Curse of the Chthonians is an scenario pack for Call of Cthulhu of four adventures. This is a review of Thoth’s Dagger, the third adventure in the pack, which I recently ran.

The adventure reads well, with its plot revolving around the eponymous dagger which the characters first encounter at an auction in the United States. Misfortune and curses follow the dagger – and one of the investigators should soon end up cursed. To lift the curse requires the help of an order of Coptic monks who live in Egypt, and thus the group travel over to the ancient land.

Once there, they are contacted by an impostor – a cultist who wants them to bring the dagger to his master, Nyarlathotep (also known as Thoth). Either discovering he is a traitor and gaining the aid of the Coptic monks, or blindly following him into danger, the investigators will eventually descend into a maze of tunnels that lead to an old temple of Thoth – and Nyarlathotep himself. The end result probably won’t be good for the party, although if they’re fortunate they may be able to use the dagger to banish Nyarlathotep for a month.

All of this is good. Unfortunately, the execution of the scenario leaves a lot to be desired. Ultimately, the adventure forces the pace greatly with the curse on the investigator (which, by the time they reach Egypt, will incapacitate him for 1-4 hours per day and has drained his Sanity significantly), and there are a lack of meaningful decision points for the characters. Though, reading the scenario, it looks like there’s a lot to do and explore, the actual adventure plays much more like a railroad, and the investigators rarely know enough to make a meaningful decision that can affect anything.

I feel that the problems come down to a structural problem with the adventure, which is not terribly surprising as it’s a 1985 piece from the early days of role-playing. The dividing of the adventure into more-defined scenes would have made it a much more interesting experience. There are many areas where there is the potential exists for much more but the descriptions are so brief that the Gamesmaster needs to do a lot of work to make it playable.

The Dagger of Thoth has a good concept and some nice moments along the way, but ultimately disappoints. There’s not really enough investigation and there’s too much of being kept in the dark.