Basic Information
The Bahamas (also known as the Lucayan Archipelago) are an archipelago of islands on the northern border of the Caribbean Sea, separated from Florida on the mainland by The Windward Passage. This archipelago is home to two separate nations The Commonwealth of the Bahamas (an independent state) and The Turks and Caicos Islands (a British Overseas Territory). Historically these islands were a navigational nightmare and were an easy refuge for pirates, preying on the Greater Antilles to the South and on shipping using the Windward Passage - today they are mostly funded by offshore banking and tourism … and from time to time the occasional outbreak of financial fraud and money-laundering. Aggressive British privateering operations in the past ensured a British hegemony over the islands which then translated into formal control once matters were regularised in the C19.
Geologically, the islands are mostly limestone in character, meaning that they are prone to a variety of erosion structures and have a decent chance of possessing some kind of water source - coral structures are also common, but these tend to be secondary, attached to pre-existing islands or submerged continuants of the range. The frequency of these submerged structures - and their tendency to shrink and grow over the years - were amongst the factors that make the area so hard to navigate. Blue Holes are also quite common in this region due to the aforementioned erosion.
Climate is generally tropical and moist, with the entire region being prone to violent hurricanes in the later months of the year.
List of Bahamas Creatures
Sources
Game and Story Use
- In the modern era, this is primarily a location where the wealthy go to try and hide themselves and their money from scrutiny - forensic accountants are frequent, if unwelcome visitors but murder mysteries are good for plot here as well, especially as the local nations are small and have limited resources to investigate within their diffuse and often quite remote territory.
- In a historical campaign, especially one set during the golden age of piracy, pirates and privateers alike will base themselves out of these islands to strike against (predominately) Spanish trade, up to and including the Treasure Fleets. PCs could have any part of this.
- Which means a modern campaign could also be looking for pirate gold left over from the raids of the past.