Holidays in your Campaign?

As we enter into the holiday season I thought the question should be asked; do you include holidays in your campaign planning? For my part I typically plan the holidays when putting together my gaming world but rarely have the characters observe them.

Why would you add a holiday or two to your campaign? For starters they can add a bit of flavor and color to a gaming session or two – a festival celebrating the equinox or solstice with its feasts, events and competitions gives a nice break from the dreary day to day adventuring life. Adding a holiday can also give you and your players a chance to flex their role-playing skills as any number of encounter ideas can be incorporated as you are just as likely to encounter a wedding party as you are a funeral. They can also be used as a way to get information to the party or allow them to make an important contact with a diplomat or a noble.

In my last campaign set in the Realms of Rylon (home grown world), I used a festival as a kick off point for both the major plot line and to add some color with background elements. The Festival of Rometh occurs on the first of the year, which on the Rylon calendar is the spring equinox, and is a time when individuals mark new beginnings. I used the festival as the backdrop for the characters entering into an employment contract with their benefactor which launched the main plot line of the campaign. While that provided the needed stimulus to get things going beyond the introduction stage of the campaign the festival also allowed me to add a background element in the possible combining of two kingdoms as a marriage was announced between two royal houses at the banquet the party was attending. The two events made for a memorable role-playing session where all of the characters were involved and numerous NPC contacts were made, some of which would appear again in the campaign.

Do you have a holiday idea you’d like to share? Please feel free as I’m sure everyone would be interested and for those that need a quick “drop-in” event check out issues #344 and #403 of Johnn Four’s Role-playing Tips newsletter.

May your dice roll well.