The Bitter Jungle (Cthulhu Eternal Jazz Age)

“The Jungles of British Honduras hold many secrets ... some which don't much welcome the new colonial farmers”

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“The Bitter Jungle” is a medium-length investigative scenario of Cthulhu Mythos horror, set in 1922 in the Central American country of British Honduras (modern-day Belize). It can be played with access to just the open-source Cthulhu Eternal Jazz Age SRD, which (for convenience) we have bundled with the scenario. The adventure also comes with digital versions of all props and maps, to make it easier to run on a VTT of your preference.

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About The Scenario: In the years following World War I, a new-found fad is sweeping across America and Europe -- chewing gum. Provided to overseas troops as a hunger suppressant, many returned soldiers continued the habit and introduced it to others back home. This creates a demand for raw ingredients for gum manufacture. One of these is a natural sap "bled" from the Sapodilla tree, a plant which grows extensively in many parts of Central America.

Paul Selkirk is one of many entrepreneurs seeking to cash in on the gum boom. A young British ex-serviceman, he has bought a parcel of land in the wilds of British Honduras to harvest Sapodilla trees on a truly industrial scale. Sadly, his ambitious plans have been ... beset by unexpected troubles.

Mysterious sabotage has damaged many parts of Selkirk's operation. Trees have been uprooted, and fences pulverised. Damage that would only be possible with the aid of heavy machinery ... the kind of machinery nobody has out in the remote jungle. While the white settlers cling to vague notions of a travelling band of political agitators, the indigenous laborers who service Selkirk's plantation have begun to whisper about old legends from pre-Christian times. Neither group can point to anything substantiating their wild speculation.

When the reports of damaging attacks escalate dramatically, the police chief from the closest township -- a small regional settlement called Monkey River -- decides to investigate by deputizing the Protagonists to travel to Selkirk's farm. Can they discover who ... or what ... is targeting the plantation? And what exactly this random vandalism is supposed to achieve? Does someone have issue with Selkirk's attempts to start commercial Chicle production ... or is there some factor more personal to the man himself that motivates the vandals?

This is the first in our "Beyond the Miskatonic" line of self-contained scenarios which feature authentic Lovecraftian tales of horror set well beyond the traditional locales visited by Mythos fiction. While it is quite feasible to run this scenario with a traditional group of scholarly Lovecraftian investigators, the unique setting also lends itself to Protagonists from very different (indigenous and Afro-Caribbean) backgrounds. The scenario comes pre-packaged with six pre-generated characters of the latter variety ... perfect for running a refreshingly different type of Mythos mystery hunt.

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What is Cthulhu Eternal?

Cthulhu Eternal is a multi-era, setting agnostic ruleset which aims to support inventive game designers who have original ideas for Lovecraftian roleplaying games or scenarios. It draws upon the long line of D100 games of Cthulhu-themed investigation, offering a beautifully streamlined and elegant set of mechanics to support a diverse range of gaming styles. To date there are era-specific pay-what-you-want versions of comprehensive rulesets adapted for Modern games, Jazz Age games, Cold War, World War 2 games, Victorian Era games, and 18th Century games ... with more coming.