D&D General All Spirit's Eve - A Festival

[M.T. Black]

I am now including regular festivals in my ongoing D&D campaign. They've been popular with the players and have provided marvelous opportunities for character development. I have a list of 20, and I write them up and try to make them gameable when the characters attend one. Last night we have All Spirit's Eve where people remember the departed. It turned out to be unexpectedly moving, and a couple of times my eyes were even stinging a bit. It was a special night of gaming.

Below is my write up of the festival, and feel free to use it in your home games.

All Spirit's Eve​

The purpose of All Spirits Eve is to remember the departed. Those who wish to participate in the festival need three items: a spirit mask, a candle, and a pouchful of incense. These can be plain items, or extremely fancy. PCs must nominate their total expenditure on these items, from 1 gp to 100 gp.

A Night of Returning​

The festival starts at dusk when the streets of Iskandar glow with the soft shimmer of spirit-lanterns—delicate lantern globes dyed in hues of violet, indigo, and ghostly blue. Each lantern is etched with runes of welcoming and inscribed with the names of departed loved ones. Some believe the lights guide the souls home for one night of reunion.

In noble halls and humble cottages alike, ancestor-altars are erected. These altars are adorned with:

• Painted masks representing family spirits
• Offerings of spicebread, mulled wine, and incense
• Personal items or symbolic gifts, such as miniature swords for warriors or carved book-figures for scholars

Not all spirits are kind. To ward off the wrathful dead or soul-thirsting shades, windows and doors are smeared with vinegar and iron dust, and protective runes are chalked beneath thresholds. It is considered ill luck to mention the name of Bas, god of death, on this day.

March of the Veil​

As twilight deepens, thousands of citizens don spirit masks—each hand-carved to reflect either a family ancestor or a benevolent spirit or god. They assemble in Market Square, where trading is suspended, so begins a grand parade called the March of the Veil, where the masked walk in silence, accompanied by the eerie strains of bone-flutes and shadow-drums. This march lasts for several hours and visits every ward in the city.

The Hour of Reflection​

At the stroke of midnight, all music falls silent. Across the province, thirteen solemn bells toll, their echoes rolling through city streets and countryside alike.Within their homes, families kneel before ancestor-altars. Those on the road or in the square pause to find a place of meaning—a threshold, a wayside shrine, a bridge over dark water. There, each follows the same quiet rite:

First, they speak the words “I recall…” and name a cherished memory of the departed. Then they set their candle alight, scattering incense upon the flame so that fragrant smoke rises into the night. At last, they whisper the closing vow:

“I set this flame for you, holding your memory, trusting you are at peace.”

When a character completes the rite, they must make a DC 10 Charisma (Performance) check. For every 10 gp spent on ritual items (mask, candle, incense), the character gains a +1 bonus **to the check. On a success, the character is suffused with spiritual strength, gaining 3d6 temporary hit points.

Ending the Vigil​

Following the hour of reflection, the city inhabitants take their spirit lanterns to foreshore and cast them into the harbor. There, they slowly float out to sea, bearing messages and blessings back into the realm beyond. The people return home eat a quiet meal of spicebread and mulled wine, before retiring to bed—quietly grateful, perhaps a little wiser, and never quite alone.