Call of Cthulhu: Transatlantic Terror - RPG Review

Review and GM tips for the Call of Cthulhu scenario Transatlantic Terror, published by Goodman Games. It's a short adventure set entirely on a luxury voyage.
UPDATE: Goodman Games no longer sells their Age of Cthulhu line, which breaks my heart.
If you want to support my channel, or just want to read a sweet Urban Fantasy novel, you can find my books here: amzn.to/2xwqTWe

[@genericpersonx333]

Mind, the Ship's Captain and at least a couple of his senior officers will have pistols issued to them by the company as they literally as the law enforcement while the ship is at sea. Most officers will also be allowed to arm themselves if they are inclined. This is useful to remember because it opens up a lot of opportunities beyond just arming the PCs. If an officer's weapon goes missing, it will prompt an immediate, but very quiet, search by the ship's crew. Thus, stewards may be poking around cabins, people will find crew cleaning things they don't normally clean at that time, and so on. It is also a great way to disrupt ship routine if you need an excuse for that. A villain needs the engine room to have fewer people in it? Drop the 1st Officer's gun overboard and half the engine crew will be reassigned to search. PCs need a way to scare off a villain? Well, if the ship's crew suddenly are on high alert, searching for the gun, the villain may find it harder to sneak from one place to another with the body it is trying to move. Really, the sky is the limit here.

[@JayChampagne]

I just finished running this with my Masks group, and it was a lot of fun. Seth's suggestions definitely helped it run more smoothly, too. It took us a lot longer than three hours, but it was fun, so nobody minded.

[@Zenith034]

0

[@nickmanzo8459]

I’m running Shadows of Yog-Sothoth with my group now, and I took your advice on having a colorful NPC challenge the players to a skeet shoot. I had him as a wealthy, deliciously anachronistic big game hunter who loves to brag about all his (admittedly pretty cool) adventure. His name was Cedric (pronounced See-dric rather than Seh-dric to sound doubly obnoxious) Featherstone III. I drew up statistics for him and gave him 89% rifle skill, and one of my players missed every single target, and so he became the brunt of his jokes. When he was in his cups, he liked to joke that he hunted his favorite prey, Man, with some humorous The Most Dangerous Game jokes, only to burst out laughing when people thought he was serious. My character’s tried to stop Taft from drinking the potion, and insisted he go to the infirmary, one of the players insisted on going with them. The stewards went with Taft and when she refused to let them take him the rest of the way alone, the stewards revealed themselves and bit her. I then made it the PC in question who was dumped overboard, giving the other PCs a chance to rescue her.

[@SSkorkowsky]

That. Is. Awesome. Glad you guys had fun with it.

[@nickmanzo8459]

Seth Skorkowsky I take this comment as a huge compliment. I wish you’d review None More Black, my players loved that one, and I have a touching story about a beloved PC’s death

[@pattyviggers3581]

Hey Jack you drop any shotguns lately ?

[@skeletonsmcgee8164]

Haw haw haw haw haw!

[@SSkorkowsky]

* Shakes fist * Vanderbilt!!!!!!!

[@ReustersPlace]

I’m just glad it’s not female jack, again

[@HWFchamp]

I know for a fact this stupid quote will pop in my head for no reason for the gods knows how long.

[@johnf.kennedy5454]

Hey Seth, that would make a good tee shirt!🤣

[@TheArcadianKing]

Jack's argument about icebergs and ships actually makes perfect sense as an NPC who could end up going through multiple iterations of a scenario over and over, with minor-to-major changes as the group plays through the same adventure multiple times.

[@oz_jones]

"why are we still here, just to suffer?"

[@Danial79]

I was going to say that the illustrations look more like crocodiles than serpents, but you brought it up and the end and saved me the trouble :)

[@chedarmentosbrown5922]

I found my self in the company of the fantastic wealthy once. They had me removed. My only offense was being there, geez the nerve. Lol

[@NodDisciple1]

Chedarmentos Brown IRL?

[@johnnysizemore5797]

Hold on Jack,i'll help hold Vanderbilt so we can throw him overboard (he was a Total Tool when i got ran in this recently)....

[@citcoin-official2681]

One of my Players 'dropped' a Shotgun and it 'went off by accident'... Twice. while he happened to be walking by. He was completely evicerated. Vanderbilt had tried to feed them to one of the monsters by then, to save himself, which he'd already done to one of the crew- He'd slipped a few bills into the player's pocket and sneered "No hard feelings, eh? It'll all blow away in the wind?" Then *he* was blown away.

[@ClutchSituation]

Ha ha, perfect timing. I'm using Transatlantic Terror as a lead in to Hand of Abyzuo from Shadows Over Scotland. Both feature serpent people.

[@blazetheplaneswalker]

hey jack drop any shotguns lately? haw haw haw haw haw

[@nettlesandsnakes9138]

Vanderbilt!

[@thegameoverclub]

"Damn that Vanderbelt!!!" :) excellent review Seth love the Age of Cthulhu line from Goodman Games!

[@PookieUK]

Thanks! We do our best.

[@Vael221]

That whole "drop any shotguns" bit honestly sounds like a great setup for a hook into another adventure. Like imagine if as the PCs are getting off the ship, Jack runs into Vanderbelt one final time... and the dude just ignores him. Like this guy has spent several days going out of his way to mention this incident as much as possible and then doesn't right at the end? Very suspicious (hopefully)

[@oz_jones]

"Damn that Vanderbelt, we built up such good rapport and now he just nosells me? What a jerk" - Jack, probably

[@cosmicwartoad2587]

I wrote a story once where the characters had to visit the library on Carcosa to get a certain book but it turned out that the planet of carcosa was just one big library as part of it (they returned to earth and finally beat Rhan-tegoth).

[@Thrudd2]

I really really like your videos and cant wait for the next one.

[@ratholin]

the best gaming videos :D

[@derekburge5294]

Ah, Carcosa! I vacationed there once. Easy to to get lost there, but it's definitely worth a visit.

[@Alex_K221]

Did anyone ask weather you had seen the yellow sign?

[@derekburge5294]

@@Alex_K221 You know, they *did!* I figured it was a local play or movie or something and didn't give it much thought.

[@Alex_K221]

@@derekburge5294 Ah neat. I remember reading some play that mentioned the Yellow Sign, and Carcosa. I’ll have to take a trip there sometime.

[@derekburge5294]

@@Alex_K221 If you can find it, definitely worth the trip. Be sure to see a show while there.

[@brendonestridge4573]

I'm considering potential D&D stories I can do, and with a lot of conversion and homebrewing, part of me thinks I can make this a sort of sequel to Against the Cult of the Reptile God

[@nkmason8284]

Love the reviews please keep them coming

[@terrybeal2252]

Snake people slowly eating someone?! 😳 I need to get this adventure!! 🐍😈

[@NodDisciple1]

Since Jack was an adult in the 1920s, wouldn't he had been alive and a kid during the Titanic wreck?

[@fredricknoe3114]

Maybe that's his backstory? Actually he's alive both for the future, and midevil times, so he's clearly not human.

[@Panicagq2]

@@fredricknoe3114 Nah, I'm convinced that Jack's the Eternal Champion :)

[@dgriffinctc3834]

Another solution to the ticket situation is they could win them in a contest like a lotto or something.

[@lumbermac5998]

Running this one tonight thanks to you! My players are traveling from Scotland back to America after doing “The Nineteenth Hole.” Thanks Seth.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Hope you guys have a blast with it.

[@Graham-ce2yk]

Good review, I am looking forward to hearing your opinion of 'The Mauritania' the spiritual ancestor of this scenario and the sequel to the earliest magazine published Call of Cthulhu scenario, the incredibly rare "The Horror on Old Hill".

[@SSkorkowsky]

Thanks. I've read The Mauritania, but never run it. My current thoughts is that it looks a little too busy for a single adventure. I like the stuff in it, but there are lot of things that happen. I'd probably spread it out over multiple voyages. I'd have to give it a test drive to be sure because I've had scenarios surprise me before. But I'm unfamiliar with Horror on Old Hill.

[@Graham-ce2yk]

It was M.B. Willner's first published scenario to which 'The Mauritania' provided the sequel, the three NPC Investigators who appear in 'The Mauritania' appear to have been based on some of the PCs from a campaign that Willner was running that began with 'The Horror on Old Hill'. Details of the scenario can be found on the YSDC Wiki.

[@smjsuperscott]

Hey Seth, so I just introduced my parents and their friends' family to table top rpg's through use of the haunting. Some interesting notes were that some of them liked the mystery aspect in the beginning leading up to the house but others felt, as it kinda is, that there was no real benefit to not just rushing the house right off. I'm wondering how best to explain to them all later on as to the why's. Also to show a different system next time I'm doing DND 5e and I'm thinking a fun way to do a 1 shot for that would he to repurpose the cyberpunk 2020 diner one shot you reviewed for 5e, making it some kind of necromancer thing, maybe have someone inside be a plant, have some zombies burrow in from the basement, that kinda thing. I'd be fine making my own thing but I get stressed with homebrew oneshots, feeling like I have to dilute so much into so little time so I'd rather use modules and adapt them. As someone who ran it, does that sound tennable?

[@SSkorkowsky]

I'd have to see it. Doing a locked room scenario is certainly possible, but adapting Cabin Fever to D&D would be tricky. Hiring the PCs for a bogus job and a frame-up that results in disaster wouldn't be that hard. The biggest work around would be the regular news feeds that keep them informed during their isolation and then the rival group's rescue.

[@smjsuperscott]

Seth Skorkowsky ahh, that is an issue definitely. I think you hit the nail on the head with the beginning of just doing something more in the spirit of it then, rather than it itself, or maybe instead finding a way around it... Hmm, how about the town has mages guild that has set up magical written message boxes in places of business, or are constantly putting out skywrite messages that you can see through a window? I think first things first I need to personally just see how important the news cycle is. Thanks for the reply!

[@averymalone2164]

thank you very much for your call of cthulu videos and i am planning on being a keeper for some friends

[@tummygoat58]

Hi can you review Shadows of Leningrad?

[@pencilmage]

god damn youtube. i almost missed your video. i wish they would leave me feed alone.

[@SMAXZO]

"I think you have too much to drink, Mr Taft" *one PC sniffed the glass* "Drunk on what? Orange juice?" Aaaaand...

[@blogsblogs2348]

American first class passengers in the 1920s and 30s brought in whatever the heck they wanted.. hunting rifles.. no problem. 32 auto for personal defence... when carrying valuables.. no problem.. lady with her .25 acp .. no problem... elephant guns for possible trip to Africa. . Nice guns sir....

[@DatsVatSheSaid]

I did it for a return trip to America for the transatlantic crossing. Just flipped it around.

[@AndrewHewson]

Hi Seth, really like your videos, especially the module reviews. One question: how long is a typical gaming session for you? Knowing that would help with deciding how many of my sessions a scenario would fill. Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@SSkorkowsky]

Our average session is long. We run 2pm to 10 or midnight. But that's also broken up with food and lots and lots of us chatting. Best to say they run 6 hours instead of 8-10. This particular adventure wasn't that long. It was a weeknight game that ran about 3 hours. Back in college when we all saw each other all the time and didn't waste any time with catching up with one another, we had tight tight weekly sessions that lasted about 4-5 hours. We'd get as much, if not more, accomplished in those weekly sessions as we do now with our 8-10 marathons, just because we only get to see each other now 1 day a month on average.

[@wendigo1619]

when i was run in this as the reason we were on the ship was being bodyguards for a diplomat going to blackpool for a summit (part of a campain the keeper made) and my PI character carried a trench knife and stabbed multiple people (i'm not a murder hobo they started it)

[@rasvahn9748]

Can this be used as an intro to Horror on the Orient Express or is it too much for the overall campaign?

[@ReplicatorFifth]

I like to think that Jack doesn’t know how movies work. It’s a nice touch xD

[@MaxWriter]

Nice

[@NodDisciple1]

Oh jeez, what if one of the PCs knew how to make Herbert West's Serum or the Essential Salts potion? Or Dr. Frankenstein was canon in this setting? 🤣 Or had a Mi-Go jar? Poor Taft!

[@AlluMan96]

Perhaps it's just because of Two-Headed Serpent, but this module gives me much more of a Pulp Cthulhu feel. I tend to refer a good portion of Cthulhu as "Stories about what happened before", as the investigative element tends to leave players starting off either in the middle of or right after the horrific event taking place. As such, it's always striking whenever a module is very specifically about things happening in the moment with not much in the way of figuring out how we got to this point. That very "In the now" attitude is also why I might be thinking Pulp Cthulhu emmidiately. I guess it's also because the investigative element is rather light as well. The mystery is there, sure, although it feels like it's built less as something for the players to figure out and more as foreshadowing of what's to come, where the pacing of the mystery is alot more in the control of the DM due to how things are figured out as they happen. Again, reminding much more about Pulp Cthulhu, where the point is to get to the scenario a bit quicker, the investigation/mystery elements there as more set-dressing to add tension and suspense rather than being the core pillar of the adventure itself.

[@timd4524]

Yeah. I specifically told Taft not to go with the fisheye lense but no one listens.

[@johanneskaiser8188]

Wait....is Jack insane? He watched the same movie 37 times and expected different things to happen? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” and all that. Best NPC character I know of, even if so. (Maybe even more so when it comes to fleshing him out BECAUSE of that.)

[@somerandomschmuck2547]

Consider what the man has gone through in both Call of Cthulhu and other settings, can you blame him?

[@psbates]

"From this point forward there will be spoilers" he says, just moments after spoiling "that James Cameron film" for everybody. 😅

[@johnf.kennedy5454]

Have you ever played "The Mauretania"?

[@fractured_icor3610]

Hey Seth, I was curious of a possible scenario called behold the mother? If it’s possible to find could you do a review?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Hi Edward, I wasn't familiar with that adventure. But the cheapest I can find Dead Reckonings for is $80. Might require some eBay stalking for me to score a copy. Reviews look pretty positive, so thanks for the heads-up. Even then, I don't review scenarios until I've played them. Sure, lots of people read them and give reviews without playing them, but that's not my style. I'd rather give people first-hand experience than some armchair opinion. So even if I got it today, it would need to pass the initial "does this look like my players would enjoy this" test, followed by fitting it into our gaming schedule. Long story short... it might be a long time.

[@thegreyman1575]

Mr. Skormowsky sir? I’m sorry for bothering you at this time of the night, I just wanted to ask a question for brand new DM’s? I’m a creative person, and I’ve already got half of the bosses written out with a solid storyline, but it’s MASSIVELY free for the story and the events as well, as they won’t pop up out of place with flexible happenings in between. Can you share some of your absolute favorite classes and builds? I know you did a video on memorable characters and good quality traits for characters and the people playing them as well, so I added something to the people joining in. If you can get as creative as possible, and if I approve of it, while also following most of the rules, we’re gonna have a GREAT time. I want to give them the most magical time I can, and since I’m a writer, to go at it tooth and claw, to give them something most people would die for lol. 1) any tips? 2) what’s THE MOST creative build you’ve ever seen, by far, maybe a list with some background story? It’d be great to hear so I can help play it out more and things can get creative, right? Thank you if you’re able to sir! Good Luck, and Stay Safe Yea? It’s a Wild World out there. Sincerely; Fletcher Grey

[@SSkorkowsky]

Hi Fletcher, What system are you running? I'm assuming D&D. I'm not the best person to ask about 5e D&D. We only played it for a year and that was several years ago. I've always preferred spellcasters myself, followed by rouges. But that's just me. I've seen amazing characters across the spectrum of races and classes, even classes that never screamed "badass" ended up being amazing characters (First Edition Gnome Illusionist comes to mind). In my experience the best characters aren't always the best on paper. The might be tough and powerful or they might be weak and clever. But the key thing that makes a character memorable and amazing is attitude. I'd take a character with attitude over killer stats and powers any day. A character that can smite badguys is fun, but a character who becomes a memorable person in everyone's mind becomes a legend. If they players are new, just help them craft characters that can fit into the world and story and have a good collection of skills/powers between them. Make sure they know that they have control over creation. That gives them a sense of ownership. After that, it's all about the attitude.

[@thegreyman1575]

Seth Skorkowsky; Holy shit you replied lol, I didn’t know if you would or not! Thank you for your honesty sir, I greatly appreciate it! Please stay safe, and I can’t wait for the next video. Good Luck! It’s a Wild World

[@axbx7139]

I would suggest winning a lottery as a way to get tickets

[@kevinthorpe8561]

Will you be reviewing RQG?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Don't know. We'll have to pick it up and play it first.

[@DTDdeathmas]

Does the module address any investigations around the people that go missing on the trip?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Only that between the evening of Day 2 and Day 7 there is a "Do Not Disturb" sign on Taft's door. The new, fake Taft makes his appearance the evening of the 7th day. There is no mention of the Serpent Person steward's disappearance. My players did ask around about it and the ship's detective performed a quiet search (to not rouse anyone about it) and he didn't find anything. His opinion that since the steward was new it was likely he might have fallen over the side. He then informed the captain who told Mrs. Osterman (the serpent person who recommended him) the news and his condolences.

[@tf2redpie]

Vanderbilt is dinkleberg