Review - Terminus
By Alex White
- 4 minutes read - 823 wordsNormally I review games rather than adventures, but this lovely system-neutral horror adventure really spoke to me. I’m not going to give any secrets away, but hope to paint a picture that shows that this is worth adding to your collection of horror adventures.
This review is on the basis of a read-through rather than a play through. I was provided the PDF by the publisher.
You can purchase it online here: https://terminus.patchworkfez.games/
Or from many fine game stores.
The Basics
This is a system neutral horror adventure by Sarah Cole of Patchwork Fez Gamess.
You won’t find stats and skill checks or difficulty modifiers for using this in a Call of Cthulhu, Trail of Cthulhu, Esoterrorists or other horror game. What you will find is lots of background information, narrative description, and evocative horror imagery. I would have no trouble in fitting this in to any horror game system that I chose to run, whether as a one-shot adventure or as part of an ongoing campaign.
Handouts are available for mundane and interesting imagery from the adventure.
There is a lot of real world history described in here with pointers to where additional information can be found - this is after all a public place, and a lot of information was made available during the construction of the Elizabeth Line. I found that all of this grounded the adventure really nicely, and I imagine that for people unfamiliar with the London Underground it will really set the scene.
Many of the underground stations have mosaic pictures on the platforms and in other places. That mosaic theme carries through the rulebook.
I was reviewing the PDF version of the game, but I’ve handled the hardback version and it is gorgeous - it doesn’t just look like mosaic tiles, it feels like mosaic tiles when you run your fingers across it too. That tactile nature is rare in a game book, and it really works well here.
The Adventure itself
It is described as an architectural horror, and in that respect reminds me of the ‘Backrooms’ idea which is having a real moment right now - liminal spaces which once entered might be very difficult to leave.
But what if a one such liminal space had an architectural trap constructed around it? Not like a booby trap or unexploded bomb which is all explosion and noise when it goes off, but something more subtle, like a pitcher plant. You know the pitcher plant? Attractive leaves. Veins of sweet nectar leading inwards. Sweeter as you go. Stiff hairs that make going forward easy and going back hard. Then suddenly slippery underfoot and into the pitcher you go. This is something which doesn’t take out great swathes of people, but gradually lures them in, one here, one there...
It starts as a missing person adventure, taking place in Tottenham Court Road station - one of the bigger tube station interchanges, and crucially one where a lot of work was done on the latest of the tube lines, the Elizabeth Line.
A number of Non Player Characters are skilfully drawn - a combination of victims, helpers, villains, and bystanders whom the PCs will encounter.
If the adventure takes place as anticipated (and with the clever design I think it is very likely to do so) there will be investigation, then falling into the horror trap, then (perhaps) escaping, and finally (perhaps) resolving the problem for all time. There is a lot of perhaps in there! But that’s why it’s a horror adventure, right?
What I like about this adventure
I lived and worked in Central London for many years, and I’m very familiar with the tube network. I’ve often been fascinated by its baroque nature arising from it being developed piecemeal over a century. In the older parts you can spot mysterious tunnels, or ancient floodgates. Sometimes even on busy days you can find yourself walking through a tunnel which for a few moments is quiet, and only you are there.
The mosaic imagery described rings true, and I’m going to be looking with a careful eye the next time that I find myself in Tottenham Court Road (but not looking too closely...)
This adventure takes a place which is very ordinary and normal, used by over a hundred thousand people every day, and introduces something that by turns is mysterious, then dangerous, and finally horrific. It explains enough, but doesn’t aim to explain everything.
The narrative approach taken in the adventure makes it easy to understand and follow without having to flip back and forth through a book to make heads or tails, and although many of the NPCs are introduced by what they do rather than who they are, that seems entirely appropriate here.
Bottom line? I’d love to bring this adventure to the table and run it for a group of friends. I recommend it without reservation to anyone who enjoys running horror games.