OSR Review & Commentary On 'Issue 4 Wretched Verses 'The Ritual' By The Red Room For The Wretched Époque rpg.

 "In this scenario, the PCs take the roles of agents of the Criminal Brigade tasked with investigating a sensitive case:The abduction of a wealthy family's young and only child. It should take place in late 19th century or early 20th century Paris, as most Wretched Époque scenarios." 

Confession time I have a huge love of  the Wretched Époque rpg. Why because of the fact that it trips so many buttons for me as a player & DM. Steampunk asthetic? Check. Solid occult system? Check. And a really nasty plane that invades the Earth from time to time?! Check! And that brings me 'Issue 4 Wretched Verses 'The Ritual' an adventure that centers itself  around the villianous kidnapping of a child. 
 "The Ritual" demostrates that you can have an investigative adventure with a strong cast of NPC's. 
'Issue 4 Wretched Verses 'The Ritual' takes the 26 pages of adventure into the direction of very dangerous waters. The PC's are going to be up too thier necks in encounters, back & forth with the secrets of many of the events of the adventure. Here's the thing the DM is going to have to keep the PC's on thier toes because there are some solid twists & turns in  'The Ritual' And this gets into the OSR nature of the Wretched Époque rpg. This isn't a standard OSR style of rpg instead this is an rpg of it's time and that time is 'Victoriana'. And I feel that this fact makes it one of the Red Room's strongest rpg's. 

 'The Ritual' takes advantage of this style to present an adveture that while certainly within the style of the 'Wretched Eqoque''s world setting takes full on it's atmosphere and goings on. 

The Ritual has the feel if you will of a Penny Dreadful novel. And yet I think plays out closer to a Call of Cthulhu Victorian rpg campaign adventure only much quicker. And it's this that allows 'The Ritual' to never overstays its welcome. 
Where else could 'The Ritual' be used in the OSR?! I think it could be used with Troll Lord Games Victorious if the players don't mind playing 'the bad guys'. 
And this is because there's a lot more going on under the bonnet of 'The Ritual' then one might suppose. Without giving too much away the details make the adventure. And this is something we've seen again & again with the 'Red Room's adventures. Not that I'm saying that thier predictable but that they have more then a few twists and turns. There is a certain lethality to the 'The Ritual' but its no more then we've come to expect.