[Scenario Seed] A Morbid Taste for Bones

[Catsmate]

A Morbid Taste for Bones

A Morbid Taste for Bones is the first novel in the Brother Cadfael¹ series of historical mysteries by Ellis Peters. It's an excellent, well-regarded mystery, set in the early stages of The Anarchy, a period of bloody civil war and societal breakdown in England in the mid-twelfth century. The plot has an ambitious cleric (a fictionalised version of the real Robert of Shrewsbury) leading a party of monks from the then young Benedictine foundation at Shrewsbury to 'acquire' the bones of Saint Winifred from their resting place in nearby Wales. I won't spoil the story further, except to say that things get murky.
Later in the series (books and television) the bones of Saint Winifred are the subject of dispute been rival abbeys and a secular landowner.

The relic² trade was an important aspect of medieval life; in an era when sincere belief in religion, the wrath of God and the fear of damnation hung over the populace there were church approved pilgrimages that could cleanse a soul of it's burden of sins. And for the abbeys and monasteries who controlled important relics they were a source of money; pilgrims were not charged specifically for access to them, but charges could be made for subsistence and donations were encouraged.

• Historically the presence of the bones of Saint Winifred dramatically improved the fortunes of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury.
  

Major relics were worth a fortune; in the thirteenth-century Baldwin II sold the (alleged) Christ’s crown of thorns to Louis IX. of France for 135,000 livres. That was approximately half a year's royal revenue for France and about one-third more than the classic "king's ransom", the price England was forced to pay for the release of Richard I.


So far I'm just giving some background on relics and pilgrimages. Now for an idea.
One of the classic characteristics attributed to saints was 'incorruptibility' (wiki) that their bodies would not decay in the usual manner after death³. Another is the power of supernatural healing.

The PCs arrive in, well the location doesn't really matter other than it should be somewhere Europe (the Christian parts) in the Middle Ages (really anywhere from say 750 to 1350⁴ CE), preferably without the strong central authority of later centuries. I'm going to go with rural England in 1200 as a 'default setting'.
The recognise fairly quickly the location and period (even without advanced technology) perhaps by asking people who the king is and checking Wikipedia.
While interacting with people they overhear, or speak with, a small band of pilgrims who are heading to a nearby monastery to visit the body of Saint Beornwald⁵ and seek healing for their afflictions. What these are (chronic illness, insanity, injury) aren't that important, they should be moderately severe but allow them mobility.
The pilgrims recount various tales of the supposed healing powers of Beornwald, whose body was lost until fairly recently, but unearthed by the monks and is, so they said, unaltered by the two centuries since his death in a battle with a demon.

• By now most players will be taking notice.
• Also they may be thinking of applying some ultra-tech healing, this should be dissuaded. Though if they insist the plot can shift rapidly to "running from the torch and pitchfork armed mob" as people accuse them of sorcery and demonology.
  

Hopefully the players will decide to investigate the monastery, the body and the miracles.

Along the way they should find out the following. Interpersonal skills, hypnosis, alcohol or gifts will help the process.

• The monastery of St. Beornwald is in possession of the preserved body of a martyr and great warrior saint/knight who defeated a demon/dragon hundreds of years before.
• This is naturally a matter of great prestige and wealth for the religious house (with the relic attracting pilgrims and endowments, all welcome sources of funds).
  
• The foundation existed at the time of Beornwald's defeat of the demon, though it was a tiny monastic settlement back them.
• There is a chronicle of the battle. However the pilgrims don't know it in detail.
• They do know that Beornwald died in the battle and was interred by a woman who'd aided him. After that no-one knew where he was buried until recently. Then his body, miraculously preserved, was found and brought to the monastery.
  
• Since then the relic has demonstrated miraculous powers of healing.
  

If the PCs find someone better informed about the saint (perhaps a priest or scholar of some sort) they can learn the sam ewith the addition of the following:

• It all happened about two hundred years previously in the reign of <insert suitable king>. A demon was terrorising the locality and killed many warriors. Finally a battle was fought (and written about by the monks) between a great knight, his companions (who included a now glossed over nun/witch/wise woman) and a demon. Only the woman survived.
• There is a mention of a 'blessed spear', which might be a Christianisation of an earlier 'magic spear', being used to strike the decisive blow and kill the demon.
  

What happened.
Yes there was a battle. The knight (whose name probably wasn't Beornwald) had less noble motives than later attributed to him and was offered a fortune to slay a 'demon'. He was defeated easily and ran away, where he encountered a witch who healed him and provided him with the magic needed to kill the demon. However he died in the process.
The demon was an alien of some sort, perhaps from another planet, time or dimension.
The witch was either a time traveller or another alien (perhaps she's been pursuing the 'demon'?)
The magic provided to Beornwald was a type of nano-tech armour, something like living metal, that protected and him and also healed him. The spear was an ultra-tech weapon, a staff-like device that could pierce the alien's force shield and generate a blast of plasma.

Beornwald did die in the battle (and the 'witch' retrieved her gadgets) but his body was 'colonised' by the nano-machines which healed and sustained him. After his death the nano-machines fixed his injuries and preserved him, their 'default' setting, but he was dead and they were never instructed to resurrect him (as his brain stopped working the control interface ended). Since then they've kept his remains looking as good as new.

As for the outbreak of miracles? Some of the nano-machines drift off Beornwald's body and 'colonise' others. Without the proper instruction they cannot be properly controlled but they act to 'fix' major problems. This is rather uncommon, but still happens a couple of times a year; usually those healed leave and the colony die off away from the majority of their fellows. The monks acting as guardians of the relic are also 'infected' and enjoy excellent health.

So, what do the PCs do?
Can they afford to leave a miraculous corpse lying around healing random people?
What if the king visits and is effected? That could drastically alter history?
Do they try and steal the body? Fake up a situation that'll allow them to move it?
Can they re-programme the nano-machines and switch them off?
Are there other traces of the battle lying around? The weapons used by Beornwald? The bodies of his companions?
What happened to the demon? Is it really, truly, dead?
What happened to the witch? Dis she leave anything anachronistic around?
Can the nano-machines resurrect Beornwald if ordered to? What would the effect of a miraculously resurrected warrior-saint be?




Ideas? Suggestions? Comments?






1. His name is actually pronounced Cad-vel or Cad-vail. They books are excellent and well worth reading, not just for their historical background and atmosphere.

2. A 'relic' in the religious sense being a part of a deceased holy person's body, or of their belongings, kept as an object of reverence. The Roman Catholic tradition relics are split into three classes; those of the first class are parts of the body of a saint or any of the objects used in the Crucifixion that carried the blood of Christ; a relic of the second class is anything known to have been touched or used by a saint; while a relic of the third class is a devotional object touched to a first-class relic.

3.Something that led to a lot of fakery and dubious experiments with corpses in the Dark and Middle ages.

4. There was an upsurge in interest in relics after the Black Death killed off a-third of the population.

5. There was a real saint Beornwald, I'm just using the name.

[grinch]

Oh man, how have I not noticed this thread before? I love the Cadfael series and always thought if I were to play in a campaign, he’d be the sort of character I’d make for a PC.

Definitely a lot of issues to tackle in an adventure and one to get your PCs thinking. I’d hazard a guess that many PCs would resort to finding a way to deactivate the nano machines if only to avoid changing history. Depending on how said dice rolls go, however, said actions could have further ramifications down the line. Say a few of the nano machines have spread onto the local foliage/herb gardens giving them healing properties or even onto the Monks themselves. A few centuries down the line they might revisit down the monastery only to discover that the Monks from their original visit are still there, having been made immortal. Many of whom probably view this as a curse from God for aiding the PCs all those years ago.

And what of the Demon you suggest? Well, maybe said creatures was in fact a holy man who wished to spread his messages of peace and the like but ultimately due to being unable to communicate his intentions was slain by Beornwald. The witch in turn may have been (rather ironically) the equivalent of a witch hunter/religious oppressor and armed the warrior saint with the necessary weapons to slay the demon. In fact, the rest of the demons species/fellow holy men might journey to Earth to discover what happened to him but due to the effects of time dilation arrive at the time of the PCs visit.

As for the resurrected Beornwald? Hard to say, I could see the PCs taking responsibility for him and taking him along with them but maybe the Monks would decide to protect him within their order.

[Catsmate]

Jul 24, 2021 10:20:38 GMT grinch said:

Oh man, how have I not noticed this thread before? I love the Cadfael series and always thought if I were to play in a campaign, he’d be the sort of character I’d make for a PC.

Well I use the 'Recent Thread' function myself....
Yes, Cadfael was an excellent character and very well suited for a game, including as a Companion or time traveller.

Jul 24, 2021 10:20:38 GMT grinch said:

Definitely a lot of issues to tackle in an adventure and one to get your PCs thinking. I’d hazard a guess that many PCs would resort to finding a way to deactivate the nano machines if only to avoid changing history. Depending on how said dice rolls go, however, said actions could have further ramifications down the line. Say a few of the nano machines have spread onto the local foliage/herb gardens giving them healing properties or even onto the Monks themselves. A few centuries down the line they might revisit down the monastery only to discover that the Monks from their original visit are still there, having been made immortal. Many of whom probably view this as a curse from God for aiding the PCs all those years ago.

Ah, the moral dilemma. Hopefully the players can see beyond the 'My vision is the Prime Reality, my life dedicated to preserving it' to appreciate that they're going to hurt people.
And yes, the nanotech has wonderful possibilities for going wrong.

I like your immortal monks idea, does the church hierarchy know? I'd assume the monestary tries to keep their....peculiarities secret, for fear of accusations of demon worship. Just because you can't die doesn't mean you can't feel pain.

Which reminds me of a rather dark idea one of our players came up with; what happened to Nancy and the others effected by the Chulka nanotech in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances? Given the revelations about sexual abuse in institutions, what could happen to undying, unaging, children.

Jul 24, 2021 10:20:38 GMT grinch said:

And what of the Demon you suggest? Well, maybe said creatures was in fact a holy man who wished to spread his messages of peace and the like but ultimately due to being unable to communicate his intentions was slain by Beornwald. The witch in turn may have been (rather ironically) the equivalent of a witch hunter/religious oppressor and armed the warrior saint with the necessary weapons to slay the demon. In fact, the rest of the demons species/fellow holy men might journey to Earth to discover what happened to him but due to the effects of time dilation arrive at the time of the PCs visit.

Excellent, a nice twist for a sequel.

Jul 24, 2021 10:20:38 GMT grinch said:

As for the resurrected Beornwald? Hard to say, I could see the PCs taking responsibility for him and taking him along with them but maybe the Monks would decide to protect him within their order.

I wonder if they'd survive as an institution? Perhaps at least until the Dissolution,   wonder what'd happen then.
Might the monks have quietly integrated themselves into one of the universities (Oxford, Cambridge or a third at Stamford¹)


I've been playing with the idea of a long term campaign, or set of background events set mostly in East Anglia and the Fens, that span the centuries.
It's inspired by the line from Doyle's story 'The Five Orange Pips'² referencing

 ......the singular adventures of the Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa.....

into which a monastery/society of immortal monks would fit.

Doyle's use of 'in' bugs me. People generally of 'on' an island rather than 'in', but what if that island had an inside?
Because it wasn't a natural island, rather the result of a craft crashing into the marsh and forming a mound, augmented by W/Uffa's efforts to hide it and contain it's contents.

I'll skip most of the details but the idea currently encompasses the Lost Treasure of King John³ and the related matter of his last months, the Drainage of the Fens⁴, the Legend of the Three Crowns of East Anglia⁵, the Doomed Town of Dunwich⁶ . Plus the English Civil Wars (and the related craze for witch-hunts), a group of feral Earth Reptiles and several North Sea floods (past and future).







1. Which historically nearly happened in the 1330s but the institution was suppressed.

2. Mentioned in this thread.

3. Lost crossing The Wash in October of 1216, just prior to the king's death 'from dysentery'. Kings can accumulate all sorts of odd artefacts....

4. A fascinating and murky saga of patronage and corruption that (for example) started a minor landowner's foray into politics. But who remembers Oliver Cromwell these days?

5. Said to protect the kingdom from Invasion and including the finding of the crown of Rædwald at Rendlesham, in 1687. And later explorations.

6. Once the second city of England until a storm devastated the town.

[Catsmate]

Some further thoughts.
Inspired by grinch and his suggestions I've thought about this more.
I like the idea of a group of immortal monastics, and a few others, who were cursed with nanotech immortality due to the effects of someone 'fixing' a piece of anachronistic technology.

So I've planned a rather apocalyptic finale for the main scenario, with  the suddenly reborn Witch, Warrior and Demon fight it out in the abbey, people run screaming into the night and the PCs desperately try and survive, while helping someone win the battle and helping pilgrims and bystanders flee. I like grinch's idea that the 'demon' was actually more-or-less harmless, the victim of a mob incited by the witch (who was hunting him/it for her own purposes). So the PCs will need to figure out what's going on and who to help.

I've also decided to run with the origin of the situation being something that crashed into the fens around 575CE, something that became Uffa's Island and left a legacy intertwined with the East Anglian royal line and the Legend of the Three Crowns that protect the land from invasion. The 'Witch' was trying to get control of this object/craft and started the problem. Perhaps the Demon was a defense mechanism, protecting the craft from her looting?

The battle sets up the long term consequence; a small group of people from the abbey, a mix of monks, visitors, servants and pilgrims are 'infected' by the nanomachines and become more-or-less immortal (they don't die, the heal quickly, are immune to most diseases and toxins). Do they scatter? Try and return to their old lives, for those who weren't monks anyway?
But whatever they do they'll soon be noticed and in superstitious times they'll end up in trouble. So they create a community for themselves, hidden in the fenlands of East Anglia (a bit of a recent obsession of mine), like quite a few others.

Over the centuries they live apart, perhaps they're advisors to the kings and nobles, teachers and healers. Some may leave to wander and see the world, or even conquer for themselves, study the universe. Become interested in odd occurrences, and involved with the groups that investigate them and others grow introspective, studying the human mind and the limits of their own powers.

And over the centuries they are always around, always getting involved and always watching.

A more plot integrated version of Ashildr.


Suggestions? Ideas?

[grinch]

Jul 31, 2021 12:32:13 GMT Catsmate said:

Some further thoughts.
Inspired by grinch and his suggestions I've thought about this more.
I like the idea of a group of immortal monastics, and a few others, who were cursed with nanotech immortality due to the effects of someone 'fixing' a piece of anachronistic technology.

So I've planned a rather apocalyptic finale for the main scenario, with  the suddenly reborn Witch, Warrior and Demon fight it out in the abbey, people run screaming into the night and the PCs desperately try and survive, while helping someone win the battle and helping pilgrims and bystanders flee. I like grinch's idea that the 'demon' was actually more-or-less harmless, the victim of a mob incited by the witch (who was hunting him/it for her own purposes). So the PCs will need to figure out what's going on and who to help.

I've also decided to run with the origin of the situation being something that crashed into the fens around 575CE, something that became Uffa's Island and left a legacy intertwined with the East Anglian royal line and the Legend of the Three Crowns that protect the land from invasion. The 'Witch' was trying to get control of this object/craft and started the problem. Perhaps the Demon was a defense mechanism, protecting the craft from her looting?

The battle sets up the long term consequence; a small group of people from the abbey, a mix of monks, visitors, servants and pilgrims are 'infected' by the nanomachines and become more-or-less immortal (they don't die, the heal quickly, are immune to most diseases and toxins). Do they scatter? Try and return to their old lives, for those who weren't monks anyway?
But whatever they do they'll soon be noticed and in superstitious times they'll end up in trouble. So they create a community for themselves, hidden in the fenlands of East Anglia (a bit of a recent obsession of mine), like quite a few others.

Over the centuries they live apart, perhaps they're advisors to the kings and nobles, teachers and healers. Some may leave to wander and see the world, or even conquer for themselves, study the universe. Become interested in odd occurrences, and involved with the groups that investigate them and others grow introspective, studying the human mind and the limits of their own powers.

And over the centuries they are always around, always getting involved and always watching.

A more plot integrated version of Ashildr.


Suggestions? Ideas?

A better written version of Ashildr, you mean? 😉 And I suppose there’s nothing to say that she couldn’t have stumbled across this community at some point. Although, at some point she was forced to or chose to leave. Maybe they wiped her mind to prevent her rediscovering them as they sense a seed of darkness in her?

In all seriousness, I really like the concept of this community of immortals. Reminds me a lot of the advanced civilisation that gave the Champions their abilities. 

And Doctor Who doesn’t tackle the concept of what immortality does to a person an awful lot (Seasons of Fear in my
opinion is probably the best example in my opinion) but it would make for a neat exploration of said ideas. Many of these monks probably lost faith in their lord and, as you said, left whilst others might have had their faith renewed seeing it as another test of their faith.

I do like the idea that the monks have also been studying the limits of their own abilities. One wonders what some of the more focused and older immortals might now be able to do. Astral projection, perhaps? Would make for an interesting start to an adventure if the ghostly image of a familiar monk appears in the PCs TARDIS imploring them to return.

Would also make for a nice haven for PCs to try and get to if you’re playing such world spanning campaign settings such as the Dalek Invasion of the 22nd century or the Year of Never Was.

[Catsmate]

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

Jul 31, 2021 12:32:13 GMT Catsmate said:

Some further thoughts.
Inspired by grinch and his suggestions I've thought about this more.
I like the idea of a group of immortal monastics, and a few others, who were cursed with nanotech immortality due to the effects of someone 'fixing' a piece of anachronistic technology.

So I've planned a rather apocalyptic finale for the main scenario, with  the suddenly reborn Witch, Warrior and Demon fight it out in the abbey, people run screaming into the night and the PCs desperately try and survive, while helping someone win the battle and helping pilgrims and bystanders flee. I like grinch's idea that the 'demon' was actually more-or-less harmless, the victim of a mob incited by the witch (who was hunting him/it for her own purposes). So the PCs will need to figure out what's going on and who to help.

I've also decided to run with the origin of the situation being something that crashed into the fens around 575CE, something that became Uffa's Island and left a legacy intertwined with the East Anglian royal line and the Legend of the Three Crowns that protect the land from invasion. The 'Witch' was trying to get control of this object/craft and started the problem. Perhaps the Demon was a defense mechanism, protecting the craft from her looting?

The battle sets up the long term consequence; a small group of people from the abbey, a mix of monks, visitors, servants and pilgrims are 'infected' by the nanomachines and become more-or-less immortal (they don't die, the heal quickly, are immune to most diseases and toxins). Do they scatter? Try and return to their old lives, for those who weren't monks anyway?
But whatever they do they'll soon be noticed and in superstitious times they'll end up in trouble. So they create a community for themselves, hidden in the fenlands of East Anglia (a bit of a recent obsession of mine), like quite a few others.

Over the centuries they live apart, perhaps they're advisors to the kings and nobles, teachers and healers. Some may leave to wander and see the world, or even conquer for themselves, study the universe. Become interested in odd occurrences, and involved with the groups that investigate them and others grow introspective, studying the human mind and the limits of their own powers.

And over the centuries they are always around, always getting involved and always watching.

A more plot integrated version of Ashildr.


Suggestions? Ideas?

Apologies for the mangled QUOTE tags.

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

A better written version of Ashildr, you mean? 😉 And I suppose there’s nothing to say that she couldn’t have stumbled across this community at some point. Although, at some point she was forced to or chose to leave. Maybe they wiped her mind to prevent her rediscovering them as they sense a seed of darkness in her?

I was trying to be polite.....
It's annoyed me how Ashildr was so poorly handled in the series, but that's classic Who writing unfortunately.

Yes, indeed she could have stumbled over the settlement (around the Dissolution or in one of the periods of Fen Drainage would be likely). Of course they could have found her....

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

In all seriousness, I really like the concept of this community of immortals. Reminds me a lot of the advanced civilisation that gave the Champions their abilities. 

I'd completely forgotten about them (and I'm a Spy-Fi fan).
A community like Shambhala or Shangri-La could be a fascinating background, especially to mix in with an Earthbound/UNIT campaign in the seventies, mixed with pure sci-fi elements, the popular westernised version of 'Eastern Wisdom' and the Human Potential Movement. SomeKabbalitic wisdom and the later version of the Ordo Templi Orientis for extra flavour. A few years earlier and the New ISIS Lodge (with astral connection to a giant spider) could be involved....

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

And Doctor Who doesn’t tackle the concept of what immortality does to a person an awful lot (Seasons of Fear in my
opinion is probably the best example in my opinion) but it would make for a neat exploration of said ideas. Many of these monks probably lost faith in their lord and, as you said, left whilst others might have had their faith renewed seeing it as another test of their faith.

Yeah, that's another thing that annoys me, and one of the few things I liked about Vampire. Despite the differences between humans and Time Lords the effects of near immortality on relationships are poorly handled.

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

I do like the idea that the monks have also been studying the limits of their own abilities. One wonders what some of the more focused and older immortals might now be able to do. Astral projection, perhaps? Would make for an interesting start to an adventure if the ghostly image of a familiar monk appears in the PCs TARDIS imploring them to return.

Well if we stuck to alien nanotech as the basis for their abilities who knows. The basic collection could be Quick Healing, various Immunities and Immortal. Psychic and other effects could be justified (especially if we keep the bit about the crashed ship/Uffa's Island/psionic gems; the later could be used to amplify psionic effects perhaps). A 'physically focussed' member might gain enhanced strength and speed, a more unobtrusive brother (ah, Jerome) might become nearly invisible (perception filter) and have his senses amplified, while an intellectual librarian type might gain superhuman Ingenuity, Photographic Memory and Code Breaker or Linguist. A tinkerer/blacksmith might start down the path to Boffin and Technically Adept (and even Time Traveller or Weird Tech, especially if alien material is available) while Cadfael might develop Empathy, Headler, Bio-chemical genius [Herbalism] or similar.

Pure meditation might develop along the 'psychic track': Psychic Training, Empathic, Psychic, Telepathy, Precognition, Telekinesis, Teleport, plus Feel the Turn of the Universe, Psychic Stun, Psychic Shield and Mind Lord.

Aug 3, 2021 20:29:12 GMT grinch said:

Would also make for a nice haven for PCs to try and get to if you’re playing such world spanning campaign settings such as the Dalek Invasion of the 22nd century or the Year of Never Was.

Another good point. The community could be a haven, mostly neutral from outside conflicts. With some foreknowledge and a commitment to human survival and development.


Of course one thing that would need to be established is can the immortals reporduce and pass on their abilities? Or pass on their powers to others? Can it be stolen in some way (shades of Highlander).
Lots of good points, thanks grinch.


ETA: one Trait I missed that could be ubiquitous is Networked, some form of low-level communication (telepathy? radio? techlepathy?) between the immortals.