Miskatonic Mysteries #5: Bottoms Up! — Cthulhu Reborn

It’s H.P. Lovecraft’s birthday … so Cthulhu Reborn has decided to celebrate the occasion by releasing yet ANOTHER in their immensely popular “Miskatonic Mysteries” PDF scenario series for Cthulhu Eternal. This new addition is titled “Bottoms Up!”, written by indie Lovecraft game writer Rachael B. Randolph.

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

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!