I was a bit disappointed with Cthulhu Britannica (2009) when I initially picked it up, because I was expecting something like a fresh version of Green and Pleasant Land. Instead, it is just a book of scenarios. Which, fine. But then I read the scenarios and was disappointed with them on their own merits.

So, the first problem here is that all the scenarios are in different time periods – 1890s, 1930s, contemporary, near future and in the end times, each designed as a one-shot with pre-generated characters. This shouldn’t rankle me, I guess, but I really wanted a through-line to connect them all and there isn’t one – they stand alone. Which is fine! I just wasn’t as open to one-shot Cthulhu when I got this.

My other problem is that the anthology feels more “by British people” than “about Brittain.” Which is also OK, just not exactly what I was looking for. They’re mostly pretty good, particularly Mike Mason’s outing, which makes sense since he eventually landed the gig as line editor for Call of Cthulhu at Chaosium (where he is doing fantastic work, I might add).  

Awesome cover and pretty good art throughout, though the whole Britannica line uses a lot of greytone, rather than black and white, art, which always looks muddy to me. Overall, a decent enough first outing that doesn’t entirely anticipate the heights the line would eventually achieve.