that direction. However, this is within the horror genre, so basic content warnings for mature themes is relevant to this setting and its tone.
Core Loop: The basic structure for Call of Cthulhu scenarios are usually (1) the Keeper sets the stage by providing the introductory information and hook/s that bring in the investigators, (2) the investigators (depending on whether they’re strangers or know one another) describe what they’re doing and interact throughout the session, (3) the Keeper offers the investigators to possible options and locations from which the players can decide what they want to do and where they want to go. From there, it’s just a matter of the Keeper and players continuing to work together, negotiating and forming the narrative with the story’s information. Rolling the dice is required when the outcome is uncertain or the results of an investigator’s action could change what happens next. The tension escalates further as the otherworldly threat increases. Staying safe, looting for gold, and becoming an invincible hero is not standard Call of Cthulhu - and this is largely what makes it incredibly fun to play.
Keeper considerations: Most of my concerns regarding the Keeper side are mentioned in the prep time section above. However, here are some additional points. First, Keepers should be aware of the suggested timeline on page 8. You’ll notice the setup as well and four acts. This can help with pacing the game session accordingly, especially under the time constraints of a convention.
Next, make sure that you print out the correct set of pre-gens for whichever version you run. You don’t want to go to a convention with Pulp Cthulhu character sheets, only to be unpleasantly surprised in front of a table of strangers or friends who are new to CoC. The only other printing concern is to pay attention to Handout 1, which is a multi-page pamphlet on pages 30-33. I suggest reading page 13 for detailed directions on how to correctly print this.
Also of note is to remember that the Building Manager role is the first one to drop if you have only four players. If you have only three, then drop the Private Investigator. See the note on page 3 for more details if needed.
Next, I suggest going ahead and having the plain text print versions of the handouts readily available, whether you run this online or in person. The fonts used for Handouts 2 and 3 are not accessibility-friendly in design, so kudos for Derek Zimmer thinking ahead with this important consideration.
Lastly, a Keeper should make sure that zealous players who want to ‘see the world (fair) burn’ don’t have the opportunity. A note regarding this illogical solution is discussed on page 21.
Balance of play: Like with any Call of Cthulhu scenario, players should know that this is not game of dragons living within dungeons. Mythos creatures in the Lovecraftian realm are virtually unbeatable. Balanced encounters do not exist. Investigators often face the lesser of two evils many times when trying to keep their Sanity intact long enough to read, learn, and recite a spell from some arcane grimoire to save the world just in time, and oftentimes barely doing so before retiring soon after.
Originality (i.e. does it do something new?): From the creator: “A sandbox scenario created to run in a convention timeslot. A deeply researched historical setting enhanced by period photos and artwork. A building map, a printable pamphlet, and other player handouts made to resemble real items from the fair. The document contains loads of GM-facing advice on timing, establishing tone, and suggested complications for the player characters. The pre-generated player characters each come with their own backstory and personal objective to jump-start roleplay and get players invested in their characters.”
I also want to say that the level of detail put into Shocking Sabotage is exceptional. From highly accessible handouts to tokens and a Roll20 module, this CoC scenario is absolutely well worth the paltry sum you’ll pay (currently $4.95 for the PDF and $6.95 for the PDF/Roll20 bundle).
Layout: The lay is clean and well done. It’s very easy to read and navigate. Hyperlinks in the PDF’s table of contents is very useful.
Art: Derek Zimmer made great use of many quality public domain images. These all lend themselves to the scenario’s setting, tone, and theme. Maps and artwork done by Derek Zimmer and Crystal Chen-Goodspeed are well-suited without being over-produced.
Conclusion
Shocking Sabotage is on my list of what to run next. The historical elements presented made this an intriguing, fun read. This style of scenario fits my regular group of players, as a lot of them prefer for the gritty details of horror elements to be veiled or merely suggested ‘off stage’. The tension increasing over time can allow Keepers to maintain some form of cinematic tension without railroading players. The motivations for the pre-gens are reasonable and should be easy for players to adhere to without causing any game-breaking conflicts or negative PvP moments. The possible solutions and outcomes can serve many CoC tables looking for an enjoyable game session. I recommend Shocking Sabotage 🍿🍿🍿.
Who is this game for? Fans of the horror genre, whether they know anything about Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu or not. Older teens and adults. Younger, mature teens if the Keeper knows them, but the final judgement call should be at the Keeper’s discretion.
For more details
Actual play: The Miskatonic Playhouse recorded a playthrough: https://www.miskatonicplayhouse.com/podcast/sabotage
Keeper of Arcane Lore: The Cosmic Outpost
Edwin Archer: Don’t Stop Me Now
Gabriel Littlefield: Tall Halfling
Hugo First: T.A. Newman (@Newman_says)
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I played in a one shot lead by the author and had a great time. There is so much room for player agency, yet the ticking clock, and hidden agendas for the PCs mean that one never gets lost in the sandbox.
There was also a Miskatonic PLayhouse actual play of the scenario which is a very good introduction for keepers who might want to get a sense of the flow ahead of time.