Review – Tim Snider’s Burial Plots for Cryptworld

Cover Art: Jethro Lentle
2018 Goblinoid Games

Tim Snider is one of the creators in the small-press scene I absolutely love. He is a great guy, a wonderful editor, and his work has long been something I have been a fan of. From his Deviant Database books (here and here aff) full of wonderful post-apocalyptic creatures for Mutant Future and Labyrinth Lord to his official work for Goblinoid Games he never fails to impress me with his wit and imagine. With that in mind, I was very surprised and happy to see an addition to the horror system that Tim helms for Goblinoid on RPGNow earlier this week.

Burial Plots (aff) is a 52-page supplement for Cryptworld (aff) using the Pacesetter system and features five adventures of the strange and macabre. As per the listing on RPGNow:

Condition Critical

Dr. Howard Eastman has called a press conference at his remote research facility to announce a medical breakthrough that will “eradicate human illness and suffering forever.” But what if the cure proves to be worse than the disease?

Unquenchable

Three days ago, a group of hunters failed to return from their annual deer hunt near Akron, Ohio. Your team of expert trackers and investigators has been brought in to assist in the search. But there seems to be an undercurrent of unease amongst the police who whisper of a disturbing discovery they’ve made. Is there something sinister lurking in the forest?

Death in the Dust

In 1888, the silver-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was abandoned after a series of unexplained disasters, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Today, the former ghost town has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?

Forget-Me-Not

Horrific axe murders recently committed in Oregon’s Tillamook State Forest are identical to those committed by the legendary “Paul Bunyon Butcher” 40 years ago. However, the original killer – now elderly and feeble – remains behind bars. Has a copycat killer surfaced, or is this the work of something even more sinister?

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

The Christmas season is typically a time of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. But one THING has decided to make this year’s Yuletide visit to relatives a horrific holiday from Hell.

My favorites are Condition Critical and Death in the Dust. Both adventures have the feeling of the late 70s or early 80s effects-driven horror movie. Think the Fly or The Thing. The suspense from my quick single-player run through of Condition Critical was palpable, and even though as both the one running and playing the adventure I knew everything the situation was still tense.

Layout and design hold with the previous Cryptworld books with a three-panel layout and nice clear fonts that to my eyes recreate phototype from an earlier time (look at those “u” ‘s!). The art on the cover (above) is great and really matches the previous covers while holding some 50s horror comic aesthetic to the art. The interior art holds true to the other books with simple black and white line drawings.

All an all I was happy to spend the $4.99 on it and really wish I had the funds for the soft-cover to add to my printed Cryptworld collection.

So in the spirit of the adventures I give this 4 melt human bodies out of 5.

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Other books of the week:

Tales from the Loop: Our Friends the Machines & Other Mysteries (aff)
The Show Must Go On (aff)
Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting (aff)