Mythos Horror in Post-Revolutionary France

We are very excited to be announcing the release of our very first PDF scenario for 2024, an “Age of Revolutions” adventure by William Adcock. Set amid the complex socio-political tensions following the Second French Revolution (the July Revolution of 1830), this creepy multi-strand mystery visits many classic horrors of the 19th Century — grave robbing, tales of wild beasts roaming the streets at night, and more. But it all ends up in a very nasty, very Lovecraftian destination.

Available right now over on DriveThruRPG.

While there have been Lovecraftian scenarios set around the time of the initial French Revolution (of 1789), I don’t believe there has ever been anything set in this particular wrinkle of history. Playing through the scenario during testing, I must confess that I personally learned a thing or two about the long and convoluted road between the history we all know (the storming of the Bastille, and so on) and the French Republic(s) we know from more recent times.

This scenario does a great job at delivering not just a thrilling Mythos investigation, but also painting a vivid portrait of a very complex time when a diverse range of factions vied for the future — loyalists to the old-school monarchy, loyalists to the new monarch, people still loyal to the disgraced emperor Napoleon, and those seeking a return to the Republican government that followed the initial revolution. It’s definitely one for folks who enjoy historical Cthulhu settings … but maybe also of interest to folks looking to play in a unique and complex setting where nobody can be truly certain of the allegiances of their peers (or anyone else for that matter).

Physiology of Acquired Tastes is a self-contained 36 page PDF adventure and comes bundled with VTT-friendly digital files, a healthy bunch of pre-generated Protagonists, and the entire ruleset for our “Age of Revolutions” iteration of the Cthulhu Eternal rules.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Yithmas

Just in time for Yithmas, we are delighted to announce the release of a FREE (actually PWYW, but free is fine) winter-themed[*] Cthulhu Eternal scenario PDF by Paul StJohn Mackintosh. “The White War” is a short but eventful World War 1 scenario set amid the icy and treacherous fighting that took place high up in the Italian Alps. Protagonists take on the roles of a Italian patrol tasked with venturing into the No Man’s Land created by the sudden and perplexing retreat of the Austrian enemy forces. Weirder still is the fact that the abandonment of this area comes just after a night when unexplained explosions and gunfire were heard coming from the region.

What would make the Austrian forces give up valuable (and very defensible) territory? What caused the weird nocturnal sounds? And … is this all some kind of elaborate trap? The lucky Protagonists have been “volunteered” to find answers to these questions, or die trying. Hopefully they will make it back safe and sound (and sane) to share in the Christmas Pannetone!

This 14-page PDF, available right now,  is our lucky THIRTEENTH release in the Cthulhu Eternal line for this year — which is actually the most titles we’ve EVER released in a calendar year (explaining why we’re all a bit exhausted). We hope that blog readers — who number among out best and most cherished supporters — will grab this freebie and consider giving it a spin whenever they need a one-shot to fill in a game session. If you haven’t ever picked up any of our paid Cthulhu Eternal scenario releases, this free adventure can also give you a chance to sample our production values and get a sense for the kind of thing we’re putting out across several different eras of Lovecraftian nightmares.

As always, if you do anything amazing with this scenario please do let us know (or review it on DTRPG). Word of mouth is our best (only?) marketing tool, so anything you do to share your experiences with Cthulhu Eternal is absolutely doing us a big favour.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us in 2023 (and earlier) — we still have a big pile of cool scenarios we’d like to release: here’s hoping we can keep up this tempo of releases into the new year.

[*] And yes, I am very well aware of the fact that winter and Christmas are only linked ideas in the Northern Hemisphere (where I am not), but the opportunity to release this awesome adventure as a gift of sorts to our very loyal readers was just too good to pass up.

Follow in Inspector Legrasse’s Footsteps

Today we released another all-new scenario in our “Lost Masterpieces” line for Cthulhu Eternal: “Second Coming” by Gary Sumpter & Rob Malkovich. It’s a 50-page PDF adventure, available right now over on DriveThruRPG.

Set in Jazz Age New Orleans this adventure is a sequel of sorts to HPL’s “The Call of Cthulhu”, picking up the tale of Inspector Legrasse and fast forwarding twenty years from his original raid in 1907. The weird Cthulhu Idol that was seized during that violent episode has been a curio on the Inspector’s mantle, a keepsake he kept even after he retired from the force. Now it has suddenly gone missing, under baffling circumstances. Is the disappearance of this outre idol a simple robbery? Something more? And is the whole matter somehow tied to persistent low-level rumours which suggest the weird cult that worshipped … something … out in the bayou was never fully scattered by Legrasse and his men.

This “Lost Masterpiece”, written almost 20 years ago itself, is brought to life in a deluxe edition with lavish illustrations and loads of neat handouts! If you’ve ever wanted to send your Protagonists out on a mission to track down the “Unseen Masters” of the New Orleans Cthulhu Cult … and perhaps finish the job that Legrasse started … this is the scenario for you!

As usual, we are always keen to hear what our faithful customers do with any of our scenarios — so if you do pick up this PDF and run it, please do drop us a line to tell us how it worked out for you.

Tropical WW1 Horrors for our new AusAeons

We’re delighted to announce the release of another title in our Australian Aeons line of PDF adventures. This one is titled “Red in Tooth & Claw” and is written by Chad Bowser for the Cthulhu Eternal World War 1 SRD (one of our most-popular rulesets, by download at least). Set during the very early days of WW1, it places the players in the roles of crew members on one of Australia’s very earliest submarines. Their mission involves capturing the German colonies in New Guinea. That turns out to be the EASY part … what proves much more challenging are the stark realities of being marooned on a strange “lost island” in the tropical waters north of Australia.

Will the plucky crew members manage to survive long enough on the meagre supplies and elusive natural sources of food and water to be rescued? And will any of that matter when there are OTHER much more terrifying things wandering the island and calling out to them in the night?

“Red in Tooth & Claw” is a 40page survival-horror scenario that is very sandbox-y in structure but still leaves room for plenty of truly horrific moments of dread realization and sleuthing. Available right now on DriveThruRPG, bundled with the full 100-page ruleset that you can use to run it.

A Contemporary Australian Horror Story

Today we are excited to announce the release of an all-new PDF scenario for Cthulhu Eternal, a modern-era adventure set in Sydney. It’s the first in a series called “Australian Aeons” that will explore Lovecraftian horrors set in various eras of Australian history (and eventually tie in with our popular Convicts & Cthulhu RPG). The new scenario, titled “Thou Didst Let Fall” is available right now on DriveThruRPG.

“Thou Didst Let Fall” is a high-octane action/investigation scenario that draws on a number of topical demons that haunt the Australian psyche. A major one of these is the (ongoing) fraught relationship between modern Australian society and the indigenous First Nations Peoples who have suffered greatly as a consequence of colonial attitudes [*]. Another subject is the portrayal and platforming of hateful groups and terrorist organisations.

The scenario puts the players in the roles of everyday folks who suddenly find themselves caught up in a series of destructive catastrophes that occur around major Sydney landmarks. For reasons that are unclear these Protagonists seem sensitive to the weird phenomena, experiencing crippling headaches just before each attack. But the clues they hold — which might just lead to an understanding of what is truly plaguing the city — are not easy to follow. The acts of mass destruction seem to the authorities to be just the type of terror attacks they have prepared … and their plans for mobilising security forces also restrict the movement of normal citizens, thus making it hard to get close to the heart of the problem.

And with each successive attack, the security presence gets tighter and tighter … Can the Protagonists discover the source of unearthly presence behind the calamitous events before they reach their cataclysmic goal?

“Thou Didst Let Fall” is available right now on DriveThruRPG — for the next month (until the referendum vote) we are discounting it by 60%. We hope that your players have a memorable time navigating the streets of a city gripped by terror … of the Cthulhu Mythos type.

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[*] many non-Australian readers may not be aware that Australians are shortly about to vote in a referendum which proposes enshrining in our constitution an advisory (non-executive) body to suggest reforms benefiting Indigenous Australians. It’s called the “Voice to Parliament”, and sadly is being hotly contested by certain political groups in a US or Brexit style culture war. Publishing this scenario — which highlights some of the harm and neglect which First Nations peoples have suffered — is our very small way of showing our support for moving Australia’s mindset out of the colonial era. If you’re an Aussie, please dig deeper than the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt campaign to understand what’s being proposed. And consider voting YES on October 14.

Released Today: Our First Medieval Scenario

Hot on the heels of our release last month of the Cthulhu Eternal Medieval SRD, we are pleased to announce the release of the first PDF scenario playable with those rules. The Lord of Nombrecht is a fairly chunky and investigation heavy adventure set in the Holy Roman Empire (modern-day Germany) anytime from 1000CE to 1300CE. It went on sale yesterday over on DTRPG.

The scenario takes place in castle perched high up in the mountains. The lord of the domain lies dead, purportedly the victim of an unfortunate hunting accident. But was it really an accident? The abbot of nearby Hohenfluss Monastery has his doubts, and commissions the Protagonists (who can be either members of the monastic community or friends of the abbot) to look into the affair.

Arriving at Castle Nombrecht they are swept up in preparations for the grand ball which will signal the heir-apparent being crowned as the new Lord. Amid dance rehearsals, leisure trips around the estate, and sundry intrigues of a personal nature they must discreetly conduct their inquiries. Not all is as it appears, and what begins as a simple mystery to solve slowly drifts into stranger and stranger territory, as tendrils of an otherworldly force begin to become plain, and exert their influence on the castle community.

The scenario was originally written in German and published in Issue 3 of the (awesome) Cthulhus Ruf magazine back in 2013. This English translation expands a little on the original and introduces an all-new malevolent force of the Cthulhu Mythos to strike fear into the Protagonists’ hearts. Assuming, of course, that they don’t foil the insane machinations that threaten to unleash otherworldly horror upon the unsuspecting Holy Roman Empire.

Thomas Michalski’s adventure perfectly blends an investigation-heavy Lovecraftian pseudo-sandbox with an authentic sense of the historical realities of life in the High Middle Ages. In many ways it has a similar vibe to “The Name of the Rose”, Umberto Eco’s Medieval detective tale. At its heart is a multi-stranded mystery that is complex enough to keep mystery-loving players guessing but also clearly explained so that a GM doesn’t get lost in the interwoven network of NPC motivations. And it features a truly horrific Mythos beastie at the end (if things get that far).

The 50-page adventure is available right now on DriveThruRPG, bundled with the Cthulhu Eternal Medieval SRD rules, a bunch of digital assets for VTT play, and a collection of pre-generated Protagonists if you want to get playing immediately.

This is the first in our “Dark Maledictions” line of self-contained scenarios set in Medieval Europe and Britain (500CE to 1300CE) and infused with Lovecraftian hints of cosmic horror. We already have a second in the works … so watch this space for more Medieval Cthulhu goodness to come.

Released Today: The Bitter Jungle for Cthulhu Eternal

It’s no secret that we are constantly working away at bringing out new and intriguing Lovecraftian games and scenarios using the Cthulhu Eternal ruleset. Today is a red letter day because we can announce the release of the first in a brand new line of Mythos scenarios set in familiar time-periods, but in novel geographical settings.

It is available right now on DriveThruRPG.

“The Bitter Jungle” by veteran Lovecraftian game writer William Adcock is a really interesting investigative scenario set in the Central American country of British Honduras in the early 1920s. Weird things are happening at a plantation set up by an enthusiastic entrepreneur hoping to cash in on the burgeoning demand for chewing gum … most of which is made from natural gums extracted from trees. What should be a simple exercise in commercial agriculture has turned into a nightmare, thanks to some unexplained (and perhaps inexplicable) acts of vandalism. The Protagonists are given the job of trying to understand who — or what — is destroying the plantation. The answers are much stranger and personal than anyone might suspect.

This scenario is interesting for many reasons, not least because it affords the opportunity to ditch the traditional stuffy stereotypes of Lovecraftian investigators and step into the shoes of some indigenous Central American characters who are embroiled in events triggered by colonial farmers. Six pre-gen Protagonists are included that can be used to shake up the traditional format of a Mythos mystery hunt … or you can use the scenario as a chapter in an ongoing campaign with more orthodox investigators.

One of the reasons we really love this scenario is that — like many of William Adcock’s adventures — this tale offers little in the way of morally “black and white” characters, instead delightfully playing with some interesting moral and ethical issues and letting players decide what is important to the Protagonists, and how far they are willing to go in remedying a perceived injustice. We love scenarios like that.

You can read more about the specifics of the scenario over at the DTRPG page. We hope that folks here are interested enough to check it out. If you end up running this scenario we would (as always) be delighted to hear how it went for your gaming group!

Miskatonic Mysteries #5: Bottoms Up! — Released

It’s H.P. Lovecraft’s birthday … so we thought we’d celebrate the occasion by releasing yet ANOTHER in our immensely popular “Miskatonic Mysteries” PDF scenario series. This new addition is titled “Bottoms Up!”, written by one of my personal favorite indie Lovecraft game writers Rachael B. Randolph.

The best news is … the 42 page Cthulhu Eternal scenario (with loads of neat props) is available right now!

[NB: An earlier version of this scenario was released with stats for a different D100 ruleset, so if this all sounds familiar … you’re probably remembering that version. This revision converts the scenario to the Cthulhu Eternal, adds a nifty new map of Bolton (see below) and otherwise refreshes the layout.]

This scenario takes Protagonists away from haunted Arkham to the nearby industrial town of Bolton (most famous for its involvement in some of the experiments performed by Herbert West: Reanimator). Unlike genteel and academic Arkham, Bolton is a working-class haven full of factories which once produced a range of fine produce to supply every town in the Miskatonic Valley.

Brewed products made by the Bolton Brewing Company — in particular beers and ales — were once a mainstay of local life from Aylesbury to Kingsport. But with the introduction of Prohibition the brewery business has suffered greatly … and has had to fall back on its non-alcoholic brewed drinks, sodas, and tonics. But recent advances in cheap long-distance transport have made the soda-selling business incredibly competitive. Out of state operators like Moxie (based in Maine) and Bub-L-Pep (from California) have now cornered a sizable share of the Miskatonic market. To business-minded folks it seems inevitable that Bolton Brewing is destined for bankruptcy.

But … recent news suggests that the old Bolton business isn’t going down without a fight. They’ve announced a range of new — and highly … unusual — new soda flavors. Varieties like “Djingula Bean” soda and “Xuin Flower Elixir” … flavors that no established soda manufacturer has ever bottled. Flavors that nobody much seems to even recognize.

Naturally this odd announcement has bemused residents in Arkham and elsewhere … but further afield it has inflamed a strong curiosity in some of those out-of-state competitors. The soda game is a cut-throat business, and inside information is the key to winning it. Some might call it gentle probing, others “industrial espionage.” Either way, there is a curious and sinister angle to this whole affair — since the first two out-of-town “investigators” both wound up dead. Each was found in a car at the bottom of the Miskatonic River, hands bound to the steering wheel. Who could have committed such brutal killings? The Mob? The brewers? Rival soda companies?

The Protagonists are hired on to get to the bottom of these ghastly murders. One thing is for certain … this is going to be thirsty work. So … Bottoms Up!

Smoke Green: Another Fine Miskatonic Mystery

We are delighted to announce the publication of the third in our popular Miskatonic Mysteries series of scenarios playable using the Cthulhu Eternal Jazz Age SRD. This one is titled “Smoke Green” and written by the super-talented Noah Lloyd — you can grab it right now over on DriveThruRPG.

This Arkham-based scenario is one of my personal favourites, in part because I have run it LOADS of times at different gaming conventions around the world (and elsewhere). It was one of our featured games at Necronomicon 2019 in Providence, and also memorably run as part of the Yog-Sothoth.com online convention in 2020.

Smoke Green presents protagonists with an intriguing mystery. Something odd is going on in Arkham. The founder and president of Reinhart Cigarettes, a popular brand that recently opened a curious pyramid-shaped factory/HQ down by the Arkham docks, has been murdered!

Reinharts have a curious selling point: the smoke from them has a curious green color. The manufacturers are famously secretive about what makes their cigarettes unique. Could it be that a rival tobacco has gone to the extraordinary length of murdering the company president … just to find the formula? Or is this somehow tied to the strong support Reinhart’s head honcho has been giving to one of the candidates in Arkham’s bitterly-fought Mayoral race?

The protagonists are hired by the current Mayor to clear him of any involvement … but is there more going on here than anyone imagines? Is there something … uncanny … at work? Something with a Mythos flavor? Only by investigating this most baffling of cases, will the truth be uncovered.

Reinhart Cigarettes: the only cigarette with an emerald smoke

The scenario is available right now over on DriveThruRPG. As with all of our Miskatonic Mysteries, the adventure is written in a way that offers the GM three possible Mythos backstories, each with additional clues and a thrilling conclusion. Pick the one you like … or run the scenario multiple times using different options.

Launching the Miskatonic Mysteries

With the Cthulhu Eternal “Jazz Age” SRD now out in the wild, we have the opportunity to take some of the nifty scenarios we’ve released in unstatted form and re-release them as ready-to-play Cthulhu Eternal games. We are calling this series of scenarios the “Miskatonic Mysteries.”

We’ve decided to start by converting the Dateline Lovecraft EXTRA scenarios (which, BTW, you can still download with CoC 7e stats on the downloads page of this site).

So far we’ve released two of these with Cthulhu Eternal stats: “To Touch the Untouchable” and “Help Wanted”. If your gaming group likes a bit of old-school investigative horror on the weird streets of Arkham, these scenarios are probably right up your alley. Unlike the previous versions, these rebooted PDFs have no reliance on Dateline Lovecraft, and contain every handout you need to play the scenario in full.

More Miskatonic Mysteries will emerge in coming months . . .