Christmas Request!

[SMac8988]

Hello again Giants!

So I have a few friends in town this holiday season and we decided we wanted to play a short, one shot campaign and I was voted to story tell. This also will be the first game I have gotten my girlfriend in on playing and want to make sure it is funny and random for her to try and get her more into it.

So my goal is to do something along the lines of a Christmas campaign, with several puzzles and minor fights here and there. I am allowing them to build characters at 5th level, and which ever classes they like. I would like to throw stuff some several Christmas movies in this.

My current idea would be something along have them have to save a great saint who has been taken prior to his trip of charity to the local towns. Possible make them fight past the reindeer, using giant elk as a template, place a few mimics hiding as presents in a few rooms, and have a couple frost giants as the final boss.

So I am asking for help, suggestions, things you would want to see, and things I should avoid before going in.

Thanks in advance all!

[Blood of Gaea]

How about this:

An order of Warlocks have captured Santa and are going to sacrifice him to return Krampus to the world. The PCs are then summoned by Ms. Claus to save him, then go from there how you like.

[SMac8988]

Oh I like that!!!

[Goober4473]

Back in 4e I did a one-shot called How the Grunch Stole Presentfest.

Presentfest is a holiday in Whatsitville where they celebrate their affluent wealth by trying to buy each other the most extravagant gifts. The evil Grunch, unknown to the townspeople, stole the presents and replaced them with animated toys, which attack during the festivities.

The PCs then had to travel to the Grunch's cave, fighting vicious reindeer dogs along the way, then confront him along with his pet seasick crocodile. Once defeated, the Grunch rises to his feet to continue the fight, but suffers a massive heart attack and dies.

[SMac8988]

Hmm maybe. I need a couple of puzzles for it all

[Cyan Wisp]

Not sure if it helps, but I've just done an Xmas theme adventure.

I used Sunless Citadel - Grove level only.

The premise: Someone has been selling cheap Xmas trees to a village. One night, the trees and the presents under them all disappeared! Sounds very Grinchy. The truth is that the trees had all animated and stolen the presents, stealing them away.

Investigations led to a deep underground lair full of gardens and animated Xmas trees (twig blights). The master of the gardens was an embittered druid (Belak/Evil Santa) who had to feed his vampiric tree (the Gulthias) with fresh children's hopes (their presents).

It was fun. I just changed everything to Xmas theme on the fly. Goblins were busy making evil toys. The Thoqqua was a Rudolph analogue, Twig blights were everywhere. The NPCs at the end were Santa's Helper (Sharwyn), dressed appropriately and Jingles (Sir Braford). The party had to rescue the presents from the Gulthias tree before they were absorbed. Evil Santa was a 5th druid who conjured a horde of Elks to fight the party.

[Falcon X]

Do Tarrasquemas!
It's a thing that started a few years back and has a small cult following if you search it (Original thread here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/5789941/)

I did my take on this once. I used a miniature tarrasque inspired by the old legends (and somewhere in Dragon Magazine).
In a small town in the frozen north, a creature falls from the stars and begins to terrorize the nearby clans. Long story short, when it is defeated, they crack open the body and it is filled with jewels (somehow). Thus, the Tarrasque has brought great wealth to the small town.

[Hopeless]

Have them gather in a tavern and learn there's free drink and food if they participate in a storytelling contest.

See if they're interested but have a figure step up to start who tells them of ancient curse that speaks of a demon that preys on innocent travellers using a possessed body to infiltrate the inn and at a key moment reveal itself sealing the inn outside of the normal world requiring all those within to survive until dawn or its defeated before they're freed.

THEN have the cloaked figure drop its cloak revealing it to be a skeleton that promptly collapses once hit... this seals the inn leaving the inhabitants to discover how to escape and if they believe the tale will expect the demon to appear...

To make it more Xmas related if they wait before striking the skeleton down the next time it appears it doesn't speak merely point downwards, which if they pay attention will learn a faerie child is being held captive in the cellar and her parents sealed the inn until she's freed.

The whole story is a charade being used by the innkeeper as part of a ritual to empower himself using the paranoia and remain hidden until its over only the discovery of the child forces him out of hiding... well warlock pacts are formed somehow!

[PoeticDwarf]

Classical, Santa is captured and the PC's have to free him, maybe in a dungeon with some puzzles and fights but maybe they have to find out where he is.

Alternate, Santa is charmed/dominated and doesn't want to give gifts anymore.

My last guess is that there are people who say there are Santa, in fact they try to steel the present and give them to the children, but not everything (or something like that)

I can't help you with other stuff, because in the Netherlands the tradition of Santa isn't that big, but I hoped that these three ideas can help!

[tieren]

Do santa Claus is coming to town.

Help the elves gather some toy components. Then help santa sneak past or murder the winter warlock.

When santa gets to town and gets locked up, help him escape and do some second story work to break into every house in town.

Maybe for finally have a big battle with burger meister and town guards, maybe with many toys helping as animated objects.

[Shining Wrath]

There's a fun book out there called Santa's Twin (http://www.amazon.com/Santas-Twin-Dean-Koontz/dp/0061053554/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450726442&sr=1-1&keywords=santa%27s+evil+twin). In brief, Santa has an evil twin who imprisons him and goes around distributing truly unwantable presents but is thwarted by two truly adorable sisters and some sapient reindeer.

If it's funny you want, the idea of Santa's Twin distributing disgusting gifts ought to work. Then the party "wakes up" while he's visiting the home they are in, catch him, and have to go to the North Pole (using the sleigh, natch) to free the authentic article. After which, of course, Santa distributes gifts to his rescuers - lets you pass out some nice magic booty.