Losing a wallet or a purse can cause someone plenty of stress. Sure, it might not be as harsh as confronting man’s insignificant place in this universe, but replacing all the legal documents and sentimental effects can be a real pain to do. Each of those pieces offers a little bit of insight as to who we are and what we do.
Now imagine finding a wallet on the streets of Arkham, Massachusetts. This fictional town is the epicenter of investigations into the Cthulhu Mythos. Each scrap of paper or faded photograph could be the key to unlocking the mysteries of time and space.
The folks at The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society have taken this idea to heart. They’ve created the Arkham Investigator’s Wallet as a unique delivery system for their latest collection of movie quality props for use with Call of Cthulhu. The company sent along a review copy of the product for me to explore.
What’s In Your Wallet?
Props have a long history in Call of Cthulhu. It’s a lot more exciting and immersive to hand a player an actual newspaper clipping to read when they go looking through the newspaper morgue for clues about creepy old houses. As desktop publishing has gotten easier, the props have gotten more authentic.
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has done prop work like this for years but recently released accessories for two big Chaosium releases. The first was a boxed set for Masks of Nyarlathotep, the globetrotting campaign where the players bust cults around the world. The second was for the Call of Cthulhu Classic Boxed Set rerelease to bring those props up to a modern standard.
The Arkham Investigator’s Wallet stands alone. It’s a real leather wallet full of what you might expect in such an artifact like cash, licenses, photos and more. But it also includes coins, keys and small items that could easilt become the focal point of a Cthulhu case.
The Dog Walker
Keepers who like to improvise could flop the entire wallet onto the table at the beginning of a session, take note of what items interest the players the most and spin out a mystery from that. The creators don’t recommend using all the items at once. Speading them out extends the life of the product with these small cards and handwritten clues appearing throughout a campaign.
The company includes a short investigator called The Dog Walker for those Keepers who wish to use this wallet as a way to kick off their campaign. The story features a young girl who comes across a man in distress. She runs to get help, finds the investigators but when they return the only thing left is his wallet.
The adventure offers an excellent gateway into Mythos investigations. The book tells Keepers what props to include with the wallet and which to set aside. The story works well as a campaign opener or even as a deluxe one-shot to show gaming groups the joys of a Call of Cthulhu scenario during spooky season.
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society continues its excellent support of the seminal horror role playing game. They have plenty of other items available like shirts, mugs and other media, but these prop sets remain their best work. The Arkham Investigator’s Wallet makes an excellent gift for any Keeper.
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