Merry Xmas, one and all, dear readers! It's been a long year, and you all deserve some presents... so for those of you running games during the holiday season, here are some ideas you can steal (actually, let's consider them freely given) for a quick game, whether that's teaching your family what "that dungeon game is all about", opening up a box set with the cousins or friends, playing a game while cosy and warm with your partner... however you enjoy your holidays, make sure you enjoy them with your loved ones!
(All of these are at least partially based on traditions from various cultures, so if you do use them, be as respectful as you'd want them to be of your traditions!) Festival of Lights It is a tradition that once a year, everyone in the city wears their finest clothes, lights every lantern in the house, sets off fireworks, and celebrates life and joy to celebrate the victory of light over darkness. However, a vile Gloomdark threatens madness and violence. Find the clues that reveal the monster, and drive it away forever! Enlightenment Day A powerful Monk has been meditating under a Bodhi tree for years and has finally called his dearest disciples together to speak to them his final secrets before his ascendance. However, a demon of illusion tries to tempt and destroy him through three watches of sleep as he guards his students. With the PCs' aid, each of the students can meditate on the lessons learned before their master is gone. Kill the Krampus! For one week of the year, a terrible devil named the Krampus is loosed on the earth to punish wicked children. The child of a dear friend has been naughty and repents of their wickedness- but their coal has already been delivered, marking them as the devil's newest victim. Defend an old manor house, Home Alone-style, against the devil to protect a child who has learned their lesson! The Weirdest Winter Druids of a local circle are concerned that the local Frost Giants are trying to bring about eternal winter by sabotaging their Winter Solstice ritual, designed to bring back the sun. Can the PCs defend the druids' grove all through the night until the first light of dawn? Satyrnalia A band of Satyrs are holding a town hostage with their enchantments- forcing them to eat, drink, and make merry for days on end! One by one, they must be persuaded, or defeated, to end their spell and bring blessed peace to the town! Yule Be Sorry A great gathering is held at the Lord's longhall to celebrate the longest night of winter, and a great log has been cut from a sacred tree at the priests' direction. But the Cold Walkers and their Shadow Hounds roam the earth this night. As the Lord's champions, the PCs are sent to shepherd in the old and lost, and to prtect them from harm this night. Second Dedication Following a long and costly war, the high temple is to be re-consecrated. However, only a single cask of ritual oil remains to light the sacred flame. Through divine intervention, the oil lasts long enough for the eight days of ritual, but the temple must be protected through the night from those who would see it fall again. Help the Gifts Get Through! A shipment of gifts (or medicines, or healing potions, or... whatever you want it to be, really) needs to get delivered to the next town over, through heavy snow, wolves, and goblin attacks. The PCs are conscripted, or hired, to make sure that all the children can sleep soundly tonight! Casting the Fireballs On the first day of the year in one kingdom, it is customary to remember the time enemies were turned back by the fireballs of the nation's Warmages. The townsfolk construct 'fireballs' made of pitch and sticks on the end of a string or rope, and swing them while dancing a jig through town, before hurling them from the clifftops down into the dark sea. But when the Sahuagin can be seen climbing the cliffs by the fireballs' light, everyone must fend off a full-fledged invasion! Festival of First Fruits Those who formed their own nation celebrate a 'Festival of First Fruits' celebrating their own self-determination and independence from their enemies, and showing gratitude to their revered ancestors. But when the ritual mat and candelabra are stolen by a thief from outside the nation, the PCs must help save the holiday by returning them in time! Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 December 2021. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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