ZeroGear
2016-10-31, 09:49 PM
As I write it is one of my favorite holidays right now: Halloween, a celebration steeped in history and superstition.
And that got me thinking: what about celebrations in worlds where magic and monsters are real? I'm not talking about theming an adventure to match an ongoing season, I mean what about celebrations that take place in the worlds that your characters are saving? How do your fantasy culture celebrate? What superstitions persist in a world of witchcraft, elemental beings, and sorcery?
Feel free to make up cultures or mention any that you use in your own campaign worlds. This is not a debate, but more of a general outline that anyone can share.
Allow me to present mine:
One of the campaigns that I created had a calendar with exactly 364 days in it. This was because the seasons weren't influenced by the planet's orbit around the sun, but rather the four elemental planes orbiting the material plane similar to planets: fire dominated summer, earth brought about autumn, water contributed to winter, and air brought about spring. Similarly, the positive and negative plains contributed to day and night, but on a much lesser degree.
Lastly, four outer plane also contributed: Golden Bells (LG), Pridelands (CG), Wild Hunt (CE), and Final Rest (LE). During each equinox and solstice, one of the outer planes would become coterminous (overlap) with the material world, allowing outsiders to traverse portals that would only open during the three days around the middle month of each season (beginning and end months had 30 days, middle months had 31). As such, four holidays sprang up around these dates:
Golden Joy: Holiday celebrated during the tree days surrounding the winter solstice, it is a celebration of kindness and gift-giving. Families would gather in their homes, have great feasts, and be thankful for all they had. Sometimes, Angelic beings would visit families with gifts for well behaved children, and bless those who suffered.
Renewal: A festival centered around the three days of the spring equinox, Renewal is a celebration of new life. It's both a planting festival, and a time for sports, games, and pranks. It is a tradition for competitions to be held during this time, usually featuring competitions of strength, agility, skill, and artisanship. Sometimes, celestial beings would join these activities, often seeking new competition or a casual fling.
Huntsdays: Sometimes festivals are made to protect citizens. The Huntsdays are a fearful time that occur during the summer solstice when demons prowl the lands. During this time, families go home early, and only dare venture outside if properly disguised as monsters to fool stray demons. Even then, it often takes a few offering to drive the beasts away, and many unwary travelers have been dragged off to their doom by fiends unsatisfied with offerings of sweets.
Black Night: The fall equinox is a time when debts are settled and bargains are made. Black Night heralds the time when devils walk the back alleys making pacts and collecting promised rewards. Be wary of those you cross upon this day, for you may never know what the fine print says, and devils are unscrupulous when it comes to business.
So, anyone else have interesting holidays in their campaign wolds?
And that got me thinking: what about celebrations in worlds where magic and monsters are real? I'm not talking about theming an adventure to match an ongoing season, I mean what about celebrations that take place in the worlds that your characters are saving? How do your fantasy culture celebrate? What superstitions persist in a world of witchcraft, elemental beings, and sorcery?
Feel free to make up cultures or mention any that you use in your own campaign worlds. This is not a debate, but more of a general outline that anyone can share.
Allow me to present mine:
One of the campaigns that I created had a calendar with exactly 364 days in it. This was because the seasons weren't influenced by the planet's orbit around the sun, but rather the four elemental planes orbiting the material plane similar to planets: fire dominated summer, earth brought about autumn, water contributed to winter, and air brought about spring. Similarly, the positive and negative plains contributed to day and night, but on a much lesser degree.
Lastly, four outer plane also contributed: Golden Bells (LG), Pridelands (CG), Wild Hunt (CE), and Final Rest (LE). During each equinox and solstice, one of the outer planes would become coterminous (overlap) with the material world, allowing outsiders to traverse portals that would only open during the three days around the middle month of each season (beginning and end months had 30 days, middle months had 31). As such, four holidays sprang up around these dates:
Golden Joy: Holiday celebrated during the tree days surrounding the winter solstice, it is a celebration of kindness and gift-giving. Families would gather in their homes, have great feasts, and be thankful for all they had. Sometimes, Angelic beings would visit families with gifts for well behaved children, and bless those who suffered.
Renewal: A festival centered around the three days of the spring equinox, Renewal is a celebration of new life. It's both a planting festival, and a time for sports, games, and pranks. It is a tradition for competitions to be held during this time, usually featuring competitions of strength, agility, skill, and artisanship. Sometimes, celestial beings would join these activities, often seeking new competition or a casual fling.
Huntsdays: Sometimes festivals are made to protect citizens. The Huntsdays are a fearful time that occur during the summer solstice when demons prowl the lands. During this time, families go home early, and only dare venture outside if properly disguised as monsters to fool stray demons. Even then, it often takes a few offering to drive the beasts away, and many unwary travelers have been dragged off to their doom by fiends unsatisfied with offerings of sweets.
Black Night: The fall equinox is a time when debts are settled and bargains are made. Black Night heralds the time when devils walk the back alleys making pacts and collecting promised rewards. Be wary of those you cross upon this day, for you may never know what the fine print says, and devils are unscrupulous when it comes to business.
So, anyone else have interesting holidays in their campaign wolds?