I am toying with possibilities for a new Saga. I was wondering what other forum members think might be atmospheric, mystical sites for a PC covenant (it does not have to be a Spring covenant). I have Heirs to Merlin so you can make page references if you want. I'm just looking for people's thoughts in case they are cooler than mine.
I am partial to Avebury myself, but England offers lots of other possibilities I'm sure.
[P.S. by England I mean areas of Britain that were Norman controlled in 1220, so the Welsh Marches might count but the Scottish Highlands are right out.]
Well, perhaps not highly mystical, and perhaps not what you want for a long-term saga, but I recently ran a story based on the Isle of Wight.
There's enough space there for a couple of covenant sites and there are one or two interesting features. There's the ruin of an old lighthouse, which itself replaced the ruin of a lighthouse extant in the game period. It's based at the top of St. Catherine's Mount, a great hill commanding a view out over the southern shore.
There is also a minor standing stone site, as well as barrows, a Norman castle, and an abbey that housed the exiled Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Its position between England and France is also pretty useful for stories that tend to wash ashore. And it's just a little bit different to some of the more commonly used sites within the Stonehenge Tribunal.
All the 'Bury's are a gold mine of lore and inspiration.
Land's End (Cornwall) is rich in Iron Age and Roman ruins, and many Arthurian hooks. Also pagan rituals surviving in the townships, tho' those can be written in almost anywhere.
Dover too, with its huge intact pharos and dramatic cliffs, and just a short hop to France, so close to the Norman invasion point, inviting ghosts and other hooks, political and mystical.
Some of the deeper forests, which are hard to picture in England today, but existed at the time all over (outside of the London area).
Just started a saga with a covenant in a regio at Avebury a few weeks back. Silbury Hill is another interesting choice, or Lundy and island in the Bristol Channel. There was a temple to Nodens at Lydney in the Forest of Dean where we had a game set, and there are plenty of possibilities in Wales - Monmouthshire saw another game.
mysteriousbritain.co.uk/ is a good site to look at. If you want information on specific areas do ask
I love setting games in Tintagel in Cornwall. It has a lot of historical sites area around it, Merlin's Cave, a barrow grave, a missing castle, selkies...
We're set in Cumbria, southwest of Lake Windermere. So far it's been a very rich area to play in. Close to Hadrian's Wall, not too far from Man, has a lot of menhirs and stone circles like Long Meg. Ungulus has been set as our enemy, that's been good times. The Bonisagus there nearly stole away one of our apprentices, it made for an interesting political sort of game.
Our saga is set on the outskirts of Western Shropshire, neighbouring Northern Wales.
As already suggested Tintagel is available... (But hurry or I might beat you to it hehe - dont tell my players but I've considered a move there further down an important story arc).
Our current saga is set in Wales, a few days travel from Shrubbery err Shrewbery err whatever...you know the place with that famous monk
Wales works well, besides its loaded with Redheads...err well this accounts for my Mages' distracted air...but it also has fae everywhere, mountains (at least that is what the locals call them), sheep, longbows, sheep, redheaded wenches, sheep, trees, sheep, bad ale, red heads, mist, sheep, red heads, fog, sheep, and err did I mention sheep? Right...anyway its a pretty fun place to be...when certain people don't do certain things infront of the Local Bishop...
Our troupe is from Manchester, so we set up our covenant in the Manchester area in Mythic Europe (Manchester didn't exist, so our covenant is close to Thelwall). Seemed to make sense to us!
I am Tempus, belonging to the House Tremere. My Mater was Tressa. I decided to built a Covenant in Wales, within Stonehenge Tribunal. Goliard gave me her help and I raised my Covenant with other four Magi: [b]Ancaelius /b, [b]Lazarus /b, [b]Geneviève /b and [b]Enev /b. Now, the Tytalus and the Jerbiton died and another Tremere, Medea, was accepted in Tempus Limes, as it is known in all Mythic Europe. The land of Wales and the forests of Gwynedd have seen many wonderful actions of our characters. My master, the creator of all, decided begin to play in the year 1219. Now we have entered in 1240 AD, and I am 43 years old. I grew with the possibility of stop the Time (that will violate one of the limit of Magic). It just only happens, I can´t control it. That's why Tressa named me as TEMPUS. Maybe one day I'll learn to deal with it. Immanola accused me of being the one who'll destroy the Order. Time will pass me by, and I'll stand up against it.
I'm just setting up a saga up here in Loch Leglean as Alpha SG.
The troupe have decided to to be based in Stirlingshire in the ruins of a twice (or perhaps more) failed covenant. It's the first time I've seen my friends use an example directly as written from any RPG sourcebook (from Covenants, beginning "A covenant near Stirling...").
My take of Loch Leglean circa 1220 has the entire tribunal under investigation by Quaesitors thanks to to the Covenant of Horsingas.
Silbury Hill is another interesting choice, or Lundy and island in the Bristol Channel. There was a temple to Nodens at Lydney in the Forest of Dean where we had a game set, and there are plenty of possibilities in Wales - Monmouthshire saw another game.
as Alpha SG.