“Sawney Bean”

[grinch]

Apparently an adventure featuring him and his cannibalistic clan was pitched to Big Finish but ultimately rejected in favour of The Grey Man of the Mountain. For obvious reasons...


www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sawney-Bean-Scotlands-most-famous-cannibal/

Still, I definitely think this is an idea which could make for a good basis of an adventure. Definitely not be for the faint of heart though considering the dark subject matter.


Any ideas? Thoughts? 

[Catsmate]

Oct 20, 2021 14:01:53 GMT grinch said:

Apparently an adventure featuring him and his cannibalistic clan was pitched to Big Finish but ultimately rejected in favour of The Grey Man of the Mountain. For obvious reasons...


www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sawney-Bean-Scotlands-most-famous-cannibal/

Still, I definitely think this is an idea which could make for a good basis of an adventure. Definitely not be for the faint of heart though considering the dark subject matter.


Any ideas? Thoughts? 

Dark is right, but really no more extreme than some Who plots, Medicinal Purposes for example.In fact the Burke and Hare killings are covered in the next article on that website.
And the story features James VI/I, it could form a sequel to The Witchfinders.

Of course as the article says:

....although the tale of Sawney Bean and his infamous family is recorded in several notable publications, factual documentation is lacking to validate the events.

there are doubts whether Bean ever existed, or if there is just a kernal of truth to the story. So you could do almost anything with the basic premise.

[grinch]

I’d probably treat Bean if I were to use him in an adventure as having the same pseudo-fictional status as say Thomas Carnacki or Sherlock Holmes in the Doctor Who universe. And probably many others. Which does beg the question if there was some crisis in reality between the Land of Fiction and the regular universe which lead to these fictional characters becoming real. But that’s an adventure idea for another time...

If you were to treat Bean in the purely historical sense, you could have your PCs team up with James VI as you suggested to rescue another PC which has been abducted by the cannibalistic clan or even to destroy them entirely. Maybe without the assistance of the PCs established history records that Sawney Bean had more victims until he was eventually caught? Or perhaps some time traveller/alien mob boss has been using Sawney Bean to effectively dispose of people by dropping them in Scotland in the 16th century in Bean’s territory?

For a more science fiction angle, maybe Sawney Bean and his wife are Patient Zeros of some disease which turns its hosts in cannibals? Could even serve as the origin for the myth of the Wendigo in a way with the suggestion the disease has cropped up in other time periods. And where did such a disease come from? Maybe the Viyrans?

[Catsmate]

Oct 20, 2021 18:07:53 GMT grinch said:

I’d probably treat Bean if I were to use him in an adventure as having the same pseudo-fictional status as say Thomas Carnacki or Sherlock Holmes in the Doctor Who universe. And probably many others. Which does beg the question if there was some crisis in reality between the Land of Fiction and the regular universe which lead to these fictional characters becoming real. But that’s an adventure idea for another time...

If you were to treat Bean in the purely historical sense, you could have your PCs team up with James VI as you suggested to rescue another PC which has been abducted by the cannibalistic clan or even to destroy them entirely. Maybe without the assistance of the PCs established history records that Sawney Bean had more victims until he was eventually caught? Or perhaps some time traveller/alien mob boss has been using Sawney Bean to effectively dispose of people by dropping them in Scotland in the 16th century in Bean’s territory?

For a more science fiction angle, maybe Sawney Bean and his wife are Patient Zeros of some disease which turns its hosts in cannibals? Could even serve as the origin for the myth of the Wendigo in a way with the suggestion the disease has cropped up in other time periods. And where did such a disease come from? Maybe the Viyrans?

In the pseudo-historical mode the Beans could have consumed someone with an odd genetic condition or disease (an X-Files episode did this with cannibals and CJD back in the Mad Cow era) or perhaps they killed and ate an actual alien?

[grinch]

Oct 21, 2021 8:17:01 GMT Catsmate said:

Oct 20, 2021 18:07:53 GMT grinch said:

I’d probably treat Bean if I were to use him in an adventure as having the same pseudo-fictional status as say Thomas Carnacki or Sherlock Holmes in the Doctor Who universe. And probably many others. Which does beg the question if there was some crisis in reality between the Land of Fiction and the regular universe which lead to these fictional characters becoming real. But that’s an adventure idea for another time...

If you were to treat Bean in the purely historical sense, you could have your PCs team up with James VI as you suggested to rescue another PC which has been abducted by the cannibalistic clan or even to destroy them entirely. Maybe without the assistance of the PCs established history records that Sawney Bean had more victims until he was eventually caught? Or perhaps some time traveller/alien mob boss has been using Sawney Bean to effectively dispose of people by dropping them in Scotland in the 16th century in Bean’s territory?

For a more science fiction angle, maybe Sawney Bean and his wife are Patient Zeros of some disease which turns its hosts in cannibals? Could even serve as the origin for the myth of the Wendigo in a way with the suggestion the disease has cropped up in other time periods. And where did such a disease come from? Maybe the Viyrans?

In the pseudo-historical mode the Beans could have consumed someone with an odd genetic condition or disease (an X-Files episode did this with cannibals and CJD back in the Mad Cow era) or perhaps they killed and ate an actual alien?

Some poor alien tourist with a Shimmer perhaps? Might not even be dead but bits of it are kept in the clan’s ossuary, still alive and still very much conscious? 

[Catsmate]

Oct 21, 2021 13:35:00 GMT grinch said:

Oct 21, 2021 8:17:01 GMT Catsmate said:

In the pseudo-historical mode the Beans could have consumed someone with an odd genetic condition or disease (an X-Files episode did this with cannibals and CJD back in the Mad Cow era) or perhaps they killed and ate an actual alien?

Some poor alien tourist with a Shimmer perhaps? Might not even be dead but bits of it are kept in the clan’s ossuary, still alive and still very much conscious? 

Or a crash victim? Like the unfortunate insectoid Kriz in The Brain of Morbius. I agree them being still alive and aware is a nasty possibility.

[grinch]

Oct 21, 2021 14:48:19 GMT Catsmate said:

Oct 21, 2021 13:35:00 GMT grinch said:

Some poor alien tourist with a Shimmer perhaps? Might not even be dead but bits of it are kept in the clan’s ossuary, still alive and still very much conscious? 

Or a crash victim? Like the unfortunate insectoid Kriz in The Brain of Morbius. I agree them being still alive and aware is a nasty possibility.

Oh dear. Talk about having a run of bad luck.