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Festivals, Fairs, and Holy Days
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<blockquote data-quote="M.T. Black" data-source="post: 9672625" data-attributes="member: 6782171"><p>When I started writing my Iskandar setting, I did a deep dive into real medieval societies. One thing I noticed was that holy days/fairs/festivals were really common and important in those societies, and none of the D&D games I'd run or played in ever reflected that well. I wanted to change that. I know there have been a couple of supplements on this released in prior editions, and there are some other games (like Pendragon) that do this pretty well. But I'd not seen it done well myself.</p><p></p><p>In my current campaign, I sat down and defined 20 festivals that happened throughout the year and placed them in the calendar. I'm lucky that one of my players keeps strict track of time. Whenever they are in the city during a festival, I try and incorporate that into the campaign. I usually do that through mini-games. It's usually a lot of fun, and also provides good character development opportunity.</p><p></p><p>It's really cool now, because the characters are starting to adjust their behavior in order to attend festivals. Last night, they decided to head back to the city of Iskandar, and someone said "It's Balder's Day tomorrow," Balder being the god of poetry and plays. They wanted to attend that, so they traveled deep into the evening to get back in time.</p><p></p><p>Now, I'd not expected this nor prepped anything at all for Balder's Day, but we ended up adapting a couple of games from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and had a hilarious session. The guys are training now which will take 15 days, and someone said "It's All Spirits Day a couple of days after we finish training. I think I want to stick around in the city for that."</p><p></p><p>It's added a great new dimension to our game, and I recommend it. FYI, here's a list of festivals in Iskandar:</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>All Fools Day: </strong>A costumed parade and practical jokes.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>All Spirits Day</strong>: Flowers and candles placed on shrines.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Amnesty Day</strong>: Minor crimes and debts are forgiven.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Areyo’s Day</strong>: Yellow kites flown and races through the city.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Balder’s Day</strong>: Plays and poetry recitals throughout the city.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Candles Eve</strong>: Solemn evening parade with candles.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Day of Contrition</strong>: Dress in black and no alcohol.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Day of Naming</strong>: Names given to babies, animals, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Day of the Dead</strong>: Colorful shrines created for ancestors.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Feast of Freedom</strong>: Music, feasting, and a colorful fair.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Feast of Vela</strong>: A raucous day of eating and drinking.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Festival of Fire</strong>: Bonfires and firecrackers on the streets.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Founders Day</strong>: Solemn commemoration in Old Town.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Fyon's Day</strong>: Only wine can be consumed this day.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Harvesttide</strong>: Agricultural show followed by a feast.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Hocktide</strong>: Amends made and debts repaid.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Mora's Day</strong>: Stately pageant down to the harbor.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>New Year’s Day</strong>: Feasting and drinking until dawn.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Rogation Day</strong>: Fasting and prayers for the coming year.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Voyna’s Day</strong>: Battle re-enactments and martial contests.</li> </ol></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="M.T. Black, post: 9672625, member: 6782171"] When I started writing my Iskandar setting, I did a deep dive into real medieval societies. One thing I noticed was that holy days/fairs/festivals were really common and important in those societies, and none of the D&D games I'd run or played in ever reflected that well. I wanted to change that. I know there have been a couple of supplements on this released in prior editions, and there are some other games (like Pendragon) that do this pretty well. But I'd not seen it done well myself. In my current campaign, I sat down and defined 20 festivals that happened throughout the year and placed them in the calendar. I'm lucky that one of my players keeps strict track of time. Whenever they are in the city during a festival, I try and incorporate that into the campaign. I usually do that through mini-games. It's usually a lot of fun, and also provides good character development opportunity. It's really cool now, because the characters are starting to adjust their behavior in order to attend festivals. Last night, they decided to head back to the city of Iskandar, and someone said "It's Balder's Day tomorrow," Balder being the god of poetry and plays. They wanted to attend that, so they traveled deep into the evening to get back in time. Now, I'd not expected this nor prepped anything at all for Balder's Day, but we ended up adapting a couple of games from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and had a hilarious session. The guys are training now which will take 15 days, and someone said "It's All Spirits Day a couple of days after we finish training. I think I want to stick around in the city for that." It's added a great new dimension to our game, and I recommend it. FYI, here's a list of festivals in Iskandar: [LIST=1] [*][B]All Fools Day: [/B]A costumed parade and practical jokes. [*][B]All Spirits Day[/B]: Flowers and candles placed on shrines. [*][B]Amnesty Day[/B]: Minor crimes and debts are forgiven. [*][B]Areyo’s Day[/B]: Yellow kites flown and races through the city. [*][B]Balder’s Day[/B]: Plays and poetry recitals throughout the city. [*][B]Candles Eve[/B]: Solemn evening parade with candles. [*][B]Day of Contrition[/B]: Dress in black and no alcohol. [*][B]Day of Naming[/B]: Names given to babies, animals, etc. [*][B]Day of the Dead[/B]: Colorful shrines created for ancestors. [*][B]Feast of Freedom[/B]: Music, feasting, and a colorful fair. [*][B]Feast of Vela[/B]: A raucous day of eating and drinking. [*][B]Festival of Fire[/B]: Bonfires and firecrackers on the streets. [*][B]Founders Day[/B]: Solemn commemoration in Old Town. [*][B]Fyon's Day[/B]: Only wine can be consumed this day. [*][B]Harvesttide[/B]: Agricultural show followed by a feast. [*][B]Hocktide[/B]: Amends made and debts repaid. [*][B]Mora's Day[/B]: Stately pageant down to the harbor. [*][B]New Year’s Day[/B]: Feasting and drinking until dawn. [*][B]Rogation Day[/B]: Fasting and prayers for the coming year. [*][B]Voyna’s Day[/B]: Battle re-enactments and martial contests. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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