I've been having similar thoughts about trying to make a banquet/ball interesting for the last module of the Freeport trilogy. Twelve Council-members, the Sea Lord, family members, a few random nobles, the major domo, the head of the wizard's guild, the head of one or more influential temples, the party... There's gonna be a lot of NPCs floating around!
The party has an animal companion and a familiar that will need to be 'stowed,' and at least one of the partygoers (the head of the wizard's guild) also has a familiar, so I'm going to designate a front room, much like a 'cloak room' to be a familiar / companion 'parking area.' As I'm introducing Gnomish ambassadors from the land of Iovan, reknowned for their Gargoyle familiars / slaves, the 'parking area' is going to include a full-sized Gargoyle (the Ambassadors Improved Familiar) and a pair of Grotesques (Small-sized Gargoyles, familiars to his two aides-de-camp, one of whom, a dour-looking Gnome in black and silver robes, has been assigned to stay with the gargoyle-kin and make sure that they don't get into any trouble). I'll also have a few other random familiars, a bored-looking Siamese cat and a Flying Lizard (Freeport's answer to seagulls, tiny sized pterodactyls).
Once in the party, elven minstrels will be playing some quiet music, enough that it can be heard, but doesn't require the quests to be shouting to each other. Halflings will bustle about with drinks and trays of food, working for the halfling major domo.
I'd already had one of the party members purchase a magical longsword in town (trading it for a mithral chain shirt and a magical rapier) from a noblewoman who has a nightlife as a cat-burglar. Mid-party, the character will be confronted by a member of the Council, who will recognize the sword (weapons allowed, but peacebonded, it's a rough city and none of the original pirate founders were keen on travelling unarmed in each others company...) as his grandfathers weapon, which was stolen from his home a few months ago! The noblewoman he purchased it from happens to be at the party as well, but any accusation against her is doomed to failure, unless the party can prove she is actually moonlighting as a thief. I've set it up so that they can indeed do this, as she has commisioned a special dress of silk with a leather bodice tooled with fine metal filagree from the wizard characters mentor, a powerful Transmuter. The character has seen the dress, which has been enspelled to transform into a leather bodysuit and thieves tools (the silken elements turning into 50 ft of silk rope), during it's creation, and might recognize it and be able to speak a command word (which he knows, since his mentor demonstrated it to him while she was showing it off) and cause the noblewoman's gear to transform into her 'working clothes.'
Hopefully this will add a little drama to the scene, and the character will be able to get a replacement for his magical sword from the embarassed family (while the Councilman gets his family heirloom back, unless the Councilman thinks it would be funner to let the character keep his grand-dad's sword and have the noble family owe him a favor, so he can put the screws to them...).
For more cosmetic stuff, a town magistrate (a priestess of Wee Jas) will get into a snarky argument with the Sea Lord after he brags about how the succession line passes through his family. She'll point out that technically it passes through one of two noble families, not just his, and he'll just as snippily remark that it *would* pass through one of those two families if the patriarch of that other family had any interest in women... Polite snickering will result, until the priestess comments on the Sea Lord's own lack of an heir, and whether or not he and his hulking bodyguard will ever get around to providing Freeport with an heir. Said bodyguard (a fellow councilman, actually) will need to be restrained from attacking the judge, and his wife will storm out angrily (but not be noticed by anyone, despite her drama, only pissing her off further, since everyone is watching eyes wide to see how the drama between Sea Lord and Magistrate plays out).
Other than that, and the party getting to meet a few Councilmen (including the man whose sword was stolen, who will be a major player in a later adventure, Arias Soderheim), the head of the wizard's guild, make an enemy (the Stormcrest royal family) and possibly make some friends, as well as be introduced to the Iovan Gnomes and their Gargoyle servants, the ball seems kinda dull, and I plan on moving through it pretty quickly, as my players aren't really into that sort of thing.
Given the nature of the city, I imagine that everybody and their dog eats fish and seafood day in and day out, so the fancy banquet would have *none of that.* Everything would be imported, and likely preserved through expensive means, since these former pirates want nothing that reminds them of the heavily salted meats or hard breads of sailor fare.
If your banquet is set in a city with a similar local fare, it might also be a status symbol to avoid that food completely (or just have a single dish, as a nod to tradition, which everyone ignores, wanting to savor the stuff they can't get locally, and their hosts wanting to 'show off' by providing fare that they may never have seen before, leading to some crazy exotic dishes like hummingbird's tongue broth or fillete of bullette). An offering that is downright illegal or dangerous, such as fogu or absinthe or drow pallor ale (rumored to be made by cutting toxic mushrooms with spider venom, in a precise balance so that the effects cancel out!), could add some spice to the affair, as could various narcotics such as pipeweed or snakeweed or dreambliss or whatever.
Depending on the area and customs of beauty, women (and men) might accentuate, and exagerrate, certain traits. Since a deathly pale coloration was considered fashionable, certain noblewomen would take arsenic to make themselves look pale. Chinese noblemen would grow their fingernails to ridiculous and unwieldy lengths, part fashion and part to prove that they never needed to actually *work* with their hands.
In a fantasy world, this could be taken to extremes, as alchemical solutions could create fantastic cosmetic changes, such as flourescent tattoos or hennas, elaborate claw-like nails, hair that writhes and adjusts itself, or changes colors or style, or an eyewash that causes the user to appear to have glowing eyes, or eyes of solid black. Clothing could be similarly enspelled, either through alchemical treatments that make it change colors to suit the surroundings, or actual magic that allows one outfit to become another (and, in the long run, save the nobleman a lot of money, as he won't have to spend 1000+ gold buying a new outfit for each party, although he'll still need to hire someone with a tailor's eye for detail to configure the outfit for him, so that it's the height of fashion...).
The more magical the society, the likely that such things will exist, with alchemical incenses burning in the corners, and cooling breezes circulating gently on the dance floor. The 'musicians' might be animated wooden mannequins, painted exquisitely and wielding masterwork instruments, enspelled to play tunes demanded of them.
In a more martial community, such as Karrth, in Eberron, dances might be militaristic and precise, moving in formations like a line-dance, with sharp turns and sudden stops, a demonstration of control and orderly synchronized action. Fancy uniforms and victorian gowns might be the standard, or perhaps even a unisex uniform-like attire for everyone.
Entertainment might include less dancing and music, and the 'court' could revolve around a central depression where some sort of historical drama is re-enacted, or popular play, or acrobatics display, or animal act, or, for a grittier setting, some sort of combat arena, perhaps ritualized and nonlethal, perhaps bloody and quite final. Perhaps it started as a dueling arena, where young nobles would challenge each other with rattan swords to 'first welt' and degenerated into a pit where slaves are thrown to hungry lions, or perhaps it started as a bear-baiting ring, and has only become more sedate in modern times, with animated mannequins tearing each other apart, or warforged gladiators non-lethally challenging anyone who is willing to step into the area and provide sport to their peers.
The local wizard's guild may have cast spells on a wall opposite the ruler's seat that allows a minor image to be created at the ruler's (or his vizier's) will, allowing him to project images for others to see, whether maps of nearby lands, or of the city itself, or of some scenic vista, or of some building he wishes to have commissioned. Perhaps the ceiling is permanantly enspelled to portray a night sky, as if there was no ceiling (or upper floors) at all, to spoil the view, and he might have 'moon-viewing parties' in the style of feudal Japan, where nobles come to discuss astrological events (and gossip, and eat his food, obviously).
The party has an animal companion and a familiar that will need to be 'stowed,' and at least one of the partygoers (the head of the wizard's guild) also has a familiar, so I'm going to designate a front room, much like a 'cloak room' to be a familiar / companion 'parking area.' As I'm introducing Gnomish ambassadors from the land of Iovan, reknowned for their Gargoyle familiars / slaves, the 'parking area' is going to include a full-sized Gargoyle (the Ambassadors Improved Familiar) and a pair of Grotesques (Small-sized Gargoyles, familiars to his two aides-de-camp, one of whom, a dour-looking Gnome in black and silver robes, has been assigned to stay with the gargoyle-kin and make sure that they don't get into any trouble). I'll also have a few other random familiars, a bored-looking Siamese cat and a Flying Lizard (Freeport's answer to seagulls, tiny sized pterodactyls).
Once in the party, elven minstrels will be playing some quiet music, enough that it can be heard, but doesn't require the quests to be shouting to each other. Halflings will bustle about with drinks and trays of food, working for the halfling major domo.
I'd already had one of the party members purchase a magical longsword in town (trading it for a mithral chain shirt and a magical rapier) from a noblewoman who has a nightlife as a cat-burglar. Mid-party, the character will be confronted by a member of the Council, who will recognize the sword (weapons allowed, but peacebonded, it's a rough city and none of the original pirate founders were keen on travelling unarmed in each others company...) as his grandfathers weapon, which was stolen from his home a few months ago! The noblewoman he purchased it from happens to be at the party as well, but any accusation against her is doomed to failure, unless the party can prove she is actually moonlighting as a thief. I've set it up so that they can indeed do this, as she has commisioned a special dress of silk with a leather bodice tooled with fine metal filagree from the wizard characters mentor, a powerful Transmuter. The character has seen the dress, which has been enspelled to transform into a leather bodysuit and thieves tools (the silken elements turning into 50 ft of silk rope), during it's creation, and might recognize it and be able to speak a command word (which he knows, since his mentor demonstrated it to him while she was showing it off) and cause the noblewoman's gear to transform into her 'working clothes.'
Hopefully this will add a little drama to the scene, and the character will be able to get a replacement for his magical sword from the embarassed family (while the Councilman gets his family heirloom back, unless the Councilman thinks it would be funner to let the character keep his grand-dad's sword and have the noble family owe him a favor, so he can put the screws to them...).
For more cosmetic stuff, a town magistrate (a priestess of Wee Jas) will get into a snarky argument with the Sea Lord after he brags about how the succession line passes through his family. She'll point out that technically it passes through one of two noble families, not just his, and he'll just as snippily remark that it *would* pass through one of those two families if the patriarch of that other family had any interest in women... Polite snickering will result, until the priestess comments on the Sea Lord's own lack of an heir, and whether or not he and his hulking bodyguard will ever get around to providing Freeport with an heir. Said bodyguard (a fellow councilman, actually) will need to be restrained from attacking the judge, and his wife will storm out angrily (but not be noticed by anyone, despite her drama, only pissing her off further, since everyone is watching eyes wide to see how the drama between Sea Lord and Magistrate plays out).
Other than that, and the party getting to meet a few Councilmen (including the man whose sword was stolen, who will be a major player in a later adventure, Arias Soderheim), the head of the wizard's guild, make an enemy (the Stormcrest royal family) and possibly make some friends, as well as be introduced to the Iovan Gnomes and their Gargoyle servants, the ball seems kinda dull, and I plan on moving through it pretty quickly, as my players aren't really into that sort of thing.
Given the nature of the city, I imagine that everybody and their dog eats fish and seafood day in and day out, so the fancy banquet would have *none of that.* Everything would be imported, and likely preserved through expensive means, since these former pirates want nothing that reminds them of the heavily salted meats or hard breads of sailor fare.
If your banquet is set in a city with a similar local fare, it might also be a status symbol to avoid that food completely (or just have a single dish, as a nod to tradition, which everyone ignores, wanting to savor the stuff they can't get locally, and their hosts wanting to 'show off' by providing fare that they may never have seen before, leading to some crazy exotic dishes like hummingbird's tongue broth or fillete of bullette). An offering that is downright illegal or dangerous, such as fogu or absinthe or drow pallor ale (rumored to be made by cutting toxic mushrooms with spider venom, in a precise balance so that the effects cancel out!), could add some spice to the affair, as could various narcotics such as pipeweed or snakeweed or dreambliss or whatever.
Depending on the area and customs of beauty, women (and men) might accentuate, and exagerrate, certain traits. Since a deathly pale coloration was considered fashionable, certain noblewomen would take arsenic to make themselves look pale. Chinese noblemen would grow their fingernails to ridiculous and unwieldy lengths, part fashion and part to prove that they never needed to actually *work* with their hands.
In a fantasy world, this could be taken to extremes, as alchemical solutions could create fantastic cosmetic changes, such as flourescent tattoos or hennas, elaborate claw-like nails, hair that writhes and adjusts itself, or changes colors or style, or an eyewash that causes the user to appear to have glowing eyes, or eyes of solid black. Clothing could be similarly enspelled, either through alchemical treatments that make it change colors to suit the surroundings, or actual magic that allows one outfit to become another (and, in the long run, save the nobleman a lot of money, as he won't have to spend 1000+ gold buying a new outfit for each party, although he'll still need to hire someone with a tailor's eye for detail to configure the outfit for him, so that it's the height of fashion...).
The more magical the society, the likely that such things will exist, with alchemical incenses burning in the corners, and cooling breezes circulating gently on the dance floor. The 'musicians' might be animated wooden mannequins, painted exquisitely and wielding masterwork instruments, enspelled to play tunes demanded of them.
In a more martial community, such as Karrth, in Eberron, dances might be militaristic and precise, moving in formations like a line-dance, with sharp turns and sudden stops, a demonstration of control and orderly synchronized action. Fancy uniforms and victorian gowns might be the standard, or perhaps even a unisex uniform-like attire for everyone.
Entertainment might include less dancing and music, and the 'court' could revolve around a central depression where some sort of historical drama is re-enacted, or popular play, or acrobatics display, or animal act, or, for a grittier setting, some sort of combat arena, perhaps ritualized and nonlethal, perhaps bloody and quite final. Perhaps it started as a dueling arena, where young nobles would challenge each other with rattan swords to 'first welt' and degenerated into a pit where slaves are thrown to hungry lions, or perhaps it started as a bear-baiting ring, and has only become more sedate in modern times, with animated mannequins tearing each other apart, or warforged gladiators non-lethally challenging anyone who is willing to step into the area and provide sport to their peers.
The local wizard's guild may have cast spells on a wall opposite the ruler's seat that allows a minor image to be created at the ruler's (or his vizier's) will, allowing him to project images for others to see, whether maps of nearby lands, or of the city itself, or of some scenic vista, or of some building he wishes to have commissioned. Perhaps the ceiling is permanantly enspelled to portray a night sky, as if there was no ceiling (or upper floors) at all, to spoil the view, and he might have 'moon-viewing parties' in the style of feudal Japan, where nobles come to discuss astrological events (and gossip, and eat his food, obviously).
