I recently ran the Call of Cthulhu one shot, Spectral Tides: The Goblin-Thing by J.C. Conners, for a charity stream on Corsairs Cove. I hadn’t run Call of Cthulhu in a year and the last game I was game master for was many months prior. On top of that, this was my first time being a GM on someone else’s channel and I’d never interacted with the players before except in the Corsairs Cove chat in passing. I needed a one shot that was easy, matched the stream’s pirate vibe, and could capture the attention of viewers so that they would donate money for a childhood cancer fund. Thankfully, I chose the perfect scenario!

Spectral Tides: The Goblin-Thing

This free adventure brings a 1980s town to life, where a legendary cryptid named the Goblin-Thing has seeped into local lore. The PCs are all friends in the small coastal town of Oak Harbor, where they learn that their best friend Jake Samson has gone missing after claiming to have found the Goblin-Thing’s treasure-filled lair. Off on a rescue mission, the PCs soon uncover an ever increasing amount of danger: an escaped murderer is on the loose, and a centuries old curse is about to be unleashed on their town.

I chose Spectral Tides because the stream channel and charity I was running it for was pirate focused. While the player-characters in this story aren’t pirates themselves, The Goonies style scenario of looking for pirate treasure and facing off against pirate zombies fit the vibes perfectly.

I also figured that the player-characters being young teens would help keep at least the first half of the game light hearted and comedic, as most of the other games run for the charity stream were on the adventure and comedy side. Thankfully, Josh the Pirate (owner of Corsairs Cove) knew I would be running a horror game and trusted me and the players to keep the mood light even when the situation grew dark.

Spectral Tides ended up being perfect not only because of the setting but also for the players. Two of the three had never played Call of Cthulhu and the third last played decades ago and was not well versed in the mechanics. This scenario kept things simple — they were playing teenagers with limited means, their backgrounds were already easily intertwined in that way kids that grow up together in a small town tend to be, and the immediate need to act to save a mutual friend when adults are not around to give aid made their situation easy to grasp and dive into.

I think what made it so easy to pick up was the way the pre-made characters not only had a shared background that started them off as close friends in a comfortable hang out space but also that the scenario gave each of them not only bits of how they know each other and their friend Jake who is in peril but also conversation starters. Once the players receive the “hook” for the scenario (Jake’s radio call asking for help) they are given handouts. Each one has about three conversation starters that are character appropriate that inspire their next step — getting their bikes and getting to Windjammers to procure a boat. They don’t have time or ability to sit around, get side tracked, and run not only each other around on meaningless side quests but the Keeper is also able to keep them on track without rail roading them into it.

Then there is the map and locations themselves. Each one is laid out in a linear way that makes sense for the story without too much time wasted looking for things — these kids grew up in this town, they know where things are, there isn’t a need to hunt the streets for the police station or library. They are right there, on the way to the boat and island.

My Only Issue…

The one thing I had a hard time with and I don’t think went well with the players was the bully. Spectral Tides has a classic bully NPC called Brad Hogan. Perhaps its my own inability to play this character well but he did little more than waste the players time. They weren’t intimidated by him and even damaged him and his boat in the encounter.

I had a similar issue with another 80s kid scenario — The Dare wherein a bully is supposed to lure the kids into the house. I think because the players are adults, they aren’t bothered by juvenile tactics even if their characters are smaller, weaker kids than these bullies.

In the end I think the character needs major adjustement, a better character actor than me, or should be omitted entirely. If you omit Brad and later need to offer help to the characters, have help come in the form of Mordecai Anchorage or another NPC they met in the town before sailing for the island. Say that he had a change of heart or that the other adult character saw them earlier and got worried with the storm they’re having.

Run A Game!

Spectral Tides wasn’t just a great starter game for my players but would make a great starter game for a Keeper. It was very quick to read the whole scenario, the nostalgia vibes felt like watching The Goonies meets John Carpenter’s The Fog, and with little to no adjustment (depending on how you feel about the above bully situation) you can run it in no time. Have it on hand for when your usual game is cancelled or if you want to run a game for the first time ever (and give you regular GM a night off to play for once).