The following review was originally published in Mephisto 62 and translated from German (find orignal German review below).

The Trellborg Monstrosities is an adventure in the world of Achtung! Cthulhu. The player characters are sent out to check out a threat in the far north of Scandinavia and eliminate it if necessary. They are accompanied by the mysterious Mister Seraph, who is supposed to support the team. In the end, of course, they must face the agents of the Black Sun and a threat from the mythos.

The linear adventure begins with the journey, which is very arduous and full of dangers due to the war. In individual scenes, players must overcome various obstacles and threats until they can finally see what the real threat is. The finale is accordingly dramatic, but the players have good support with their companion.

The structure of The Trellborg Monstrosities is relatively simple, and the story clearly evolves from scene to scene. The main focus here is on action - there is no need for the research and investigative work Cthulhu adventures usually require. Moreover, the non-player character Mister Seraph has a very prominent role, which isn't surprising, since the plot of this adventure is based on a novel (which is included) - in the novel Mister Seraph is the main character and not the player characters, who are actually only his companions).

The Trellborg Monstrosities is a simple introductory adventure (at least as far as the course of action and the decisions of the players are concerned). In principle, it has an interesting plot, but from my point of view it follows too much the standard plot "abysmally evil Black Sun cultist tries to find mythos creature superweapon for the victory of the Nazis ." If you don't mind this plot and want to combine a secret military mission with monsters of mythos, you'll find a solid adventure here.

(Deutsche Version)

The Trellborg Monstrosities ist ein Abenteuer in der Welt von Achtung! Cthulhu. Die Spielercharaktere werden ausgeschickt, um im hohen Norden Skandinaviens eine Bedrohung zu überprüfen und gegebenenfalls auszuschalten. Begleitet werden sie dabei von dem mysteriösen Mister Seraph, der das Team unterstützen soll. Am Ende müssen sie sich natürlich den Agenten der Schwarzen Sonne und einer Bedrohung des Mythos stellen.

Das lineare Abenteuer beginnt mit der Reise, die aufgrund des Kriegs sehr beschwerlich und voller Gefahren ist. In einzelnen Szenen müssen die Spieler diverse Hindernisse und Bedrohungen überwinden, bis sie schließlich erkennen können, wovon die Bedrohung ausgeht. Das Finale fällt entsprechend dramatisch aus, allerdings haben die Spieler mit ihrem Begleiter eine gute Unterstützung.

Die Struktur von The Trellborg Monstrosities ist relativ einfach, und die Geschichte entwickelt sich klar von Szene zu Szene. Hierbei steht Action im Vordergrund – größere Recherchen und Ermittlungsarbeit, wie man sie bei Cthulhu sonst kennt, entfallen. Zudem wird dem Nichtspielerharakter Mister Serpah eine sehr große Rolle eingeräumt, was nicht verwunderlich ist, da die Handlung dieses Abenteuers auf einem Roman zum Rollenspiel basiert und quasi dessen Geschichte erzählt (und im Roman ist Mister Seraph die Hauptperson und nicht die Spielercharaktere, die eigentlich nur seine Begleiter sind).

The Trellborg Monstrosities ist ein einfaches Einstiegsabenteuer (zumindest was den Handlungsverlauf und die Entscheidungen der Spieler betrifft), das prinzipiell einen interessanten Grundplot hat, der aus meiner Sicht aber zu stark dem Standardschema »abgrundtief böser Schwarze-Sonne-Kultist versucht mit böser Mythos-Kreatur Superwaffe für den Sieg der Nazis zu finden«. Wer sich davon nicht abschrecken lässt und einen militärischen Geheimauftrag mit Monstern des Mythos kombiniert haben möchte, findet hier ein solides Abenteuer.

(Björn Lippold)

In this adventure, intrepid investigators are sent to the frozen wastes north of the Arctic Circle in 1943 to hunt for mysteries behind enemy lines in Norway and Finland. Resistance reports have alerted the British intelligence services to unusual activity - and the presence of a well-known German occultist - in the vicinity of the village of Trellborg in Finland.

After an outline of what is going on, the mission briefing is supplied in two versions: one for military characters (who could be the pre-generated ones provided) and one for non-military investigators - who will find themselves being sent on a crash course in winter survival, canoeing and Nordic skiing before they are sent on the mission. They also meet a mysterious specialist who will accompany them whose name is Seraph and who is indeed 'on the side of the angels'.

The adventure itself is a reasonably linear narrative that builds to an epic climax, but there's plenty of flexibility built in to give characters freedom of action. It involves an arduous journey deep into enemy territory and darn chilly to boot. Structured as a five-day mission, each day has several scenes that provide the main meat of the story. It all begins with the party being dropped off from a British submarine somewhere off the Norwegian coast and having to make their way ashore in canoes. Here they will meet the Norwegian resistance and make their way overland to the scene of the action. Well, that's the idea, but there are some perils along the route...

As the adventure unfolds there are plenty of opportunities for combat, an encounter with a bear, and a chance to learn quite a lot of Norse mythology - some real and some most convincingly invented for this story! There's a lot going on and no time to get bored although there is plenty to get scared about.

The adventure itself is followed by pre-generated characters, a collection of allies and adversaries (including a new Mythos monster) and a rules section that covers such essentials as Nordic skiing, canoeing and arctic survival, as well as new spells and equipment. This is followed by a handout - a multi-page work entitled Diary of a Madman which the characters ought to find along the way and which might provide them with some clues as to what is going on. It repays careful study.

It's an atmospheric and exciting adventure based on a novella written by the adventure author and also available from Modiphius. Indeed if you are running this adventure, the novella will give you added atmosphere and descriptive material.