Family-friendly, Winter/Holiday-themed OSR Adventure?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Anything from flavorful details to full plotlines welcome.

Because I can't help myself with the worldbuilding, the village they were trying to save was every Hallmark movie village, ported to D&D, including ice skating pond, people in flannel and hot cocoa and cider. The village's biggest export is plucky young women who go off to the big city to make their name, but who often rebound when they visit and meet hunky local boys working on the tree farm, etc.

The local goddess, whose symbol is a bright star in a winter night, is a Light domain goddess whose faith includes hospitality and, thus, over the years, has picked up a bunch of other winter holiday traditions brought by travelers and refugees. The village is now a tourism destination in the winter, as people from all over, including of multiple faiths, find the village a welcoming place to celebrate with family.

 

[Theory of Games]

Oh, right! There's a "Gaston" character who is also out hunting the monster.

Looks like you have plenty to keep them busy. Also: Puzzles. Kids love 'em. Find a way to sneak one or two in there, if you can and if you like that kind of thing

 

[Pedantic]

It's probably a bit too big in scope, but I'm planning to run this with a bunch of holiday themed characters in December: The North Pole Under Siege

 

[Bill Zebub]

Because I can't help myself with the worldbuilding, the village they were trying to save was every Hallmark movie village, ported to D&D, including ice skating pond, people in flannel and hot cocoa and cider. The village's biggest export is plucky young women who go off to the big city to make their name, but who often rebound when they visit and meet hunky local boys working on the tree farm, etc.

The local goddess, whose symbol is a bright star in a winter night, is a Light domain goddess whose faith includes hospitality and, thus, over the years, has picked up a bunch of other winter holiday traditions brought by travelers and refugees. The village is now a tourism destination in the winter, as people from all over, including of multiple faiths, find the village a welcoming place to celebrate with family.

...and the local monastery breeds and trains a line of dogs famous for rescuing travelers lost in blizzards. Complete with micro-kegs of hot cider dangling from collars.

(Plot twist: the monks are actually evil.)

 

[Bill Zebub]

...actually, that's my chapter two. After the ice spirt/mephit/things have been defeated, clues lead the heroes back to the monastery. (For reasons to be determined) fighting all the monks is not an option...some other evil has to be defeated to liberate the monks.

 

[aco175]

Looks like you have plenty to keep them busy. Also: Puzzles. Kids love 'em. Find a way to sneak one or two in there, if you can and if you like that kind of thing

I have an adventure I'm wrapping up that has a simplish puzzle using primary/secondary colors. There is a freestanding door mounted in the middle of the room that opens to a magical dimension where the treasure is found if the three lanterns can be placed right on the pedestal of the statue in front of the door. Behind the door, on the wall are two black and white tapestries with one being of a sun and the other grass. The clue was, When the Sun is yellow and the grass green, will you find your way. To solve it, the yellow lantern is lit and opened all the way, shinning on both tapestries, the blue lantern lit and opened half way to shine on the grass (and half of the door). The red lantern is not lit.

There are clues and checks involved, but I know my players will get it. The lanterns are placed in another location from the door and the tapestries are more big pointing arrows to the clue. You could use paint or something. An actual flashlights prop for kids to use would be great.

 

[Bill Zebub]

It's such a brilliant trope that it can't be over-used. Especially with Fantasy and specifically when it's a game with friends and/or family.

And especially for first-time RPGers. Tired cliches for veterans are often super exciting for first-timers.


...



Plus they have no idea about trolls and fire! Mwuhahahahaha....

 

[Cruentus]

What about Winter’s Daughter by Necrotic Gnome Winter's Daughter

From the site:
The tomb of an ancient hero, lost in the tangled depths of the woods. A ring of standing stones, warded by the sinister Drune cult. A fairy princess who watches with timeless patience from beyond the veil of the mortal. A forgotten treasure that holds the key to her heart.

Winter’s Daughter is a romantic fairy tale adventure designed for characters of Level 1–3. Presented in a quick-reference format, the adventure is easy to run with minimal prep.

Written for OSE/Dolmenwood, but no reason it couldn’t be easily adapted to ShadowDark. Has a strong Fey element to it, so easy to make as light or dark as you want. The winter theme works well around the holidays, or at least used to (where did the snow go?!?). It’s very flexible as well, allowing different entry points that you could create, you decide how the NPCs react, how much fighting versus roleplaying, etc. How much you lean into the romance element can vary as well, it could just be a side plot that no one really picks up, or could be the main driver of the adventure. I really enjoyed running it.

 

[Bill Zebub]

What about Winter’s Daughter by Necrotic Gnome Winter's Daughter

From the site:
The tomb of an ancient hero, lost in the tangled depths of the woods. A ring of standing stones, warded by the sinister Drune cult. A fairy princess who watches with timeless patience from beyond the veil of the mortal. A forgotten treasure that holds the key to her heart.

Winter’s Daughter is a romantic fairy tale adventure designed for characters of Level 1–3. Presented in a quick-reference format, the adventure is easy to run with minimal prep.

Written for OSE/Dolmenwood, but no reason it couldn’t be easily adapted to ShadowDark. Has a strong Fey element to it, so easy to make as light or dark as you want. The winter theme works well around the holidays, or at least used to (where did the snow go?!?). It’s very flexible as well, allowing different entry points that you could create, you decide how the NPCs react, how much fighting versus roleplaying, etc. How much you lean into the romance element can vary as well, it could just be a side plot that no one really picks up, or could be the main driver of the adventure. I really enjoyed running it.

Great suggestion. I even have it already!

 

[GothmogIV]

We played this a few years ago and had a blast with it:
Claus for Concern