Post by Catsmate on Apr 14, 2016 11:30:20 GMT
Based on/inspired by another fascinating BBC article with some excellent photos.
A small, rugged, Welsh island that may have been inhabited for ~10,000 years and was described as "the gate to Paradise", complete with links to druidism, King Arthur (it's one of his alleged burial sites), Vikings and a busy monastery (complete with an orchard having it's own unique variety of apple).
It was a major centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages (the pilgrimage there was considered equal to one-third that to Rome), is a protected wildlife sanctuary, has numerous connections to poets, musicians and artists, has a odd square based lighthouse (currently unmanned) and declared itself neutral during World War One (it's 'king' taking umbrage at being considered too old for military service at a mere 71).
Perfect for a quiet getaway and exposure to nature, with no electricity, telephones, mains water or sewage or television. Plus whatever's been waiting there...
Don't forget the weather; there's an unfortunate tendency for the wind, fog and the savage currents to make it impossible for boats to travel to or from island. Sometimes for weeks...
Gaming ideas.
1. Not much is known about Bardsey's neolithic past so it'd be an excellent site for a small scale dig. That is until communications with the small party of archaeologists is lost. What's going on? Is it just a minor technical problem on a remote island (no landline or cellular phones, strictly radio or satellite links) or have the shovelbum unearthed something Man Was Not Meant To Know. Or just gotten very drunk on an experimental batch of cider cooked up by a graduate student...
2. If there's a Silurian hibernation base there, well once they woke up they'd probably take one look around them and head back down for a few more millennia. But what if they didn't? A relatively isolated base for 'fixing' their planet perhaps?
3. Buried spaceship. OK it's a bit hackneyed perhaps but the island is remote and pretty undisturbed, a good spot to find something that's lain undisturbed for centuries or millennia.
4. Monasteries are popular choices for strange events in historical fiction, from The Name of the Rose to the murder plagued Abbey of St Peter and St Paul. The Augustinian abbey of St Mary on Bardsey is remote and prone to complete isolation, perfect for encountering a scheming Time Meddler or Sinister Plot. Or a Time Lord looking for peace and quiet.
Perhaps one of the brothers is meddling with a strange artefact or ancient book containing anachronistic knowledge (possibly involving a time traveller's experimental still).
5. Allegedly even before the monastic settlement (~516CE) the island was home to Christians fleeing persecution on the mainland. Or were they fleeing something else, perhaps they'd been infected by something that erupted from a meteor and were driven out by the locals when their strange behavior became known. What happened to them on Bardsey?
6. That stranding incident in 2000 is intriguing. Were the visitors really 'stranded' on the island? Or were they quarantined there by UNIT/Torchwood for some reason? What had they seen, or been exposed to? (The return of that nastiness from the fifth century perhaps?).
7. The Bardsey Apple is believed to be a unique cultivar, one that almost died out when the monastery was suppressed. It is described as creamy pink and possessing an odd lemony flavour and smell. Is it a naturally mutated strain, or the product of genetic manipulation centuries before humanity should have had such capability. Was it an experiment by a time traveller or alien who'd been granted shelter in the monastery? A normal tree that was accidentally exposed to something that mutated it? Or something even more strange...
8. For a pseudo-historical scenario have the travellers arrive in 1537, at the same time as (or be mistaken for!) Henry VIII's commissioners who're there to survey the monestary;'s assets prior to it's dissolution. What interesting things might be found in the vaults? Of for a true historical eliminate alien presences and have one of the commissioners or monks murdered and the party blamed, complete with accusations of witchcraft.
9. Island are popular settings in science fiction and horr, the "base under siege" trope with it's isolation and interdependence. Why not move the plot of Night of the Big Heat or Island of Terror from Scotland and Ireland respectively and re-set them on Bardsey. Other possibilities are Tower of Evil, The Nightmare Man, Nothing But the Night and many Call of Cthulhu scenarios.
10. Druids. Bardsey was, allegedly, a centre of druid culture and a sacred site. If this is true then there may have been a solid reason for such beliefs. In James Rollins' The Doomsday Key the druids possessed a fungus that was used as a biological weapon but there are numerous other possibilities from naturally occuring crystals that augment psionic powers to a prophetic computer from the future.
11. Merlin and Arthur. There are many alleged burial sites for King Arthur, Bardsey is one of them, and as many legends about him. Blend in time travel, connections to other worlds and advanced technology and set on a remote Welsh island.
12. Pilgrims. While St. Mary's was remote it was still a popular destination for pilgrims in the middle ages. What artefacts might have been left there, as gifts or in the possession of a deceased pilgrim? Or could the pilgrim be the mystery, mysteriously contaminated, suffering an unknown disease or possessed by something from another world.
Links.
An account of a visit to the island.
The Bardsey Island Trust
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
A small, rugged, Welsh island that may have been inhabited for ~10,000 years and was described as "the gate to Paradise", complete with links to druidism, King Arthur (it's one of his alleged burial sites), Vikings and a busy monastery (complete with an orchard having it's own unique variety of apple).
It was a major centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages (the pilgrimage there was considered equal to one-third that to Rome), is a protected wildlife sanctuary, has numerous connections to poets, musicians and artists, has a odd square based lighthouse (currently unmanned) and declared itself neutral during World War One (it's 'king' taking umbrage at being considered too old for military service at a mere 71).
Perfect for a quiet getaway and exposure to nature, with no electricity, telephones, mains water or sewage or television. Plus whatever's been waiting there...
Don't forget the weather; there's an unfortunate tendency for the wind, fog and the savage currents to make it impossible for boats to travel to or from island. Sometimes for weeks...
- In 2000 seventeen visitors were stranded for more than two weeks.
Gaming ideas.
1. Not much is known about Bardsey's neolithic past so it'd be an excellent site for a small scale dig. That is until communications with the small party of archaeologists is lost. What's going on? Is it just a minor technical problem on a remote island (no landline or cellular phones, strictly radio or satellite links) or have the shovelbum unearthed something Man Was Not Meant To Know. Or just gotten very drunk on an experimental batch of cider cooked up by a graduate student...
2. If there's a Silurian hibernation base there, well once they woke up they'd probably take one look around them and head back down for a few more millennia. But what if they didn't? A relatively isolated base for 'fixing' their planet perhaps?
3. Buried spaceship. OK it's a bit hackneyed perhaps but the island is remote and pretty undisturbed, a good spot to find something that's lain undisturbed for centuries or millennia.
4. Monasteries are popular choices for strange events in historical fiction, from The Name of the Rose to the murder plagued Abbey of St Peter and St Paul. The Augustinian abbey of St Mary on Bardsey is remote and prone to complete isolation, perfect for encountering a scheming Time Meddler or Sinister Plot. Or a Time Lord looking for peace and quiet.
Perhaps one of the brothers is meddling with a strange artefact or ancient book containing anachronistic knowledge (possibly involving a time traveller's experimental still).
5. Allegedly even before the monastic settlement (~516CE) the island was home to Christians fleeing persecution on the mainland. Or were they fleeing something else, perhaps they'd been infected by something that erupted from a meteor and were driven out by the locals when their strange behavior became known. What happened to them on Bardsey?
6. That stranding incident in 2000 is intriguing. Were the visitors really 'stranded' on the island? Or were they quarantined there by UNIT/Torchwood for some reason? What had they seen, or been exposed to? (The return of that nastiness from the fifth century perhaps?).
7. The Bardsey Apple is believed to be a unique cultivar, one that almost died out when the monastery was suppressed. It is described as creamy pink and possessing an odd lemony flavour and smell. Is it a naturally mutated strain, or the product of genetic manipulation centuries before humanity should have had such capability. Was it an experiment by a time traveller or alien who'd been granted shelter in the monastery? A normal tree that was accidentally exposed to something that mutated it? Or something even more strange...
8. For a pseudo-historical scenario have the travellers arrive in 1537, at the same time as (or be mistaken for!) Henry VIII's commissioners who're there to survey the monestary;'s assets prior to it's dissolution. What interesting things might be found in the vaults? Of for a true historical eliminate alien presences and have one of the commissioners or monks murdered and the party blamed, complete with accusations of witchcraft.
9. Island are popular settings in science fiction and horr, the "base under siege" trope with it's isolation and interdependence. Why not move the plot of Night of the Big Heat or Island of Terror from Scotland and Ireland respectively and re-set them on Bardsey. Other possibilities are Tower of Evil, The Nightmare Man, Nothing But the Night and many Call of Cthulhu scenarios.
10. Druids. Bardsey was, allegedly, a centre of druid culture and a sacred site. If this is true then there may have been a solid reason for such beliefs. In James Rollins' The Doomsday Key the druids possessed a fungus that was used as a biological weapon but there are numerous other possibilities from naturally occuring crystals that augment psionic powers to a prophetic computer from the future.
11. Merlin and Arthur. There are many alleged burial sites for King Arthur, Bardsey is one of them, and as many legends about him. Blend in time travel, connections to other worlds and advanced technology and set on a remote Welsh island.
12. Pilgrims. While St. Mary's was remote it was still a popular destination for pilgrims in the middle ages. What artefacts might have been left there, as gifts or in the possession of a deceased pilgrim? Or could the pilgrim be the mystery, mysteriously contaminated, suffering an unknown disease or possessed by something from another world.
Links.
An account of a visit to the island.
The Bardsey Island Trust
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
