Casting Shadows

This week’s seed is for Call of Cthulhu, and deals with a blend of things ancient and not so ancient, forgotten underfoot. The seed is written for the 20’s but can be easily used with other settings.

The Seed

A major store in a large city nearby whose location is something of a local landmark and attraction as it has steadily grown in prominence over its many decades of operation has been sold by its founding family. The new owners have been conducting renovations to update the building to take advantage of more modern distribution methods. Under the store, they have found something… most unusual.

Planting the Seed

The framework of this case is a classic scenario so involving the characters can range from something as generic as a call for advice, to their own curiosity, or as part of an ongoing series of investigations to which this seems relevant. Alternately, you might just plant a newspaper story about the find in with clues related to something else and see if they take the bait.

The Details

The store is a 5-storey monument in sandstone and brick, established not long after the town was founded. The business, the town, and the wealth of its founding family, the Lansdales, have grown together, and people have been enjoying the cool interiors and treasures for purchase for generations. The slogan on the side of the store reads, “Stop by for pleasure” and has an image of a contented-looking housewife beckoning you onward.

Under the store the construction crews found not one, but three secret chambers, all of different designs and apparent ages. The oldest chambers, each found below the others, contain thematically similar but culturally evolved representations of a fertility goddess of cruel and inhuman proportion and description (which matches the flow of your campaign, or can be substituted for a more appropriate being). It would appear that ages and ages of cult activity have been prevalent on that spot, and that people have been “stopping by for pleasure” for longer than believed.

What is going on

A media frenzy will erupt trying to link the Lansdale family to this titillating cult. Above reproach until this scandal breaks, the family will be dogged day and night by reporters. Experts from esteemed universities will be called in to debunk the site, while others will be called in to explain it in gory detail.

The actual cult will suddenly be without a place of worshippers and their revered idols will be exposed to outsiders!

The Lansdale family will be doing what rich and powerful families do. Some will be trying to cover things up, some will be staunchly refusing to give credence to wild speculation, and others will be trying to get to the bottom of things.

The new owners will be doing damage control – whatever is necessary to protect their investment.

Once everything is in full motion, the cultists will start revenge killings, and raids to recover their artifacts.

What will the characters be doing?