I found the incantation hidden in a secret library located behind a bookshelf in the village hall. When the villagers came and sought to murder me, I called upon the incantation… the stars swirled and I asked them to free me. And so I ended my days, immolated upon the pyre by the magic of the stars.

Yes, I once again failed the solo adventure, “Alone Against The Flames”.

I bought the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set a year or so ago. The marvellous product contains a great introductory solo adventure – the kind of thing where you make a decision and turn to the numbered entry as directed – which also doubles to help you build your own Investigator as you play along. From there you also get an adventure for you and a friend (or maybe two friends) and a follow-on adventure for a larger group. Plus introductory rules and pre-generated characters… oh, and loads of hand-outs… and dice. It’s great value!

As the school D&D Club now has four groups all doing their own thing, I decided to take along the Cthulhu Starter Set and give “Alone Against The Flames” another go. I had died last time too. I couldn’t remember much and it was pretty exciting to dive back into the product. As I mentioned above, things didn’t go well for my newest character, Laurence Trevell. The Professor of Theology was also immolated.

Every time I play Call of Cthulhu I have a good time. But, in my head, I don’t tend to think of it as a game I enjoy… which I do when I play. It’s a weird blind-spot, I suppose. I am not a fan of horror, nor particularly of Lovecraft, but I do enjoy investigation. The creepy descriptions in this scenario are evocative and rich. I genuinely laughed out loud at the end. So, why don’t I play this more? Perhaps I just don’t have interested friends.

One thing is for sure: I am going to play it again. And soon.

Game on!