Something involving intelligence hidden in Christmas tree ornaments
I like that idea. Have you also considered the idea of the trees themselves being either communication or computing nodes? You know you could work in a smuggling operation, and/or industrial espionage into your scenario pretty easily.
Here is an old Christmas scenario I wrote up and we played for
this setting, so it's D&D. It's a bit serious though, not really light-hearted, but it does have some funny parts to it.
I wrote one up for a sci-fi game about an artifact that decides it will investigate the legends surrounding Santa Clause and accidentally gets caught up in a border skirmish between men and aliens. And then the artifact eventually convinces both sides to cease hostilities for three days around Christmas, which leads to a discovery that makes both sides quit fighting and the artifact to disappear.
Anywho, here's the D&D one.
The Emperor of Byzantium is contacted by the Khan (Krum) of Bulgaria (a traditional enemy of the Empire) who is requesting assistance for his kingdom and his family. A plague has stricken the Bulgarian Kingdom and has killed several thousand, and infected many others. Those infected usually die within a few weeks, the mortality rate is high and the chances of survival once infected are low. The Khan has promised the Byzantines that he will cease all border hostilities, will cease his plotting against the empire, will become allied to the Byzantine empire and will even consider personally converting to Christianity (as well as converting his court) if the Byzantines can prove a miracle by curing his daughter of the plague.
The emperor, sensing a chance to convert an ancient enemy and to make a powerful ally of the Bulgars, consults the Abbots of the church for any possibility of a miracle. After consulting ancient texts the church authorities decide that the best chance to cure the girl is to have her anointed with the manna, the reputed miraculous healing liquid that accumulates around the tomb of Saint Nicholas every year a few weeks before Christmas Mass.
The emperor dispatches the Basilegate with orders that they are to accompany an embassy of monks and a living Saint to Myra, the ancient burial place of Saint Nicholas (Santa Clause), recover some of the manna and then transport it in a reliquary to the court of the Bulgarian khan where it will be used to try and cure the Bulgarian princess.
When the party arrives in Myra they discover that the grave of Nicholas has been desecrated, his body stolen and the recently collected manna missing. Rumors abound about a vicious and hideous creature who has murdered several priests and monks and who was responsible for robbing the grave.
At the same time the party learns of accounts about a strange party of men, whom some swear are not really men at all, which preceded the Basilegate to Myra and had also been asking questions about the creature who had robbed the grave of Saint Nicholas. The entire area is in near riot due to the desecration of their patron Saint along with the appearance of the unknown and murderous creature. The Basilegate has less than two weeks, at most, to find the body of the Saint, recover it from the creature, rebury the body, obtain the manna and travel to the court of Bulgaria to try and save the life of the Bulgarian princess.
As they begin their search a strange light in the night sky begins to shine extremely brightly, and they are approached by three strange men, whom many locals think are angels, but others think are Magi from Baghdad.
